Heaven on Earth

chapter 7

Castiel stared at his appearance in the mirror, sighing. The white button down tucked into his pants was crisp and clean, as id should be. His dark denim jeans were just the right size, and his brown leather slip on shoes were polished to perfection. His hair was not tamed, and it likely would never be, no matter how hard Dean had tried. Dean refused to let him shave, so he had a line of stubble decorating his jaw. Naomi was definitely not going to enjoy that.

This was not going to be an enjoyable night. He wished he had declined and decided to go with Dean, like he had wanted to. Dean was heading to Kansas City to pick up his Sam, with Adam, who was already in town and had been for two days. It was Dean and Adam who told him he needed to face his mother. They told him that he needed to find a way to show her his life was better without her, and Castiel silently wished he had begged Dean to come to Christmas with him. Thing was, he wasn't about to subject Dean to the ridicule and slandering of his mother's words. They could sting, and he knew that more than anything.

Castiel left for his brother's house.

$$$$

When Castiel arrived at the two story blue house, he was shaking from nerves. Hell, he had vowed to himself that he would never see her again. This was ridiculous, why did she care what he was doing with his life and how he was? She had slapped him around for the first years of his life, up until he was fucking seventeen.

He got out of the car slowly, hand pushing through his hair. His knock on the front door was soft, but apparently heard, because Anna opened the door looking as amazing as ever in a yellow casual dress. Castiel smiled at her, hugging her hello even though he had only seen her yesterday. She took the pumpkin, apple, and cherry pies he had brought with him as he shed his coat, smiling a greeting. "Grandmother is in the living room with mom and dad. I'll put this in the dining room."

Castiel thanked her and ruffled her hair playfully, laughing at her exasperated expression. He swallowed and lost the smile when Anna walked away, closing his eyes. He calmed his heart and walked into the living room with a small smile. Gabriel looked up from where he was sitting across from their mother, smiling at Cas.

"Hey, little bro. I'll get you a glass," he held up his wine, and Castiel smiled at him. Gabriel knew he would need alcohol to get through this.

"Thank you, Gabe." He took a seat in a chair near the couch, which was across from the seat his mother was sitting in.

She looked him over, and Castiel could have shivered, her gaze was so cold. Her blue eyes were icy. Her brown hair was pulled back in a bun, perfectly rolled and tucked in every spot. The grey suit she wore was perfect, not a single line of crease visible. Castiel smiled and lowered his head slightly in hello. She did the same. "Castiel."

"Mother," he replied, shocked at how even his voice was. He graciously accepted the wine Gabriel handed him, smiling.

"I hear you have a bakery in town," his mother spoke, and Castiel looked at her over his glass as he took a sip. He savored the wine for a second, enjoying the sweetly bitter taste.

"Yes," he answered shortly. "It is rather successful." The disgust she had was palpable. She had never agreed with his choice of baking, she thought it wasn't right for a man.

"So I hear. It is very unfitting, though," she paused, and Castiel swallowed his anger. "You could have done so much. You could have become a doctor, like Gabriel and Michael. Or a lawyer, like Lucifer and I. Castiel, you had so much potential that you threw away."

"Mother," Castiel said softly, taking a deep breath to calm himself. "I would not have been happy. I would much prefer to be happy over being miserable and making money."