Disclaimer: AU of course. Takes place after the episode Soul Survivor in Season 10. This may end up being a continuation of my fic 'Emotions are dangerous things' which is also in progress, so we'll see how the two end of connecting. Anyone want to give me some pointers as to where Cas and Hannah should go on their date? Anything that two angels need to experience? Let me know in your review! And please review and let me know if you like my writing! I own nothing of course.
In the days after Sam succeeded in bringing Dean back from being a demon, Castiel and Hannah took a break from hunting rogues to look after the exhausted Winchesters. With replenished grace, Castiel was feeling stronger than he had in a long time. He regretted that it had cost Adina her life, but as he pulled his car up to the bunker, he spotted a lone figure standing in the field across and was reminded of why Adina had to die.
Hannah turned to face him as Castiel got out of the car carrying a bag of food he'd gone into town for. "Have you been out here long?" he asked as he joined her in the field. She looked at him, a gentle breeze blowing through her dark brown hair.
"I was thinking about grass," she told him. She turned back towards the field, and he followed her gaze to the prairie. A wire fence a few yards out cut across the prairie signifying the start of some farmer's property. "How it continues to grow despite the human's attempt to corral it with fences and walls. Even in the worst disasters, grass is resilient."
"It is," Castiel agreed. He watched how she gazed at the sea of grass that stretched far beyond the horizon like a rippling yellow ocean. "And much of the planet is covered in it. It is most frequent in places like this, the Midwest."
She seemed fascinated with the concept of grass, and it only made him smile. She looked at him, cocking her head in confusion. "Have I done something amusing?"
"No," he responded. "Your fascination with the natural world, I share it. I am partial towards bees."
"Bees?" She raised a brow, eager to hear more.
"Yes," he said. "You see the natural world is almost like heaven. Every creature and every plant has its purpose here. There is order, there is law, and even though humans have managed to disrupt that order, it remains constant. Bees and grass, they both fit into this order."
"I wish we had time to explore this concept," Hannah said. "I want to see more grass."
Castiel thought about that. He regretted that his wings were broken, and she'd hurt hers in the fall. They could have flown to every corner of the world to help her see.
"I remember your reluctance to experience chaos," he pointed out. "I was like that too before I spent a lot of time down here. I know how hard it is to appreciate a place like Earth and these people, humans when all you've ever known is the perfect order of heaven."
"Chaos breeds angels like Metatron," Hannah reminded him. "Without order, without obedience, what do we have, Castiel? This planet… it's so strange down here. The humans, I don't understand them. I wish I could just stay in the grass and not interact with them."
Castiel sighed. She was still thinking like an angel. Her connection to heaven was still strong. Being down here overwhelmed her. He understood because even as long as he'd been down here, it still overwhelmed him. There was still so much he didn't understand. He decided then that he needed to show her the truth about the world. He needed to know why he desperately tried to walk the line between his fellow angels and humanity. Why he cared so much about these strange, flawed beings when he could just be a good obedient angel, like Hannah, and vow never to disobey again.
"I'll show you," he told her after a pause. She'd turned her attention back to the grass again, and she whirled to look at him. "I want to show you what I see in humanity. And on this planet. There is plenty of bad, but there is plenty of good too. There is enough good to cause men like Sam and Dean to continually give their lives to preserve it. It's their home; they feel close to it. And there is pleasure to be had down here."
"Pleasure?" Hannah questioned. "What kind of pleasure? Is there not also pain?"
"There is pain," Castiel confirmed. "And grief and sorrow and jealousy and greed. But there is also pleasure and love. There are burgers and pie and rock music down here."
"And those things are pleasurable?" She looked at him with skepticism. "Burgers and music?"
Castiel nodded. "Yes," he said. "Humans create things like burgers and music as a way to express themselves. To make sense of what they see and hear and feel around them. To convey emotion."
"Angels have no use for emotions, you said so yourself," Hannah said. "You called them dangerous temptations."
Castiel sighed again. He wished he hadn't said that to her. He'd been trying to spare her feelings. Feelings that neither one of them really understood. "I was wrong," he said at last. "Feelings, they are human things. But it's not hard to get caught up in them. I've learned to understand some, but not everything."
"What feelings have you experienced?" she stepped closer to him, gazing up at him. Her proximity certainly made him feel. What exactly he was feeling, he wasn't sure of, but it was something he felt compelled to explore more of.
"I…" he felt a loss for words. "I've felt certain emotions. Loyalty and friendship. And I've felt despair, helplessness, grief, pain, and many others."
"I want to feel those too," she insisted. "How do I?"
"Go back your belongings," he instructed. "I have to deliver this bag of grease and cholesterol to Sam and Dean, and maybe they will have suggestions on where we could go. I have somethings I would want you to experience."
"Like burgers and music?" she asked. He nodded.
"Yes we will have those," he replied as they turned to walk back towards the entrance of the bunker. "And we will most likely have pie as well. And we will probably be required to imbibe a generous amount of beer."
With that they both entered the bunker and descended the stairs into the main room where they found Sam and Dean sitting at the table, Sam buried in his laptop while Dean nursed a steaming cup of coffee.
"I will get my things," Hannah announced as she headed down the hall, acknowledging the brothers as she passed them. Now they both eyed Castiel curiously as he presented them with the bag of food he'd brought them.
"Ahh sausage Mcmuffins, just what I needed Cas," Dean dove quickly into the bag, quickly swatting Sam's hand away as his younger brother attempted to claim some breakfast."
"I need your advice," Castiel explained as he sat down in between them and waited for Dean to take what he wanted before finally surrendering the rest of the bag's contents to Sam. "I want to show Hannah pleasure."
Sam promptly coughed, and shot Dean a startled, confused, almost frightened look while Dean craned his head up at Castiel and smirked, barely holding back a chuckle. "what exactly are you asking us Cas?" he prompted. "Cuz there are so many routes I could go with that one."
"I don't understand," Castiel frowned at their reactions. "I want to show her things about this world that humans find pleasurable. Like burgers."
Sam let out a breath of sheer relief, "thank god he's not asking what I thought he was asking," he mumbled thankfully as he bit into his sandwich.
"Oh, so you want to take her on a date?" Dean questioned.
"Hannah is feeling overwhelmed, Dean," Castiel explained, his tone of voice imploring Dean to take him seriously. "Overwhelmed with being on Earth, she doesn't understand the chaos down here. She doesn't like fences. I want to show her some things about Earth she will like. Since you two are far more acquainted with this planet than I am, I was hoping you could give me suggestions."
"Okay whatever, Romeo," Dean said. "But if you plan on taking her anywhere, you might want to change your look."
"My look?" Castiel glanced down at his trenchcoat and blue tie. "But this is my attire. And she has her own attire."
"Sam go help Hannah," Dean demanded. Sam looked at him indignantly.
"What? Why me?"
"Because I need to teach Cas a few tricks," Dean explained. "I think Charlie left some things here and go help her do her hair or something."
"Dean! Dude, come on, I'm not some teenage girl's makeup queen." Dean only smirked at that and shrugged.
"Could have fooled me, Princess," he teased. "Hurry up, don't be primping in front of the mirror for hours with each other either."
Sam groaned and got up, hurrying down the hall to do as Dean requested. Castiel sat down and faced Dean. "I don't understand," he said. "I only want to show her some things."
"Well, first you have to take her some places you think she'll like," Dean explained. He got up and grabbed Cas by the arm, hauling him down towards his bedroom and started rummaging through his belongings. Castiel watched in confusion.
"She likes grass," Castiel explained. "She wants to see more grass."
"Well we're in the middle of Kansas, we have plenty of that," he said. "But you know what, if you want to give her a grand tour, you should probably take her somewhere on the coast. It's a bit of a drive, but you're an angel, just make sure you stop every once in a while to get gas in that junker of yours."
Dean shoved a pair of nice slacks and a blazer at Castiel. He also shoved a suit at him. "That one's for during the day while your traveling, and the other ones for going out to eat."
Castiel had never been so confused in his life. What had he gotten himself into? He hadn't realized there was a whole ritual associated with this.
"I only want to show her the world," Castiel explained, "Or at least a small portion of it as I can't go very far without my wings."
"Hey that's not bad," Dean said with a smirk. He sighed when he realized Castiel didn't understand.
"You said you want to show her the world. Most women would find that pretty romantic. But given that Hannah is an angel too she'd probably be just as clueless." He pulled Castiel over and sat him down on the edge of his bed, pulling up a chair to sit next to him.
"Okay look. You're a man, she's a woman, call it what you will, but you two are going on a date. It is what it is."
"Okay very well," Castiel relented with a sigh. He hadn't thought of it as a date, but if Dean said it was, then it must be, and whatever it was, he wanted Hannah to enjoy it. And he said as much to Dean. "I want her to see what I see on Earth and Humans and chaos and free will," he explained. "I want her to understand why I choose to stay here; I want her to experience what I've experienced since being associated with you and your brother. You two have shown me what it's truly like down here. You've shown me things like friendship, family, and how to care for others. I only want to teach Hannah what you've taught me."
Dean looked him in the eyes and smirked, "yeah I guess it had to happen to you too," he murmured. "Yeah you think it's going to be some kind of teaching thing, but I guarantee you it will turn into more, that is if you do exactly as I say. Dress nice, open the door for her, give her your coat when she gets cold, and when it feels right, kiss her."
"Kiss her?" Castiel thought about that. He had to admit that in the days he'd spent traveling and working with her, getting closer to her, he had thought about what it would be like. He'd kept his personal feelings at bay, had stayed focused on the mission, and had implored her to do the same, but now? They didn't have a mission at the moment. The rogue angels were still out there, and his grace was still diminishing. And Dean still had the mark. But for now, for right now, there was nothing to focus on, except for her. "How will I know when it's right?"
Dean frowned as he thought on that. "You'll just know," he said. "Look Cas, I've only seen the woman once or twice, but I can see the way you two look at each other. So just… go with the flow. Show her some sights and sounds. Sam and I will fix you up with an itinerary; you two should just hit the road for a few days."
"How will hitting asphalt help matters?"
"I'll just pretend I didn't hear that," Dean groaned. "Come on, put that on and get ready." With that, he headed out and left the angel alone with his thoughts.