"So, what are you spending your weekend on, Castiel?"
Castiel stood up straight, looking at the young man on the other side of the bar desk. He struggled for a second, but couldn't recall his name – he had only started working here yesterday, and this man had not been in yesterday.
"I'm not sure," he said, glancing up at the clock. "I don't have anything planned, so I'll probably end up watching a bunch of movies with my roommate or something. What about you?"
The man smirked and looked at him. Before, he had been cleaning the bar desk with a cloth, and he hadn't been looking at Castiel. "Don't remember my name, do you?"
"Sorry," Castiel said. "Names aren't my thing."
"That's fine. We just met. It's Adam," he said, with a friendly smile. "But I'm not really doing anything either. Probably having my girlfriend over, though, so that's nice."
Castiel nodded – he didn't care much, but he was grateful for the company. The bar was usually pretty empty at this time of day, Adam had told him earlier, but today it was almost completely empty, apart from two or three bums in the back. They didn't really leave, not before closing time, at least. Castiel couldn't help but feel bad for them, but it was business, so he wasn't complaining, even if they weren't his favorite customers.
"Is she nice?" he heard himself say. He didn't know why he was asking – probably just for the sake of company. "Your girlfriend?"
"Yeah, she's nice. I mean, she's a woman, and I don't get them, but she's a good one. Lord help me, I lived with my mom for my whole life, and I still don't understand women."
"Tell me about it," Castiel said with a soft smile. "I have a sister."
Right then, the door to the bar opened and a man in a suit stepped in. The suit was a rather nice black one, with a white button up underneath, and a black tie, although it was all wrinkled. But when Castiel's eyes got to the man's face, he had to literally force himself not to stare – he had a pair of full lips, looking incredibly inviting even to Castiel, who usually wasn't much into men. He hadn't shaved in maybe two or three days, giving him short stubble and his light brown hair was ruffled to perfection. But what really caught Castiel's attention were his eyes – they were the most perfect forest green colour, and that's just what Castiel could see from here.
"Right, well. Customer. I'll go put some of the dirty stuff in the dishwasher if I can fit more in there. You good by yourself?"
"I'm good," Castiel said, without taking his eyes off of the man. By now, the man was making his way to the bar desk and when he got there, he sat down by the end of the bar desk. Castiel walked over to him. "So what can I get you?"
The man looked at him with those green eyes, and Castiel was shocked with just how green they were up close. "Just a beer," he said, his voice rough.
"Bottle or glass?"
"Bottle is fine."
Castiel nodded, turning to the fridge behind him with the glass door, opening it and taking out a beer. He handed it to the other man, sitting it down on the bar desk in front of him and giving the man a soft smile. "So you look sorta wrecked. Anything interesting happen?"
The man looked up at him, as if debating whether or not to tell him. Castiel couldn't blame him – he was just a stranger, after all. But he couldn't help being interested.
"I had a fight with my brother last night," the man said. "He's my roommate, too – kicked me out, that ass. Had to sleep in my car. Had to go to work like this, can you believe that?"
"Unbelievable," Castiel agreed with a hint of sarcasm. The man smiled at him, and Castiel couldn't help smiling himself. "For what it's worth, I don't think it's so bad. Still looking sharp." The man actually laughed at that, and Castiel couldn't help but feeling a bit proud of himself. His smile widened. "So anyway. What did you and your brother fight about?"
The man had stopped laughing and now looked down at his beer bottle. "It was actually really stupid. We started arguing about where to go for dinner, and it ended up in this. Our dad died recently, and the funeral was yesterday, so we're both kind of on edge, you know? Fighting over everything."
Castiel nodded, even though he didn't quite understand. When his parents died, he hadn't really fought with his younger brother and sister. Then again, they hadn't been around each other much, so there hadn't really been the opportunity for it, either.
"Right," Castiel said, still nodding softly. "Well, that's just how it is after a parent dies, I guess. Wasn't like that with me and my siblings, though, but we're unusual."
"How so?"
"Well, maybe not unusual. We're just not very close, at all. I barely ever see them, other than for Christmas and maybe at someone's birthday."
"Why not? Family's like one of the most important things there is, dude."
"Yeah, well," Castiel said, scratching his arm. He glanced up at the clock on the wall, then looking back at the man in front of him. "Some of us have to go away for college, and then sometimes there's this wall built between them and their family. Which kinda sucks, but what are you gonna do, you know?"
"Right. What are you gonna do," the man repeated, drinking the last of his beer. "Can I have another of these?"
"Coming right up," Castiel said, turned back to the fridge and took out another beer. Popping the cap, he handed it to the other man, closed the fridge and turned back to him. "So," he started, resting his, now crossed, arms on the bar desk, and putting most of his weight on his arms. "You sticking around?"
"Nah," the man said. "Just for this last beer. I gotta get back home, see if I can talk Sam into letting me back in. How much do I owe you?"
"Technically, 24 bucks, but I'll settle for a 20 and the talk."
The man pulled out his wallet, taking out a 20-dollar bill and handing it to Castiel. "So nice of you," he said with a hint of sarcasm, and Castiel couldn't help but smirk as he took the 20-dollar bill.
"You're not gonna drive, though, are you? You've been drinking!" Castiel exclaimed in mock-horror with a hand on his chest and a gasp. The man grinned and shook his head.
"No, don't worry. Me and Sam live right down the street. I'm walking."
Castiel nodded with a sincere smile on his face. "Maybe I'll see you around, then. Drop by sometime."
"Dude, I'm in here almost every day. Haven't seen you before though, why's that?"
"Well, you probably wouldn't remember me if you did. I blend well. But actually, I just started working here yesterday, so that's probably the reason."
The man pursed his lips, as if disapproving, but nodded. Then he stuck out his free hand for Castiel to take. "Well, since we'll probably be seeing a lot of each other. I'm Dean. And you are?"
"Castiel," he said as they shook hands and then let go. He didn't really like his name – he would have preferred to have a normal name, instead of one no one's ever heard of before.
"Castiel," Dean repeated. "Never heard that one before. It's cool, though. Well," he added, and took the last sip of his second beer and got out of the chair. "I'll be going. See ya, Castiel."
"Yeah. See you later, Dean."
And Dean left the bar again, leaving the bottles behind. Something felt oddly different to Castiel as Dean left, but he shrugged it off. It was probably nothing.
So he picked up the two bottles, putting them aside on the bar desk for Adam to take to the container out back. He sighed inwardly as one of the bums from the back walked up to the bar, but smiled and gave him what he wanted.
AN:
Right. First Destiel fic. First SPN fic, actually. Hope people will read it.
So, well, review? For all my love? Because I'll love you forever and ever.
Lea