So, there is some angry making out in this chapter. Just warning y'all ;)
Thank you for all the feedback! Please leave a comment, if you want/like anything specific!
Sorry for the sort of crappy chapter ending...
Chapter: 07
Castiel felt incredibly heavy.
His puffy winter coat bulged unnaturally around the wrinkled material of his sweater, and the scarf his brother had recently gifted him covered the lower half of his face. The worn beanie atop his head covered his mop of dark hair, and protected his forehead from the frigid wind as he waddled – yes, waddled – along between Dean and Gabriel. The snow had long since breeched his boots, numbing his toes and making walking in a straight line a very arduous task.
The older boys were hardly bothered by the weather, strolling confidently along on either side of the youngest group member. Gabriel's face was hidden by the fur-rimmed hood, and his boots crunched heavily in the snow to Castiel's left. Dean had less cover then the other boys, nothing but his leather coat and a pair of combat boots; a scarf, as well.
"Is that my scarf?" Castiel murmured, a blush painting his already flushed cheeks as he looked closer at the black fabric wrapped around Dean's neck. Dean simply flashed Castiel a grin, tucking the tails of the cloth inside his jacket as they approached the diner they'd walked thirty minutes to reach. Gabriel held the door open, ushering the other boys inside before following closely behind.
"Why, boys, what are the three of you doing walking around in the snow this early in the morning?" Kenzie, the daughter of the diner's owner and a member of the local church, approached them with a welcoming smile and a handful of menus'. She was a pretty girl, with soft brown curls and great big doe-eyes; she and Gabriel had a short term relationship in high-school, but they quickly decided they didn't want to jeopardize their friendship and terminated the romance.
"You know me, Kenzie," Gabriel smiled, running his fingers through his hood-flattened hair and unzipping his coat. The warm air of the diner was a welcome change from the frigid air of the streets. "I've got to have my early morning sweets,"
Kenzie smiled fondly at Gabriel, her eyes skimming over Castiel entirely and raising an eyebrow as Dean hung his damp coat on one of the pegs near the door and straightened the tie around his neck. Her eyes roamed over his body in a slow line, flickering quickly up to his face as Dean moved to stand between Gabriel and Castiel.
"This is Dean Winchester," Gabriel answered the unspoken question, clapping the taller man on the shoulder. Dean smiled weakly, offering a tired wave before tucking his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "He's new in town."
"I haven't seen you around, Dean," Kenzie drawled, her expression almost predatory as she eyed Dean. Castiel's blood boiled to dangerous levels, his hands clenching into fists within the pockets of his coat.
"I'm a senior down at the high school," Dean flashed his signature smile, shrugging. "Between that and the job, I don't get out much."
"Oh, where do you work?" Castiel wanted to wring the girl's petite neck as she twisted a dark curl around her finger, tucking her lower lip between her teeth. It was such an obvious flirtation it was disgusting.
"The auto shop down the road," Dean informed her.
"Oh, my dad is the owner." Kenzie smiled, absolutely delighted with Dean's news. "Don't you just love that Shelby that came in yesterday?"
"She's a beauty," Dean's eyes lit with that special flame that only old cars could ignite, his grin lopsided as he leaned against the hostess podium. "All she needs is some new paint and some engine work, then she'll be running like she's fresh off the lot."
"Maybe I could test drive it, some time," Kenzie offered, batting her eyelashes sweetly.
"I'd like that, Kenzie. You'd look damn pretty behind that wheel," Dean winked.
Castiel had heard enough; trying his best to remain calm, he made his way silently to the restroom at the back of the diner. Every sound echoed as he shuffled to the sink, running the tap and splashing a few soothing handfuls of cold water onto his flushed face and wincing as his fingers brushed the tender skin around his left eye. He tried not to think of his mother's furious face, or her white-knuckled fist.
Glancing at his reflection, Castiel scowled at the purple ring surrounding the swollen socket of his eye; the blue of his iris was shocking compared to the dark coloring. Probing gently at the bruise, Castiel winced as he found the center of the pain; a spot just beside the bridge of his nose. He pressed gently on the spot, biting his lip at the pain but finding it in a way comforting; it helped quiet his thoughts.
Closing his eyes, he focused on the dull ache of the bruise underneath his fingertips instead of the jealousy and self-doubt trying to drag him down.
"What're you doing?" Castiel jumped, spinning around on instinct and tripping over his still-numb feet. Strong arms shot out to grab him but Castiel twisted away from them without thinking, his brain providing a list of kind offers turned into bitter punishments. He landed on his elbow, the puffy material of his coat softening the landing only fractionally before his already bruised face met the cool tiles of the restroom floor as well. His skull bounced once before settling, and his leg was curled under him in a rather uncomfortable position.
He wanted to cry out, but he only managed an embarrassed moan as he rolled on to his back and stared up into Dean's shocked face. The older boy's arms were still outstretched, his lips parted in the small 'o' of surprise.
"Stop staring at me," Castiel ordered, his tone clipped as he struggled into a sitting position and rubbed gingerly at his throbbing elbow. His cheeks were flaming with embarrassment, his eye pounding painfully in its socket as he slowly climbed to his feet. Dean's arms fell flat at his sides, his eyebrows arched high; it was rare for Castiel to be anything but unnervingly calm.
"Let me see it," Dean sighed, shaking off Castiel's hostile temperament as a side effect of his embarrassment. He reached out to touch Castiel's elbow but the younger boy snatched his arm away, glaring.
"Go talk to Kenzie, Dean." He snapped, shuffling past a now flushed Dean and back into the main diner. Gabriel was sprawled across one of the seats, his boots resting in a puddle on the seat beside him. Huffing out an irritated breath, Castiel slid onto the bench across from him and made it a point to ignore Dean as the older boy sat down beside him a few minutes later.
"So, Dean," Gabriel slapped his menu flat on the table top, his eyes narrowing as he watched the older boy. "Are you a pie kind of man?"
"Definitely," Dean nodded, relaxing; the seat groaned under him, springs shifting to accommodate his body. Castiel pressed his aching face to the window, watching small flurries of snow roll by until Dean's fingers brushed over his knuckles, startling him.
Dean's mouth twitched, but he showed no other signs of disappointment as Castiel drew his hand back, burying it in his pocket and out of Dean's reach. Gabriel continued to question Dean about pies, oblivious to the tension between the couple across the table, and Dean kept a cool mask as he replied to Gabriel's questions.
Castiel remained silent, his eyes flickering between the snow outside and the waitress across the diner.
Kenzie's cheeks were tinged pink, her hands nervously playing with the ends of her apron-ties. Her wide doe-eyes were stuck on Dean, watching him like a hawk might a mouse as he laughed at something Castiel hadn't heard Gabriel say. She was the poster child of what Sam called the 'Dean Winchester Affect'; blushing, nervous, and dying for more.
Castiel reached for the small container of sugar packets, his hands shaking with cold and anxiety as he grabbed several of the pink packets and laid them out on the table before him.
Dean was his, he thought irritably as he began to prop the packets against one and other, and he was Dean's. If it weren't for his mother and the fear she had long since instilled in Castiel, Kenzie and the rest of the community would have known that flirting with Dean meant tampering with a taken man.
It wasn't really Kenzie's fault though, Castiel tried to remind himself; Dean had responded to her flirtatious nature with an unusual abundance of handsome swagger.
"Y'all know what you want yet?" Castiel glanced up from his work of sugar-packet architecture to find Kenzie standing at the end of their table. Was that button opened on her blouse when they arrived?
"I'll have some strawberry cake, Kenz." Gabriel smiled, setting his menu at the end of the table.
"And here I thought you were ordering pie, Gabriel," Kenzie chuckled, scribbling something on a small pad of paper before looking to Dean with an overly sweet smile. "How bout you?"
"A slice of apple cranberry pie would be lovely, Hun," Dean flashed a smile, holding out his menu; Kenzie's hands shook as she took it, her cheeks flushing impossibly red. Her eyes were slow to leave Dean, and hesitant to settle on Castiel.
"Small blackberry milkshake," Castiel ordered, his tone lacking any kind of life. "Please."
Kenzie made no comment on his choice, simply jotted it down and scooped up the menu's from the tabletop and grinned at Dean once more before scurrying towards the kitchen.
Castiel returned to his small tower of sugar, biting his lower lip as he focused on preventing the tower's collapse. Dean and Gabriel continued to chat quietly about small things -school and work - until the topic of siblings arose.
"Yeah, I got one brother," Dean nodded, his eyes soft as Castiel glanced at him. "Name's Sam- smart little bastard."
"Yeah?" Gabriel grinned. "How old is he?"
"Turns fifteen in March," Dean announced. "Gonna take him to go get his permit, let him ditch school for the day."
"Sure your parents will be happy about that?" Gabriel cautioned and Castiel listened closer; Dean never spoke about his parents.
"Mom's dead and dad's not really around enough to care," Dean shrugged, unfazed. "So I call the shots as I see fit."
"Sorry about your mom," Gabriel frowned, lowering his eyes to the table top.
"It's fine, dude. It's been almost fifteen years," Dean shrugged. "I don't remember her all that well- I was four when she died."
"I haven't seen my dad since I was five," Gabriel admitted. "But I still remember him."
"What happened to your dad?" Dean asked, changing the subject, looking between Gabriel and Castiel.
"He left her," Kenzie appeared at the foot of the table, setting Gabriel's cake in front of him and reaching for Castiel's milkshake. "Their mom, I mean. The whole town went into hysterics when they separated."
"Really?" Dean frowned.
"Yeah," Kenzie dropped Castiel's milkshake on the table in front of him, some of the purple liquid splashing on his coat. "Lucifer and Michael came to school crying about it and everyone was shocked,"
"Hold on- Lucifer and Michael? How would they know about the divorce?" Dean demanded, his eyes burning holes into Castiel's body.
"They're our older brothers," Gabriel shrugged, forking a piece of cake. "They moved out with dad. Me and Anna decided to stay with mom, and Castiel wasn't really old enough to make a choice so he stayed with us."
"Castiel," Dean grit out through his teeth. "Can I have a word with you, outside?"
Castiel shrugged nervously, watching as Dean slid out of the booth and motioned him to follow. Gabriel raised an eyebrow and Castiel waved him off, making to follow Dean.
"Where are y'all going?" Kenzie asked, taking a step forward as if to touch Dean's arm.
"Look, sweetheart," Dean spun, his face grave as he grabbed Castiel by the arm and pulled him towards the exit. "You're real sweet, and very pretty, but... My boyfriend is prettier. And I need to talk to him- alone."
Castiel's face was just as shocked as Kenzie's as Dean dragged the younger boy out the door and around a corner, pulling a few feet into the alley before releasing him with a scowl.
"You mean to tell me that the bastards who did this," Dean grabbed Castiel's chin almost violently, motioning to the healing cut that rested there. "Were your older brothers?"
"I don't see why it matters," Castiel frowned, jerking his chin out of the older boys hold and rubbing tenderly at the imprint of Dean's thumb against his jaw.
"Did one of them do that, too?" Dean demanded, motioning to Castiel's blackened eye. The younger boy bowed his head self-consciously, letting his hair cover the bruised skin.
"No," He whispered honestly, watching Dean from under his lashes.
"Bull shit, Castiel; you have a new bruise every time I see you. Dammit, what kinds of guys do this to their baby brother!" Dean combed his fingers through his hair, exhaling a clouded breath. He paced in front of Castiel for some time before finally yelling "I'm going to rip their lungs out!" and kicking at a nearby bottle, sending it flying down the alley.
Castiel flinched, lowering his eyes; he hadn't seen Dean get angry before. He'd heard from Sam that the elder Winchester brother had a fierce temper, but he'd only ever seen the gentle side of his boyfriend. Dean suddenly rounded on him, eyes flashing, and Castiel stumbled back a step as Dean advanced.
"Is that why you screamed, in the voice message? Someone was hitting you?" The older boy demanded, his expression fierce.
"No. I told you, I was just upset." Castiel sighed, burying his hands in his pockets.
"Because someone had hit you," Dean deducted, stepping closer until Castiel's back was pressed to the cool brick wall of the alley way. He felt suddenly very small, Dean's hands coming to rest on either side of his head and the larger man's body towering over his.
"Yes," He admitted, a slight tremor finding its way into his voice.
"Why would they hit you? What could you have possibly done to deserve it?" Dean growled, his eyes boring into Castiel's. The deep green pools were dotted with gold, pupils blown wide in the dim lighting; Castiel's own eyes, a startling shade of blue, were reflected in the endless pits.
"I'm gay." Castiel whispered, the words resting heavily in the narrow space between their bodies. Dean's jaw twitched, and this was all the warning Castiel got before Dean's lips were crashing against his – violent, demanding, but all the while tender.
Castiel welcomed the onslaught, all thoughts of his family and the abuse Dean so desperately wanted to find the cause of flying straight out the window as he allowed himself to fall into the kiss. His hands found their way to Dean's hips, sliding around to the small of his back and drawing him in as the kiss turned into something Castiel had never experienced before; it was angry, it was messy, and it was exactly what they both needed.
Dean's teeth closed harshly over his bottom lip, tugging roughly until Castiel reluctantly granted the older man the access he wanted. Dean's hands were almost frantic as he fisted Castiel's hair, tilting the younger boy's head in whatever direction best fit his needs. Castiel wasn't entirely submissive, though; his nails dug into the smooth skin at the small of Dean's back, trying desperately to pull the older man's body into alignment with his own.
Huffing out a frustrated sigh, Dean complied to the demands he was given and lifted the younger boy, propping him against the wall for support. Instinctually, Castiel's legs wrapped around Dean's thighs and his arms found their place around the older boy's neck, his head falling back as Dean took an interest in pampering the skin of his throat with soft kisses and stinging bites.
"So you just lay down and take the beatings?" Dean hissed, biting at the curve of Castiel's jaw. "Just take it like a little bitch?"
"Wh-What else can I do?" Castiel's fingers wove through the short hairs at the nape of Dean's neck, his fingernails dragging gently across the older man's scalp. Dean broke away from the spot he'd been sucking on with an obscene pop, rocking his hips hard into Castiel's; the younger man's back slammed into the bricks, pain racing up his spine and bringing a soft sound past his lips.
"Fight," Dean growled, his expression fierce as he jerked at the zipper of Castiel's coat. The younger boy hissed out a breath as the cool air passed through the material of his sweater, one of Dean's hands sliding away from his waist to grab the exposed slip of his boxers, his jeans riding low.
"Put on your big boy boxers, and throw a punch or two." He annunciated his point by dragging the tight elastic waistband away from the younger boy's body before letting it snap back into place. Castiel let out a sound similar to a snarl, tugging sharply on the short hairs woven between his fingers. Dean retaliated with a sharp bite at the base of his neck.
"I'll never win a fight," Castiel panted, tugging harshly at his boyfriend's hair until he finally looked up. Dean simply stared a moment before he grinned, and Castiel gasped as the older boy suddenly bowed his head and sucked hard on Castiel's Adam-apple for a measureless amount of time. Castiel's breathing sped, his eyes falling closed; the feeling was strangely addictive, and he almost whined as Dean pulled away.
"You don't have to win- just make sure you're not the only one who goes home with a bruise." Dean whispered, smirking. He surprised Castiel then by stepping away, letting the younger boy stand on shaky legs and rely on the alley wall for support. Staring at the ground, Castiel willed his blush away and worked on catching his breath as he reached to probe his neck with shaking fingers, only to find several tender spots.
Castiel couldn't help his smile upon realizing Dean's challenge to fight back was painted across his skin in a series of purple love-bites.