AN: And the story continues! Enjoy! - Ella
Part Two: Skinny Latte
Sam first brings something other than the regular coffee to Castiel the week before Thanksgiving. It has a shot of caramel flavoring in it and he's eager to see if he can make Castiel's coffee a bit more enjoyable for the poor man.
"This is not what you bring." Castiel says, staring down at the hot beverage after he takes a sip. "Why isn't this my regular coffee?"
"I thought you might like this one a bit better," Sam says. "It's just something a bit sweeter."
"It's still coffee?" Castiel asks, staring at his cup in complete confusion.
"Yeah, like I says- it just has a bit of sugar and flavouring in it." Sam explains, smiling fondly as Castiel raises the mug and takes another tentative sip. "So, is it better?"
"I do not understand why people drink these beverages," Castiel complains, "but this one is a bit better I suppose."
Sam nods and takes out his English essay that is due soon. He's just marking another grammar mistake and circling something he'll need to find a citation for in his notes back home, when Castiel leans forward and stares down at the essay.
"This is good." Castiel says, and Sam can't help but feel a bit defensive at the tone of surprise.
"Thanks," Sam mutters. "I'm only really here because of the scholarship, you know. How about you? What courses are you in?"
"I am not a student," Castiel says, his eyes never leaving the page as he reads Sam's work.
"Oh, are you from the area then?" Sam asks, intrigued to learn more about his friend.
"No."
Sam waits, but Castiel does not seem to be about to expand on the subject.
"So, what are you doing here? Did you get a job here or something?" Sam can't help but ask- a strange desire to learn more about Castiel. It had nothing to do with Jess' new obsession over getting the two of them together.
"My brother is ... a janitor, at the university," Castiel says, frowning slightly. Sam wonders if he feels embarrassed that his brother is a janitor. Sam doesn't care though; hell his brother got all his money on credit card scams. He is the last person to judge other people.
"So you are staying with him," Sam comments.
"Yes. He took me in after I was cast out," Castiel says softly.
There is a soft beat of silence as the university crowd in the coffee shop continued to mill around them, an endless background noise. Sam feels his heart catch on those words and he watches the other man with wide eyes. His father's words came back to him with sudden, painful clarity. "If you walk out that door, don't you ever come back."
"I'm sorry." Sam says, reaching out to grab Castiel's shoulder, hoping he can convey how much he understood without needing to say anything. Castiel just stares at him again, as if he were a curious creature Castiel doesn't fully understand, but Sam keeps his hand there and gives a small squeeze before letting go.
"They told me I got too attached, that I was too emotional," Castiel says, almost against his better judgement, as if he can't help but explain more when confronted with Sam's sympathy.
"Geez, Castiel if they thought you were too emotional ..." Sam gapes. From what Sam has seen, Castiel is the farthest from too emotional. The man is the Mr. Spock of emotions. "They're crazy. You're not ... you're fine."
"Thank you."
Castiel goes back to drinking his coffee.
"This is much better, what else do ... people put in this?" Castiel asks as Sam starts to pack up near the end of his break.
"All sorts of things," Sam smiles. "I'll bring a new one tomorrow if you like."
"I think I would. Thank you Sam."
So began the ritual that Sam would try a new drink with Castiel every day, or every other day depending on his work schedule. He quickly finds out that Castiel does not like anything with mint in it, but can't get enough of caramel and spiced drinks.
During a skinny latte with a caramel drizzle that Castiel practically purrs over like an overly content feline, Sam learns that Jess has decided to take matters into her own hands.
As Sam entertains Castiel with stories about his obnoxious and boring psychology professor, including overly fake accents which always make Castiel smile. Those small smiles are better than winning the lottery and just as rare, so Sam takes great pleasure in bringing that soft, small tilt to Castiel's lips and sees it as a personal conquest. There he is, basking in the glow of another perfect mid-December day, no exam tomorrow, Christmas lights on the windows, and Castiel smiling at him.
"Hey Sam!" Jess says, pulling up a chair from beside them and plopping down at the table.
Castiel looks startled, as he always does when anything in his routine changes unexpectedly.
"You must be Castiel- Sam has told me so much about you." Jess gushed, leaning over to give Castiel a big hug. "I hope you can help me convince Sam to go to the Christmas bash with all the pre-law students."
"How can I help with that?" Castiel asks, still looking uncomfortable.
"Well, it's next week, and maybe if you came with him, he wouldn't feel so self-conscious about going." Jess suggested.
"I'm not much of a partygoer..." Castiel says.
"Oh, it's all pre-Law students," Jess waves her hand absently, and Sam wishes he could shut her up but he seems to be frozen in shock. "Sam wants you to go, don't you Sam?"
"I ..." Sam splutters. What is he supposed to do now? Of course he wants Castiel to go; it would make the whole evening bearable. However he can't exactly ask him without it sounding like a date, and despite Jess' efforts, Sam isn't ready to date a guy. One look at Castiel's big blue eyes staring at him so guilelessly and Sam can feel himself melting. "Of course I want you to be there."
"I guess I can go then," Castiel nods, looking resigned as if they had just convinced him to sign up to the Front Lines.
"Excellent, where's your phone?" Jess asks, holding out a hand. Castiel shoots a panicked look at Sam, who shrugs helplessly. It isn't like he can control Jess when she gets like this. Castiel is hesitant handing over his cell. Jess just grabs it and Sam can see her entering his cell phone number and her own one. "There you go- now you can text us whenever you want. Well- that's my job done! Great to finally talk to you besides the normal coffee order."
With that Jess leaves as quickly as she had intruded. Sam isn't sure if he wanted to kiss or throttle her.
"You don't have to," Sam says. "I mean, if you really don't want to, then you don't have to come to the party."
"Do you not want me to be there?"
"What? No, of course I want you there. You're one of my only two friends here," Sam says bitterly.
"I'm your friend?" Castiel asks, and he looks oddly pleased with himself.
"Of course you are," Sam says, fidgeting slightly in his seat.
"I suppose you would be my friend as well then," Castiel says seriously. "That is how it works, correct?"
"Not necessarily, I just ... you don't need to think of me as a friend just because I think of you as friend." Sam blushes and wishes he could let the ground swallow him whole, because this is turning into a conversation even more uncomfortable than the time Dean had tried to teach Sam about sex.
"Do you not want me to think of you as a friend?"
"No, I would love it if you thought of me as a friend, I just want to make sure you actually feel that way and not because you think you have to," Sam tries to explain.
"Oh," Castiel says. "Then I guess we are friends."
Smiling down into his lap, he can't help but laugh slightly. "How's the latte?"
"Much better, I think I might be liking these even better then the cafe mochas."
"Then you'll love tomorrow," Sam promises. "I have a brand new latte I want you to try."
"I look forward to it."
"You can thank me by naming your first adopted baby after me," Jess tells him later that day. "Jessica for a girl, just Jesse for a boy. You're lucky I have such a unisex name."
"I could throttle you." Sam threatens, but since he's seated on the floor, letting Jess put his hair in little pony tails as they watch Buffy, he guesses it doesn't come out nearly as threatening as he'd hoped. Indeed; Jess just laughs as she put another bright pink elastic in his hair, pulling at the scalp.
"Well, honestly, I think I've seen glaciers move faster than the two of you." Jess complains. "I swear to god- if I am forced to watch the two of you make moon eyes at each other one more time, I will kick your ass."
"I'd like to see you try." Sam snorts, before yelping as Jess tugs a strand of his hair viciously.
"Are you really going to sit there and try to convince me that you are not even slightly interested in him?" Jess asks.
Unable to lie so boldly to Jess, but not willing to admit it, Sam sits in resolute silence- his eyes glued to the highly unrealistic staking of another Vampire. Seriously; everyone knew you had to behead those suckers.
"I just want you to be happy Sam," Jess sighs. "And he makes you happy. Don't think I haven't noticed how long your breaks have gotten, or the fact that you're taking on more and more shifts at Perks. At the very least I think it would do both of you good to meet somewhere other than the coffee shop."
"It would be nice to have someone with me when I have to go the dinner party." Sam acquiesced.
"Thank you Jess, you're the best," Jess says in a gruff voice, causing Sam to laugh.
Sa4m?/
This is Sam, who is this?
Ca2stutiel./
... Castiel? What's up?
I dotr9nt like The buttons 1re too close
Then just call me. :)
"Sam?"
"Castiel?" Sam asks, trying not to laugh at his friend's obvious unfamiliarity with cell phones and his frustrations. Sure enough, before anything else, Castiel can't help but lament.
"These contraptions are useless for communication."
"Hey- we're communicating with each other right now." Sam reminded him. "They seem to be doing their job just fine. So, why were you trying to reach me?"
"My brother is being unreasonable." Castiel complains. Sam feels a sharp pain of loss at the memory of how many times he's said those words about Dean growing up. "He wants to meet you."
"Oh," Sam wonders what he should say to that. He hadn't thought too much about the mysterious Gabriel, the janitor, that Castiel lived with. "I would love to meet him."
"No, you wouldn't." Castiel growls, sounding more annoyed than Sam has ever heard him. It's funny how family seemed to be able to make anyone angrier than they usually got. Sam always feels a bit better about his own dysfunctional lot when he notices everyone else is the same way. "Gabriel is very ... protective."
For one minute Sam feels his throat get thick at the unreasonable fear that Gabriel might know about the fact he kind of, slightly, likes his little brother. That's ridiculous of course. Sam has never even met Gabriel.
"So; you don't want us to meet?" Sam says, trying to understand what it is that Castiel wants to happen. He can hear a heavy sigh on the other end of the phone.
"No, it would probably be best to get this over with." Castiel says. "Gabriel has already told me to tell you to meet us at Reflections at ten tomorrow night, or that he would unleash his wrath on you."
"Okay, well, would it be okay to bring Jess?" Sam asks, feeling too exposed and willing to admit that he is completely using Jess as a safety blanket. In the past he would have pestered Dean to take him, but he viciously shoves that thought aside.
"Of course," Castiel says, but Sam is sure he can hear a slight hesitation, and he feels like a bit of an ass for dragging Jess along.
"Okay, so tomorrow at ten." Sam confirms. "I'll see you and your brother then."
It is a gay dance club. Sam feels completely exposed, as if he had a huge sign around his neck stating he's gay. He isn't sure if that's what is bothering him, or if the problem is how okay he seems with the idea of being out and proud. Jess is beside him and seems much more relaxed than he does.
When he spots the awkward, straight shoulders in a familiar trench coat, Sam feels so much better, because no matter how awkward he feels there is no way he can look as awkward as Castiel does as he stands, in full trench coat garb, in the middle of half-dressed men- all dancing around him. Making a beeline, Sam reaches out and grabs Castiel's shoulder.
Castiel smiles when he turns around and looks up at Sam. The music is so loud, Sam can't really hear what Castiel says, but he points at a thirty-something male dirty dancing between four different men and Sam understands that to mean that that is his brother.
His brother is wearing pink sparkles.
"I'm going to grab a drink, anything you want?" Sam asks.
"I don't know, what's good?" Castiel asks.
"I'll surprise you," Sam says. "How about you, Jess?"
"The regular."
His ass is grabbed three times on his way to the bar, and he can't help the shot of thrill as one man winks at him from across the bar. He has never allowed himself the chance to think he had a shot with men. He was just some short kid who went through a freak growth spurt and most of his life he had been all gangly arms and legs. Of course, Sam has noticed that that description hasn't really fit him for over a year; not since he filled out more and doesn't seem so awkward anymore, even though he still feels that way inside.
Feeling a bit warmed, he manages to squeeze himself back to where Castiel and Jess stand awkwardly in the middle of the dance floor. Passing out the whiskey sours, Jess points at an empty booth in the back corner. Nodding, the three of them make it to the back of the room without incident. He is happy to see that Castiel seems to get along with Jess just fine, which of course makes sense- everyone gets along with Jess.
"I'm not sure about this drink," Castiel said, after finishing the whiskey sour with the same swift single gulp that he had first drunk the coffee with. Sam just watched his bobbing Adam's apple with fascination.
Not to be out done, Sam downed his cocktail too and almost choked on one of the ice cubes.
"Let's try a few different ones then," Sam suggested.
Gabriel made it to their table somewhere between the mojito (which Castiel did not like and Sam wasn't surprised because of the whole mint thing) and beer. Castiel seemed completely unaffected by the whole thing, but Sam was feeling nicely warmed, and his nose felt nice when he touched it.
"Well, little brother, these are the people you are hanging with is it? Sorry I didn't come over earlier, was getting my pipes cleaned if you know what I mean?" Gabriel said, smiling lewdly down at both Sam and Jess.
"This is my brother Gabriel," Castiel said. Sam felt Castiel slightly stiffen as he said that, because he was slightly sprawled on the man, and Sam thought he should probably sit up and stop leaning on his friend. But his friend was warm and very nice to lean on, so he didn't bother.
"So, Sammy," Gabriel said with delight as he took a seat beside Jess.
"It's Sam," he snapped, unable to hide the hurt of being called Sammy again and by a stranger no less.
"You a student then?" Gabriel asked, completely overlooking Sam's anger, which was stupid because Sam was fairly sure he could take this guy down in a fight.
"Yes, pre-law," Sam said.
"Right, and what's your last name?" he asked, and he once again could feel Castiel stiffen.
"Winchester," Sam said proudly.
"Huh," Sam watched as Castiel and Gabriel seemed to share a glance of some sort, but Sam couldn't work out what it meant. "Castiel did always like to try to adopt the interesting ones."
"I met Sam when you forced me to drink coffee," Castiel said suddenly, and Sam wasn't drunk enough not to notice an obvious attempt to change the subject.
"All I said was you should learn to fit in a bit more, and maybe do something normal like being able to order coffee," Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Our family is a bit backward, see. Poor Castiel here was the baby and all our brothers and sisters like to think anything outside of the family is not good enough."
The thought of the unknown siblings making Castiel upset made Sam angry. Placing his hand on Castiels thigh as a sign of support seemed like a good idea, but then Castiel looked so frightened that Sam quickly removed is and tried to smile apologetically.
"More drinks?" Jess suggested.
"Oh, just sit right there milady," Gabriel said, winking her way. "Drinks on me tonight."
With a snap of his fingers it was as if the waiter magically appeared from around the corner and Sam saw Castiel roll his eyes. Sam didn't mind though. Between the Smirnoff Ice and rum based drink Sam couldn't remember the name of; Sam thought Gabriel might be the funniest person he had ever met. He had both Sam and Jess laughing so hard from tall tales about being trapped in a mansion after a particular sexual act and hiding from butlers. Even Castiel started to loosen up and slightly chuckle at a few of the different stories.
After the sangria things got a bit fuzzy. He remembered Gabriel convincing everyone to go to the dance floor, and he remembered wrapping his arms around Castiel as he tried to dance pressed up against him, and he could remember Jess telling him that cacti were weird, and everything was a flashing whirl of bright lights, loud music and laughter.
He could also remember the end of the night, when both he and Jess were leaning on Castiel t support their full weight as they stumbled down the street.
"They are your humans, you take care of them," he remembered Gabriel saying. And he distinctly remembered thinking - who the hell was he calling human? Then the next thing he knew he was puking his guts out in the dormitory bathrooms and crashing half off the bed, so his head could just dangle above the empty garbage pail.
A knock on door made his head pound as Sam staggered out of bed and opened the door. But on the other side was not an equally hung over Jess, but a completely un-hung over Castiel and Sam felt it wasn't fair that Castiel seemed completely fine when he felt he was about to die.
"I wanted to make sure you were okay," Castiel said.
"Sure, um, come in," Sam said, stepping back and letting Castiel in. It was only when the other man was inside his room that Sam realized this was the first time since anyone other than Jess had ever been there. He watched as Castiel's eyes roamed over the stack of text books, Sam's computer, the empty shelves that most students would have personal knickknacks in, but not Sam. He thought of how plain the room was, and couldn't help but realize how very neutral it was, much like the motel rooms Sam had been raised in.
"You okay this morning?" Sam asked.
"Of course," Castiel said so matter-of-factly that Sam couldn't help but laugh slightly even though it made his stomach hurt a bit.
"Well, then you're lucky. I don't know why I thought mixing all of those would be a good idea," Sam groaned, flopping down on his bed. "I feel like hell."
"How may I help?" Castiel asked.
"Want to grab a breakfast with me?" Sam suggested. "I think it will help to try to get something down."
"I would like that."
Sam couldn't help but smile when Castiel ordered and drank a coffee without flinching. He in fact seemed to quite enjoy the cup, and Sam felt only slightly bad about creating a caffeine addict.