AN/ I feel like this chapter is complete shit, but I read through it a million times and just do not see it getting any better. My apologies for that. I've been looking forward to Chapter five for a while, so hopefully that will be much better.
Also, I've had a couple of people ask who Emily was (who I mentioned in the first chapter), so let's clear that up too…That would be me. I unashamedly ship myself with Charlie Bradbury, so that was merely to satisfy my own narcissistic self, and nothing more.
Thank you to those who have read and followed this story. I hope I do justice by you and now that Cas and Dean have met each other, things will start to pick up ;) Thanks again and maybe leave a review if you have time? Constructive criticism is always welcome~
-N.Z.
Castiel gasped and looked around in astonishment. How had he ever been able to fool himself into contentment with the black and white world? In that moment Cas noticed a lot of things. Time didn't slow down; that would be ridiculous. But his awareness seemed to expand, and he became aware of more things at a much quicker rate. He noticed the brightness of the sun streaming through the windows, the beautiful range of colors around the room, the unconcerned faces of his family as they weren't aware of what had happened yet, the sharp intake of breath that came from Dean, and finally, Dean himself. He was startling, devastatingly beautiful. He was tall, though not quite as tall as Sam; his hair was short and tousled, but somehow neat at the same time. His jaw was firm and covered in a light stubble. His lips looked surprisingly soft, considering the gruff voice that spoke through them. And his eyes – oh God his eyes! The color took Castiel's breath away. He didn't know what he had been expecting, but he sure hadn't been expecting to get lost in their depth. He could have sworn he could see Dean's soul shining out through those perfect eyes, even if for just a moment. Castiel became aware of all of these things and more – like how the light played off of Dean's hair – in a fraction of a second, waiting for the rest of the world to catch up.
Eventually it did.
Dean looked away from Cas quickly and moved to sit down hurriedly. The only problem was he missed his chair by a couple of inches and fell to the floor, grabbing Cas's arm instinctually and taking him down with him. If the families hadn't noticed something going on with their sons before, the impact of two bodies on the floor, Cas's yelp, and Dean's string of profanities definitely got their attention.
The three children in attendance laughed, thinking it amusing. Even Lucifer and Michael let out slight chuckles, thinking nothing was amiss excepting the two being clumsy.
John did not look amused in the slightest, and Chuck was caught between amusement and concern.
Gabriel and Sam just stood there dumbfounded, not sure of what to make of their brothers' antics.
The two mothers both had very similar expressions of concern and embarrassment on their faces.
Dean collected himself as best he could and stood up, offering a hand to Castiel. "I'm…really sorry," he said, not knowing what else to say.
Cas put his hand in Dean's, noting how rough it felt, and Dean pulled him to his feet. "It's fine. I mean…" Cas trailed off, captured again by Dean's eyes.
Castiel didn't know who was first to piece together what had happened, lost in Dean as he was, but somebody started clapping tentatively. The rest of the room slowly joined in as they finally worked out the situation. If Cas was in his right mind, he would have felt the awkward tension around him, but all he could feel was overwhelming joy. The uncoordinated applause petered off into silence, everyone waiting for someone else to make the first move.
Surprisingly, that someone was Sam. He moved around the table to where Dean and Cas stood, still staring at each other. He clapped Dean on the shoulder, making him break eye contact with Cas. Dean blinked rapidly before turning to look at his little brother.
"Congratulations, man!" Sam said enthusiastically.
Dean still looked dumbfounded, as did Castiel. "What is…is this what…I mean…how…" Dean couldn't string together a complete sentence and trailed off into frustrated silence.
"Yeah," said Sam. "It's a lot to take in."
That's when Mary Winchester began to sob. She put her face in her hands and her shoulders shook with the weight of her emotions. Castiel was horrified. Was he really such a bad Soulmate for her son? Mary leaned against John, the tears continuing. "Less than 1%," she choked out. "Virtually impossible," she sobbed. She scrambled out of her chair and rushed toward Cas, wrapping him in a hug. "Thank you!" she gasped through her tears. "Oh, God thank you!"
If Cas hadn't noticed the awkward situation they had created before, he was definitely noticing it now.
Everyone was looking at him and Dean. Most had smiles on their faces, but a few seemed to be just as dumbfounded as Cas felt. He looked at each person in turn, surprised by the variety in color from person to person. His eyes finally fell upon Gabriel. He wasn't looking at Cas or Dean or even Sam. He was looking at the ground. When he finally raised his eyes to Cas, the latter was shocked to find anger there. Gabriel walked over to his seat and sat down. Nobody noticed.
Once everyone finally settled down and found their seats again, dinner was served. Everyone chattered excitedly about the unexpected turn of events. The probability of two sets of brothers finding their Soulmate in the other was so close to zero it shouldn't have even been considered possible at all. Yet, it had happened.
Castiel kept stealing glances at Dean when he thought he wasn't looking. He couldn't seem to keep his gaze away from the other man for very long.
As everyone was finishing eating, Dean leaned in close to Castiel. The proximity made the hair on Cas's arm stand on end. "At least we don't have to plan a Merge," Dean whispered quietly.
Try as he might, Cas couldn't keep himself from giggling at that, earning a grin from Dean.
A Merge was merely a formality to allow the two families to meet and learn the story of the Meeting. Obviously, the families had already met and everyone knew how Dean and Cas met, so there would be no need for that. Castiel thought he would feel sad about not having a Merge, but he didn't. He honestly didn't care.
With full stomachs and empty plates, the conversations came to a slow end. Everyone waited in expectant silence. It was time for the story of Sam and Gabriel's Meeting. Gabriel, who hadn't spoken for most of dinner, perked up and looked at Sam. Sam smiled back, reached for Sam's hand under the table, and began the story.
"I usually make my own coffee because it's cheaper," he began. "But for some reason on Wednesday, I was just really craving something from Starbucks. So I gave into this weird desire. The wait in line was long, but uneventful. When I got to the front of the line I ordered a French Vanilla Cappuccino…"
"Piping hot, might I add," interjected Gabriel.
Sam laughed. "Yeah. Extremely hot. I couldn't even take a sip of it yet." Sam smile widened. "Do you wanna take over?" he asked Gabriel.
Gabe sighed dramatically. "So get this," he started. "I'm running late for my shift at Starbucks…" Everyone began laughing, seeing where this was going. "I get out of my car and run inside as I'm tying my dorky apron on, and I run smack dab into this large moose, effectively spilling his piping hot coffee all over me," Gabe smiled fondly.
"I didn't even know such curse words existed," Sam said good-naturedly.
"When I had finished screaming in pure agony, I looked up – and up and up – ready to give him a piece of my mind and…" Gabriel trailed off not sure how to finish.
"Needless to say, we were surprised," Sam finished, looking adoringly at Gabriel.
The laughter of the small audience dissolved into applause, and the two storytellers grinned.
With the Merge being officially over, people began to disperse. Michael and Lucifer disappeared almost immediately with their families, after extending final congratulations to both of their brothers.
Anita and Chuck left not too long after that, demanding that they get together again soon.
The Winchester parents were surprisingly the last to leave. Mary wrapped Castiel in another grateful hug before leaving. Gabriel looked back at the floor.
"It was wonderful meeting you two!" Mary called before John escorted her out of The Gathering Place.
Everyone was gone except for the two sets of brothers. There were a few beats of awkward silence before Sam moved to start taking down decorations nonchalantly. Gabriel followed suit, avoiding eye contact with Castiel.
Cas furrowed his eyebrows. He decided it would be best to put himself to work. "Where would you like me to put the china?" he asked.
Gabriel didn't turn around. "You can just go home, Castiel. We've got this."
Cas was confused. "I helped set it up. I don't mind staying and helpi…"
"JUST GO HOME, CAS!" Gabe yelled.
Castiel staggered backward, caught off guard by the vehement in Gabe's voice. Sam even looked taken aback. Cas stood there for a few more seconds before walking slowly out the door. Dean followed him.
"Is he always like that?" Dean asked confused.
"Actually, no," answered Castiel. "He may have his moments, but he's always very nice and respectful," Cas explained, equally confused.
"So," Dean said awkwardly, hoping to diffuse the tension. "Crazy day, huh?"
Castiel snorted. "I believe that is an understatement," he replied.
Dean stared at the ground, kicking his foot. "I guess we never really introduced ourselves," he said. "I'm Dean Winchester and I'm an Aquarius," he joked.
Castiel giggled. "I'm Castiel Novak," he said, playing along. "I'm a Leo."
Dean smiled almost shyly. "So…" he said.
"So…" was Cas's answer.
"I guess…maybe we should…exchange numbers?" Dean offered.
Castiel nodded slightly. He may not have played out many scenarios in his head, but he certainly underestimated how awkward the first Meeting would be. Why couldn't he think of anything to say? Why did he feel so embarrassed? Dean was his other half; he should have felt as comfortable around him as he did himself.
After exchanging numbers, Dean got into his Impala with an enigmatic, "I'll be in touch," and drove away.
Castiel was exhausted and just wanted this day to be over with.
He got in his car and drove back to his apartment, almost getting lost on the way (what a difference color made!).
He took a very long shower, hoping the warm water would erase his stress. He stayed in the shower until the water turned cold. He put on some sweats and a t-shirt and called Gabriel. The phone rang twice, then went to his voicemail. Cas hung up without leaving a message. If Gabe hadn't heard the phone ring it would have rung through more times. If his phone was off or out of service it wouldn't have rung at all. Gabe was ignoring him. The thought made Castiel frown.
He lay down on his bed, not even bothering with pretending to try and write. His text message tone chimed and he picked it up, thinking it was Gabe. It wasn't. It was Dean. Cas's stomach clenched as he thought of his Soulmate and his captivating eyes. The text was short and simple: Dinner or movie?
Castiel could only assume Dean was asking him on a date. What other scenario would offer those two choices? He thought about it. If they went to a movie, they couldn't really talk and get to know each other, but there was guaranteed to be no awkward silences. If they went to dinner they could talk to each other, but Cas felt certain that it would be very awkward. Considering how awkward this day had been, Cas thought he would have felt drawn toward the movie, but he wasn't.
Dinner he responded.
Dean's reply was almost instant: I'll pick you up at 7:00 tomorrow night.
Castiel closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had so much on his mind. It was too much to sort through. He had met his Soulmate and his family, Gabe was mad at him for some reason, and he had a date with Dean tomorrow. He should have felt happy about Dean or worried or confused about Gabriel, but he just felt exhausted.
He texted Dean his address and quickly fell into an empty sleep.
