Fic: Chili Surprise (Supernatural. Sam, Dean, Castiel. PG)
Last year I wrote a couple of comment fics that I never got round to posting in my journal. This is the first of them.
Title: Chili Surprise
Fandom: Supernatural
Characters: Sam, Dean, Castiel
Rating: PG
Word Count: 724
Notes: Best not to be read while eating. Originally posted here. Many thanks to fringedweller for the beta.
Summary: Written for the prompt from roque_clasique
Castiel gets into cooking -- it's an act of creation that he has almost complete control over, and he gets addicted. Dean is his guinea pig -- the only problem is, Dean likes pretty much everything, so he doesn't realize that Castiel is a godawful chef. Sam, however -- Sam realizes.
"Food? Awesome!" Dean sits down at the counter and starts on the plate of food Castiel has just put in front of him, scarfing down forkfuls of the mushy brown stuff with enthusiasm.
Sam stares down at the other plate still sitting there. Steam is rising from it, which is a positive start. Hot food is a good thing, especially when you've just come in from a freezing cold trek, through foot-deep snow. But something about the contents of the plate is a little off. It smells strange. At first it seems fine; the warm spicy scent of chili is filling the kitchenette. Sam definitely detects smoked paprika and - is that cinnamon? - Weird. It all smells a bit burnt, but that's par for the course with Castiel's cooking. But underneath it there is something else. Sam can't quite identify it, but it is fairly astringent and shouldn't have any place in what is supposed to be chili.
Castiel is looking at him hopefully. "You hungry, Sam?" And pushes the plate a little closer to him. He is wearing an apron, covered in splashes of food. Sam is relieved to see that it is a fairly plain striped one. He wouldn't put it past Castiel to have found a novelty apron from somewhere. Maybe 'Kiss the Cook' like Bobby or the fake hairy abs that Sam remembers from that tv show. He shudders at the thought.
Dean pauses for a second in his eating. "S'good."
A tiny bit of food flies out of his mouth onto the counter as he says it. Dean grins and scrapes it up on a finger and puts it back in his mouth.
Sam starts to feel sick. God, his brother sometimes. Plus he's finally identified the strange smell. It's mint. He is surprised that he didn't recognise it earlier.
Castiel is still hovering in front of him. “Eat, eat! You must be starving."
Sam can't put it off any longer. He promised himself that he would be nicer to the angel. Castiel's been looking kind of lost lately, and Sam felt bad for him.
He sits on the tall stool, moving slowly, trying to put the moment of truth off just a little longer. He picks up the fork and pokes at the food. Sam immediately regrets it; he didn't really want to look at it that closely. It kind of looks like chili. Brown and lumpy, with some smashed up kidney beans. He pokes a bit further and there are fat grains of rice underneath everything. Sam starts to wonder where Castiel got the recipe. This isn't anything like any chili that he's ever seen before.
He digs his fork in and lifts it up to his mouth. He has speared a huge chunk of something. Sam closes his eyes and tries not to breathe through his nose as he puts the chili in his mouth and swallows immediately. He tries not to gag. It tastes awful. Once in his mouth the mint cuts through everything except the bite of the chili peppers. He figures Castiel must have put in about twenty. Sam reaches blindly for a glass of water; his mouth is stinging; the tingling from the mint is making the burn even worse.
When he can't find water, he opens his eyes and grabs Dean's beer. Screw the backwash. He gulps it down but it doesn't help.
"It's great isn't it", Dean says happily. His plate is empty. Sam wonders if Dean has any taste buds at all. He seems oblivious to Sam's discomfort.
"Can I have some more, dude?" Dean asks Castiel. "And another beer too."
Castiel refills the plate and brings it back. "Sam, what do you think of it? I read that every chili maker had their own secret ingredient so I found mine." He actually looks a bit proud, as if that revolting combination was a stroke of culinary genius.
Sam stares at him in disbelief. Castiel continues.
"I really think it enhances the chili peppers. Can you guess what it was?"
Sam gives up now. Castiel is never going to make a good cook if he thinks a combination like that is a good idea. He pushes his plate away and rests his head on the counter in despair. Sam is never eating any of Castiel’s food ever again.
End
Title: Chili Surprise
Fandom: Supernatural
Characters: Sam, Dean, Castiel
Rating: PG
Word Count: 724
Notes: Best not to be read while eating. Originally posted here. Many thanks to fringedweller for the beta.
Summary: Written for the prompt from roque_clasique
Castiel gets into cooking -- it's an act of creation that he has almost complete control over, and he gets addicted. Dean is his guinea pig -- the only problem is, Dean likes pretty much everything, so he doesn't realize that Castiel is a godawful chef. Sam, however -- Sam realizes.
"Food? Awesome!" Dean sits down at the counter and starts on the plate of food Castiel has just put in front of him, scarfing down forkfuls of the mushy brown stuff with enthusiasm.
Sam stares down at the other plate still sitting there. Steam is rising from it, which is a positive start. Hot food is a good thing, especially when you've just come in from a freezing cold trek, through foot-deep snow. But something about the contents of the plate is a little off. It smells strange. At first it seems fine; the warm spicy scent of chili is filling the kitchenette. Sam definitely detects smoked paprika and - is that cinnamon? - Weird. It all smells a bit burnt, but that's par for the course with Castiel's cooking. But underneath it there is something else. Sam can't quite identify it, but it is fairly astringent and shouldn't have any place in what is supposed to be chili.
Castiel is looking at him hopefully. "You hungry, Sam?" And pushes the plate a little closer to him. He is wearing an apron, covered in splashes of food. Sam is relieved to see that it is a fairly plain striped one. He wouldn't put it past Castiel to have found a novelty apron from somewhere. Maybe 'Kiss the Cook' like Bobby or the fake hairy abs that Sam remembers from that tv show. He shudders at the thought.
Dean pauses for a second in his eating. "S'good."
A tiny bit of food flies out of his mouth onto the counter as he says it. Dean grins and scrapes it up on a finger and puts it back in his mouth.
Sam starts to feel sick. God, his brother sometimes. Plus he's finally identified the strange smell. It's mint. He is surprised that he didn't recognise it earlier.
Castiel is still hovering in front of him. “Eat, eat! You must be starving."
Sam can't put it off any longer. He promised himself that he would be nicer to the angel. Castiel's been looking kind of lost lately, and Sam felt bad for him.
He sits on the tall stool, moving slowly, trying to put the moment of truth off just a little longer. He picks up the fork and pokes at the food. Sam immediately regrets it; he didn't really want to look at it that closely. It kind of looks like chili. Brown and lumpy, with some smashed up kidney beans. He pokes a bit further and there are fat grains of rice underneath everything. Sam starts to wonder where Castiel got the recipe. This isn't anything like any chili that he's ever seen before.
He digs his fork in and lifts it up to his mouth. He has speared a huge chunk of something. Sam closes his eyes and tries not to breathe through his nose as he puts the chili in his mouth and swallows immediately. He tries not to gag. It tastes awful. Once in his mouth the mint cuts through everything except the bite of the chili peppers. He figures Castiel must have put in about twenty. Sam reaches blindly for a glass of water; his mouth is stinging; the tingling from the mint is making the burn even worse.
When he can't find water, he opens his eyes and grabs Dean's beer. Screw the backwash. He gulps it down but it doesn't help.
"It's great isn't it", Dean says happily. His plate is empty. Sam wonders if Dean has any taste buds at all. He seems oblivious to Sam's discomfort.
"Can I have some more, dude?" Dean asks Castiel. "And another beer too."
Castiel refills the plate and brings it back. "Sam, what do you think of it? I read that every chili maker had their own secret ingredient so I found mine." He actually looks a bit proud, as if that revolting combination was a stroke of culinary genius.
Sam stares at him in disbelief. Castiel continues.
"I really think it enhances the chili peppers. Can you guess what it was?"
Sam gives up now. Castiel is never going to make a good cook if he thinks a combination like that is a good idea. He pushes his plate away and rests his head on the counter in despair. Sam is never eating any of Castiel’s food ever again.
End