"Always Late" - Rizzle Kicks

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Back behind the bar, Dean stood with Cas, both of them with arms folded and leaning back onto the stocked shelf. They watched Sam as the younger man spread out across the table. His laptop was open but slid away, a text book was also open with three different colored highlighters set next to it, and a heavy binder filled with papers sat directly in front of him. It was the binder that held his attention at the moment, and he was writing in it with a black pen while occasionally referencing something in the book, on the laptop, or both. The extra lamp on the wall illuminated everything.

Dean felt the press of Cas's upper arm against his. It was about as much affection as they would allow themselves at work. Neither of them gave a damn what other people thought of their relationship. It was merely a matter of behaving professionally while on the clock. Dean wouldn't tolerate handsy, kissy-faced behavior from his employees, and being the boss, he had to set a good example. Not that any of his other employees had shown up yet. Where the hell was Jo?

She was consistently thirty minutes late to work, so often that Dean had started scheduling her to be there thirty minutes before she actually needed to clock in, just so she'd be "on time" when she arrived "late." But now, she was another fifteen minutes past that, which made her officially late to work. Dean chewed on his lip. If she kept this up, he'd have no choice but to replace her, and he really didn't want to do that.

As he was mulling over whether he would actually fire Jo -it wasn't like the bar was particularly busy yet- the front door slammed open, and Jo lurched through as though she had been running and was only just pulling herself up to stop.

"Sorry!" she shouted. "I'm here!" Her long, blonde hair hung in wet clumps around her head. Dean blinked at that. It had stopped raining hours ago; did it start again? But no, Jo's clothes were dry. Well, except for her shoulders where her hair had dripped.

"Sorry!" Jo said again as she rounded behind the bar to tuck her purse under the counter. "A pipe burst outside my apartment, and they turned the water off to the whole building. I had to wait for it to get turned back on so I could take a shower. And trust me, you wanted me to take a shower."

Dean shared a glance with Cas who smirked knowingly. Jo's excuses were getting better. Cas lifted away from his lean and the warm press of Dean's arm. "You will be needing another one after work too; you're on kitchen duty first."

Jo groaned in reply, but she didn't argue. No, no one liked being in the kitchen, but Dean also knew the division of labor between Jo and Cas worked out to both of their favors. As the bar got busier throughout the night, despite his earlier complaint about not liking being stuck back there, Cas would want to get away from people, and that meant hiding in the kitchen. Jo, on the other hand, thrived as more and more customers packed themselves at the bar and shouted for drinks. During her kitchen time, she would only go in there when food was ordered. Otherwise, she'd be mingling with the patrons, taking orders, running drinks, and busing tables while Cas stayed behind the bar to mix drinks for people at the counter and fill Jo's running orders for other patrons throughout the bar. Dean shook his head; no, even though she was always late, he couldn't get rid of her. She was too good at her job, and she was too good of a friend.

.oOo.

A glass of ice water was set at Sam's table. He blinked at it and looked up to see Jo's smiling face. "Oh, hey," he said. "Thanks."

"Hey yourself, college boy," Jo slipped into the booth across from him. "Staying busy, I see."

Sam nodded and drank deeply of the water. It was customary of Jo to deliver it to him after she had been at work for an hour. She was good at taking care of people, even when not asked to do so. Left to his own devises, Sam wouldn't have had anything to eat or drink until he came to a good stopping point in his work. He knew it wasn't good for him, but he just got too absorbed in what he was doing to notice when his body needed sustenance. It was good to have Jo around to make sure he was properly taken care of, which is why he tended to do his homework at the bar rather than at home, where he would be alone.

Not that being alone bothered him, really. Sam liked his solitude. But when he had admitted to neglecting himself when alone, Jo -despite being younger than Sam- had taken him under her wing like an older sibling and looked out for his well-being by insisting he do at least a few hours' worth of his homework at the bar while she kept him hydrated and fed. There were some nights when he was able to buzz through his work quickly enough that she never got a chance to feed him. Those nights, he'd take himself to the gym if he hadn't already gone that morning.

It was a little frustrating sometimes that his classes and schoolwork dictated his visits to the gym. He used to go regularly, but as he got closer and closer to his goal of becoming a lawyer, his hours were becoming more erratic. There were some days he'd skip his workouts entirely simply because his mental exhaustion was so overpowering. But the last thing he wanted was to completely ignore his body for the sake of his education. It was bad enough that he'd skip dinner if not for Jo.

How was he even supposed to plan something with this Gabriel guy when he didn't even know when he could get to the gym on any given day, let alone time for social activities? Sam sighed and gulped down more of the cold water.

"Not too chatty today, huh?" Jo asked. Before Sam could answer, she popped up from her seat and gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder. "I'll let you get back to it. I have to act like I'm busy too."

Sam smirked at her retreating back. Jo never had to act like she was busy; aside from the few times she'd pop over to check on him, she was constantly buzzing through the bar with something to do. Despite the times Dean has complained about her lack of punctuality, he knew his brother was extremely grateful to have her there. He finished off his water, knowing that once he set the glass down again, he'd get absorbed into his work, and returned his attention to the papers before him.

"The Closing Song" - Red Peters

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The familiar chords of the final song of the night pricked at the back of Sam's mind, causing him to blink in surprise that he had been so immersed in his studies that he had stayed until two o'clock. He looked around the bar as voices of regular patrons who stayed 'til closing time chimed in with the vocals. Cas had propped open the front door and was standing by, graciously nodding, smiling, and slapping shoulders as patrons left, but Sam knew what he was really making sure people had designated drivers or were getting ride-shares to get home safely. It was part of what made 1836 so popular. While the crass words of the song might not show it, the owner and staff all cared about their patrons' well-being. It was a far cry from the state the place was in before Dean bought it and revamped it.

Sam stretched his arms above his head, arching back to pop his spine in a few places. That was when he noticed the untouched basket of potato skins across the table from his open books. Just like she delivered him a glasses of water, Jo made a point of throwing together some food for him before closing the kitchen an hour before last call. She had apparently delivered it to him an hour and a half ago, and he hadn't even noticed. Just as well; he didn't really enjoy the selections they offered in the bar even when it was fresh, and by now the cheese had congealed and was shiny with oil. Sam wrinkled his nose in distaste before gathering his belongings to pack up. The last thing he did was flick off the extra lamp bolted to the wall. The song drew to a close as the last few patrons filed out the door, saying their goodbyes to Cas. He closed the door securely and locked it then turned to Jo who was already flipping chairs onto the few tables.

"You already cash out?" he asked her.

"Yep. Not bad for a Wednesday, but tomorrow will be better," Jo grinned in response.

Sam glanced over at Dean who was counting down the register for the evening. He left his bags at the corner booth and asked Cas what he could do to help. Cas didn't hesitate to set him on a task. With the kitchen already closed and cleaned, the four of made short work of doing the same on the bar side. Sam didn't officially work there, but on the nights he took over the booth until closing, he felt it was the least he could do. Plus, he genuinely enjoyed spending time with his brother, his boyfriend-in-law -as he liked to joke since Dean still hadn't asked the guy to marry him, though Sam knew he wanted to-, and the girl who was practically a sister to all of them. If that time happened to be spent wiping surfaces, sweeping, mopping, and taking trash bags out to the dumpster, so be it. They were his family, and Sam cherished the time he got to spend with them.