Hello my darlings. I would like to thank jjeess001 and thiscouldbealittlemoresonicfor the wonderful reviews. I would also like to thank those of you who have followed and favoured since my last update.
Also there will be more on Dean's PTSD, but I'm not sure how realistic I will be able to write it, having never been to war myself. I will try my best.
So here is the next chapter, I hope you like it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural.
The rest of the guests arrived in dribs and drabs, but by nine the barbeque was in full swing, with Dean having taken over from his brother at the grill, claiming that he was the much better cook. Though the truth was after the first hour of questions about how he was, and who Cas was, he couldn't take it anymore. At least if he was grilling, then he could legitimately ignore people without them taking offense. Of course Cas stayed at his side, so Dean took the time to show him how to cook the perfect burger, which gave him even more reason not to talk to anyone else around them. He only really conversed with Sam and Gabriel when they joined them.
Castiel for his part had found that he couldn't answer most of the questions posed to him by the other humans, and was therefore extremely thankful when Dean did it for him. And if he got some strange looks at his lack of words, he didn't notice or care. His time was taken up by paying attention to Dean, and the feelings that were radiating off of him. They had at first been simple exasperation, but as the evening progressed he could feel the annoyance start to creep in, and he knew he wasn't the only one to notice it.
He had been rather surprised the first time it happened. He could feel that Dean was about to snap at the flirtatious woman in front of them, but before he could try and work out how to stop him, Sam had appeared and without seeming to, guided her away from them. Giving Dean time to calm down. This process was repeated two more times before Castiel realised that Dean's brother was not only watching him, but also knew he well. The only time that Sam hadn't come to save Dean from the probing of the latest man who wanted to hear all his 'glorious' war stories, Castiel found his own brother at their side, changing the conversation in such a way that had Castiel not known what Gabriel was doing, he wouldn't have realised. Of course the fact he could read the man's mind and knew just how to get him to talk about something else helped a lot, Castiel was sure.
Gabriel for his part flittered around the people, hearing with his mind and his ears, chuckling to himself at all the juicy gossip he was picking up. For one he doubted anyone realised that at least two of the couples here were cheating with someone else at the barbeque. He took great delight in accidently interrupting there pitiful attempts at secret liaisons while there. He also knew just what to say to get people to reveal things they would prefer not to, without thought. And then there was that one man who annoyed him. He therefore spent the rest of the evening making sure that any drink the man picked up became empty within minutes, making his wife think that he was drinking too much and tell him off. Oh yes, this barbeque was really rather fun.
Sam watched the three like a hawk, even while he talked to his friends. He was kind of shocked by some of things he was finding out about his friends that night, I mean they were telling things they would never usually share. And they always seemed to do it after or while speaking to Gabriel. Which made his spidery sense, as Dean would call it, tingle. He couldn't work that man out. He seemed to talk to everyone without worry, but he never stayed in one group or tried to get to know anyone. Just talked and walked in what seemed to be an aimless way.
In fact the only time he saw Gabriel move with purpose was when he was trapped talking to his boss and he could see Dean getting annoyed. He didn't want his brother storming out, or decking the guy talking to him, and he had been just trying to work out how to extract himself from his conversation to go to his brother's aid, when suddenly Gabriel moved. He was at Dean and Cas' side in seconds, and not half a minute later Dean had relaxed once more. Sam was grateful for that, he really was. But what he didn't understand was how a guy who didn't really know his brother had seen the subtle tells that he wasn't happy. Of course then Sam realised that it was probably more accurate that Gabriel had seen Cas was troubled rather than Dean. They did seem close for brothers, able to understand each other without saying a word, just as he and Dean did, even if to him Cas' face never seemed to change.
But still, there was something off about the Gabriel. Then there was Cas. He gave a whole new definition to the idea of being stoic. He didn't seem to talk, Sam had had many people come up to him and ask about the man at Dean's side, asking if he too had had a traumatic experience. It seemed everyone thought his silence was due to PTSD, and they kept giving him sympathetic looks. Not that Cas seemed to notice, his eyes from what Sam had seen, very rarely left Dean's face. Watching him, studying his every move as if he was the most fascinating thing he had ever seen. That made Sam smile, at least he knew that Cas really did like Dean, and from Gabriel's behaviour he could tell Cas' family had nothing against the two being together. That was good, it eased one of his fears at least.
And Dean seemed happy, more relaxed with Cas at his side, and from what Sam could see he was drinking less as well. That was good. So okay, maybe the two brothers were a little strange, but he couldn't fault what they were doing for his brother. And that was enough for him. For now.
At the end of the evening Sam orchestrated it so that he and Dean were sat with the two other brothers. It was time to get some answers, to try and work out just what it was about Cas and Gabriel that made him itch, though not in a bad way. Just… something.
"So Gabriel, Cas, did you enjoy the barbeque?" He asked opening the conversation with an easy smile, trying to get them to relax so he could extract the answers he sort.
"It was very entertaining." Gabriel smirked in response. He could read what Sam had planned, and he couldn't wait to pit himself against the younger man. He was the only one here who had seen anything different about him and Cas, and therefore in Gabriel's mind, he was the only intelligent one of the bunch.
"Good. Make any new friends?" Sam asked smirking at Gabriel in a suggestive way. He had seen how some of the women had looked at the older man after all.
"I'm not sure friends in the right word. Castiel, what do you think?" Gabriel asked turning to his brother and therefore pulling his eyes from Dean and towards him. He purposefully used Cassie's real name, dropping it into the conversation to see if Sam would be able to put that together. Time to see just how clever he really was.
"There were some very… interesting people." Castiel replied frowning slightly at the use of his full name. What was Gabriel up to now? He rarely called him that. It was usually Cassie.
"Castiel? Is that what Cas is short for?" Sam asked turning his eyes onto the younger brother with a frown. He was trying to remember how he knew that name. Where had he heard it before?
"Yes, Dean is the one who calls me Cas." Castiel responded with a smile, his eyes going back the man next to him who reached over and grabbed his hand now that they were the only ones there. Dean hadn't wanted to show any sort of affection before, though he was pretty sure everyone had realised something was going on between him and his angel. He just really didn't want to answer any questions about it. But now there was only Sam and Gabriel there, and they both knew, so he could finally touch as he had wanted to do all night.
"Wait, isn't Castiel the name of an angel?" Sam asked dredging the thought up in his mind. He was thinking so hard he completely missed the wide-eyed look his brother gave him at those words.
Gabriel on the other hand just laughed. Yep, he really was the cleverest human he had met in a while. "Our father's very religious." He said enjoying his own joke. After all their father was god, couldn't get more religious than that now could you?
"Right." Sam nodded, though he was trying to see what was so funny with that. He really couldn't understand Gabriel at all. Just the way the archangel liked it.
"So Sammy, you had a good time yeah?" Dean asked deciding now would be a really good time to change the subject. He didn't trust Gabriel not to decide to reveal himself to his brother just for the fun of it. And that he just couldn't cope with right then.
"Yeah..." Sam replied before he started a conversation about the people who had been there that evening, and all the things he had found out about them. Wondering why it was people were in such a sharing mood that evening.
And Dean, well he had an idea, but he studiously didn't look at Gabriel, not even to glare at the shit-eating grin he had on his face. Couldn't the guy ever behave? Wait it was Gabriel, of course he couldn't.
So the evening wound down, with Jess coming to join them and the five having a nice relaxing time. Gabriel was even on his best behaviour, though it was more because he was enjoying listening to the love Sam and Jess had for each other. It was such a wondrous feeling in his mind, and one he could never get enough of. And from what he could see, hear and feel, Sam and Jess had the real thing. It was in fact very similar to the feelings and thoughts he got of Cassie and Dean. And that more than anything reaffirmed the idea in his mind that he was going to have to do something to keep his brother down here on earth with his human.