As it turned out, unless Castiel counted the slightly awkward moment at the end of the date when Mick had kissed him, and Castiel had been so shocked by this that he hadn't managed to respond until Mick was already pulling away, assuming that Castiel hadn't wanted that, so the angel had had to clarify that he did and initiate the second kiss clumsily, the date had gone incredibly well.
At least, that was how it seemed to Castiel. He had been expecting Mick to start asking him about how heaven worked, or something along those lines, as soon as they met up, but on the car ride there, the man had made it clear that he wouldn't ask, and if he did it accidently, Castiel didn't have to answer. And more importantly, Mick had stuck with that rule the entire night, even though it had been very obvious at times that he'd wanted to ask. Mick was a Man of Letters, after all, not like he could help it, Castiel supposed.
Still, it was refreshing that someone was taking an interest in Castiel, and not just in his powers. They talked about how Castiel met the Winchesters and about the Apocalypse, but Mick had steered clear away from talking about what had happened after that, probably having noticed that Castiel hadn't wanted to talk about it, and instead told the angel about how he'd joined the British Men of Letters.
Mick had seemed sad when he'd told Castiel about the school he'd gone to, but Castiel hadn't asked since the man hadn't seemed like he wanted to talk about it. It would have been rude, especially after Mick hadn't made Castiel tell him about a part of his past either.
Mick had ended up paying for both their meals, although Castiel had tried to argue that it wasn't fair. However, he really didn't have a steady income, so he hadn't protested further when Mick had assured him that the Men of Letters' funds would settle the bill.
Then Mick had driven him back to the motel Castiel was staying at for the time being, and before Castiel had managed to collect himself after the brief moment of kissing, he had already agreed to a second date, and then Mick was leaving, smiling at Castiel and telling him they'd figure out the details over the phone.
Castiel watched the car as Mick drove away, a smile on his face. His heart was beating faster than normal and he was shaking slightly, but it wasn't accompanied by the usual set of emotions he was used to. They weren't negative, for one - he was excited. And was looking forward to seeing Mick again. And he couldn't keep the smile off his face.
Strange.
The next morning Castiel was about to head back to the bunker, seeing as he hadn't seen the brothers in a while, when Dean called him, telling him pretty much the same thing and asking if he wanted to go on a hunt with them. Of course, Castiel accepted the offer.
It had started off well enough. Dean and Sam had even hugged Castiel in greeting before filling him in on the details, which had improved his already good mood even more.
There had been apparently two bodies found with their hearts missing, so it was most likely a werewolf – not something Sam and Dean needed help with, which meant they wanted him there just to be there. That thought warmed Castiel's heart, as he hadn't been too sure where he stood with the brothers lately.
It seemed everything was going well.
Until problems started to arise. The first one was being unable to find the werewolf, even after extensive questioning of the witnesses and searching the town for clues. The second was another person being found dead, also missing their heart, and definitely killed after they had gotten to the town.
The third one was really just a problem for Castiel, although he did see Sam roll his eyes at least once. Dean was insisting Castiel should flirt with the waitress that had been giving the angel suggestive looks the entire time they had been in the diner.
"I'm just sayin', this kinda thing doesn't happen often, so you gotta take an advantage of it," Dean said, taking a bit out of his bacon cheeseburger, and Castiel sighed softly. He wasn't sure which was worse – this, or when he had to watch Dean flirt with others. "I know it happened to you twice in, like, a month, but don't let that fool you."
"As I recall, I almost died the last time this happened," Castiel grumbled, hoping that him saying this would kill the mood. He was still saving 'The only time I had sex resulted in my death, as well' for if the situation worsened even more.
Not to mention that since he had regained his status as an angel, he hadn't been all that interested in sex, but Castiel didn't want to say that, not in front of Dean at least. He wasn't even sure why. It wasn't like this little fact would deter Dean from having a relationship with Castiel. Well, it probably would if Dean were interested, but he wasn't.
Maybe that was the reason. Castiel was still subconsciously hoping that he had a chance with Dean, even though he didn't. If he did, he wouldn't be here, being pressured by him into having meaningless sex with a waitress.
Castiel became even sadder when he realized that Mick would most likely expect sex from him sooner or later. Castiel would have to tell him as soon as possible, so that they could break it off if it was a major problem, which it probably was. That was not a conversation he was looking forward to.
"Earth to Cas," said Dean, nudging the angel, who had only now realized he had zoned out.
"What were you saying?" the angel asked, putting as much disinterest into the question as he could, but given that he was saying this to Dean, that didn't mean much.
"I was saying that a waitress flirting with you and you almost being…y'know, with the spear-"
"Lance," Castiel corrected him, and Dean rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, that, I'm just sayin' it's not connected at all," Dean finished, clearly unwilling to give up, but he did seem a little less enthusiastic about it.
"Just let the poor guy be, Dean," Sam said, munching on his salad. Castiel gave him a grateful look, even though he knew Dean wouldn't stop.
"No. When a hot waitress comes onto you, you don't just throw that away. I'm not letting him do that."
Castiel felt something in him snap. "I don't think it's seen as good-mannered to flirt and sleep with random people when one is in a relationship."
All three of them froze, Sam and Dean staring at Castiel with shock while Castiel did his best to pretend he was interested in the red and white tablecloth on their table.
He'd said it. He'd actually said it. Before Castiel could panic and try to explain himself, Dean scoffed.
"Jesus, Cas, just tell me you're not interested if you want me to leave you alone. No need to lie like that."
All Castiel had to do was stay silent, and both brothers would most likely forget about it. Unfortunately, after hearing Dean say that, the angel was too pissed off to care.
"I did tell you to leave me be, as did Sam, but you didn't listen to either of us," Castiel snapped. "And for your information, I am not lying."
"Oh, really?" Dean said, clearly not believing what Castiel was saying, which made the angel even angrier. "Who's the lucky girl, then? Funny how you never mentioned her."
Castiel's heart clenched painfully, his anger dissipating, and sadness taking its place. Of course Dean assumed it was a woman. Castiel looked at Sam, who seemed sympathetic, but also curious. It was too late to back out of this conversation now. "I assume you remember Mick Davies."
There was a stunned silence for a few seconds, in which Dean opened and closed his mouth a few times. Sam, on the other hand, looked surprised as well, but not in a negative sense. Then his expression changed into one of concern, which he aimed at Dean.
"Mick Davies? The British douchebag?" Dean asked, not bothering to mask his anger, and Castiel bristled.
"He's not a douchebag," Castiel growled. "He's nice to me."
"Oh, I bet he is!" If Castiel didn't know any better, he'd think Dean looked hurt and was masking it with anger, but Castiel did know better. "Come on, Cas, you're smarter than this. He obviously just wants information from you. Why else would he be trying to get in your pants? Those British bastards hate everything supernatural."
Even though Castiel had already thought this on some level, actually hearing someone else say it, much less Dean, hurt more than Castiel wanted to admit. He couldn't keep the hurt expression off his face completely, but managed to hide it under a glare a moment later.
"I am not a child, Dean," Castiel reminded the hunter. "For your information, Mick's made it clear that's not what he is after."
"Of course he would say that!" Dean yelled at Castiel, and shook his head. "Dammit, Cas. First Mom, and now you." Dean paused, but before Castiel could say anything, he spoke again. "Ugh, I need a drink."
With that he got up, leaving his half-eaten burger on the table, and walked out of the diner. Castiel looked guiltily at the now empty seat, and pinched the bridge of his nose. He hated fighting with Dean, but at least now he didn't have to lie to him anymore.
Castiel heard Sam sigh, but he didn't look up at him until he addressed him. "Cas, you know Dean's just worried about you, right? You know how he is. He sucks at expressing emotions."
"He's been drinking a lot, lately, hasn't he?" Castiel asked sadly, and Sam grimaced.
"We found out Mom's been working with the British Men of Letters recently, and Dean hasn't been handling it well. And after what you just said…well, I don't think he's gonna handle that well, either."
Feeling even guiltier, Castiel looked down, wishing that he could still travel through time so he could stop himself from revealing anything.
"I'm not judging, Cas, but you and Mick? How the hell did that happen?" Castiel gave Sam a tired look in reply. "Look, if you're happy, I'm happy for you. I just always kinda assumed you and Dean had a thing going."
Castiel averted his gaze, and Sam seemed to take the hint and stopped talking about it. "Okay, we still need to finish this hunt, and no offense, Cas, but maybe you should let me and Dean take this one. Let Dean cool off for a bit, y'know?"
Castiel knew Sam didn't mean anything by this, but a terrible feeling of loneliness invaded the angel's heart anyway. Sam was right, though – if Castiel stayed, he and Dean would just yell at each other some more, and more people would die, so the angel just nodded and left the diner silently, walking to his truck with his head hung low.
His only function on this hunt had been to hang out with the brothers, and he had utterly failed at even that.
