The warm flutter in Castiel's chest was quickly squashed as the brunette remembered the circumstances under which they last met. Dean read the hurt that replaced the hope on Castiel's face and grimaced. "Listen, I know I should've told you…"
"Six years. Six years out of the game. Six years and not a single word since you pulled me out of the game and left me on my own to stay out."
Dean sighed. "Cas, listen to me."
"Tell me one good reason I should, Dean Winchester, P. I. If you haven't noticed, I am doing okay with no word from you. I have a job, money, and not much to worry about except for the kids who try to come into my bar when you run right in here and back into my life -"
"Cas, I'm getting married." That shut Castiel up. Dean felt the bottom of his stomach drop as Castiel's gaze on him hardened and he prepared himself for the attack.
Turned out not to be the attack he was expecting. "Congratulations." Castiel turned back towards the bar, hiding his face from Dean. "Would you like me to pour the groom a shot to get over his nerves and get the hell out of my bar?"
It wasn't the closed off stance that Castiel had taken that made Dean take a step back. It was the fact that the bartender's shoulders were shaking. Castiel must've known how much that would have hurt Dean because this closed off stance and show of only pain hurt the P.I. more than any blow ever could have.
If there was ever a thing Dean couldn't stand to see happen, it would be to see the ones he cared about most in any form of pain, especially if he was the one causing their pain.
Dean looked away from Castiel, his walls going up again. "Look, I'd better...I'm just gonna go." He sighed before walking towards the front door. "If Sam asks where I am tomorrow, you can tell him I've gone back to my hotel."
Castiel chuckled bitterly. "Of course you would care more about what your brother thinks happened to you than you would if I knew what happened to you." Dean frowned and turned back to the dark brunette, taking long strides to the bar.
"What did I do wrong, Cas? You gonna tell me or am I gonna have to guess?"
He didn't turn around and meet Dean's searching green eyes, the ones that wanted to figure out so badly what he'd done wrong. Castiel didn't move. "Leave my bar alone." Dean frowned, his face otherwise unreadable. He didn't say another word as he left the bar, making sure to slam the door behind him as he did.
Castiel hung his head, letting out a long sigh. He relaxed his posture for a moment before getting up and locking the bar door. He shuffled to the door instead of walking, which only served to make him more sad. Once the door was locked, Castiel returned to his seat at the bar.
He picked up the bottle he'd recapped and opened it before pouring himself a glass, settling in for what appeared to be a very long night.
Several loud bangs against the bar's locked doors woke Castiel up. The brunette slowly got up from where he was lying behind the bar, blinking at all of the sunlight streaming into the large room. "Castiel!" The person banging against the door obviously wasn't going to let up unless Castiel opened the door. The moment he did, however, he began to wish he hadn't. "Castiel, is Dean okay?" Sam Winchester rushed into the bar, automatically going towards the bedroom.
"He didn't stay."
Sam stopped before turning to face Castiel. "I thought he would've wanted to stay here."
Castiel cleared his throat. "Dean and I -"
"Wait a second. He's the Dean you were talking about?" The brunette nodded.
"Dean and I have a…the last time we met, six years ago, it did not end very well." Sam held his arms out, waiting for a continuation or an explanation. "If you would care to learn the entire story, I suggest you ask him. He went back to his hotel last night after our…conversation," Castiel finished, his stance making it clear that he wasn't going to be the one to explain it to the younger Winchester.
A frown crossed Sam's face. "Thanks, Castiel. I'll make sure to ask Dean when I go and check on him." He turned and began to leave the bar. "I do plan on finding out what happened. And I'm not talking about last night," he added just as he was about to walk out the door.
Castiel took a deep breath, watching Sam leave. "Today is certainly going to be interesting."
Dean pulled the pillow over his head to block out the knocking on his hotel room door. When he figured that wasn't going to work, he pulled the pillow up just enough for him to glare at the door. "I'm still asleep!"
"Dean, open up. I gotta talk to you."
The blonde groaned but got up anyway. He opened the door grumpily. "What the hell, Sammy? It's not even seven yet!"
His brother looked down at him, a frown on his face or, as Dean had called it, Bitchface number nine. "Dean. You didn't stay at Castiel's bar."
Sam watched Dean's face go blank with that mask he'd perfected years before. "So that's why you're here. Cas sent you."
"No, I'm here to make sure my idiot brother didn't get injured after he rammed me into the floor of a bar yesterday. Now, let me in." Dean rolled his eyes but moved aside anyway, knowing that Sam would get in one way or another. Unfortunately, that also came with his little brother's distaste for how much Dean usually brought with him on a case. "Jeez Dean, you're getting married. You could've brought more stuff."
Dean shrugged, closing the door. "It's all I felt like bringing." He flopped back down onto the bed. "Besides, I thought you weren't here to criticize me on my packing choices."
The brunette nodded, putting his hands on his hips. "I'm pretty sure you're gonna wanna be awake for this, Dean. I'll make coffee."
"Whoa, no!" Dean nearly jumped off the bed when he heard that. "You're coffee's terrible. I'll make coffee. You can figure out what you want me to say or whatever."
His little brother suffered for a minute in silence before Dean turned back to him. Sam frowned, crossing his arms. "Well?"
Dean glanced up momentarily to look at Sam. "Well what, Sammy?"
His younger brother rolled his eyes. "What happened between you and Castiel six years ago?"
"We met," Dean replied, his heart heavy. "The entire story's not something I'm gonna tell you. Don't think you're old enough yet."
A huff sounded, a sure sign Sam was annoyed at his older brother. "Then tell me the short, clean version."
Dean looked up at Sam. From the look he was getting, he was sure Sam wouldn't leave him alone until he'd heard at least the short version. "Take a seat," Dean said, pulling a chair out for himself. "You wanted the short version. It's still gonna take a while." He sighed, a deep thing emanating from the same place it had six years earlier. "All right then. I was doing some work for a guy who'd stopped by the office the day before. It led to the mob and I was getting chased down a street after being grazed by a bullet. Didn't do me any harm, but it sure hurt like hell."
Dean Winchester's coat flew behind him like a cape as he ran down the poorly lit street, raindrops falling on to his overcoat and fedora. He spotted a corner and dashed just around it, taking a minute to catch his breath. Footsteps ran closer to his hiding place, making him tense. Dean relaxed when they ran past him. He took a moment to look at his arm and assess the graze he'd gotten that had led to his running. "I could aid you in treating that wound," a deep gravelly voice said from further down the corner.
The blonde nearly jumped when he heard the mystery man talking to him, automatically going for his gun. "Damn son of a bitch," he muttered, his eyes finally resting on the man. Seconds later, Dean flinched as rain began to hit his wound and the adrenaline wore off.
"That is an inaccurate description of me. My mother was not a female dog," the mystery man stated, the light not enough for Dean to see his face. "I am willing to offer my services in the treatment of your wound."
Dean chuckled wryly. "Yeah? And why would you do that?"
"Because I was sent to kill you." He merely raised an eyebrow in response as if to say 'Really?'. The other man shifted on his feet. "Would you prefer if I left you to tend to the wound on your own?"
A deep sigh sounded from somewhere deep inside Dean. "I guess I'll take you up on that offer."
Sam sat back into his chair. "So you went with the guy sent to kill you to wrap up your arm."
Dean sat up in his chair. "I know, but I figured if I let this guy help me then I might end up living longer than if he let me wrap my arm up by myself. It wasn't like I could head back to the office and get you to help me." Sam winced at that, fully aware that if he hadn't been off at school at the time then none of this would've happened in the first place.
The brunette nodded, conceding to his brother's reasoning. "All right, you went with the guy sent to kill you. But, that was Castiel, wasn't it? How did you two even get onto a first name basis?"
A chuckle sounded through the room. "It wasn't my fault, I swear."
Dean looked the guy up and down, trying to read him and/or figure out how much longer he was gonna live for at this rate. After a second or two, the man chuckled. "What?" He attempted to at least sound threatening while he was in his very vulnerable state.
The man shook his head. "It is of no importance. I merely find it amusing that you, as a private investigator, are trying to get information from me, even as I am assisting you." Even through the dim light, Dean could see the little smile stuck to the man's face. "It's Castiel, if you were wondering."
"What's Castiel?"
"My name," the man replied nonchalantly. Dean tilted his head, looking at the man - Castiel - strangely. "I thought it was proper to tell you my name since I already know yours. I may have been sent to kill you but I still have my manners, Mister Winchester."
Sam half-smiled, not quite believing what he was hearing. "So Castiel, Castiel mind you, the guy sent to kill you, was the one who introduced himself to you while helping you wrap up your arm after being grazed by a bullet." Dean nodded, going through the entire statement in his head a couple of times to make sure Sam got everything right.
"Yeah, sounds about right."
His little brother shook his head, a grin on his face. "I knew that Castiel was strange but man, that is really weird."
A/N: So? Anybody happy with the way that turned out? Reviews/feedback? Pretty please with a 40's Dean and Cas?
UPDATE 8/7/14: "Not The Happiest Reunion" chapter title changed to "Lips of An Angel" by Hinder.