Castiel had always been a "neat freak".
Ever since he was a child and his mother had to fire the cleaner because Castiel could polish and clean the whole house better and with more effciency than she could , Castiel realised he did not have a normal relationship with dirt . Gabriel always smiled fondly when Castiel told this story at family occasions and said with a hint of hidden grimness , that could of been missed by the playful tone of his voice .
" You seem to forget Cassie that it took you twice as long as her , aswell ".
It never bothered Castiel when his brother butted in like this , because he knew that was Gabriel being coy . If he really wanted to embarass Castiel he would of brought up the time when Cas spent so long scrubbing at a ...very odd stain on Gabriel's mattress that he passed out and Gabriel found him lying unconscious there the next day , the stain of spunk Gabriel left there two days ago miraclously gone.
His o.c.d was a touchy subject for the Novak's so Gabriel and his other siblings preferred to tread the matter with as light feet as possible . Not that this stopped Gabb from teasing Catiel about his " habits " as his parents like to call them. His parents were the only ones who were really bothered by his " habits ". Castiel wasn't completely sure why . He pressumed it was because it killed his mother a doctor and his father a critically acclaimed author to have a son who had a crack in his mind , when the rest of the Novak's were either scholars or respected craftsmen(or craftswomen .) In their mind it made Castiel a "crack "within their perfect family. Or perphaps it was because Castiel had decide to become to use his "habit " and become a cleaner , a step down for one of the Novak clan .
It wasn't that Castiel was dumb . Actually he was in most people's eyes of high intelligence , even for a Novak .It was just the fact that Castiel didn't give alot of eyes the chance to see his intelligence ,being as anti-social as he was. So it went unnoticed . And Castiel's parents always acted like Castiel was cleaning bathrooms at McDonald's . Which their was absolutely nothing wrong with , he would angrily point out . But he didn't .
"Clean Cas'"and yes the name was Gabriel's idea , was he guessed what you could call a "high-end "cleaners . When the richest men , or the trendiest women decided they wanted to make a mess , Castiel was the one left to clean it . The cleaners got it's name for many reasons . One could be the fact that it was so expensive .That wasn't Castiel's decision but rather the company's accountant Bella , a beautiful but vindictive girl who even though could have any man she wanted only cared for one thing and one thing only : money .When he asked why they charged so much she'd always laughed and playfully bite a perfectly manicured nail
" If they want to make the mess , then they'll have to pay for the best "she answered with a giggle that she somehow made sound deliciously evil .
The second reason they were so notorious around town was because of Castiel himself . Firstly Castiel demanded that if you wanted your house/business/club etc...etc... cleaned by him there was one rule and one rule only. You had to give him a sole day . A day by himself with the place he needed to clean . No one else could be present or else he'd refuse the job right away .
He was always asked why .
" Your cleaning , it's not like he's making art " one especially shifty-looking man in a knock off Gucci suit asked him once passive aggressively.
"Cleaning is his art Michael Buble " Bella drawled from behind her desk .
Diva. That usually was there conclusion. Or hermit . Or both . Which perhaps was a little true ( the hermit part not the diva part). But it was really for the public's safety. Castiel in a few words could be described as a messy cleaner . Not to sound prententious, but cleaning was to him his art . And even thought some people may of thought that wiping up cocktails from a techicoloured dancefloor or cleaning out bathroom urinals could be considered mind-numbing , he adored it...Until he didn't.
Until he started seening stains that weren't there on the counter-tops . Till he stopped taking lunchbreaks because he had to polish the silverware another three times each so he just didn't have time to eat . Until he came to the point when he was so tried that as he sat there scrubbing a wine stain carpet , that all he could do was sob in absolute self pity.
At these points he realised that the 24 hours alone time wasn't just to stop people from seeing Cas' crazy. It was a limit for Cas so he couldn't wallow in his own crazy for way too long . At the end of the night or day , depending on his start Bella would come to collect him in whatever sports car she was driving at the time . Apparently he wasn't reliable to get himself home since he had once spent 50 hours straight cleaning after the owner of the house he was working on didn't return after the 24 hours , since she had decided to go on a "surprise " holiday to Paris.
And this was his life . Working 4 days a week , sleeping for 2 and suffering through whatever luncheon or "get-together " his family insisted he attended to be considered sane . At one of the "get-togethers" in some hotel that he was sure he'd cleaned once or twice , he was sadly beening forced to have a "discussion " if thats what you could call it with Gabriel.
" Look Bro we need to get you laid like 2 months ago ."Gabriel said to him as he sipped a " Sex on the Beach " which was the same colour of his bright red suit .
" How the hell am I considered the disappointment of the family " Castiel muttered to himself as he sipped at his own tea , knowing that having a hangover tomorrow when he had a big client booked was an awful idea . Not that it would stop the job from getting done . It would just help it too get overdone , which was never good.
"Cassie I'm serious " Castiel raise an eyebrow before noticing a small hair on Gabriel's tux. "Cas " Gabbe wave an hand infront of Castiel's face but he was gone . All his attention was gone from the conversation at hand and now all he could see was that brown curly hair on the red fabric. Gabriel's eyes followed down seeing the hair and quickly brushing it away . Castiel smiled softly at how well his brother knew him.
" Ok back to the topic at hand Dr Strange . I'm just kinda worried 'bout you bro " Gabriel muttered as he bit a chunk off a piece of liquiorice that Cas didn't even realised he had . Castiel out a laugh but as Gabriel frowned , Castiel realised that by god his brother was actually being serious. Castiel felt his face contort in confusion.
" Why would you be worried about me ? " Castiel asked suddenly feeling tired . He had enough of the Novaks "worrying " about him without Gabriel his only ally "worrying " too.
" Cas you do realise you need a life outside work , don't you ? " Gabriel murmered and Cas felt himself suddenly feeling under attack .
" I do have life outside Gabriel , not that I see how thats any of your business anyhow ! " he growled defensively .
" And what is that exactly Cas , because those 48 hours of sleep you allow yourself for sleep doesn't count". That hit Castiel hard . He told Gabriel his schedule once out of pure excitment when he was drunk on a vodlka and tonic. Having it turned on him like a nasty secret made him feel violated.
" I'm here aren't I Gabbe " he snapped so angrily his hands started to sweat . Gabriels mouth opened to answer , when Castiels cup suddenly fell out of his hand , landing with a crash and getting tea all over the fall and his jeans .
Gabriel's eyes opened wider in shock and Castiel felt himself collapse slightly in the way . He fell knees first to the floor , mouth dry and hands shaking . He grabbed napkins from the side of the table and began to wipe up like his life depended on it . He pretened that the blurr in his eyes was from how tired he was. He knew his face was red from embarrassment even thought the crash had in all probablity gone unnoticed in the nosy room .
" Cas , stop it's fine " Gabriel hissed . But he couldn't even if he wanted to . His hand rubbed until it was sore at the tiled floor .
" Cas look at me " Castiel felt himself close up . " Cas " Gabriel said so softly , so unlike his usual perky self that for a moment he felt his hand twitch to stop . He didnt look up but he could feel Gabriel's stare on the top of his head . he knew that it was for him , full of hope . After a few beats he also heard a sigh and knew that Gabriel now had a look of disappointment on his face because of him .
Castiel continued to work at the already clean floors until he heard Gabriel steps as he walked away , making sure he wiped it anti clockwise ,thirty times.
Then he looked up to make sure he was definitely alone . He was.
Bella dropped him off at " Benny's Bar " the next day at 8.a.m in her blue mercedes.
" Call me if you finish early " she said deadpan , her brown hair curling in a effortlessly cool way around her perfect face , before bursting in a fit of musical laughter at her own joke. After a moment or two she stopped ." Ok now fuck off and close the fucking door " she ordered once her moment of joking was over . He did before , retrieving his equipment from the back of her car .
He entered "Benny's Bar " intrigued from the outside apperance . It was different from anything he had cleaned before . More gritty and grudgy than all of the other buildings that could afford his prices . Or Bella's . Not that it looked cheap not at all . Especially the inside . Even thought a mess of red plastic cups and split beer Castiel could seen the sleekiness of the interior. Comfy leather black seats connected onto purple crocdile print walls gave the place a exclusive feel . The mirrors that rested on the opposing sides of the room , behind the bar and next to the toilets made the room seem spacious or more so .Castiel especially liked the purple and silver rose that rested in purple square vases on the black marble countertops and round tables spotted around the room. They would of been magificent if not for being fake.
Perfect . This place was perfect for him . A messy place that he could return to beauty . What else could you ask for to take your mind off...life.
An hour later he had dove into his work , washing the floor with a special chemical he had mixed up after managing to pick up most of the litter off the ground . He decided he'd arrange the bottles into recycable and non-recycable after the mopping , wanting to mindless move for a while rather that think .
" Look Sam ...yeah I know and I'm sorry but...Of course I care but I can't just ...yes ...ok I'll try and drop in for a few minutes ...love ya too big boy,whats gotten into you...I know it sucks but ...you have to go ?...ok ...see ya sammy...and sammy...keep safe will ya ...ok ..bye..bye" Castiel stopped moving as soon as he heard the voice enter his vincity and haven't move since.
He wondered if that was Benny . The man on the phone sounded like a Benny . His voice was gruff yet had a ...wholesomness about it . He thought about hiding under the counter but deciding that the tiny speck of sanity he still had left was dear to him , stayed put .
" Stay put Cassie boy " he heard Gabbe voice say in his head " He's in the wrong , not you , and even so what's the worse that could happen . He acknowledges existence " Castiel felt himself nod and gulped a lump in his throat as he mopped forward , head down .
Then he crashed
Head first into , he was guessing phone call man . He slipped backwards into the mans strong arms and felt his eyes snap shut waiting for the impact of the ground .
" Son of a bitch " the gruff,yet not voice murmered to himself , then said to Castiel forcing him to open his eyes " Hey man I totally forgot that you were cleaning here today " he turned to looked down properly at Castiel for the first time .
Fuck.
Castiel didn't like curse words . They were messy or represented mess at least . But fuck those eyes . He wanted to ask Mr Gruff if he stole jewels for a living and hide them in his eyes . God it sounded stupid . But they were those kind of eyes . The eyes you'd go stupid for .
When he allowed himself to take in the rest of the shallow skinned face he found the man was smiling down at him with pearly white teeth .
"I'm sorry I scared you ." The man chuckled his smile reaching his eyes making then crinkle lit they had been hit by the sun .
Was he still falling ? He could of been .
His mouth felt like he had just sucked cotton and his stomach felt like it was made out of chewing gum that keep sticking to itself then breaking away .
The man's hair snapped him out of it
It was messy in a styled way but still messy . And he mind snapped back to " Job " . He was being intruded on and that wasn't fair so quickly he stepped back patting his clothes back to normal .
" You didn't scare me you bumped into me doing my job " he muttered roughly , grabbing the mop from the ground and returning to his work . Or trying to , if it wasn't for Mr Gruff blocking his broom with his feet . He didn't look up .
"Yeah and I'm sorry about that . How about I get you a drink on the house to apolgize for that and we call it even Blue eyes " The man said and Castiel blushed . He wasn't sure why . Maybe it was because of the flirtly way the man had said the last sentence or maybe it was the anger he felt about being patronised by some jerk who didn't respect the contract he strictly worked by . He kept his head down and said hashly
" I don't drink on the job . My job ,that you obviously have little respect for since in my contract it says that I only work if by myself . Also I'm a grown man not some teenage girl and I preferred you didn't refer to me as Blue eyes as my name is Castiel . "
The next thing Castiel heard was a exhale of breathe as if someone had just been punched him in the gut .
" I..I.. I " was the only thing that came from the mans mouth for a moment and Castiel expexted he didn't think that was what he'd recieve from a man who wouldn't even look him in the eye . To be honest Castiel didn't expect that either .
" Hey man ...I mean Castiel ...do you mind if I call you Cas ? " the guy asked suddenly nervous from what Castiel could see from his suited body which was now shifting uncomfortably. Castiel wanted to be brave ,look him in his worldly green eyes and say firmly "no". But there was something in that shakey voice that sounded kind . Sounded real...like he wasn't pretending to sound nervous but really was. Castiel found himeslf unable to put him down . So he nodded
" Hey Cas could you look at me , cause this no eye-contact thing is kind of off-putting. " Despite himself this made Castiel feel his lip twitch and so he looked up at the man . His face and hair was all carmel and chocolate browns that made Castiel melt but he shook it off. This man equaled intruder not future romantic interest . This wasn't that porno Gabbe showed him when they were 15.
" I'm sorry for interrupting your job , that was uncool man " The man said so sincerely Castiel stepped back, this whole thing suddenly feeling too intimate . " I completely forgot that you were here today "
Castiel was putty . It was ridiclous . He felt all meltly . Meltly was messy . Cas wasn't messy .
" I forgive you . " Castiel said look back at his broom " so I'll just back to this then " . The word sounded hollow in his throat as though he was just reading off paper .
" Ahhh c'mon Cas I still owe you a drink for the trouble I cause you " the man said , looking at him smiling fondly . Castiel never wanted to forget that smile so he asked
"I'm sorry but I haven't a clue what your name is " . The mans eyes widened and his face broke into grin as if Cas had just told him that he approved of him .
" Dean . I'm Dean Winchester " He offered Cas a strong ,yet lean hand and Cas took it " I'm the manger of the bar , which I guess at this moment I should not sound so proud of "he looked around at the mess of the place but his smile never faultered but rather changed into something more prideful.
After a moment they parted hands. Castiel's felt cold without Dean's.
" I like the bar alot Dean " The name sounded good in his mouth . " Its original "
Dean looked at him like he just told him he had won the lottery . Castiel cursed him realising he needed to get back to work .
One more look at his face and he would do just that .
" Thanks for saying that Cas . So what about that drink huh ? " he raised an eyebrow playfully and Cas took in his face once more . Eyes,lips,nose freckles,eyes hair . Messy .
Quickly without noticing he fixed Deans hair at the top of his head over to the side , not really realising what he was doing. Dean looked at him shocked for a moment and Cas could feel his mouth open slightly agape .
" Oh my god , I'm so sorry . " He gave a hysterical laugh " It's just your hair " he pointed to it as if Dean didn't realised where it was "it was messy ...and I have this o.c.d thing " another laugh "doesn't every cleaner though ". God he was a freak .
Dean let out a cough and look down to the ground blushing .
" Cas would you please stop being so fucking endearing and take my offer for a drink ? " Dean blurted out shifting from toe to toe like a schoolboy giving a girl a valentine. Cas wanted to . He wanted a drink . He wanted to hear Dean curse again in exsparation . But already he felt the messy heat and the drawling words between his fingers and he knew that he couldn't . He was endearing now , but he knew what a mess he could be . He had even made Gabriel crack .
" I need to clean Dean . I'm sorry but ..." he looked at Dean and said the next three letters as if they explain the whole situation " o.c.d"
He must admit he wasn't expecting Dean to look as crestfallen as he did . Maybe it was because somebody like Castiel shouldn't be able to reject someone like Dean . Imperfection shouldn't be able to reject perfection. It wasn't right . They both stood there for second burning from heat and sneeky glances .
Then Dean looked as if he learned the secrets to the universe , and Cas swallowed his heart .
" What if I helped you clean ? " he stated more so than ask . Castiel stopped . No one had ever offer to help him clean before . Like ever . Everyone assumed he like to do it so much that it would almost be rude to ask to help .
Surprisingly he kind of liked the idea .
" If you'd like ,,," Dean interrupted him perfectly
" I love to , I mean I'm crap at cleaning . My Mom used to say I was .."
" Messy ? " Castiel chipped in . Castiel smiled a lazy smile at him and so he smile one right back before turning around and taking off the grey jacket of his suit .
" Where shall I start boss " Dean chirped .
An hour later Castiel found himself smiling as he scrubbed a wine stain off the tiled . He looked up to see if he was definitely alone only to find Dean Winchester smile back at him as he place a plastic bottle into the recycable section .
So he guess , he wasn't.
