Day 10:Sweet Rides 🌸 15x14 aftermath @winchester-reload
in which Castiel learns of Mrs. Butters moving on without her lads in the Bunker. How about the angel?
Castiel knew immediately something was wrong. It was telling by how the grassy front lawn was well-trimmed in exact centimeters.
At first, he thought maybe Dean had an incredible surge of energy to do house chores other than frying burgers, the man had gifted hands with precision to cut things, which was okay since the extra work could keep Dean from his daily dose of oil. He would've dismissed the thought had it not for the second clue.
The front metal door was glaring shine like a mirror. Cas stared.
So maybe Sam got carried away with cleaning too... Nothing new with that, he was the "neat-freak" as Dean said. The number of times he polishes his hair might just have the same effect on others. Or not.
Worried, he entered the Bunker to find Dean almost at eye level in the middle of the room. Castiel’s eye rounded as he ran to the rail exclaiming-
"Dean!?"
"Hey, look who's late at the party?" Dean said like he’s not ten feet from the floor. Castiel cranes his neck and saw that Dean was holding a wrench while on top of a steel ladder, fixing the plumbing. Sam's by the table preparing some spell while Jack sits there, finishing his milkshake and half eaten piece of pastry.
Castiel calmed himself. They were all okay.
"What happened here?" he descended the stairs.
"Cas," Jack beams, "Welcome back, you want some cake?"
"No, I... maybe later... Did something happen?" Castiel stepped near the ladder to keep it still. Dean was precariously swinging and it was distracting him.
"Nothing serious, Cas. Just need to redo the warding, it got messed up when the Bunker went on full power." Sam answered.
"Warding? Why? Did you guys get attacked?" he moved when Dean jumped down, landing in front of him with their space paper thin. Dean looked awfully handsome as always but something was different. He looked fresh and clean and... Castiel’s nostril flared. Did Dean use some lavender...?
"Understatement for Mary Poppins. Want some tomato juice? My glass is still half full,"
"You drink tomato juice now?"
Jack nodded, "Mrs. Butters said he needs to watch out for cholesterol."
Castiel turned. "Who?"
"Oh, the wood nymph who lived here with the Men of Letters in the 50s. She’s the guardian of the Bunker.”
"She's the sweetest, most awesome gal" Dean gushed, "I mean she can cook, bake, prepare us snacks while on a hunt! She does laundry and she can even power up the Bunker, can you believe we're running this gem half baked?"
Castiel didn’t know where to begin at the load of information, so he focused on the supernatural stuff.
"A woodnymph? How? They’re magical creatures who lived in the mountains forests, the rivers or the streams and are very powerful and territorial, how did one end up here?”
“The Men of Letters tricked her,” Sam sighed, “They used her to get rid of monsters, Cas... like she’s some anti-monster machine.”
“Gowdawful sons of bitches but yeah, they were saving the world.” Dean grumbled, “but they could’ve been honest with her in the first place.”
Castiel considered Dean for a moment, the lavender scent still lingering around him. Something about his hair or his clothes? The he realized it’s the scent of the wood nymph that’s enveloped Dean’s clothes and skin.
“Get rid of it,” he said, a little annoyed.
“What?”
“Take a shower then tell me where she is, now.”
“She’s gone, Cas,” Jack answered, “Just this morning. She missed her home.”
“And that's why we can't have everything nice." Dean agreed.
Cas squinted, "What does that mean?”
“ET gone home.” Dean smiled but Castiel sensed his gloom. He knew E.T, how could he not when Dean kept asking Jack to do the finger thing?
"She was really nice Cas,” Jack said sincerely, “she looked after me and spoke to me about second chances, she was really sweet...well, until she locked me in the dungeon-”
"She did what?"
"After poisoning my system to weaken me."
"She what?!" Castiel blinked in disbelief. Dean snorted.
"He's fine, you think we'd let anyone hurt him when you’re not around? It's Sam you should hear, he went on a date with Eileen and got laid-"
"Thank you, Dean,” Sam shook his head as Jack grinned.
"She pulled out Sam's nails," he said in awe, "and nearly had Sam and Dean kill me."
Cas' mouth dropped open. He glared seething at Dean accusingly who finishes his juice with a shrug.
"It's natural someone gotta try to kill us each day, right?"
"And you?" Cas prompted, "What exactly did she do to you? Hug you so hard you almost smelled like her?”
"Jealous boyfriend, you can’t complain. You know how she multi-dimensionally vacuumed your feathers all over the place and called my room a bird house?" Dean laughed.
"She was in your room?”
"She was in his room, folding all his underthings." Sam sniggered. Dean glared at him with Cas giving him a look when he took his angel blade out. "That's it, which forest is she from?”
Dean pulled his elbow back, "Aw come on, dude, chill. She fixed the television in the Dean cave we accidentally knocked off the wall because someone couldn’t hold their--
“Dean!” Sam barked, “Language! There’s a kid here!”
“Awh, christ!” Dean cursed, “Come on.” Castiel allowed Dean to drag him to the kitchen where he served the angel a glass of tomato juice.
“Is this going to be your new diet?”
“Do you disapprove?”
“No, it’s actually good. She certainly has a knack for human care if she noticed how you’ve been... overdoing your intake of junk foods.”
“The juice is not that awful. Anyway, I bet she and her lads got a nice thing going on around here before Abaddon killed them all.” the hard note in his voice didn’t go unnoticed to Castiel who studied Dean’s face quietly.
“You want to tell me something, Dean?”
“Yep. Stop me with the tomato. It’ll kill my sense of taste.”
“You have tomato on your burger. Tell me or that tv’s in danger.”
Dean rolled his eyes. “Well, you know, she kept her self preserved here since the 50s, Cas? She really missed her home. And I was thinking if things go bad, I don’t want you ending up like that.”
“Being stuck in the Bunker?” he caught Dean’s solemn eyes.
“Yeah... also being alone, waiting...it was a sweet ride, Cas, but if we don’t come back and you missed home, especially if you miss home, you gotta go okay? Don’t suspend yourself here, don’t wait. I was sorry for her, but if it happened to you...I’d... I don’t want that.”
“Hmmm” Cas nodded, “I will definitely miss home.” He stared at Dean hard, “That’s why I keep coming back to it no matter how many times I got pulled away because... I always want to be home.”
Dean blinked in surprise with red tinge flaming on his cheeks when he seemingly understood and that’s the most important thing. Castiel held his gaze in all seriousness.
“Dean, you know she had to go because no one important for her was here anymore,” Castiel clarified, “She had a reason to stay, Dean. They were gone so she moved on. It’s only natural.”
Dean nodded, but still bowed. “She still loved them even though they’re the reason she’s...”
“You can’t teach the heart reason, right?” Cas amended, “and if they were really nice to her then maybe she was happy here too. There’s no need to be sad for her, Dean.”
“Yeah, I know... just, I keep thinking about you... how in the end, we all have to go at the of the road...” Dean paused looking wary and tired, “I just wished the road just goes on, you know... I’m still afraid of that vacant seat, Cas.”
“Of course.” Castiel nodded. “So you have to save a seat for me because I’m coming along. I’m not losing you.”
Dean looked so thunderstruck, Castiel just wanted to offer him pies and burgers to make him happy again. Won’t force him the tomato juice, Dean needs his coffee too. But after awhile, his smile returned with a flicker of light in his eyes.
“Can’t get rid of you even in death, huh?” Dean sighed relaxing now.
"I’m afraid not. And now that it’s cleared, where are your underthings?” Castiel demanded. “Did she touch that Scooby doo...?”
