Title: The Summer and the Bees
Fandom: Supernatural
Characters: Dean Winchester, Castiel
Prompt: Destiel Writers and Readers (January 2017) Quotations Challenge. Week 1: "There are only two ways to live. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." – Albert Einstein
Word Count: 1,230
Rating: K+ (Minor action violence without serious injury, may contain mild coarse language, should not contain any adult themes.)
Genre: General, Friendship, Romance
Summary: Dean dislikes summer. Castiel loves watching the bees.
Author's Notes: First Meetings; Human AU.
Disclaimer: I own nothing …
Dean Winchester disliked summer. And spring, come to think of it. Actually, he didn't dislike the two seasons. He hated them. At least, while he was living through them. I mean, sure they were warm and he didn't have to factor in the time it took to scrape frost and brush snow off his baby every time he needed to drive anywhere, but at what cost?
As he walked through the park he scowled. All the little buzzing bastards slowly bumbling annoyingly from one brightly coloured flower to the next, one occasionally zipping around his head or past his ear in a frantic effort to find yet another flower.
Blech.
Dean swatted at the little jerks when they got too close. He really wouldn't normally bother with the park, but it was the quickest route to get from the garage, where he worked as a mechanic, to the cheap little restaurant where he met his little brother for lunch twice a week – on Tuesdays and Thursdays. (Today was a Thursday.) They could, in theory, choose another restaurant but the location was also fairly close to the university where Sam had secured a full ride scholarship to study pre-law, plus it was cheap enough for the younger Winchester brother to afford to pay for his own meal (despite Dean's offers to cover the tab), and the fact that it had a menu just diverse enough to cater to Dean's love of red meat and pie and Sammy's penchant for what Dean referred to as "rabbit food".
Dean turned onto a patch of grass in his hurry to get out of the park. Three steps in, his foot snagged on something and he pitched forward, landing in a heap. From his side he suddenly hears a deep, gravelly voice.
"Don't you just love watching the bees?"
Castiel Novak liked summer. He liked spring as well. Actually, he like all four seasons. Each of them had their own unique properties and quirks. He loved watching the seasons pass, as though they were a living entity continuously living and thriving and shifting and dying. All before starting the process in a sort of visible display of reincarnation, a concept many disregarded as fantasy.
One of the things he loved witnessing most about the rebirth of the world every year was the bees. They were amazing. It was once believed that their ability to fly should've been impossible. In truth, it was merely inefficient in the aerodynamic sense. Their two wings operate independently of one another, and it was discovered their flight is more the result of brute force than aerodynamics. And yet, they are still capable of maneuvering quite well in the air.(1) Castiel sighed as he lay down in the grass, watching the bees going about their business travelling from one flower to another.
He loved to come to this park on his lunch breaks, when possible, and just relax. It was located close enough to the university where he majored in Religious Studies (and minored in English – poetry specifically). His classmates found it amusing that someone who was named after an angel would choose to major in Religious Studies. They were even more amused when he told them that, not only were all of his siblings also named after angels, but their father was actually named Chuck. Castiel was amused right along with them. Especially at the reactions to the fact that he had an older brother named Lucifer – who had a twin that was name Michael. Understandably, the two bickered constantly… Michael turned out to be a Republican and Lucifer just couldn't forgive him.
He should call his siblings. It had been a while since he'd talked to the two eldest Novak siblings, or Gabriel, Azrael, and Jophiel.(2) (Though, if Castiel were perfectly honest, Jophiel could go suck a bad lemon, or maybe drink vanilla extract every morning.) And he was interested to see how the younger twins, little Ambriel and Samandriel, made out with their middle school science fair project. The two had come as a complete surprise to their parents as they'd been born a full ten years after Castiel himself.
He was interrupted from his musings when someone tripped over his outstretch legs and ended up sprawled out next to him, face down and with their legs getting tangled. He blinked as he took in the strikingly beautiful profile of the young man next to him. His arms were well defined, but not to the extent of a body builder, and his face was dusted with an adorable assortment of freckles. Castiel was momently distracted by the man's full lips and when said man pushed himself up a bit he said the first thing that popped into his head.
"Don't you just love watching the bees?"
The guy who probably hadn't fallen from heaven, maybe, groaned and turned a scowl at him. Even the man's eyes were pretty. They matched the grass perfectly. He looked about to say something snarky when he paused and blinked before clearing his throat. "Uh, not really," he replied in a tight voice.
"Hmm. Pity," Castiel said and turned back to the bees with a soft smile. "I find it very relaxing. I am constantly amazed by them."
"Hmph," the man breathed out. "I am constantly annoyed by them," he said as he rolled over and untangled their legs. "What could possibly be so amazing about them?"
"They spend their days gather nectar from one flower to the next, bring it all the way back to their hive, and work together as an entire unit to create beeswax and honey. Both of which are actually incredibly important to our society. And at the same time, without even meaning to, they pollinate all the flowers and the trees they come in contact with, helping the plants to reproduce and flourish." Castiel turned to the beautiful man with the green eyes. "Doesn't any of that amaze you?"
The two stared into each other's eyes.
The man cleared his throat and wiped his lower lip. "W-well, when you put it like that," he grinned charmingly. Castiel grinned back.
They continued to stare at each other until the sound of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" emanated from the man's pocket.
"Crap," the man cursed lowly before answering. He talked to someone he referred to as "Sammy" for a short time and hung up. "Sorry, I'm late to meet my brother," the man said as he stood up. Castiel sat and looked up at the man. "So, you come here often?" The man winced. "I actually didn't mean for that so sound like a cheesy pick-up line."
Castiel chuckled. "I do, as often as I can at any rate. Weather and my schedule permitting."
The man grinned again. "So, you got a name, Stranger? Or should I just call you Blue Eyes on account of those angel-blues?"
Castiel laughed. Green Eyes wasn't too far off the mark with that comment. "People I don't like call me Steve," he replied and stood.
"And people you do like?" Green Eyes leaned in.
"What makes you think I like you?" he retorted and walked away, a teasing smile on his lips.
"My name's Dean," Green Eyes called after him. "Winchester. In case you were wondering."
Castiel waved over his shoulder. He'd be seeing Dean Winchester again. He just knew it.
- 30 -
The End
Footnotes:
(1) information on bees from the article "Flight Of The Bumble Bee Is Based More On Brute Force Than Aerodynamic Efficiency" on the Science Daily website.
(2) Azrael (in theology) is the angel of death and retribution; Jophiel, in the SPN episode 11.18 "Hell's Angel", refers to Castiel as "Heaven's most wanted" and shows an instant and obvious dislike for Castiel.
Completed: January 9, 2017