I absolutely adore this chapter. It's one of my favorites.
Warning: I am mean to Meg in this fic/chapter. Sorry if that doesn't appeal to you! (I'm nice to her usually but needed a villain that made sense for this, sorry)
Dean sat, staring at a book as the words jumped off the pages. "This is fucking ridiculous!"
"SHHHHHH!" The librarian shooshed, her sunrise-colored wings puffing up in frustration. He didn't really mind the reprimand, but she could have given him a little slack. This was important. The fae had a great deal of misconceptions about human kind. For example, this book said that their cars were powered by very small horses.
Yeah, he was still a little confused about that one.
"I was honestly thinking that was a little ridiculous. I'm glad it's not something true." Castiel mumbled, smiling the smallest bit. "When you said you were a mechanic, I thought it meant you dealt with the horses who were too old or tired to continue walking in their car."
"Horse and buggies were the last thing we did with horses, trust me. I'm glad you guys didn't assume that was witchcraft too, though. I mean, this is a little crazier, but..."
"I'm glad we have you to teach us. Ignorance may be bliss, but in this case it's gone too far." Cas teased. He was slowly loosening up, Dean noticed. He still acted like he had a stick up his ass sometimes, but most of the time he was relaxed and more... himself? Was that how to put it?
He wouldn't have believed that the transformation from robot to this would have taken place over four days. This was incredible. Everything about being here and being around him was incredible.
"Cassie!" Balthazar said, his voice echoing amongst the rows of books.
"SHHHHHHHH!" The librarian demanded again. "People are studying for finals here! Do you want a coffee crazed teenager to hit you over the head?" She reminded them. Balthazar shot her a smile, shrugging.
"If they looked anything like you, I might like it." He flirted, sending a subtle wink. Her face blushed a deep crimson, the color of her hair. It took a few seconds, but she ushered a couple of kids away, leaving herself. They were essentially alone in this particular set of shelves.
"What do you want?" Castiel demanded, turning towards his friend. Balthazar rolled his eyes and looked up at the ceiling, as if wondering what he had done to deserve this scrutiny.
"Can't I just come and visit you without always having an ulterior motive?"
"Last time I saw you, you almost killed my friend and I told you expressly that you weren't to see him again until he left. You wouldn't dare approach me unless you had something to say." Cas said, sounding a little grumpy.
Dean flinched at the memory.
"Oh, come on Cassie, we both know you forgive easier than that. It's not my fault your snog buddy doesn't have wings." Balthazar said. Castiel's eyes didn't leave his, and the moment of silence seemed to stretch on to the brink of infinity until it was finally broken by, "Alright then, fine."
"Gabriel has his squirrel race today. You've been helping us prepare for months, and I thought that you might want to come. After all, you do have a certain fondness for Mr. Nutters, am I correct?" Balthazar asked. Castiel's eyes lit up.
"That was today? I thought that wasn't taking place for at least another three weeks. Is Gabriel ready to ride Mr. Nutters?" Castiel questioned, sounding a little concerned.
"The weather's looking bad on the usual day. He did a good enough job steering the other night. Oh, by the way, he said to tell you that he apologized and didn't mean to drag the squirrel down with us. Uriel has already given him a slap on the wrist, metaphorically speaking, and me too. We want to see the human again."
"Well, you're quite to the point." Castiel said, leaning back in his chair. He paused a minute, eyes shifting between the two present. "It's Dean's choice. He's the one you almost killed."
"If you pull a stunt like that again, I'm going to cut both of your balls off and hang them from the nearest tree-"
"Oooh, kinky. I like it."
"-but, if you promise to never do anything like that again, I'm fine with whatever." Dean said. Balthazar beamed at him and clapped a hand to his shoulder, shaking him a little.
"There's my boy! Now, Cas, I assume you're a go for the races today?" Balthazar asked, clearly hopeful. Castiel looked at him with wide eyes for a moment before he sighed and nodded his head yes, looking a little bit like he already regretted the situation. Balthazar let out a whoop of triumph, smiling broadly at the two of them.
"I promise you two will not be disappointed. Gabriel is really going to win this time, I can feel it."
"I can't believe I let you drag me here." Cas mumbled, milling through the crowd. Dean looked around, taking in all of the faces and sights and smells there were to be had. A man with small tickets was selling bets in exchange for small coins, and a kid was crying because his mom wouldn't buy him what looked like a green churo.
So overall, it didn't seem all that much different than the horse races.
Of course, not that Dean could really comment on that, seeing as how he'd never actually been to the horse races. He'd seen a couple on television, had a general idea of what they were like, but he'd never been able to go to one in person.
It had been on his bucket list for awhile though. Which, of course, may explain why his face was lit up like a kid's on Christmas morning.
Then again, it might also be that him and Cas were practically holding hands as not to get separated in the crowd.
Cas's hand was warm and calloused, large and comforting, just the right size to fit into Dean's own. He knew that what they were doing was only necessary, but it didn't stop him from enjoying it. Cas kept sending him little glances like he wasn't sure whether or not he was okay with it, and Dean just wished he could show him just how "okay" with it he really was.
But he couldn't do that. Cas didn't like him back, there was no way. Dean had finally gotten around to admitting to himself that he had a crush, he didn't need to complicate things any. He'd simply decided to enjoy it while it lasted, and not bring about any trouble.
"Want to go wish him luck in the stalls?" Balthazar turned and shouted, his voice barely making it to them over the excited buzz of the crowd. Dean couldn't say a lot about the fae culture so far, but he got the feeling that when they committed to something, they went all out.
He also got the feeling that there wasn't honestly much out of the way of work to do in this town. It had a wonderful sense of community and general productivity, but not quite enough freedom.
He wondered how that felt.
One thing he knew for certain was that Castiel would love it back in the human world. He'd want to read every book and watch every movie. He'd want to go out and go bowling and skating and meet new people. He'd be absolutely fascinated with everything and everyone.
Maybe he'd even let that brain of his let go of work. Dean could buy him a laptop, let him start to write, maybe the dude could even get a novel published.
He wasn't sure how they'd hide his wings, but he knew they'd find something.
He was snapped out of his fantasy by the fact that they were walking into a small space, less noisy and more smelly. Dean looked at the walls, small windows slotted into them occasionally, and his brow furrowed.
Suddenly, a large brown squirrel stuck it's nose through one of the holes. Dean jumped about a foot in the air, hand moving to clutch at his heart from the sudden intrusion. Once he realized what it was he had quickly recovered, grinning sheepishly and clearing his throat.
Dean couldn't let himself get frightened by a squirrel. The little thing was probably-
"Be careful." Balthazar warned flippantly, tossing a glance over his shoulder. "That one's Crowley's. He bites."
Dean glared at the thing, scooting past with Castiel. It was only when Castiel's grip became a little looser that he realized they didn't actually have to be holding hands anymore. He had an awkward few moments of wondering whether or not pulling away would send the wrong message or the right one before Cas did the job for him, withdrawing his hand and looking up at the ceiling, as if studying it.
"Guys!" Gabriel announced joyfully, smiling. He radiated happiness from his core. "I'm so glad you can make it."
"Well, they were fetched by only the most persuasive, seductive, ravishing being on the planet. Really, what else could you expect?" Balthazar purred, wings puffing up proudly. Dean resisted the urge to casually kick him in the crotch.
"Dude, you won't believe what this girl promised to do to me if I win." Gabriel said, wagging his eyes at Balthazar and Castiel. Balthazar patted him on the shoulder where as Castiel rolled his eyes, amusement and fondness still ever present in his gaze.
"Oh, come on, Cassie, don't be a prude! You know you want to get you some of that tall, black-haired, green-eyed-"
"Actually, I'd rather get a healthy dosage of personality. I'm demisexual." Castiel clarified, smiling. Dean knew that it meant a lot to him to finally have a word for what he was, to not have to wonder any more if he was alone. Balthazar and Gabriel exchanged looks of astonishment.
"Demisexual?" Balthazar asked. "How did you figure that out? What does it mean?"
"It means I'm only sexually attracted after I've had an emotional connection with a person. Dean helped me figure it out." He said, relaxing a little bit more.
"Oh, he did now?" Balthazar asked suggestively, throwing him a wink. Castiel took a few minutes to realize what he was implying, and his face slowly turned red. Dean could feel his own face heating in a similar fashion. "What exactly did that involve?"
"Balthazar-"
"Come on now, out with all the juicy details!" Balthazar insisted, wiggling his eyebrows.
"We want to hear about everything about how terrible he is in bed." Gabriel insisted.
"Hey, I'll have you know I'm amazing in bed!" Dean insisted, crossing his arms over his chest in anger. Balthazar and Gabriel shared a glance before bursting out in laughter, and Castiel gave a deep sigh, looking towards the ceiling as if questioning what he did to deserve this.
"The internet. He looked it up on the internet." Castiel said, barely managing to be heard through Balthazar and Gabriel's laughter.
"Yeah, you perverts." Dean said, shooting them a glare. Castiel felt a small jolt of confusion mixed with heat go through his body as an arm snaked around his torso, coming to firmly rest on his hip. He looked over, and Dean winked. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we're gonna go find a place without the two of you."
Dean turned and Cas felt his own body follow. Of course, his thoughts were entirely separate from this whole event, up in the clouds and over-analyzing everything. They walked back out into the crowded place, and Cas expected Dean's hand to casually drop from his side.
It didn't. It stayed firmly in place, Dean's body pressing close as he began to lead them through the crowd. Castiel felt the hand against his hip like a brand, and was barely privy to the odd, and sometimes almost confused, looks that people were giving him. As if they were saying, 'After a hundred and fifty years, you're with a human'?
"Well, well, well," Came a voice, drawn out and dripping with an attitude Cas had almost forgotten. He flinched, turning to face her. Dean's hand dropped from his side then, and he felt a pang of regret. "If it isn't my old friend Clarence! And with a new boy toy, too."
"Hello, Meg." He said, flatly. Meg smirked, showing off her full lips and rounded face. Really, Castiel knew by most people's standards, she was attractive.
"Hey there. Who is this? The human everyone's been talking about?" She questioned, gesturing towards Dean. Castiel felt himself bristle as she continued, "Wow, never thought I'd see anyone get that close to you, Clarence. What makes him so special?"
There seemed to be no ill intent in her words, but Castiel didn't trust her. There was a time when he had started to, but not anymore, not after what happened. There was no way that he could.
"Well, obviously it's my charming personality." Dean growled from beside him, picking up on Cas's tension. Meg's eyebrows raised, and she leaned back.
"Whoa there tiger, didn't mean to offend. I was just trying to give a hello to an old friend, can't a girl get a little love around here?" She questioned flippantly, tossing her hair over her shoulder. She looked at Castiel pointedly, her bitter smile making his skin crawl. "Or is an 'emotional connection' too much to ask for?"
Cas felt a pang of anger as he realized that she had listened in on their conversation.
"When someone is as unappealing as you, it is." Cas said from beside them, glaring at her. Meg rolled her eyes and looked back to Dean, a clear, 'Can you believe this guy?' written on her face. When Dean didn't change from his hostile stance, she smiled and turned, looking over her shoulder to say, "Well, boys, I'm off. You know the drill, Crowley asked me to get his damned squirrel some food."
As she walked away, Castiel looked at her purple wings with a mixture of sadness and contempt.
"What the hell was that?" Dean asked, as soon as she was out of ear shot. Castiel gave a sigh, not feeling up to talking about his past right now, but knowing it to be necessary. Dean was his friend now, and deserved to know what had just transpired.
"I'll explain it once we've found out seats." Castiel said, deciding that that would be the best course of action. Instead of pushing, like he expected Dean to do, he nodded and followed Cas as he began to lead them down the rows.
The smells were intoxicating. There was the smell of food and alcohol and flowers, all swirling together to make something that was absolutely delectable. The smells reminded Cas of a different time, before he'd pledged his life to serve as a soldier. Memories of when he was young, nine or ten, and his parents bringing him out here.
Memories of when he felt like an individual.
Which, of course, is why he hadn't been here in thirty years. Feelings like that were dangerous. Feelings like that crawl up inside of you and build a home, and if you give them the chance, they'll tear you apart on the inside. Cas had been trying too hard for too long to let go of the part of him that longed to drop the facade of the obedient soldier he'd crafted.
And, with Dean here these last few days, he'd already began to let it slip. His personality was floating to the surface again. He wasn't so rigid and cold. He felt like those feelings on the inside, instead of tearing him apart, were slowly thawing him when he hadn't even known that he'd been frozen.
A part of him wanted to fight against it, but that part was too warm to argue about it. He was certain that, even if he didn't have romantic feelings for Dean, this would still be happening. Dean was just... He was just absolutely meant to change Cas.
Sometimes, Cas let himself believe in destiny, just a little. This was one of those times.
He found their seats towards the front, a large box sat across both of them with their names in shitty handwriting. Castiel fought the urge to roll his eyes, knowing that it was Balthazar who had done this, and barely managed to keep from it.
He moved the box out of the way and they sat down, pressed close by choice rather than necessity. Dean gave him a few minutes, despite the fact that Cas could tell he was burning with curiosity, itching to ask about Meg again.
"We were friends for a short time." He began. Dean's head turned to him, struggling to hear over the crowd, but managing and keeping silent. Castiel raised his voice a little bit, trying to be considerate.
"We were actually starting to get a little bit close, but she ruined it when she insisted on having further relations with me. She was pushy and invasive, and I couldn't deal with how forward she had become.
"The line got drawn when she cornered me in my bedroom one night and kissed me."
"Dude, what the fuck? Did you shove her away?"
"No, I knew if I did that she would just insist I hadn't 'given it a try' like she wanted. I waited until she finished and told her to get the hell out of my house. Later I found out that she actually needed something from Raphael, who leads our Warriors and has become a fairly good friend of mine. A large part of me believes that she just wanted the status going out with me would bring."
"I don't throw this word around a lot, but honestly, she was a bitch. That sucks, man." Dean said, seething with anger. "I can't believe she would have the nerve to talk to you that way."
"Yes, well, she's had the nerve to talk to me that way for the past thirty years since the event. It's actually part of the reason it's been so long since I've been to this place." Cas said, taking a moment to drink in the sights and smells again. Being in this place felt wonderful. "I didn't want to see her."
"If it's been that long, how did you know Mr. Nutters?" Dean asked. Castiel chuckled.
"Well, Gabriel has made several attempts to get me out here. One of them involved riding Mr. Nutters literally into my house. I'm not even sure how he fit through the front door, but since then, he's escaped several times to come and visit. They don't even bother looking for him anymore when he's missing, they know he's gone to me again."
"Dude, that's actually, weirdly... cute." Dean said, smiling at the information. Castiel turned his attention to the races, listening to the announcer make it known that the race was close to starting. He smiled, eyes drifting to the gates where they rattled. The squirrels were certainly anxious to get started.
"You'll want to pay attention to this." Castiel mumbled flatly, intensely focused on the doors.
"Want to focus on wha-" Dean was interrupted by a loud BANG as the doors busted open all at once, the squirrels taking off, their paws scampering across the ground as fast as they could manage.
The roar of the crowd became absolutely defeating. It was exactly like Castiel remembered; he found himself sitting silently still, as always confused by the increase in noise. After all, how could people watch the race if they were screaming so loudly?
He glanced over to see Dean in a similar position, eyes trained on the race. He was silent with Castiel, although he looked ready to jump up and cheer at any second.
Crowley's squirrel was ahead by a few jumps. Gabriel was fast in second, a few other fae lagged behind close enough to still be in the game, still more were so far behind they should just give up like teenagers do with schoolwork.
There were eight of them in all.
Gabriel pulled ahead just a few more centimeters, ' eyes shining with determination as he propelled the two of them forward with astonishing speed. Castiel had unconsciously moved to the edge of his seat, seeing that the race was barely a fourth of the way over. If Gabriel and Mr. Nutters could keep up this trend, they could easily overtake the competition by the last round.
Crowley looked back at Gabriel, and he smiled, a vindictive smile at best. Castiel felt his stomach drop to his feet; squirrel racing relied on an honor code rather than actual rules. Not many had chosen to break that, but there was money on the line for this race, and he wouldn't put anything above the slimy bastard. Then, he remembered.
Meg had done something for him. Meg, who was the most vindictive and manipulative person he'd ever met. Meg, who despite her flaws, was also incredibly intelligent and sinisterly creative. Once he realized this, he was certain that there was foul play involved.
He immediately assessed his options, the few that there were. He didn't have anything to get Gabriel's attention. He couldn't yell loud enough to be heard over the crowd. Waving his arms frantically sounded physically exhausting (ew, exercise), people would think he cared about the races more than he did, and most importantly, would do absolutely nothing to get his point across.
With all his options crossed out, he decided that sitting and watching things unfold was his only option. He was enraptured and waiting, the seconds seeming to drag into hours as he eagerly awaited the event.
"Crowley is planning something." He told Dean, eyes glued on the race.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Well, these races don't have rules. They run by honor. I think he's going to try something."
Just as he said this, Crowley pulled out something. It was about the size of a seed, a little bigger than his hand. It was green, and looked to be a leaf from this distance.
He threw it back at Gabriel, and Gabriel didn't have time to stop. It exploded all over him, orange substance going out and getting all over every surface. stopped, his hands working furiously at his eyes as two other squirrels passed him.
"It looks like foul play, folks!" The announcer said, cheerily. After all, people ate this kind of stuff up. "Crowley has thrown orange pollen onto his opponent, rendering his squirrel briefly unable to see!"
Mr. Nutters ran forward, trying his hardest to catch up to his competitors while still covered in the stuff. Castiel felt his temper go through the roof.
"Meg did this," He hissed, growling the words as much as he could to still have them heard. Dean turned to him, confused but eyes still flickering back to the race every couple of seconds.
"How do you know that?" He questioned. Castiel felt himself seethe.
"She works to help pollen distribution. She puts pollen onto bees that stop to help the plants. It's something the fae have done for years, and increases production of fruit by forty percent." He explained, anger only rivaled by his concern and hope.
Gabriel was catching back up again, in just the lick of time. The finishing line was close now.
Crowley turned, arm raised and a sadistic smile on his face as he started to throw another one.
It sailed through the air towards Gabriel, and time itself seemed to slow to a snail's pace as everyone gasped. Gabriel, however, seemed to be prepared. He reached out, the green touching his hand with out being broken. He tossed it forward as hard as he could, and Crowley's eyes grew comically wide as it landed right on top of his squirrel's head.
Centimeters before they would have crossed the finish line, the squirrel stopped, confused and shaking off bright pink pollen. Gabriel passed the finish line seconds later, skittering to a victorious stop.
Crowley's face heated in anger, and he turned to toss a glare towards the other side of the stadium. Castiel would bet anything he owned that he was glaring at Meg.
"WOOHOOOO!" Dean shouted, jumping out of his seat and pumping his fist into the air. Hundreds, if not thousands, of others joined in his enthusiasm, pumping fists and hugging and everything. Castiel stood himself, intending to go and find the gang down in the stables.
He was interrupted by a pair of strong arms spinning him around and wrapping around him, lifting him into the air and spinning.
Dean laughed as he did so, and Castiel felt weightless.
Dean set him down, but didn't remove his arms from around him. Castiel stood perfectly still, too confused and happy to do anything else. Dean's eyes turned soft, as did his smile. "Your friends are the best ever, dude."
"Well, I'd have to agree. After all, they did bring you here." Castiel said, simply. Dean's eyes softened, and suddenly he realized how emotional that sounded. His face was blank, but he could feel the slightest blush creeping up.
A few seconds later and someone nudged Dean, snapping him out of the daze he had been in. He cleared his throat and let his arms drop from around Castiel, looking away.
"I think we should go and find your friends now." Dean said, trying to hide his blush but failing.
They began to walk together, hands slipping seamlessly to grasp each other's wrists. Dean didn't want to put too much thought into it; mainly because if Sam saw this he would totally call Dean a girl and then punch him in the arm, but that didn't mean he didn't enjoy it.
"GUYS!" Balthazar said, as soon as he saw them. Cas could hear some small noises of argument coming from a room, attached to the stables, but he was too caught up in his friends rushing him to scoop them into a group hug to take much note of it.
"Did you see me? I was totally the bomb." Gabriel announced flippantly, smirking and putting his hands on his hips. He couldn't be prouder of him, but he knew if he told that to Gabriel he'd be dealing with the repercussions of it for the rest of his life.
"I'm fairly certain you got hit with a bomb." He said, flatly. Gabriel immediately sobered up, looking off to the side like he was looking into the camera on The Office.
"Come on guys, we have to celebrate. S'mores at my place?" Balthazar offered, smiling.
"Whoa, you guys have s'mores?" Dean questioned, looking at Cas as if offended this hadn't been mentioned beforehand. Cas just sort of shrugged. He hadn't found it all that important. Dean had very interesting priorities, as far as he was concerned.
"We actually have to get back to the phone tonight and make sure Jo is going to be home on time." Castiel reminded him. A small part of him was also hoping that they would watch a movie together again, because having Dean so close and learning about the human culture was absolutely fascinating to him, in every way possible. It would be a perfect end to a great day.
Suddenly, a door swung open violently, hitting the stable wall with a sickening crack. Out stormed Crowley, not even glancing their way as he strode out, head held high. A few moments later stumbled out the devil herself.
"What are you looking at?" Meg hissed, eyes narrowing at the assembled group. Castiel stood up a little straighter, feeling his wings puff out in a display of both pride and dominance.
"Apparently, a liar and a cheat." He retaliated, feeling a little bit smug with his comeback. Meg's eyes flashed briefly with fury before her emotions settled down a little, and she leaned back, a twisted smile gracing her features as she calculated her next move.
"Don't worry, darling," She purred, the sound of her voice putting the entire group on edge, "That won't be the last trouble I cause for you, if I have any say in things."
With a wink, she was gone. She turned and walked out of there as if she owned the place, hips swaying in a pitiful attempt to be seductive. All Castiel felt was anger, and the knowledge that whatever the hell that meant, it was in no way a warning.
It was a promise.
Dean was starting to like flying with Castiel. As much as he hated to say it, it was true. Castiel showed impressive strength, never failed to keep Dean steady and safe, and best of all, looked really fucking hot carrying him around like that.
Yeah, Dean could pretty much get used to this.
It made him a little sad, though. He'd like to be able to do something for Castiel like that, and yet, he couldn't just make wings grow out of nowhere. It was a sad thing indeed, that he had to be carried, and got no opportunity to do the carrying.
Well, unless...
Cas set Dean down on top of the end table in the little house off the Roadhouse, and Dean took a few moments to get his balance. As soon as he was certain he could do so without falling down on his face and making a mockery of himself, he scooped Castiel up and sent him a beaming smile, one that touched his eyes.
Cas was unstable for a second, confused and squirming. Soon enough his body locked up and his arms naturally wrapped around Dean's neck, his eyes wide with question and lips formed into an absolutely perfect pout. One that, if allowed, Dean would very much like to kiss away, kiss until they were both entirely breathless and felt high on each other, drinking in everything that the other had to offer, drowning in each other when it got to be too much.
He was certain that he had never felt this way about anyone before, and while it was confusing and didn't make any sense, he accepted it gracefully. There was already so much that was confusing about life, he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
"What are you doing?" Castiel demanded, after a little while. Dean started to walk, legs wobbling a little, but overall keeping fairly steady.
"You flew me here, I'm returning the favor." He teased, head tilting up to see over Cas's right wing. Castiel got the message and moved his wing downwards, bringing it closer to them. Dean walked the short distance to where they had sat last time and put Cas down, ignoring how Cas's wings were fluffed up and plush now. Okay, so maybe he didn't entirely ignore that part. It looked pretty bad-ass to him.
"Thank you." Cas said, softly. Dean shrugged, smiling.
"Anytime." He offered.
He then went to go and check his phone. Finding there was no problem with his arrangements, he quickly found the next chapter of Star Wars, pressing play.
Cas fell asleep before the movie was over, but Dean was still pretty sure that he'd liked it.