Title: The Trenchcoat Avenger of Truman High
Author: rons_pigwidgeon
Pairing: Dean Winchester/Castiel, Dean Winchester/Others, Castiel/Others, Sam Winchester/Jessica Moore
Rating: NC17
Warnings: Masturbation, Underage Drinking, Phone Sex, Anal Fingering, Anal Plug, Anal Sex, Sex Toys, Blow Jobs in a Car, Car Sex, Sex in the Impala, Bathroom Sex, Hand Jobs, light dom/sub play, Homophobic Language, Homophobia, Homophobic language (way to be a dick, John), canonical character death
Chapter Summary: Time passes. And then canon happens.
Author's Note: Ugh, I am so sorry this chapter has taken so long. In the time since my last posting I have started a new job and moved. Hopefully, now that I am mostly settled (you don't even want to see what my living room still looks like a month after moving), things will get back into a routine.
This chapter brings us into the normal canon of the show. From now on, I will be incorporating as much of canon into the story as possible. Be prepared.
This chapter contains dialogue taken directly from Supernatural, Season 1 - Episode 1: "Pilot"
Writing Credits: Eric Kripke
May 2004
The theatre is crowded, standing-room only. Castiel was nervous that his family wouldn't be able to find seats, but standing in line waiting to file into his seat, he can see them sitting in a row near the front, his parents and older sister all grinning at him and waving. His younger siblings mostly look bored. Elizabeth isn't with them, but Castiel had known she would not be able to attend. Her new internship doesn't allow for days off, and if she is ever going to become the choir director she wants to be, her internship matters more. He got a congratulatory call earlier that morning from her. Avery is sitting in Elizabeth's spot, beaming along with his parents. Cas waves back at his family, matching their grins with his own. His cap won't stay on his head and his robes are itchy, but he could not be prouder of this moment. All of his hard work has brought him here to this place. After today, he will always have a profession, always be able to say that he is a librarian.
His phone buzzes in his pocket as he sits, and he pulls it out to check it and turn it off. There's a text from Dean.
DEAN: good luck babe. you look hot
Castiel look up, confused. Was Dean here? He looks around the room, peering through the crowd of seated family members. In the far corner, standing, dressed in khakis, a dress shirt, and an actual tie is Dean, a little smirk on his lips. He waves with the hand still holding his phone. Castiel stares at him, unable to comprehend what he is seeing. Dean told him that he was hunting a ghost in Montana. What was he doing here?
Before Castiel can even muster a wave, the Dean's voice rings out across the auditorium, and Castiel is forced to turn his attention to the stage. The ceremony isn't as long as the University of Chicago's had been, but then that had been with the entire university, and this ceremony was for GSLIS graduates only. He had heard rumors that the main graduation ceremony took several hours and had been inhumanly hot to sit through in the stadium bleachers. The keynote speaker had been amazing. He had even caught some of his classmates tearing up at the end of the speech. Castiel's own brain was mostly focused on Dean and whether he was ready to meet Castiel's family again or not.
When he stands and turns to look, Dean is no longer standing at the back of the room. Castiel's stomach drops. He had wanted to talk to him, thank him for coming, kiss him. Maybe introduce him to Castiel's parents again, this time as his boyfriend and not his friend from high school. They knew about him by now, knew how deeply Castiel felt for him. Before he can pull his phone out to call him, a pair of arms are wrapped around his middle and his littlest sister is hugging him, quickly followed by his mother, older sister, and father. He spies his brothers standing in the aisle, looking put-upon for having had to sit through the ceremony. Castiel smiles at them, grateful for them nonetheless. He squeezes Claire to him and tries his best to return the hugs, putting Dean in the back of his mind for the moment.
On the way to the reception, he spots Dean walking towards the Impala, parked at the library parking lot. Castiel breaks away from his family with a promise to be back in a minute and jogs after him. "Dean! Wait!" he calls as he gets within ear range.
Dean turns, eyeing his family behind him for giving him a smile. When Castiel reaches his side, he wraps his arms around his neck and pulls him close. "You came! I didn't think you would."
"Not like I'm gonna miss you bein' all Mr. College."
"I appreciate it. Are you coming to the reception?"
Dean pulls away, eyes stuck on Cas' family. "Nah, you should be with your family. I uh… I got you a present, though."
"You did? You didn't have to do that. Being here is present enough."
"Yeah, well, I sorta promised you… Anyway, let me go grab it." He goes to pull away, but Castiel won't let him.
"I'll come with you." He waves his family off with a shooing motion towards the library entrance, hoping at least Avery will be able to understand his meaning and go to the reception without him. She cat-calls after him because she has no shame, and thankfully his family has learned to accept her for that, and started directing them towards the library. He loops his arm through Dean's as they walk, trailing it down to hold his hand as they walk. "I'm really glad you're here."
"I'm glad I'm here, too. You look really good in those robe-things." Dean waves a hand at Cas' graduation robes with the hand holding his keys before he unlocks the passenger side and reaches in for a paper gift bag. It even has a graduation cap and "Congrats, Grad!" scrolled across the front in gold lettering. The sight of it makes Castiel smile.
"Thank you. You look very good in that tie," he says, pulling Dean in by said tie for a kiss that lingers a little longer than he intended. "I didn't know you owned a tie."
Dean blushes. "I uh… I can be classy when I want to be."
"Indeed. Is that for me?" he asks, pointing to the bag. Dean hands it over, his blush deepening.
"It's just a thing I… uh, I told you I'd get you when you got your degree."
Castiel peers inside, confused. He can't remember Dean ever telling him he would buy him anything. He laughs when he pulls out the object hidden inside. It's a deep blue cardigan with rounded wooden buttons and soft brown suede patches sewn onto the elbows. It feels like wool and looks like it will fit him well. He grins and launches himself at Dean, knocking him back against the car to kiss him senseless. "Thank you. It's perfect."
"I had to look forever to find one with patches on the elbows."
"They're perfect. I can't wait to wear it my first day." Dean ducks his head, cheeks still red. Castiel pecks his lips, grinning. "I love you."
"Yeah, yeah," Dean mutters, rubbing the back of his neck. Castiel can't stop smiling.
"Come to the reception with me. I want to introduce you to my family."
"I've met your family."
"Not Christine. And it's been a long time. Come on."
Dean looks unsure, but he follows where Cas' hand pulls him. Castiel's brothers are all gathered by the food, but his parents and Christine are talking to Avery. As soon as her eyes alight on Dean, she's waving them over. "Hey, Dean-o, decide to join us?"
Dean nods, but his eyes are on Castiel's father, whose eyes are locked on Castiel's hand entwined with Dean's. "Mom, Dad, you remember Dean," Cas says, squeezing Dean's hand to encourage him. He looks like he could start sweating from stress any time now.
"Hello, Dean. How are you?" Amelia asks. Roger says nothing, but there's a strained twitch to his lip. Castiel starts to think maybe this wasn't the best idea.
"I'm pretty good. How are you?"
"We're doing very well. We are very excited for Castiel."
"Yeah, me too. Couldn't miss this." Avery steps in after that, talking animatedly until everyone seems to relax a fraction. She and Christine take over the conversation, quelling any tension between Castiel's parents and Dean. Christine seems to like Dean, and Claire remembers him, much to Dean's surprise. When Castiel decides to ride back to the city with Dean later that day, no one protests.
Fall 2004
Dean walks up to the counter and gives the grad student behind it his most winning grin. "Hi there," he peers at her name tag, "Angela. Do you know where Castiel is right now?"
The pretty brunette frowns at him. "I'm sorry, who?"
"Castiel Novak? He's a few inches shorter than me, dark hair, big blue eyes, gorgeous, dresses like a colorblind professor?"
Her eyes grow huge when he describes Cas as 'gorgeous'. "Oh, um, he's on the third floor. Sorry, I didn't know what his name was. I've only been here a few weeks."
"Excellent, thank you. Is he anywhere in particular on the third floor or just sort of... hanging around?"
"He runs the reference desk, middle of the floor. There's a sign."
"Awesome, thanks. I'll see you around, Angela." He heads up to the third floor, taking the stairs two at a time. The reference desk is pretty obvious, thankfully, but there's no one inside it. Dean has to wander the stacks for ten minutes before he finally finds Cas in the French language section, pulling two books off the shelf. He looks sexy as hell, wearing fitted gray trousers and the blue cardigan Dean gave him at graduation with the patches on the elbows. "Excuse me, Mr. Novak, but I have a serious question to ask, and you weren't at the desk."
Cas spins around in record time and squints at him. "Dean? Where did you… How did you…"
Dean doesn't let him get any further in his stuttering disbelief before he's at Cas' side and pressing him up against the stacks and kissing him. Cas makes a little muffled noise and shoves Dean back, glaring. "Dean Winchester, this is a library. I will not tolerate canoodling in the stacks."
"Did you just say 'canoodling'? Wow, Cas." Dean pulls just a little at the sleeve of the cardigan, urging him closer again. He comes, a glint of amusement in his glare.
"I'm at work, you know."
"I know. You make one hot-as-hell librarian, you know that?" Dean circles his hands around Cas' waist, pulling their hips flush.
"Yes, thank you. What are you doing here, though? I thought you were in Louisiana, killing a swamp monster."
"I was. It's dead. I didn't have anything else lined up, so I thought I'd come see you, check out the new job, make sure they're treating you right."
"They are. I'm enjoying myself immensely. In fact, I'm currently doing research for one of the graduate students on the history of the subjunctive in French literature. It's fascinating." Castiel slips out of Dean's arms with a peck to his cheek. Dean follows him to the reference desk and parks his elbows on the counter.
"You look good. That sweater makes me want to fuck you, you know that, right?"
"Language, Mr. Winchester. This is a respectable library." Cas cuts him a look as he sits at a computer desk. A student hesitates to walk up to the desk. Cas smiles at her and stands. "Hello, how may I help you?"
"I uh… I'm looking for Guy de Maupassant in the original French."
"Absolutely, follow me." Cas walks back out from behind the desk to lead her away. Dean smirks at the girl, eyeing her as he steals one of Cas' pens and chews on the cap. She glances back at him nervously as she follows Cas. He's back a minute later sans girl. "You have been here five minutes and already you have flirted with one of my patrons. I should kick you out and tell Phil to never let you in again," he says, placing his hands on the counter and squinting at him.
"Who's Phil? Should I be jealous?"
"The security guard. Dean, I need to work."
"I know. Mind if I hang out here for a little while and watch you? I won't get in the way, promise."
"After my shift is over you're taking me to dinner at the diner on Fourth."
"Whatever you want, babe."
"No cursing in the library, and no mentioning the fact that we have sex."
"Done."
Cas squints at him for a long time. He only looks away when another student walks up to the desk, eyeing Dean warily. Dean eyes the guy up and down and walks away from the counter to make himself comfortable at a table not far away. Castiel does research and helps stray students find the information they're looking for. Dean eventually gets bored and finds a newspaper downstairs, starts looking for a case. By the time Cas is finished for the day, Dean's found a suspicious death on the North Side he'll check out in the morning.
"What are you smiling about?" Cas asks as he meets him at the front desk downstairs after clocking out.
"You. Do you know how sexy you are?" Dean asks, leaning in to press a kiss to Cas' mouth. Cas pushes at his shoulder, but doesn't pull away from the kiss regardless of the staff and patrons watching.
"Dinner?"
"Dinner, then I'm taking you home."
Cas smirks, leaning into him. "You don't want to catch a movie after? The Bourne Supremacy's out."
"You're hilarious. Come on." Dean loops an arm around his shoulders and leads him out of the building. "I might have a case."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah, I'll check it out in the morning."
"Well, I don't mean to wish danger on others, but I hope you find something. I'd like to see you for more than just a day or two."
"Yeah, wouldn't mind staying here myself. You're not gonna make me sleep on the floor again, are you?"
Cas scoffs, pinching Dean's side beneath his jacket. "I've never actually done that, Dean."
"Is that a yes?"
Cas' look is answer enough. Dean ruffles his hair and drags him towards the street to find his car.
Texts and voicemails from from Dean Winchester to John Winchester:
Saturday, October 15, 2005:
DEAN: starting to think this is zombies
DEAN: not zombies
DEAN: i hate voodoo priests. blood everywhere
Monday, October 17, 2005, 1:45PM: Hey Dad, just checking in. Took care of the crazy priest. I think I'm gonna stick around for a couple days, take in the scenery, then maybe pop up to Chicago for a couple days. How's the Jericho thing going?
Wednesday, October 19, 2005, 3:32PM: Hey Dad, still working the Jericho thing? You need help? I'm heading up to Chicago now, but I can head your way instead if you need me. Call me back.
Thursday, October 20, 2005, 10:18AM: I guess you don't need my help then? I'm gonna assume you just forgot to charge your phone again. Call me back when you can.
Sunday, October 23, 2005, 2:37PM: Hey, just checking in again. Bobby said there's a weird death in Wyoming, some dude had his eyes gouged out? I don't know, but I'm gonna go check it out. Unless you need me? Still haven't heard back from you. It's been a week. You okay? Call me back.
Tuesday, October 25, 2005, 12:19PM: Dad, come on. I haven't heard from you in over a week. If I don't hear form you by next Saturday, I'm heading to Jericho. Call me back.
Dean is just pulling out of the parking lot when the phone rings. He snatches it up quick as lightning, hoping it's John. It isn't. "Hey babe," he says, holding back a sigh.
"Have you heard back from your father yet?" Cas asks. Dean can almost hear the furrowed eyebrows in his voice.
"Not yet. The dude in Wyoming was a bust. Guy fell on a rake, gouged his own eye out. Sucks, but there wasn't any EMF or anything else weird. I'm heading to California now."
"Have you called Sam yet?"
The question throws Dean off. Cas has been quietly insisting that Dean get back in contact with his brother for well over a year now, but the timing is a little off for another complaint about it. "Why would I do that?"
"You don't think your brother might like to know that his father is missing?"
"I told you, Cas, Sammy doesn't care about us. He left."
"Dean, if you tell me that one more time, I am going to get in my car and drive to wherever you are so that I can hit you hard enough to knock sense into you. Your brother loves both you and your father. He went to college, like the majority of Americans his age. He did not abandon you or disown you. You did that to him, and for incredibly stupid reasons."
"I'm not fuckin' calling him."
"Don't you think he at least deserves the right to say whether or not he cares that your father is missing? You're taking his choice from him."
God damn Cas and his reasonable arguments. "Fine, I'll fucking tell him."
"Thank you." There's a pause, then, "You know, you're going to California. You could stop at Stanford and tell him in person. I would be surprised if he didn't want to help you find John."
Dean doubts it, but yeah, maybe. At least he might be able to steal a few beers from Sammy's fridge, check out that girl Dad had told him Sammy was living with the last time he did a drive-by. "Maybe," is what he tells Cas, which earns him a huffy noise.
"Don't be an ass, Dean. He's your brother." When Dean doesn't say anything, he makes another noise of displeasure. "Fine, do what you want. Just be careful please. I love you."
"I'm always careful." This earns him a snort and a dial tone. He shrugs to himself and tosses the phone on the passenger seat.
Dean wakes up from a nap in the back seat to a voicemail on his phone. His heart skips a beat, then another when he hears his dad's voice. It's broken and patchy with what sounds like it might be EVP, but it's his dad. "Dean... something big is starting to happen... I need to try and figure out what's going on. It may... Be very careful, Dean. We're all in danger." It cuts off after that, but it's enough to send Dean's worry into full-blown panic mode. He grabs his shitty laptop and plugs the phone in. It takes a little bit of fiddling, but he gets the other voice on the line, a woman, saying she can never go home again. Hearing it sends Dean's stomach to his shoes. For the first time, he thinks his dad might really be in trouble.
He closes the laptop and jumps in the front seat, heading towards California at double speed.
When Dean rolls up to campus, he already knows where to find Sam, but that doesn't mean he's just going to go knock on his front door. He knows that will just earn him a slammed door in his face. Besides, he's curious. Sammy's been on his own for four years now. Dean wants to see what that's done to the kid. If he's been as careful as Cas seems to think he would be. So he parks off-campus and finds the house he's staying at on foot. He dresses like a frat kid, wears a ball cap and sunglasses. The house is like every other house on the block, older, not in the best repair, but a step up from everywhere they've ever stayed. He knows Sammy lives with his girl on the second floor. He gets a glimpse of one of the dudes who lives downstairs, normal enough looking. It's another half an hour before he sees Sammy.
When he catches his first glance of Sam, he's surprised at how grown-up he looks. He's even taller now, definitely a good couple inches over Dean. His hair is a little long and shaggy. Dad probably hates it. Dean thinks it makes him look like one of those floppy-eared dogs. The girl with him is smoking hot, blonde, pretty, and wearing the naughtiest of naughty nurse outfits. At least Sammy isn't wearing a fucking Halloween costume, but Dean's surprised he's out at all tonight. He knows the kind of shit that happens during Halloween. He follows them at a discrete distance, close enough to catch scraps of their conversation, but still far enough away to not draw Sam's attention. He's pleased to see that Sam is paying attention, glancing around every ten steps or so, keeping track of his surroundings the way he was taught. The girl is bubbly, happy, and Sammy is clearly in love with her. Listening to her talk, Dean's half in love with her himself. She's like a ball of sunshine dressed up like a sexpot.
"Good job, Sammy," he mutters to himself, smiling. Despite his annoyance with Sam for leaving, he's glad that Sam's managed to find himself a good life here.
They go to a bar and meet up with their friends, all normal-looking college kids. Dean finds a stool a little ways away from their table and order a beer to watch. They're normal. They get drunk and dance and talk too loud. Sammy has a whole group of friends. Most of the kids at the bar know him by name. Dean gets reports from a few of the girls that he's a nice guy, courteous. Smart.
Dean follows them home, waits until the lights are off and the house is settled. Waits until they've had time to have sex and fall asleep before he makes his move. It's stupid, he knows, but he has to see. He climbs a drain pipe and jimmies a window open with his pocket knife. He's inside a second later. He waits, listening. He can hear the creak of floorboards from deeper in the house, can tell it's Sammy from the heavy sound they make. No way that little slip of a thing is that heavy. Dean gives him credit, he's pretty quiet once he's close.
They fight doesn't last long, thirty seconds at most before he has Sammy on his back. "Woah, easy tiger."
"Dean?!" Sam says, panting. "You scared the crap out of me."
Dean chuckles. "That's 'cause you're outta practice." Sam grabs him with his legs and flips him in a move that makes Dean proud. "Or not."
Sam taps his shoulder and pulls him up. "Get off me," Dean mutters, standing and brushing himself off.
"Dean, what the hell are you doing here?"
"I was looking for a beer."
Sam clenches his jaw and gives Dean a look. "What are you doing here?"
Dean shrugs, rolling his eyes. Four years and the kid still can't take a joke. "Okay, alright. We gotta talk."
"Uh, the phone?"
"If I'd'a called, would you have picked up?"
Before Sam can answer—if he even had an answer that wasn't complete bullshit—the light turns on and they both turn to the pretty blonde girl standing in the doorway in skimpy sleep shorts and a tight, low-cut t-shirt. Damn, Sammy picked a hot one.
"Sam?" she asks, blinking sleep away.
"Jess. Hey. Dean, this is my girlfriend, Jessica," Sam introduces them. Dean gives her a favorable once-over.
"Wait, your brother, Dean?" she asks, clearly confused but a smiling all the same. She actually looks happy to see him, which is weird. At least she knows Dean exists.
"I love the Smurfs," he says, indicating the cartoon on her t-shirt. "You know, I gotta tell you, you are completely out of my brother's league." He can't help himself. She's that cute.
"Just let me put something on," she says, giving him a look and turning to go back towards what Dean assumes is the bedroom.
"No, no, no, I wouldn't dream of it. Seriously." He gives her another once-over that earns him an eye roll. "Anyway, I gotta borrow your boyfriend here, talk about some private family business. But, uh, nice meeting you," he adds, smiling.
"No." Sam gives Dean the stubborn look that used to mean he was going to do or say something stupid that Dad wouldn't like and goes over to Jess and puts an arm around her. "No, whatever you want to say, you can say it in front of her."
Dean wants to snort, but he holds it in. "Okay." He looks them both dead on. "Uh. Dad hasn't been home in a few days."
Sam smirks, brushing him off. "So he's working overtime on a Miller Time shift. He'll stumble back in sooner or later."
Dean gives him a look. "Dad's on a hunting trip. And he hasn't been home in a few days."
Sam's face turns to stone. "Jess, excuse us. We have to go outside."
They argue all the way down to the car. Dean is growing annoyed with the conversation, ready to get on the road, ready for Sammy to just shut up and get in the car. "So what are you gonna do? You're just gonna live some normal, apple pie life? Is that it?" he asks finally.
"No. Not normal. Safe."
Dean snorts. "Safe? Really? And that's why you ran away."
Sam looks as frustrated as Dean feels. "I was just going to college. It was Dad who said if I was gonna go I should stay gone. And that's what I'm doing.
"Yeah, well, Dad's in real trouble right now, if he's not dead already. I can feel it."
Sam doesn't say anything.
"I can't do this alone."
"Yes you can."
Dean scrubs the back of his neck. "Yeah, well, I don't want to."
Sam stays quiet and Dean can see the cranks working behind his eyes before he finally agrees. "What was he hunting?"
Dean explains, shows him the missing fliers, even plays him the voicemail. Sam stands there, thinking like there's even anything to think about. Dean finally cracks. "I've left you alone for four years, let you do your college thing without bothering you. Haven't asked you for a thing."
Sam looks away, jaw clenching. When he looks back, he's nodding. "All right. I'll go. I'll help you find him."
Dean starts closing everything up, getting ready to close up shop and hit the road, but Sammy isn't done. "But I have to get back first thing Monday. Just wait here."
He turns to go back in the house, but Dean calls to him. "What's first thing Monday?"
Sam stops, turns around. "I have this...I have an interview."
"What, a job interview? Skip it."
"It's a law school interview, and it's my whole future on a plate."
Dean freezes. "Law school?" he asks, trying for mocking. In the back of his head is a monster of doubt and worry. If Sammy goes to law school, he's done. Gone for good.
"So we got a deal or not?" Sam asks. Dean shuts the trunk with a heavy slam, lets that be answer enough.
He texts Cas while he waits for Sammy.
DEAN: picking up sammy and heading to jericho. call when i have news.
CAS: Good luck. Be safe. I love you.
The hunt is a bust as far as finding their dad, but getting rid of the ghosts feels good. It's almost like their a team again. It's enough to let him forget what his dad's absence means, what his leaving the journal behind means. Convincing Sammy to keep hunting doesn't work, but maybe if he sticks around until after the interview, he can work on him a little more.
He hangs out by the car once Sam gets inside, deciding whether or not it's too early to call Cas. It's 7:00AM in Chicago. Cas is usually awake and on his way to work by then. He'll be a grumpy bastard, but Dean kind of likes talking to him when he's grumpy from sleep. He's just deciding to dial when he smells it. Sulfur. On Sam's front steps. He bolts for the stairs, about to knock on the door when he hears Sam's shout. He doesn't bother to pick the lock, just busts right through. The bedroom is a wall of fire when he gets there. He can see a silhouette on the ceiling, and it gives him flashbacks of a night twenty-two years ago. Screams. Dad putting baby Sammy in his arms and telling him to run and don't look back.
He does just that. Grabs Sam by the arms and uses all his strength to pull him out of the room, out of the house, as far away from the fire as he can. Sam is screaming, reaching back, calling something out. Dean can barely hear it over the buzzing in his ears. He pushes Sam out onto the sidewalk and towards the Impala, coughing and trying to wipe the smoke out of his eyes.
Sam's still screaming, and now Dean can hear him. He's shouting for Jess, shouting so loud that the neighbors are starting to look out their windows. Hopefully someone will call 911. Dean grabs onto Sam's shoulders, shakes him, tries to get him to focus. It's no use. By the time the firetrucks arrive, the house is a husk, and Sam is slumped on the grass, staring off into the middle distance. Dean tries to answer as many of the questions the officers have as he can—They were on a road trip together. They'd just gotten back a few minutes before the fire. They'd gone out to the mountains near Jericho to spend a few days hiking together. Dean had only just met Jess, but she seemed like a sweet girl. Doubtful she'd have any enemies. Sam didn't either.—but eventually he has to defer to Sam.
It's a long process, but they don't take Sam into custody or blame either of them for the fire. They say they'll have a ruling in a few days, but Dean knows they won't be around for that. He can see the look in Sam's eyes, the same look he's seen in his father's eyes for the last twenty-two years. He doesn't need any more convincing now.