The large room was illuminated brightly in the center where Sam and Jess were. However, the corner that Cas was walking into was illuminated with candles. There was light enough, but it was much more like mood lighting than anything else. The effect of the candles' flames gave everything a shimmering appeal. Cas walked to the side of the table and the man rose to his feet. His dress jacket hung down farther than was typically in style, but the look seemed to fit his frame better than a modern cut would. He smiled in a half turned way with a look of intoxication glinting from his eyes. "And you must be my newest legal representative, Mr. Novak." He reached out a hand then. The large silver ring catching the light and drawing Cas' eye. Cas gripped his hand and shook it.
"Pleasure to meet you. Mr. Crowley, I take it?"
He released Cas' hand then and beckoned to the seat. "Call me Lucky, at least while we are in these less than formal locations." He picked up the tumbler and drank. "May I call you Cas?"
"Of course." Cas was quick to respond. "I have heard that I will be meeting with you sometime this week regarding our future together."
"Yes, that is the plan. The original case is no longer an issue as all of the charges have been dropped. The D.A. had a, shall we say, change of heart. However, I do find that the feds always manage to come up with some new charge or another." He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a cigar then and cut off the end. He popped the cigar into his mouth and then pulled out a second, leaning over to offer it to Cas.
"No, thanks. I don't smoke." Cas held up a hand as he said so.
"Your loss. It's Cuban. Perhaps your friend…" Dean had shown up then just behind Cas. Lucky reached out with the cigar toward Dean. Dean took it and sat down.
"Don't mind if I do," Dean said. Lucky tossed over the cigar cutter and Dean used it and tossed it back. He put the cigar into his mouth and watched as Lucky lit his with two quick puffs. He leaned over then and held the flame out for Dean. He leaned into it and took a long pull on it. He held the smoke for a moment before expelling it in a cloud that smelled like cherries. Cas watched all of this with amusement.
"I did not know that you smoked Dean."
"I don't, but one cannot pass up a Cuban." Dean looked over at him and took another suck on the cigar. There was much that passed through Cas' mind at the sight of him, and he had to look away in order to keep those thoughts private.
Dean pushed over a wine glass to Cas. He had one in front of himself. "So, Dean, is it? How do you two know each other?" There was something about the way that he asked that made Cas squirm a little.
"Cas works with my brother Sammy at the firm. We met recently at a work social thing. Sam thought that I should come along to this little gathering to keep everyone entertained." Dean had a devil may care look on his face. A brazen cavalier attitude seemed to accompany his words.
"You do look like you would be quite entertaining." Lucky smirked at him. Cas felt a slight knot growing in his stomach. There was something about the way that Lucky looked at Dean that made him want to rush them both out of there. A certain lasciviousness that was often accompanied by action.
Dean seemed to pick up on it a little and removed the cigar from his mouth to take a drink from his wine glass. "The bartender said that they didn't have beer. He looked at me like I was some kind of ape when I asked. What kind of self-respecting bartender doesn't have beer?" Dean spoke toward Cas, somewhat ignoring Lucky and his stare.
"The wine is good. I wasn't expecting beer." Cas held up his glass and took a sip.
The stare from Lucky carried a type of intensity. He spoke to Dean again. "You look familiar Dean. Have we met before?"
"Um, I don't think so. I don't go to these sorts of things. I might have to make it a habit though if people keep handing out these babies." He took another puff off of the cigar.
"Hmm, there is something quite familiar about your face, and I never forget a pretty face."
Lucky leaned forward a bit and really stared at Dean. Dean replied, "Um, the last person who looked at me like that, I got laid." Dean smirked as he leaned back and took a pull from his cigar.
"Are you offering?" Lucky smiled around his cigar.
Dean looked a little surprised, "No, man, not gay."
Cas felt the knot in his stomach twist more. He lifted the glass to his lips and drank down the rest of the wine. Lucky said to Dean then, "You sure?" Dean didn't say anything in response and Lucky continued, "Your loss." He turned to Cas then, "So, when do you think that we can meet?"
Cas took a moment to process the transitional leap in their conversation. He did his best to push aside Dean's words. "Oh, um, how does Tuesday sound to you?"
"Off the top of my head, it sounds doable," Lucky responded.
"So what kind of name is Lucky anyway? Your parents toss you that one or did you get it later?" Dean asked.
"It's a reclaimed name." Dean and Cas both looked at him with the same quizzical expression.
Cas asked first, "What do you mean?"
"I'm Scottish, as you can probably guess from the accent and if you have any cultural sense, my last name. That didn't stop the kids in school though. I went to school with some of the best neanderthals in the universe. They couldn't tell the difference between an Irishman and a Scotsman. So one day I was out on the yard, when Curtis Binson strode up to me. He was a worthless git, but that day he gave me something, my name. I thought that he planned to just throw a punch at me. I was ready for the fight. The fighting always happened. I must have been in a dozen fights that year. Curtis didn't throw a punch though. Instead when the crowd gathered for the fight that they were hoping for, he said 'Nah, I ain't punching no leprechaun. Everyone knows how they get lucky.' The kids began calling me Lucky the Leprechaun after that. The next day and the next, it continued. It was going to stick."
"Kids can be cruel sometimes." Dean offered.
"Yeah, they can be little demons. Anyway, I had to do something, or they were going to keep calling me a leprechaun. I could deal with Lucky, but not the other. So I waited until he was with his friends in the yard and marched right up to him. I crushed his jaw before he could get a word out. Kicked him so hard he had to go to the hospital for broken ribs. While I did this, I yelled at him who's lucky now, bitch."
"Whoah." Dean let out. Cas felt a sense of worry stealing over him at the thought that this was the man that he would be defending.
"Apparently, it was enough. They started saying that I was lucky and then later they just called me by that name instead of my own."
"What is your real name?" Cas asked.
"Fergus. A stupid name for a stupid boy. I was glad to shed it. My new name has served me well, and I think it fits me much better. I am quite lucky." He smiled at them. "If you'll excuse me, I have to make the rounds, and Cas, I'll see you Tuesday." He leaned over to Dean then, "I hope to see you again too."
"Thanks for the cigar," Dean said as Lucky turned to go. Cas looked at Dean. Dean sucked on the cigar and looked out past Cas to the crowd. Jess walked over to them with Sam.
"Dance with me Dean." She said as she reached down and pulled him up from his seat.
"I don't dance sugar." He tried to refuse.
"Oh, maybe Cas should ask." She stepped back and looked down at Cas.
"Really, Jess, I don't dance."
She looked at him with sad pleading eyes then and said, "Please don't make my feet suffer the wrath of your brother's feet."
"Fine, how can I resist that face." Dean looked back at Sam and said, "You owe me."
"Nah, you get to dance with the finest looking lady in the room. So, you owe me." He pecked Jess on the cheek and said, "Don't let him try anything. He can't be trusted."
Dean looked at him with mock indignation. "I have some morals." Jess led Dean out to the dance floor and Sam watched them flow through the crowd.
"Do you want to get some air?" Sam nodded toward the veranda. "You don't look so good."
Cas stood and followed Sam. He took a glass of wine from a passing waiter as they went. They stepped out onto the nearly empty veranda and looked out over the vast greenway. The moonlight glistening off of the lake in the distance, looked like something out of a fairytale. "I might cut out early." Cas began.
"Hmm, what's happening with Dean?" Sam leaned onto the Tuscan railing that framed the edge of the veranda and looked over to Cas.
"Nothing." Cas joined him at the railing.
"Is that the problem?"
"No. The problem is more complicated. I am not sure that I am comfortable talking about this with you." Cas stole a glance at him out of the corner of his eye and felt reassured by the fact that Sam was looking out into the distance and not at him.
"I tried to tell you that he is not simple. He is big old complicated mess. What happened in there with Crowley? You were fine before."
"Well, Dean told Lucky that he is not gay. Lucky was creepy. Everything at that table just felt filthy, and all I could think is, I have to work with this cretin. How am I going to do that?"
"Was he really all that bad or was the real problem what Dean said?"
"I don't know. I don't think that I am ready to be diving into anything with anybody, especially your straight brother." Cas took a gulp of wine and then held the glass in his hands over the railing.
"You know, Cas. People lie. Just think about that a little."
"What are you talking about?"
"Just think about it. People lie all the time. When they want something really badly, they lie. When they are afraid, they lie. We deal in lies for a living. I shouldn't have to explain the concept."
"I don't think that Dean was lying." Cas turned to him and took another sip of his drink.
"Well, I know him better than you, and I'm saying that you are wrong." Sam faced him now too.
"Oh, really? Are you basing that on the countless men that you have set him up with?" Cas couldn't help but let a little of his irritation escape his lips. You did this Sam. How could you get my hopes up?
"No, I am basing it on the one and only time I saw him almost happy." Sam reached out to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm your friend, Cas. I wouldn't have encouraged this if I didn't think that it was possible."
"Maybe you shouldn't have meddled in your brother's private life or mine for that matter. I feel like an idiot."
Cas was about to stalk back into the party when Sam asked, "Did he talk about Benny?"
Cas turned back, "A little. He said that Benny was his friend, that he use to come over and cook for you both."
"Yeah, that is true, but it isn't everything. Dad was very unkind to Dean and Benny. For the life of me I don't know how he could forgive him. I never did, but Dean just has a bigger heart when it comes to family than I do. I think that family isn't something that you get just because someone shares your blood. They have to be more to you. Dad didn't give that part to Dean. Just so you know, Dean doesn't have the capacity to deal with all of his issues at once. If you want this, you have to be patient." Sam paused then added, "If it is too much, I will understand, and I will want to still be your friend. I hope that I haven't ruined that for us."
Cas looked back toward the party intending to return. "You still have my friendship. I do think though, that you are wrong about Dean. Sometimes the truth is just obvious." With that he stalked back into the main hall, leaving Sam behind in the dark.
Review, Follow, Fav. The next chapter is titled Oh L'Amour. That's all the hint you get. 'Till tomorrow for real this time.