Yay! Another chapter finally up. I've been out of town, sorry. Anyway...
Chapter Rating: T (Note: Homophobic comments are not meant to offend any readers. It is a sad fact of life that I know people who actually hear terrible stuff every day. I didn't write the terrible stuff, but I had to include something to be true to life. I hate hateful people. Wait a second...)
Castiel always saddled Anna with the greatest care, making sure that the cinch was never too loose or too tight, the blanket and pad were positioned just so, and that the stirrups hung in a way that they would not jostle her sides. The young man knew the importance of the horse being just as comfortable as the rider during a race. And this race was one of the most important of them all. This was the qualifier. Sure, it was the lowest level qualifier, but if he placed in the top four, he would be moving on to the Midcities Rodeo. It was one of the most exciting moments of the man's life.
Of course, something had to come along and ruin it.
"Hey, look guys! It's Castiel Novak. Oh, excuse me, do you prefer Cassie now?" the mocking voice of Lucifer, a small time bull rider, called out.
"I would think so. He obviously either thinks he is a woman, or he thinks he's a fag!" Crowley, a steer roper, chimed in. A small group of other men added insults to the pile, all eager to replictate the leader. Lucifer had made it a personal mission to torture Castiel. It had become Castiel's Holy War to avoid any physical conflict with the men. He tried to let the insults slide by without his notice.
They continued to yell, but quickly grew bored of no response and moved on to bully someone else. Castiel began to warm up for the run, trotting Anna around the exhibition ring. When his name was called, he made his way to the main arena. A barrel pattern was set up for him, and he prepared to take off. A hand on his saddle horn stopped him.
The kind eyes of Gabriel looked up at him, "You'll do great, little bro. Mike just called to wish you luck. He wants you to call as soon as you know the final rankings."
"Thank you, Gabriel."
"Welcome. Knock 'em dead!"
With that, the older Novak sauntered away, leaving Castiel to perform. The young man focussed his energy and that of Anna herself, and took flight.
That was the only was to describe it. The feeling of the air whooshing by, the sensation of weightlessness, and the sheer speed was something that Castiel thought only flight could accomplish. He was graceful, just like his mother had taught him to be. The first to barrels whipped by, and the third barrel was just a blur. A blot of plaid dotted the fence on the outside of the arena, but Castiel paid it no real mind. The home stretch to the shoot seemed to never end, until finally, it did. The whistle blew, and his time was 14.98 seconds.
Gabriel took Anna by the reins as Castiel dismounted, breathing heavily. The older brother gave the younger a pat on the back and lead the horse off so Castiel could watch the last few riders to find out the rankings.
Time seemed to come to a crawl as the announcer called out the top four. With elation in his heart, Castiel heard his name called out in second place. He was moving on. He going to the next rodeo.
It was everything that Castiel hoped it could be. The Midcities rodeo was the biggest he had ever been to. Given that the young man had not been to any rodeo that was a qualified event one. Castiel was lucky enough to recognize some familiar faces. It was not too difficult to find a spot there. Unlike both Gabriel and Michael, he did not have enough Pro Points to instantly go to State level. He was having to work his way up. His brothers would have liked to be there to support their younger sibling, but one of the horses on the ranch had foaled. They needed to ensure the health of the mother and child. Castiel had understood.
The racing was scheduled next to last in the night's program, so Castiel decided to watch the first few events before warming Anna up. It was always fun for him to see the different ways the horses were trained for different events. He was particularly fascinated by the roping events. His father had taught Castiel how to rope at an early age, and in fact the young man had considered a roping career. But, passion had won out in the end.
The first event was Team Roping. Castiel watched with interest as couple of hulking men proceeded to catch a steer after the buzzer sounded. The next team failed to stretch the steer at all. The next missed the header throw. The event went on like this and the cowboy quickly became disinterested. He was about to leave to start warming Anna when he saw something extraordinary.
A man was preparing to go into the arena. He had on red plaid, the same kind as his partner. His skin was tanned, and light hair stuck out beneath his Stetson. The man looked up, and the lights caught in his eyes, which had to be the greenest of greens. He swung his lasso a few times to warm up his arm, taking the position of the footer in the arena. He was sitting on the biggest and blackest draft horse that Castiel had ever seen. Overall, the man was the most impressive thing the young man had ever thought himself to have seen.
The buzzer sounded. With a jolt, the man and his partner started from their positions. The steer raced out, churning its legs and throwing back its trimmed horns. Everything was going great until the cow suddenly veered into the horse of the man's taller partner. Time seemed to slow for Castiel as he saw the horse jump to avoid being hit, inadvertently unseating his rider. The huge man crashed to the ground, his leg twisting beneath him unnaturally. Castiel jumped from his seat and was at the arena in a flash.
The original man was off his horse and bending over his partner. Castiel was the very next person to arrive, as the others nearby were busy trying to herd the steer back into a pen.
"What can I do to help?" Castiel asked.
"Sam, can you walk?" the man asked his partner, ignoring Castiel for the time being.
"No, I don't think so, I, ah, Dean, think... I think my leg... uh," the partner, Sam, responded.
"It's clearly broken," Castiel chimed in. He had experience with medicine from growing up with a do-it-yourself kind of family. He knew the difference between a break and a sprain, and the leg was definitely broken.
The first man, Dean, looked at Castiel for the first time and seemed to stumble over his words for a moment. He ended up just nodding his head. A medical officer arrived moments after. Both Dean and Castiel were asked to move away. An ambulance was backed up to the arena, and Sam was loaded onto a gurney to be put inside. An older man came running up to the ambulance looking worried. Dean went with the older man, and Castiel figured they must have been a family; they looked so much alike.
Castiel was honestly moving to go to his trailer, but he could not help but stop when he heard the conversation going on in the back of the ambulance.
"It's okay, Sammy. Always next year."
"No, it's not okay, Dean. Dad told me not to tell you unless we got knocked out of the running, but I'm going to law school next year. I just want to do a little more with my life than rope cows. I'm sorry. I wanted to have one last hurrah with you, you know? Without you knowing I was leaving."
"Sam, I can't believe this! You're telling me now? If you weren't already in shock..."
"I know, but Dean-"
"Our careers haven't even started yet, Sam! This is our first big rodeo. Why?"
"I told you why, and I'm sorry!"
"Dean, you stay here. They say only one of us can ride to the hospital with Sam. Please just load up Baby and Prius and get there," an older voice joined in.
"Dad! Sam just-"
"Don't care Dean, out!"
The ambulance drove off, leaving a furious looking Dean. The man fisted his hair and paced, completely frazzled. Castiel felt something stir in his stomach that he did not enjoy. The thought of a career ending at the beginning hit close to home. Castiel wished there was something he could do for the stranger, but- Suddenly, an idea came to mind. A crazy and kind of creepy idea.
Castiel chased after the rodeo director, who was busy trying to get the events running again. A quick talk and negotiation later, Castiel was chasing after Dean. He found the other man at his trailer loading up his partner's horse.
"Hey!"
"Oh, hi," Dean said, looking up, "sorry 'bout blowing you off earlier. A lot on my mind in the moment."
"Yeah, but no time for that right now. The event director said he would let you have another run."
"How would that do me any good? My partner is in the hospital. Speaking of which, I really need to be getting to him."
"I can rope. I'll be your partner tonight. If you qualify, you can find a more suitable arrangement later."
"Wait, what? You're just offering to be my partner? That's kind of weird."
"Yeah, well, right now, I'm kind of your angel. I'm here to raise you from perdition. Either yes or no."
"Okay, fine, whatever. I'll ride again. But we aren't gonna qualify anyway. I don't see the point. And who are you anyway?"
"Castiel Novak. I barrel race."
"I've seen you before. I'm Dean Winchester. Let's get goin', Creepy."
With that, Dean closed the trailer behind the first horse and hopped onto his own, who had been tied nearby. Castiel ran to his own trailer and hastily saddled his mount. When he got to the arena, Dean and the event coordinator were waiting impatiently. Dean shoved a rope into Castiel's hands and took his position beside the shoot. The other man gave the unfamiliar tool as few test swings and then got into place, praying that Anna could follow his directions without specific training and not spook at the steer. The buzzer sounded.
Castiel spurred Anna into action and relied on every ounce of muscle memory he had. He aimed at the back of the steer's head and flung his loop as hard as he could, catching the animal around the two horns. Dean landed his throw and together, they stretched the steer. Dean looked up at Castiel with amazement. His jaw hung loose as he looked at the other man. Castiel had the decency to blush at the attention. The time read 7.87 seconds, the fastest time of the day.
And the fastest time Dean had ever had.