A/N: Prompted by my own special day, and the fact that I love this angel so much and don't think he gets nearly enough screen time... This was originally going to go up much sooner(Birthday is May 2nd, make of that what you will...), but Life Happened and thus it was set back a few weeks... Then I started reading the updates to the Supernatural stories that I love and got really depressed because they are absolutely AWESOME! So my inspiration went into the toliet and I didn't want to write for a while after that as well.
Anyway, I'm back into the swing now that I finally convinced my Muse to come out from under the couch(good thing I have a decent supply of chocolate and plenty of fluffiness!) and now will be updating regularly!
FeathersMcStrange: Yay! My first reviewer was the person who inspired me! You are awesome!
snseriesfan: Glad you liked! Don't worry, there will be plenty of Dean in this one!
Enjoy!
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Chapter Two: Birthday
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"Hey, Cas? When were you born?"
Castiel looked over to where Dean Winchester was sprawled across his bed in their motel of the day, cleaning and reloading the arsenal of weapons the Winchesters carried, all while trying to appear as casual as possible. That attitude itself might have made Castiel uneasy for several reasons, if not for the fact that they already had this conversation before and Dean had not been satisfied with his answer at that time, as well. "I have already told you, Dean, I was created before humans had perfected a way to separate time into measurable units."
As Castiel expected, his response caused the hunter to roll his eyes and let out an angry huff of breath, which snagged Samuel's attention from whatever he was looking up on the internet. The younger Winchester had always claimed that his computer was for research, but what Castiel had seen on there when he had 'dropped by' put that claim into question... Unless, of course, Samuel was reaching how to become a contortionist, but some of those positions appeared to be quite painful, if the moaning of the females was anything to go by...
"Hello! Earth to Cas!"
Castiel blinked once and then returned his attention to Dean, whose look had gone from annoyed to slight concern, which in turn made Castiel look to Samuel for clarification, but the taller man was giving him the same look as well so Castiel decided to ignore it in favor of trying to explain what he was thinking about in that moment. "I am sorry, but what exactly do you plan to learn with this line of questioning? We have gone over it many times before..."
"Call it a personal interest." The brothers exchanged a look that only lasted for a matter of seconds, piquing the angel's interest, but Dean continued before he could question them about it, "I mean, you know almost everything about us, but we're still working on the jack side of squat for figuring out about you... So, come on; can't you at least take a guess, you know, based on what you learned when we finally figured out the calender? I know you were born a bajillion years ago-"
"I am sure that is not a word in the English language, Dean."
"-but can you at least tell us what day it was?" The man continued, over both the angel's interjection and his brother's laughter, giving them both a glare as he finished. "Come on, Cas! Early January? Late February? December? There's a whole list of months to choose from, take a random pick for all I care!"
The angel blinked at the outburst, but declined commenting again on the irrationality of the questions Dean was posing; there must be some reason for the man he had pulled from perdition to ask him this, even if the answer would always be the same. Perhaps he wished for some way to make Castiel more human, as being an angel seemed to throw the man, despite his protestation to the contrary: The shortening of his name, which even his fellow warriors were starting to pick up on, was an obvious clue that his hypothesis was correct...
It appeared that Castiel was getting lost in thought again, if the looks his companions were giving him was any indication, so he replied with, "I still do not see how this is important, nor why you have such a keen interest in the day of my creation, but I have learned that your reasons are not always apparent at first glance... I do not know how to convey the exact 'date' of my creation, but I do know that my vessel's birth day was on the 20th of August, in the year 1974."
Dean seemed satisfied with that answer, even going as far as ignoring Samuel smirking at him as he went back to cleaning out the pistol he had in his hands and whistling a Metallica song that he had pointed out to Castiel in the car as 'one of their best songs, period'. Castiel, however, did not remember the song and did not have time to ask Samuel if he did, for he received a call from Heaven and by the time either Winchester looked up to speak to him again, he was gone.
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Several months passed and Castiel answered the odd summons from the Winchesters, staying only a few moments and then leaving when all of the information that needed was given, a few times even talking over a few unimportant things before going back to Heaven. However, as the end of that year drew ever closer, the brothers called less and less, spending even more time than usual staying at Bobby Singer's scrapyard... It was also apparent that they were planning something big, something that he caught them whispering at when he decided to 'pop in' and immediately stopped whenever they noticed that he was there.
"Jesus, Cas, warn a guy before you do that!" Dean barked harshly, stuffing something brightly colored and springy underneath a table when he noticed that the angel had appeared behind him yet again. "What can we do for you that's worth you scaring the rest of the years off my life?"
"I was curious as to what the general estrangement between us is for," Castiel responded, trying to see what Dean was trying so hard to hide from him as a frown grew between his brow, Samuel's footsteps announcing his arrival from the upstairs bedroom. "I do believe I have grasped a better understanding of human interaction and have taken your request for personal space into account, so I am unsure what might has caused your discomfort with me..."
"Wha- Huh- We aren't 'estra-whatever-it-was-you-said' from you and there is no discomfort!" Dean stopped trying to stuff the brightly colored... thing under the desk he was standing in front of as soon as he realized that his brother was making his drowsy way toward the pair of them. "Sammy! Tell Cas that there's no discomfort!"
"Wha-a-a-a-at?" The word caught on a yawn as Samuel rubbed at his eyes-surprisingly making the grown man look somewhat childish-and blinked a bit before the angel in front of him came into focus. Blinking a few more times(and stifling another yawn), Samuel gave Castiel a small smile. "Good morning, Castiel. Is there something wrong? What're you doing here so early?"
"He decided it would be a good idea to just pop in and then tell me that there's apparently some sort of problem..." Dean finally gave up trying to push the cumbersome object under the desk and just threw his jacket over it with a look that Castiel took to mean that he was not to look under it before crossing his arms and changing his expression into one that immediately wiped the rest of the lingering sleepiness from Samuel's face, "Now, you're going to tell us where you got the idea that we're not cool any more!"
The rest of that day was spent being reassured by the brothers that they had not been ignoring him, being forced by Dean to watch a multitude of movies because the hunter was getting 'damn tired of Cas "not understanding that reference" and having to explain it', and having Samuel try to feed him various things despite the fact that Castiel did not need to eat. Castiel leaving that night had more to do with him needed to get out from the overcompensation than any call that came from Heaven...
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It was with a bit of apprehension that Castiel answered the next prayer from Dean Winchester, and it had more to do with how the call was worded more than the way they had acted the last time he had visited:
Oh, Castiel-who might show up even before I finish this-please appear unto us in Bobby's Scrapyard. That is in the scrapyard itself and not the house! The prayer was cut off then, making Castiel wonder if Samuel had interrupted his brother for some reason; usually, they were both in need of his help, so why would he interrupt Dean now? There wasn't really much time to contemplate that, for Dean had started his prayer again: Whenever it is convenient, just give us a heads up before you pop in... Thanks, the Winchesters.
Taking a few minutes to wonder at the message, Castiel pulled out the phone that the Winchesters had collectively given him as a way to 'stay in touch' and dialed the first number that was on there, wondering as he did so why they had so many phone numbers to begin with as the phone hummed with it's rings.
"Hello, Agent Forrester, FBI."
"Dean, it's Castiel."
"Oh, hey, Cas!" For some reason, Dean's voice grew over the phone, almost as if he were alerting whomever he was with just whom it was he was speaking to. This odd behavior had Castiel wondering once more just what it was that had happened to his charges that made them act so strangely, but before he could really think about this shift in their attitude, Dean was speaking again; "I take it you got our message? So does that mean that you-Jesus Christ!"
Castiel watched as Dean Winchester shrieked like a small child and jumped back when he realized that Castiel had appeared right behind him. Despite Dean's constant-and rather angry-demands not to do so, Castiel still felt the need to show the hunter that he was capable of appearing wherever he choose, whenever he chose. "I am here."
"Son of a... I can see that." Taking a deep breath, and picking up his phone from where he dropped it, Dean gave Castiel a half smile that had him tilting his head in confusion, unsure as to why Dean's eyes kept darting to the house behind them. "So... um... thanks for showing up. There's this... uh... text that we can't really translate... It looks like it was from the time Adam and Eve got their first palm leaves and... we kinda thought that... maybe you could tell us what it says... being an angel and all..."
"Dean."
"Yeah, Cas?"
"Is there something in the house you do not wish me to see?"
There was a momentary look of panic on Dean's face before he quickly schooled it back into his normal expression, making Castiel frustrated with the confusing conundrum that his charges had managed to become in the time it had been since he met them as Dean quickly babbled that there wasn't anything wrong with the house and that he was just seeing if Sammy was coming out to tell them if he made any more progress. Castiel decided to sway telling the elder Winchester that-as an angel-he could tell when people were lying, and as the angel that pulled him out of Hell, he could always pick up when Dean did it, in favor of simply turning on his heel and making his way to the place Bobby Singer called home.
Behind him, Dean made a few halfhearted protests before he plodded along behind him, almost lost in the wake that Castiel was making as he hoped that whatever was in the house would finally help him figure out what the mystery was that surrounded the Winchester brothers. It did not occur to him that he could have-to use Dean's favorite phrase-'zap' himself inside, but he figured this way that his humans would not be so shocked by his appearance that they would not be able to answer his questions...
"Surprise!"
Needless to say that it was Castiel that was startled when, upon opening the door, he was greeted with a veriety of colored strings being shot in his direction, Dean slumped against the door that sheilded him from any strays as he laughed at Castiel's plight. This went on for several minutes before it seemed like their supply ran out and Castiel was left standing in a heap of multicolored mush, a piece here and there falling from his head.
Oh man, Cas! You looked like you just popped out of a cake for a clown's retirement party!" Dean managed to control his laughter long enough to inform Castiel of this before dissolving into hysterics again, leaving Castiel to look to the other Winchester, who was fighting off a smile of his own if the way his lips kept twitching, to explain.
"I do not understand why you did that, Samuel."
This made the smile that the younger Winchester had been fighting off bloom across his face, although there was a sheepish tint to it now. "It's called a surprise party, Castiel. It's what you do for a friend on their birthday... You don't always have to spray them with Silly String, but it's suppose to make it a little more... fun."
"How?"
"Well, usually, the person that the party is for manages to get one of the cans and spray the people who threw the party back. It goes back and forth for a while until all of the cans are empty or someone calls a halt to it." Samuel threw a look over his shoulder at Bobby, who was rolling his eyes at the three of them, leaving Castiel to assume that he had been the one that halted this rather unique rite in the Winchester's past... "I told Dean that this was a bad idea, but the jerk didn't listen to me..."
Castiel looked at the hunter in question, who was still giggling behind the door that Castiel had opened, then back to Samuel, who had an expression that Castiel had come to realise meant he wasn't sure if the angel fully grasped what he had just been told. Taking in the fact that there seemed to be a few cans of that 'Silly String' left, Castiel held out his hand and inquired, "You say that there is retaliation to be had after the first attack, correct?"
"It wasn't really an 'attack'..." The hunter trailed off as he handed Castiel one of the spare cans (after shaking it, of course, which earned him an odd look from the angel) and then quieted completely when he saw who his intended target was...
"Dean."
"Yeah, Cas?" This time it was the elder Winchester who was taken off guard as Castiel emptied the entire contents of the can Samuel-who now was the one that was so overcome by hysterics that he had slid to the floor-had given him. After giving the can a couple of shakes as he had seen Samuel do, Castiel had to concur that it was well and truly empty as both Winchesters made it to their feet, one a bit more irate than the other and made no qualms about making this fact known with a rather loud, "Dude, what the Hell?"
"I found that... strangely satisfying." Castiel informed Samuel, handing him back the can and somehow causing a few errant giggles to escape his frame, along with the fact that his brother 'looked like a Smurf threw up on him' as he threw the can away. "What else do people do at these 'surprise parties'?"
Samuel managed to control his mirth with much more ease than his brother and also managed to answer Castiel's question with only a few minutes pause; "Well, normally,"-the fact that this word was stressed told Castiel that Samuel was annoyed that this requirement was not being met for this 'party'-"they're suppose to have cake and ice cream, but Dean decided to ignore that went I sent him out for supplies earlier..."
"Aw, come on, Sammy!" Dean's own annoyance seemed to have vanished when he realized that they were going to be getting to an activity that he had a certain relish for: eating. "Pie is so much better than cake!"
"I do not require sustenance to function, anyway, Samuel." Castiel felt that he had to explain this a lot, despite the fact that Sam and Dean remembered much of the other things he told them... He could only conclude that since they did so much eating to sustain themselves and he since he was in a human vessel, they were constantly confused as to what angel really needed.
Rolling his eyes, Samuel led the way into the house with a muttered, "That's not the point..."
Curious as to what the point was, as well as to what this 'birthday' ritual that he had yet to see the Winchesters preform for each other-despite the fact that they celebrated other major holidays, not matter how wrong they were-Castiel followed Sam, Dean and Bobby into the house, wondering just who all was included in Bobby's muttered 'Idjits.'
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That... was a lot longer than I thought... And I know that Cas isn't really this clueless, but that was a lot of fun to write! Besides, my story, my rules!
Anyway, drop me a line, tell me what you thought, or give me a prompt for 'C'! See you on the other side!