Dean was awoken by Castiel shaking his shoulder softly. Again. He groaned and rubbed his eyes.
"Dinner is ready," Castiel told him in the same terse tone as always. "Sam and Gabriel have made a dish called 'hamburger helper'. I am not sure what it consists of, for there are no hamburger buns nor condiments on the table. I have not yet gotten the chance to take a closer look, but I have been assured that it is a perfectly acceptable meal." Dean raised an eyebrow at his friend.
"Hamburger Helper. How do you not know what Hamburger Helper is?"
"I am not prone to watching television, nor listening to the radio, so I do not see advertisements for anything of the sort." Dean pursed his lips.
"You are a strange one." He sat upright on the couch and stretched his arms above his head, his muscles flexing as he did so. He thought he saw Castiel's pupils dilate as he did so, but the other boy looked away before Dean got a chance to take a closer look.
Dean stood up, his body still aching from the fight earlier. He had a splitting headache and he could feel his lip throbbing. Despite all the pain, he powered through, determined not to let his weakness show, and he led Castiel to the kitchen.
"Hey, Dean!" Sam said when the older Winchester walked into the room. "Feeling any better?" Dean shrugged.
"I guess. The drugs have worn off, but my nose hurts like a bitch," Dean lied through his teeth. He couldn't let Sam know the truth. Sam laughed quietly, looking at Dean suspiciously and sadly, as though he could see right through the lies.
"Gabe and Castiel have never had Hamburger Helper before, did you know that? They've never even heard of it!" Sam gracefully let the topic of Dean's health be swept underneath the rug. And he did seem genuinely shocked at this news.
"So I've heard," Dean said quietly, taking his seat at the table. "Which do we have today?"
"Cheeseburger Macaroni." The smug look on Sam's face showed how pleased he was with himself. Dean was thrilled by the choice of meals. It was his favourite flavour that they were eating. Sam knew him so well. It warmed the cockles of his heart to have a brother who cared so deeply for him.
"Thanks, Sam," Dean said gruffly, not wanting to show his ecstasy at the situation, and wanting to be appreciative of what his brother had done for him.
The two pairs of brothers started eating. Castiel and Gabriel were both equally surprised and pleased at what they were tasting. Castiel was, in fact, having a difficult time stopping himself from eating. By the time Dean was done his second serving, Castiel was on his fourth. Sam noticed Castiel's fervour and addressed it with amusement.
"Good thing we made two boxes," he said. Dean rolled his eyes and Castiel continued to devour his plate. Sam glowered at the two of them for ignoring him and Gabriel patted his thigh comfortingly, planting a soft kiss on his cheek.
Dean looked up at the two of them.
"I forgot that you were here," he said thoughtfully. "I was supposed to question you today, make sure that you weren't going to pull any funny business with Sammy." He narrowed his eyes and shrugged. "I don't even know right now, man. You seem like a good enough guy. I'll let you be. But when I'm less groggy, I expect you to answer any and all questions that I put to you." Gabriel nodded, his eyes hiding any emotion that he might be feeling. "Also, if you do anything to Sammy, I will personally hunt you down and kill you, I don't care that your brother is my friend."
"I understand completely," Gabriel said. His voice was so calm, it made Dean wonder if he had any real emotions at all. This bothered Dean. The idea of his little brother dating someone who could never reciprocate his feelings was upsetting. He knew that he would have to keep an eye on Gabriel to make sure that his lack of emotion was just because he was trying to be strong in front of the older brother.
The sound of the side door opening made Dean whip his head around to find the intruder. He lifted himself out of the chair and prepared to do whatever he needed to keep unwanted visitors out of his home. To his relief, it was only his father. He wouldn't have to be doing any more fighting that day.
It took a moment, but when he realized that it was his father that who had walked through the door, his heart dropped. He wouldn't have been home except that the school had called him to inform him of the fight that Dean had been in earlier that day. He wouldn't have come home because of that call unless he was very angry. There was, of course, a small chance that he was done his trip anyway and the timing was merely coincidental, but Dean doubted it. Luck tended not to be on his side when it came to issues with his father.
"Hey, Dad," Dean said nervously, his body trembling with fear and anticipation of how his father was going to react to the call he had received earlier in the day.
"Dean Jonathan Winchester." The older man's voice was deathly quiet, yet the whole room was hanging on to every word that he said. "I received a call from your school this morning, telling me that you were in a fight with two other students, and that you were told to go to the hospital because of it." Dean stared at his father, unsure if he was supposed to say anything here or wait for more angry words to be spewed out. "What the hell were you doing fighting? You know perfectly well that fighting can cause suspension, which will go on your permanent record, which will ruin any slim chance you have at getting into a good school!"
Dean cowered away from his father's wrath.
"I'm sorry, Dad!" he said pitifully. "They were making fun of Sam. I couldn't let it slide." John Winchester's jaw slid to one side, a sure sign of his anger.
"Kids make fun of each other all the time. Especially in high school. Just shake your head and walk away. You don't start a fight!" Dean hung his head in shame.
"The things they were saying, though… I couldn't just let it slide. Not when they were directed towards Sammy!" Dean tried to get his father to understand, but he wasn't sure how much he was getting through to the tough, isolated old man.
"What kinds of things were they saying?" John asked harshly. He obviously didn't think that Dean had a good argument.
"They… he… they were calling him a f… a fag."
John's face turned a dark purple, like he had forgotten to breathe. His fists were clenched so tightly, Dean was half-expecting to see blood dripping down from them. There was a prolonged silence while the room took in what Dean said. He hadn't told Sam and Gabriel why he had gotten into a fight. Castiel knew that the others had been picking at Dean's feelings for Sam, but he hadn't known what they had called him.
"They WHAT?" John demanded. "What are schools teaching kids these days? That is completely inappropriate language! No one should be using that word at all!" Dean had always hated it when his father yelled. It was a newly terrifying experience every time it happened. John Winchester had a lot of pent up rage that he very rarely got off his chest. When he did, though, it was something akin to a bomb going off: getting people out of harm's way is the top priority.
Dean backed up, preparing to protect his brother and the Miltons while his father raged. He went on a tangent for a few minutes, getting louder and making less sense as he went on about how he was going to kill the kids who had called his son such a word. Finally, he turned his attention back to Dean.
"Why were they calling him that?" he demanded of his eldest son. Even though John hated the word that Dean's old teammates had used, he was not accommodating to those of a different sexual orientation than himself. He couldn't wrap his head around it, having been raised in a home where things of that nature were something disgusting, something to be ashamed of.
Dean glanced at Sam, who looked terrified. He didn't know which one of them should respond. It was Sam's news to bring to their father, but Dean was the one that it was being demanded of. Dean was the one who was in trouble, not Sam. He decided to go with a safe route, and phrase it in a way that John wouldn't think anything of it, but that Sammy could tack on his own twist to the end of the tale.
"Sammy was hanging around a lot with a kid that isn't very popular at school. A lot of people didn't like it, and they made unflattering assumptions." John nodded and turned his attention to Sam.
"This boy. Is this him?" He pointed at Gabriel and Sam nodded. "What's your name?"
"Gabriel," was the cocky response. Dean rolled his eyes. The boy was still not showing any sign of emotional attachment or capability.
"Gabriel. What is your relationship with my son?" Dean saw Gabriel glance at Sam, and Sam nod in response. Gabriel inhaled deeply, looking nervous for the first time that evening.
"He's my boyfriend."
Dean could hear John's teeth grinding in his mouth. Sam was still holding his breath nervously. John's eyes were dangerously icy. Dean's stomach dropped when he saw his father's attention turn to Castiel.
"You. What's your name?"
"Castiel." The older Milton was much more calm. Dean couldn't explain how the other boy was so calm all the time.
"Why are you here? What is your relationship with my sons?"
"I am a friend of Dean's. I drove him to the hospital today so he could be stitched up after the fight. I wanted to make sure that he wouldn't hurt himself or break anything, because the doctors gave him some pretty strong pain medication and I wasn't sure how long it would last." John seemed satisfied with this answer, but still irate.
"I would greatly appreciate it if the two of you would get out of my house. Castiel, thank you for helping Dean. He doesn't deserve your help, after the mess that he's made today, but thank you anyway. Gabriel, I would be happy to never see you again. I'd like you to kindly stay away from my son, as well."
Gabriel smirked as he left the room, any momentary show of emotion gone, blowing a kiss to Sam when John's back was turned. Castiel turned around in the doorway and met Dean's eyes. They seemed to maintain eye-contact forever, but when they broke it, only a moment had passed.
"That's not going to work," Dean warned his father.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Warning Gabriel to stay away from Sam. I tried. It didn't work. It only succeeded in making Sam hate me." John shrugged.
"I can at least try. Sam hates me already, so what's the worst that could happen, right? Dean, go to your room. Or out. I don't care. I need to speak with Sam alone." Dean nodded, obeying his father like the good son he strove to be. All the yelling and stress about the Sam and Gabriel situation had made his headache worse. . He normally would have gone out, but with all the pain he was experiencing, he decided to simply go to his room.
Before leaving, he looked at Sam and gave him a sympathetic expression. He would talk to the kid later and let him know that he thought John was being completely unreasonable. If John didn't like Sam and Gabriel going out, then screw him. Dean would protect his little brother from anything. Even their father. That's what brothers were for, anyway.
Castiel walked out of the Winchester's residence after having a profound moment with Dean.
"What's wrong with you?" he demanded of his brother after they appeared back in their home. "You're making this stupid game of yours so hard! If you want Sam, don't put so many obstacles in your way. John was unnecessary. So was Dean's disapproval."
"Well that would be no fun, then, would it? I've got to make it at least a little bit interesting! Besides, John doesn't scare me. Sam's smart enough to know that his father's word is not law. He can deal. Just be thankful that I didn't make things harder for you." Castiel rolled his eyes.
"Just end this stupid game already. I'm sick of it. I want my own Dean back. He knows who I am and he's better, stronger. This one is too inexperienced. He doesn't love me the way that I love him. He can't. He doesn't understand the connection that we have."
"Stop your bellyaching!" Gabriel complained. "The kid's obviously in love with you. Just drop a few hints and the money's in the bag." Castiel sighed.
"That's not what I was trying to say." Gabriel just laughed and curled up in his bed, drifting off into a peaceful slumber until the next day.
Castiel hated his brother at that moment. Not only had he made it more difficult for Sam, but he had made it impossible for Dean. Castiel knew that everything that had transpired that day would be blamed on Dean, if only because he was the elder child. It wasn't fair. He wanted to comfort Dean, to tell him that everything would be okay, but he couldn't because Dean didn't trust him here the same way he did in reality.
More than anything, Castiel wanted his real Dean back. He wanted to hold him tight and whisper sweet nothings into his ear until the human fell asleep and the angel was left to guard over him in his sleep. He was Dean's guardian angel, and there was nothing in the universe that could stop him from fulfilling that most sacred of duties.
Wow! It's been a long time since I've updated this story. Sorry! I started watching Merlin and I got distracted. Anyways, in recompense, I'm going to update the next chapter as soon as I finish editing it.