The air was cold and crisp as Castiel Novak stepped outside of the Starbucks, coffee in hand as he stepped onto the wet pavement of the sidewalk. He trudged down the sidewalk, heading to his apartment complex. He greeted Amara on his way there, and bought one of her cups of lemonade, although it always tasted terrible. He loved to make the little girl smile. It was so nice; she had a beautiful smile, really. It's too bad that her homemade lemonade tasted so awful.
He stepped up to his apartment door and heard the satisfying click of the key turning in the lock. He opened the door and the wonderful scent of home filled his nostrils. He sighed, setting his coffee down on the couch table and sitting down, flicking on the TV. The news reporter looked ecstatic, and as he actually listened he could see why. A fire is blazing in the background, and the reporter was actually smiling as she droned on about this being the third fire this month and all that jazz. He angrily switched off the TV and he settled into the couch.
Why…out of every day….did it have to be this one? He'd known it would happen, of course. When you meet your soulmate, you begin to age. Castiel, around a couple centuries or so ago, decided he'd like to stay young forever. Besides, he liked solitude. So when he'd met his soulmate...
But maybe he was tired of that. Maybe he…no. No. That…that wouldn't happen. The more time this incarnation spent around Castiel, the more he fell in love with him, the more he would remember. The more likely he was to remember all of the things Castiel had done before he'd… without mercy. If he wasn't...maybe he felt bad about that. This incarnation had…done something to him, made him feel things ten billion times stronger than when they had first met. That very first time…that very first time...no. Can't lose focus now. Can't.
Castiel shook himself out of his thought and got up from the couch. Walking over to the fridge, he pulled out the leftover pizza from last night and put it in the microwave. He went into his bedroom to change out of his dress suit before he remembered he had an appointment at 3:00 with Pamela. He looked down at himself, clad in his bee pajamas.
"Ah, fuck it."
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"I like your clothes, Mr. Novak."
"Screw you."
Pamela laughed. "Yeah, thanks but no thanks. I have a fiancée, remember?"
Pamela smiled fondly at Castiel. They had been friends since his first dentist appointment here. He should have hated her, what with all of her sexual inneudos and constant flirting. But instead, he found he liked her personality.
"So how's it going?" Pamela said suddenly, pulling him out of his own thoughts.
He frowned. "What?"
"You know." Pamela smirked knowingly. "The search for Mr. Perfect." Castiel rolled his eyes.
"Please. No."
Pamela flinched, obviously shocked by Castiel's tone, but she nevertheless raised her hands in surrender. "Alright then. What do you want to talk about, then?"
"Nothing. I want to go home and order pizza and binge-watch Doctor Who."
Pamela laughed. "Sorry, hun, but you're stuck with me for an hour. Might as well talk about something."
"You're a terrible therapist."
"And you're a terrible patient."
They were silent for a while.
"Dean."
"Excuse me?"
"Dean. His name is Dean."
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Dean was tired. His head was pounding and he didn't think the fluorescent light of the coffee shop was helping. Head resting against the cold tile of the wall, eyes closed, he waited for his coffee to brew. He needed the caffeine, though.
5:30 am, he thought, really was too early.
Usually he didn't mind working the morning shift. In fact, he found himself enjoying working early, witnessing the city and its people slowly coming to life. It was a nice and relaxing way to start off the day. It helped that Dean had been used to little sleep. He usually only got around three to four hours per night. Yesterday had been quite a night, though. He didn't even get to have a full hour of shut eye. He thought he could handle it, but clearly he had overestimated himself. But come on, Sammy's birthday? He couldn't have missed it, morning shift or no.
The barista finished with his cup and slid it across the counter into Dean already outstretched palm. He sipped it, not caring that it was way too hot and that it had too much sugar in it.
"Rough night?"
Dean opened his eyes, smiling sheepily when he saw Charlie leaning against the counter, an amused smile on her lips.
"Morning Charlie. I had a good night, yeah." He smirked.
Dean had moved to Sacramento, California about three weeks ago. He had to admit he had been nothing if not lucky. He had had little to no difficulties finding an apartment, in a nice neighbourhood, and found a steady job only a week later. He had just gone for a walk through town when he noticed the "For Hire" sign outside a Starbucks. It was love at first sight. Up until that moment, Dean had not yet thought about what he wanted to do here. But the coffee shop was only a couple of blocks away from his new apartment, and after talking to her for a while, he thought that the owner Charlie Bradbury seemed nice enough. He started his new job the next day.
Like he had expected, Charlie and him hit it off. While technically she was his boss, she was still like the little sister he never knew he wanted. His love for her only increased after a short conversation he had had with her not too long ago. He'd admitted that he'd never watched Lord Of the Rings, to which Charlie was aghast.
"No. No. No. Hells no. I will NOT allow this. Dean, you're coming over to my place tonight. We're gonna have a marathon."
"Charlie, I have work tomorrow!"
"You get the day off, then. My house at 5:00, sharp. Don't be late!"
And of course, Dean couldn't say no.
Taking a seat next to the window, Dean thought about his new found life. It wasn't only Charlie he got on well with. Dean hadn't always been a people person, but he got along with most people he had met here. They seemed to like him well enough.
Of course, the same could not be said for Dean's neighbor, Castiel Novak.
Dean had to smile just thinking about it. He chuckled.
He didn't really know what to make of the guy. He had been the first person on his floor that he had met.
The guy wasn't unattractive. Far from it, in fact. He was…angelic. He had stunning blue eyes, broad shoulders, and muscles. His dark brown hair spiked up in all different directions. Runner's body. Nice thighs. Good ass. Long, slender fingers had fiddled with his suit buttons when Dean caught a fleeting glimpse of him in the hallway.
He didn't even get his name until his next-door-neighbor Bela Talbot told him.
"His name is Castiel Novak," she'd told him. "And he's an asshole."
That being said, he'd never actually met him before.
By the time 12 o' clock rolled around, Dean was already feeling pretty worn out. He just wanted to go home and binge watch Doctor Who and eat pizza.
He was grateful his shift was almost over. The doorbell chimed, and in walked his last customer.
Dean started talking before he looked up. "Hi, welcome to Starbucks, may I take your—"
He looked up, and he did a double take.
Castiel Novak. Huh.
"Hello..." He squinted at Dean's nametag. "Dean. I'd like a caramel frappucino with extra whipped cream and caramel."
"Sure thing." He began to prepare the order while thinking of something to say. "So, eh…Castiel Novak?"
Silence. Then, "Yes. How did you know?"
"Oh, um. Well, I think we're on the same floor. Of…"
"Oh, I see. You're the new neighbor that just moved in."
Dean nodded, probably more enthusiastically than he should have. "Yeah."
"Where did you move from?" Castiel asked as Dean put more whipped cream into his cup.
"Oh…um, Lebanon, Kansas."
Castiel made an approving noise, and nothing more was said as Dean put the final touches on his coffee masterpiece and handed it over to Castiel. "Castiel, huh? Interesting name."
"Yes, well. My parents, they were, ah. Very…religious."
"Ah. Were you born on a Thursday?"
He honestly didn't expect an answer, but Castiel replied with, "As a matter of fact, yes. I was."
Dean grinned. "Cool beans."
Castiel tilted his head and squinted his eyes. "I'm sorry, what?"
Dean shrugged. "It's just an expression. Enjoy your coffee."
Castiel just nodded and took his leave, coffee in hand as he exited the shop.
Dean smiled.
Before Castiel stepped into his car, he cast a glance back at Dean, who quickly tried to make it look as though he was not checking his ass out. He failed.
Castiel smiled back. Small.