Hey there, long time no see! Welcome to chapter seven. Sorry it's been a while! I took on a lot of new responsibilities at my job and I've been really busy. While that's awesome for my career, it leaves me little time to write and edit, which sucks. But I'm committed to Cas and Amriel, so here I am with another chapter!
Thank you so much for sticking with me and favoriting, following, reading and reviewing! I really appreciate it.
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: In no way do I have any rights to Supernatural or any of the characters you are familiar with. I only own Amriel and any other OCs that pop up along the way.
Chapter Seven: Acting Different
Nearly a month had gone by and Amriel was humming some song she had heard on the radio as she stocked the shelves of the gas station. The past few weeks had been difficult for her as she dealt with the effects of withdrawal from her oxycodone habit. Cas had been helping her deal with her insomnia, aches and pains, and even some minor anxiety, and he took it all in stride, thankful that the symptoms weren't too severe since she was still an angel.
She and Castiel were on the same shift, which happened more often than not now. It was the middle of November and the Gas-N-Sip was bustling with families passing through town on their holiday travels. Cas was behind the counter, checking out a customer, and Amriel was glancing at him every once in a while as she hung up sour gummy worms and peach rings.
Cas had been acting different around her during the past week and a half. He had trouble finding things to say to Amriel that weren't related to Heaven or their tasks at the gas station, and when they did speak he felt awkward, but of course she didn't realize that.
Whenever they would walk to work or to the park together and their fingers would accidentally brush, Castiel would flinch away and his face would turn red. Amriel wondered if something was wrong with him. Maybe he was ill and just wasn't telling her.
One thing she did know was that the night she had spoken to Chuck, Cas had tried to call Dean Winchester to ask for help, and Dean never called back. She wondered if he was angry about that.
In regards to anger, she also noticed that whenever a male customer would speak to her, Castiel would include himself if he could, or just look at the man with a stone-like gaze that made Amriel feel uneasy. She had no idea what was going on and didn't know whether she should confront him or if it was just something humans did.
Cas watched as she went back into the store room to retrieve more things to stock, mesmerized, and he found that he was unable to take his eyes off of her. She was dressed in a pair of tight jeans, a simple black shirt, and the blue Gas-N-Sip vest, and she was stunning. He briefly wondered why he was watching her, realizing that he had been doing it more often. Cas could only image what Dean would say, but he hadn't heard from the Winchester since he had left the bunker, and that didn't sit well with him.
He stared down at the counter, wondering why he was so anxious around her all of a sudden. Castiel could barely even sleep with her so close to him at night. Every nerve in his body felt like it was on fire and he didn't know how to put it out. His hands were always sweaty and he thought that he might have some sort of human illness, but it only happened around Amriel.
Cas enjoyed her company and liked being around her, and of course he found her to be one of the most attractive beings he had gazed upon in Heaven or on Earth, but when he was an angel he never thought anything of it. All angels were beautiful and none were created to be better than another.
As he was contemplating, a loud crash came from the store room that was followed by a shriek that sounded like Amriel. Cas dropped a new receipt roll he had been installing and ran, filled with some unknown adrenalin and he didn't stop until he was in the small room.
Amriel stood with her blade drawn, breathing heavily as if she had just fought off an attacker. Her gray eyes were scanning the floor where items had fallen from a shelf, and Cas was relieved to see that she wasn't harmed and that no one else was in there with her.
"What's going on?" he asked, forcing Amriel to break her concentration on the floor to look up at him.
"Some sort of rodent was in the box I opened!" she told him in a serious voice, and Castiel let out a laugh. Amriel stared at him in confusion. "Don't rodents carry diseases?"
"I don't think people are too worried about that anymore," Cas said, watching her stance go from one of defense to something more normal. "It was probably a mouse- they find their way in here every once in a while."
A scurrying sound caught Castiel's attention and he saw a blur of brown fur in the corner of his eye. He leaned down and scooped up the small creature, cupping it in his hands and looking up at Amriel with a smile.
"Here, take a look," he insisted as he closed the small distance between them, watching as she gripped her blade tightly and sent him an apprehensive glance. "It won't hurt you, I promise."
"I know it won't," Amriel snapped defensively. "Now show me before it bites your hand."
Cas opened his hands slightly so Amriel could see the tiny mouse, its brown fur and big, dark eyes staring up at them as it breathed quickly. It was such a tiny creature and Amriel stared at it in wonder, still amazed by God's creations after all this time.
"Is it okay?" she asked, her tone softening as she watched it.
"It's just frightened. Let's go release it outside," Cas told her, and the two of them walked through the store and out into the parking lot towards a grassy spot nearby. He looked around for any imminent dangers before setting the mouse down and watching it sniff around before running away.
"There, now it can go back to its home," he smiled, noticing how quiet Amriel was and he turned to face her. The blonde was staring out in the direction the mouse had run, and Castiel said her name, bringing her attention back to him.
"I think I empathize with the mouse, lost and looking for its family and friends," she said sadly before a smile crossed her lips, her eyes lighting up as she gazed at the man before her. "I'm glad that I found you, Castiel."
Amriel turned and walked back into the gas station to clean up the mess in the store room, leaving Cas standing in the small field trying to sort out his feelings.
"Can I tell you something?" Amriel asked as she stared out the window of the coffee shop they were visiting. She and Castiel were seated at a table near the windows, watching normal humans go about their day, questioning their actions and wondering why they did the things they were doing.
It had been a couple of weeks since they set the mouse free, and Amriel was still learning about the nuances of human life. She knew that she would never totally master it, but part of humanity was realizing that she wouldn't be able to do everything.
Amriel wanted to experience more human things, so she begged Castiel to do them with her, and he couldn't say no to her big eyes and bright smile, so they participated in frivolous activities like bowling, reading at the library, and taking part in their first Thanksgiving, which consisted of turkey sandwiches, apple cider, and a pumpkin pie.
"You can tell me anything," Cas said, looking at her from his seat beside her at the small, round table and noticing how human she seemed in this environment. Her posture was a little more relaxed than it had originally been and she had one leg crossed over the other, her delicate fingers wrapped around her cup of hot chocolate. She was even wearing makeup, though not as much as the first time.
"In Heaven," she began, tilting her head up and smiling briefly at the thought of her home before her lips formed a line, "I saw you being punished for disobeying orders and helping the Winchesters."
Castiel tensed up across from her, not wanting to remember that day. He had been severely beaten to the point that he was near death, and it hadn't stopped until he vowed to obey the orders given to him in Heaven.
Of course his punishment had drawn a crowd; nearly all of Heaven's host had been there. His superiors wanted them to see what could happen to them if they didn't follow orders as well.
"When I saw what happened to you for wanting to help humans, especially with stopping the Apocalypse, something changed. I was curious… doubtful even, of what we were commanded to do." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to picture that day. "After that, I spent more time watching over my charges, intervening more. I took a vessel for a few days. My superiors found out and told me to stop, but I didn't, and so I was punished. They told me that I was broken, imperfect, unworthy of my duties. I thought I was going to be cast out."
His eyes widened and his stomach dropped at the thought of her being beaten the way he was. Amriel was good and she was helping people. Castiel had been punished for helping the Winchesters, who were seen as nuisances by some in Heaven.
"You were influenced by my actions?"
Amriel glanced up at him, curious as to why he sounded so upset by that. She watched his defeated expression, and she shook her head, not understanding why he looked like that. She would have disobeyed eventually, even without his influence. Like Chuck had said, they were similar in more ways than one.
"Seeing them rip out so many of your feathers made me realize that they were fearful that others would learn of their deceit- how they were giving false orders for their own gain," she frowned, clearly remembering his magnificent black feathers falling from Zachariah's fists as he pulled them from Castiel's back, and she remembered how Cas had remained silent through everything until that. She still remembered the awful sounds he had made, and she knew she would never forget. "I'm happy that your feathers came back in to match the ones they didn't remove."
"Yeah, well, I certainly miss them now," he told her, and taking one of her hands with his. "I'm just surprised that another angel broke ranks after what happened to me."
"Cas-" Amriel leaned forward slightly, something she saw other people do often when they tried to get a point across. "You were revered by some for what you did. Others began to question orders, but none acted. When war broke out, many were eager to side with you."
"And look how that turned out," he sighed. "I'm human and being hunted down."
"Yes, but now you have a choice to make. You can either live out the rest of your days as a human and die in forty or fifty years, or you can try to reclaim your grace and open the gates of Heaven." Amriel paused and took a sip of her drink, hoping that it had cooled down. "But do know that whatever you choose to do, I promise I will be right beside you."
Castiel stopped breathing and removed his hand from her grasp. He watched her shoot him the confused look that he had grown to like, and his lips formed a line on his face as he stared at her. In all of his existence, no one had truly stood beside him through everything.
His siblings hadn't, and when he needed him the most, Dean sent him packing as a defenseless human. Now Amriel was offering, no, promising to stand with him no matter what. He could trust her, he knew that for sure, and he realized that he needed her around.
"I appreciate that greatly, Amriel." His eyes finally met hers, taking in their brilliance and wondering how bright her grace was at that moment. He glanced down at her lips and felt himself drifting towards her. "I- would it be appropriate if I kissed you?"
He watched her entire body shift so she was facing him, her knees brushed against his and their feet touched. Her head was tilted in what must've been a signature "angel that doesn't understand" pose, one that Cas knew very well.
"Kiss? I've never kissed anyone before," Amriel felt a strange churning in her stomach and she wasn't sure what was happening. She thought it was called 'being nervous' but she couldn't be positive without Amy's memories to reassure her.
"I understand if you don't want to. I've done it before, so I could guide you…"
Castiel was certain this wasn't how it was supposed to go. He probably should've just done it instead of asking. "It's better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission," he had heard somewhere before.
"I've seen it in movies, and I've seen people do it at the gas station and in town. Could you explain the steps?"
"Um.. First, you close your eyes, then you have your lips like this," he showed her without realizing how foolish he looked. He was trying to think of the steps he had gone through when kissing Meg and the reaper. How sad- he had only ever kissed monsters. "Then you lean in and press your lips against the other person's, and go from there. It's a lot of-"
Before he could finish, Amriel leaned in and pressed her lips to his, quickly pulling away and opening her eyes.
"Like that?" she asked with a grin when she saw Castiel's face turn bright red.
"That's one way," he smiled before tangling his fingers in the hair at the back of her neck and pulling her close, kissing her the way he had seen the pizza man kiss the babysitter. It took a few seconds for Amriel to respond to what he was doing, and she began to move her lips with his, one of her hands moving to rest on top of his thigh while the other grabbed onto the collar of his shirt, keeping him from backing away.
Cas had to let up for air, and he finally parted from Amriel to see that her lips were dark pink and swollen. She smiled at him, dazed by what had just happened. He had done this to her, and he felt proud of himself. He made her smile like that, and Cas knew that he was probably wearing a similar expression. At that moment he was grateful that the coffee shop was practically empty, otherwise they would have been chastised for such public displays.
"I would like to take you on a date," he finally said after what felt like forever, and Amriel tilted her head curiously again.
"What exactly is a date?" Amriel asked, and Castiel explained that dates were activities done by two people who were interested in each other.
"To my understanding, a date can be many things. Humans go to dinner together or they see a movie or something else that is just between the two of them," he really was doing his best to describe a phenomenon he had only ever witnessed and never participated in.
"But we go to dinner and do things together all the time. Were those dates too?" She was confused, that much was obvious, and Cas shook his head and looked out the window and into the restaurant across the street.
"See the man and woman sitting at the table with the bottle of wine?" he pointed out a couple, watching as Amriel scanned the windows until her eyes locked onto them and she nodded. "They're probably on a date, I think. Actually I'm not sure. I have no idea how to do this."
Amriel looked from the couple to Castiel, noticing a defeated look on his face and she felt bad for him. He was doing his best with the knowledge he had and he looked disappointed with himself for not being able to describe the intricacies of a human ritual. Ever since Amy had died, Amriel experienced more emotions and she could process them better than she had before. It was strange, but the girl was having a much easier time feeling things like empathy.
"It's all right, Cas. Am I to understand that you are interested in dating me?" Amriel asked, watching his cheeks turn red for a reason she still didn't grasp.
"I- yes. While I value our friendship, I think that I'm attracted to you romantically. I don't know what to say to you or how to act and it's hard to concentrate on anything when you're around," Cas admitted and avoided all eye contact with Amriel as he spoke. "It took me a while to figure out- I'm new to this being human thing."
She looked at Castiel carefully as he faced forward and gazed out at the street before them. Amriel took in his profile and dark hair, knowing that he was attractive. She tried to remember Amy's memories of her relationships, because she had watched her entire life while on bus rides from town to town. Amy had several long-term boyfriends during her time, and Amriel vaguely remembered how Amy felt during those relationships. She realized that was probably how Cas felt around her.
"Let's go on a date then," she smiled, standing up from the table and pulling him with her, watching his face and neck turn red again. "Why does your face change colors whenever I touch you?"
"I'm not sure," Cas said as they began to walk towards the exit and out onto the town's Main Street, where most of the dining and shopping was. "I'll let you know when I figure it out though."