Hey guys! New story (and I promise this will actually be going somewhere)
This was originally going to be a one-shot, but then I realized that I had so many ideas to pack into this.
Anyway, thanks for taking interest in this story. I hope you'll stick with it until the end! Now, without further ado...
He was there again. That same man. Stealing one of the roses from his rose bush. Why does he do this?
Castiel looked out the window on that early Saturday morning at the same blond, green-eyed man who came by every week and picked one of his red roses. It was always in the morning (before he went to work, probably) and he always stood there for a second before picking it, almost like he knew he shouldn't be doing this.
It was always consistent. Every Saturday, since the roses started blooming, he stopped and looked at them. He eventually settled on one he deemed as sufficient and picked it. He always looked ashamed after he picked one, but carried it off anyway.
"Why does this guy always pick my roses?" Castiel mumbled to himself.
Gabriel was washing dishes in the kitchen. He put down the one he was washing and glanced out the window. "Why don't you go out there and ask him instead of waiting by the window like a creep?" Gabriel leaned against the door frame and smirked at his younger brother.
"I'm not like you," Castiel growled. "I can't just go out there and-"
"Yes you can," Gabriel encouraged him. "Otherwise, you'll just spend another Saturday thinking about him."
Castiel scowled but listened to his older brother. "Fine." He stood up from his chair near the window and walked out the door.
The strange, blond man was walking away with one of his roses in hand when he got outside. "Hey!" Castiel yelled.
The man froze and turned around slowly.
"Who's the girl?" Castiel asked.
"What?" The man asked. "What are you talking about?" Castiel walked up to the man and gestured to the rose.
"The girl your bringing one of my roses to." Castiel crossed his arms. "I want to make sure she is pretty enough to warrant a flower theft," Castiel smirked, despite how nervous he was. He never just talked to anyone out of the blue. That was always Gabriel's department. He usually just waited until he was talked to, but even then he could barely hold a conversation.
"So you're coming with me?" The man seemed to be just about as nervous as Castiel was.
"Yup," Castiel said as he walked towards the man. "Besides, I needed to get out of the house anyway."
The man took a few hesitant steps forward and Castiel followed him. "What's your name?" The man asked after a few moments of silence.
"Castiel," he replied simply. "And you?"
"Dean. Dean Winchester."
Winchester? Why did that sound familiar? Castiel asked himself.
"So tell me, Dean Winchester," Castiel took a quick look at his surroundings and realized they weren't heading into town. No, they were going towards the church on the outskirts of town. "where are we going?"
"You wanted to meet the girl, didn't you?" Dean smiled gently before turning towards the church and opening the gate to the graveyard. "Well, here she is."
Castiel followed Dean around until they stopped in front of a headstone that read Mary Winchester- December 5th, 1954- November 2nd, 2017.
Castiel's mouth felt dry and he immediately felt like an ass. "Was- was this your mother?" He managed to rasp out.
Dean nodded. "Yeah. She was fighting cancer. Lung cancer to be specific." Dean gently lowered the bright rose onto her grave, which was surrounded by several other roses that he managed to pick from his garden.
"I'm so sorry," Castiel said. "I didn't mean to-"
"No, it's fine," Dean chuckled, but Castiel sensed sadness behind it. "I was the one stealing roses from your garden after all."
"Why do you? Pick my roses, I mean?"
Dean hesitated. "They have more meaning than store-bought flowers. If you pick the flowers and bring them to a grave, it just-" He sighed. "I don't know. It made sense in my head, but saying it out loud-"
"I know what you mean," Castiel interrupted. "When my mother passed away, I would always go to the greenhouse and steal just one flower and set it on her gravestone." He smiled sadly at the memory. "I think I did that because it reminded me of the risks and sacrifices she made for me and Gabriel."
Dean nodded slowly. "If you feel uncomfortable, you can leave."
"Do you want me to leave?" Castiel asked immediately. "I don't feel uncomfortable, but if you want me to leave, I can."
Dean shook his head. "No, you can stay." Dean sat down on the damp grass and patted the spot next to him. "Sit."
Castiel did as he was told and sat down next to Dean. "Tell me about her," Castiel said softly. "About your mother."
Dean glanced at him. "What do want to know?"
"Tell me-" Castiel thought for a moment. "-tell me some of her favorite things."
"Okay." Dean thought for a moment. "She liked cookouts with the family every Saturday in the summer." Dean smiled as he reminisced. "We would always have burgers and we always invited the Harvelles over. They were our next door neighbors. Jo, Ash, Sam, and I would always just run around aimlessly while the parents sat and talked about politics or something. Of course, when the four of us got older, we eventually joined in on the conversation."
Castiel nodded along as he listened to Dean tell him about his mother. He could tell, even when it was early April, he missed her.
"What about you?" Dean suddenly asked. "What happened to your mom?"
"Leukemia," Castiel said. "It was over three years ago. I hardly think about it if I can help it."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"Don't be," Castiel said. "At least you didn't hound a stranger you see picking a rose from your garden about a girl you think he's going to see."
Dean chuckled softly. "Your garden isn't a flower shop. I should be the one apologizing."
"So you're an all talk and no play kind of guy, huh?" Castiel smirked. When Dean gave him a confused look, he explained, "You keep saying you're going to apologize, but you haven't so far."
"Fine. I'm sorry for stealing your roses," Dean said. "Happy?"
"Yes, now I am," Castiel grinned.
It was silent for a moment, just the two of them sitting on the cold grass.
"We should probably get going," Dean said as he stood up. Castiel stood up next to him. "You know, even though you thought I was trying to woo a girl with your admittedly gorgeous flowers, it was actually nice to have someone to be with. Thanks."
Castiel blushed slightly. "You're welcome."
The two of them walked back towards Castiel's house in silence, neither of them having anything else to really say to each other. Castiel liked Dean. Even though their first meet wasn't really planned, it worked out okay. Hell, he might've just made a friend without his brother talking them up first.
Castiel's house came into view too quickly for his liking. He wished the walk would last at least a little longer. Oh well, He thought to himself. There's always next Saturday.
"I guess this is where I leave you," Dean said.
"Yeah," Castiel was reluctant to leave.
Dean also seemed hesitant to leave.
"You know," Castiel started. "if you ever need someone to go with you to visit your mom, I'm here on most Saturdays."
Dean flashed him a small smile. "I'll keep that in mind." He raised his hand and waved to Castiel. "I'll see you 'round, Cas."
"Cas?"
"Castiel's kind of a mouthful," Dean explained. "Cas is easier to say." He turned and walked into town.
"So, he hesitated to leave and when he left, you didn't stop him?" Gabriel asked as he scrubbed the coffee house counter. "You should have followed him. Or at least got his number."
"I know," Castiel said from the bar stool. "I just didn't want to come off too strong."
"Baby bro, I have to tell you something," Gabriel set down the rag. "Subtlety isn't your strong suit. You're more of the straightforward and upfront kind of guy." He dunked the rag in a bucket of water and wrung it out before scrubbing the counter again. "Trust me, I should know."
Castiel took a sip of his chai tea. "You're right," He admitted. "I'm not good at being subtle."
Gabriel chuckled. It was silent between the two of them for a minute before the bell above the door rang, signaling a customer. "Cas?"
Castiel turned around. It was Dean. "Hello, Dean," Castiel said and turned back to his tea.
Dean sat down on the bar stool next to him. "I'll have-" Dean thought for a moment. "-just black coffee."
Gabriel snapped and gave him a thumbs up. "You got it," He said and started brewing the coffee.
"So, what brings you here at two in the afternoon?" Dean asked Castiel.
"I could ask you the same thing," Castiel said.
"I'll have to work late tonight," Dean explained. "I had two sick calls earlier today, so I'll have to make up their work. You?"
Castiel pointed to Gabriel. "He's my brother," He explained.
"Guilty," Gabriel raised his hand and looked over at the two of them.
"And I live with him," Castiel continued. "It gets kind of boring at the house alone."
Dean nodded as Gabriel brought over his coffee. "What do I owe you?"
Gabriel smiled. "Shop's closing soon. It's on the house."
Dean raised his eyebrows but took out a ten dollar bill anyway. "Fine. Here's a tip."
"Thanks," Gabriel said as he brought his cleaning supplies to some of the other tables.
"So, where do you work?" Castiel asked.
"Winchester Motors. Downtown," Dean took a sip of his coffee and winced from the heat. "My dad used to own it, but he handed the business down to me when he retired."
"I knew your name sounded familiar," Castiel mumbled to himself.
"What about you?" Dean asked.
"Looking for work," Castiel sighed and swirled the leftover liquid in his cup. "Gabriel is the one who supports the two of us."
Dean nodded. "If my business wasn't starting to go under, I'd offer you a job."
Castiel gave Dean a confused look. "Going under?" He asked. "What's happening?"
Dean shrugged like it was nothing. "Loss of customers because of an article in January's newspaper. I chewed out a woman who didn't pay her bill and she went on a rant about our credibility. She wrote a letter to the editor complaining about how terrible our service was and all that." He took a sip of his coffee. "She lied, of course, but people will believe any rumor."
"Damn, that sucks," Castiel said.
"It was in early December when I chewed her out," Dean off-handly mentioned.
"So, shortly after your mother died, then," Castiel muttered.
Dean nodded. "I was still sour about my mom dying. Some of that shifted into anger and I lashed out at some of my customers. Been losing customers ever since."
It was silent between the two of them for a moment before Dean downed the rest of his coffee and stood up. "We need to come up with some different, less depressing topics to talk about." He gestured for Castiel to come with him. "Come on, let's get something to eat."
Castiel glanced at Gabriel swiftly, who gestured wildly for Castiel to follow Dean. Castiel took his advice and followed Dean out of the small shop.
Gabriel grinned to himself before going back to scrubbing counters. He loved his brother to death, but he needed to get out there sometime. It was about time someone showed interest in him.