Neither Dean nor Castiel had ever set foot inside the Roadhouse before. The rectangular building was made to look like an old western tavern, with smooth-log walls, support beams, floor, ceiling, and furniture. Dim lights hung from metal rings in the ceiling over each table and the bar, which was situated at the opposite end of the building from the entrance.
The diner was mostly empty, save two biker-men at the bar and one travel-weary family at a table. Dean and Cas both flinched at the bell that dinged above their heads when the door opened, but no one paid any attention to them. They took one of the tables closest to the door, sitting across from one another with Dean facing the door while Cas had his back to it. Seconds later, the door at the far back that led to presumptuously where the the kitchen was swished open and closed. Dean turned around when Cas made a face of recognition. The waitress coming toward them was Jo from Dean's acting class. She grinned at them and waved shyly as she walked up to their table holding menus.
"Hey Dean, Cas! What're you guys doin' here?" She asked, setting the menus down in front of both of the boys. She eyed their still-wet shirts curiously.
"We came out for ice cream. You work here?" Cas answered, glancing briefly at the menu before turning his attention back to Jo.
"Yeah, my mom owns the place. We do malts in addition to ice cream. The desserts are all on the back."
They flipped over the menus and read the desserts.
"Can I get the apple pie with a scoop of vanilla?" Dean asked, hardly needing any time to decide. Jo nodded, then they both looked to Cas expectantly. It took him another minute, then he ordered a vanilla malt.
"Comin' right up!" Jo said, then she took their menus and returned to the kitchen.
Dean and Cas shared smiles before Cas got a pensive look on his face.
"What are you thinking?"
Cas shifted his eyes to the table surface. "This is...our first date." He said hesitantly. Dean felt his heart skip a beat and he grinned.
"Awesome."
Cas looked up at him with a hopeful look on his face. He opened his mouth to say something, but bit his lip instead and glanced behind Dean. He followed his gaze to find Jo returning to them. She deposited a malt in front of Cas, followed by a slice of steaming apple pie and a scoop of ice cream in front of Dean.
"Holler if you guys need anything else." She said, then walked away with another little wave.
"What were you gonna say, Cas?" Dean asked as he picked up his fork. Cas shrugged noncommittally.
"Come on, man. Tell me."
"I have an idea." Cas finally said.
"Okay...?" Dean prompted. He took a bite of pie.
Cas took a sip of his malt before he said, "Let's go to my house."
"That is a very bad idea."
"I'm not finished!" Cas stuck his tongue out before he continued, "And let's tell Naomi."
"I'm not seeing where this is good at all."
"Because then we won't have to hide. And we can go on more dates."
Oh.
"As much as I'd love to do that, I don't want you anywhere near your mom."
"But–."
"Cas. What if she hurts you?"
"Then I'll deal with it. Look, you–Balthazar, Gabriel, and Henriksen, too–can only hide me for so long. And Naomi could do worse things than go to the cops. As we saw today, she's already bothering you and Sam again. It'll just save everyone time and energy if we go tell her now."
Dean huffed in frustration and didn't answer. It just wasn't safe. Yes, it would allow them the freedom to go out together, and Cas would no longer have to hide between Dean's house and the school. But Dean just knew Naomi would hurt him. She'd already tried to stab him before, what would stop her now?
That reminded him that his little brother was alone with the woman. He pulled out his phone from his pocket and texted Sam while carefully ignoring Cas' concerned-yet-annoyed glances.
sam u ok?
He set the phone on the table and finally looked up at Cas. He was giving Dean his best impression of a puppy dog.
Dean rolled his eyes and shook his head. "I still don't like it."
"I could always go by myself when you can't stop me." Cas said defiantly, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at Dean.
"I like that less." He said, and put his hands up in defeat. "Fine. We'll go."
Cas grinned at his victory, then they finished their desserts with idle chatter. At some point, Cas put his feet on top of Dean's. Dean pretended not to notice.
"Here's your check. We only take cash or card." Jo said when she came out carrying a little black folder. Dean picked it up and refused to let Cas even touch it. He pulled out his wallet from his back pocket and gave Jo the right amount for their food. She returned quickly with his change, which he left as a tip. Then he and Cas went back out to the Impala.
Dean check his phone, feeling a bit worried since Sam hadn't replied. He relayed the information to Cas, who took on his worried expression.
"Let's check on him first." He said as they drove back toward the main part of town.
"Wait, you want to go today?"
"Might as well." Cas shrugged.
"Jesus, Cas."
"What does the son of God–?"
"Dude." Dean snapped dryly. Cas just chuckled.
Naomi's car was no longer in the driveway, and Dean took his usual place in the center. He and Cas picked up their bags and went inside through the back.
Luci greeted them with a bark and a wagging tail, which made them both momentarily forget their worry.
"Hey girl!" Dean cooed, giving her a high-speed scratch-behind-the-ears before going off to find Sam. Cas kept his hand on the collie's head as they followed Dean through the house. They found Sam downstairs on the couch, invested in homework.
"Dean. You've gotta tell me what the hell is going on. I live here too, ya know." Sam said without even turning around to see who was there. Cas sat on the last stair-step while Dean took a seat next to his brother. Sam looked a bit scared, and Dean felt a stab of anger at Naomi. What did she say to him?
"What do you mean?"
"With Cas. His mom is freaking out, Dean. I didn't tell her anything, but she's freaking out."
"That's because I ran away from home." Cas contributed.
"Yeah, I guessed that much. But why? She seemed to think you were here. Why? You guys stopped talking for like, years."
"It's cus we're dating. My mom has issues with homosexuality."
Dean was honestly grateful for Cas' help. He would've hardly been able to explain the situation to Sam himself, simply because he was shit at explaining his emotional life. It was also nice that Cas got straight to the point.
"Okay. What I still don't get is why you guys won't tell her that he's okay."
"Cas has called her since. And we were about to go over to his house and talk to her. We wanted to check on you first since you didn't answer my text." Dean spoke up. Sam nodded understandingly.
"Yeah. Sorry. My phone's charging upstairs."
"Alright. We'll be back." Dean said, and he got up and headed for the stairs. Cas hadn't moved, though.
"Sam? Did she say anything to you?" He asked.
"That she was looking for you. And really worried."
"Besides that?"
"Well..."
"What did she say, Sammy?" Dean pushed.
"She said she was gonna come back with the cops." Sam rushed out, turning to stare at Dean with a slightly terrified look.
"Shit. When?" Dean asked, running a hand through his hair.
"I dunno."
"Why did she say that?" Cas asked, somehow keeping his voice even.
"I think she recognized something of Cas'. His notebook was on coffee table."
"Fuck." This time the curse came from Cas.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have let her in, I just, she seemed so–."
"Sammy, chill. It's okay." Dean said, putting his hands out, "We'll go handle it. Come on, Cas."
The older boys rushed out of the house and back into the Impala. The rain had nearly dissipated by now, and Dean sped almost the entire way to Cas' house. He pulled next to the curb across the street from the big white house, then turned to Cas.
"Look, if anything gets dangerous, we book it for the car, okay? Even if we're not done talking to her."
"Okay." Cas agreed. Then he held his hand out to Dean, who gave it a tight squeeze before they got out of the car and headed for the door.
