Chapter 2: The Crush
"What do you mean you're out of the salad?"
"Sorry, dude. We ran out of our salad stuff a few days ago… and it's not really a popular order so…" the pimpled face kid behind the counter explained. The kid at the diner wore a red striped uniform and hat, including old grease stains and oily black hair. His complete lack of emotional response and bored expression indicated to Sam that this kid apparently loved his job.
"What do you have here that is at least marginally healthy?" Sam asked in a vain attempt.
The kid stared blankly at him, frowning in deep thought. He shrugged, "Nothing- man. I mean you can order a burger with no cheese."
Sam glared at him. He wanted to throttle the kid. He knew getting a salad anywhere this late would be difficult. But he didn't want another damn hamburger from another damn fast-food joint. His eating habits were getting bad to worse and road food always made eating healthy difficult. Sam's nostrils flared in annoyance.
"So…" the kid behind the counter asked, "do you still want the cheese burger?"
"Yeah," Sam muttered, "make that two. No cheese on one."
He nodded and turned to tell the order cook the addition to the order. Suddenly Sam heard the fluttering of wings and Balthazar strode up from behind him, eyes gazing upwards at dimly lit display menu. When Sam glanced quickly over to see the angel, he felt his stomach give a quick tug of excitement.
Balthazar stood there, frowning up at the menu in disgust, "You're eating here?"
Sam rolled his eyes, irritated at his reaction at the sound of the husky, sexy British voice from over his shoulder. His heartbeat sped up and his total attention had been diverted from the kid to the overly handsome man behind him. "No- I'm just standing here. Taking a break," Sam responded sarcastically.
Balthazar ignored the comment, eyes glued to the menu. "What's a piggly-wiggly? Is it some form of meat?"
The awkward teenager from behind the counter turned just in time to see Balthazar and hesitated, "Where'd you come?" he asked, alarmed.
Sam gritted his teeth. Great, now this kid was wondering where this mysterious man came from and all Sam had wanted to do tonight was get the stupid food and get back to the motel. No more run ins with Balthazar. Except, Sam couldn't help but feel that exhilaration growing in the pit of his stomach at the mere sight of the attractive angel who strutted about like a rockstar in those polished leather boots, designer jeans and jacket.
"Outside," Balthazar commented easily, "Explain you're… piggly-wiggly for me." He asked, addressing the kid.
The boy stared at him, "Seriously?"
"Balthazar…" Sam warned through gritted teeth.
"Whoa- you're name's Balthazar?" The kid asked, suddenly showing some interest.
Balthazar narrowed his icy cool eyes at him, "Yes, it is."
The kid smiled. His face lit with excitement giving him a childlike appearance, "Cool dude."
"Thanks," Balthazar said with a dazzling smile.
"Can I pay for my order now?" Sam asked trying not to slam his wallet on the counter.
"Yeah," the kid said, eyes still locked on the angel as he rang up Sam's order and handed him the receipt.
"Thanks," Sam snatched the receipt and went to wait in one of the plastic booths. Balthazar stayed behind, asking about the mysterious piggly-wiggly. The kid nearly gushed in excitement, clearly in awe over Balthazar's name, accent and appearance. Someone that cool probably never came in to this lowly establishment off the highway in the middle of nowhere interesting.
Sam watched Balthazar from the booth, wondering why the angel seemed keen on following him about the past two days. Balthazar claimed boredom and with the not much happening in his angel-playbook, he didn't have much going on for him at the moment. Except Sam was having a hard time accepting the fact that this angel was suffering from bored with his self-indulgent lifestyle, especially when he randomly began popping up in Sam's life.
When Balthazar first appeared, it was startling. Balthazar never appeared at random, he always had an agenda. But this time he didn't. They had an awkward, weird conversation about nothing particularly important before Balthazar abruptly vanished. Sam stared at the spot he vanished, confused and slightly irritated. The angel had a way of stopping Sam's whole world just by showing up. Balthazar seemed just as confused when he was there.
Maybe the angel felt the same attraction he felt? Sam had ignored the sparkle between them. It was just a fluke- like two people having that connection even though it's essentially meaningless. Right? Besides the fact that Sam thought he was utterly handsome and sensual- he had to ignore that and focus on reminding himself that it was Balthazar.
The second time Balthazar appeared, Sam almost shot him. He had been cleaning his gun in the Impala, waiting for Dean to finish up his interview at the morgue with a doctor. He'd been there so long that Sam was going stir crazy, so he pulled out his handgun and began cleaning when Balthazar appeared.
It was so unexpected, that Sam nearly had a heart attack. He swung his gun around, pressing the barrel of the gun into Balthazar and slightly shaking from the adrenaline racing through his body. Balthazar seemed amused at the handgun and uncaring about the alarm on Sam's face. He simply shrugged it off and asked about their case. Sam stared at him in complete shock and absolute hatred. No one sneaked up on him! He was about to give the arrogant angel an earful when Dean came out of the morgue. Balthazar sighed and said a quick good-bye, promising to return later, before vanishing.
Now, he was there… again. Chatting it up with the kid behind the counter. What the hell? Since when did Sam have his own, personal angel lurking about? What did he want? He wasn't even sure he liked Balthazar.
Sure- the angel got them out of a few tight situations in the past, but he also put them in a few too. So really, what was there to like about him? He had no obvious redeeming qualities. He was attractive, in that Billy Idol kind of carefree way.
Balthazar had short blond hair, devilishly handsome features, brilliant blue eyes and a radiant smile. He smiled a lot but it was usually a mischievous, untrusting smile that made Sam wonder what card Balthazar had up his sleeve. He was also tall, which Sam kind of liked. He didn't have to look down to meet Balthazar's eyes, he was eye level. He was built too, not as much as Sam but he had muscles and nice lean body.
The angel had learned how to socialize with other humans unlike Cas. So he was able to strut around in public without causing too much trouble. Trouble, Sam thought with an eye roll, Balthazar was trouble. So why was he here?
"Apparently, a piggly-wiggly is a hamburger patty, rolled in bacon bits before cooked on the grill. Fascinating…" Balthazar said in amused tones as he strolled over to Sam's booth.
He sat across from him, dressed in black jeans, suit jacket and grey v-neck shirt. Sam grudgingly realized he liked his style.
Sam glared in open annoyance at him.
Balthazar shrugged, "Don't worry- I didn't order one."
After a pause, Sam realized that he was only really irritated because he couldn't figure out the angel sitting across from him. "Why are you stalking me?"
"Stalking you?"
"Yeah- you know… appearing suddenly in my life with no explanation why. I seriously doubt you just happen to be where I've been the past two days. Because I cannot imagine any angel willing hanging around Mississippi without a legit reason."
"I might have business down on the bayou, Sam. You never know." He remarked coyly, deflecting Sam's question.
Sam stared at him, anger beginning to boil to the surface. He was about demand information, when the kid announced his order was ready.
Sam took a breath and realized that he didn't really want to know why Balthazar was hanging about. Truth be told, Sam just wanted to let things remain as uncomplicated as possible. There were already too many complications and difficulties in his own life and taking on a strange, possibly dangerous angel was out of the question.
He snagged the brown bag from the counter and headed outside. Balthazar trailed right behind him.
"So you're not going to even ask what my business is down here?" Balthazar asked from behind him.
Sam pulled out the keys to the Impala, "No." He answered passively, opening the door and getting in.
Balthazar huffed indignantly and vanished into the passenger seat as Sam started the ignition.
"You're not curious?" Balthazar asked, his blue eyes locked on the side of Sam's face.
He kept his eyes glued to the road, focusing on driving and not the beautiful blue eyed angel sitting only inches away from him. "No," he responded again. Attempting not to notice how small and confining the Impala suddenly felt.
"Hmm," Balthazar said and just sat there.
Finally after two long minutes, Sam broke. He wanted Balthazar gone and the only way was playing his stupid, 20-questions game. "All right- you either start talking or get out." He said with a finality that he hoped registered.
Balthazar seemed to take the hint, growing suddenly quiet. He sent him a sideways glance and noticed the angel was frowning.
"What?" Sam asked, exasperated.
"Fine- I'll tell you," Balthazar said with a deep breath, he rushed out. "I believe I have a crush on you."
Sam snorted loudly.
Balthazar's eyes widened in shock, "That's your reaction?"
"Well, yeah." Sam said, laughing. "What do you actually think I'm gonna believe that?"
"Of course- I'm being honest." Balthazar said, grumbling, "for once."
Sam cocked an eyebrow with a knowing smirk, "I think you just like annoying me or you must be colossally bored up in Heaven to be wandering about bothering people."
"Aw- yes, you're right, Sam. Heaven is just down-right lame at the moment and focusing all my time and energy on you- trying not to like you has become my favorite new hobby. Right up there with knitting pillows and baking cookies." Balthazar drawled out sarcastically.
"I'm being completely serious Sam…" his tone taking on a severity that made Sam shift uncomfortably, "I've been hanging about trying to figure out why I'm even drawn to you in the first place. You're nothing special- aside from being a hunter, an overgrown on at that and Lucy's vessel- you have no bursting unique qualities- so I don't understand the attraction."
"Uh- thanks?" Sam told himself that he wouldn't admit that he too felt the draw- that lingering attraction that always filled his mind whenever the angel was around. He wouldn't tell him- ever. So he planned on playing off the crush.
"So what do you suggest I do about this, Sam?" Balthazar asked his usual accented voice.
"I dunno- how about you stop stalking me?"
"Stalking- I don't like that word." He replied candidly.
"All right, tenderly loving me from a distance or invading my personal space. Just stop doing that and I'm sure you're 'crush' will go away." Sam said easily, hoping to not sound too helpful.
"Can you guarantee this result?"
Sam shrugged noncommittally, "Yeah." He replied casually, though his heart was beating as hard as a slug-hammer against his ribcage. He would have never guessed that Balthazar had a crush on him. But the more they kept talking about it, the more he began realizing the truth to his words. Holly crap, an angel had a crush on him? Sam couldn't believe it. Or maybe just didn't want to. Either way, Sam refused to let this change their relationship. Or admit he too had a bit of a crush. No, Sam clarified, it was just an attraction, not a crush.
Balthazar stared, an amused smile tugging on his lips. "You're not just saying this to get rid of me, are you Sam?"
Sam kept his gaze fixed on the road. "No- not at all."
"Hmm, cause you seem keen on getting rid of me. Maybe a little too keen?"
"I'm just trying to help. And I think if you saw me less- the crush would eventually go away."
Balthazar's eyes strayed to the hood of the Impala. Suddenly Sam heard a popping noise and the engine begin to slowly die on him. He panicked, gripped the steering wheel and pulled off the side of the darken highway. "Great," he muttered and sighed, putting the car in park and getting out.
Dean was going to kill him and bury his body in the woods if anything were to happen to his baby while Sam was responsible for it. Maybe Dean wouldn't bother burying him in the Mississippi woods, he'd probably just feed him to the crocs that haunted the leech infested swamps out there.
He was about to pop the hood of the Impala when Balthazar stopped him. "I'll fix the car once we discuss this like adults."
Sam turned on his heel to face the angel, "Fix the Impala? What did you do?" He choked out, as his mind filled with crocodiles floating in muddy swamp pits and bloody dismemberment.
"Nothing, I just wanted to talk. With your complete attention."
Sam took a threatening step forward, anger pouring out of him as he said through clenched teeth, "All right. You've got my attention, Balthazar."
"Perfect," the angel's smile didn't waver at Sam's attempt at intimidation. "I must say- you're absolutely adorable when you're angry."
Sam opened his mouth to respond, when Balthazar moved in and stole a kiss. He had no time to prepare himself before his mouth caught his. The touch of his lips came as a shock. A sudden dizzying pleasure overcame his senses. A hot, sensual thrill filled his body and mind as Balthazar deepened the kiss.
He couldn't stop himself as he opened his mouth lightly and touched his tongue with his. Balthazar tensed for a moment, as though he hadn't expected a response from Sam at all. Then a growl erupted from his throat as he opened his mouth over his, hungering, needy. Balthazar's hands grasped out, anchoring Sam to his taunt, lean body as his mouth began an assault so wild and furious it stunned Sam.
But he wanted this too. He wanted to taste the angel just as badly. So he rose to the challenge of the kiss and let the fever gripping his blood race through him as he met Balthazar's hungry lips with equal ferocity. Their tongues mated and tangled, exploring warm, silken dangers of his mouth. Balthazar's kiss grew almost brutal then as if he couldn't get enough of him. Over and over they devoured each other and when that didn't seem enough, Balthazar ran possessive, wet kisses along his cheek and down his neck. His rough skin rasped against Sam, his musky scent filling him and breathing choppy and fast.
Sam felt the hard stirrings of an erection tighten in his jeans. His hands ached to press Balthazar against him, run his hands down his back, over his shoulders, across his shapely ass. But he resisted, he couldn't.
"Stop…" Sam breathed out, feeling lips suck and bite into his neck. He groaned, loving the feel of the angel's urgent kisses.
"No," Balthazar retorted and roughly grabbed Sam's ass with one hand and pushed him forward, bodies slamming together. Sam moaned lowly, his cock straining against him.
"Damnit, Balthazar…" he hissed, letting the angel grind against him, their cocks hard and pressing into each other.
"Darling, I've wanted to do this for days now. Don't deny me… not yet," he whispered frantically, his blue eyes sharp with intensity and lust. Sam felt the same ache in his own chest, the same hungry desire.
Suddenly a loud roaring of a truck came up the deserted highway. Sam's brain suddenly kicked in and he untangled himself from Balthazar and moved away quickly, still deliciously hard.
"We can't," Sam rushed out. "I can't… this- it's too complicated." He fervently hoped the darkness of the night hid the full effect of their encounter. If Balthazar could hear his pulse beating triple time or see his desperate attempts to draw air into his lungs, he'd know at once that he was lying.
Balthazar didn't seem to notice. He seemed too distracted by his astonishment and slight anger, which now etched his face. "That was incredible and you're telling me that we can't…" he trailed off, anger now boiling to the surface. "Explain how this is complicated," he demanded. His lips that had just kissed Sam's raw, where now drawn into a thin line.
Sam licked his lips, nerves fluttering in his belly. "We don't even really like each other- I mean, what do we have in common?"
Balthazar gaped at him, "In common? What does that matter?" He took a sudden step forward, pinning Sam against the side of the Impala. His eyes became a hazy blue fire of desire as he spoke in a husky voice, "We're attracted to each other, Sam. I want you," he paused, his eyes lingering on his lips. "You want me."
"You don't know that," Sam said weakly, feeling the heaviness of his erection counter that argument.
Balthazar smirked coolly. Suddenly Sam felt Balthazar's hand grip his manhood over his jeans. His knees almost gave out in surprise as he gasped, fisting his hands into knuckles, resisting the urge to grab the arrogant bastard. Balthazar groaned and bit his lip, "That is all the proof I need, darling."
His breathing came out in hard spurts as Balthazar held him against the car, touching him, stroking his throbbing cock.
"Balthazar…" Sam grumbled, legs getting heavy as his body tensed against the Impala. Relishing in the feel of his hand tugging on him, toying with him.
Suddenly a vibration in his pocket came to life, startling Sam out of his trance. He took a breath, realizing it was his phone. Balthazar hesitated as well, though he kept his hand firmly planted against Sam's towering erection. Sam reached for his phone, his fingers fumbling with the answer pad. He recognized the number.
"Bobby?" He answered the phone, eyes locked on the angel. Balthazar seemed unperturbed by the disruption as he continued rubbing him slowly yet firmly through his jeans. Sam grabbed his wrist, trying to stop him.
"Sam…" Bobby said, "Hey- I gotta problem here. I need you two up here, asap."
Alarm came through his muddled brain, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah- for the moment. Just get you're asses up here!" Bobby clicked off the line and Sam started at the phone, confused. Bobby rarely called for their help and when he did, he was usually in serious hot water.
Balthazar smiled coyly, "I'm glad to see nothing really impedes you're…" his grip tightened around his cock, "ability, Sam."
He groaned out a curse and yanked Balthazar's hand away. "I gotta go," he muttered, slightly dazed and definitely confused. He knew he had to reach Bobby, he had to pick up Dean, but first he had to deal with Balthazar.
"You can't avoid me, Sam." Balthazar said watching him stumble into his car.
"I know!" Sam grumbled hotly. "Now fix the car!"
Balthazar's coy smile broke into a playful one as he snapped his fingers and the Impala roared to life. Sam sighed in relief then Balthazar poofed himself into the passenger side. "So- where to, darling?"
"Don't call me that," he said, his erection now pressing painfully into the fly of his jeans. "And we're not going anywhere together."
"Why not?" Balthazar asked teasingly, "I can finish you off by the time we get there."
Sam pushed the accelerator down hard and sped off. "No- you can't."
Balthazar reached over and took Sam's arousal, still hard, into his palm. "I think I can…" he whispered huskily, moving closer to him, their legs touching.
Sam nearly swerved off the side of the road. "Damnit, Balthazar!"
"Seriously, darling- you make me so hot when you're angry." Balthazar breathed into the shell of his ear, spreading warm, wet kisses over his ear.
"You have to stop," Sam pleaded.
"Make me," Balthazar caressed him harder through the jeans and reached for the fly. The vibration of the zipper went straight to his gut.
He had to think clearly and right now with Balthazar all over him, he couldn't think past his fly- literally. "A deal then?" he asked desperately.
Balthazar hummed, "What kind of deal?"
"A night," he blurted out. "One night- no arguing, no protesting. You can have me."
Balthazar's blue eyes sparkled in the darkness. "When?"
"After this- whatever Bobby needs." Sam said, his mind still focused on how Balthazar's hand kept moving and messaging him. A groan escaped the back of his throat involuntarily. "You just have to stop now, Balthazar."
"Deal," he said and abruptly pulled his hand away. Sam breathed out a sigh of relief.
"But…" Balthazar said with a slow smile, "I have a few conditions."
"What?" Sam asked alarmed.
"I get to tag along until our night is concluded."
Sam was about to protest when he realized it was useless. Balthazar always got what he wanted. So now, he would have to suffer through a few days with their deal lingering over his head. Fine, he could play this game. He could be just as damn taunting too. Sam resisted the urge to smile, maybe by the end of Balthazar's first day together- he'll be too tempted and be forced to leave. Sam liked that idea. Toying with the overconfident angel sounded like fun. He sped up and glanced over at Balthazar.
"No one knows about our deal or…" he gestured between them, "this. Got it?"
Balthazar nodded, "Whatever you say, darling."
"And don't call me that."
He smirked, "How about pet?"
Sam narrowed his eyes dangerously at him.
TBC