"Okay, Cinderella, Prince Charming," Sam said when it was finally time to leave. "Your carriage awaits," he gestured to the Impala, unable to keep the grin off of his face.
"Very funny," Dean said, glaring at his brother. "We have a job to do, let's just get it done."
They piled into the Impala, but this time Cas sat in the front with Dean. They followed the gps on Dean's phone to the address on the invitation and parked on the street in front of the house when they arrived. Other guests in fancy dresses and tuxedos were arriving as well. Sam stayed low in the back seat so no one would see him.
"Okay, listen, you guys have your earpieces in so we can communicate with each other." he said. "And I've hacked into the security cameras so I'll be able to see everything that's going on. You find this Mr. Richards guy and get those kids," Sam directed. "Let me know if you need back up."
"Yeah, thanks, 007, we got it," Dean replied.
Sam just gave him the Bitch look. "And you guys are married," he added, looking directly at Dean. "So act like it."
Dean grumbled as he opened the car door. Cas started to open his too but Sam cleared his throat and looked at Dean, gesturing to the passenger side door. Cas wasn't sure what was going on but he stayed put. Dean rolled his eyes and shut his door, and then walked around and opened the door for Cas.
"Hand," Sam said, clearing his throat again and sensed his brother's icy glare, but it only made him grin.
Dean let out a huff and held his hand out for Castiel, and he could have sworn he saw the angel blush as he took it and stepped out of the car. "Thank you, Dean," he said in his soft, feminine voice.
Dean shut the door and relaxed a little when Cas smiled at him. He held his arm out for the angel, who took it, and used his other hand to lift his dress slightly so he wouldn't get it dirty on the pavement.
"You know," Dean said as they walked towards the house in a crowd of other guests, "you're actually doing pretty good at this whole chick thing."
Cas looked up at him, something he wasn't used to doing as he and Dean were usually at eye level. "Thank you," he said. "I don't think I'd want to stay like this long term, but it's not so bad."
"Cas, you really stepped up tonight," Dean said, feeling proud of his friend. "You didn't have to do this, but you did. For people you don't even know. And that means something."
Cas gave a small smile. They had reached the front porch and Dean reached in his jacket pocket and handed their invitation to the man outside. He nodded at them and gestured for them to enter.
The ball room was bustling with people mingling. Waiters and waitresses walked by with trays of drinks and ordevours. No one was dancing yet. Cas and Dean both scanned the room, looking for their perpetrator.
"Does all of this seem a bit elegant for someone on a teacher's salary?" Dean asked Cas.
"I don't know," Cas shrugged. "How much do teacher's make?"
"I don't know, but Bill Gates they aint," Dean said, grabbing an ordevours off of a passing tray and shoving the whole thing into his mouth at once.
Cas shook his head. Typical, he thought, but grinned.
"Excuse me," they heard from behind them and both turned, slightly startled. Dean almost choked on his food.
"I'm sorry," the middle aged man said, and they immediately recognized him as Mr. Richards. A woman with short blonde hair and blue eyes stood next to him, wearing a gold gown. "I didn't mean to startle you." He held his hand out to Dean who had finally finished swallowing. "I'm the host, Mr. Richards, and this is my wife, Sarah," he gestured to the woman next to him. "I don't believe we've met."
"I'm Brent," Dean said, shaking the man's hand and managing a smile, "and this is my . . . " he gestured to Cas but couldn't quite get the word out.
"Wife," Cas interjected when he saw that Dean was struggling. "I'm his wife. Cassandra, or Cas, for short." He shook the couples' hands. "It's nice to meet you."
"You have a lovely home," Dean said, looking around, hoping the comment would get a response that would help them.
"Yes, my parents left it to me when they passed," Mr. Richards said. "I actually grew up here."
"Do you have children at the school?" Sarah asked Cas.
"Yes," he replied with a smile but no further information. There was some awkward silence as Sarah waited for Cas to continue, but he didn't.
"We have a daughter," Dean chimed in. "Mary. She's friends with one of the children that went missing." He looked at Mr. Richards face for any sign of anxiety or distress at his words, but the man simply nodded.
"Yes, so tragic, what's been happening," Mrs. Richards said, solemnly. Dean got the impression that if her husband was up to something she knew nothing about it. "And so far the local authorities haven't found anything. We have a son, ourselves, and I just can't imagine if something happened to him." She looked like she was starting to get tears in her eyes and Dean could tell they were genuine. How would she feel if she knew her husband was the one kidnapping these kids?
"Well, you two enjoy yourselves this evening," Mr. Richards said, and quickly whisked his wife away.
"So, how do we get past the security so we can search the house?" Cas asked when they were alone again.
Dean surveyed the area. "Sam?" he asked pressing his earpiece. "How's security look?"
"Looks pretty lax, actually. One guard posted at the stairs to the second floor, another on the third. You guys shouldn't have a problem. You'll just have to come up with some sort of diversion. But listen, they're starting to dance, so you should probably wait til it's over and people are mingling again. Otherwise they might notice you are gone."
"Okay, what do we do?" Dean asked, incredulously.
"Uh, what you do at a Ball," Sam said. "Dance."
Dean could feel himself starting to sweat. He was not a fan of dancing and the idea of dancing with Cas made him even more nervous.
"Dean?" Cas said.
The music started playing and the couples spilled out on to the dance floor. Dean sighed, but extended his hand to Cas. "Shall we?" he asked.
"I don't know how to dance," Cas whispered, looking embarrassed.
"You'll be fine," Dean said, smiling slightly, "just follow me." They made their way out onto the dance floor and Dean spun Cas slightly so that they were facing each other, causing more of Castiel's long dark hair to flow over his shoulders. Dean swallowed nervously. He felt like his hand was shaking as he reached around Castiel's small waist and rested his hand low on his back. Then he reached out and took Castiel's other hand into his and they started to move together slowly, across the floor. Cas started out looking at his feet, but quickly got more comfortable and looked up at Dean, smiling.
"Am I doing okay?" he asked.
"You're doing great," Dean said, smiling back. He couldn't stop staring into those beautiful blue eyes. And he couldn't get used to the feeling of holding Cas. And he realized, as they were dancing, that he was slowly starting to pull Cas closer. But he also noticed that Cas didn't resist or try to pull back. And that he was, in fact, staring at Dean too.
Cas couldn't believe how wonderful it felt to have Dean holding him, gently but firmly. Dean was actually very good at dancing from what Cas could tell. And as the music continued to play and they inched closer to each other, Cas found himself glancing at Dean's lips. His heart started beating faster when he realized that Dean's gaze was moving from his eyes to his lips as well. He swallowed hard. This was either a terrible idea, or a wonderful one.
He moved the hand that was resting on Dean's shoulder to the back of his neck and pulled Dean down to him. When Dean didn't resist and he felt the hunters strong hand slide up his back, pushing them closer together still, he smiled, his confidence growing.
And then, in a moment, just as their lips were about to touch, the music stopped and everyone started clapping. Castiel was brought back to reality and he and Dean pulled apart to join in the clapping. They averted each other's gazes, not really knowing what to say or do now.
"Guys," Sam's voice broke through the earpieces they were wearing as the guests started to mingle again. "It's show time."
"Right," Dean said, clearing his voice. Did I almost kiss Cas?! His mind was reeling but he had to stay focused. "Cas, you're going to be our diversion," he said, looking at the beautiful angel in front of him.
"What do I do?" Cas asked.
"Flirt," Dean said.
"Okay, what's plan B, because I have no idea how to do that," Cas stated. "Let me remind you I have only been a girl for a few hours. Besides, we should both be up there. It'll go much faster if we're both looking."
"Okay, well, we can't punch our way upstairs. That's a little too noticeable," Dean said. Then he got an idea. "Okay, let's try this," he says. "Pretend to pass out, and I'll get the guards to let me bring you upstairs to lay down."
"You think that's really going to work?" Cas asked, raising his eyebrow.
"It did when that psycho Bella did it with me once," Dean said, and then shivered at the memory.
"Okay," Cas said. "Let's give it a try."