Didn't Run Far Enough

Chapter 5

It takes an hour and a half, but CastieI makes it to his street in one (very sweaty) piece. It would have been so much easier to get a ride with Charlie like he was supposed to, but he has to admit, it was nice to have the time to cool off. Seeing Dean again really put him on edge, and he took it out on both Charlie and Jody. He'll deal with the latter at work tomorrow, but he should probably call his partner now to apologize. He owes her that much.

So that's what he does. He takes out his phone and calls her up. He holds his phone between his ear and his shoulder as he searches his trench coat pockets for the key to his apartment. Where the hell did he put it... Ah, there it is. He's just putting the key in the lock when Charlie picks up.

"Hi, Cas."

He frowns. She sounds so defeated, so emotionless. That's not the Charlie he knows and loves. He really overreacted, huh?

"Hey, Charlie," Castiel says. He opens the front door, ready to drop his shit on the kitchen table and flop down on his bed to talk to her. "Listen, I just —"

Shit.

Dean is sitting on the couch — Castiel's fucking couch — and watching cartoons, like this is the most normal thing in the fucking world. He smiles and gives him a wave, then puts a finger to his lips.

What the fuck? Castiel mouths.

Dean points at his phone, then drags a finger across his throat. Of course he wants Castiel to put the phone away. Of fucking course.

"Cas?" Charlie says warily.

He could tell her. He could tell her right now and there's nothing Dean could do about it. Sure, there's a gun on his waist, but he could only pull it out so fast, right? He could...

Castiel bites his lip. Talk about shitty timing. "I just wanted to let you know that I got home okay. I, uh..." He eyes Dean cautiously. The man just turns off the TV, then looks up at him with a stupid fucking smile on his face. He's up to something, which means what Castiel says to his friend next is probably not a good idea. "I think I'm gonna take a nap — you know, long day and all — but I'll pick you up tomorrow?"

"I think I'm gonna drive myself, actually," Charlie says.

Castiel grimaces. They've been alternating drivers in their two-person carpool for years. This has to be the first time either of them has tried to put a stop to it. Granted, he did it first, but it still stings. He just wishes he could apologize, just get it over with, but with Dean staring at him, that's probably not a good idea.

Finally, Castiel just says, "Okay, cool. I'll see you later, then."

"Bye, Cas."

"Bye, Char—"

Click.

Castiel grits his teeth. She didn't even let him finish saying goodbye. He fucked up. He has so obviously fucked up, he doesn't even know where to begin. No, actually, he does know where to begin: the son of a bitch sitting on the couch with a shit-eating grin on his face.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Castiel demands.

"Waiting for you, duh," Dean says.

"How —"

"You can find anything with the power of the internet," Dean says simply. "C'mere, sit down." He pats the cushion next to him. "We need to talk."

"No, you need to leave," Castiel says, "before I call the fucking cops on you."

Dean spreads his arms, a carefree gesture. "If that's what you want to do, go right ahead. We'll see how far that gets you."