"Change of plans"
April 11, 2019
As promised, Dean was waiting for Castiel in front of the entrance of the enormous building carrying the words 'Novak Industries'. He had shamelessly whistled once he had arrived, as he had never seen the building up close; only from a distance when he had spied on the man.
He was leaning against the wall opposite of the entrance with his right knee lifted, his foot resting against the wall. He impatiently waited for the accountant to step out. Once he did, Dean pushed his foot against the wall, forcing him forwards. He slowly walked forwards after waving at the man. His hands were throbbing underneath the bandages and the gloves he used to cover them. His wrist was itching, which caused shame to rise once again. He tried not to show his pain, because he was done being vulnerable.
"Hey, Cas," Dean said, a small smile playing on his lips when the man stopped in front of him awkwardly. Now that his plan had suddenly changed, Dean no longer had to pretend to like Castiel and there was no need to stuff back possible existing feelings, but he couldn't help himself. He leaned forwards and kissed the man's cheek. Color rushed to the man's cheeks and Dean figured that his own would definitely be matching. Damn it, Dean. No vulnerability, remember.
"Hello, Dean," Castiel replied, smiling softly as well. "How have you been? You know, after Sunday."
"I'm as good as I can be," Dean replied, his once genuine smile turning in a short forced one. Castiel seemed to notice this and looked at him with a confused look on his face. In the meantime, they had started to walk towards the small coffee shop across the road. "Anyways, how about you?"
"Work's hectic, but other than that, I'm good," the man replied, subconsciously nodding to confirm what he just said. Dean looked at the man as they were walking down the street, curiosity and nervousness creeping up inside him. Castiel looked so innocent. Would it even be a good idea to make him a part of this? How would he even react?
"Are you sure you're OK? And please don't lie to me." Castiel asked, catching him off guard.
"I'll explain it later," Dean said, internally screaming when Castiel eyed him worriedly. That was exactly what he was trying to avoid. He stuffed his gloved hands inside the pockets of his jacket, as if he hoped that the action would completely fade the injuries and shame of the day before.
They took a seat in the back of the coffee shop on Dean's request. He didn't want Lucifer's hounds to overhear them. Dean ordered a cup of coffee, while Castiel ordered a bottle of water. Once their drinks had arrived a minute after, and they had ordered - Castiel a simple sandwich and Dean a burger -, Dean retrieved his phone from the inside of his jacket and unlocked it. He scanned the room thoroughly, using mirrors and windows to include the tables behind him.
"What's going on? Why are you still wearing your jacket? And what's up with the gloves?" Castiel asked, tilting his head slightly. Dean professionally ignored the question and shoved the phone towards the man's face, the level of brightness low. He watched how Castiel's eyes visibly widened and Dean knew that the man was about to run.
"Calm down. I'm not going to hurt you," Dean said, rolling his eyes at the sudden change in behavior. "The good part is that there is no need to explain yourself. You launder money for the Devil's Cage against your will. Your father was murdered by your brother who faked his own death and threatens you by killing me and Gabriel if you don't comply. Like I said earlier; I want revenge on those sons of bitches. I have decided that I need your help."
A silence followed his words. Castiel had obviously tensed up, looking at him warily. Dean never lost eye contact, searching for any sign of comprehension.
The two men were both startled when a waitress talked loudly beside them, both glaring at said woman before simultaneously focusing on one another again.
"How?"
"How I knew about you?" Dean asked. Castiel nodded slowly. "I tracked you down months ago through missing money that I knew was transferred. When I got hands on your phone number, all I had to do was hack into the system, download data and voila; I was listening to a phone call with the devil himself. I just had to share this with you." The more he spoke, the more disgusted and wary Castiel seemed to become. Which wasn't very surprising, because Dean lowkee told him he had been stalking him.
"Were you going to kill me?" The words were merely a whisper, and in that moment, Castiel looked so betrayed that it pained Dean to respond. He hadn't really thought this part of the plan through, and was hesitating whether or not he should answer truthfully.
"At first? Yes. Now? not anymore," he decided to say. Castiel let out a shaky breath, nodding as he did so.
"And why is that?" Dean knew that the man wanted to leave right there and then. To be honest, he was surprised that the he hadn't left just yet. He shrugged
"Because you don't deserve to be killed. You deserve to be cut loose from those bastards and live your life the way you want to," Dean explained. Castiel looked at him for a while, before shaking his head and grabbing his coat.
"I'm sorry. I- I can't," he said before standing up. Dean bowed his head sadly, but nodded. When he looked up, Castiel wasn't gone yet. "You don't know them like I do, Dean. They are ruthless, disgusting and ruin anything that comes in their way. I don't want you to get involved in that."
"Just- If you change your mind, this is where I live," Dean grabbed a pen from his pocket and scribbled down the address and number of his motel room on a napkin and gave it to Castiel. The man grabbed it and put it in the pocket of his trench coat. He then looked at Dean one more time before walking off.
Dean sighed and forced a smile at the waitress that arrived with their food. He had lost all his appetite, but it had been a day since he had eaten, and he really needed to get stronger. He sat there alone, looking at the untouched salad that he knew wasn't get eaten. Paying was no problem. After all, he had been paid 370 000 dollars for assassinating Fergus McLoud. Despite that luxury, Dean felt lonely.
He had just kicked Bobby out yesterday and Castiel had been the only one he actually talked to. Seeing him walk out of the coffee shop shattered him, and for a second he debated on calling Bobby, but he quickly shook that thought off. No, Bobby was safer without him. A single tear slid down his cheek, stopping halfway because he wiped it off. With or without Castiel, he was going to do this.
With or without him.
-
April 30, 2019
It had been weeks since Dean had been in any civilisation. His stubble had grown into a full beard, and he had worked out more and more. He still ate too little and consumed too much alcohol, but that didn't stop him from getting into shape. There had been one simple job, which gained him another fifty thousand dollars. He used a part of that for new, better guns. The once empty wall of his motel room was now filled with pictures and red threads.
The last photo of Lucifer Novak before his death was stuck on top of the bulletin board. He had stuck a picture of Castiel's dating app far to the left, since he was related to the leader, but not a threat. He had found out that Meg, the woman from the casino, was also a huge pawn of the Devil's Cage. Even Crowley had played a roll, but his face was covered with a red 'X'. More and more people covered his wall over time, like Azazel and Alistair, the left- and right hand of Lucifer. The Charlie girl who was a huge deal on Castiel's phone, was equally forced into the business, so he had put her picture next to Castiel's.
He looked at his creation, which already had twenty members sprawled on the wall. He was in the middle of cleaning his Beretta, while scanning the board for any missed information when a message popped up his laptop. He laying on his left. It was an e-mail, saying that his guns had been delivered. He put back together his gun and grabbed his coat. His hands were now almost healed, as were the shameful wounds on his wrist. Ever since he relapsed, the idea of slicing his wrist had been tempting, but for eleven days he had managed not to. He took one last look at the board, before slamming the door behind him.
For security reasons, he couldn't park the car near the pick up address. Luckily, his package would be a suitcase and easy to transport by foot. However, it did complicate things. He parked the car two blocks away, walking down the pavement slowly. It was the first time in a week that he had stepped outside. He surprisingly enjoyed the sun that shone onto his face. After five minutes of walking, almost arriving at his destination, he noticed that he could walk past the Lafittes. They, Rose included, lived in this block as well. He looked to his right, where he indeed saw Benny talking to one of his neighbours whole taking out the trash.
As he walked on the other side street to avoid interaction with the adoptive father of his niece, he saw Rose. She was playing with a soccer ball a few feet away from where Benny was talking. Dean felt his stomach churn upon seeing the girl that kept looking more and more like her father.
He noticed how she edged closer to the road. She kicked the ball onto the street accidentally, blindly following it to retrieve the object. Little did she know that a car was approaching rather quickly.
As quickly as he could, he started running. Luckily, he was incredibly fast. Right before the driver even noticed the oblivious, small girl on the road, he hooked his arms under her armpits, pulled her against his chest and turned her away from the car. The girl's scream felt like it would burst his eardrums.
There was too little time to jump off to the side without the risk of Rose getting hurt, and with the driver already slamming the breaks, Dean jumped up lightly, his back colliding with the car window. The impact with the front window was more painful than he had thought it would, a gruntled sound escaping his lips as a result. The vehicle stopped and he slid off the hood of the car with the girl in his arms.
"Oh my God. Sir, are you alright? I can't believe I didn't see her. Are you alright?"
A red-headed woman ran towards him after running out of the car. Once Dean realised who it was, he couldn't help but roll his eyes. Charlie Bradbury. What were the odds. He gently fell on his knees, putting Rose down. She wobbly landed on her feet.
"I'm fine. Are you OK?" Dean asked the little girl, who's lips were trembling and her multi-coloured eyes were full of tears. She nodded quickly. "Never cross the road without looking, alright? This woman was very nice to stop, but others aren't."
"Rosie!" Benny screamed from behind him, crossing the road before falling down on his knees to hug his adopted daughter.
"Daddy!" The girl replied, falling in his embrace. She started to cry, Benny comforting her. Dean stood up - which hurt like a son of a bitch - and walked towards the shaken up Charlie.
"Are you alright?" he asked, touching her shoulder gently. The movement sent jolts of pain down his back, but he ignored that. Charlie looked at him and nodded.
"I'm OK. Shit, I almost hit a little girl. How's your back? I mean, that looked like it must hurt. There's a literal dent in my window. I take full responsibility on your insurance costs, by the way. Is there anyone you can call? Do you want me to drive you to the hospital?" She asked frantically, but Dean missed half her words because his attention was fixed on Benny and Rose. He shook his head.
"I'm fine, Charlie. Just take a better look at the road next time. Now, I gotta talk to her father," Dean said, patting her shoulder again. He clenched his jaw when that same pain reappeared. Damn it. He walked towards the man, who looked up at the movement.
"I can't believe it. Dean Winchester, is that really you?" the man said, laughing in amazement. Dean shrugged, wincing slightly at the movement. Benny noticed this and stretched out his hand for Dean to shake. He did. "Thank you for saving her life, brother. I don't know what I would've done if she got hurt."
"Honestly, Benny. It was no problem. Luckily, I was passing by," he replied with a forced smile.
"That's an understatement," the man said. Although he seemed to be joking, Dean noticed his gratitude. They both glanced at the young girl in Benny's arm.
"She has grown," Dean observed. Benny smiled at his child, wiping a tear away from her face.
"Part of me wishes that she could stay like this forever," he replied fondly. Dean nodded, understanding what he meant.
"She looks so much like him," he admitted, frowning when she looked at him curiously. Benny looked at him sympathetically.
"From what I've seen, that's not bad at all," Benny said in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Plus, she has some traits from you as well."
Dean shook his head. "I doubt it."
"Daddy, is he a superhero?" She asked, interrupting the conversation. She couldn't entirely pronounce the 'r's, which sounded adorable. Benny walked closer to Dean. She reached her small hands out and touched his grown beard.
You wanna know a secret?" Dean whispered, looking from the left to the right secretly. The little girl giggled at his behavior. He leaned closer to her and she put one hand behind her ear to listen.
"I'm batman." The girl gasped, looking from Benny to Dean with wide eyes. Her sadness seemed to have been forgotten.
"Daddy! I saved by batman!" She squealed, clapping her hands. Dean watched in amusement as Benny acted along with it. He turned around, accidentally making eye contact with the red head that still hadn't moved. Awesome.
"Mister! How did you know my name?" Charlie called out. Dean gave Benny an apologetic look before walking towards her. She crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows. It didn't look threatening though; in contrary, it was kind of amusing.
"Huh, I reckoned Castiel would tell you about me. Guess I was wrong," Dean said with raised eyebrows. He was interested in her reaction and deep down he felt sad that it looked like she really didn't know him. His worries quickly subsided when her eyes widened.
"Holy shit. I'm sorry, you look different with a - you know -" she gestured to his grown stubble by rubbing her own chin. "-especially when you've only seen relatively shaven pictures. Oh god! I just hit my best friend's boyfriend with my car. What will he say?!" she rambled. Dean scratched the back of his neck when she spoke of him as Castiel's boyfriend. Again, the movement hurt. Damn it.
"Don't worry. I don't think he really cares about my well-being. It was simply an explanation on how I knew your name. Now, I'm sure Benny isn't mad, but just to be sure, you should apologize to him. Oh, and about apologies, I'm sorry for busting your window," he smiled tightly in her direction.
"No! No, no, no. You don't understand! Cassie misses you. He just doesn't want you to get hurt," Charlie replied defensively. Dean scoffed.
"Don't bother, Charlie. He made it very clear that he doesn't want to see me anymore. The sooner this all passes, the sooner our lives can go back to the way they were. Now, I gotta pick up some package down the street and I'm sure you had to be somewhere as well. See ya." Dean turned around to leave.
"But you can barely walk!" she exclaimed as he walked off slowly. True. He put up his right hand - which hurt like a son of a bitch - and waved.
"I've had worse," he replied. He was glad that she finally shut up. He stumbled down the pavement, crossing the road before Benny had even noticed him leaving. Before he disappeared around the corner, he saw Charlie and Benny talking. Good. That means he was alone.
Now, he needed to get that gun.
--
Hi there!
I'm sorry it took me this long to update. I just wasn't happy enough with the chapter. It's still not my best, but I can live with the results 😂. To compensate, I made it a bit longer than usual.
Thanks for reading and stay safe❤️