Take Two - Chapter Eight - Destiel Fanfiction
Title: Take Two
Authors: islanderbib83 & pdlessard07 (pippin1983 & lotrspnfangirl)
Pairing: Destiel
Rating: R (may change)
Summary: Dean and Castiel get drunkenly married at 19. It's bold, it's rash, it's being young and in love. After Dean walked out, Castiel tried to move and after ten years, he's decided to marry again. The only thing standing in his way is his legal marriage. Dean, however, wants a second chance to prove that he's grown up, he's matured, but his love for Castiel has never changed.
Warnings/Spoilers: Angsty! Totally AU.
Beta(s): Huge thanks and hugs to oldbatj for working with us on this! Jude, you’re fantastic!
A/N: We own nothing! We are taking these characters and playing with them nicely. Our fic was based off of this prompt.. Bibi primarily wrote Dean and Dani primarily wrote Cas. Our eye banners are used to signify scene changes and not POV, even if they coincide. We just think the boys have pretty eyes <3
You can find Chapter One here.
You can find lotrspnfangirl fiction index here.
You can find pippin1983 fiction index here.
“Daddy?”
Castiel blinked, confused. Daddy? His neck and his back were stiff, screaming as he shifted and blinked again, taking in the appearance of the room. He was still at Bobby’s house, sitting up on his couch… He groaned as his neck whined in protest, one side of his body hot. He looked down and saw Dean leaning against his side, head resting on his shoulder, snoring softly. His eyes widened as he glanced forward looking for the source of the voice he’d heard. Little Dorothy stood near the sofa, quietly watching them with her head cocked to the side, a confused expression on her face.
“Daddy?” She spoke again, louder this time, her eyes flicking between her Dad’s sleeping form and Castiel who was awkwardly staring at her. “Why did you and my Daddy sleep in the living room?” she asked.
“Dean…?” Cas uttered softly. No reaction. “Dean…” Cas hissed more insistently. Non-plussed he elbowed Dean suddenly and clumsily pushed off the couch, letting Dean pitch sideways, the sudden movement making the other man jerk awake.
Dean groaned deeply with aggravation and opened his eyes a bit. “What?” he grunted as he rubbed one eye.
“Daddy…” Dorothy moved forward, eyeing Cas curiously as she climbed up onto her father’s lap. “I looked for you in your room but you weren’t there…”
“Hmm?” Dean mumbled sleepily and opened his eyes more, instinctively laying his arm around Dotty to keep her from slipping off his lap. “Mor’nin little bear...” he muttered. He glanced at Cas silently mouthing ‘what time is it?’. “I … we just fell asleep here. Like you do sometimes, but we had no daddy to carry us to bed, like you do, spoiled little brat,” he joked and kissed Dotty’s head.
“Silly Daddy,” Dotty sighed, shaking her head sadly at them before turning her attention to Cas. “Are you staying for breakfast?” Her voice was loud and excited, her eyes widening.
Cas opened his mouth to respond but all that came out was a laugh when he saw that Dean’s eyes had the same wide-eyed, hopeful expression as his daughter, two sets of brilliant green eyes staring at him, expectantly. “No one could ever doubt this was your daughter,” he reassured Dean before sinking down onto the couch again, careful to keep his distance from Dean. “I can stay for a quick breakfast, but then I have to go home.”
“Come on,” Dean said, gripping his daughter’s waist and lifting her off his lap as he got up, “You better help me with breakfast then, so Cas doesn’t have to wait too long for some food.” He settled her on his hip and went off to the kitchen.
Cas watched them for a moment, a soft smile on his lips as he heard the little one asking Dean to set her down on the countertop. A voice clearing its throat made Cas jump and he looked up to see Bobby had come down the stairs.
“Morning, Cas,” the older man said, giving him a soft smile.
“Hey, Bobby…” Cas felt his face flush as he realized what Bobby might be thinking. “I just… I needed a place to crash and… I hope you don’t mind…”
“You have always been welcome here, nothin’ ever changed that.” Bobby shook his head and crossed the room to poke his head around the kitchen doorway. He smiled at what he saw and returned to the main part of the living room, sitting down in the armchair. “How long you in town for?”
“I… I actually don’t know,” Cas said honestly, shrugging his shoulders. “It was only supposed to be until tomorrow but my fiancé’ came down yesterday and said he requested more time off of work for me… I suppose I should call them and give them an update…”
Bobby just nodded, accepting the information. Cas leaned back into the couch, the silence Bobby offering him was a blessing and he let his mind wander. He had no idea what type of mood Balthazar would be in in this morning, and he hoped he wouldn’t be too angry that Cas ended up leaving last night. He probably shouldn’t tell him he had spent the night with Dean… Because technically he didn’t, not in that sense anyways. He stayed at Bobby’s, and Dean just happened to fall asleep beside him. Totally innocent.
Cas groaned inwardly. He would be lying to himself if he didn’t admit that, just for the tiniest moment when he woke up, having Dean’s body pressed against him, hadn’t made him feel completely content and happy. That was how he had imagined his life would always be… Waking up beside Dean, every morning, for the rest of his life... It was like some, cruel, cosmic joke that Dean had ended up falling asleep beside him quite by accident. A cruel, cosmic joke that had him yearning, the feeling churning in his stomach.
“Morning,” Cas smiled, rolling over to drape his arm across Balthazar’s chest, leaning in close to press his nose into the crook of his neck.
“What are you doing?” Balthazar asked, pulling himself back and looking down at Castiel, a confused expression on his face.
“Cuddling with you,” Cas laughed, snuggling closer. This had been their first night together, and Cas was finally starting to feel like himself again. He had a boyfriend, a lover, a chance at happiness…
“I don’t cuddle, sweetheart...” Balthazar chuckled, leaning down to give Cas a rough kiss before kicking his legs out of bed. He stretched, raising his arms over his head, the muscles of his naked back twisting and flexing under his skin. He looked over his shoulder, expecting Cas to be looking at him. He wasn’t disappointed.
And how could he not? Balthazar was gorgeous, and he knew it. He was tall and tan, his body well-defined. His blue eyes sparkled and danced. He was comfortable and confident, a bad boy. And he had chosen Castiel. Cas forced himself to smile, reminded himself that he was lucky, this was good, this was what he needed.
He couldn’t, however, convince himself that this was what he wanted.
No, what he wanted was somewhere back in Kansas and had successfully avoided any form of contact Castiel had tried to initiate over the years. What he wanted was apparently a figment of his imagination, a distant and painful memory.
So Cas bit back the displeasure he was feeling and shrugged his shoulders, nonchalantly, and lied, “Oh good, I don’t like it either. Just didn’t know if you were that kind of guy or not.”
“God ,no,” Balt laughed, pushing himself off the bed and walking, naked, to the bathroom. “I’m falling for you already.”
"Daddy, why were Cas and you sleeping in the living room?" Dotty asked when they were in the car, driving to school.
Dean exhaled slowly-- he should have been prepared for this question.
“Because Cas was feeling kind of sad and lonely last night and needed a friend to talk to.” He met her questioning eyes in the rearview mirror and gave her a small smile. She nodded once and turned towards the window, watching the houses pass by and then --
“So did you sleep with him because he didn’t want to sleep alone?”
He coughed once, trying not to laugh at his daughter’s choice of words.
“We had a sleepover, yeah,” he agreed, stopping at a red light and glanced back at her. “Sometimes you just need a friend, you know?”
“I know,” she nodded her head quickly, then screwed her eyebrows up in concentration again. “Daddy, do you think Cas and I could have a sleep over? He’s my friend too! And if he was feeling lonely, I could let him hug my teddy bear and sleep next to my tinkerbell light so he wouldn’t wake up in the dark.”
“That’s very sweet of you, little bear.” Dean smiled at her and turned his attention back to the road. “We will see… but I think Cas has to get going home soon.” Something stabbed at him with that realization and he forced himself to push it back down.
“Where is Cas’s home?” Dotty asked.
“In New York City. That’s very far away, Princess.” The stabbing found its way back up and Dean gripped the steering wheel more tightly.
“Like Grandma and Grandpa?”
Dean sighed lightly. His parents had moved to Texas a few years ago. His relationship with them had become a little better when they had learned about Ashleigh’s pregnancy, but it had never completely been repaired after his ‘wedding’ with Cas. Dorothy had some contact with them however. They sent her presents for her birthdays and for Christmas, but that was mostly all there was.
“No, little bear, even further away than Grandma and Grandpa,” he told her. “I’ll show you on the map later. Or you can ask your teacher to show you.”
“Okay,” she nodded.
Back from taking Dorothy to school, Dean got out of the car and walked over to the salvage yard’s office with a soft, smile on his lips.
"What's got you so happy?" Bobby called from the garage, wiping the oil from his hands onto a rag and holding out a cup of coffee when Dean was close enough.
"Is happiness forbidden?" Dean asked and accepted the coffee. "I'm just feeling pretty good today."
"Mmm, and it has nothing to do with the fact that I woke up to Castiel and you sleeping on my couch?" Bobby raised an eyebrow as he took a sip of his own coffee.
Dean shrugged, still smiling. "Maybe. But maybe it's about braiding hair."
"What the hell are you on about?" Bobby asked, confused.
Dean sipped his coffee and chuckled softly. "Just Dotty and Cas. She wants a sleep-over with him. I told him. He asked if he'll get his hair braided."
"That girl can wrap anyone around her finger," Bobby shook his head with a smile and tossed the oily rag he had used over his shoulder. "Got a new job in this morning... Buick needs new brake lines and a gas cap. Should be a quick fix."
"Of course she can, she's my daughter," Dean grinned and sipped more coffee. "Okay, want me to take it or should I get our finances figured out?"
"I've already started on the brake lines... might as well finish it up. Quarterly taxes are coming due, you know how much I hate that shit."
"Oh damn, already? Where did the time run to? Okay, I'm on it." Dean nodded.
"That's why I keep you around, Dean!" Bobby called after him as he went into the small back office of the garage. "Fucking numbers 'n shit..." He muttered to himself and went back to focus his attention on the car.
Dean shook his head grinning about Bobby. There was a tiny bit of truth in it after all though. When he had been a kid Dean had never liked Math, or anything with numbers. And yet in business school, as well as in community college, Accounting had been his favorite course and the one he earned the best grades in. So with the salvage yard it had been without question when he had taken over handling the financial end of things.
The back office was a mess, as usual. Dean shook his head as he flicked on the overhead light and worked through the piles of receipts and bills Bobby always stacked around on the desk. "Someday I'll get us a file cabinet..." the older man always muttered as he dropped off a new stack. Dean had no idea what Bobby had done before he had started working through the office part of the business…
Although Bobby never had gotten them a file cabinet, Dean had figured out a way to get things sorted in a way that made sense -- to him at least. After a few minutes of working through Bobby's newest additions, he spread out this quarter’s finance reports and got the old desktop computer booted up and ready to go.
By the time Bobby had come to peek in on him, saying it was time to break for lunch, Dean had already entered all of the credits and debits from the business accounts and was well on his way to working on the depreciation values of the garage's equipment.
Dean left the desk stretching and picked up his phone. He checked it while he entered Bobby's kitchen. Cas's latest message made him groan. "Sobered up or what?" he muttered to himself.
"Hmm?" Bobby looked up, giving him a confused look. He pushed a plate with a sandwich and chips over across to Dean and sat down in his regular chair, his own lunch already in front of him.
Dean sat down. "Oh, just Cas's guy. Apparently he wants to apologize. Like he needs to apologize to me. I couldn't care less. It's Cas he should be apologizing to." Dean put his phone in his back pocket and started on his food.
"So..." Bobby cleared his throat and took a big bite of his sandwich, watching as Dean sank down into his chair. "What the hell happened last night?"
"Balthazar happened..." Dean huffed. "He doesn't know Cas at all. Even if Cas has changed in those ten years, Bobby, he wouldn't have changed this damn much." Dean sighed and took a bite of his sandwich.
"Yeah well..." Bobby sighed, setting his sandwich down and giving Dean a steady look. "Did Castiel seem surprised at how his fiance’ was acting? You have to remember... This guy probably feels intimidated by you. You were Castiel's first love, first husband... that's not something that just goes away lightly. And I'm purely playing devil’s advocate here..."
"Actually...no, he didn't seem surprised. More like he had been expecting him to be an ass. Anyways, I was asking all nicely how Balthazar had proposed and then he gets all snarky about how I had proposed, or well, not proposed. He thinks nothing is better than his huge New York, doesn't even respect that Cas grew up here."
Bobby bit his lower lip and nodded once, returning his attention to his sandwich to take another bite. "You still thinking you're going to refuse to sign?" he asked after a moment, glancing up at Dean's face.
"It's not like I’d refuse to sign them just to be pissy. I'd do it in a heartbeat if Balthazar was the right guy. If Cas wasn't running off to get married to that asshole I'd happily sign them to see him happy and freed of legal bonds with me. I know it's not fair he's forced to be - just legally - mine. But don't you see why I can't sign?"
"I think you need to have that conversation with Castiel." Bobby said with a sigh. "Shouldn't he know how you feel about it? I'm not exactly sure how you can tell him that but..." Bobby trailed off and shrugged his shoulders. "Why did Castiel spend the night?"
Dean huffed a sad laugh and shook his head. "Because ... Because he couldn't stand to stay the night with his drunken fiancé! Damn, that's so sad. He'd rather stay with the stupid ‘ex’ rather than with the fiancé ... how fucked up is that, Bobby?"
Bobby took another bite of his sandwich, eyeing Dean carefully. "What do you want out of this, Dean? Honestly... What do you want?"
Dean sighed deeply, looked at his sandwich in his hands and set it back on the plate. "Honestly, Bobby? Honestly I have no freaking idea what I want out of this."
"I think before you go any further with this... you need to figure that out first," Bobby advised as he nodded his head. "Castiel had to choose this guy for a reason, and you can't possibly know after meeting him once what that reason was. I trust your judgement, you know I do... but Dean, you can't fuck this up for him. You can't decide you want something, get it, and then change your mind again. I know you wouldn't intentionally hurt Castiel again..." he sighed as he focused back on his sandwich, eating the last half of it and swallowing it down with the rest of his drink. "You need to figure it out for both your sakes, Dean."
"I know, Bobby. I know I have to decide what I want from this, and I know that after only one meeting I can't judge that guy either." Dean took his sandwich and took another bite.
"Maybe you should invite them out again." Bobby suggested, refusing to acknowledge Dean's glare from across the table. "Probably stay away from a bar this time..."
"Maybe… I'll think about it." Dean nodded slightly and ate his chips.
Bobby nodded, allowing the conversation to drop for now. He finished off his chips and wiped his hands over his plate. "How you doing in the office?"
"Pretty well, almost done and all on time. But, for the millionth time, partner we need a file cabinet. When I'm done with the quarter’s report I'm going to look into that and order one."
"Yeah, yeah," Bobby smirked and picked up their empty plates, slipping them into the sink. "You don't like my 'Drop it and Dean it' method?"
"I've done the 'Drop it and Dean it' method for years, and it's getting a little old," Dean smirked as he got up. He went to the fridge and helped himself to a bottle of beer. He sipped some of it. "And I'm sure even with a shiny, new filing cabinet you'll still just drop everything on the desk for me to deal with anyways."
"Let's get a cardboard box and a sharpie -- seems much cheaper to me." Bobby shrugged, reaching past him for his own beer and heading back outside.
"Yeah, right..." Dean laughed and followed the older man outside, sipping his beer.
"Order the damn cabinet if it'll make you happy." Bobby rolled his eyes in defeat and tossed a smile over his shoulder. "I'm gonna call the owner of the Buick, just have the gas cap left to replace."
"Alright. I'll try to get the report done before I gotta’ pick up my girl," Dean pulled his phone back out of his back pocket.
Castiel set the phone down and leaned against the counter, eyeing Balthazar who had come into the kitchen. "So, you sure this is okay with you?”
"Yeah, if I wasn't I would have told you." Balthazar said, lifting a cup of coffee to his lips. "I would like to get to know the guy... He was important to you once."
"Just... No pissing contest this time?" Castiel sighed and Balthazar looked slightly ashamed as he nodded.
"I don't know what happened there... I am sorry, babe." Cas nodded and stood over him, slotting their legs together.
"I know," he said and leaned down to kiss Balthazar softly. "I have to let Dad know we will be having more company."
"Right now? I was enjoying your kisses." Balthazar slipped his free arm around Castiel and sipped more of his coffee.
"I suppose it could wait a few minutes," Castiel smiled and stole another kiss. Balthazar hummed against his lips, his hands leaving his coffee cup on the tabletop to slip around Cas's waist and pull him closer. Castiel sighed, content in the moment, and let himself get lost into Balthazar's soft kisses.
Balthazar ran his hand over Castiel's back slowly before resting them loosely on the small of his back.
Cas leaned their foreheads together and closed his eyes, breathing in the scent of Balthazar and coffee. "I am going to find my dad, then head upstairs for a nice, hot shower." He pulled back and met Balthazar's eyes with a smirk. "In case you're feeling a bit dirty too..."
"I'll get the water running for you, babe." Balthazar smirked and stole another quick kiss. "Don't be too long."
Castiel smiled as he watched Balthazar slide out of the room, twisting his hips a few times before tossing a smirk over his shoulder, knowing Castiel was watching. He sighed, pushing off the table to find his father in the office to let him know about the plans for that night.
Like he thought, his Dad had no qualms about having Dean or little Dotty over for dinner, and was immediately motivated to go out and get more groceries for dinner.
"You sure you don't want me to go shopping?" He asked, watching his dad slip on his old, jeans jacket.
"No, you go give that boy of yours some of the attention he's been craving." His Dad smiled knowingly and slipped past him.
Castiel let himself feel just a hint of guilt before he made his way upstairs to where Balthazar was waiting to him. He stepped into the bathroom, the warm, fog caressing his skin along with the soft singing of Balthazar under the spray. He smiled and slipped off his clothes, letting himself be welcomed by Balt's arms and the heat of the water. He sighed against Balthazar's lips when they met his and knew he had to be better, had to make a point of making Balthazar feel special and loved, because this, right here, right now, was his future.
|Chapter Nine |
Authors: islanderbib83 & pdlessard07 (pippin1983 & lotrspnfangirl)
Pairing: Destiel
Rating: R (may change)
Summary: Dean and Castiel get drunkenly married at 19. It's bold, it's rash, it's being young and in love. After Dean walked out, Castiel tried to move and after ten years, he's decided to marry again. The only thing standing in his way is his legal marriage. Dean, however, wants a second chance to prove that he's grown up, he's matured, but his love for Castiel has never changed.
Warnings/Spoilers: Angsty! Totally AU.
Beta(s): Huge thanks and hugs to oldbatj for working with us on this! Jude, you’re fantastic!
A/N: We own nothing! We are taking these characters and playing with them nicely. Our fic was based off of this prompt.. Bibi primarily wrote Dean and Dani primarily wrote Cas. Our eye banners are used to signify scene changes and not POV, even if they coincide. We just think the boys have pretty eyes <3
You can find Chapter One here.
You can find lotrspnfangirl fiction index here.
You can find pippin1983 fiction index here.
“Daddy?”
Castiel blinked, confused. Daddy? His neck and his back were stiff, screaming as he shifted and blinked again, taking in the appearance of the room. He was still at Bobby’s house, sitting up on his couch… He groaned as his neck whined in protest, one side of his body hot. He looked down and saw Dean leaning against his side, head resting on his shoulder, snoring softly. His eyes widened as he glanced forward looking for the source of the voice he’d heard. Little Dorothy stood near the sofa, quietly watching them with her head cocked to the side, a confused expression on her face.
“Daddy?” She spoke again, louder this time, her eyes flicking between her Dad’s sleeping form and Castiel who was awkwardly staring at her. “Why did you and my Daddy sleep in the living room?” she asked.
“Dean…?” Cas uttered softly. No reaction. “Dean…” Cas hissed more insistently. Non-plussed he elbowed Dean suddenly and clumsily pushed off the couch, letting Dean pitch sideways, the sudden movement making the other man jerk awake.
Dean groaned deeply with aggravation and opened his eyes a bit. “What?” he grunted as he rubbed one eye.
“Daddy…” Dorothy moved forward, eyeing Cas curiously as she climbed up onto her father’s lap. “I looked for you in your room but you weren’t there…”
“Hmm?” Dean mumbled sleepily and opened his eyes more, instinctively laying his arm around Dotty to keep her from slipping off his lap. “Mor’nin little bear...” he muttered. He glanced at Cas silently mouthing ‘what time is it?’. “I … we just fell asleep here. Like you do sometimes, but we had no daddy to carry us to bed, like you do, spoiled little brat,” he joked and kissed Dotty’s head.
“Silly Daddy,” Dotty sighed, shaking her head sadly at them before turning her attention to Cas. “Are you staying for breakfast?” Her voice was loud and excited, her eyes widening.
Cas opened his mouth to respond but all that came out was a laugh when he saw that Dean’s eyes had the same wide-eyed, hopeful expression as his daughter, two sets of brilliant green eyes staring at him, expectantly. “No one could ever doubt this was your daughter,” he reassured Dean before sinking down onto the couch again, careful to keep his distance from Dean. “I can stay for a quick breakfast, but then I have to go home.”
“Come on,” Dean said, gripping his daughter’s waist and lifting her off his lap as he got up, “You better help me with breakfast then, so Cas doesn’t have to wait too long for some food.” He settled her on his hip and went off to the kitchen.
Cas watched them for a moment, a soft smile on his lips as he heard the little one asking Dean to set her down on the countertop. A voice clearing its throat made Cas jump and he looked up to see Bobby had come down the stairs.
“Morning, Cas,” the older man said, giving him a soft smile.
“Hey, Bobby…” Cas felt his face flush as he realized what Bobby might be thinking. “I just… I needed a place to crash and… I hope you don’t mind…”
“You have always been welcome here, nothin’ ever changed that.” Bobby shook his head and crossed the room to poke his head around the kitchen doorway. He smiled at what he saw and returned to the main part of the living room, sitting down in the armchair. “How long you in town for?”
“I… I actually don’t know,” Cas said honestly, shrugging his shoulders. “It was only supposed to be until tomorrow but my fiancé’ came down yesterday and said he requested more time off of work for me… I suppose I should call them and give them an update…”
Bobby just nodded, accepting the information. Cas leaned back into the couch, the silence Bobby offering him was a blessing and he let his mind wander. He had no idea what type of mood Balthazar would be in in this morning, and he hoped he wouldn’t be too angry that Cas ended up leaving last night. He probably shouldn’t tell him he had spent the night with Dean… Because technically he didn’t, not in that sense anyways. He stayed at Bobby’s, and Dean just happened to fall asleep beside him. Totally innocent.
Cas groaned inwardly. He would be lying to himself if he didn’t admit that, just for the tiniest moment when he woke up, having Dean’s body pressed against him, hadn’t made him feel completely content and happy. That was how he had imagined his life would always be… Waking up beside Dean, every morning, for the rest of his life... It was like some, cruel, cosmic joke that Dean had ended up falling asleep beside him quite by accident. A cruel, cosmic joke that had him yearning, the feeling churning in his stomach.
“Morning,” Cas smiled, rolling over to drape his arm across Balthazar’s chest, leaning in close to press his nose into the crook of his neck.
“What are you doing?” Balthazar asked, pulling himself back and looking down at Castiel, a confused expression on his face.
“Cuddling with you,” Cas laughed, snuggling closer. This had been their first night together, and Cas was finally starting to feel like himself again. He had a boyfriend, a lover, a chance at happiness…
“I don’t cuddle, sweetheart...” Balthazar chuckled, leaning down to give Cas a rough kiss before kicking his legs out of bed. He stretched, raising his arms over his head, the muscles of his naked back twisting and flexing under his skin. He looked over his shoulder, expecting Cas to be looking at him. He wasn’t disappointed.
And how could he not? Balthazar was gorgeous, and he knew it. He was tall and tan, his body well-defined. His blue eyes sparkled and danced. He was comfortable and confident, a bad boy. And he had chosen Castiel. Cas forced himself to smile, reminded himself that he was lucky, this was good, this was what he needed.
He couldn’t, however, convince himself that this was what he wanted.
No, what he wanted was somewhere back in Kansas and had successfully avoided any form of contact Castiel had tried to initiate over the years. What he wanted was apparently a figment of his imagination, a distant and painful memory.
So Cas bit back the displeasure he was feeling and shrugged his shoulders, nonchalantly, and lied, “Oh good, I don’t like it either. Just didn’t know if you were that kind of guy or not.”
“God ,no,” Balt laughed, pushing himself off the bed and walking, naked, to the bathroom. “I’m falling for you already.”
"Daddy, why were Cas and you sleeping in the living room?" Dotty asked when they were in the car, driving to school.
Dean exhaled slowly-- he should have been prepared for this question.
“Because Cas was feeling kind of sad and lonely last night and needed a friend to talk to.” He met her questioning eyes in the rearview mirror and gave her a small smile. She nodded once and turned towards the window, watching the houses pass by and then --
“So did you sleep with him because he didn’t want to sleep alone?”
He coughed once, trying not to laugh at his daughter’s choice of words.
“We had a sleepover, yeah,” he agreed, stopping at a red light and glanced back at her. “Sometimes you just need a friend, you know?”
“I know,” she nodded her head quickly, then screwed her eyebrows up in concentration again. “Daddy, do you think Cas and I could have a sleep over? He’s my friend too! And if he was feeling lonely, I could let him hug my teddy bear and sleep next to my tinkerbell light so he wouldn’t wake up in the dark.”
“That’s very sweet of you, little bear.” Dean smiled at her and turned his attention back to the road. “We will see… but I think Cas has to get going home soon.” Something stabbed at him with that realization and he forced himself to push it back down.
“Where is Cas’s home?” Dotty asked.
“In New York City. That’s very far away, Princess.” The stabbing found its way back up and Dean gripped the steering wheel more tightly.
“Like Grandma and Grandpa?”
Dean sighed lightly. His parents had moved to Texas a few years ago. His relationship with them had become a little better when they had learned about Ashleigh’s pregnancy, but it had never completely been repaired after his ‘wedding’ with Cas. Dorothy had some contact with them however. They sent her presents for her birthdays and for Christmas, but that was mostly all there was.
“No, little bear, even further away than Grandma and Grandpa,” he told her. “I’ll show you on the map later. Or you can ask your teacher to show you.”
“Okay,” she nodded.
Back from taking Dorothy to school, Dean got out of the car and walked over to the salvage yard’s office with a soft, smile on his lips.
"What's got you so happy?" Bobby called from the garage, wiping the oil from his hands onto a rag and holding out a cup of coffee when Dean was close enough.
"Is happiness forbidden?" Dean asked and accepted the coffee. "I'm just feeling pretty good today."
"Mmm, and it has nothing to do with the fact that I woke up to Castiel and you sleeping on my couch?" Bobby raised an eyebrow as he took a sip of his own coffee.
Dean shrugged, still smiling. "Maybe. But maybe it's about braiding hair."
"What the hell are you on about?" Bobby asked, confused.
Dean sipped his coffee and chuckled softly. "Just Dotty and Cas. She wants a sleep-over with him. I told him. He asked if he'll get his hair braided."
"That girl can wrap anyone around her finger," Bobby shook his head with a smile and tossed the oily rag he had used over his shoulder. "Got a new job in this morning... Buick needs new brake lines and a gas cap. Should be a quick fix."
"Of course she can, she's my daughter," Dean grinned and sipped more coffee. "Okay, want me to take it or should I get our finances figured out?"
"I've already started on the brake lines... might as well finish it up. Quarterly taxes are coming due, you know how much I hate that shit."
"Oh damn, already? Where did the time run to? Okay, I'm on it." Dean nodded.
"That's why I keep you around, Dean!" Bobby called after him as he went into the small back office of the garage. "Fucking numbers 'n shit..." He muttered to himself and went back to focus his attention on the car.
Dean shook his head grinning about Bobby. There was a tiny bit of truth in it after all though. When he had been a kid Dean had never liked Math, or anything with numbers. And yet in business school, as well as in community college, Accounting had been his favorite course and the one he earned the best grades in. So with the salvage yard it had been without question when he had taken over handling the financial end of things.
The back office was a mess, as usual. Dean shook his head as he flicked on the overhead light and worked through the piles of receipts and bills Bobby always stacked around on the desk. "Someday I'll get us a file cabinet..." the older man always muttered as he dropped off a new stack. Dean had no idea what Bobby had done before he had started working through the office part of the business…
Although Bobby never had gotten them a file cabinet, Dean had figured out a way to get things sorted in a way that made sense -- to him at least. After a few minutes of working through Bobby's newest additions, he spread out this quarter’s finance reports and got the old desktop computer booted up and ready to go.
By the time Bobby had come to peek in on him, saying it was time to break for lunch, Dean had already entered all of the credits and debits from the business accounts and was well on his way to working on the depreciation values of the garage's equipment.
Dean left the desk stretching and picked up his phone. He checked it while he entered Bobby's kitchen. Cas's latest message made him groan. "Sobered up or what?" he muttered to himself.
"Hmm?" Bobby looked up, giving him a confused look. He pushed a plate with a sandwich and chips over across to Dean and sat down in his regular chair, his own lunch already in front of him.
Dean sat down. "Oh, just Cas's guy. Apparently he wants to apologize. Like he needs to apologize to me. I couldn't care less. It's Cas he should be apologizing to." Dean put his phone in his back pocket and started on his food.
"So..." Bobby cleared his throat and took a big bite of his sandwich, watching as Dean sank down into his chair. "What the hell happened last night?"
"Balthazar happened..." Dean huffed. "He doesn't know Cas at all. Even if Cas has changed in those ten years, Bobby, he wouldn't have changed this damn much." Dean sighed and took a bite of his sandwich.
"Yeah well..." Bobby sighed, setting his sandwich down and giving Dean a steady look. "Did Castiel seem surprised at how his fiance’ was acting? You have to remember... This guy probably feels intimidated by you. You were Castiel's first love, first husband... that's not something that just goes away lightly. And I'm purely playing devil’s advocate here..."
"Actually...no, he didn't seem surprised. More like he had been expecting him to be an ass. Anyways, I was asking all nicely how Balthazar had proposed and then he gets all snarky about how I had proposed, or well, not proposed. He thinks nothing is better than his huge New York, doesn't even respect that Cas grew up here."
Bobby bit his lower lip and nodded once, returning his attention to his sandwich to take another bite. "You still thinking you're going to refuse to sign?" he asked after a moment, glancing up at Dean's face.
"It's not like I’d refuse to sign them just to be pissy. I'd do it in a heartbeat if Balthazar was the right guy. If Cas wasn't running off to get married to that asshole I'd happily sign them to see him happy and freed of legal bonds with me. I know it's not fair he's forced to be - just legally - mine. But don't you see why I can't sign?"
"I think you need to have that conversation with Castiel." Bobby said with a sigh. "Shouldn't he know how you feel about it? I'm not exactly sure how you can tell him that but..." Bobby trailed off and shrugged his shoulders. "Why did Castiel spend the night?"
Dean huffed a sad laugh and shook his head. "Because ... Because he couldn't stand to stay the night with his drunken fiancé! Damn, that's so sad. He'd rather stay with the stupid ‘ex’ rather than with the fiancé ... how fucked up is that, Bobby?"
Bobby took another bite of his sandwich, eyeing Dean carefully. "What do you want out of this, Dean? Honestly... What do you want?"
Dean sighed deeply, looked at his sandwich in his hands and set it back on the plate. "Honestly, Bobby? Honestly I have no freaking idea what I want out of this."
"I think before you go any further with this... you need to figure that out first," Bobby advised as he nodded his head. "Castiel had to choose this guy for a reason, and you can't possibly know after meeting him once what that reason was. I trust your judgement, you know I do... but Dean, you can't fuck this up for him. You can't decide you want something, get it, and then change your mind again. I know you wouldn't intentionally hurt Castiel again..." he sighed as he focused back on his sandwich, eating the last half of it and swallowing it down with the rest of his drink. "You need to figure it out for both your sakes, Dean."
"I know, Bobby. I know I have to decide what I want from this, and I know that after only one meeting I can't judge that guy either." Dean took his sandwich and took another bite.
"Maybe you should invite them out again." Bobby suggested, refusing to acknowledge Dean's glare from across the table. "Probably stay away from a bar this time..."
"Maybe… I'll think about it." Dean nodded slightly and ate his chips.
Bobby nodded, allowing the conversation to drop for now. He finished off his chips and wiped his hands over his plate. "How you doing in the office?"
"Pretty well, almost done and all on time. But, for the millionth time, partner we need a file cabinet. When I'm done with the quarter’s report I'm going to look into that and order one."
"Yeah, yeah," Bobby smirked and picked up their empty plates, slipping them into the sink. "You don't like my 'Drop it and Dean it' method?"
"I've done the 'Drop it and Dean it' method for years, and it's getting a little old," Dean smirked as he got up. He went to the fridge and helped himself to a bottle of beer. He sipped some of it. "And I'm sure even with a shiny, new filing cabinet you'll still just drop everything on the desk for me to deal with anyways."
"Let's get a cardboard box and a sharpie -- seems much cheaper to me." Bobby shrugged, reaching past him for his own beer and heading back outside.
"Yeah, right..." Dean laughed and followed the older man outside, sipping his beer.
"Order the damn cabinet if it'll make you happy." Bobby rolled his eyes in defeat and tossed a smile over his shoulder. "I'm gonna call the owner of the Buick, just have the gas cap left to replace."
"Alright. I'll try to get the report done before I gotta’ pick up my girl," Dean pulled his phone back out of his back pocket.
Castiel set the phone down and leaned against the counter, eyeing Balthazar who had come into the kitchen. "So, you sure this is okay with you?”
"Yeah, if I wasn't I would have told you." Balthazar said, lifting a cup of coffee to his lips. "I would like to get to know the guy... He was important to you once."
"Just... No pissing contest this time?" Castiel sighed and Balthazar looked slightly ashamed as he nodded.
"I don't know what happened there... I am sorry, babe." Cas nodded and stood over him, slotting their legs together.
"I know," he said and leaned down to kiss Balthazar softly. "I have to let Dad know we will be having more company."
"Right now? I was enjoying your kisses." Balthazar slipped his free arm around Castiel and sipped more of his coffee.
"I suppose it could wait a few minutes," Castiel smiled and stole another kiss. Balthazar hummed against his lips, his hands leaving his coffee cup on the tabletop to slip around Cas's waist and pull him closer. Castiel sighed, content in the moment, and let himself get lost into Balthazar's soft kisses.
Balthazar ran his hand over Castiel's back slowly before resting them loosely on the small of his back.
Cas leaned their foreheads together and closed his eyes, breathing in the scent of Balthazar and coffee. "I am going to find my dad, then head upstairs for a nice, hot shower." He pulled back and met Balthazar's eyes with a smirk. "In case you're feeling a bit dirty too..."
"I'll get the water running for you, babe." Balthazar smirked and stole another quick kiss. "Don't be too long."
Castiel smiled as he watched Balthazar slide out of the room, twisting his hips a few times before tossing a smirk over his shoulder, knowing Castiel was watching. He sighed, pushing off the table to find his father in the office to let him know about the plans for that night.
Like he thought, his Dad had no qualms about having Dean or little Dotty over for dinner, and was immediately motivated to go out and get more groceries for dinner.
"You sure you don't want me to go shopping?" He asked, watching his dad slip on his old, jeans jacket.
"No, you go give that boy of yours some of the attention he's been craving." His Dad smiled knowingly and slipped past him.
Castiel let himself feel just a hint of guilt before he made his way upstairs to where Balthazar was waiting to him. He stepped into the bathroom, the warm, fog caressing his skin along with the soft singing of Balthazar under the spray. He smiled and slipped off his clothes, letting himself be welcomed by Balt's arms and the heat of the water. He sighed against Balthazar's lips when they met his and knew he had to be better, had to make a point of making Balthazar feel special and loved, because this, right here, right now, was his future.
|Chapter Nine |