Hello again! Here's chapter 3, I'll try to keep this waffle short since this chapter is nearly 4 times bigger than 1 & 2 :O. 4540 words! The first part should be taken as you reading what somebody else is reading within the fanfiction. It's Chuck's infamous Winchester Gospels in progress, and it'll give you some clues about the night that was hinted at in the previous chappie. A chapter full of Gabriel sass, food and a little reference to season 8 (not a spoiler, just a little nod to a future episode tis all). See if you can spot it. Enjoy!xxx
Chapter 3
Gabriel's POV:
Chapter 3, a 'profound bond'.
He went to the bar to get away from Gabriel and his ridiculous whining about the small motel room. "Dean! It's not like you're paying for the room! Why not splash out on a bigger room since it's not coming out of your pocket? Dean? Dean?" Gabe whined, like the spoiled brat he was.
Sam was out getting food and Cas was... Somewhere. Who even knew when it came to Castiel? He certainly didn't. All of that meant he was stuck with an annoying archangel who had nothing to do except torture Dean. Great.
Taking a calming breath, Dean replied "No Gabriel. We stay low profile, don't attract attention. You got it?"
Pouting, Gabriel muttered something along the lines of "stupid apes" and continued eating his candy bar.
That's it. Dean's had enough and heads out, slamming the door behind him with no explanation, to find a local, shady bar and have a quiet drink.
His ten minute drive pays off as he finds what he's looking for. Parking outside of the bar, he goes in without a thought.
"Beer please" he grunts at the rugged guy behind the bar.
Turning to look around the place (classy as hell, obviously), he spots someone there - a tall woman with short, sexy black hair and piercing blue eyes - that makes him stop mumbling to himself about archangels & tricksters, and go over to her, ignoring the "hey! Your drink's ready!" From the barman.
He bought her a drink and they'd hit it off quickly. He had her laughing at everything he said and he liked it. Liked her.
"So, what's your name sweetheart?" Dean asked when it looked like she wasn't going to tell him.
"Cassie Jones. But you can call me Cas, everybody does."
Not giving the coincidence a thought - hey, it wasn't his fault that her name was Cas! - he smiled and said "Dean Winchester. But you can call me whatever you want to."
She giggled and leaned closer to him, whispering in his ear "Wanna get out of here?" And he agreed without question, following her through the door before she pounced on him with her lips as he ran his hands up and down her body.
That was it. Later on, he wouldn't remember what happened next, just remembered leaving the bar with Cassie.
The night hadn't ended there though. He-
"Interesting story you've got there." I've obviously startled the little prophet: he makes a noise similar to a mouse squeaking and turns around, a frying pan (fat load of good that's gonna do him against an archangel) in one hand and a glass of whiskey in the other.
He blinks at Sammy, then me, and says "Gabriel. Surprised to see you here, you're not supposed to be with the Winchesters for... At least a month yet. Or am I missing something?" His eyes shine like he knows every secret in the world, making me a little nervous.
"You're a bit behind on your writing there Chuck, it's been days since that night." Sam sighs like this personally offends him, and I look at him fleetingly, the mischievous glint in his eyes that tells me he has a plan. Good.
"I know it was Sam, I've been a little too busy to write this week. Becky can be kinda full on ya know?" Sam flinches at the name and I throw him a questioning look, at which he shakes his head furiously. Not now, that look says. I'd bug him about that one later.
"We kinda wanna read that chapter Chuck. I think it'd be helpful to us." Before Chuck can protest, Sam shushes him and says "Or should we just read your mind instead?"
I chuckle at the genius idea as Chuck, a mixture of fear and embarrassment on his face, says "You- you can't do that! I'm a prophet! You're supposed to respect me! You can't do that to a prophet!"
We've nearly got him. "What's the matter prophet? Ashamed of some of those thoughts of yours?"
He turns an extraordinary shade of red at that, and I just laugh again at that. However, he visibly relaxes as he thinks of something, and I'm cut off by his reply. "You don't even need to read my mind guys! I'll just tell you everything. No one has anything to hide, right?" He's staring at me as he says it.
Dammit. Do prophets have to know everything? I can't let this happen, but I don't know how to stop it. Sammy cuts across Chuck's next words, saying "Guys! Calm down! Okay Chuck. Just show us the chapter when it's done. How long will it take?"
"I don't know, I never really know when it comes to writing. Give me a couple of days okay? It's nowhere near ready yet. And editing takes time." Chuck looks kind of triumphant - probably feeling badass for making an angel shut up - and seems quite happy to help now.
Let's take advantage of his good mood then. "We've got a couple of questions." I say, hoping to convey some authority. He nods and I continue "so Chuck. Being a prophet and all, you've probably seen everything about the Winchesters." Sam grimaces a little at the thought as Chuck nods his confirmation but I go on "So, knowing all that you know, having seen at least most of Dean's actions... How do I say this? Is Dean so very full of rainbows for Castiel?"
Sammy groans loudly, head in his hands, as Chuck's eyes widen with understanding in a way that I can't help laughing at. Judging by Sam's response, I wasn't exactly tactful. Well maybe my way is more fun! I ask again. "So? Is he? Does Dean need to be pulled out of the closet?" I could hear little Cas's voice in my head 'Dean, I'm the one that gripped you tight and raised you from the closet' and I start up laughing again. "Does he need him some angel lovin'? Does he-"
"We all get it! Calm down Gabriel!" Sammy's shout is kind of muffled by his almost silent laughter.
"Okay last one! Does he- does he need to release his inner fabulousness?" Sam starts laughing in that hysterical nearly crying way and I join in, unable to resist the genuine laughter escaping from the giant.
I whisper in my best, 'manly', deep-voiced Dean impression "Sammy I gotta tell you something."
I pause for dramatic effect, Sam looking down at me with his best mock-serious face that looks ready to crack into a grin any second "What's up De-Dean" barely contained laughter from Sam.
"I'm fabulous!" Sam's actually in tears this time as he leans on me to stop himself from falling over, the contact making me shiver, which does not escape the prophet, who simply raises his eyebrows at me, as if saying 'I don't need to tell him. Look at you two.'
"So then o mighty prophet, the question still stands. Is Dean smitten for good ol' Castiel?" Here's hoping that we get a yes or no answer, not some garbage about complications and feelings and blah blah blah.
As if it'd be that easy. "Well that's a great question. When I'm writing the Winchester gospels, I can get a feel for all that's happening at that time, and the emotions of Sam & Dean. I don't see everything, just most things, and damn, if you guys could give me an answer to that one I'd be grateful. I hate to admit it but... I don't actually know."
I shout "Wait what? How can you not know?" and Sam's as confused as I am judging by his face.
Going red, the prophet continues. "I don't see every moment Gabriel. I just see snapshots, mostly action scenes. Plus Dean's quite a private guy about his feelings. I've been trying to figure it out since he met Cas but... I can't. The way I see it, it could be one of two things: 1, he sees Cas as a brother, a friend, and nothing more. Like Sam. 2, he's so deep in denial that he might never come out. If I had to guess, I'd say the second option, but I'm not 100%."
"Okay then. Not so good a prophet then Chuck I guess?" I goad Chuck, hoping to pull more information out of him.
"Hey! You try getting Dean to confront any of his feelings! See how it works out for you!"
Chuck takes a swig from his whiskey and looks truly pissed at this entire conversation. Aha! An idea! "So Chuck... Do you ever see it from Cas's perspective?" Sam's eyes light up knowingly and he nods his encouragement.
Chuck thinks for a moment. "Sometimes yeah. Just when Sam and Dean aren't there and something big's happening. Only a couple of pages at a time. Why?"
Bingo. "So, I was wondering... About Cas maybe having feelings for Dean?"
Silence from the prophet as he thinks this one over, something close to panic on his face, like he's trying to figure out how to get out of answering the question. "Now that's something I'd love to talk about, really guys, but I've gotta get going on my work" he says it in an overly loud voice, like he's trying to make sure that everyone in a 3 mile radius can hear him. I look at Sam, who also seems confused, and Chuck types on his laptop 'we need to talk about it another time. He's listening.' "I'll call you when I've finished the chapter okay?"
We all nod at each other, knowing that this discussion was over only temporarily. And with a click of my fingers, we're gone.
Back to the motel room now. The empty motel room. I try so very hard not to think about what we could be doing right now instead of trying to get other people together, and the only way to escape from this awkward (for me at least) atmosphere is by saying abruptly to Sam "Want something to eat?"
He thinks it over quickly before replying "Sure. I could eat. What're we having? Ooh how about Chinese food? Don't tell Dean though" he winks at me and I grin back, caught up in the moment again. Sam's got one of those smiles that's ridiculously infectious, and it was impossible not to smile when he was grinning at you.
"Chinese it is then!" I snap my fingers and we're outside of a little place that I know for a fact does the best dumplings. I turn to Sammy and say "Let's go in shall we?"
He blinks and replies "Did you actually take me to China?! I keep forgetting it's you, I thought you were gonna go to a takeaway, ya know, somewhere in America maybe!"
"Calm down Sam. I'll have you back before bedtime" I wink at him and head on in, knowing he'll follow because I'm his only way back to America (he hasn't even got his fake credit cards, he'd be screwed on his own here), and, reluctantly, he does, muttering to himself as he slowly walks after me.
We're lead to a table at the back, and we seem to be the only people there tonight. A waitress comes over, notepad in hand, to take our order and - presumibly after seeing Sam's million layers of plaid - says "Are you ready to order?" in a surprisingly good attempt at English. I shake my head and she leaves us to decide, though that might take a while since Sam seems obsessed with the lanterns above the tables. They are quite beautiful, I have to say, with designs of dragons and faeries decorating their sides, black against the red. The light that they provide is just enough to read the menu, and I wave my hand in front of Sam, which seems to be the only way to get him to look away from the pretty lights and order.
The menu's in both Mandurin and English, so he should be fine. He looks up at me and says "What would you recommend?"
He seems to genuinely want my opinion, so I point out a few dishes "The dumplings here are the best in the world. I can guarentee, I've tried them everywhere. What else? The duck here is amazing... The sweet and sour pork is deliscious... Ooh! The chicken and noodle soup is awesome! It's got a real kick to it. Everything is great here. It's my favoruite resteraunt in China." I've never told anyone about this place before - who was I supposed to talk to anyway? The angels? They don't see the joy in food. The humans I taunt? They were usually too boring to put up with - so it's nice to share this place with someone for once.
Sammy thinks it over and shouts to the waitress "We're ready to order!" I never told him what I wanted, but I guess that doesn't matter because he turns to the waitress, a mischievous glint in his eyes "We'll have everything on the menu. Oh, and two beers."
Both myself & the waitress exclaim in unison "Everything?!", to which Sam just nods, a small laugh escaping from his pursed lips.
I shake my head at the giant - I thought he was the healthy Winchester! - and he simply says "What? You're buying right?" I can't help laughing at that logic, but it's true. This one's on me.
"You know, you're full of surprises Sam. I thought I had you pegged years ago, but it's different now. You seem more content somehow. Why is that?"
He shrugs and replies "Dude I don't know. I'm just chilled out at the moment. Nothing too horrible happening - except for the appocalypse, obviously - and I'm at the best Chinese resteraunt in all of freaking China! Might as well enjoy it." He had a point, I suppose. Grinning like an idiot, I fill the wait for our food with stories - people I'd tricked into doing all sorts of things, all of the funnier things I'd done. Trying to redeem yourself there Gabriel?, part of my mind whispered. I ignored it and kept talking, and I was rewarded for my enthusiastic hand motions by a side-splitting laugh from Sam.
"So when we finished dancing, he gets off the back of the zebra and says to me 'Dude! How did you get a peacock to-'" the waitress comes over with the starters - every starter on the menu - and I stop talking, giving Sam some time to calm down whilst she places the food on the table. Everything only just fits on our tiny table, and I can already tell that this is going to be a great night.
By the end of the starters, Sammy looks happily full, like he's forgotten about the next two courses. "So I've talked your socks off, now lets here some of your stories Sam!"
He looks unsure but I simply smile until he starts talking "Well I don't have many as good as yours - you've gotta tell me one day how you pulled off the thing with the elephant and the tacos, that was pure genius - but I've got a few." He talks about pranks he's played on Dean, about Becky, weird hunts they'd been on - including the last time they'd seen me, which was a hilarious one, if I do say so myself. He's hesitant to tell me everything at first, but my laughing spurs him on until he's laughing with me at his own stories, telling me ones to use against Dean very soon and even some stories that make him blush with embarrassment. It's one of those night that I'll never forget, and I don't think I've ever laughed so much with a human before.
The second course is even bigger than the starters, and we have to add another table to ours to fit everything. We dig in hungrily, and everything's delicious, even better then I remembered it being. Every plate is either half eaten or licked clean, and I don't have a clue how we're gonna handle the deserts but it was worth it.
Sam looks ready to burst and I laugh as he yawns. The time difference meant that it didn't seem late here but it was to me and Sam. "We should ge-" another yawn from Sammy "get going soon. Dean might be worried enough to kill stuff by now. Or, ya know, still at a bar."
"We might as well wait for desert now, we've stayed for the other courses." He nods and rubs his eyes. "Deserts are the best course!"
He laughs and seems to wake up a little as he replies "Why do you have such a sweet tooth anyway Gabe?"
The nickname comes from nowhere and makes me happier than I thought one word could ever make me. It meant acceptance and friendship to me, things I've never had before. I cough a little to clear my throat and say "I don't know Sammy." I use Dean's nickname for him - one I've always thought but never said out loud - and I'm rewarded by a hesitant smile from Sam. "I've always loved sugar, anything sweet. Food can be so heavy and bland sometimes, but not sweet things. I like that about them. Plus, they're made simply to taste good, not to help you survive. They're there to enjoy." Sam nods like that makes a lot of sense and I continue "So Sam. What else should we talk about?"
We talk about everything. The light humour gone now, we talk about my time in heaven, his demon blood addiction, the apocalypse and everything in between. It seems like we can't have been talking for more than 5 minutes but when the deserts come an hour later, we're still talking. He tells me about his rebellious stage ("who rebels by going to school? Too badass for me to handle woah!"), he talks about Jessica, about dying, about Dean going to hell. He even opens up about his fears about Lucifer, which takes a lot, I can tell.
I tell him about losing my big brother when he fell. About being alone since I came to Earth. I tell him everything I can think of, and, by the time that we've finished the deserts, we know each other, not just as an archangel and a hunter.
After we've finished what we could handle of the desserts, I click my fingers, leaving enough money on the table to buy the entire restaurant, and lead Sam outside. "Back to America then I guess." I say, trying not to sound too disappointed.
"Thanks for tonight Gabe. It was nice to have a night off for once, and I might never eat again but it was totally worth it." He puts an arm around my shoulder - he's so damn tall that he has to lean down to do it - and nods for me to click us back to the motel.
I pause for a brief second, whispering "No problem." And click my fingers, returning us to the not-so-empty motel room.
Dean's POV:
What the hell was happening to everyone lately?
First Sam had wanted to call Gabriel - the same Gabriel that had killed me, over and over, at the mystery spot. Why had he done that?! And why the hell was I stupid enough to agree?
Cas. Cas had always been unemotional, clinical in his interactions. Sure, he'd never understoond personal space, but that was it. Now Cas was acting strangely, staring for too long, emotions actually visible on his usually stotic face. But only for Dean.
Now I was the biggest mystery of them all. Cas wasn't the only who had changed: I was starting to stare back, to look at him when he couldn't see me doing it, to lean into his touch... It was all confusing as hell, but what was I supposed to do? Have a chick flick moment with Sam? Talk to Cas about 'feelings' and stuff? Tell Gabriel to piss off? The last one sounded good, but as for the rest... No. It'd work itself out. Everything always did.
Lying back, I close my eyes and try to sleep. It's midnight and I've got nothing else to do, so why not try to catch up on the years of staying up all night on hunts and the times when an hour or two a week was a success? Eyes firmly shut, breathing evening out, I almost fall asleep.
Close, but no cigar.
I feel something tickle my cheek; someone was breathing very close to me. Pretending to be asleep, I moved my arms underneath the pillows, getting a better hold on my machete. When I was satisfied that it wouldn't slip out of my hand, I flip and put my arm around the attacker's throat, hopefully shutting off their airways, before raising the machette to their throat with my other hand and growling "Don't move or your head comes off."
Now all of this had happened very quickly, in the blink of an eye, and when I do just that - when I blink and look at my 'attacker', I gently remove the machette and slide my other hand down, now resting on the other man's back. "Dammit Cas! What the hell did you think you were doing?! I could've chopped your freaking head off!"
Shrugging in the oh-so-human jesture of I don't know, leave me alone & don't ask me any more questions, Cas looks down at his hands and says "I didn't want to disturb your rest Dean. Humans need sleep. I try to remember that before I wake you up sometimes, but I usually forget." He looks like a sad puppy that's been left in the rain all night so I sigh as he goes on. "I'm sorry if I startled you Dean. Humans are so different to angels, it's difficult to follow human etiquette."
And he's already forgiven, which annoys me. I can never stay mad at Cas. "Cas, don't worry about it man. At least I didn't actually behead you!" I laugh a little, though the thought terrifies me.
"Are you sure Dean? I know I shouldn't sneak up on you... Your heart is still beating awfully quickly. And your cheeks are very red. Are you sure that you're okay?" a little bit of concern leaks into his voice, and that's weird enough until he puts the back of his hand on my forehead and exclaims "You're very hot Dean! Is something wrong?"
The concern on his face almost makes me blurt out 'I'm blushing man it's no big deal' but I bite my tounge, just in case the dynamic duo (not so Batman and Robin as Archangel and Gigantor) are listening in again. I simply nod, saying "I'm fine Cas, don't worry about it." in my most soothing voice.
He doesn't look convinced, but he slowly removes his hand, staring at me as he does it. We're close - in getting a good grip on his throat, I'd drawn my 'attacker' against my side - and my breathing evens out as I calm down, trying to slow my erratic heartbeat.
So close.
Close enough to- to what?
Touch?
No. Obviously not.
I jump up suddenly, breaking whatever atmosphere had started to develop, and say hoarsely "I've gotta get some sleep Cas. You need to get off the bed."
He looks down at his hands again and replies "Dean. Are you sure you're okay?" I nod but he doesn't see it. He goes on "I'm staying tonight."
He looks up just in time to see my best what-the-hell-dude face and blurts out "I need to make sure you're okay. I'm staying here. I'll watch over you while you sleep, at least until Sam and Gabriel get back." His tone leaves no room for discussion and I shrug, getting back in bed as soon as Cas gets up.
I can feel the weight of his stare on my back and I turn around, mumbling "Staph lookin' a me Cas" the barely coherent words ending with a snore from me.
Half asleep, I just about feel the weight as Cas sits down on the bed. He whispers "I need to be able to see you well Dean. So I'll lie down here."
No arguments from me, though I'm already asleep by the time that Cas steals most of the quilt and lies down, staring at me as I dream of unicorns, wings and handprints.
Thoughts? I really liked this chapter, and I hope you guys enjoyed it too. Still some mystery surrounding the night in question, but Chuck cannot be rushed, so you'll have to wait until the next chapter. Actually, you'll have to wait until chapter 5 I think. Adorable nicknames make both myself & Gabe happy :D. Thanks for reading, please review with any suggestions or critiques, it's always good to be able to improve. On a side note, the promise of fluff & only fluff has been revised, as I know what happens in the next few chapters and it gets a little sexual. Nothing major, nothing graphic, just something to progress things. Now whilst you guys try to figure out what that means, I'm off to go write the next chapter ;)
Until next time xxx
