Angel Noir: [4] Attractive Bar Staff
Nov. 12th, 2015 03:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lotrspnfangirlMaster List || Chapter Three
“Hello,” Sam smiled, reaching out his hand to meet the outstretched one of his client, Gordon Walker. “Mr. Walker? Nice to meet you, I’m Sam Winchester.”
“Mr. Winchester, please, call me Gordon.” The tall, dark skinned man smiled back, his grip firm in Sam’s. “I am assuming my secretary faxed over my paperwork?”
“She did,” Sam agreed, nodding his head as he held up a manila folder. “And I would be more than happy to work with you in assisting your office. Should we talk over lunch?”
“I know the perfect place,” Gordon agreed, letting Sam push open his office door and hold it open for the attorney. Together, they walked to Sam’s Dodge Charger and Sam took Gordon’s directions, biting back a laugh when they arrived at the parking garage behind The Devil’s Pit. Sam slid the ticket to the dashboard and stepped out of the car, following Gordon down to the street and to the store fronts. “They just opened this place up…”
“Yeah, I saw that,” Sam nodded, following the other man to Angel Noir. “I didn’t realize they did food, though…”
“Oh yeah,” Gordon nodded, jogging up the steps and holding open the door for Sam. “They have a small lunch menu, but I’m not kidding when I say their fries are heavenly.”
“No pun intended?” Sam chuckled, looking around the bar. Although Dean had been right about the flowers being an odd touch for a bar, it made more sense that they had a menu, the atmosphere was anything but grandmotherish. There was a large 60’s style jukebox currently playing ‘No One Like You’ by the Scorpions, a few tables were full of couples and singles, chatting and eating happily, and the entire space smelled like good food and warmth. Sam instantly felt comfortable. Actually, Sam kind of felt like if he closed his eyes he would be sitting in the Impala with Dean, radio turned up and the heat blasting as they were driving somewhere through storm.
“No pun intended,” Gordon answered, pulling Sam back and letting him realize he was still standing in the doorway staring around the space with a stupid smile on his face. “Place is great, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” Sam agreed and let Gordon lead him to a booth in the back of the restaurant. “Order and then we’ll talk business?”
“You got it, man.” Gordon reached for the plastic coated menus, sliding one over to Sam and opening his own.
“Welcome to Angel Noir,” a smooth, feminine voice broke through Sam’s concentration and he looked up, mouth instantly dry. There was a young woman before them, her hair twisted up in a clip with chestnut strands falling into her eyes. She was feminine, pretty, but just by looking at her Sam knew that she wasn’t a pushover. “I’m Ruby, and I’d be more than happy to take your drink order.” Her large, brown eyes flicked over to Sam, and he swore she smirked, the end of her pen pressing against her bottom lip before pulling away, and Sam followed the motion.
“Umm, what do you have on tap today?” Gordon asked, attention flicking up just once to Ruby before settling back on the menu. Sam didn’t know how… he couldn’t tear his eyes away. God, she was gorgeous…
“All of our beers are New England crafted and today we have Good Morning which is an American Double Stout infused with cocoa and maple, Heady Topper which is either citrusy or minty with some pine notes, Fuzzy Baby Ducks and Double Citra which are both grapefruity, though ducks is a bit lighter… Then we have Heavy Mettle, Fat-En-Er #2, and our porter Birth of Tragedy.” Ruby smiled, watching as Gordon nodded his head and finally ordered a tall Double Citra.
“Not sure if I could stomach something called ‘fuzzy ducks’,” he snorted and Ruby winked at him before turning her attention to Sam.
“And what about you, gorgeous?” Ruby leaned the pen back against her lower lip, pressing to make her lip stick out just enough to make Sam want to haul her down into the seat with him. Exhaling slowly, he smiled and tried to remember what the list had been.
“Um… surprise me?” Her eyes lit up at that and she grinned, nodding her head.
“Alright, I’ll be right back with those beers gentlemen.”
Across the table, Gordon snorted and Sam’s eyes flew to him, an eyebrow raised in question.
“Subtle,” Gordon replied, rolling his eyes as Sam felt his cheeks flush. He was here on a business meeting, and unfortunately, flirting and staring at their waitress--no matter how beautiful she was-- wasn’t going to get him anywhere. Sam made a point to look back down at his menu.
When Ruby came back with their drinks, Gordon immediately laughed, causing Sam to jerk his head up to see the drink Ruby had placed before him. He raised an eyebrow, looking at the bright pink umbrella speared on an orange slice and resting on the top of his beer. He stared at it for a moment before looking up to meet Ruby’s amused gaze, her eyebrow raised as she waited to see Sam’s response.
Sam reached for the glass and slid the orange slice to the other side, taking a big sip of the beer. As he set the glass down he pulled the umbrella out, licking the bottom tooth pick and laying it carefully beside his glass. “It’s perfect, what a pleasant surprise,” Sam told her and Ruby laughed, the sound warming Sam more than the initial rush of alcohol.
“Alright, what can I get you two for lunch?” They ordered and after another laugh, Ruby made her way back to the bar to punch in their orders.
“Okay, so we’ve decided to take on new clientele at our practice. As you know, we deal with matrimonial law and currently assist with divorce, annulments, alimony, child custody and visitations including child support, and we are looking to add paternity testing and paternity fraud to our practices. So, I need to get my staff up to date on the legislation surrounding paternity testing and rights of either client, biological father or not.”
“Alright,” Sam nodded, pulling his focus from Ruby who was now leaning against the cash register, laughing at something the bartender had said to her and met Gordon’s eyes, giving him a reassuring smile as he reached into his briefcase for the folder he’d brought with him. “I’ve pulled up the current legislation for the state of Massachusetts, so we will start there.”
***
By the time Sam and Gordon had gone over the legislation Sam had brought with him, plus questions and concerns Gordon had, Sam was already mapping out his report and mentally noting which things he needed to do more research on before presenting to Gordon and his company sometime early next week.
Sam had driven Gordon back to the office, shaking his hand and clapping him on the back before finishing up some work and then locking up. He contemplated seeing what Dean was up to, even though it wasn’t their normal Friday night, but as he was driving towards his brother’s shop, he suddenly found himself back in the parking garage and towards Angel Noir. He paused, this time noting the chalkboard sign, and found himself laughing.
“Attractive, Friendly Bar Staff. Good beer, great music. I can’t think of a better night... can you?”
Sam couldn’t argue with the sign, and he was still smiling as he pushed open the door. It had been at least five hours since he and Gordon had been there, but Sam was hoping that the waitress Ruby was still on shift. He made his way to the bar this time, sliding into a polished wood stool. A man made his way over, taking his order, and Sam couldn’t fight back the pang of disappointment at the fact that it hadn’t been Ruby on the other side of the bar taking his order.
“Heavy Mettle, huh? No baby ducks?” Sam jumped as the stool beside him moved and suddenly there was Ruby, gracefully slipping into the seat and crossing her legs, her foot brushing against his thigh. She smiled, leaning her elbow onto the bar and giving Sam a once over. “I have some regulars… but it’s not often they come back twice in one day.”
Sam opened his mouth to reply just as the bartender slid him over his drink. “Thanks,” Sam nodded to him and then turned back to Ruby. “Yeah, well… business before, this is pleasure.”
Ruby’s eyes flashed and it sent heat through Sam’s body. As if she knew where his mind was going, she tossed her hair --now hanging loose down her back-- over her shoulder and laughed. “You’re funny, Mr…?”
“Winchester. Sam Winchester,” Sam replied, holding out his hand. Ruby’s hand was small but warm as it slid into his and she let him hold on for a few seconds more than necessary.
“Well, Sam Winchester, I’m Ruby Novak.” She nodded her head, smiling as the bartender slid her over a glass of ice water, and as she shifted, she ended up closer to Sam, the length of her lower leg pressed against Sam’s thigh instead. She looked down, then back up, smiling at Sam as she did so.
Sam reached for his beer and smiled against the glass as he took a sip. Coming back here was definitely a good idea.
“Castiel!” Ruby called out, letting herself into the apartment and dropping her bags onto the floor, kicking off her heels, and immediately heading to the kitchen to see what her brother had made for dinner. She smiled when she saw he had saved her a plate and she pulled off the tin foil, popping a roasted potato into her mouth before sliding the plate into the microwave and hitting the reheat. “Cas?”
“I’m in here Ruby!” Castiel yelled. Ruby followed her brother's voice, finding in laying in bed watching Netflix. She frowned at him. Castiel was never in bed this time of day, and when he hadn’t shown up at the bar at any point today, even though it was his day off, she thought something was wrong with her brother. This just confirmed it.
“What’s wrong?” She made her way to the bed, climbing up beside him and settling against the pillows. Castiel lifted up the edge of the comforter, waiting for her to crawl underneath and settle against him before he sighed, dropping the blankets back down.
Castiel scooted closer to Ruby. She smiled, opening her arms for him, and Castiel gladly laid his head on her shoulder before shutting his eyes and breathing in deep the comforting scent of his older sister, like he had so many times before when he was in highschool. “Have you ever wanted more Ruby?” Castiel mumbled against her shoulder as she began carding her fingers through her hair.
“More?” Ruby asked, letting her nails scratch at the base of his neck before starting all over again from the top of his head. “What do you mean, more?”
Castiel sighed, “I mean do you ever get lonely? Do you ever want to come home to someone other than me and Gabe?” Castiel looked up meeting his sister's eyes.
Ruby gave Castiel a small smile and leaned forward, kissing the top of his head. “You’re going to find someone, Castiel. You’re just waiting for someone that’s good enough for you. And the answer is… yes, sometimes I do want that. But I know that it will happen when it’s meant to, just like it will for you and like it will for Gabe.
“We’re here now, hundreds of miles from home, and we’ve started over, all three of us. The business is booming, we’re comfortable, we’re happy… that’s just the next step.” She smiled, returning to running her fingers through his hair. “You stayed in bed all day like this, didn’t you?”
“No,” he mumbled against her shoulder, hiding his face because she could always tell when he was lying. “I made dinner.” True, he had made dinner, but then he crawled back into bed without eating.
“I didn’t know that this was something that was bothering you,” she said softly, reaching down to lift Cas’ chin up to look at her. “If I had known, I would’ve been working my ass off to set you up with someone!”
“It's not bothering me,” Castiel protested, but sighed when he noticed his sister’s stern look. “Well it wasn't bothering me until I started thinking about it today. And before you ask, no I have no idea what brought this on.” Cas huffed and buried his face back into his sister's shoulder.
Ruby was quiet for a moment, contemplating before she took a deep breath. “Remember those hot brothers that you ran into last week?” she asked, all in one breath.
Castiel stiffened slightly. How could he forget? Ever since that day, every time he shut his eyes he saw those deep green eyes... “Yes,” he answered, trying to keep his voice void of emotion.
“I… may have gotten a date with one of them.” She smiled softly, remember the way Sam had gotten nervous, hands shaking as he reached for his phone and pressed it into her hands, asking for her number and for which night she had off that week.
Castiel's head shot up and he stared his sister in the eyes. “Oh... which one?” he asked, trying to sound nonchalant but failing miserably.
Ruby felt confused for a second before realization dawned and she pulled back, shaking her head quickly. “Oh no! No, Castiel, not the one you were preoccupied thinking about all that freaking night. The tall one, Sam.” She smiled as she said his name, relaxing back against Castiel and sighing happily. “God, Castiel… He’s just… everything. He came back to the bar tonight and I ended spending three hours with him, even though I was already out of work, and he just… listened, and wanted to hear about me and the bar and about us and Gabriel. He was nervous and cute when he asked me for my number, and I could tell he wanted to kiss me but I told him I didn’t kiss on the first date.” She laughed again, remembering the look on Sam’s face before it broke out into a huge dimpled grin. “I can see if his brother’s single, you know. I have an in.”
Castiel let out a breath he hadn't even realized he was holding as soon as Ruby said Sam's name. “He sounds like a great guy Ruby.” Castiel smiled at his sister. “He damn well better be if he wants to date my sister… but there's no need to ask him about Dean. He's, um, he's seeing someone.
“Friday night when I took my break I saw them walking together.” Castiel sighed and leaned against Ruby again, she tightened her hold on him. “I’m really happy for you though Ruby, it's been a long time since you have been this excited about someone, and I’m glad to see that beautiful smile on your face again.”
“Oh Castiel,” Ruby hugged him tightly before she pulled back and ripped the covers off of the bed. “Come on! Get up. You’re sharing supper with me and then we’re going to plan how to pick you up your own hottie, someone that will make you forget about Mr. Dean Winchester.”
Castiel sighed and got out of bed. He would have much rather spent his night curled up under the covers sulking, but he knew his sister’s determined look, and she was wearing it now. No way would she just leave and let Castiel wallow in his self pity like he wanted too. But finding a hottie to make him forget about Dean would be easier said than done. He only had one interaction with the man, and though Castiel didn’t know how the hell it was possible, Dean was under his skin, invading almost every one of his thoughts.
Ruby watched as Castiel shuffled into pajama pants and his slippers and nodded her approval when he followed her out into the kitchen. She pulled the plate out of the microwave and grabbed two sets of silverware before she pulled her brother with her to the couch, immediately plopping down beside him and draping her legs over his lap, the warm plate balancing on her knees.
“Alright,” she said, spearing a potato and popping it in her mouth, giving Castiel a pointed look until he did the same. “Today was your mental health day, tomorrow you need to do some re-con. Get yourself out there, Castiel. Maybe check out some of the other bars that aren’t yours, so you can focus on the men that spend all their time ogling you and not on work. I think Gabe has tomorrow night off… maybe the two of you should go out on the town? Meg and I will hold down the fort alright.”
Castiel sighed and just nodded, not really wanting to go out, but knowing Ruby had a point, he couldn't dream about Green-eyes forever. Especially if those green eyes were off limits…
“Dude,” Dean snorted, watching as his brother smiled while took a huge bite out of his sandwich. Sam had surprised him today, a meeting cancelled or something, and had arrived at the shop with lunch for both of them and the rest of the guys. “Either they laced that turkey with some good shit, or you got laid last night.”
“Dean!” Sam rolled his eyes, placing the sandwich back down on his plate. “Why does everything have to be about sex with you?”
Dean snorted, taking a sip of his coke before leaning back in his office chair. “Weren’t you the one telling me, what, just last week was it? That I was an adult and casual sex was a thing?” Sam shrugged his shoulders, and Dean watched him for another moment before sighing. “Alright, fine, I am sorry for assuming you got laid. Better?”
“You’re a jerk,” Sam muttered, picking up his sandwich again.
“Yeah, and you’re a bitch. Now are you going to tell me about her or are you just going to eye fuck your sandwich while you think about her?”
“Again, asshole.” Sam took another bite, chewing thoughtfully before he said, “I checked out Angel Noir last night.”
“The frou-frou bar?” Dean snorted. “I’m sure you picked up a great one there.”
“Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to judge a book by it’s cover? Seriously Dean, you’re going to have to check it out. It’s you’re kind of place.”
“Yeah, sure it is.” Dean made a point to look around the shop before settling his gaze back on Sam. “Nope, I don’t see any stupid, plastic flowers and, what’s that? Oh, that would be Metallica and not some shit from Bach.”
“Dude, when I went in all that played the entire time was the classics! I don’t know what kind of piano music you were hearing… Maybe Stairway to Heaven or something?”
“I think I would recognize Stairway to Heaven, Sammy,” Dean snorted, popping a few chips into his mouth. “So, you went into the fake frou-frou place and met a girl.”
“Yeah, she works there.” Sam was smiling again, twisting his coke in his hands. “Her name’s Ruby and, God Dean, she’s just… beautiful.” Dean smiled, watching as his brother’s entire face lit up as he talked about the woman he met, going over every boring thing they talked about, down to each one of the drinks Ruby convinced him to try before they’d left and Sam had manned up and gotten her number.
Sam continued, “I texted her good morning today, and I’ve never felt so scared in my entire life until she texted me back. We’re doing dinner tomorrow night.”
“That’s great, Sammy,” Dean said, reaching over to squeeze Sam’s arm. “I’m really happy for you.” Sam smiled, grateful and went back to eating his sandwich, eyes darting over to his phone once in awhile. As Dean watched him, he couldn’t fight the sense of relief he felt at the fact that Sam was moving on from Jess. Part of him had been worried Sam was going to shut down, refuse to think about another relationship since his and Jessica’s had failed, and it was nice to see him so openly happy about a woman again.
Sammy deserved that.
“Oh! And, Ruby’s brother is the one that owns the bar! Remember Castiel? The one that was writing out the sign?” Dean perked up at that, looking back up to meet Sam’s amused eyes.
“Um, what?” Smooth, Dean.
“You know, the one you acted like a total moron over because he was so hot he melted your brain?” Sam laughed and Dean could only imagine the expression on his face.
“Sam, I’m assuming you had a point, and I’m assuming you’re getting to it before I kick your ass.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Sam rolled his eyes. “Like I said, he’s Ruby’s brother, so, you know… I could see if I could find out some more about him. Like, oh… if he likes tall, green eyed, jerks who stumble over street signs and forget how to use proper English?”
“I did not trip over the sign!” Dean exclaimed, feeling his cheeks burning as Sam laughed harder, reaching for a chip and crunching on it with a smirk.
“Right, okay I apologize. Jerks who almost trip over street signs. Is that better, Princess?”
Dean shook his head, refusing to answer Sam. He did not make that much of a fool of himself… did he? He sucked his lower lip into his mouth, thinking back to last Friday. All he could remember was Castiel bent over in his tight jeans and then bright blue eyes and a killer smile… If he were to consider checking out the bar, tacky decor and all, he knew that there was at least one thing worth seeing inside of the bar…
“I’ll check it out sometime this week, happy?” Dean asked and Sam made a pleased sound, rushing to swallow the bite of his lunch.
“Yes! You’ll love it. But… if Ruby’s there… don’t give her a hard time, okay?”
“No promises,” Dean replied, smirking, and he was given a fistful of chips for his trouble.
Chapter Five
“Hello,” Sam smiled, reaching out his hand to meet the outstretched one of his client, Gordon Walker. “Mr. Walker? Nice to meet you, I’m Sam Winchester.”
“Mr. Winchester, please, call me Gordon.” The tall, dark skinned man smiled back, his grip firm in Sam’s. “I am assuming my secretary faxed over my paperwork?”
“She did,” Sam agreed, nodding his head as he held up a manila folder. “And I would be more than happy to work with you in assisting your office. Should we talk over lunch?”
“I know the perfect place,” Gordon agreed, letting Sam push open his office door and hold it open for the attorney. Together, they walked to Sam’s Dodge Charger and Sam took Gordon’s directions, biting back a laugh when they arrived at the parking garage behind The Devil’s Pit. Sam slid the ticket to the dashboard and stepped out of the car, following Gordon down to the street and to the store fronts. “They just opened this place up…”
“Yeah, I saw that,” Sam nodded, following the other man to Angel Noir. “I didn’t realize they did food, though…”
“Oh yeah,” Gordon nodded, jogging up the steps and holding open the door for Sam. “They have a small lunch menu, but I’m not kidding when I say their fries are heavenly.”
“No pun intended?” Sam chuckled, looking around the bar. Although Dean had been right about the flowers being an odd touch for a bar, it made more sense that they had a menu, the atmosphere was anything but grandmotherish. There was a large 60’s style jukebox currently playing ‘No One Like You’ by the Scorpions, a few tables were full of couples and singles, chatting and eating happily, and the entire space smelled like good food and warmth. Sam instantly felt comfortable. Actually, Sam kind of felt like if he closed his eyes he would be sitting in the Impala with Dean, radio turned up and the heat blasting as they were driving somewhere through storm.
“No pun intended,” Gordon answered, pulling Sam back and letting him realize he was still standing in the doorway staring around the space with a stupid smile on his face. “Place is great, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” Sam agreed and let Gordon lead him to a booth in the back of the restaurant. “Order and then we’ll talk business?”
“You got it, man.” Gordon reached for the plastic coated menus, sliding one over to Sam and opening his own.
“Welcome to Angel Noir,” a smooth, feminine voice broke through Sam’s concentration and he looked up, mouth instantly dry. There was a young woman before them, her hair twisted up in a clip with chestnut strands falling into her eyes. She was feminine, pretty, but just by looking at her Sam knew that she wasn’t a pushover. “I’m Ruby, and I’d be more than happy to take your drink order.” Her large, brown eyes flicked over to Sam, and he swore she smirked, the end of her pen pressing against her bottom lip before pulling away, and Sam followed the motion.
“Umm, what do you have on tap today?” Gordon asked, attention flicking up just once to Ruby before settling back on the menu. Sam didn’t know how… he couldn’t tear his eyes away. God, she was gorgeous…
“All of our beers are New England crafted and today we have Good Morning which is an American Double Stout infused with cocoa and maple, Heady Topper which is either citrusy or minty with some pine notes, Fuzzy Baby Ducks and Double Citra which are both grapefruity, though ducks is a bit lighter… Then we have Heavy Mettle, Fat-En-Er #2, and our porter Birth of Tragedy.” Ruby smiled, watching as Gordon nodded his head and finally ordered a tall Double Citra.
“Not sure if I could stomach something called ‘fuzzy ducks’,” he snorted and Ruby winked at him before turning her attention to Sam.
“And what about you, gorgeous?” Ruby leaned the pen back against her lower lip, pressing to make her lip stick out just enough to make Sam want to haul her down into the seat with him. Exhaling slowly, he smiled and tried to remember what the list had been.
“Um… surprise me?” Her eyes lit up at that and she grinned, nodding her head.
“Alright, I’ll be right back with those beers gentlemen.”
Across the table, Gordon snorted and Sam’s eyes flew to him, an eyebrow raised in question.
“Subtle,” Gordon replied, rolling his eyes as Sam felt his cheeks flush. He was here on a business meeting, and unfortunately, flirting and staring at their waitress--no matter how beautiful she was-- wasn’t going to get him anywhere. Sam made a point to look back down at his menu.
When Ruby came back with their drinks, Gordon immediately laughed, causing Sam to jerk his head up to see the drink Ruby had placed before him. He raised an eyebrow, looking at the bright pink umbrella speared on an orange slice and resting on the top of his beer. He stared at it for a moment before looking up to meet Ruby’s amused gaze, her eyebrow raised as she waited to see Sam’s response.
Sam reached for the glass and slid the orange slice to the other side, taking a big sip of the beer. As he set the glass down he pulled the umbrella out, licking the bottom tooth pick and laying it carefully beside his glass. “It’s perfect, what a pleasant surprise,” Sam told her and Ruby laughed, the sound warming Sam more than the initial rush of alcohol.
“Alright, what can I get you two for lunch?” They ordered and after another laugh, Ruby made her way back to the bar to punch in their orders.
“Okay, so we’ve decided to take on new clientele at our practice. As you know, we deal with matrimonial law and currently assist with divorce, annulments, alimony, child custody and visitations including child support, and we are looking to add paternity testing and paternity fraud to our practices. So, I need to get my staff up to date on the legislation surrounding paternity testing and rights of either client, biological father or not.”
“Alright,” Sam nodded, pulling his focus from Ruby who was now leaning against the cash register, laughing at something the bartender had said to her and met Gordon’s eyes, giving him a reassuring smile as he reached into his briefcase for the folder he’d brought with him. “I’ve pulled up the current legislation for the state of Massachusetts, so we will start there.”
By the time Sam and Gordon had gone over the legislation Sam had brought with him, plus questions and concerns Gordon had, Sam was already mapping out his report and mentally noting which things he needed to do more research on before presenting to Gordon and his company sometime early next week.
Sam had driven Gordon back to the office, shaking his hand and clapping him on the back before finishing up some work and then locking up. He contemplated seeing what Dean was up to, even though it wasn’t their normal Friday night, but as he was driving towards his brother’s shop, he suddenly found himself back in the parking garage and towards Angel Noir. He paused, this time noting the chalkboard sign, and found himself laughing.
“Attractive, Friendly Bar Staff. Good beer, great music. I can’t think of a better night... can you?”
Sam couldn’t argue with the sign, and he was still smiling as he pushed open the door. It had been at least five hours since he and Gordon had been there, but Sam was hoping that the waitress Ruby was still on shift. He made his way to the bar this time, sliding into a polished wood stool. A man made his way over, taking his order, and Sam couldn’t fight back the pang of disappointment at the fact that it hadn’t been Ruby on the other side of the bar taking his order.
“Heavy Mettle, huh? No baby ducks?” Sam jumped as the stool beside him moved and suddenly there was Ruby, gracefully slipping into the seat and crossing her legs, her foot brushing against his thigh. She smiled, leaning her elbow onto the bar and giving Sam a once over. “I have some regulars… but it’s not often they come back twice in one day.”
Sam opened his mouth to reply just as the bartender slid him over his drink. “Thanks,” Sam nodded to him and then turned back to Ruby. “Yeah, well… business before, this is pleasure.”
Ruby’s eyes flashed and it sent heat through Sam’s body. As if she knew where his mind was going, she tossed her hair --now hanging loose down her back-- over her shoulder and laughed. “You’re funny, Mr…?”
“Winchester. Sam Winchester,” Sam replied, holding out his hand. Ruby’s hand was small but warm as it slid into his and she let him hold on for a few seconds more than necessary.
“Well, Sam Winchester, I’m Ruby Novak.” She nodded her head, smiling as the bartender slid her over a glass of ice water, and as she shifted, she ended up closer to Sam, the length of her lower leg pressed against Sam’s thigh instead. She looked down, then back up, smiling at Sam as she did so.
Sam reached for his beer and smiled against the glass as he took a sip. Coming back here was definitely a good idea.
“Castiel!” Ruby called out, letting herself into the apartment and dropping her bags onto the floor, kicking off her heels, and immediately heading to the kitchen to see what her brother had made for dinner. She smiled when she saw he had saved her a plate and she pulled off the tin foil, popping a roasted potato into her mouth before sliding the plate into the microwave and hitting the reheat. “Cas?”
“I’m in here Ruby!” Castiel yelled. Ruby followed her brother's voice, finding in laying in bed watching Netflix. She frowned at him. Castiel was never in bed this time of day, and when he hadn’t shown up at the bar at any point today, even though it was his day off, she thought something was wrong with her brother. This just confirmed it.
“What’s wrong?” She made her way to the bed, climbing up beside him and settling against the pillows. Castiel lifted up the edge of the comforter, waiting for her to crawl underneath and settle against him before he sighed, dropping the blankets back down.
Castiel scooted closer to Ruby. She smiled, opening her arms for him, and Castiel gladly laid his head on her shoulder before shutting his eyes and breathing in deep the comforting scent of his older sister, like he had so many times before when he was in highschool. “Have you ever wanted more Ruby?” Castiel mumbled against her shoulder as she began carding her fingers through her hair.
“More?” Ruby asked, letting her nails scratch at the base of his neck before starting all over again from the top of his head. “What do you mean, more?”
Castiel sighed, “I mean do you ever get lonely? Do you ever want to come home to someone other than me and Gabe?” Castiel looked up meeting his sister's eyes.
Ruby gave Castiel a small smile and leaned forward, kissing the top of his head. “You’re going to find someone, Castiel. You’re just waiting for someone that’s good enough for you. And the answer is… yes, sometimes I do want that. But I know that it will happen when it’s meant to, just like it will for you and like it will for Gabe.
“We’re here now, hundreds of miles from home, and we’ve started over, all three of us. The business is booming, we’re comfortable, we’re happy… that’s just the next step.” She smiled, returning to running her fingers through his hair. “You stayed in bed all day like this, didn’t you?”
“No,” he mumbled against her shoulder, hiding his face because she could always tell when he was lying. “I made dinner.” True, he had made dinner, but then he crawled back into bed without eating.
“I didn’t know that this was something that was bothering you,” she said softly, reaching down to lift Cas’ chin up to look at her. “If I had known, I would’ve been working my ass off to set you up with someone!”
“It's not bothering me,” Castiel protested, but sighed when he noticed his sister’s stern look. “Well it wasn't bothering me until I started thinking about it today. And before you ask, no I have no idea what brought this on.” Cas huffed and buried his face back into his sister's shoulder.
Ruby was quiet for a moment, contemplating before she took a deep breath. “Remember those hot brothers that you ran into last week?” she asked, all in one breath.
Castiel stiffened slightly. How could he forget? Ever since that day, every time he shut his eyes he saw those deep green eyes... “Yes,” he answered, trying to keep his voice void of emotion.
“I… may have gotten a date with one of them.” She smiled softly, remember the way Sam had gotten nervous, hands shaking as he reached for his phone and pressed it into her hands, asking for her number and for which night she had off that week.
Castiel's head shot up and he stared his sister in the eyes. “Oh... which one?” he asked, trying to sound nonchalant but failing miserably.
Ruby felt confused for a second before realization dawned and she pulled back, shaking her head quickly. “Oh no! No, Castiel, not the one you were preoccupied thinking about all that freaking night. The tall one, Sam.” She smiled as she said his name, relaxing back against Castiel and sighing happily. “God, Castiel… He’s just… everything. He came back to the bar tonight and I ended spending three hours with him, even though I was already out of work, and he just… listened, and wanted to hear about me and the bar and about us and Gabriel. He was nervous and cute when he asked me for my number, and I could tell he wanted to kiss me but I told him I didn’t kiss on the first date.” She laughed again, remembering the look on Sam’s face before it broke out into a huge dimpled grin. “I can see if his brother’s single, you know. I have an in.”
Castiel let out a breath he hadn't even realized he was holding as soon as Ruby said Sam's name. “He sounds like a great guy Ruby.” Castiel smiled at his sister. “He damn well better be if he wants to date my sister… but there's no need to ask him about Dean. He's, um, he's seeing someone.
“Friday night when I took my break I saw them walking together.” Castiel sighed and leaned against Ruby again, she tightened her hold on him. “I’m really happy for you though Ruby, it's been a long time since you have been this excited about someone, and I’m glad to see that beautiful smile on your face again.”
“Oh Castiel,” Ruby hugged him tightly before she pulled back and ripped the covers off of the bed. “Come on! Get up. You’re sharing supper with me and then we’re going to plan how to pick you up your own hottie, someone that will make you forget about Mr. Dean Winchester.”
Castiel sighed and got out of bed. He would have much rather spent his night curled up under the covers sulking, but he knew his sister’s determined look, and she was wearing it now. No way would she just leave and let Castiel wallow in his self pity like he wanted too. But finding a hottie to make him forget about Dean would be easier said than done. He only had one interaction with the man, and though Castiel didn’t know how the hell it was possible, Dean was under his skin, invading almost every one of his thoughts.
Ruby watched as Castiel shuffled into pajama pants and his slippers and nodded her approval when he followed her out into the kitchen. She pulled the plate out of the microwave and grabbed two sets of silverware before she pulled her brother with her to the couch, immediately plopping down beside him and draping her legs over his lap, the warm plate balancing on her knees.
“Alright,” she said, spearing a potato and popping it in her mouth, giving Castiel a pointed look until he did the same. “Today was your mental health day, tomorrow you need to do some re-con. Get yourself out there, Castiel. Maybe check out some of the other bars that aren’t yours, so you can focus on the men that spend all their time ogling you and not on work. I think Gabe has tomorrow night off… maybe the two of you should go out on the town? Meg and I will hold down the fort alright.”
Castiel sighed and just nodded, not really wanting to go out, but knowing Ruby had a point, he couldn't dream about Green-eyes forever. Especially if those green eyes were off limits…
“Dude,” Dean snorted, watching as his brother smiled while took a huge bite out of his sandwich. Sam had surprised him today, a meeting cancelled or something, and had arrived at the shop with lunch for both of them and the rest of the guys. “Either they laced that turkey with some good shit, or you got laid last night.”
“Dean!” Sam rolled his eyes, placing the sandwich back down on his plate. “Why does everything have to be about sex with you?”
Dean snorted, taking a sip of his coke before leaning back in his office chair. “Weren’t you the one telling me, what, just last week was it? That I was an adult and casual sex was a thing?” Sam shrugged his shoulders, and Dean watched him for another moment before sighing. “Alright, fine, I am sorry for assuming you got laid. Better?”
“You’re a jerk,” Sam muttered, picking up his sandwich again.
“Yeah, and you’re a bitch. Now are you going to tell me about her or are you just going to eye fuck your sandwich while you think about her?”
“Again, asshole.” Sam took another bite, chewing thoughtfully before he said, “I checked out Angel Noir last night.”
“The frou-frou bar?” Dean snorted. “I’m sure you picked up a great one there.”
“Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to judge a book by it’s cover? Seriously Dean, you’re going to have to check it out. It’s you’re kind of place.”
“Yeah, sure it is.” Dean made a point to look around the shop before settling his gaze back on Sam. “Nope, I don’t see any stupid, plastic flowers and, what’s that? Oh, that would be Metallica and not some shit from Bach.”
“Dude, when I went in all that played the entire time was the classics! I don’t know what kind of piano music you were hearing… Maybe Stairway to Heaven or something?”
“I think I would recognize Stairway to Heaven, Sammy,” Dean snorted, popping a few chips into his mouth. “So, you went into the fake frou-frou place and met a girl.”
“Yeah, she works there.” Sam was smiling again, twisting his coke in his hands. “Her name’s Ruby and, God Dean, she’s just… beautiful.” Dean smiled, watching as his brother’s entire face lit up as he talked about the woman he met, going over every boring thing they talked about, down to each one of the drinks Ruby convinced him to try before they’d left and Sam had manned up and gotten her number.
Sam continued, “I texted her good morning today, and I’ve never felt so scared in my entire life until she texted me back. We’re doing dinner tomorrow night.”
“That’s great, Sammy,” Dean said, reaching over to squeeze Sam’s arm. “I’m really happy for you.” Sam smiled, grateful and went back to eating his sandwich, eyes darting over to his phone once in awhile. As Dean watched him, he couldn’t fight the sense of relief he felt at the fact that Sam was moving on from Jess. Part of him had been worried Sam was going to shut down, refuse to think about another relationship since his and Jessica’s had failed, and it was nice to see him so openly happy about a woman again.
Sammy deserved that.
“Oh! And, Ruby’s brother is the one that owns the bar! Remember Castiel? The one that was writing out the sign?” Dean perked up at that, looking back up to meet Sam’s amused eyes.
“Um, what?” Smooth, Dean.
“You know, the one you acted like a total moron over because he was so hot he melted your brain?” Sam laughed and Dean could only imagine the expression on his face.
“Sam, I’m assuming you had a point, and I’m assuming you’re getting to it before I kick your ass.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Sam rolled his eyes. “Like I said, he’s Ruby’s brother, so, you know… I could see if I could find out some more about him. Like, oh… if he likes tall, green eyed, jerks who stumble over street signs and forget how to use proper English?”
“I did not trip over the sign!” Dean exclaimed, feeling his cheeks burning as Sam laughed harder, reaching for a chip and crunching on it with a smirk.
“Right, okay I apologize. Jerks who almost trip over street signs. Is that better, Princess?”
Dean shook his head, refusing to answer Sam. He did not make that much of a fool of himself… did he? He sucked his lower lip into his mouth, thinking back to last Friday. All he could remember was Castiel bent over in his tight jeans and then bright blue eyes and a killer smile… If he were to consider checking out the bar, tacky decor and all, he knew that there was at least one thing worth seeing inside of the bar…
“I’ll check it out sometime this week, happy?” Dean asked and Sam made a pleased sound, rushing to swallow the bite of his lunch.
“Yes! You’ll love it. But… if Ruby’s there… don’t give her a hard time, okay?”
“No promises,” Dean replied, smirking, and he was given a fistful of chips for his trouble.
Chapter Five
