Disclaimer: I dont own Supernatural or the characters
"And here is where we serve the kids pink sludge." Dean chuckled, laughing at his own joke. "Castiel frowned, looking in briefly. "You know you have a lot of negative things to say for someone who's taught here nearly 5 years already."
He looked annoyed. Dean put his hands up in surrender. "You really need to lighten up dude. I'm just poking a bit of fun." He cleared his throat, gesturing for Cas to follow him to their next destination. "If you'll follow me, I saved the best for last. This is my little slice of heaven."
The two men approached Dean's garage/class room. It was a 2 door garage with shelves full of spare parts. 2 junk cars were in midair on supports. There was one corner barely illuminated by the sunlight that housed Dean's personal office and the impala. As Dean strode in, Cas couldn't help but notice a visible change. His shoulders relaxed and his smile was now genuine.
Dean looked like a child who just returned home after a long day. He was at home. "So Mr. Novak, what made you come here to teach theology? Lawrence ain't exactly theological." Cas smiled, laughing at his question. "Well that's something I hope to change. What about you? Has Lawrence always been the mechanical capital of the world?"
Dean laughed. 'So this guy does have a sense of humor' he thought. Dean opened his mouth to speak then changed his mind. He sauntered over to his desk and grabbed a book and a picture frame. "I've lived here in Kansas all my life. I always thought I'd be a mechanic just like my pop."
He handed Cas the picture frame that held a picture of a 6 year old Dean held by a tall man. They were both covered in grease but looked perfectly content to be so. "When I was 29 my dad allowed me to come work for him. One day the risers faulted and the car dropped on him. He died and it didn't seem right to keep up his work. So I went and got my teaching license." Cas looked as if he wanted to speak, but Dean went on; not really answering his question. "Then when I went to the class to get the certificate I met a gorgeous woman name Lisa. It wasn't long before I got her to agree to marry me. The wedding was set for May. The venue was picked, the food decided. But hell we coulda been getting married in a cardboard box and it would've been perfect. Then one day, a week before Christmas, we got hit by a truck and Lisa and her son Ben died. Sometimes I think that working here is the only thing keeping me sane."
Dean was looking down, his eyes glossed over. He sniffles and refused to cry. "Sorry for that. I've got a rule no chick flick moments but I guess I got carried away." Cas looked at him with concerned eyes. "Dean, it wasn't a bother." Turning away, Dean shrugged it off. "Look at me, in getting soft."
He jumped up his normal self, smiling and laughing. "Hey, how about I show you to your new class? I'm sure that your holy headquarters will be very thrilling." Dean laughed at his joke. Cas joined him half-heartedly.
This day had already been nerve racking and now he had an emotionally stunted full grown man leading him around. This had been a new experience, but if there is one thing he had learned from his classes; it was that no one deserved sadness. His new goal for the school year was to help the people of this community, first and foremost to raise Dean up and leave his mark on his soul.
The trek from the garage to the Theology room was short. "This used to be a storage room, but when Naomi put out the position opening we converted it to a fully functioning classroom. The desks are a bit old, but it's the best we could manage for this year. You can put in for new ones next year."
Dean's eyes followed Cas as he paced around the room, taking in the details. There was a light out in one of the overhead bulbs. He must've been staring at it because Dean noticed too. "Hey don't worry about that, I can fix it." He called, turning out the lights.
He grabbed a chair and pulled it underneath. Standing up, he reached his hand towards the broken one. "Wouldn't it be easier to fix if you could see?" Castiel wondered, flipping the switch back on while Dean was fiddling with the fixture. "Son of a bitch" was all Dean could say as the shock went through his body and sparks flew from the lights.
He fell backwards, and Cas (reacting on instinct) held out his hands to catch the man. Before losing consciousness, Dean looked up into the blue eyes of the idiot who just shocked him and the man who just saved him. "You idiot."
Opening his eyes, he saw darkness. A shuffling near him sounded as he moaned. His head was pounding like a bitch. He'd definitely have one hell of a headache for a while. Raising his hand, Dean noticed bandages on his hands from where the shock had gone through.
"They're there to protect you from irritating the skin. The burn wasn't quite second degree so you should have some pain but no scarring." called a voice out of the darkness. He heard a light switch flip and then suddenly he was blinded by bright light.
"Goddamn it. Turn it off." Dean called, nearly hissing at the unwelcome light. Another voice, different from the previous one laughed. "What Dean? You fall asleep for a couple hours and you can't stand light."
He knew that arrogant attitude. "Shut it Crowley what are you even doing here?" Dean asked, rubbing his eyes trying to get rid of the black spots seared into his corneas. "Why I came to see my favorite safety hazard. Plus I'm required to pay a visit whenever someone gets hurt on campus."
As his eyesight slowly returned to normal and his eyes got used to the light, he looked (or more like glared) at the man in the suit. Crowley was a short middle-aged British man who liked to think himself king of the universe. Yeah right, more like King of Dean's personal hell. His hair was short and slicked and his smile was conniving. "I didn't realize that being electrocuted counted as falling asleep. Just because you're my union rep doesn't mean you get to make light of my very serious medical conditions. Got it?"
Crowley chuckled. "Don't worry D for dumbass, I called Samantha, he's on his way to get you. Now the fun part is fighting with Naomi. Oh how I love getting her knickers in a twist. Tata."
With a twirl of his coat, Crowley left. It wasn't until Crowley was gone that he thought to look for the source of the other voice. "Oh hey there Meg. I didn't know Crowley sent his minions out for little ole me." He shot her a smug smile and she responded by glaring.
"I am not Crowley's minion. I am a doctor and you are lucky that I made time in my schedule to patch you up. Okay Humpty Dumpty?" she spat back. Meg had been around since before Crowley was in charge.
Her previous boss Lillith had been a bit of a huge bitch, but Meg was attached. She hung on Lillith's every word then one day Lillith's boss Louis moved to Pittsburgh and Lillith moved up. Now Crowley's in charge and everything's really gone to Hell.
The tension between Meg and Dean was nearly palpable when a soft knock came on the door. "Hey, I'm sorry if I'm interrupting, I just wanted to see Mr. Smith." Called out a deep gravely voice. "Come right in, we're done here." Meg smiled genuinely at Cas as she let herself out, pausing in the doorway to glare at Dean who in turn stuck his tongue out.
"I'm sorry for accidentally electrocuting you." Cas said, looking apologetic. Dean could tell by looking into Cas's eyes that he was really sorry. That was something he never really saw around here.
"It's no problem; I was just thinking that the first day seemed to go too well. Something had to go wrong. Anyway the doc said there was no real harm done and I'm ready to go once Sam gets here." Dean checked the clock on the wall. "Where is he anyway?" Cas followed Dean's eyes.
"Oh if you're referring to Mr. Wesson, he said that he got called in to cover one of Ruby's classes and asked me to get you." Dean sighed. "Figures he's too busy. Ever since he got engaged to that stupid Ruby chick he's had no time for me." Cas laughed at that statement. "I was wondering why he was so willing to cover someone's class. Anyway, let's get you out of here."
Dean looked at Cas appreciatively. "Thanks for doing this man, I know I only met you today but I don't have a real lot of friends here. They all think I'm some kind of caveman hiding away in my garage."
"Well even if that is true I owe you. You wouldn't be here if it weren't for me so I guess it's my job to come to the rescue now." Dean laughed. Maybe this guy wasn't all seriousness and stupid. The ride home was smooth, although he did worry about his class.
"Who covered for my last period?" He already knew the answer but needed confirmation. "Garth Fitzgerald." A hefty groan escaped Dean's lips. "Not Garth! That guy doesn't know the first thing about mechanics. Did he even give the safety speech?" The rest of the trip was spent whining about Garth and Naomi and getting to know Cas. He found that he was actually pretty sheltered.
"Hey whatdya say to a night out on Friday. Sam and I'll show you the sights. Not that there is a lot to do in Lawrence, but it's about time you go out and live life." Cas's blue eyes lit up. "That sounds great. Friday! It's a date."
Dean closed the door behind him and smiled as the man drove away. Going inside he thought, 'There's something different about him. I can't quite place it but he's different. Hmm Castiel Novak, I look forward to seeing you again.'
I couldn't think of a good reason why someone would name their child after satan so his name is Louis instead. Please rate and review. Let me know what you think. Depending on the feedback, this might be long or short.