Of Love and Macbeth, Chapter 2
Author's Note: Hey guys! Here is chapter two of my story! (You finally get to meet the rest of the cast/crew, and some actual PLOT is introduced, Yeeeyyyyy!)
As always, comments/favorites/reviews are very very very welcome!
Disclaimer: I do not /unfortunately/ own any of these characters!
Sam woke up to the sound of cabinets being loudly opened and closed. Blearily, he climbed out of bed and made his way down the hallway to the kitchen. He rubbed his eye wearily, and saw a miracle.
Dean was up before noon.
From the look of it, it seemed like he was attempting to make something to pass off as breakfast, though given the charred remains of what had once appeared to be eggs; it wasn't going well.
"Dean, what are you doing up, the clock still says A.M.?"
Crap, he caught me. Dean thought as he turned to face his younger brother. He was hoping to get out of the house before Sam had noticed; not that he was doing anything wrong of course, Sammy would just ask too many questions, he justified. Nothing weird about hanging out at an old theater on his day off. Nothing at all.
"Oh, uh, I figured I would go for a drive in the Impala, the weather is great today!" He said lamely, of course Sam saw immediately through his poor excuse.
"Dean, it's raining."
Shit.
"Yeah, well nothing like a good drive in the rain! So, uh, I'll be off Sam! You don't mind cleaning this up for me do you? Okaythanksbye!" Dean yelled as he hurried out the door and jumped into the car, taking off down the street.
Sam looked at where Dean had been standing, seemingly seconds ago. Well that was strange….
Dean didn't look in the rearview mirror until he was almost halfway to the theater. It's not like Sam would have minded if Dean told him where he was going, it was just easier than trying to explain "hey, remember how I was late getting home? Well my car broke down in front of this old theater in the middle of nowhere, and I met this guy there, so I'm gonna go back hang out with him today, I promise not to get kidnapped or anything!" It still seemed strange to him when he thought about it!
I mean, it's not like he and Castiel were friends or anything, they had probably spent a total of 15 minutes together, but for some reason he wanted to go back already! Geeze, what happened to -cool-unattached-one-night-stand-never-call-again Dean Winchester?! Dean told himself that it was different, after all, those were for relationships and girls and stuff like that, Castiel was just someone he wanted to hang out with, maybe be friends with. Plus he was a dude, it was totally different.
Snapping out of his thoughts, Dean noticed that he had managed to make it to the Theater's street. Pulling up, Dean could see that the neighborhood wasn't nearly as bad as it had seemed in the dark. The area was old, but still pretty well kept. He could make out several other shops and businesses in the surrounding buildings as well. The theater itself was still by far the largest building on the block. In the light, he could make out several floors, and an inscription of the doorway reading "Theatrum Angelorum" which he was able to translate using his few classes of Latin in high school as "Theater of the Angels."
Dean opened the door and walked in, however this time was much different. Unlike last night, the lobby was brightly lit by rows of chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, which was vaulted, and higher than Dean had been lead to believe in the dark. The floors and walls were all made out of white marble, walkways covered with thick, red carpets, looking very much like an old palace.
Another thing he noticed was the noise. He was immediately assaulted from all sides by the sound of singing, arguing, lines being rehearsed, the sound of saws and hammers and people. As he looked around he could see several groups of people moving what looked like bits of scenery and props, as well as sitting in the hallway or walking around. Some paused and looked at him, probably trying to figure out why he was there, and then hurriedly continuing their current tasks.
One such person was a young red-headed girl, who broke off from her group and walked up to Dean.
"Hello, I'm Anna, if you're here to see a show, I'm afraid our next performance isn't for another few weeks, though I could give you a program of our events if you would like!" She said cheerfully. Up close Dean could see she had nice, brown eyes, and seemed very friendly.
Dean realized she was probably waiting for an answer. "No, uh, I met someone here last night, Castiel? He said it was okay if I wanted to stop bye today…" He said awkwardly.
"Oh, you must be Dean than!" She said, eyes glowing. "Castiel told us all about you this morning! And considering the only time he normally talks is to remind somebody about the rules, that's saying something! Anyways, he's probably backstage if you want to follow me!" She said, grabbing his arm and leading him down the hallway before he had a chance to answer.
Anna pulled him deeper into the theater, through enough side doors and passageways to make Dean feel fairly certain he would never be able to find his way out. They passed by countless rooms of people and props, at one point Dean was pretty sure they had passed by the female dressing room, but Anna had pulled him away firmly before he could properly investigate. As they continued downwards the sound got even louder -like Dante's inferno- Dean thought. When they had been walking long enough for Dean to start to think that maybe following a stranger in a place he barely knew was possibly a bad idea, Anna suddenly jerked to a stop in front of yet another door.
Following her through, Dean stepped into what seemed to be a large lounge. There were several large couches and chairs propped around a television, where a group of men seemed to be trying to combine video games, wrestling, and cramming as much candy as possible in their mouths. At another table, he could make out a group of girls prissily checking their hair and makeup in a mirror. Dean saw someone moving in the corner of his eye, and turned to find Castiel walking towards him and Anna.
"Hello Dean." Castiel said gravely. "I am glad you managed to find your way here, thank you for showing him." He said, aiming the last part of his greeting at Anna.
In the light, Dean was able to get a better look at Castiel than he had the night before. He was wearing the same suit, backwards tie, and trench coat that he had been wearing when they had me. Dean could see he was younger than he thought, Deans age, if not a year or so younger, but he had faint worry lines around his eyes. Speaking of his eyes, they seemed even bluer in the light than before, if that was possible….and they were currently staring…right back at him… Dean quickly looked away and at Anna, who eyed them strangely.
"Oh come on Cas, it's not like I would let anything happen to him, especially after you told us so much about him!" Anna teased, ruffling Castiel's already messy hair.
"I did not tell you al-" Castiel's argument was cut off by one of the guys who had been playing video games walking over. He was much shorter than Dean, with brown hair that had been styled back, and golden green eyes. From what Dean could remember, he was the one throwing candy when Dean had walked in.
"Hey there Castiel! Who's your friend?" The man said mischievously, slinging his arm around Castiel's shoulder shoulders, who looked very uncomfortable.
"Hello Gabriel. This is Dean Winchester." Castiel replied shortly, shrugging off Gabriel's arm.
"Ah, Dean-o, we've heard a lot about you!" Gabriel said grinning, "Hey guys!" He called out to the remaining group, "This is Cas' friend Dean, from yesterday!"
The remaining guys from the television came over, three in total. The first was tall and thin, with short blond hair and a slight beard. He was dressed in a v-neck shirt with a band logo, and what looked like designer jeans. "Ah, so you're Dean, nice to meet you. I'm Balthazar" He said coyly, strong English accent tinting his words.
"The one that hates Titanic," Dean affirmed, Castiel's comment about the movie from last night finally clicking.
"Oh god that movie, and that song was awful!" Balthazar moaned
"Hey it's not all bad, I mean, WInslet's rack?" Dean replied, smirking.
"I like you Dean." Balthazar said, shaking Dean's hand.
The next man took his time introducing himself. Like Balthazar, he was also blonde, though slightly shorter and stockier. Like Gabriel, he seemed like he was up to no good, though in a much more sinister way. He took his time observing Dean, his eyes slowly looking him over. "So you're the famous Dean, happy we met so soon." The man said lazily, though Dean could tell he was much more cunning than he let on. "My name is Lucifer."
Dean choked a bit in surprise. "Seriously, your name is Lucifer? Like, the devil?"
"Hey, we can't all be perfect little angels like Cassie here, can we?" He said smirking. "I agree with you Balthazar, I think we'll keep him." Lucifer said, still staring at Dean.
The final man stepped lightly in front of Lucifer, blocking his view from Dean. He grabbed his hand and shook it sincerely. "I am very pleased to meet you. I am happy that you have befriended Castiel, and I look forward to knowing more about you. From what Castiel has told us you seem like a fine young man. Please do not be a bad influence on my brother." He said. Meanwhile, Castiel was looking like he wished he was able to magically disappear.
Dean looked back at the man, not sure if he was kidding or not. He tentatively shook the man's hand in return.
"I am Michael, by the way. In case you couldn't tell, Gabriel, Lucifer are my brothers. I apologize for their behavior. Anna is our sister, and Castiel is also our brother, and the youngest out of our family."
"Huh, you guys really take the "Theater of The Angel's" thing seriously, don't you?" Dean said surprised. He could have guessed that Gabriel and Lucifer might have been related, but Michael, with his dark hair and eyes, looked nothing like either of them. He kinda looks like Dad when he was younger…Dean thought to himself. Dean was also surprised to find out they were all related to Castiel, who seemed much more introverted than his apparent brothers.
"Yes well, it is a family business, and our father had a thing for Theology." Michael explained. "We also have another brother, Raphael though he is not here today. Most everyone who works here is somehow related, either distant cousins like Balthazar, or friends of the family, you can meet the rest of the fam' later!"
"Wow, an entire family of actors. Getting together for holidays must be like civil war, huh?" Dean said jokingly.
His laugh died out as he noticed the grim expressions on each of his companions. The silence stretched out what felt like an eternity.
"Anyways…" He said awkwardly, trying to change the subject. "What are you all currently working on?"
"Oh, well we are between plays right now, we are about to start working on our spring show." Anna said, taking pity on him.
"Wow, so what play are you doing?" Dean said, grateful for the new topic.
"Macbeth."
"The one with that Scottish dude who went crazy and killed everyone?" Dean said, confused.
"Though I don't believe Shakespeare would use any of those terms to describe his literary classic, yes; that is the one." A new voice said from behind Dean.
Dean turned around quickly to see a shorter man smirking at him. He was unshaven and looked like he wouldn't know organization if it hit him in the face. His shirt was stained and un-tucked; the sleeves had splotches on the cuffs from what looked like coffee and ink.
"I am the director, Chuck; and also the owner of this theater." I can see you already met some of my children." Chuck said smiling, and offering one of his ink-stained hands to Dean.
"It's nice to meet you." Dean said a little awed, for the owner he seemed pretty cool, though it looked like his hygiene could use some work. "Wait, did you say you were their father? No offense, but you don't look exactly like some fatherly old man or anything."
"Yes, well this is the entertainment business." Chuck answered wryly. "Now, are we planning on getting to work, or are we going to stand around talking, and doing whatever that was?" Chuck announced, with a pointed look at the television are where Gabriel, Lucifer, and Balthazar had been when Dean arrived.
"Of course father" Michael answered solemnly, then raised his eyebrows at his brothers.
"Yeah, whatever" Lucifer said, giving Michael a look before walking out.
Gabriel, Anna, and Balthazar waved goodbye to Dean, leaving him alone with Chuck and Castiel.
"Um, if you guys have work to do I could just come back later…?" Dean offered, looking at Chuck worriedly.
"No." Castiel began loudly, before glancing at Chuck. "He won't be in the way, right father?"
"I don't want to be any trouble, I could help you out if you'd like." Dean added.
"Yes, I do think that's fine. We have work for you I suppose. You and Castiel could clean up the mess down here, then work on cleaning up the auditorium afterwards." Chuck reasoned.
"Yeah, sure, good!" Dean said eagerly, happy he had something to do.
Chuck nodded, then retreated back into a door Dean had failed to notice before, presumably leading to his office.
Dean and Castiel were left alone, staring at each other silently, before Dean broke off eye contact, and coughed lightly.
"Right, well I suppose we can get started then." Castiel said decisively, leading Dean to a janitor's closet where they pulled out carts of supplies.
They worked in silence for a while, picking through the pieces of candy and empty bags of chips.
"Oh god, I don't even want to know what that was." Dean gagged, putting a particularly disgusting item in the trash bag. "Is it always like this?" He asked, looking over at Castiel, who was looking at the mess in disapproval.
"No. Usually it's much worse." Castiel deadpanned.
Dean shuddered at the idea.
"So this is what you do, clean up after them, what are their jobs?" Dean questioned, happy for the conversation.
"Are theater is relatively small. We all have jobs around set, and many double up as actors in the shows as well." Castiel explained.
"Oh, so do you act also, is that why you were saying lines last night? Were you rehearsing?"
Castiel glanced at Dean, embarrassed. He had hoped that the other man would not remember that particular detail.
"No….I just help out backstage." Castiel muttered, looking away from Dean.
Dean wondered why, after all, Castiel seemed like an amazing actor from what he could tell, but he could see the other man didn't want to talk about it, so he let it drop. Besides, he wasn't one for talking about feelings and shit anyways.
"So what do your brothers all do?" He asked, getting the subject off of Castiel, who looked at him gratefully.
"As you know, Chuck is the director, he also writes some plays of his own, in his free time. Under him is Michael who doubles as the stage manager and actor. Gabriel and Lucifer do lights and sound, and Balthazar is in charge of the props department. Gabriel, Lucifer, Anna, and the three girls who were sitting here earlier all work as actors as well. Then there is Charlie and Becky who are in charge of makeup and costumes, and the rest of the cast and crew, who you might meet later."
Dean whistled, impressed at the number of jobs, he hadn't realized how much work went into doing a play.
"So why'd you guys choose Macbeth?" Dean asked, interested in spite of himself.
"I believe father thought it would serve as a change of pace, pulling off one of the classics instead of some new musical." Castiel shrugged, though Dean thought he could detect a hint of happiness at the change. He seemed like the kind of guy who would love things like old classics, not that Dean was thinking about that or anything.
Dean threw a final piece of garbage in the trash bag, and looked around. He must have gotten caught up in their conversation, because the lounge was clean.
He and Castiel finished putting away the bags, then Dean carried their supplies as Castiel showed him the way up to the auditorium.
On stage he could see Michael directing several groups of people through acting warm ups, while catching glimpses of other people he didn't recognize painting scenery and moving props. He could see random lights going on and off on stage, while music would suddenly start blaring over the speakers, so he assumed Lucifer and Gabriel where doing some sort of their jobs…
He and Castiel started at the back of the theater, picking up old pamphlets and sweeping the aisles.
"So explain, what exactly is Macbeth about?" Dean asked Castiel.
"Macbeth is a Scottish noble in the army, and after a particularly glorious battle he is visited by a group of witches that declare he will gain more power and land, and become king. Macbeth doesn't believe them at first, but the king ends up giving Macbeth land as a reward for the battle, and he starts to believe the prophesy. He writes to his wife, Lady Macbeth, who wants the power for herself, and she manipulates him into killing the king for the throne. Afterwards he starts to go crazy from paranoia and begins killing other nobles when he starts thinking they suspect what he has done. He eventually is defeated and is killed." Castiel summarized.
Dean smiled as he watched the other man's eyes light up as he explained the story, more animated than Dean had ever seen him.
"Well that sounds interesting." Dean said, amused.
Castiel looked warily at the taller man, not sure if he was joking or not. "I could lone you a copy of the book if you would like." He said hesitantly.
"Yeah sure, sounds great!" Dean said surprising himself, after all he doesn't read, especially books written by dried up English dudes like Shakespeare!
Castiel flashed him a tentative smile, and Dean was struck at how much younger Cas looked when he was happy. Dean tried to resist grinning back.
Meanwhile from the above in the electronics booth, Gabriel and Lucifer could see Dean and their brother talking, Castiel seeming much happier than they had seen him in, well, ever. They traded looks, grinning as they remembered how Castiel was acting when he had gotten home the night before. He walked through the door of their apartment soaking wet, but grinning distantly. When they had pestered him about it, he told them about meeting someone named Dean whose car had broken down in front of the theater (and by "told them about" they meant "went on and on about" they weren't kidding when they told Dean they had heard all about him.).
The brothers exchanged identical mischievous grins, and continued watching the two interact below them.
Throughout the day Dean continued to meet more members of the staff and cast, and by the end of it, he could almost find his way to the bathroom without getting entirely lost, which was quite the accomplishment in his mind, considering how big the place was.
The day passed in a flurry of activity, and he was surprised when he finally saw what time it was. He said goodbye to everyone, and Castiel handed him a copy of Macbeth before he left.
"So, Dean's nice." Anna said, smiling at Castiel, and shooting meaningful glances at Balthazar, Lucifer, and Gabriel, who all smirked back at her.
Castiel was to lost watching the taillights of the black car disappear down the street to notice.
A/N: Thank's so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! (I am very sorry about how long it is, I had a lot to introduce, and it ended up getting a little out of hand T.T!)
Feel free to comment/review and suggest any ideas you would like to see, it's always welcome and I will try to see if I can use them if I can!
