So here's an extra long chapter for you guys!
Chapter 9
Castiel woke with the intention of packing. Gabriel had slipped out some time during the night, leaving a dwarf-sized indentation in the mattress and a nest of pillows cocooned around where he had fallen asleep.
No sooner had he slid out of bed though than Sarah burst through the door of the adjoining bathroom.
"Cas, Cas, Cas! You gotta get up!"
"I am up. Standing is up." He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and tried to focus on her vibrating frame. She ran around the room, grabbing a pair of discarded jeans and a flannel shirt from where Castiel had tossed them.
"They're going to leave us behind!"
"Who is? What are you talking about?" He slowly peeled off the threadbare Led Zeppelin t-shirt he slept in and shrugged into the flannel. Sarah clicked her tongue and tapped her foot impatiently.
"Everyone! Bela asked Dean to take them all on a tour of the grounds today. Sam's the only reason I found out! The others weren't going to invite us!"
"Do we want to be invited on something like that? Why weren't we invited on something like that?" He told himself that he could care less what Bela and Dean were getting up to at the moment.
Sarah looked uncomfortable. "You don't seem like someone who has much of a social radar so I guess I have to tell you: You're not exactly a favorite among the other women." She raised an eyebrow like she was hoping he'd intrinsically deduce what she was trying to say.
"You mean they don't like me?"
"Uggg, Cas, it's not that. It's just that…well…you were supposed to be a joke, a lark for publicity's sake and now you're…not. You've passed two eliminations and we lost Cassie and Rachel the night before yesterday," she said pointedly.
"I happen to agree with them though. My involvement in this ordeal is a laughing matter."
"No it's not!" She looked angry and shoved a pair of winter boots into his chest. "I think it's downright heroic that you're here showing someone like Bela that she can't always get what she wants. You can't roll over for girls like her, Cas! You just can't. You have to be willing to fight for some things in life."
Castiel didn't answer but laced up his boots a little faster, his unpacked suitcase temporarily forgotten in the closet.
They sprinted through the snow toward an old barn that sat a quarter of mile away from the mansion and paused for a moment by the warped siding to catch their breath.
"Don't…want to look…like we're trying too hard," Sarah panted. Castiel just gasped for air.
Once he felt like his heart wasn't going to explode though, he motioned for them to slide inside the shadowed doorframe. They slipped, unnoticed, to the back of the group.
He wasn't sure what he had been expecting, but a barn-turned-garage and filled with cars wasn't it. Automobiles of every type stood parked side by side. Dustcovers were heaped beside the far wall as if someone had hurriedly thrown them off to display the gleaming vehicles and Dean's voice floated to them from somewhere up ahead.
"So these are mostly family cars. That douche-mobile to your left is Sam's though. Anyone who claims to like it will be dead to me." Castiel passed by a new looking Lexus SC430. Perhaps it was a bit petty, but he patted it fondly.
The group passed several more cars before Dean let out a satisfied sigh. "And this, right here, is my baby. Sorry girls, but she'll always be the leading lady in my life." His statement was greeted by a couple giggles.
"No, he's actually serious; Dean loves that car with an unhealthy, co-dependent obsession." Sam appeared from another doorway further down the line and the top of his head bobbed over the group of contestants. Castiel found Sarah suddenly straining on her tiptoes beside him.
"What?" she hissed at his incredulous look. She could claim to be here for Dean all she wanted, but he had a sneaking suspicion that a mop of disheveled hair and a pair of sideburns had caught her eye.
His attention drifted back toward the other end of the barn. From what Castiel could gather, Dean and Sam appeared to be caught up in another established argument.
"You put an ipod jack in her last year!"
"I was trying to do something nice for your birthday!"
"No, you were trying to prank me on my birthday; any brother of mine would know that an ipod jack ruins her vintage appeal."
It was fairly ridiculous, not that Castiel could talk. He and Gabriel had had epic fights over who ate the last of the jellybeans. (For the record, it was always Gabriel)
Dean must have turned to the contestants for their opinion though because a loud chorus of agreement echoed up into the rafters.
"That's not fair—they have to agree with you!"
"All's fair in love and cars, Sammy. Ladies, shall we continue the tour?" They exited out the other end of the building while Castiel and Sarah still trailed invisibly behind.
The final stop on the tour was the stable. Long and narrow, it probably housed twenty different horses and the earthy smells of leather, hay and horse had Lilith and Ruby wrinkling their noses in disgust. Bela, to her credit, did a decent job of pretending not to notice and stoically clung to Dean's arm.
There were many beautiful horses, but Dean strode straight to the largest stall where a sleek black head had appeared and whickered upon seeing him. Dean marched up to the stall door and immediately had his pockets accosted for cubes of sugar.
"Impala, meet the ladies. Ladies, Impala," he said proudly, patting the horse on the side of its neck.
"Oh! What a gorgeous name! She's stunning."
"How did you ever come up with that? It's so creative!"
"I would never have thought of such a lovely name!"
Dean looked fairly pleased with himself at all the praise. For some reason, it annoyed Castiel to no end.
"So, let me get this straight; you actually named your horse after your car? Seriously, that's the best you could come up with?" The words were out before he could stop himself.
Like the Red Sea, the ocean of women parted and he could see Dean clearly for the first time. Bela, still barnacled to his side, shot daggers at him but Dean merely stared, wide-eyed, at Castiel as if he were a ghost. Castiel couldn't tell if he was embarrassed or furious.
They might have stared at each other forever, at an impasse, if a rumbling laugh hadn't broken the silence. Sam was in hysterics, a wide grin splashed across his face and one hand slapping his knee.
"Oh, God! That's exactly what I said! I told you it was a dumb name, Dean!" he roared. He walked over to slap Castiel on the back and looped a friendly arm over his shoulders. "You're too much, man."
Castiel smiled hesitantly up at Sam. Dean looked like he couldn't decide whether to ask what Castiel was doing there or punch Sam in the face. There was a long silence in which the room held its breath, waiting for Dean to make a decision.
If they had had just a few more seconds, Castiel thought Dean might have brushed the whole thing off as a joke. His eyes flicked toward his horse with a glint of amusement and he opened his mouth to speak. However, once again, they were cut short by Gabriel's ill-timed appearance.
The barn doors crashed open and Gabriel strolled through in a truly horrendous cowboy hat and boots. "Wait no longer! The party has arrived!"
"You're not the party," Castiel and Dean mumbled simultaneously. Dean threw Castiel an ironic look.
"I hate to interrupt the horse whispering or whatever going on here, but are you all ready for the next challenge?"
Sam looked confused. "What challenge?"
Dean grinned an evil smile. "That's for me to know and you to find out, Sammy."
A host of hired help suddenly appeared behind Gabriel and rapidly began assigning horses to contestants. Castiel was quickly appointed to a dark brown gelding named Cadillac (another tribute to Dean's epic inventiveness). A groom grabbed Cadillac's bridle and tack and despite Castiel's insistence that he could do it himself, hoisted him into the saddle.
At the opposite end of the barn, Sarah looked rather panicked and had been cornered by several eager grooms who gestured toward a gray mare.
"I don't do horses. It's nothing against them—it's me, so you can back off. I mean it!" She stomped her foot and raised her fists.
A pair of broad shoulders squeezed between her and the stable hands. "It's alright gentlemen, I've got this," Sam said.
Sarah crossed her arms stubbornly. "You can't make me get up there."
Sam pointed to his own horse. "What about up there?"
"Are you stupid or do you need me to repeat—"
Sam cut her off. "No, I mean with me. I'll ride with you."
Sarah froze and looked suspicious. "I'm not sure…"
"It'll be fine. Look—she's really nice." He led his tan mare over to her and Sarah's shoulders slumped in defeat.
"Okay. Just this once."
Sam grinned. "Fine, but if you end up loving it, I get to say I told you so."
Dean rolled his eyes as he passed by, already astride Impala. "Well is that it then? Everybody good to go?"
A few of the girls wavered unsteadily in the saddle and grimaced. Bela looked horrified at the thought of having to ride an animal. "What if I can't get the smell out?" she kept asking.
An indignant voice yelled from somewhere below, "Is this some kind of joke?" It took Castiel a moment to pinpoint his brother. Gabriel, fuming, was seated astride a fat Shetland pony.
"Being short sucks, huh?" Dean tried in vain to keep a straight face.
"I will get you for this, Winchester. Mark my words."
"Yeah, well, forgive me if I'm not cowering in my boots at the sight of a midget on a pony."
"An angry midget on a pony."
Dean laughed and nudged Impala in the side, leading them into the snowy woods and whatever challenge waited there. For the first time, Castiel remembered his neglected suitcase, but it was too late to turn back. He consoled himself with the thought of how the contestant's carefully curled locks would get mussed in the wind and urged his horse forward.
They took a wide dirt trail into the mountains. While snow-laden boughs drooped from trees on both sides of the path, the trail itself was relatively clear. A crisp wind stung Castiel's cheeks but he relished the sensation; he'd spent entirely too much time inside as of late. Sarah had left some time ago with Sam to ride at the front of the pack next to Dean and Gabriel, but Castiel was more than content to linger behind, out of the spotlight.
Sarah had been right though when she said that the other contestants were less than pleased with him. He could only assume they had made some sort of vow of silence because not one would speak with him. Trees, bushes and rocks became suddenly fascinating in Castiel's presence and at one point, Meg had actually pushed her mare into a trot rather than ride directly beside him.
Castiel almost laughed; all their efforts were pointless considering he had spent more time fighting with Dean than dating him.
Dean rode at the head of the group, leading the way, but kept casting furtive looks back at Castiel. A normal person might not have noticed the sly glances, but it was like Castiel was constantly tuned to Dean's specific frequency now and was thus hyper-aware of whatever the man did. It was beginning to feel like a curse.
He supposed all the staring was probably Dean's dysfunctional way of trying to apologize and Castiel purposefully looked away each time he felt Dean's gaze, denying him the opportunity. The man could apologize in person if he wanted.
He couldn't help sneaking an occasional glance though and caught Dean laughing at some comment Sarah had made. Castiel felt a sudden inexplicable loneliness.
He'd never felt this way before—he had been perfectly happy moving through life as a bystander. He hadn't needed companionship (apart from Gabriel's generally unwanted visits) or love. He had been a rule unto himself, distant, calculating and completely objective. And then he met Dean and everything had changed in a single smile.
Now he was just angry; a whole world had been opened to him with Dean's arrival and it had closed again just as quickly, leaving him aching and wanting more. He couldn't go back to the way he used to exist and it was entirely the fault of a pair of stupid green eyes and a mass of uncountable freckles.
He was so angry in fact, that when Dean laughed again at something that was said and threw his head back in that carefree manner that indicates absolutely everything is right in the world, Castiel urged Cadillac into a canter and pushed the horse forward.
He surged to the front of the caravan, easily flying past Dean and Impala. And, for a blessed moment, there was only open trail in sight and he could forget how Dean thought someone else was funny.
He barely had time to enjoy a relieved breath however before the sound of hooves echoed behind him. He glanced over his shoulder. Dean had sped up as well, crouched low over his horse and eyes narrowed, trying to catch up.
The remaining rational part of Castiel's brain informed him that he was probably in the midst of a social faux pas; he'd usurped Dean's spot as leader. Or maybe Dean just wanted to talk with him.
However, the irrational, rejected, and blindingly jealous part of his brain whispered that Dean should have to work for some things instead of having them handed to him on a golden platter.
Dean assumed everyone on the show was there to cater to his every whim. Well, Castiel wasn't. Cadillac's canter became a gallop.
He stole a smug look behind and raised his eyebrows. They were alone now on the trail, with no cameras to witness the other man's utter shock at not getting his way.
Castiel saw Dean's brows furrow in concentration and a spark light in his eyes as he kicked Impala's sides; the chase was on. He tried not to consider the irony that Dean was pursuing him literally instead of figuratively and urged Cadillac to a faster pace as well.
Everything on the sides blurred as Castiel focused solely on the next dip or turn in the trail. Cadillac never faltered and pumped his legs to a beat that seemed to match the way Castiel's blood pounded through his veins.
All too soon however, a speck of black flashed at the corner of his peripheral vision. Somehow, Impala's nose had crept impossibly parallel with Cadillac's streaming tail and he could hear her labored breaths in great snorts.
Dean urged her on, his cry the only sound besides the pounding hooves. Castiel could not shake the duo; they gained inches at a time, first reaching the back edge of his saddle, then his knees, and then where his hands clutched the reins.
Finally they were equal, neck in neck, flying over the ground as if they had grown wings. Castiel risked a look at Dean then and found the man staring straight back, his mouth quirked in a knowing smile. He was enjoying himself, dammit.
Castiel scowled and jerked back to the trail. The trees had thinned and it was rapidly apparent they were approaching a large clearing. Dean threw himself forward on his horse and Castiel did likewise as the clearing morphed into an invisible finish line.
Castiel was convinced it would be a tie until his 'Dean radar' detected the man's gaze once more. Dean had drawn close, leaving only inches between them. A wide smile stretched across his face as if he had been keeping a secret up till that moment.
"See ya later, Cas," was all he said as he flew by. With only a nudge, Impala shifted into an untapped gear.
Dean burst into the clearing well ahead of Castiel and turned around to smirk at him, as if daring him to admit how much he'd wanted to win that race. The effect was quite charming, Castiel thought bitterly. Dean was practically irresistible in that moment and it made Castiel sort of want to punch him a little for it.
Gabriel and the others arrived however before he could do anything more than silently fume. The host's pony teetered on shaky legs, panting heavily, and Gabriel shot them both a hell-raising glare from under the brim of his ten-gallon hat.
"So are we done with this whole 'mine is bigger than yours' thing yet? Let me know if you need some fresh snow to write your names in, boys."
Dean grinned sheepishly. Castiel said nothing.
"Cat got your tongue, Cas?"
"Gabriel, please inform Dean that my name is Castiel, not Cas."
"Oh, like that's mature! Cas, Cas, Cas," Dean sang.
Gabriel groaned. "Seriously, you two were made for each other."
Dean looked affronted and Gabriel pointed a finger his direction. "Don't even try to tell me you don't have the hots for my little bro, Dean-o."
"What? That's not—" Dean tried to say but Gabriel cut him off.
"Nope, no apologies, no groveling necessary. I give you my full permission to ravish my little brother. Go for it."
Dean sat back, red-faced, and glared at Gabriel like he was imagining all the painful things he'd like to do to him if he weren't on national television. Castiel felt a smile tug at the corner of his mouth. He needed to remember to buy Gabriel an extra bag of jellybeans when they got home.
I love the idea of hot men riding on horses. Just makes your day better thinking about it.