Destiel Fanfic: Appearances Can Be Deceiving Ch 9
TITLE - Appearances Can Be Deceiving
Author - angelina1210 & riotousricochet
RATING - PG
GENRE/PAIRING - M/M Castiel/Dean Winchester
SPOILERS - None
WARNINGS - None this chapter
WORD COUNT - 3100 WIP
SUMMARY - Sunday dinner at Bobby's is awesome!
“Turn it now, Dean,” Bobby hollered, “If you burn my steak, I will tan your hide.” Bobby practically jogged over to the grill, reaching for the tongs as he moved.
“Back off, old man,” Dean retorted, keeping Bobby at bay with one hand and masterfully flipping the steaks with the other. “Let the master work.” As the juicy meat dripped onto the coals, flames popped up through the rack and swallowed the steaks for a moment before receding back into a temperamental holding pattern.
This was their usual Sunday routine: Ellen in the kitchen with the sliding glass door open, cooking the side dishes, while Bobby and Dean fought over control of the grill. If he had to man the main course on his day off too, then Dean was no good to Bobby at all. Everyone needs a day off and Dean always felt that Bobby deserved that day off more than anyone else.
Jo and Sam’s wife, Jessica, a beautiful blonde with a smile that lit Sam up like a rocket, were flipping through a fashion magazine together at the patio table oohing and ahing over the fall Homecoming collections. A curvaceous tomboy, Jo had waited to the last minute to pick a color but Jess was determined to get her squared before next weekend. Ellen was more than grateful since the feisty teenager seemed determined to do the opposite of whatever she was told to do. Damn but she couldn’t wait for Jo to finish adolescence. She was eighteen but still a rebel.
Sam crossed the patio to the grill, three beers in tow. He passed one to Bobby and Dean each before opening his own. He smirked as the two began to bicker over the steaks again and ran his hand through his long hair. It was past his ears again but he just couldn’t quite get himself to cut it just yet. He’d push it another week to see if the partners noticed.
“Sam,” Dean pleaded, “will you please take Bobby away from the grill. There is only room for one chef on this patio.” Dean shooed Bobby away and watched Sam drag their grumpy father-figure down the patio steps and into the backyard. He was headed to the shed to grab the ball and mitts for a round of catch.
Dean looked around the gathering of friends and family and felt pride fill his chest. It had not always been this peaceful and mundane but they all had worked hard to get here. He would treasure every minute and hoped to drag Cas to one of these dinners soon.
When Dean was four and Sam not yet crawling, their mother, Mary, died suddenly of cancer. The disease had followed her unseen for years and claimed her life before the little family could really process the diagnosis. Their father, John eventually found solace in the bottle and then sobriety with the help of 12 steps. That was where the John met Bobby Singer. Their mutual sorrow of a wife stolen so suddenly bonded them like brothers. It was Bobby that helped John climb out of that bottle.
Death was an unrelenting playmate for the Winchester and their friends as Ellen’s husband was taken suddenly as well. His badge wasn’t able to protect him from a rogue bullet of a teenaged stickup artist. Her sports bar, a safe haven for reformed alcoholics, was closed for a week while she and Jo climbed out of the wreckage of a life taken so soon.
The last to fall was John himself. Dean remembered that night so vividly that it still brought him to tears some nights. Just after Dean’s eighteenth birthday, John was on the road again hauling concrete pipes to a construction site two states over. He was gone so often that Bobby actually set up a bedroom at his house for the boys to share. The Atari, army men and coloring books eventually gave way to detailed car models and textbooks. John should have turned down the double load but he needed the money. He thought the extra zeros would be worth the danger. He was wrong.
How they pulled themselves together after so much tragedy was beyond Dean to understand, but he would never question it. As Bobby and Ellen drifted together and the boys became permanent residents, their ragtag group of friends became a family. They were strong enough help Jo stay in school when her mourning took a violent turn; beating up boys twice her size was not the best outlet for her frustration. They were strong enough to see Sam through law school. They were even strong enough to pull Dean back to safety after he met Jacob.
Family don’t end in blood, boy. Bobby’s family motto bounced in his head as he flipped the steaks one more time. It was a motto he had come to live by and fully embrace. And how could he not? The people surrounding him, the people he loved the most, weren’t related to him in any genetic way at all, aside from Sam, but he felt as accepted by and connected to them than if they were his own biological family. They were the ones that protected him, that understood him - the ones that had cared for him when he had been at the absolute lowest point of his life.
And that was why he had urged Cas so strongly yesterday to try and repair those bridges that had so obviously been strained to the point of breaking. Because he knew exactly how important family was, how strong of a support system they could be. He also knew how empty that hollow pain left you feeling when losing those closest to you, especially if you hadn’t had a chance to tell them goodbye; life was too damn short not to make the most of the time you had. He hoped that Cas would come to understand the strength of the conviction he felt about it all.
Dean looked down at the burgers, suddenly brought back out of his musings by the slight smell of char, and quickly pulled them off the grill. He huffed out a low chuckle at the irony of it, knowing Bobby probably really would tan his hide when he saw that he had burned his steak, and walked back to the table in the middle of the patio.
***
Dean narrowed his eyes and tossed another five dollar chip into the pile. He and Bobby were the only players left in this round and he was not going to lose again. This was their third go at raising each other and Dean hated to admit that the little pile of chips was just that - little. He was holding a straight but Bobby was too cool to be bluffing. When he tossed another chip into the pile, Dean let out a groan and swore out loud, kicking off raucous laughter from Sam and Ellen.
They were on their fifth hand of poker and the deal had come back around to Dean. Jess was curled up in the recliner watching the game from across the room, rubbing her belly. She was just starting to show but was already fighting with swollen feet. Jo had left right after dinner for a movie with next week’s prom date. It was just the four of them tonight playing cards, but the trash talk was rolling hard as usual.
“You wanna call it, bub?” Bobby asked shrewdly and raised his brows at Dean.
“Alright then,” Dean countered, “let’s do this.” He laid his Straight out before him and gave Bobby a triumphant smile. “What ya got?”
Without batting an eye, Bobby put down his Full House and dragged the chips to his side of the table.
“Again?” Dean blurted, sending Sam and Ellen into another fit. “How are you even doing that?”
“That’s payback for my burnt steak, ya idjit,” Bobby groused.
“Dude,” Dean groused back, “You said that three hands ago.”
“I like to hold grudges, boy.”
Dean finally chuckled himself and stood up for a stretch and to refill his soda. They all switched to sodas after dinner for Bobby’s sake and, with refill requests in, he headed back to the kitchen for more cans. He stopped at his jacket to check his phone. He had texted Cas before the game, about an hour ago, as Ellen enforced a strict ‘no phones at the poker table’ rule. Cas’ curt reply made him smile as he set the cans on the table and sat down.
I am on my way to my father’s house. I will expect prompt repayment for this.
“No phones at the table, Dean,” Ellen started but he finished his reply and dropped the phone under his chair.
“I know,” he held his hands up in surrender and then opened his can.
“Must be someone special and amazing if you’re willing to piss off Ellen, Dean,” Sam’s smug grin tugged the corner of his mouth up, but he kept dealing as if he hadn’t spoke a word.
Ellen’s face immediately lit up. “Someone special? Like who? Is it that nice man you brought in for burgers back on Halloween?” She relentlessly peppered Dean with questions as Sam looked on with a smirk.
Dean glared at his betraying brother beside him with a glance that held little heat. He looked back to Ellen when Sam only shrugged and began shuffling the deck. “Yes, and his name is Cas.”
Ellen’s grin widened. “So is he special and amazing like Sammy says?”
A blush burned across Dean’s cheeks and he glanced down to the hand Sam had just passed him. “Yes,” he said.
Ellen made a sound of delight and Bobby sighed deeply. “Dammit woman, would you leave the boy alone?”
Ellen rolled her eyes but kept the happy smile on her lips as Bobby continued with Ellen’s previous line of questioning, “And what does this Cas do for a living?”
Dean studied his hand, noting that it wasn’t all that terrible, and looked back up. “He’s an accountant,” he answered, tapping his fingers against the table to check. “Now c’mon, what’s with all the questions?”
Ellen tossed a chip to middle of the table as she spoke, “It’s been a while since you’ve brought anyone by. We’d like to add another plate to the table.” She folded her cards together and turned to Bobby for his go.
“So did you decide if Cas has a last name?” Sam asked and then grimaced as Bobby raised Ellen double. He threw a dirty look at the bearded man and tossed matching chips into the pot.
Dean checked his hand again, tossed a matching bet and then huffed. “Novak,” he stated simply. He felt the entire table stop and look at him. “Yes,” he confirmed, “those Novaks.”
Three pairs of eyes stared at him like he’d grown a second head. He imagined that this was the face he’d given Cas yesterday but, hey, they asked so he answered.
Sam cleared his throat before breaking the silence. “I know Lucifer from the courthouse. He’s a piece of work.” Now three sets of eyes locked on Sam. Jess was snoring from the recliner and would hear about all of this later.
“What?” he shrugged, “they’re all named after angels.” Dean scrunched his nose in disbelief that he hadn’t exactly known that bit of information and Bobby just snorted.
“I thought his name was Luke,” Ellen said taking her turn to bet.
“It’s short for Lucifer. That’s why it’s spelled L-U-C and not L-U-K-E,” Sam informed, watching Bobby raise double again. Dammit, he was gonna clean them out tonight. Sam folded and then turned to Dean again.
“Well that explains that,” Dean mumbled. “I met his brother Balthazar today and heard about a Gabriel. Just wow.” He studied the pot for a moment, looked his hand over and folded as well. “Dammit, Bobby! Are you hiding cards over there?”
Ellen and Bobby faced off now and silence fell over the table. Ellen’s face had a gift for swaying between fierce predator to endearing mother with just a flash of smile. Bobby liked to hide behind his hat and occasional glasses. Both faces were illegible as the Winchesters watched the battle of wills unfolding before them.
Ellen cocked her head to the side and raised double. Without looking at his hand or chips, Bobby did the same. Ellen laid her cards face down and pushed all of her chips into the pot. Bobby clenched his jaw and moved his hand to his chips.
“Bobby Singer,” Ellen started, “if you do anything other than fold, I swear to the moon that you will get none tonight.” Bobby’s hand froze over his chips, an internal debate obviously bouncing around in his head.
“But it’s Sunday,” he whined.
“Don’t care,” Ellen said and pulled all the chips to her side of the table. “I can’t let you beat these boys six hands in row. It’s just not natural.”
Sam and Dean watched in horror as Bobby was firmly put in his place on their behalf before whooping and banging the table in celebration. The noise woke up Jess and marked the end of poker night.
Dean pushed back from the table with a wide grin, scooping his phone up from under the chair and settling it in his back pocket without sparing it a glance. He was too busy crossing over to the other side of the table to Ellen to give her a congratulatory hug. “He deserved to lose, don’t you let him tell you any different,” he murmured cheerfully as she squeezed him back.
“Oh he ain’t tellin’ me nothin’ about it tonight,” she said, pulling back from Dean and shooting him a wink. “You make sure n’ bring Cas around soon for dinner, okay? I’d sure like to meet him.”
Dean nodded dutifully, but felt a warm suredness bloom in his chest. He had already planned on bringing Cas by soon, but the fact that his family was excited to meet him made Dean feel all the more content.
Ellen passed Dean onto Bobby for their customary hug, complete with manly and hearty back-slaps. “You better watch it next week, boy. I’m not gonna go so easy on you,” he said, nodding over Dean’s shoulder to their makeshift poker table in the dining room.
Dean laughed outright. “Guess I’ll just have to step up my game then.”
Bobby cracked a smile, “That or just keep losing to me. It’s your choice.”
Dean pulled him back in for another hug, so happy in that moment just to be surrounded by people that legitimately cared for him. Bobby chuckled against his shoulder then pulled back, his face attempting to fall into a stern expression, but failing miserably.
“You better get your ass on the road, boy. You know how important a good night’s sleep is?” he asked, eyeing Dean with a frown that quickly gave way to a small smile.
“Yeah, yeah, old man,” Dean said, dismissively waving his hand goodnaturedly as he made his way into the living room. He embraced Jess gently and gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek before grabbing his jacket and stepping out of the warm house into the frosty fall evening with Sam right behind him.
The moon was full, brightening the night with a cold, silvery glow and laying soft beams of pale light across the grass and trees in the front driveway. Dean walked up to his Baby, his booted feet crunching loudly in the gravel as he went. Sam joined him at the side of the Impala, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans as he watched Dean fish his keys out of his jacket.
Dean got his door unlocked, but turned to Sam before climbing in, leaning his back up against the driver’s side door panel. “You think Bobby might be cheating the deck somehow?” he asked jovially, a smile ticking up the corner of his mouth.
Sam shook his head and chuckled, sending up a puff of fog into the cold night air. “Dunno man,” he said. And then all of a sudden his expression turned somber.
Dean felt a knot twist in his stomach and knew what was coming next.
“Hey listen, uh I’m sure Cas is a really great guy. And I’m really happy for you,” Sam began, and Dean held his breath, waiting for the ‘but’ that Sam had lined up. “But you need to be really careful. I can’t watch you go through the same thing that happened with Jacob again, Dean - I just can’t watch you get hurt.”
For all Dean knew that Sam was trying to protect him, he still felt a bitterness and unresolved anger well up inside his gut. Because what difference would it make? He had thought he was being careful when he met Jacob, had never once felt an inkling that something was completely, horribly wrong until it was too late. But with Cas it all felt so different, and in a way he couldn’t really explain, even to himself.
Dean pushed back up from the door, his brows knitting together. “I am being careful, Sammy,” he said, his voice pitched low. And it was true. The only good thing to come from the pain he had experienced before was that it taught him how to better guard his heart, how to throw up those barriers to protect himself. He didn’t know if the damage that had been done already would ever be completely healed, but he at least had the capacity to prevent further heartbreak now.
Sam nodded, looking down at his shoes as he shuffled his feet in the dirt. “Okay,” he said softly, “I just -”
Dean cut him off, a sigh huffing from his mouth in a quickly dissipating cloud, “I know, Sammy. Thank you.” He tugged Sam in for a tight hug, catching him off guard. He hadn’t even had time to pull his hands from his pockets.
“Sure thing, man,” Sam said warmly after Dean released him. “You drive careful, okay?”
Dean rolled his eyes and wrenched open his door. “Isn’t the big brother supposed to be the one looking after the little one?” he asked with a tight laugh.
Sam smiled and closed Dean into his car before jogging back to the house with a wave. Dean shook his head and chuckled softly, digging his phone out of his pocket to check his messages. His laughter quickly died away when he read what Cas had sent him almost forty-five minutes ago:
If you ever presume to tell me how important family is at any point in the future, I swear I will never speak to you again.
Author - angelina1210 & riotousricochet
RATING - PG
GENRE/PAIRING - M/M Castiel/Dean Winchester
SPOILERS - None
WARNINGS - None this chapter
WORD COUNT - 3100 WIP
SUMMARY - Sunday dinner at Bobby's is awesome!
“Turn it now, Dean,” Bobby hollered, “If you burn my steak, I will tan your hide.” Bobby practically jogged over to the grill, reaching for the tongs as he moved.
“Back off, old man,” Dean retorted, keeping Bobby at bay with one hand and masterfully flipping the steaks with the other. “Let the master work.” As the juicy meat dripped onto the coals, flames popped up through the rack and swallowed the steaks for a moment before receding back into a temperamental holding pattern.
This was their usual Sunday routine: Ellen in the kitchen with the sliding glass door open, cooking the side dishes, while Bobby and Dean fought over control of the grill. If he had to man the main course on his day off too, then Dean was no good to Bobby at all. Everyone needs a day off and Dean always felt that Bobby deserved that day off more than anyone else.
Jo and Sam’s wife, Jessica, a beautiful blonde with a smile that lit Sam up like a rocket, were flipping through a fashion magazine together at the patio table oohing and ahing over the fall Homecoming collections. A curvaceous tomboy, Jo had waited to the last minute to pick a color but Jess was determined to get her squared before next weekend. Ellen was more than grateful since the feisty teenager seemed determined to do the opposite of whatever she was told to do. Damn but she couldn’t wait for Jo to finish adolescence. She was eighteen but still a rebel.
Sam crossed the patio to the grill, three beers in tow. He passed one to Bobby and Dean each before opening his own. He smirked as the two began to bicker over the steaks again and ran his hand through his long hair. It was past his ears again but he just couldn’t quite get himself to cut it just yet. He’d push it another week to see if the partners noticed.
“Sam,” Dean pleaded, “will you please take Bobby away from the grill. There is only room for one chef on this patio.” Dean shooed Bobby away and watched Sam drag their grumpy father-figure down the patio steps and into the backyard. He was headed to the shed to grab the ball and mitts for a round of catch.
Dean looked around the gathering of friends and family and felt pride fill his chest. It had not always been this peaceful and mundane but they all had worked hard to get here. He would treasure every minute and hoped to drag Cas to one of these dinners soon.
When Dean was four and Sam not yet crawling, their mother, Mary, died suddenly of cancer. The disease had followed her unseen for years and claimed her life before the little family could really process the diagnosis. Their father, John eventually found solace in the bottle and then sobriety with the help of 12 steps. That was where the John met Bobby Singer. Their mutual sorrow of a wife stolen so suddenly bonded them like brothers. It was Bobby that helped John climb out of that bottle.
Death was an unrelenting playmate for the Winchester and their friends as Ellen’s husband was taken suddenly as well. His badge wasn’t able to protect him from a rogue bullet of a teenaged stickup artist. Her sports bar, a safe haven for reformed alcoholics, was closed for a week while she and Jo climbed out of the wreckage of a life taken so soon.
The last to fall was John himself. Dean remembered that night so vividly that it still brought him to tears some nights. Just after Dean’s eighteenth birthday, John was on the road again hauling concrete pipes to a construction site two states over. He was gone so often that Bobby actually set up a bedroom at his house for the boys to share. The Atari, army men and coloring books eventually gave way to detailed car models and textbooks. John should have turned down the double load but he needed the money. He thought the extra zeros would be worth the danger. He was wrong.
How they pulled themselves together after so much tragedy was beyond Dean to understand, but he would never question it. As Bobby and Ellen drifted together and the boys became permanent residents, their ragtag group of friends became a family. They were strong enough help Jo stay in school when her mourning took a violent turn; beating up boys twice her size was not the best outlet for her frustration. They were strong enough to see Sam through law school. They were even strong enough to pull Dean back to safety after he met Jacob.
Family don’t end in blood, boy. Bobby’s family motto bounced in his head as he flipped the steaks one more time. It was a motto he had come to live by and fully embrace. And how could he not? The people surrounding him, the people he loved the most, weren’t related to him in any genetic way at all, aside from Sam, but he felt as accepted by and connected to them than if they were his own biological family. They were the ones that protected him, that understood him - the ones that had cared for him when he had been at the absolute lowest point of his life.
And that was why he had urged Cas so strongly yesterday to try and repair those bridges that had so obviously been strained to the point of breaking. Because he knew exactly how important family was, how strong of a support system they could be. He also knew how empty that hollow pain left you feeling when losing those closest to you, especially if you hadn’t had a chance to tell them goodbye; life was too damn short not to make the most of the time you had. He hoped that Cas would come to understand the strength of the conviction he felt about it all.
Dean looked down at the burgers, suddenly brought back out of his musings by the slight smell of char, and quickly pulled them off the grill. He huffed out a low chuckle at the irony of it, knowing Bobby probably really would tan his hide when he saw that he had burned his steak, and walked back to the table in the middle of the patio.
***
Dean narrowed his eyes and tossed another five dollar chip into the pile. He and Bobby were the only players left in this round and he was not going to lose again. This was their third go at raising each other and Dean hated to admit that the little pile of chips was just that - little. He was holding a straight but Bobby was too cool to be bluffing. When he tossed another chip into the pile, Dean let out a groan and swore out loud, kicking off raucous laughter from Sam and Ellen.
They were on their fifth hand of poker and the deal had come back around to Dean. Jess was curled up in the recliner watching the game from across the room, rubbing her belly. She was just starting to show but was already fighting with swollen feet. Jo had left right after dinner for a movie with next week’s prom date. It was just the four of them tonight playing cards, but the trash talk was rolling hard as usual.
“You wanna call it, bub?” Bobby asked shrewdly and raised his brows at Dean.
“Alright then,” Dean countered, “let’s do this.” He laid his Straight out before him and gave Bobby a triumphant smile. “What ya got?”
Without batting an eye, Bobby put down his Full House and dragged the chips to his side of the table.
“Again?” Dean blurted, sending Sam and Ellen into another fit. “How are you even doing that?”
“That’s payback for my burnt steak, ya idjit,” Bobby groused.
“Dude,” Dean groused back, “You said that three hands ago.”
“I like to hold grudges, boy.”
Dean finally chuckled himself and stood up for a stretch and to refill his soda. They all switched to sodas after dinner for Bobby’s sake and, with refill requests in, he headed back to the kitchen for more cans. He stopped at his jacket to check his phone. He had texted Cas before the game, about an hour ago, as Ellen enforced a strict ‘no phones at the poker table’ rule. Cas’ curt reply made him smile as he set the cans on the table and sat down.
I am on my way to my father’s house. I will expect prompt repayment for this.
“No phones at the table, Dean,” Ellen started but he finished his reply and dropped the phone under his chair.
“I know,” he held his hands up in surrender and then opened his can.
“Must be someone special and amazing if you’re willing to piss off Ellen, Dean,” Sam’s smug grin tugged the corner of his mouth up, but he kept dealing as if he hadn’t spoke a word.
Ellen’s face immediately lit up. “Someone special? Like who? Is it that nice man you brought in for burgers back on Halloween?” She relentlessly peppered Dean with questions as Sam looked on with a smirk.
Dean glared at his betraying brother beside him with a glance that held little heat. He looked back to Ellen when Sam only shrugged and began shuffling the deck. “Yes, and his name is Cas.”
Ellen’s grin widened. “So is he special and amazing like Sammy says?”
A blush burned across Dean’s cheeks and he glanced down to the hand Sam had just passed him. “Yes,” he said.
Ellen made a sound of delight and Bobby sighed deeply. “Dammit woman, would you leave the boy alone?”
Ellen rolled her eyes but kept the happy smile on her lips as Bobby continued with Ellen’s previous line of questioning, “And what does this Cas do for a living?”
Dean studied his hand, noting that it wasn’t all that terrible, and looked back up. “He’s an accountant,” he answered, tapping his fingers against the table to check. “Now c’mon, what’s with all the questions?”
Ellen tossed a chip to middle of the table as she spoke, “It’s been a while since you’ve brought anyone by. We’d like to add another plate to the table.” She folded her cards together and turned to Bobby for his go.
“So did you decide if Cas has a last name?” Sam asked and then grimaced as Bobby raised Ellen double. He threw a dirty look at the bearded man and tossed matching chips into the pot.
Dean checked his hand again, tossed a matching bet and then huffed. “Novak,” he stated simply. He felt the entire table stop and look at him. “Yes,” he confirmed, “those Novaks.”
Three pairs of eyes stared at him like he’d grown a second head. He imagined that this was the face he’d given Cas yesterday but, hey, they asked so he answered.
Sam cleared his throat before breaking the silence. “I know Lucifer from the courthouse. He’s a piece of work.” Now three sets of eyes locked on Sam. Jess was snoring from the recliner and would hear about all of this later.
“What?” he shrugged, “they’re all named after angels.” Dean scrunched his nose in disbelief that he hadn’t exactly known that bit of information and Bobby just snorted.
“I thought his name was Luke,” Ellen said taking her turn to bet.
“It’s short for Lucifer. That’s why it’s spelled L-U-C and not L-U-K-E,” Sam informed, watching Bobby raise double again. Dammit, he was gonna clean them out tonight. Sam folded and then turned to Dean again.
“Well that explains that,” Dean mumbled. “I met his brother Balthazar today and heard about a Gabriel. Just wow.” He studied the pot for a moment, looked his hand over and folded as well. “Dammit, Bobby! Are you hiding cards over there?”
Ellen and Bobby faced off now and silence fell over the table. Ellen’s face had a gift for swaying between fierce predator to endearing mother with just a flash of smile. Bobby liked to hide behind his hat and occasional glasses. Both faces were illegible as the Winchesters watched the battle of wills unfolding before them.
Ellen cocked her head to the side and raised double. Without looking at his hand or chips, Bobby did the same. Ellen laid her cards face down and pushed all of her chips into the pot. Bobby clenched his jaw and moved his hand to his chips.
“Bobby Singer,” Ellen started, “if you do anything other than fold, I swear to the moon that you will get none tonight.” Bobby’s hand froze over his chips, an internal debate obviously bouncing around in his head.
“But it’s Sunday,” he whined.
“Don’t care,” Ellen said and pulled all the chips to her side of the table. “I can’t let you beat these boys six hands in row. It’s just not natural.”
Sam and Dean watched in horror as Bobby was firmly put in his place on their behalf before whooping and banging the table in celebration. The noise woke up Jess and marked the end of poker night.
Dean pushed back from the table with a wide grin, scooping his phone up from under the chair and settling it in his back pocket without sparing it a glance. He was too busy crossing over to the other side of the table to Ellen to give her a congratulatory hug. “He deserved to lose, don’t you let him tell you any different,” he murmured cheerfully as she squeezed him back.
“Oh he ain’t tellin’ me nothin’ about it tonight,” she said, pulling back from Dean and shooting him a wink. “You make sure n’ bring Cas around soon for dinner, okay? I’d sure like to meet him.”
Dean nodded dutifully, but felt a warm suredness bloom in his chest. He had already planned on bringing Cas by soon, but the fact that his family was excited to meet him made Dean feel all the more content.
Ellen passed Dean onto Bobby for their customary hug, complete with manly and hearty back-slaps. “You better watch it next week, boy. I’m not gonna go so easy on you,” he said, nodding over Dean’s shoulder to their makeshift poker table in the dining room.
Dean laughed outright. “Guess I’ll just have to step up my game then.”
Bobby cracked a smile, “That or just keep losing to me. It’s your choice.”
Dean pulled him back in for another hug, so happy in that moment just to be surrounded by people that legitimately cared for him. Bobby chuckled against his shoulder then pulled back, his face attempting to fall into a stern expression, but failing miserably.
“You better get your ass on the road, boy. You know how important a good night’s sleep is?” he asked, eyeing Dean with a frown that quickly gave way to a small smile.
“Yeah, yeah, old man,” Dean said, dismissively waving his hand goodnaturedly as he made his way into the living room. He embraced Jess gently and gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek before grabbing his jacket and stepping out of the warm house into the frosty fall evening with Sam right behind him.
The moon was full, brightening the night with a cold, silvery glow and laying soft beams of pale light across the grass and trees in the front driveway. Dean walked up to his Baby, his booted feet crunching loudly in the gravel as he went. Sam joined him at the side of the Impala, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans as he watched Dean fish his keys out of his jacket.
Dean got his door unlocked, but turned to Sam before climbing in, leaning his back up against the driver’s side door panel. “You think Bobby might be cheating the deck somehow?” he asked jovially, a smile ticking up the corner of his mouth.
Sam shook his head and chuckled, sending up a puff of fog into the cold night air. “Dunno man,” he said. And then all of a sudden his expression turned somber.
Dean felt a knot twist in his stomach and knew what was coming next.
“Hey listen, uh I’m sure Cas is a really great guy. And I’m really happy for you,” Sam began, and Dean held his breath, waiting for the ‘but’ that Sam had lined up. “But you need to be really careful. I can’t watch you go through the same thing that happened with Jacob again, Dean - I just can’t watch you get hurt.”
For all Dean knew that Sam was trying to protect him, he still felt a bitterness and unresolved anger well up inside his gut. Because what difference would it make? He had thought he was being careful when he met Jacob, had never once felt an inkling that something was completely, horribly wrong until it was too late. But with Cas it all felt so different, and in a way he couldn’t really explain, even to himself.
Dean pushed back up from the door, his brows knitting together. “I am being careful, Sammy,” he said, his voice pitched low. And it was true. The only good thing to come from the pain he had experienced before was that it taught him how to better guard his heart, how to throw up those barriers to protect himself. He didn’t know if the damage that had been done already would ever be completely healed, but he at least had the capacity to prevent further heartbreak now.
Sam nodded, looking down at his shoes as he shuffled his feet in the dirt. “Okay,” he said softly, “I just -”
Dean cut him off, a sigh huffing from his mouth in a quickly dissipating cloud, “I know, Sammy. Thank you.” He tugged Sam in for a tight hug, catching him off guard. He hadn’t even had time to pull his hands from his pockets.
“Sure thing, man,” Sam said warmly after Dean released him. “You drive careful, okay?”
Dean rolled his eyes and wrenched open his door. “Isn’t the big brother supposed to be the one looking after the little one?” he asked with a tight laugh.
Sam smiled and closed Dean into his car before jogging back to the house with a wave. Dean shook his head and chuckled softly, digging his phone out of his pocket to check his messages. His laughter quickly died away when he read what Cas had sent him almost forty-five minutes ago:
If you ever presume to tell me how important family is at any point in the future, I swear I will never speak to you again.