Chapter 7: Bad Reputation
CW: violence, homophobia, homophobic slurs (still bleeped though)
"Hey handsome," she said, sliding up next to him like there was no other room in the bar. It was a hole in the wall, a dive bar in a small town in the middle of nowhere. There were maybe ten people in the whole joint, including Dean, Cas, and the bartender.
"Hi," Dean replied blandly, taking another swig of his beer. He and Cas were on their way to Jody's to help her with a hunt and decided to stop the night almost there for some alone time. They'd had a few rounds of alone time, and when Dean grew hungry they ended up here. It had burgers, it had beer, and it had the usual bar games, so they hadn't left yet. Dean was suddenly beginning to regret that decision.
"Want to get out of here?" the woman asked, doing her best impression of a seductive voice. It was a good impression too, backed up by a rockin' body and gorgeous long legs. Two years ago, he'd already be escorting her out the door. Hell, even a year ago he'd have probably ended up in her bed. He and Cas were a thing now though, and even though they hadn't defined what kind of thing, he knew he didn't want anyone else.
"Sorry, I'm here with someone," Dean said politely, stepping sideways away from her. It was a round table, so it wasn't hard, but she just stepped with him, keeping their bodies in contact.
"Where is she? Maybe she could join us…"
Dean grinned. This had only happened once before, but it was still funny to him. "He is right there," he said, nodding as Cas took his turn at darts, "and unfortunately he's not really into threesomes. I really appreciate the offer though."
"Him?" she said, her voice suddenly just as bland as Dean's. "You're here with him?" She stepped away from Dean, her hands – which had been roving rather inappropriately – suddenly clenching together at her chest.
"Yeah, that's what I said…"
"Ugh, gross," she muttered, and quickly walked away.
"Okay then?" Dean wasn't really sure how to react to that, and when he turned back to see Cas pulling his darts out of the board he set the experience aside. It was his turn, and… whatever to whatever that was.
Later, after they'd finished their game and were discussing heading back to the motel, a group of four men walked over to Cas and Dean's table.
"Hey boys, board is all yours," Dean said, assuming they were interested in a game of darts.
"You should leave," the man in front said.
That got both of their attention. "We were planning on it?" Cas said, confusion obvious in his voice. He didn't seem to feel the tension coming from the other men.
"Good," the man went on. "My girl tells me y'all are into some nasty shit, and we don't want that here."
"Hold on," Dean interrupted, finally getting a hint at what was happening. "Your girl?"
The man looked over at the bar, where the woman who'd been hitting on Dean was sitting and glaring at everyone.
"Wait, you're mad because I didn't sleep with her? Jesus, Cas, apparently I need to start banging women again…"
"Leave my girl out of this f*gg*t!"
Dean set his beer bottle down with a loud thunk, the sound making it even more obvious how quiet the bar had gotten. He stood and properly faced the men gathered in front of their table. He was taller than all of them (not that that was hard, given how tall Dean was), and one of them barely had any muscle at all. With the fury raging in his veins he knew he could take them, and that confidence radiated from him strongly enough that a couple of them shuffled backwards an inch or two.
He didn't acknowledge the motion though. Didn't acknowledge the fury. He just looked dead in the eyes of the speaker, the man in front, and said, "Say that again to my face."
Cas stood abruptly next to Dean. "I would strongly advise against doing that, actually," he told the other man.
The man smiled, leaned towards Dean, and spat the word again.
Dean sighed. "You did warn him," he said over his shoulder to Cas.
"I did," Cas agreed, resigned.
Before the other three even knew a fight had started, Dean's fist had knocked the speaker to the ground. He didn't get up. Dean didn't shake his hand, even though the punch had hurt like hell. Knockout punches were never easy or soft, but he wanted them to know what he was capable of.
The three men still standing glanced at each other, clearly reconsidering their course of action.
"Walk away," Dean told them, "while you can still walk."
Apparently that was the wrong thing to say, because after one last glance all three of them charged at Dean and Cas.
It wasn't a fair fight.
Most people would say it wasn't a fair fight because it was three against two, or because two of the attackers had the pool cues and Dean and Cas drew no weapons. That wasn't it at all though. It wasn't a fair fight because it was three country boys with little to no experience fighting, against Dean Winchester and the angel Castiel. The country boys never stood a chance.
Within a minute the three country boys were on the ground, one unconscious and the other two groaning in pain, while Dean and Cas stood over them and the two tables they'd broken in the fight. It was a sour victory, but a victory nonetheless.
Dean walked over to the bar top, pulling cash out of his wallet on the way. "Gimme a bottle of whiskey," he said, offering a few bills to the bartender.
The guy grabbed a bottle from the top shelf and set it on the counter between them. "On the house," he said, refusing Dean's cash. When Dean gave him a confused look, he went on. "Do you know how long I've been waiting for someone to whoop those guys? It's on the house, man."
"For the damage, then," Dean said, offering the cash again.
"Oh no," the bartender said, holding his hands up and backing away from the cash. "Those guys started it, they'll pay for it."
"Jared?" A woman peaked around the corner of the bar, and the bartender walked over to her. "Is it over already?"
"Yeah, hun, we're good," he said to her, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. "These guys took care of it."
"You're… still standing," she said, staring at Dean and Cas in awe.
"Yes." Cas glanced over at Dean, confusion obvious on his features, but Dean didn't get the comment either.
"Usually when Dick and his friends start a fight, the other guys aren't standing at the end," the woman explained.
"Dick?" Dean asked, incredulous. "That guy—" he pointed back at the pile on the floor, where the first man down had finally started moving— "is named Dick?"
Jared and his girlfriend both laughed. "Yeah, and he's a world-class jerk," Jared added.
"Shit, Cas, no one around here likes dick," Dean said quietly, making Cas snort.
"Look, I…" the woman glanced at Jared, then back to them. "I called the cops when I saw they were starting another fight. It can take an ambulance 20-30 minutes to get out here in the boonies, so I wanted to make sure help was on the way, but… if you don't want to stick around and talk to cops… Well, I wanted to give you a heads up."
"Thank you," Cas said earnestly. "You seem like a very nice person."
"Thanks," she said, giggling.
"We should go, Dean," Cas went on, tugging Dean's sleeve as he moved to the door.
The groans on the floor caught Dean's attention as they turned to go, and he saw Dick was awake and glaring at them. He wasn't quite upright yet: when Dean Winchester knocks you out, it takes more than a couple minutes to make a full recovery, after all.
He found himself walking over to Dick and staring down at him. He stayed out of arm's reach of him and the other two that were still conscious, of course, but he found he couldn't just walk away yet. Some part of him felt the urge to prove to these homophobic assholes that their hatred hadn't changed anything.
"Cas, can I borrow you for a minute?" Dean said, not looking back at Cas, but holding out his hand for him.
Cas joined him in front of the men, his eyes following Dean's every move as he faced him, as he put his hand on Cas's face, as he pulled Cas closer. Understanding flickered in Cas's eyes, and a look that clearly meant "are you sure?" Dean had never been into public displays of affection. Not with the women he'd dated, and not with Cas. It wasn't a commentary on their relationship, he just wasn't into it, and Cas knew it.
The defiance in Dean raged again, and his answer to Cas was to lean in and kiss him. He ignited the fire with memories from earlier that day, from earlier that week, of them being together both casually and sexually. Once the fire burned, once he was devouring Cas without any awareness of the bar or the assholes or anything, he fed it every moment of confusion and every insecurity he'd ever had about his feelings toward Cas. He fed it every ounce of toxic masculinity he'd been force-fed, and every droplet he'd spat back out. He burned all of it on the altar of Cas's lips.
Eventually the fire ran out of fuel, and the smoke cleared from Dean's mind, and he slowly pulled away from Cas. They were completely entangled in each other, Dean's hands deep in Cas's hair, Cas's tight on Dean's back, both flushed and breathing heavily. Dean realized he was shaking, and realized something else too…
"Cas…" he started.
"Holy shit," came a voice from somewhere behind them.
Reality crashed around them, and Dean remembered where they were and how they had ended up there. By the way Cas was rapidly blinking, he was coming back to reality too.
"We should go," Cas said hoarsely.
"Yeah," Dean agreed, just a little breathless.
Slowly, they disentangled and started walking towards the door.
"You'll burn in hell for that!" Dick shouted from behind them.
Dean couldn't help it. He burst out laughing. "Eh, been there, done that."
Cas was grinning too. "The queen probably would like to see you again, actually," he joked. Dean nodded, still chuckling.
They both glanced back at Dick, who looked completely lost, and Dean started laughing again.
They held hands in the Impala as they drove back to the motel. Dean hadn't forgotten the intensity of their moment in the bar, or what he'd realized, but the comment at the end had diffused the tension some.
When they arrived, Cas paused just outside the car, resting his hands on the roof. "Dean," he started, getting Dean's attention. "Did you mean what you said? That you need to start sleeping with women again?" Cas had gotten better at hiding his feelings over the years, so Dean couldn't tell if he was hurt or just curious. He moved around the car before answering, just in case, and Cas rotated with him. They ended with Cas pressed between Dean and the passenger door, Dean's hands gripping Cas.
"It was just a comment, Cas," Dean said, looking Cas in the eye as he said it. "I didn't mean it; I don't need it. I want you, Cas, just you." He leaned in and left a lingering kiss on Cas's lips. "I realized something tonight," he added.
"What's that?" Cas said. He did seem more relaxed, his forehead resting against Dean's and his arms linked around Dean's waist.
"I love you."
Cas's head came up abruptly. "What?" His face was completely open, wide with surprise.
"I love you, Cas," Dean said, his thumb tracing Cas's jawline. Cas continued to stare, and Dean panicked a little. "I don't need you to say it back, or anything, or say anything, I just… realized it, and wanted to tell you… is all."
Cas's blank face shattered abruptly into the pure, joyful grin Dean saw so rarely. "I don't know what to say," he finally said, his voice even more gravelly than normal.
"You don't have to say anything, like I said, I just wa—"
"Dean, I love you too, you idiot."
The words ran down Dean's body like a rush of water. He was indeed grinning like an idiot by the time the flood was over.
"You know, according to Dick I could go to hell for what we just did."
They were laying on the bed in the motel, clothes scattered everywhere. Though Dean would never admit it to anyone, not even Sam, he was little spoon just for the sake of being little spoon… and not for the first time. Cas's right arm was wrapped around his chest, and Dean was quite comfortable.
They'd spent the energy created in the bar—and in the conversation afterwards—in multiple rounds, finally leading them to this exhausted pile. Dean had been reflecting on how they'd ended up here and remembered the asshole's hilarious parting comment.
"If you're worried, I can promise to raise you again," Cas teased, his breath tickling Dean's ear.
"Nah," Dean said. "Rowena would probably get sick of me and kick me out." Cas laughed quietly, the sound rumbling into Dean's back. "It'd be fun to experience it though," Dean admitted. "Maybe I'll actually remember it next time."
"You still don't remember any of it?"
"Nope. Nothing ever came back to me."
Cas placed one gentle kiss on Dean's cheek, shifted, and gripped Dean's left shoulder with his right hand, saying, "Did you know this is how I carried you out?" He squeezed, pressing Dean against him, as if he was going to carry him off again that very moment.
Dean settled his own right hand on Cas's. "To be honest, I didn't really think about it. Just didn't seem important."
"It was the only way I could pull you away. You wanted to keep fighting."
"Fighting?" This was the first Dean had heard about any fight surrounding his initial escape from hell – other than the taking out of guards he'd assumed Cas had to do. He rotated to face Cas, curious and confused all at once.
"Yeah, we had to fight our way out," Cas went on, "but you… you didn't want to just escape. You wanted revenge. It wasn't until I had you against me like that, and we were in the air, that you finally calmed and just held on."
"You know I probably was freaking out about the whole 'in the air' part, right?"
Cas blinked. "I hadn't thought of that."
Dean laughed. "Ah, those innocent days when I didn't know about angels."
Cas's hand was still on Dean's shoulder, rubbing the spot where it had once burned him. "I knew then that you were something special, Dean," he admitted quietly. "For a soul to go through what you had been through and still come out swinging… I don't think I believed in the mission, or maybe even humanity, until I met you."
Without thinking, Dean's hand came up to Cas's cheek. "I am pretty awesome," he joked. Cas snorted, and the emotional tension was broken.
"There's no one quite like you, Dean Winchester, that is true." He pulled Dean's hand around to his lips, kissing his palm. "That is why I love you."
Dean hadn't been expecting that. Yes, they'd said it at least half a dozen times since returning to the motel room, but it was still a surprise every time.
His instincts had saved him dozens of times in the past, so he let them take control again now. His lips connected with Cas's, and they were done talking, at least for a little while.
A/N: Would you like to hear how things end in this reality? How much of the "original" ending stays true, how much of it changes? I don't want to provide those answers if you don't want them, but I answered them for myself and am happy to share an epilogue if there's interest. :)