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I might be a musician in my real life and couldn't help inserting some music love into this chapter.

Chapter 5

Gabriel, true to form, showed up at the mixer in a pink Speedo. Amid the endless small talk, he watched his brother lurk on one side of the room and Dean on the other.

The one thing Gabriel prided himself on was his instincts. Heck, a talk show host had to have them to get anywhere in life. Over the years he had become rather an expert at prying information from reluctant people and getting to the bottom of things. It was a lucky day for the world that he had become a daytime television personality instead of a reporter; Washington would have been in serious trouble if he'd majored in journalism. Right now though, his instincts were screaming that there was more than met the eye to Dean and Cas.

Dean had done a very convincing 'deer in the headlights' impersonation when he first saw Cas. It was so good in fact, that Gabriel was convinced that it had been something more than just confusion over the inclusion of a male contestant. He actually looked like he recognized Cas. Things were about to get juicy if the two of them already had a history! He would make sure of it.

He shook his head; Cas sure was a sly dog. How he'd managed to pull one over on him, he'd never know. Before he could commence with the mischief making though, a barely-there bikini and a pair of impossibly tall heels distracted him.

"Well, hello there," a sexy voice whispered in his ear and a set of nails ran lightly down his chest. "I've been looking for you all night."

Gabriel cleared his throat, counted to ten and tried to remember he was in a Speedo. "It's Bella, right? Bella Talbot."

"Mmmm. Good memory." She didn't remove her hands.

Even picturing Castiel in a bathing suit wasn't helping. Gabriel stepped back hurriedly before things got out of control. "So, ahhh, what was it you wanted to talk about exactly? My good looks? Stunning personality maybe?"

"You're funny."

"It's been said before. By me. A lot."

Bella ignored him and sidled closer. "I just wanted to let you know that even though I'm here to win Dean's heart," she glanced over to where Dean was laughing at something a pretty redhead said, "I like you. Provided I'm still around next week I think we could…have some fun together."

"Well I don't really have a say in that. It's Winchester's choice."

"Don't you though? You're here to make us look good, right? It wouldn't be so very hard to make sure I looked good—I mean, I've already done half the work with the swimsuit here. You could just make sure Dean noticed." She ran a hand over his biceps, mouth brushing tantalizingly close to his ear.

Gabriel might have passed out for a second before it occurred to him what she was saying. "Wait a minute…is this some sort of bribe?" He laughed. "You're bribing me! A woman after my own heart! I mean, I know my Speedo is a mouthwatering piece of art, but I'm not here to get it on with contestants!"

Bella's expression morphed from seductive to livid in an instant. "Don't cross me, Gabriel Novak," she said icily. "I don't think you remember the type of family I come from. I always get what I want."

He did remember. Bella was a Talbot, of the Talbots, one of the oldest and wealthiest families residing in the US. It was rumored the family originally made its fortune in the slave trade. With wealth like that though, she was everything a family like the Winchesters would be looking to align with.

Gabriel smirked. "Oh, honey, you don't scare me. Only vampires, mummies and the Holy Ghost do that," he said in true Jimmy Buffet style and left Bella staring furiously after him.

The evening continued with the usual antics that had been pulled in previous seasons. A girl named Ruby "lost" her swimsuit in the pool and another girl named Lilith had too much to drink. Girls hung all over Dean's arm and the man laughed a little too loudly and a little too often for Gabriel to believe he was actually enjoying himself.

A cry of "Ratings! Ratings! Ratings!" poured through his mind. It was time to pull out all the stops. Gabriel grinned naughtily as he spotted his younger brother skulking around the punch bowl. He wasn't called the Trickster for nothing. (Okay, he wasn't actually called that, but if he had a super-villain alias that would totally be it.)

"Excuse me, ladies," he said slyly and extracted Dean from underneath the pack.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Dean demanded as Gabriel pulled him across the floor.

"Dean, meet Castiel. Castiel, Dean," he said and practically threw Dean into his younger brother. Castiel jumped back in surprise and Dean blushed as he collected himself.

Castiel didn't say anything though. He eyed Dean warily. Dean stuck his hand out awkwardly. "Castiel, huh? What sort of name is…"

"It's an angel's name," Castiel mumbled in his gravelly voice before Dean could finish. "The angel of Thursday."

"I like it."

Castiel's brows furrowed, like he couldn't figure out what to make of Dean. That was when the pieces all started fitting together for Gabriel.

"Oh wait. Dean. As in the Dean from the club? That Dean? This is just too good! This is better than even I could have come up with!" He danced a little on his tiptoes. "You're not serious! What are the chances?"

If Castiel's bitch-face could kill, Gabriel would have been a Kentucky-Fried-Named-After-An-Archangel by now. He stuffed a fist in his mouth to repress the giggles.

Dean just looked slightly repulsed. "Dude, this is your brother? Really? Can I be the first to offer my condolences?"

Castiel seemed to relax marginally. "Sorry, but you wouldn't be the first. Gabriel, you can leave now. Right now."

Hey, Gabriel knew he could be an annoying twerp, but he could also take a hint. "Sure, sure. I bet you two have a lot to catch up on," he said with a wink.

Dean grabbed Castiel's arm and dragged him out to the balcony, away from the cameras. Mist rose from the giant hot tub that stretched along the side of the house and oversize heaters were set above the deck area.

He blurted out before he could stop himself, "Did you know who I was that night?"

Castiel looked offended. "Of course not. Did I strike you as the kind of person who would just attach himself to anyone with the least bit of fame? And you sat by me, by the way."

This wasn't how he'd pictured meeting Castiel again. He wanted to have a friendly conversation, say something funny and watch Cas's eyes crinkle as he laughed, but he wanted answers more. "How are you even here? I wasn't supposed to see you again."

"Well you won't have to see me after tonight. I wasn't supposed to be here anyway, I just did it as a favor to Gabriel."

"What do you mean I won't see you after tonight?" The thought made him a little panicked strangely. He realized suddenly that he was still clutching Castiel's arm.

"I'm supposed to be filming this," Cas gestured around him, "not participating in the madness. What about you? Why are you doing this?"

Dean looked away. "It's complicated."

Castiel waited to see if Dean would continue. "Well then, you better get rid of me tonight before someone finds out you're not quite as straight as the proverbial arrow you've been compared to. I overheard you talking with the producer; it's okay, I won't hold it against you," Castiel said resignedly, like he had expected nothing more and shook off Dean's hold.

He left Dean standing on the balcony with a guilty expression on his face.

Sarah found him sitting dejectedly in one of the antechambers. "Hey, you okay?"

"I'm not very good at this."

She sighed. "Me neither, I haven't even met Dean yet. I've just smiled a ridiculous amount and probably scared him with how big my teeth are. I saw you go off with him though!"

Castiel really didn't want to talk about it. It would have been preferable to live with memory of Dean than to have to meet the reality. He glanced around, searching for a topic, and his eyes landed on the grand piano that sat in the middle of the room.

"Do you sing?"

Her eyes lit up. "Well, if I said yes, that might make me sound a little cocky. But yes, I like to sing."

Castiel walked over to the piano and ran his fingers over the smooth keys. It felt like coming home.

"I would ask if you know any Rossini arias, but do you like Creedence Clearwater Revival?"

She rolled her eyes. "I never would have pegged you for a classic rock fan. You just look so…so…"

"Classical?" he supplied.

"Since I'm a little rusty on my Italian operas, CCR it is."

His fingers hovered over the keys in anticipation. In the next instant, they crashed down onto the piano in a bluesy riff.

Castiel was a different person when he played. His shoulders relaxed as his fingers flew effortlessly across the keyboard and his foot tapped an energetic beat. His head nodded along with the tempo as he improvised, inserting elaborate licks above the main chord progression.

Sarah entered with the lyrics to Fortunate Son and Castiel was pleased to discover she could really belt; her voice even adopted a gravelly quality.

It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no senator's son, son

It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no fortunate one, no

He failed to notice as an audience filled the chamber. It was always just him and the beat when he played, moving through space and time in that peculiar way only music can accomplish.

He swiped his right hand up the keyboard to end the piece and glanced up, self-conscious, to a roar of applause. Sarah smiled graciously, but Castiel only had eyes for the man who stood alone in the corner, slightly in the shadow. Dean had heard him play.

He cursed the crazy jolt of energy that sizzled through him as he made eye contact. He couldn't read the expression on Dean's face though. His eyes seemed to flick through a hundred emotions before a light finally twinkled in them. He approached Castiel at the piano while Sarah was swarmed with admiring fans.

"CCR huh?"

"It's classic."

"I get the feeling you're a classic kind of guy."

Dean paused, searching for the right words. "Look, about out there, I'm sorry, okay? I'm sure you'll find this out soon enough but I don't have a filter. That's why I usually need Sam here to cover for me." He smiled self-deprecatingly. "I don't regret it, just so you know. That was the best dance of my life."

Castiel cleared his throat. He wasn't sure what Dean was trying to say.

Dean looked like he wanted to continue, but a girl in a barely-there bikini (Bella was her name?) slid her arm through his and pulled him back toward the main room. Looking over his shoulder, he said instead, "I guess I'll see you at the elimination, Cas." And just like that, he was out the door.

Castiel stood with the other contestants, waiting to see who would receive Dean's first rose. Unsurprisingly, Bella stepped up to take it.

He kind of zoned out after Sarah received her rose and the pool continued to dwindle. His mind turned to a film project he had been contemplating for a couple of weeks as he waited for the inevitable rejection. Consequently, he totally missed the first two times Gabriel said his name.

"Castiel! Get your butt over here," his brother yelled.

Castiel glanced around in confusion, only to find Dean Winchester, with an ironic smile on his face, holding a rose his direction.

Gabriel had to call his name another two times before he remembered how his feet worked.

Dean didn't kiss him on the cheek like had the previous contestants, but he pulled him into a quick hug this time. "Like I said, no regrets," he whispered lowly into Cas's ear. Castiel shivered despite himself.

Dean pulled away to face the other two girls who hadn't made the cut. "Sorry ladies, but I never really got a chance to talk with you." One of the girls glared at Castiel like that had been his fault somehow. "I wish you the best of…ahh," he glanced at Gabriel, who was mouthing the words he was supposed to say, "…luck in all your future endeavors and…stuff," he ended eloquently.

The camera's red light stopped flashing and, with a cry, Gabriel, still in his Speedo, immediately booked it to the editing room to make sure all his best moments had been captured.

Castiel stated, "That wasn't how it was supposed to go."

Dean shrugged. "To hell with the script. Sometimes I should get a say in my own life."

If Castiel wasn't careful, Dean Winchester was going to be the death of him.