Angeles

How did Castiel get roped into going out with his big brother? He hardly ever went out, and especially not to a bar. And yet, he'd allowed Gabriel to drag him to the busiest bar on the planet.

Gabe went through the crowd seamlessly, stopping to talk to people along the way. Cas tried his damnedest to make it to the bar with minimal contact with strangers' personal space. He eventually made his way to a stool and plopped down.

"What'll it be?" a petite blonde from behind the bar asked him.

"Um..." Castiel had to think about it for a moment. "Whiskey, I guess. On the rocks."

"You got it." The blonde set a glass down in front of him and dropped a few ice cubes in, landing in the glass with a clink. She grabbed a bottle of caramel colored liquid and poured it. "Let me know if there's anything else I can get for ya." She went to tend to other patrons.

Just as Cas was bringing the glass up to his lip, someone clapped him on the back. Cas turned to see Gabriel.

"Having fun yet, Cassie?" Gabe asked.

"No," Cas deadpanned.

Gabe knitted his eyebrows together in mock confusion. "Why not? This place is great!"

"The music is too loud, the floor is sticky, there are way too many people, and it smells faintly of vomit," Castiel listed, complaining.

Gabe rolled his eyes. "You're just too uptight. But I guarantee you'll like the live music that's lined up for tonight." Gabe let out a cat calling whistle. "He's really hot."

Now it was Cas's turn to roll his eyes. "Is that why you brought me here? To set me up with this-" he looked around and spotted a sign saying the singer's name, "-Dean Winchester guy? No thanks."

"I brought you here because I was hoping I'd be able to help get that stick out of your ass. But I guess that's not happening.

Cas took a sip of his whiskey, savoring the burn in his throat.

"Whatever, baby bro," Gabe says. "I'll see you around." He starts to sink back into the sea of people.

"Where are you going?" Cas called out.

"To mingle!"

Cas turns around, his knees unexpectedly bumping into someone.

"I am so sorry!" Cas apologizes. He looks up and sees green eyes peering down at him, a genuine smile on his god-like face.

"No worries, man." The song changes and the man says to himself, "Man, I love this song." Cas identifies the song as 'Angeles' by Elliot Smith. The stranger eyes the shaking drink in Cas's hand. "Are you okay?"

Cas follows the man's eyes to his trembling hand. "Oh. That. Yeah, that just happens when I'm nervous. It's no big deal."

The man puts his elbows on the bar and leans in close to Castiel. "And what on earth could you possibly be nervous about?" They're so close together that Cas can see that in those green eyes, there's a hint of gold, making his eyes seem almost peridot.

Cas swallows, suddenly a lot more nervous than he was before. "I don't really come to these things."

The man chuckles. "To bars?" He clicks his tongue once. "And here I thought I was the one making you nervous."

Cas looks down awkwardly, not knowing what to say.

After a few seconds of silence, the stranger says, "Look, it was great talking to you..." He trails off, realizing he doesn't know Cas's name.

"Castiel," Cas introduces. "Some people call me Cas."

"Cas, huh?" the man ponders. "I like that. It suits you. Well, it was great meeting you, Cas, but I actually have somewhere I need to be."

"Oh. Yeah. I understand." Cas's face falls slightly, but he hope the other man doesn't notice it too much.

A heartbreaking smile crosses the man's face and Castiel finds himself having a hard time breathing. "I'll see you around, Cas." He winks at him before leaving. Cas's eyes widen slightly and he turns to check out the man, his brows raising in approval.

Cas takes another drink of his whiskey, polishing it off. He sets it down and pushes it slightly forward.

The blonde waitress comes back over to him. "Need another?"

"Just a beer this time," Cas requests.

"Coming right up." She bent down and returned with a bottle of beer. The condensation on the side reveals that it was, in fact, chilled. The girl sets it on the counter and grabs a bottle opener, snapping the cap off like she'd done it a thousand times, which she probably has. "You know, I don't think I've seen you in here before," she comments as Cas brings the bottle to his lips.

"I don't come to bars very often," Cas retorts. "I much rather prefer a nice, quiet cafe or bistro."

"So what brought you here tonight?"

"Not a what, a who. My brother. Gabriel."

"Gabe? He's a regular here."

"Yeah, I kinda gathered that." Cas takes another drink.

"My name's Jo, by the way." She extends her hand and Cas shakes it.

"Cas."

Someone calls out for the bartender, so Jo says, "Just let me know if you need something else."

"I will. Thank you." Cas takes another drink of his beer as the overhead music fades. He pulls the bottle away and sets it on the counter, his hand still on it, and turns to look towards the stage, his curiosity getting the better of him.

Cas just about spits out his beer when he sees the green-eyed stranger walk onstage with an acoustic guitar. The crowd whoops and cheers and the man - Dean, as Cas had learned from the flyer - smiles humbly.

"How are y'all doing tonight?" he asks the crowd through the microphone. "My name is Dean Winchester. I'm an Aquarius. I like long walks on the beach. And I'm here to sing you a few songs." The crowd cheers again.

Dean starts strumming a tune that's unfamiliar to Castiel. Dean starts singing lyrics Cas had never heard and he stares up at the stage with his mouth slightly agape. He's still in awe as the song ends and the crowd roars applause. Cas joins, clapping his hands.

"This is another original, but I'm sure some of you know it by now," Dean introduces. A new, more upbeat, tune begins from his guitar.

Cas is too busy paying attention to Dean to notice his brother coming and sitting behind him. Gabe eyes Cas, noticing the way he's looking at Dean. He smirks.

"Told ya you'd like the singer," Gabe teases, causing Cas to jump with a start.

"Gabe! Don't do that!" Cas turns to face Gabriel, but then the song stops again and Dean talks, so Cas turns his attention back to walking version of Michelangelo's 'David'.

"I'm gonna sing a few covers, if you don't mind," Dean announces. "If you have any requests, just shout 'em out."

Quite a few people yell out song titles, some of which Cas has heard of, and others he hasn't, but to Cas, the loudest came from his brother, yelling practically in his ear.

"Hungry Eyes!" Gabe yells. More than once.

Cas rolls his eyes.

Dean perks up at something he heard and smiles as he adjusts the capo on the neck of his guitar. "I heard a lot of great suggestions, but there's one in particular that stood out the most to me. So here goes nothing."

Dean doesn't bother with an intro and starts immediately with the opening line of 'Hungry Eyes'. Gabe shoots his fist up in victory.

If Cas didn't know any better, he would have sworn that Dean was looking directly at him during the chorus. But Cas knew how crazy that was. Just because he's gay doesn't mean that every man he becomes attracted to also is. Cas was putting his money on Dean being straight, even though it was a bit disappointing.

"Sorry folks, but this is the last song of the night, but I'm gonna make it extra special for you," Dean announces before his finale. "It's been really great playing for you tonight, but all things must come to an end." He sings the chorus to 'Carry On Wayward Son' by Kansas before he starts strumming.

Cas decides that instead of staying and allowing to make a fool of himself in front of the wonderfully talented Dean Winchester, again, he'd rather duck out before his set is finished. Cas downs the rest of his second beer and stands up.

"Where you going, bro?" Gabe asks him.

"Home," Cas states.

"Why? You don't want to stay and talk to Mr. Dreamy when he's done?"

Cas looks up at Dean, his eyes filled with sadness. "What's the point?" He leaves, missing the look of disappointment on Dean's face as he realizes Cas is leaving.