Chapter Text
Chapter 1. Night shift
Cas stood at the office door, nervously fidgeting with the sleeves of his trench coat. It was his first night to work. He had been interviewed two days ago to start as a night custodian and one man clean up crew for the dive bar he could walk to from April's apartment. He needed this job badly. He was completely intimidated by Ellen, the owner and woman that had interviewed him. He had his suspicions that she felt bad for him. It may have been the only reason he got the job, but he was in no position to complain.
As Ellen hung up the phone, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration with the call, Castiel stepped into the cluttered office.
"Hello, Ellen," he said with a small smile.
"Oh, hey. Come on in," she waved. "I have some forms for you to fill out." She handed him three forms and he sat down to complete them. Her hair was down and she wore her usual no-nonsense look. He could see the sharp spikes of a tattoo peeking out of the V-neck shirt she wore.
"When you're done, come on over to the kitchen and I can get you started."
"Okay, thank you," Castiel said, filling in blanks the best he could. He frowned a little harder at each question he had to lie on, skip, or come back to. Well, he had a name and social security number...so he was likely to get paid if he could keep the job.
Ten minutes later, Castiel found his way to the noisy kitchen. There were still a few patrons in the front and music still played, but the evening felt like it was coming to a close. He walked into the brightly lit kitchen where two waitresses sat at a table, one counting her tips, a snake tattoo coiling around her forearm. The other waitress sat, wrapping silverware. A cook was at the grill, but it looked like he was cleaning his station, all food prep shut down for the night. Ellen came in through another door with an empty crate, sitting it on a table with a controlled thump.
"Everyone, this is Castiel, our new night guy." Castiel gave a small wave as all eyes turned to him.
"This is Meg," Ellen pointed at the waitress counting tips.
"Hey there, blue eyes," she grinned seductively, eyeing him like candy. She had wavy brown hair and a devilish grin.
"This is Lisa," Ellen continued over her. The other waitress smiled at him. She was lovely, with tan skin and shiny dark brown hair.
"Dean is our cook," Ellen pointed at a guy that looked to be Castiel's age, early twenties, with light brown hair, green eyes and a smattering of freckles that gave him a playful look. Tattoos peeked out of the edges of his long sleeve Henley.
"Hey," he called, barely turning to see him as he scrubbed the grill top.
A tall young kid came out of a freezer carrying a piled tray of meat.
"That's Sam, he does dishes."
"Hi!" Sam said, sliding the frozen heap onto a table.
"Hello," Castiel managed.
Ellen proceeded to show Castiel his checklist of nightly, weekly, and monthly duties, explaining how each job worked. Castiel had never worked in a restaurant before and it was all new to him. In high school he had worked at his father’s accounting firm and during college he worked in the library and bookstore on campus. This was going to be very different. It wasn't full time, but it was better than minimum wage.
He learned procedures for mopping and wiping down tables, chairs and booths once all patrons had left.
Ellen finally left him to begin trash rounds as the other staff trickled out, Sam and Meg saying goodbye to him.
Feeling semi-comfortable with his remaining list of things to do, Ellen left with instructions for how to lock up.
It was strange to be alone in a business. He focused on his work, diligently referring to his checklists. He put his things away and checked the front door lock.
The bar had a smell. Beer. Liquor. Peanuts. It was a heavy smell, but it was good. It was rich and grounding. The main restaurant and bar area was a big rectangle with booths lining the windows, tables in the center, and a wide open area in front of the large bar. There was something so classic about the feel.
As you came into the bar through the front door, the bar took center stage along the middle of the back wall. The bar had 17 stools surrounding three sides of it. Two doors led to the back. The one the waitresses used that swung either way with a light bump. The other door was behind the bar, usually where Ellen or the bartender, Rufus, passed through to the back. The shelves behind the bar were stocked full of liquors of all sorts. The tap handles were worn with years of pulling. To the right of the bar was a jukebox in the back corner, near the restrooms. In front of it was a well-worn pool table.
Cas ran two fingers along the green felt lining. The sticks were all mounted on the wall, balls accounted for and resting in the catch below.
To the right of the bar, just after the jukebox, was a short hall that led to the bathrooms. That was his least favorite part of cleaning. He did not want to even imagine what took place in the single stall men’s or women’s rooms.
To the left of the bar was the waitresses swinging door, leading to the kitchen and hall where the staff bathroom, office, storage rooms, and back door was.
If his family could see him now, growing comfortable in a place like this, they would have plenty to say about it. It would be another thing to mock him for. Another ‘disappointment’. The thought left a small grin on his face.
He locked the door and walked the mile to April's apartment.
The night was clear and quiet and brisk. He came in quietly at 3:30 and dropped onto the couch, falling asleep having only taken off his shoes and coat.
=================
Dean flipped three burgers over and pulled out a basket of fries to cool.
"Hey, Jo! Get me more fries from the back, would ya?" He hollered over the radio playing above the grill.
"Sure," she called from the depths of the walk-in refrigerator.
He laid cheese on two burgers and began frying a small pile of mushrooms and onions.
"Mom is in a foul mood!" Jo bitched, sitting a container of fries on a work space next to the fryer.
Dean glanced over at Ellen, Jo's mother, who was giving one of her suppliers hell on the phone. She had been extra edgy lately.
He plated the three burgers, adding fries and slid the plates down for Meg to finish before taking them away to customers. That was Dean's last order, so he turned the grill off and wiped his forehead with a towel. He put one order of fries in the fryer for himself and started cleaning up.
Meg and Lisa came in, talking about a pool game gone bad earlier that night.
Dean noticed the new guy slip quietly into the kitchen and hang up his coat to start work. His hair was brown, almost black, and he had bright blue eyes that made Dean stare like an idiot.
"Hey," Dean called, forgetting the guy's name already.
"Hello, Dean," he said formally.
Dean narrowed his eyes at him a bit. He didn't quite fit in around here. Harvelle's Roadhouse was a biker bar. Rough crowd, loud music, the occasional brawl... This guy looked like he could be working in an office building somewhere.
"What's your name again?" He asked.
"Castiel," he said quietly, pulling out some cleaning supplies.
"Castiel?" Meg practically purred, making Dean roll his eyes. "What kind of name is that?"
"I was named after the angel, Castiel."
"Angel, huh?" She grinned. "It's so cute it makes me vomit in my mouth a little bit!" She baby talked, tweaking the guy's nose as she walked by.
Dean had to laugh at how puzzled he looked and how he waved her hand away quickly.
"Down, Meg," Dean chided, always finding her annoying.
She smiled and flipped him off.
"Cas-tiel," Sam said, coming up behind the new-comer.
Dean laughed at how awkward his brother made it sound. It wasn't that difficult.
"Jeez, Sam, you better just stick with Cas."
"Yeah," Sam laughed. "How are ya, Cas?"
"Good," Castiel grinned, "How are you?"
"Freakin wiped," Sam said. "My feet are killing me and I'm starved."
Dean turned quickly, pulling the fries out of the fryer, almost having forgotten about them. He sat the basket up to cool and turned the equipment off.
"I got ya some fries, Sammy," Dean said, knowing Sam would want them.
"Awesome!" Sam called.
Dean finished cleaning his work station and sat at the work table, waiting on Lisa to be finished.
"Night, Clarence," Meg said, winking at Cas as she left.
"Night," he said, unsure she was addressing him.
Dean thought the guy was way too awkward to make it around here. He better look alive, or someone was bound to really start messing with him.
"Where ya from, Cas?" Dean asked, watching him fill a bucket with water to mop.
"Illinois," he said flatly.
Dean nodded.
"Why are you in Nebraska now?"
"I was...well, I'm...it's a long story. One I would rather avoid at the moment."
Huh, long story? Dean watched Cas set to mopping. He got Sam's fries and pulled his own jacket on.
"Night, Cas!" Sam called, grabbing the fries and following him and Lisa out the back door.
"Good night," they barely heard him call back.
Outside, Dean unlocked his car and got in the driver's seat. Sam flopped into the back and Lisa slid into the passenger seat beside him.
"What a long night," she complained.
"Yeah," Dean nodded, starting the engine and relaxing a bit as his Baby rumbled to life.
"That new guy is weird," Lisa said.
"Yeah," Dean mumbled.
"I think he seems nice," Sam said.
Dean huffed a laugh. Of course Sam thought he was nice. His brother saw the good in everyone. "Dude's named after a friggin angel! What was Ellen thinking?"
"He'll be gone soon," Lisa shrugged. "One good bar fight and then he'll be running away scared."
"Probably," Dean answered automatically.
"Dean," Sam said, leaning forward onto the front seat, "did you talk to Ellen tonight? Man, she was pissed."
"I noticed," Dean nodded.
"I think it has something to do with money or that accountant."
Dean chewed on that thought the rest of the way home while Lisa went on about her sister and her friends. Dean liked Ellen. She was a tough little broad that Dean felt rather protective of. He had been working at the Roadhouse for a year now. It's where he met Lisa. And now even Sam was working there until he left for college in August. The place was an extension of home. He dropped Sam off at home, where he still lived with their parents, and then took Lisa home.
"You coming in?" she asked.
"Nah, I got shit to do in the morning."
Lisa sighed. "If you would get rid of your stupid apartment, you wouldn't have so much extra stuff to do. You would save money-"
"Lisa," Dean sighed back. This was an old argument. He had no good excuses left, only that his tiny, crappy apartment was a piece of his own independence. And he wasn't budging.
"I'm just saying!" Lisa snapped.
"I know," he placated. She kissed him briefly and hopped out of the car.
He watched as she climbed the outside steps up to her apartment. Lisa was gorgeous. His dick gave a half-hearted twitch as he watched her disappear inside. He should be jumping at the chance to live with her. Instead, he cranked the volume on his stereo and headed home.