Tony Stark · @darksilvercat
22nd Aug 2010 from Twitlonger
Fic time! This is my response for @cloudyjenn's twitfic exchange. Written for @katkaminion's prompt: Chuck meets Bros&Cas;after DeanCas visions. Awkward happens. With obliviousSam.
Sometime after the apocalypse ends, Chuck calls Sam and Dean and invites them over for dinner.
“Consider it a thank you for saving the world,” he says. “Not many people know what you did, but I do. Also, Ineedtopublishmorebooks. So, yeah. We should talk about that. Hey, bring Cas too! See you soon!”
Dean doesn’t even get the chance to tell Chuck whether or not they’ll be accepting his invitation. Except they will - of course they will - because Chuck knows they’re gonna want to have words about him publishing more ‘Supernatural’ novels, and how he is absolutely not allowed to do so.
*****
Chuck’s house is remarkably clean, and far more wholesome looking than the Winchesters and Castiel remember it being. There are no longer empty cans and bottles everywhere (and there aren’t many full ones either, much to their collective dismay) the papers and notes have been neatly tidied into piles on Chuck’s desk, surfaces have been wiped, polished or washed, and there are a few new items about the place that look suspiciously like they may belong to Becky.
“I called her after the world didn’t end,” Chuck says when Sam asks. “Well, actually she called me. Said it was silly to... well. It was all very... um. So we’re back together now. She’s visiting her mom this weekend though; she’s real sorry she couldn’t be here to see you guys.”
Chuck’s tone implies that he is not remotely sorry his girlfriend is out of town when three very attractive men come for dinner. Which, Dean figures, could be read one of two ways.
It’s possible he’s been spending too much of his post-apocalypse downtime browsing ‘Supernatural’ fansites on the internet and reading about the ‘homoerotic subtext’ of the stories. Either that, or all the other time he’s spent sleeping with Castiel has given him a much gayer worldview.
By the time Dean has given up trying to fangirl out the issue of Chuck’s sexuality (one thing is for sure, there will be no more of this ‘Supernatural’ madness brought into the world if this is the effect it has on people) they’re all sitting in Chuck’s living room and Chuck is handing out beers. Dean takes his and settles back on the couch. Cas is seated beside him, his leg pressed against Dean’s, warm and solid and ridiculously satisfying. Dean never thought he’d find himself in the kind of relationship where he’s content to just be with the other person, sit beside them in comfortable silence, or even - god help him - curl up together in some kind of snuggling situation. He almost drops his hand to Cas’ thigh to give it an affectionate squeeze before he realises Sam is sitting just opposite them. Poor, blissfully oblivious Sam.
Chuck gives Dean a funny look as he passes Dean his beer, almost like he knows what Dean is thinking - which he can’t, because he’d assured the brothers that his visions stopped some three weeks earlier.
“So I wanted to talk to you about the books,” Chuck begins.
“No way in hell,” Sam says flatly.
“But-”
“No!” Dean snaps.
“Dean, I really don’t think you-”
“Over my dead body.”
“Please, just hear me out.”
Dean schools his expression into his usual ‘shut up before I stab you in the face’ glare, but a light touch of fingertips on his forearm distracts him.
“Dean, maybe you should listen to what Chuck has to say,” Castiel suggests mildly, and dammit, he sounds so reasonable that Dean just can’t refuse him.
“Fine,” he growls, because Castiel’s gaze is promising sexual favours if he plays nice. Sam huffs out a breath and slumps back in his seat, paying no attention to the eyefucking going on between Dean and Castiel. Chuck, on the other hand, clears his throat and averts his eyes.
“Okay, let’s hear it,” Sam says.
Chuck takes a deep breath. “Okay, so, I’m not getting visions anymore.”
“Yeah, you told us that,” Dean points out.
“Yeah, I know.” Chuck winces, and Dean thinks it’s never not gonna be weird for him to use those words around them. “So, anyway. My last vision was... different than the others. Normally I just see events as they’re happening, maybe a little glimpse ahead but not much. But this time, I saw the future. And I mean, like, the distant future.”
Chuck is starting to look kinda dazed as he talks. “Cas called these books the Winchester gospels, but I never realised... these stories are gonna be famous. Like, Biblical levels of fame. Your story is the next chapter, the stuff that comes after Revelation, and you know it’s been a long time and there’s a whole lot of issues with the Bible-”
Castiel snorts softly. “The Bible has been corrupted by men with agendas for almost two thousand years. Between that and the somewhat creative interpretations your people have come up with, much of the true Word has been lost.”
“Right,” Chuck says. “But not here. I mean, sure, I’m not the greatest writer in the world, but I don’t make stuff up. I don’t have an agenda or a spin to put on the story, and I’m writing it in English so nothing’s gonna get lost in translation.”
“You’re saying people’s beliefs are gonna change because of these books?” Sam asks. His tone is somewhat sceptical, but there’s a hint of curiosity there that Dean doesn’t particularly like.
“Yeah. Not right away, and it’s not gonna be some nice easy overnight change, but, I mean, I don’t wanna sound corny but these books are gonna make the world a better place.”
Chuck looks so damn earnest that Dean is almost inclined to believe him. Sam looks halfway convinced himself, and Dean’s pretty sure Castiel has always been a fan of the Winchester gospels anyway.
“Between the family values and the Team Free Will thing - catchy title by the way - it’s just, y’know, wholesome moral goodness. And then there’s the whole gay thing, what with the-” Chuck cuts himself short when he registers the way Dean is suddenly glaring at him. “Uh, I mean, because the series is very gay-friendly. Or so I’ve been told. Anyway.” He finishes, somewhat lamely.
An awkward silence falls.
“Dean,” Castiel says.
“I’m thinking.”
“You know, if Chuck saw all that, then we already know it’s going to happen,” Sam says hesitantly.
“Right, because the entire Apocalypse went according to script,” Dean replies.
“No, but that was when the script was bad for the entire world. Now it might actually do some good. At any rate, it’s not gonna hurt anyone. I mean it’s not gonna hurt us, is it? It’s weird, but it’s not all that bad.”
“Not all that bad? They write fanfiction about us, Sam.”
“Yeah, and you saw the people at that convention,” Sam says.
“I try very hard to forget.”
“No you don’t.” Sam’s smile is almost smug now. “Come on, Dean. Our whole lives have been about helping people. This could help people.”
“This is disturbing on so many levels.”
“It doesn’t bother me,” Castiel says mildly.
“Yeah, well what would you know?” Dean nudges Castiel’s knee with his own. “You get to have a starring role as a total badass. You’re gonna make me and Sam look like a pair of wimps.”
“I doubt that,” Castiel replies, a hint of a smile playing over his lips.
Dean sighs. “Okay. Obviously it’s two against one. Or three against one, whatever. Go for it, Chuck. Just don’t ever introduce us to anymore of your fans.”
Chuck lets out a sigh so huge Dean suspects he may have been holding his breath since they started this conversation. “Thank you. And, uh, about the whole thing with you and... y’know...” Chuck glances at Sam, then tilts his head toward Cas in a gesture that he seems to think is the model of subtlety. “It’s a part of the story and all, but I promise I’ll keep it tasteful.”
The sudden awkwardness that settles over the room even affects Castiel. He develops a sudden fascination with his beer, while Dean clears his throat in a pointed effort to silence Chuck. Sam’s gaze is flickering between the three of them and his brow is furrowed in confusion, while Chuck tugs at the label on his bottle and avoids eye contact with any of them.
Sam’s gaze is drawn to how close Dean and are sitting; where their legs are pressed together; where Castiel’s hand still rests on Dean’s forearm. His eyes begin to widen.
“More beer!” Chuck blurts out, jumping to his feet and vanishing into his kitchen.
Dean swallows the last of his beer and slaps his free hand down on Castiel’s thigh. Cas startles slightly, looking up at Dean, then Sam, then back to Dean. Sam looks as though he’s in the middle of an epiphany.
“Hey, Sam, there’s something Cas and I have been meaning to tell you,” Dean says.
In the kitchen, Chuck forgoes the beer and heads straight for the whiskey. He saw this too. The awkward confession, the big family group hug that at the end of it, and later tonight, Castiel enthusiastically showing his appreciation of Dean’s willingness to acknowledge their relationship.
They will also discover a new and exciting use for Castiel’s tie.
Chuck groans and knocks back a double shot. If he drinks enough, maybe, just maybe, he’ll be able to purge that particular mental image of Dean and Castiel from his brain.