Five things I like about you // Castello
Publicly...why did it always have to be publicly?
The water ran untouched now, the steady stream the only real sound in the room. He had planned to reject the challenge, but the boys encouraged it and after all, it had been Seth who gave it to him. "Only with Natalie there," he had relented finally. So with his weekend came the completion of the challenge.
Returning to the booth where his family (or what remained) sat, he scooped up the awaiting tiny blonde. "Can you help Daddy be brave?" He whispered lovingly as he kissed her temple, holding her tight. Parting with her was the hardest thing he ever had to do, and it happened too often. It was reopening a wound every other weekend. "Alright..." he breathed as he turned back to the diners, and his little companion buried her face shyly in his neck clinging like a leech to him. "So much for Daddy's little helper," he joked, but the strong grip of such intense love was enough. She felt safe in his arms.
"I'm sure you're all a bit sick of this, but uh, you shouldn't be. It's a pretty wicked challenge," he addressed the Sunday afternoon crowd, eyes boring into him. Shifting the child in his arms, he knew he was right to wait for Talie. "Five things I like about myself: First, er, one: I'm a whiz when it comes to music, I guess. Knowin' about it and playin' it." He began with quivering voice, growing the stronger the more he spoke, "Two, I'm pretty mint when it comes to using my money smart and providing for my family. Three, I like the pictures I take of my fri--my friends and people I see."
"Two!" Natalie cried excitedly upon hearing her uncle Coby muttering 'two more.' The enthusiasm made Cas laugh, releasing some of built up tension this was creating. "Right," he encouraged, "two more, princess." Breathe, finish strong. "Can you tell them what number we're on?" He asked, but that was far too much to ask as the little girl laid her head on his shoulder, shaking it with the stubbornness he blamed on her mother. The crowd was amused, and he was on his own to finish the task. Kissing her forehead, he continued, "four: I'm a loyal friend, even when I don't show it so well. The friends I make are friends for life. Five: I'm her daddy," he finished as he gazed over at the angel in his arms. Natalie looked up at him with wide-eyed wonder and adoration, smiling like he was the greatest thing in the whole world. Emotion choked in his throat as a smile lit his face. She was the greatest. "Everything I've ever done, good or bad, doesn't matter in comparison to this feeling. I love her in my entire being, and I take care of her, always will.
-- That's it. Oh, and I challenge Gwen Tanner and the Flash's better half, Jamie Hall." He rushed to sit as Shirley clapped her hands towards Natalie who mimicked her with such glee. "Say 'yay Daddy!'" she instructed as the two clapped for Cas's bravery.
Now, that made it all worth it.