Heart Skipped A Beat
4.
"So follow me down (Where to?)
Out of this town (With you)
Boy you're moving way too slow...
So follow me down (Which way?)
I'll show you around (okay)
There's a place we gotta go."
"We should take a little detour and pick up Cas some clothes," Dean suggested, checking his rear view mirror where Castiel had fallen asleep crookedly against the window, snoring lightly.
"Yeah, and it would give us some time to explain the situation to Bobby," Sam agreed from the passenger seat, fiddling with the town map in his lap. "Take the next exit and we can stop for lunch while we're at it."
Dean grunted in response, taking the directions Sam gave him, "Do you think he'll be alright?"
"Bobby?" Sam asked skeptically, "Yeah, we've dealt with worse before."
"No, Cas!"
Sam laughed and stole a look at the angel in the backseat of the impala, he let out one last chuckle before sighing, "I really don't know, but I'd take babysitting a fallen angel over hunting any day," he said in all seriousness.
"Alright then get to hell out of my baby," Dean joked, pulling into a vacant parking spot in front of a bar and grill restaurant that was attached to a strip of outlet malls. Colorful flags waved from each individual entrance and a big bear statue roared in the middle of the parking lot. Dean gave Sam his trademark where the hell did we end up this time look, and Sam only smirked in reply.
Dean opened the back door and gently nudged the sleeping man in the back, "Hey, daylights burning," he whispered as Cas blinked away his sleepiness."Lets grab something to eat; you must be starving after all that hospital food."
Cas nodded groggily, stepping clumsily out of the car. He followed the brothers silently into the restaurant, dark creases already beginning to form around his cerulean eyes. They sat in a dark plush booth near the back of the restaurant, staring at the grungy menus placed before them.
"I'm your waiter Katie, can I interest you boys with a couple o' drinks?" A busty brunette asked, wiping her hands down on her pin stripped apron.
"Three beers," Dean automatically responded, sticking up the appropriate number of fingers on his right hand out of habit. He shot the waitress a lopsided albeit charming smile and turned back to his menu.
"Perfect, I'll be back lickity split to take your orders," Katie giggled, spinning away on her heel.
Sam stood awkwardly from the table, ducking his head to avoid banging into the hanging light fixture above their table. "Just order me a salad, I'm going to give Bobby a call," He excused himself stepping outside the restaurant and fishing his cell phone out.
Cas watched intently as Sam left his eyes trailing behind the younger Winchester. The angel cleared his throat, getting Deans attention, "If you don't mind me asking..." he started quickly losing his train of thought.
"Shoot," Dean encouraged, instantly forgetting about the twelve famous burgers listed on his menu.
Cas dropped his gaze from Dean's curious eyes, his hands busying themselves within his lap. "I was just wondering why your brother Sam looked so shocked when Doctor Trenton said we were together," His voice fell to a fervent whisper near the end of his sentence.
Because I lied to you, and neither of us feel that way clearly.
"Because.. what we had before was complicated," Dean admitted scratching the back of his neck like he always did when he notably lied. He forced his hand down and almost kissed the waitress when she interrupted whatever Cas was prepared to say.
"Ready to order fellas? I recommend our chicken pot pie," Katie gushed, swooning towards Dean.
"Two cheeseburgers with fries, a greek salad and whatever flavor of pie you think is best for desert." Dean said, folding up the menus and hoping what he had ordered for Cas was alright, but the angel wouldn't look him in the eye.
"Thanks sweetie," Dean threw in as the waitress disappeared towards the kitchen. Her obnoxious giggles managing to float back towards the table along with the return of Sam.
"Bobby would be glad to have us," Sam exclaimed sliding back into the booth across from Dean and beside Cas.
"Great," Castiel said honestly taking a timid sip from his beer, and avoiding all eye contact with the older Winchester.
"Really, you remember Bobby?" Sam asked clearly astonished.
Cas swirled the remains of his drink around in the hollow bottle before answering. "Not until you mentioned him earlier, but then it just hit me, of course I remember Bobby Singer."
"He has a junkyard in his backyard, he recently recovered and no longer needs the assistance of a wheelchair, and he is in many ways like a father to you two." Cas continued when no one bothered to speak again, "Some details still escape me though, I can't for the life of me remember what he does for a living."
"Of course you remember Bobby," Dean said sarcastically feeling only slightly aggravated that of all people Cas remembered it was the old drunk. He loved Bobby in all, but how could Cas so easily forget him, the infamous Dean Winchester of all people.
"You gripped me tight and raised me perdition, and now that I'm finally showing you some respect yo-"
"Orders up!" Katie announced bestowing various dishes of piping hot food on the table, silencing all conversation in the booth. She smiled brightly at the three boys, but her smile faded when she noticed the tense atmosphere in the booth. "Just call if you n need anything and I'll be here in a jiffy."
"You are the only real thing I remember Dean, I know - I just know that you were part of my life before." Cas hissed pushing his burger instinctively away from himself, "I just can't remember at this moment why you were such a big part of me, but I don't owe you anything Dean Winchester."
Sam chocked on the first bite of his salad, gawking at the former angel. He coughed several times, trying to clear the blockage in his throat. It seemed as both him and Cas were waiting for the undeniable explosion and shit storm to pour out of Dean's mouth after such a comment. Cas blinked several times, blushing from the fact he had allowed himself to explode like that, he was about to apologize when Dean burst out in a fit of laughter.
Sam and Cas exchanged a look as Dean continued to chuckle out loud to himself.
"Damn right you don't owe me anything Cas," He said happily the lines around his eyes creasing when he smiled, "Now eat up, I ordered red meat which is your favourite - in case you were wondering."
"Yes you must be famished," Sam said laughing with Dean at the inside joke and just like that the meal returned to its normal atmosphere. Dean took a long swig of his beer and Sam chewed into the ripe tomatoes of his salad.
Cas looked at the brothers with his trademark questioning look, but he took a big greedy bite of the burger regardless. It was one of the best tasting things he had ever bitten into as far as he remembered.
"Thank you," The angel whispered to no one in particular and continued on devouring his burger.
The trio had stopped at the nearest generic department store available, and almost surprisingly they had finished their errands without any major problems. Cas had roamed the aisles of the men's clothing his hands grazing the various shirts and pants on display, his face blank and unchanging as he drifted throughout the store. He picked up couple of outfits without bothering to try anything on or even glimpse at the price.
Dean wasn't at all surprised by Cas's choice of clothing, the same style of dress shirts and pants, simple dark belts and leather shoes, and amazingly a strikingly similar tan trench coat. Some things like the casual wear and pyjamas were a little unnerving for Dean to buy, but only because the thought of Cas doing anything remotely human was odd. They finished their raid by picking up the essential toiletries and personal belongings, their cart filled to the brim with the promise of a new life.
"I apologize ahead of time for my lack of finical support," Cas drawled out in the checkout line.
"Don't worry about it," Sam chirped happily, throwing another handful of colourful shirt and tie assembles onto the cash register for the employee to scan. "We've got it covered," he continued, flipping through various counterfeit credit cards in his wallet deciding which wasn't maxed out already.
The angel nodded thankfully, slightly abashed by the increasing total amount the electronic register read.
"I don't know what to say," Cas admitted.
A feeling Dean had never felt before began to wash over him, taking him off guard. He couldn't place the name of the emotion, and he pushed the sinking feeling in his gut away trying to focus on the surreal nature of their outing. The hunter reminded himself it only felt so weird because what they were doing was normal, a concept Dean wasn't familiar with.
Dean gave the angel a friendly punch to the shoulder, a tight smile on his face. "Just don't mention it," He said itching to bolt out of the store and back onto the road. He knew this fantasy of him, Sam, and Cas being normal wouldn't last long and he wanted it to be over sooner than later.
Dean didn't want to get used to anything that wouldn't last.
Bobby welcomed the boys with open arms. Or in his signature style, an armful of beer and a worn smile stretched out across his aging face. "'S good to see you boys, how've you idjits been?" he asked nonchalantly, ushering the boys into his cozy kitchen. Cas followed without a hitch, wheeling his over packed suitcase through the house as if he owned the place.
"Still alive so I can't complain," Dean responded, sinking into one of the wooden chairs in the kitchen relaxing in the comfort of a familiar place. He cracked the cap of his drink and took a long enjoyable sip, sighing afterwards.
"How about you?" Bobby asked a little paranoid, eyeing the angel skeptically. The old hunter would have thrown holy water or pressed silver against the angel in some sort of test, but the shaken and scared look Cas gave off confirmed he wasn't a threat to anything.
"I'm doing well, thank you," Cas replied, gingerly placing his unopened drink onto the kitchen counter.
"Good, good." Bobby said scratching at the rough beard at the end of his face. "You boys are welcome here as long as you need a place to stay. I uh.. I haven't figured the rooms out yet so feel free to fight over the couch." He shrugged his shoulders, and tilting his beer bottle back finished his drink.
"We don't share a room Dean?" Castiel voiced curious, flinching when Dean spat a mouthful of his beer out and Sam burst out in a fit of obnoxious laughter.
"What?"
"I mean, I just assumed since.." The angel trailed off a faint blush painting his cheeks.
"Oh," Dean lamely said, remembering his infamous lie.
The room fell quiet save for the quiet tick of a clock somewhere deep inside the house. Bobby stood dumbfounded not exactly understanding that extent of Castiels sentence. Sam had explained the angel had lost his memory temporally when he fell to earth but since when did that add up to Dean and Cas sleeping together. He had dealt with a lot of weird shit before, but this defiantly took the cake. Bobby couldn't say he was surprised or anything, it was about time they figured their crap out in his opinion.
The old hunter shivered at the thought of the two supposed lovebirds now residing his household, his eye twitched. This was going to take some time to get used to.
"Not that this isn't awkward or anything, but I'm just going to bring my stuff in," Sam cleared his throat, motioning to Bobby to help get his things from the car.
"I'll help," Bobby said a little too enthusiastically, ducking out of the backdoor of the kitchen a chuckling Sam not too far being.
"I'm not sure what I did wrong," Cas huffed out sitting across from Dean, their knees knocking beneath the rickety table. It shocked Dean like electricity, and he willed his leg not to flip the table over from the contact.
Dean tried to play it cool and shrugged his shoulders, "Beats me, we never shared a room before so they were probably just surprised." The hunter furrowed his eyebrows thinking over what he was saying, no that wasn't right. "Actually they probably didn't know we we're together in the first place." The sentence felt forced and fake coming from his mouth, but he managed not to throw up which was a good sign.
Because we weren't together, we aren't, we never will be.
His mind chanted over and over again like a mantra penetrating his brain like a swarm of angry bees. Dean wanted to physically punch the thought in the face, but he gritted his teeth and tiredly looked Cas in the eye. His little white lie was becoming more and more complicated by the second, and knowing his luck it would only spiral out of control. Dean had never given much thought to what happened when Cas finally did remember the truth; then what would he say for manipulating the angel into a fake relationship with no purpose. Dean cringed in his seat, a billion dramatic scenarios exploding behind his eyes. Dean had to come clean before he got in too deep.
"That's quite peculiar," Cas exasperated his fingers drumming against his lip in thought. "You wouldn't be opposed to sharing a room would you? I still feel very -" he paused looking for the right word, his tone more cautious than smothering, "Inclined to you Dean Winchester."
"Oh god," Dean groaned.
Cas ended up taking the couch, much to Dean's reluctance. The hunter tried to make some sort of arrangement that would please both of them, but they soon reached a stalemate. Cas insisted he take the couch downstairs, because after all it was Dean's bedroom the one he slept in whenever the Winchesters crashed at Bobby's, and thus it only made sense in Cas' mind that he shouldn't intrude on such a place.
"It is your bedroom," Cas argued, his low velvet voice attacking Dean's resolve.
"Yeah, but you just got out of the hospital Cas, stop being so hardheaded," Dean gently spat back.
"So then it's settled I'll take the couch," Cas said his voice leaving no room for argument. He raised from his seat at the kitchen and grabbing his suitcase left for the living room, leaving Dean to shake his head.
"If you insist," Dean grumbled letting his head fall into his hands.
They still stuck to this sleeping arrangement, Cas sprawled out on the two sizes too small couch and Dean guilt ridden in his big comfy bed upstairs. Neither of them could sleep very well at all, but for entirely different reasons.