Blood, Tears & Alcohol

Chapter 1, New Beginnings

The last few months before actually moving into his new home seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. Castiel rushed around sorting out student finance (which proved to be an absolute pain), his NHS student bursary, and his accommodation. Much to his horror, Gabriel applied for a theology and religious studies course at the same university. He would therefore be housed with his older brother. Nightmare. Castiel strongly suspected that Gabriel wanted to make his life hell but Gabe swore he just wanted to keep an eye on his "baby bro". They didn't know anyone else moving into their halls. For Castiel, who had never moved out of his family home, it was a very big deal. He wasn't entirely sure he'd cope...but he refused to admit that. He didn't want Gabriel to worry about him, though he probably figured it out already.

When the day came to move in, Castiel realized he'd underestimated exactly how much of a change moving away would be and he was sorely regretting that now. By the time they pulled up outside of the block of flats, Castiel was ready to jump ship and sprint all the way back home.

"Get outta the car, Cas." Gabriel said in a tired voice, as though he expected this all along. In hindsight, he probably did. Castiel refrained from rolling his eyes.

"One more minute." He mumbled, slumping into his seat. Gabriel rolled his eyes dramatically and went to fetch stuff out of the boot. After a couple of minutes Castiel saw a nice, old-looking car pull up behind them through the wing mirror. Two guys got out and Gabe bounced over and practically pounced on them.

"Hi guys! Name's Gabriel, how're you doing?" A tall man with dark neck-length hair, smiled and shook Gabe's hand.

"I'm Sam, and this is my brother Dean." The other stranger, Dean, nodded and headed back towards the car boot.

"Nice to meet you! What flat are you in?" Gabe focused on Sam, clearly the more chatty of the brothers.

"Flat 10, you?"

"Well, what are the chances? I'm 10 too. So it's definitely nice to meet you...especially if that is chocolate I see in that box!" Gabriel said, eyes following the box Dean had just hauled out of the back of the car. Sam chuckled, Dean gave him the "are you for real" look, and Castiel wanted the ground to swallow him whole. Typical...he gets a glimpse of two of his flatmates and Gabriel is already working on scaring them off.

"You coming up?" Sam asked, and Gabriel laughed.

"Just as soon as I detach the bro from the car." Sam frowned slightly. "Cassie is currently trying to become one with the seat...I think he wants to go home." Gabriel elaborated. Castiel groaned and tried to make himself even smaller, in case the guy decided to try and spot him. Sam just nodded.

"See you up there," He said as he turned back to his brother. Castiel watched them make their way into the building. Gabriel waved his goodbye before kicking the passenger door.

"Come on, Cassie! Let's go meet the neighbours!" He whined. Castiel gave him the finger for behaving like an idiot and using the stupid nickname before sliding out of the car with a grimace and picking up a box. Gabriel was bouncing around, juggling a box, the car keys, his flat keys and the swipe card needed to access the building and the flat. He somehow managed to get them into the building and the lift while loudly discussing the pros and cons of having certain types of people as flatmates. Castiel hissed at him to shut up before taking a deep breath and opening the door to the flat. It swung open to reveal a corridor bustling with action. First reaction? Castiel was stunned.

There were bags and boxes strewn across almost the entirety of the floor, two guys laughing and drinking, another two guys arguing with each other while dodging boxes and at the end of the corridor Sam lost control of a stack of paper just as Gabriel stepped in beside Castiel.
"Ah, Bedlam." He said in a dreamy voice. And waltzed right into the thick of it. Castiel sighed and got down to business. The flat held 8 bedrooms, 4 either side of the corridor, and a door at the end Castiel assumed led to the kitchen and living room. The rooms of the flat were alphabetical - A was the closest room to the front door on the left, and they went round to H, opposite room A. Gabriel was in H; Castiel was given room G. He balanced his box on one arm to swat paper out of the way as he unlocked the door. As soon as he was through, he slammed it shut on the chaos outside. Then he scanned his new home. The lights were automatic and they illuminated a room that was spacious and modern. The en suite was right next to the door on the left, and after that the room opened up into a wider space. There was a bed against the right wall and a desk, chest of drawers, shelf and wardrobe combination covering the left. It was a rather plain space really, all white and light wood. But it was practical, he supposed. He stood in the middle of the room feeling rather lost. He didn't like it here. It was not home. After a couple of minutes wishing he was anywhere but here Castiel got down to business and began unpacking the one box he'd brought in. Gabriel would get the rest; he was staying in here.

Eventually his brother burst through the door (without knocking...typical) with another box and a suitcase. He dumped them on the floor and collapsed onto his bed.

"Abandon me, why don't you?" He acted out being broken-hearted like the drama queen he was. Castiel ignored him and continued neatly folding clothes and putting them away. Gabe smacked him on the back of the head lightly as he moved to sit behind him on the floor. "Come on Cassie! You can't lock yourself away again. No matter how hard you try you can't just hide from the rest of the world. Especially not here." He rested his chin on Castiel's shoulder. "Come meet the neighbours," He repeated with a cheeky grin.
"Ugh, leave me alone. I'll come out later. Please?" Castiel said with a groan. Gabe exaggerated a sigh and walked out of the room.

"Fine!" He shouted over his shoulder. Castiel called after him.

"Thanks for bringing up the rest of my-" Gabriel slammed the door - "stuff," Castiel finished with a murmur. He got up and locked his door. Then he resumed his unpacking.

~~~Supernatural~~~~

Dean was apprehensive about moving into halls; not that he'd ever let it show. He and Sammy were moving in together...the kid aced all his exams and got himself a place in the law school. Their old place had been close enough for them to commute but Sam wanted to enjoy uni life and hey, if he was being honest Dean wanted to as well.

His first impressions weren't all that great. He pulled out outside a building that looked in better condition than most of the places he'd lived in throughout his life. But the short brown-haired guy outside seemed nothing like what Dean wanted as a flatmate...he reminded him of an annoying puppy, a big ball of unrestrained energy. Dean bet the guy couldn't keep quiet to save his life. Upon opening the door to their flat he concluded they had moved into a madhouse. There was a couple of guys sitting in the doorways of their rooms, each with a can of beer in one hand and phones in the other. They were laughing at and recording two other guys, who were trying to fight while simultaneously dodging the boxes strewn across the floor. His suspicions about the dude from outside were confirmed when the blokes from outside joined them and Gabriel instantly started chatting away to Sam again. Dean fled (in a completely dignified, manly way) into his room. Once inside the small haven of peace, he let himself fall back onto the mattress and studied the room's fittings. In all fairness? This place was better than other places they'd lived in. He just hoped he could cope with his flatmates.
Sam was shifting stuff around in the room next door. He had F and Sam had E...poor kid was right next to the kitchen, i.e. noise central of the flat. Dean grinned and started unpacking the few things he called his own.

About an hour later Dean was ready to drop onto the bed and sleep for a week. Then Sam came knocking.

"Dean! Food!" Dean could've kissed him. The prospect of food gave him a new lease of energy and he practically sprinted through the door...straight into a guy with messy dark hair and blue eyes.

"Shit, sorry!" Dean said but the guy just gave him a slightly wild-eyed look and bolted into the room next to his.

"See you met Castiel," Gabriel stood in the kitchen doorway, arms crossed, mischievous grin on his face. Dean frowned.

"I didn't mean to knock him." Gabriel placed a hand on his back and Dean fought the urge to smack it away. Hitting flatmates does not make you friends.

"Course not! Cassie's always like that. Just try to go with it." Gabriel nodded as if that explanation made sense and then shoved Dean into the kitchen. Hell, yeah. Sammy had bacon and waffles on the go.

"You must be Dean Winchester, right?" One of the men fighting in the corridor was sitting at the table. He had jet black hair and pale skin. If Dean had to define the stereotypical vampire he'd describe this guy. "I'm Michael Young," he said with a smile. He had a posh English accent, the kind Dean only thought existed in the movies. Maybe he really was a vampire. The man he'd been fighting unwound himself from the sofa and came over. He reminded Dean slightly of a leopard; he moved with feline grace across the room.

"Luke Smith. It's a pleasure, I'm sure." Dean had to be honest; Luke's smile was a little unnerving.

"Raiden Armstrong and Altair King." Gabriel finished, sweeping his arm dramatically towards the two guys sitting on the floor next to the sofa. The one of them was a man after Dean's own heart; he looked as though he'd rather throttle Gabriel than be in the same room as him. He was tall and slender, with tanned skin and jet black hair. The other, a handsome guy with flaxen blonde hair and blue eyes, flashed him a quick grin and a small wave. Dean grinned back easily.

"So, anyone going out tonight?" The blonde asked.

"Is anyone not?" Luke said, a slow grin spreading across his face.

"It's fresher's, guys, we all gotta go out!" Gabriel said emphatically. "Even Cassie will come for fresher's."

"Settled, then." Michael said decisively. Gabriel laughed and flung an arm around both Luke and Sam.

"This is gonna be awesome!"