Fic: No One Wants to Live with a Saint
Title: No One Wants to Live with a Saint Author: remivel Recipient: queeniebroccolini Genre: romance, rom-com (ish) Pairings: Destiel, with a side of Sam/Jess Rating: PG-13 Word count: 4577 Warnings: a sort of Two Weeks Notice AU Summary:In hindsight, Castiel may have jumped the gun when he told Dean he was resigning as his chief counsel. But what else could he have done? Stayed and continued to foolishly pine for his immature, womanizing, real estate tycoon boss? Not a chance. Author's note: A thousand apologies for being late. I got very, very busy, and I hardly felt the holidays because of work. But those are not good excuses for not giving your gift on time. I just hope you had a wonderful Christmas and an even better start to your New Year. Hope you enjoy this. :)
Castiel hardly ever cursed. But he rediscovered his colorful vocabulary the moment his phone rang at half past two in the morning.
He didn't even need to look at the display, he knew exactly who was calling him.
Just a week ago, Dean called him at midnight to ask which pie flavor they should serve for the benefit dinner. It was a choice between apple, strawberry rhubarb, and chocolate pecan, and Dean just couldn't make up his mind. 'It's like choosing your favorite child. I can't do it,' Dean had said, and Castiel, tired from another 16-hour day at the office, just told Dean to have the caterers serve all three so he could go back to sleep.
The best way to deal with a Dean that wouldn't sleep at night like everybody else was to just get straight to the point and give him what he wanted.
“What is it this time, Dean?” Castiel asked, barely able to keep his eyes open.
“Caaaaasssss, hey...” Dean said cheerily, his voice hardly audible against the pounding music in the background. “You're awake!”
“And you're drunk,” Castiel said, unsurprised.
“I'm not drunk,” Dean denied. “And god, I love the sound of your voice.”
Castiel rolled his eyes.“Yet further proof you're drunk. What do you want, Dean?” Castiel asked as patiently as he could. Dean had a habit of hitting on Castiel when he had a little too much to drink. It was infuriating. The first time it happened was when Castiel cut Dean's partying short because he had a big meeting early the next morning. Dragging Dean out of the bar hadn't been easy, and so was saying 'no' to Dean's advances while they were in the car. Dean came to the office the next day with a pounding headache and a black eye. They never talked about it.
“I just wanted to ask what you think I should give Jess for her birthday party. It's in two days and I don't have anything...”
Pinching the bridge of his nose to stop a headache that was threatening to split his head open, Castiel took a few deep breaths to calm himself. “Fine. What are your options?”
“Options? Oh, right! Gifts... I thought I'd just go with giving her, I dunno, that state of the art waffle maker thing? She likes making waffles...”
“Dean, how does Jess make waffles?” Castiel asked.
For a few seconds, Castiel couldn't hear any sound from the line. He was thinking maybe Dean had fallen asleep on him or something. “With the state of the art waffle maker thing I gave her a couple Christmases ago,” Dean answered. “Damn it,” he grumbled. “I could get her a new one, though.”
“Let's just stay away from waffle makers for now. What else does Jess like?”
“Pshh, I dunno... damn this is too hard. I'll just get her a new handbag.”
“You could... or you could give her something she'd appreciate.”
“Why? What would she appreciate?” Dean asked.
“I don't know, Dean. She's your sister-in-law. You know her better than I do,” Castiel said.
“Yeah, but you're friends with her too. What did you get her?”
“A book,” Castiel answered.
“A book?” Dean asked, and Castiel could almost hear the grimace in Dean's voice. “Well, I can't give her a book too. So... help me out?”
Castiel took a deep breath. “Alright. Buy her something Smurfs. She'll think it's funny.”
“Smurfs? You're a genius Cas! Thanks. God, what would I do without you?” Dean said.
“You'll just probably bothering someone else in the middle of the night. Good night, Dean,” Castiel said.
“Nah, Cas. I wouldn't wake someone else up. You're special. Good night!”
Castiel plopped back down onto his bed with a long sigh. There was a time, he was sure, when he could still say 'no' to Dean's requests, and actually did his job as chief counsel instead. But that time probably ended a couple of weeks (maybe even less) after he started working for him. It was hard to tell. He couldn't even remember the last time he had any time for himself, to just relax, maybe go for a vacation. Now, his life revolved solely around Winchester Enterprises and around Dean. And he wasn't entirely sure if he was happy about that.
+=+=
It had been a year since he accepted Dean's offer to work in Winchester Enterprises, one of the biggest real estate companies in the country. He only met with Dean to convince him to preserve the century-old buildings in Edlund city, but instead Dean offered, no, practically pleaded with Castiel to work under him. Apparently, Sam had been pressuring Dean to choose a new chief counsel ever since the last model/lawyer he hired fucked up the permits and they ended up losing a build to Trump. Dean was desperate, and Castiel was there and 'perfect for the job,' as Dean said.
It had been a difficult decision-- Winchester Enterprises stood for everything Castiel fought against—but Castiel eventually agreed. He planned to use Dean's influence and the company's resources to preserve the architectural gems of the city. The other reason he agreed was because Dean could be infuriatingly charming when he wanted to be and Castiel was a sucker for that smile. But he would die before he let anyone know about this. It was a struggle to save the buildings, but he succeeded, and now whenever he passed by them, he did it with pride.
But all of that came with a price. Because working for Dean Winchester didn't just mean being a lawyer and taking care of contracts and building permits. It also meant taking care of Dean: the 16-hour work days made longer by Dean, who seemed unable to pick out his own outfit for TV interviews and benefit dinners; the calls at unholy hours of the night to help Dean with some matter that could've obviously waited until the next day, but Dean was an insomniac and seemed to want Castiel to be the same; and the trips to bars to pick Dean up before he drunk himself into unconsciousness and therefore miss work the next day.
The worst had to be when Castiel went to Dean's penthouse early in the morning to make sure Dean made it to a big meeting, and found Dean still in bed with his flavor of the month (or week). He had shooed the young actress away and wrestled Dean out of bed. As Dean showered, Castiel sat in the living room feeling tired, overworked, grossly under-appreciated... and worst of all, insanely jealous of the woman that spent the night in Dean's bed.
That was three weeks ago. It had been a turning point for Castiel, because that was when he realized he had stupidly fallen in love with his boss-- and he hated himself for it. Dean was stubborn and immature, a womanizer and a drunk, and terribly clueless about Castiel's feelings. That last one was a blessing, because Castiel would be beyond mortified if Dean found out. Because he didn't take this job to sleep with Dean, he took this job for a cause, and Dean respected him for that. Dean's respect was the only thing he had left.
But even Dean's respect felt non-existent at times, and this was made evident when Castiel left his dad's birthday dinner early because Dean texted him that he had an emergency. Castiel was trying to mediate between his two older brothers, Michael and Lucien, who were once again at each other's throats when Dean called him for the fifth or sixth time. He didn't answer but Lucien shifted his sharp tongue at Castiel, “Why don't you answer it?” Lucien said, eyes glinting with malice. “That's your boss, isn't it? The guy you've always wanted to fuck.”
“I wouldn't--” Castiel said, trying to disguise his horror.
Lucien rolled his eyes. “Oh please, you know you would. I know you would. Heck, everyone knows you would.”
Castiel glared at his brother and stood up from the table to check his phone. Dean left him a couple of messages saying he had an emergency and needed Castiel to come to the office ASAP. And to Castiel's annoyance, he did.
He left his feuding brothers and came, only to find Dean was already out. He found Dean at his favorite bar with a sexy brunette plastered to his side, and Castiel saw red.
“I thought you said you had an emergency,” Castiel said, trying to control his anger.
“I did. You weren't answering so I handled it,” Dean said with a shrug. Dean whispered something in the woman's ear and she giggled.
“I was at my father's house for his birthday. Remember how I told you this was supposed to be my day off?” Castiel asked.
“Yeah, I remember,” Dean answered. “You got your day off from work, didn't you? I didn't see you at the office the whole day,” he said, and Castiel had to remind himself that strangling your boss in a room full of people was not entirely socially acceptable.
“What was it about?” Castiel asked, and he could feel his temple start to throb. “I came all the way here, I should at least know what it should've been for,” Castiel said.
“Entertainment Daily wanted to do an impromptu interview,” Dean explained. “Part of their eligible bachelors segment. I didn't know what to answer to their questions. I just thought you'd know the best things for me to say.”
“That's it?” Castiel asked, feeling his blood start to boil. “You were interviewed for an entertainment show?”
“Yeah,” Dean said confidently. “Why? Should I have declined the interview?” he asked, a little less sure of himself.
Castiel took a deep breath and let out a resigned sigh. “No,” Castiel said. “You just do whatever you want to do,” he said. “I quit.”
“You what?!” Dean said incredulously. The music was loud enough to burst eardrums and yet there was no mistaking what Castiel had just said.
“I quit,” Castiel repeated, louder this time.
“You're not serious,” Dean said. The gorgeous brunette that was practically on his lap nearly fell on the floor in Dean's haste to stand up and talk to Castiel. “Come on, Cas,” he pleaded.
“I'm dead serious,” Castiel answered, arms folded in front of him. “Consider this my two weeks notice.”
===
After that, Castiel had second guessed his decision to quit every day for the next two weeks. Dean wasn't very happy about it too; he tried convincing Castiel to stay every chance he got.
“I need you, Cas,” Dean said, and Castiel's chest grew tight. Dean needed him, but not the way he needed Dean, and not the way he wanted Dean to need him.
“I promise I'll stop calling you in the middle of the night,” Dean said.
“You will, Dean. You know you will,” Castiel said as he looked over the resumes of all his prospective replacements.
“Well, okay, but I'll try not to,” Dean told him. “What do I have to do to get you to stay?” Dean asked.
A hundred different things ran through Castiel's head, all of which ran along the lines of, 'notice me, give me the time of day.' It was mortifying. “Nothing, I've made up my mind,” he said instead. “You'll find someone else who can do everything I do and more,” he added. “How about this Anna Milton? She's a Harvard graduate too,” he said, passing the resume to Dean.
Dean was pouting like a spoiled kid as he took the folder and read the file. “Fine. Call her for an interview.”
And like Castiel thought, Dean ended up liking Anna. Maybe a little bit more that Castiel was comfortable with. Anna was beautiful and smart and a very capable lawyer. If only she wasn't as kind and charming as she was, it would've been so much easier for Castiel to hate her whenever she stood too close to Dean or laughed at Dean's jokes. But Castiel couldn't hate her, not when it wasn't her fault Dean seemed to be smitten with her.
It felt like a punch to the gut when Dean invited Anna to Jess' big birthday party. Jess was Sam's wife and one of the few people Castiel instantly liked upon first meeting. Originally, Castiel was supposed to hitch a ride with Dean to Sam and Jess' house, but now that Dean was taking Anna to the party, it would've been really awkward. The last thing Castiel needed was to be stuck as a third wheel to Dean and his date.
+++
“What do you want, Dean?” Castiel asked.
“You're not coming with me?” Dean asked, the disappointed clearly painted on his face. “I know you'll be away for good tomorrow, but why aren't you going to the party? I thought Jess was your friend?”
“She is, and I never said I wasn't going. Of course I'm going,” Castiel said, not looking up from reading the files on his desk.
“Then why aren't you coming with me?” Dean asked.
“I, uh, I need to wrap up a few things first before I go there. You can go on ahead,” Castiel said. It wasn't entirely untrue. He did have a lot of work to do, but it was work he could've done the next day instead.
“Alright. You better be there, buddy, or I'll drag you out of this office myself,” Dean threatened.
“I will.”
=+=
Castiel came to the party more than an hour late and said his apologies to Jess when the birthday girl mentioned it. “I thought you were coming with Dean?” she asked. She looked beautiful in a flowing red dress, her arm around Sam's as they drank champagne in the garden where most of the guests were.
“I had a little more work to do,” Castiel said, sipping champagne from his own glass. “I need to set things up so by the time I leave, Anna wouldn't have a hard time finishing what I started.”
“Oh, Anna? I've met her. She's nice,” Sam said.
“Yes. She is. She's exactly what Dean needs.” Castiel agreed.
“I don't know about that,” Jess said, smiling like there was a secret only she knew. “She's not you,” she said.
Castiel wasn't sure he understood what Jess meant, and he was going to say so before Dean interrupted them.
“I thought you weren't gonna show up!” Dean said, placing a hand on Castiel's shoulder.
“Why wouldn't I show up?” Castiel said, a little irritated. He finished his glass and got another. “And where's Anna?”
Dean shrugged. “No idea. She's here somewhere,” Dean said. He looked at Castiel from head to toe and cleared his throat. “You're lookin'...uh...nice,” Dean said a bit awkwardly. “New suit?”
“Yes,” Castiel said. He gave Dean a quick once-over, and was secretly annoyed that Dean looked just as good as always in a three-piece suit. “You don't look so bad yourself. You picked this out?”
“Nah. Anna helped me,” Dean said and Castiel unconsciously frowned.
Jess shook his head, as if finding something funny again when a few newly arrived guests greeted them. The couple excused themselves from Dean and Castiel, but not before Sam reminded Dean of their meeting the next day. “Don't forget. Crowley's guys are coming tomorrow. 8 am,” he said.
“Yeah, yeah, of course,” Dean said somewhat uncomfortable.
“Crowley?” Castiel asked in confusion. He turned to Dean with an accusing stare. “This is the first I'm hearing of this. Why are you meeting with Crowley?”
Dean looked around nervously. “Let's talk inside, okay?” Dean asked him before he led Castiel into the house and further into the entertainment room. All that time, Castiel tried to calm himself, even if he had a sinking suspicion what this was all about.
“Dean, why are you meeting with Crowley?” Castiel repeated once they were inside the room.
“Because...” Dean said.
“You're tearing down the old community center, aren't you?” Castiel accused. It had been one of the old buildings Castiel saved when he first started working for Dean. Crowley had been interested in partnering with the Winchesters to build a condo at the site, and it was only because of Castiel that Dean didn't sign the contract.
“Come on, Cas, don't look at me like that,” Dean said, a pained expression on his face.
“Like what? How am I looking at you Dean?” Castiel asked, his calm tone hiding a tornado underneath.
“Like... like I'm kicking your puppy and feeding it to hungry crocodiles,” Dean said. “Yes, okay? We're in negotiations again to build Kripke Towers on the community center's site. Crowley's latest offer was pretty hard to ignore, ” Dean admitted.
Castiel felt his heart sink. “I thought you were better than this Dean. You promised me--”
“I know I promised! I promised and I fucked up. I let you down. I'm only human okay?” Dean said, anger and guilt making his voice come out louder and gruffer.
“That's not good enough,” Castiel snarled. He could feel his hand itching to punch Dean in the face. “I worked for you because I thought I was working for a cause--”
“You are a cause! God, Cas, you're like an angel, shit, you're a fucking saint. You're too perfect. Nobody would be good enough for you!” Dean nearly yelled. He saw Castiel's wide-eyed stare and the fight died in his words. “I tried to be good enough, but I never was,” Dean added, softer this time.
Castiel didn't know how to react to Dean like this-- he looked so defeated, his eyes going red with unshed tears. It almost seemed as if Castiel was the one at fault here. He opened his mouth to speak but closed it just as quickly. It felt like he was choking on words that just wouldn't come out.
Dean cleared his throat and squared his shoulders. Castiel saw the exact moment Dean's impassive mask fell on his face. “But you don't work here anymore. Not after tomorrow. This shouldn't concern you,” Dean said, and it sounded a little harsher than Castiel anticipated.
Ah. This was a Dean he was used to. He may be annoyingly immature in some aspects, but when it came to business, Dean was as ruthless as a hunter. “I see,” Castiel said. “Then there's nothing for us to talk about anymore. I'll be on my way, Mr. Winchester. Excuse me,” Castiel said coldly. He couldn't look Dean in the eye, not without seeing the Dean he thought he knew. Dean was stubborn and immature, a womanizer and a drunk, but despite that all, he was a good man. A righteous man. The man Castiel loved... or so he thought.
===
A month later.
Castiel's phone rang at midnight and he answered the phone on instinct. “What is it Dean?” he said automatically.
“Dean? No, this is Sam!” Sam's cheerful voice said.
“Sam?” Castiel asked, suddenly fully awake. He looked at his phone's display and saw that it was indeed Sam calling him. How stupid of him.
“Yeah. And I have some really great news!” Sam said.
“Uhh, alright?” Castiel said. He didn't know what it was that was so important that Sam himself called him in the middle of the night.
“So get this: I'm gonna be a dad!” Sam announced.
Castiel's eyes grew wide. “Really?” Castiel asked, unable to stop himself from grinning.
“Yes! My beautiful wife is pregnant with my first child. Cas, finally, I'm gonna be a dad!”
“That's great news,” Castiel said. Jess and Sam had been trying to get pregnant for five years already. And now it's finally happened. “I'm very happy for you both. How's Jess?”
“Sleeping. I can't let her stay up late, not with the baby on the way. But hey, so listen. I'm thinking of having a surprise party for her on Saturday to celebrate. It's nothing big, just family and a few of our friends. You up for it?”
Castiel hesitated to answer. Dean would be there. He didn't know if he wanted to see Dean again. They didn't part as friends, and Castiel was afraid that if he met Dean again, Dean might treat him as if he were invisible. He didn't know if he could take that.
“Cas?” Sam asked. “So, you going? Jess would love it if you were there.”
Castiel took a deep breath. “Yeah. I'll be there.”
=+=
Castiel's heart was pounding as he walked up to Sam and Jess' doorstep. He rang the doorbell, and almost as soon as the chime started ringing, Sam was opening the door and ushering him in. “You're early! Great! Jess will be here in about half an hour, so just eat or drink,” Sam said, leading Castiel into the living room. It was probably no longer a surprise to him that the first person his eyes gravitated to was Dean. He stood to the side, already eating a slice of pie. He looked up just as Castiel walked in. Their eyes met, and just like that Castiel was reminded of why he fell in love with Dean.
Quickly averting his gaze, Castiel went to the other side of the room, where a couple of people from Winchester Enterprises were chatting. He greeted them and asked how they were and they answered something, he knew they did, and they started talking about work... or something. It was hard to tell because all his thoughts were still filled with Dean.
“...and it's a shame the deal with Crowley fell through...”
“Excuse me, what?” Castiel said, shaking his head and focusing his attention on what was being said.
“The Kripke towers thing? Oh, you resigned already by then. Well yeah, the deal fell through. For some reason, Dean kept refusing their offers.”
Castiel felt lightheaded. 'Dean didn't sign the contract? Why?' Castiel thought. Then he felt a strong hand clamp down on his shoulder. “Cas, can I talk to you for a second?” he heard Dean's voice directly behind him.
He looked around and Dean was there, looking serious and just as gorgeous as he remembered. Castiel could do nothing but nod and follow Dean into another room.
Once Dean shut the door, that was when Castiel realized Dean had led him into the entertainment room again.
“So, uh, how you been?” Dean asked.
“I--” Castiel cleared his throat. “I'm good. You didn't sign the deal,” he barreled on.
Dean's eyes grew wide in surprise but he recovered quickly and tried to force a shrug. “Yeah, I couldn't.”
“Why?” Castiel asked, stepping closer to Dean so he could look him directly in the eye.
“Because Crowley's a slimeball,” Dean said. “And because I made a promise to you. And dammit, I was going to tell you about how I refused to sign the contract. I even had this whole big speech planned to try and win you back. You know? Like some cheesy chick flick.”
“Why in the world would you want to do that?” Castiel asked in confusion. “You're insane.”
“I wasn't thinking right, okay? Not since you left,” Dean said. “Come back to me? Please?”
Castiel was overwhelmed with the emotion he saw burning in Dean's eyes, but before he could even think about it, he was shaking his head. “I can't go back to the way things were Dean. Not anymore.”
“Things aren't going back to the way things were, trust me Cas,” Dean said.
“Yes they would,” Castiel insisted, shaking his head.
“No they won't. I'm not asking you to come work for me again. I'm just asking you to come back to me,” Dean clarified.
“What?” Castiel asked, unable to comprehend Dean's words.
“Don't leave me again, okay? Stay?” Dean asked.
“What are you saying? I don't underst--” Before Castiel could finish his words, Dean was grabbing him by his shoulders and kissing him.
And just like that, Castiel was lost.
Dean's kiss was just as passionate and perfect as Castiel imagined, and it didn't take long for Castiel to respond in kind, pushing Dean to the wall and raking his fingers through Dean's short hair. Dean didn't take to being pinned to the wall, because as soon as he saw an opportunity, he turned and flipped their positions, using his slightly bigger built to keep Castiel in place. And god, Castiel was in no mood to complain.
“Damn,” was Dean's breathless reaction once they parted for air.
Castiel chuckled. “I've been wanting to do that for ages,” he admitted.
“Pretty sure I wanted to do that since you ambushed me outside of the office asking me to save your precious buildings,” Dean countered. “Damn, I fell bad for your nerd talk,” Dean said, a dopey grin on his face.
“That long?” Castiel asked in disbelief. “Why didn't you-- I didn't know.”
“I tried to tell you-- the first time you came to the bar to get me to come home early? Remember? You punched me in the face!” Dean said, clearly amused by Castiel's confusion. “I thought you hated me after that. I always seemed to disappoint you, no matter what I did. I mean, you always looked like you wanted to punch me again.”
Castiel gave Dean an incredulous look. “Drunken come-ons are not the same as heartfelt confessions!”
“They are to me. I'm always drunk,” Dean reasoned out lamely.
“Just shut up,” Castiel said, pulling Dean down for another kiss. This time when they parted, Castiel was a little less coherent, and Dean's hands had found their way under his shirt, palms scorching the skin of his back.
Dean “If only--” a kiss “--we weren't at my brother's place--” another kiss “--celebrating their unborn child--” a longer kiss “--I would've taken you up to the guest room already.”
“I honestly don't know why that's stopping you,” Castiel said breathlessly.
Dean looked at Castiel wide-eyed, and Castiel stared back in challenge. A lecherous grin spread across Dean's face. “Think you can keep it down? We've got guests.”
Castiel shrugged. “That depends. How good are you?”
Dean's eyes sparkled with mischief. “Oh baby, you're about to find out.”
=+=
“Do you like your surprise?” Sam asked Jess expectantly.
“Of course I do. Thanks for arranging this,” Jess said, giving Sam a kiss. “How'd you get so many people to come? And to hide it from me?”
“I have my ways,” Sam said with a grin. “I invited Castiel too, but I don't know where he is right now,” Sam said, trying to look around the room. “I don't know where Dean's gone off to either. That's weird.”
Jessica smiled knowingly. “Ah, don't worry about them. They're big boys. I'm sure they're having fun... whatever it is they're doing,” she reassured him.
Sam's face lit up in realization. “You think they've finally kissed and made up?”
“Quite probably in the literal sense,” Jess said, laughing as soon as Sam's face contorted in disgust.
“Well I hope they at least had the decency not to do the dirty in my own house,” Sam said.
“Oh hon,” Jess said with mock sympathy. “You know your brother. Since when has he ever cared for decency?”
The look of horror on Sam's face was priceless. “I should probably steer clear of opening closed doors for now, huh?” Sam said.
“That would be wise,” Jess said with a laugh.
The End.