Chapter 8

Thank goodness for Meg. Yes, it had ended awkwardly, unexpectedly, but she had bought Castiel what she called "normal clothes." Yup, this was what would keep Gabriel's eyesores he called clothing far from Castiel's person.

Admiring himself in the mirrored door into the nightclub, Castiel thought he didn't look half bad. Tan khakis and a blue button down. Simple, casual. Castiel was a bit unsure as to whether or not these threads were entirely appropriate for a club environment, but they would simply have to do. He knew he could not trust anything he'd bought himself to pass Gabriel's inspection. He needed to pass. He needed to keep those flashy, eighties monstrosities from being put in or around his person. Castiel shuddered at the thought.

God, he was early. Gabriel would surely make fun of Castiel now. At a club before ten, nerd alert, as his brother would say. Half an hour early. And it had been going so well, or rather as well as could be expected, under the given circumstances.

Gabriel found Castiel a while later sipping a beer by the bar. Castiel was just standing there, silently awkwardly. It was if a GAP mannequin had wandered into the bar and gotten lost. Gabriel was doing the exact opposite of that. He sauntered in, in his disco ball of a shirt, laughing and greeting everyone he saw despite them being perfect strangers. Day and night, moon and light, it had always been this way with the two brothers.

Thankfully, Meg's largesse did earn Castiel the passing grade he was angling for, do it did include a lecture from Gabriel. One that purported to be about biology no less. A subject Castiel had thought he was entirely familiar with. What Castiel was not familiar with was Gabriel's particular grasp of biology and biological imperatives.

"It does pass, Cas, but consider what you're giving up. You may call my humble duds, eyesores and warts on the face of fashion."

"I never..." Castiel attempted to interject some small modicum of reason, but he was himself interrupted.

"But. BUT, I am only continuing the proud tradition of the males of the species. The proud peacock. The ordinary mallard duck. The lion with his mane so fair. Japanese fighting fish. The females are attracted to the majestic male display. The shiny, the new. Females hold all the cards and therefore have no need of such trinkets. Men, men to attract a mate much take the initiative to prove, through their physical decorations and appearance their suitability as mates."

"Gabriel," Castiel tried again, "What about bisexuals, pansexuals and gay men? Which is to say nothing of lesbians..."

"What man in his right mind could fail to be impressed by another with colours and accoutrements far more ornate and masculine than his own. As for women with women, women always hold all the cards and are less visually oriented than men, would they not impress one another with intellectual displays, mutual love for k.d. lang and Margaret Mead no doubt."

Castiel just shook his head and took another long pull on his beer. He'd long since learned the futility of attempting to argue with Gabriel and his flowery speeches. The music here, the thumpa, thumpa, was a'thumpa-thumping him in the head. He knew he'd never be allowed to escape yet though. Deep breaths, Castiel, you are the Angel of Tuesday, you can do this. You've endured worse.

Gabriel seemed to sense instinctively that he was loosing his hold of his captive audience. He slung his arm about Castiel's shoulders, "So Cassie, boy what are you after this time, boy, girl, vegetable, mineral, tiger?" He waggled his eyebrows so hard, Castiel almost feared they would escape his face – just disappear into his unruly hair and beyond.

"Gabriel, brother. Just listen to me please. I want someone normal. Someone who shares at least some of my interests. Someone I can talk to." The unspoken words echoed in his own mind, someone who isn't a nearly mute, tawny golden catboy that gave him confusing trouser twitches. Was catboy, catman he corrected, attraction really beastiality or did the man part of catman kind of cancel that out, at least in part.

Gabriel yawned, it was very exaggerated, but at least he seemed to have heard Castiel. He hadn't interrupted. Not that it made Castiel trust him to not make the evening incredibly painful, at least for him.

But what if Gabriel succeeded. What if Gabriel managed to sift through this packed nightclub and find Castiel, someone equally enamoured of routine, who enjoyed nature, animals and the outdoors, who didn't follow Gabriel's peacock principle, someone Castiel could have an honest conversation with and stay in bed late with on lazy Sundays? What would become of Dean? Would Castiel's feelings for the catman evaporate, what would he do with Dean? He didn't even know the answer to that now.

Lost in his musings, Castiel was caught off guard when Gabriel shoved his first suitor at him. The woman seemed friendly, if a bit shocked by this turn of events as well. "This is Kimberly," Gabriel began. "She runs a veterinary hospital, enjoys long hikes and Sunday crosswords."

Castiel gawped a little, like a guppy. It all seemed so dangerously close to that picture he'd been painting for himself not a moment before about a normal, down-to-Earth relationship where neither party was part cat.

Kimberly just smiled at him and it made her brown eyes seem gentle kind of like a big beautiful cow. God, you couldn't trust a biologist to describe anything that wasn't for a biological article or report.

Meanwhile, Gabriel was ploughing on, clearly oblivious to them both. (It always seemed to Castiel that Gabriel was playing some kind of candid camera game show with himself and the rest of the world were merely his extras.)

"This Castiel. I was telling you all about him. He's a biologist, some of his projects are top secret lately, but maybe he'll tell you all about it. He also likes hikes, spreadsheets, tax filings and lazy Sundays. I don't know about crosswords though...I don't think I've seen any evidence one way or the other..."

Castiel knew he was required to step in here. He needed to stop his brother for saying more than that. Castiel didn't love tax filings, he just didn't bitch about them. There's a difference. So he was a bit of a sucker for a well constructed Excel formula, so what. Lots of people probably felt the same.

"Thanks, brother." Castiel returned the shoulder gesture, clasping Gabriel about his shiny, shiny shoulders. "I think Kimberly and I are alright here. Magnets will attract or they won't. Let's test these magnets ourselves."

Kimberly laughed. It was a kind laugh. She evidently was not trying to make fun of Castiel's verbal issues. God, he was a geek wasn't he. But maybe this wouldn't be that bad. I mean he hardly had time to wonder what Dean was up to.