[Supernatural Fic] Practically Human 2/18
Jul. 5th, 2010 06:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
daylight_darknightAnd so the format of this story is revealed. Feels like a two chapter day. We'll see.
Title: Practically Human 2/18
Characters: Castiel, Bobby, Dean
Rating: PG-13 for swearing and a little violence and disturbing stuff in later chapters
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Drama
Word Count: ~18,000 in 18 in little chapters
Spoilers: Up to the end of season 5
Summary: Some things are a lot easier to deal with when the world is ending.
AN: This takes place in a slight AU where season 5 ends almost the exact same way except Castiel's powers are never restored and Bobby is still in a wheelchair. While Dean goes off to keep his promise to his brother, Castiel ends up left behind at Bobby's as he tries to adjust to his new life as a human.
Chapter 2
Castiel woke the next morning with a headache and a buzzing in his ears. Ignoring both, he removed himself from the confines of the bed and blearily dressed in some of the assorted clothes he had available to him. When he’d finished, he found himself wearing a pair of Dean’s jeans, a brown T-shirt of Bobby’s, and a striped shirt that must have been Sam’s. He paused a moment then removed the striped shirt and put on one of Dean’s reasoning that the other had been too large for him anyway.
As he put on Jimmy’s old leather shoes, Castiel felt grateful to the smiling nurse with dark brown hair and matching eyes who had taught him how to tie them. The hospital staff’s belief that he’d suffered brain damage during his accident had proven very useful. It had saved him from having to create one of those entangled tales of lies humans seemed to require to get by. In gratitude, he’d informed the nurse that her girlfriend wouldn’t be staying in Italy forever and would soon return. The woman had been shocked for a moment then laughed at the amazing things comatosed people could pick up on. Castiel hadn’t bothered to correct her.
Downstairs, Castiel discovered Bobby passed out, snoring in his chair, an empty bottle of liquor beside him. The former angel let him be and went on into the kitchen.
Feeling the now familiar sensation of hunger creating unpleasant stirrings in his stomach, he opened the cupboards and stared at the contents in bewilderment. He removed several items looking them over carefully before choosing a few and placing them on the counter. For awhile, his gaze moved back and forth between them and the stove as he tried to recall everything he’d observed about cooking. It was one of those things that changed greatly through time and differed just as much across the continents. He’d never had the opportunity to try it himself and the Winchesters always preferred to acquire food that was already cooked.
After a while, he gave a sigh and turned to the old, battered coffee maker instead. Coffee was something he knew about. He’d tried coffee before he’d ever had a mouthful of food. Dean always started his day with coffee. He stared intensely at the machine before reaching carefully forward.
“Don’t you touch a thing.”
Bobby’s voice made Castiel jump and caused an aggravating rush of adrenaline. He turned to glare at the old hunter who was wheeling quickly into the kitchen seemingly to rescue the coffee maker.
“Don’t touch anything,” the man repeated forcing Castiel to move away from the counter to avoid being run over by Bobby’s wheels. “You’d probably end up setting the house on fire or something.”
“I was going to make coffee.”
“Do you even know how?”
Chin raised, the former angel gazed down at him. “I’ve observed Dean making coffee.”
“Dean makes crap coffee.” Bobby’s eyes caught sight of the objects Castiel had removed from the cupboards in hopes of creating a meal. “What’s this?”
“Food. I was hungry.”
Bobby raised his eyebrows. “Really? Planning on spaghetti with canned peaches and curry powder for breakfast?”
“Is that a problem?” Castiel questioned narrowing his eyes in confusion certain that all the items were edible.
Bobby let his eyes roll towards the ceiling. “Here, watch me.” He began setting up the coffee maker. “First I’ll show you the proper way to make coffee then we can get started on some eggs and bacon.”
******
“Bobby taught you how to cook?” Dean exclaimed, a sound that was half chuckle, half snort coming over the phone. “I wish I could have seen that.”
“It was an interesting experience,” Castiel replied surprised by the change in Dean’s attitude since the previous night. As evening approached, he’d felt the need to call once more and Dean had actually seemed glad to hear from him. It was a strange contrast to the prior call, but the former angel had never understood the swift changeability of human emotions.
“Was it any good?”
“The results were appetizing, but I found the entire process slow and time consuming.” Slow felt like an understatement. Bobby had insisted they make chilli for lunch and after all the ingredients had been set in the pot, Bobby had moved off to do something else while Castiel, with nothing to do, had watched for what seemed to be an age as the contents of the pot melded and softened.
“At least, you’ve got some decent food to eat,” Dean grumbled. “You should see the stuff Lisa keeps in her fridge. I can’t even identify half the crap in there. What the hell is probiotic yogurt or flax seed oil? Thank God, she keeps some real food around for Ben or I’d be starving.”
Castiel frowned wishing that they were communicating in person. This empty interchange of words left much to be desired. “You do not like it there?”
“What? No.” Dean immediately protested. “I mean of course I like it. The place is practically a mansion compared to the places I’m used to. Everything’s so new and clean, I’m afraid I’m going bust something.”
“Then it is a good house?”
“It’s an awesome house,” replied Dean though the enthusiasm seemed forced. “And I’m lucky Lisa’s letting me stay. I kind of showed up out of the blue and managed to completely freak her for the second time. I couldn’t exactly tell her everything about, you know…”
“I understand,” Castiel said because for once he did.
“Ben thinks its great having me around. Lisa… I’m not so sure. I guess she’s still trying to get used to the idea. A couple of her friends showed up today. One thought I was there to fix the plumbing. The other thought I was there to rob the place.”
“But you intend to stay?”
“Yeah, well…” Dean hesitated and there was a quiet moment where Castiel listened to the faint sound of Dean’s breathing. “This is what I’ve been dreaming about. This is what I promised… So, yes. I just need to figure out where I fit in.”
Chapter 3
Title: Practically Human 2/18
Characters: Castiel, Bobby, Dean
Rating: PG-13 for swearing and a little violence and disturbing stuff in later chapters
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Drama
Word Count: ~18,000 in 18 in little chapters
Spoilers: Up to the end of season 5
Summary: Some things are a lot easier to deal with when the world is ending.
AN: This takes place in a slight AU where season 5 ends almost the exact same way except Castiel's powers are never restored and Bobby is still in a wheelchair. While Dean goes off to keep his promise to his brother, Castiel ends up left behind at Bobby's as he tries to adjust to his new life as a human.
Chapter 2
Castiel woke the next morning with a headache and a buzzing in his ears. Ignoring both, he removed himself from the confines of the bed and blearily dressed in some of the assorted clothes he had available to him. When he’d finished, he found himself wearing a pair of Dean’s jeans, a brown T-shirt of Bobby’s, and a striped shirt that must have been Sam’s. He paused a moment then removed the striped shirt and put on one of Dean’s reasoning that the other had been too large for him anyway.
As he put on Jimmy’s old leather shoes, Castiel felt grateful to the smiling nurse with dark brown hair and matching eyes who had taught him how to tie them. The hospital staff’s belief that he’d suffered brain damage during his accident had proven very useful. It had saved him from having to create one of those entangled tales of lies humans seemed to require to get by. In gratitude, he’d informed the nurse that her girlfriend wouldn’t be staying in Italy forever and would soon return. The woman had been shocked for a moment then laughed at the amazing things comatosed people could pick up on. Castiel hadn’t bothered to correct her.
Downstairs, Castiel discovered Bobby passed out, snoring in his chair, an empty bottle of liquor beside him. The former angel let him be and went on into the kitchen.
Feeling the now familiar sensation of hunger creating unpleasant stirrings in his stomach, he opened the cupboards and stared at the contents in bewilderment. He removed several items looking them over carefully before choosing a few and placing them on the counter. For awhile, his gaze moved back and forth between them and the stove as he tried to recall everything he’d observed about cooking. It was one of those things that changed greatly through time and differed just as much across the continents. He’d never had the opportunity to try it himself and the Winchesters always preferred to acquire food that was already cooked.
After a while, he gave a sigh and turned to the old, battered coffee maker instead. Coffee was something he knew about. He’d tried coffee before he’d ever had a mouthful of food. Dean always started his day with coffee. He stared intensely at the machine before reaching carefully forward.
“Don’t you touch a thing.”
Bobby’s voice made Castiel jump and caused an aggravating rush of adrenaline. He turned to glare at the old hunter who was wheeling quickly into the kitchen seemingly to rescue the coffee maker.
“Don’t touch anything,” the man repeated forcing Castiel to move away from the counter to avoid being run over by Bobby’s wheels. “You’d probably end up setting the house on fire or something.”
“I was going to make coffee.”
“Do you even know how?”
Chin raised, the former angel gazed down at him. “I’ve observed Dean making coffee.”
“Dean makes crap coffee.” Bobby’s eyes caught sight of the objects Castiel had removed from the cupboards in hopes of creating a meal. “What’s this?”
“Food. I was hungry.”
Bobby raised his eyebrows. “Really? Planning on spaghetti with canned peaches and curry powder for breakfast?”
“Is that a problem?” Castiel questioned narrowing his eyes in confusion certain that all the items were edible.
Bobby let his eyes roll towards the ceiling. “Here, watch me.” He began setting up the coffee maker. “First I’ll show you the proper way to make coffee then we can get started on some eggs and bacon.”
******
“Bobby taught you how to cook?” Dean exclaimed, a sound that was half chuckle, half snort coming over the phone. “I wish I could have seen that.”
“It was an interesting experience,” Castiel replied surprised by the change in Dean’s attitude since the previous night. As evening approached, he’d felt the need to call once more and Dean had actually seemed glad to hear from him. It was a strange contrast to the prior call, but the former angel had never understood the swift changeability of human emotions.
“Was it any good?”
“The results were appetizing, but I found the entire process slow and time consuming.” Slow felt like an understatement. Bobby had insisted they make chilli for lunch and after all the ingredients had been set in the pot, Bobby had moved off to do something else while Castiel, with nothing to do, had watched for what seemed to be an age as the contents of the pot melded and softened.
“At least, you’ve got some decent food to eat,” Dean grumbled. “You should see the stuff Lisa keeps in her fridge. I can’t even identify half the crap in there. What the hell is probiotic yogurt or flax seed oil? Thank God, she keeps some real food around for Ben or I’d be starving.”
Castiel frowned wishing that they were communicating in person. This empty interchange of words left much to be desired. “You do not like it there?”
“What? No.” Dean immediately protested. “I mean of course I like it. The place is practically a mansion compared to the places I’m used to. Everything’s so new and clean, I’m afraid I’m going bust something.”
“Then it is a good house?”
“It’s an awesome house,” replied Dean though the enthusiasm seemed forced. “And I’m lucky Lisa’s letting me stay. I kind of showed up out of the blue and managed to completely freak her for the second time. I couldn’t exactly tell her everything about, you know…”
“I understand,” Castiel said because for once he did.
“Ben thinks its great having me around. Lisa… I’m not so sure. I guess she’s still trying to get used to the idea. A couple of her friends showed up today. One thought I was there to fix the plumbing. The other thought I was there to rob the place.”
“But you intend to stay?”
“Yeah, well…” Dean hesitated and there was a quiet moment where Castiel listened to the faint sound of Dean’s breathing. “This is what I’ve been dreaming about. This is what I promised… So, yes. I just need to figure out where I fit in.”
Chapter 3
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Date: 2010-07-06 11:12 pm (UTC)