Fame Crazy (Sequel to Strings Attached)

Chapter 63

It's just past noon the next day when Michael calls a family meeting. Sam and Adam offer to leave, but not only does he allow them to stay, but he actually asks them to. Everyone gathers in the living room, not quite sure if they should be excited or worried and settling on confused instead.

He can't help but smile to himself when he sees Sam and Gabriel immediately go to cuddle on the couch. If there's one thing they can always count on, it's that Sabriel will always be cute.

What's up?" Samandriel asks Michael, plopping down on floor with Adam by his side.

"Good news?" Lucifer asks hopefully.

Michael shakes his head, mentally preparing himself to speak for a moment. "No, it's, um... It's definitely not good news."

"I don't think I want to hear it, then," Gabriel remarks.

"You don't, but you have to," Michael replies. "I, uh... I got a phone call a few days ago, but I didn't want to kill the mood on Castiel's birthday, and yesterday was miserable enough as it was, but..." He takes a deep breath, clearly trying not to cry.

Lucifer hops onto the couch next to him and puts an arm around his shoulders reassuringly. "It's okay, Mike. Take your time."

Michael takes a moment to recuperate before continuing, "Okay, um... I don't know how to say this easily, so I'm just gonna come out and say it. Dad's dead."

Castiel covers his mouth with his hand to hide his soft gasp. He looks up at the ceiling in an attempt to stop any tears from falling.

"What?" Gabriel breathes.

"No, he — he can't be dead," Anna says. "He's — he's just on vacation, scouting out somewhere for his book. He's supposed to come home any day now. He's not — he can't be dead." Her voice breaks, and she buries her head in her hands, shaking as she sobs.

He noticing Claire looking around the room and seeing the same thing he does. Lucifer's holding Michael close, both of them clearly fighting back tears, but it's a losing battle. Gabriel has his face buried in Sam's chest as he cries, his boyfriend rubbing his back soothingly and whispering to him. Adam is comforting Samandriel, who's sitting with his knees to his chest, his face buried in his arms. That just leaves Castiel, Anna, and Claire by themselves.

Claire looks over at Castiel, seeming conflicted, before crawling over to Anna instead and putting an arm around her silently. Anna glances over at her, but instead of telling her to go away as she usually would, she just leans in closer.

"How'd he die?" Castiel asks, the only one to really hold it together.

"Short story? Terrorist," Michael explains.

He doesn't bother asking for the long story. There's no way Michael would be able to get through any type of story without crying, and Castiel doesn't want to push him that far. Maybe he'll ask for the major details later, but definitely not now.

Castiel glances around again at each of the duos in the room. Unsurprisingly, he's the odd one out. Right now, there's only one person he wants here with him, and that's the one person he can't have. If he can't be with the boy he loves, he'd pick an empty room over one full of people feeling equally as broken as him.

He walks out of the room without a word, ignoring the various people calling after him. He makes a beeline for his bedroom, where he just flops face first into his bed and cries in peace.

~~

The next couple days are a wave of misery. Michael takes care of everything and everyone, really stepping into his role as the new parent. He makes sure everyone takes care of themselves and he handles everything with their father.

There's no funeral for him. There's no need. There's nothing left of his body to bury — or so Michael was told. The government is doing their best to keep the ordeal under wraps, making them question how many acts of terrorism go unannounced.

Michael is the first to gather the courage to step in Chuck's office again. He brings out small things that people might like, from the original copies of all his books to the acoustic guitar he's had hiding in the corner of his room for years. It's only been two days since Michael told them the news, so it's been four days since he learned of it, but four days isn't enough for anyone to recover from a shock like this. The fact that Michael was able to look through Chuck's office without shedding a single tear is mind blowing to all of them.

No one else knows about the hours Michael spent sobbing in the privacy of his own bedroom. He loved his father; idolized him. The news hit him the hardest, and he didn't have a shoulder to cry on — and, as he learned the hard way, alcohol is not a good therapist. But none of his siblings know that now, and they never will. He's determined to play the strong adult in Chuck's absence, no matter how hard it is.

Much like after his mother Becky died, Castiel spends the majority of the next few days in his bedroom. The difference is, he doesn't just sulk this time. He spends a while mindlessly playing guitar just to pass the time. He chats with people when they talk to him first, even if his responses are generally brief and to the point.

He's mostly just trying to avoid the solemn atmosphere outside of his room. Moments like these, it's all about ambience, and the ambience out there is just... Well, it's not something he wants to spend his time in. He'd rather stay in his own little corner of the world — the only place he has any control.

~~

A/N Okay, I've done some really predictable stuff here. Like, Strings Attached was just one giant cliché for the most part. But this... I was so certain this would be a surprise to everyone, but nooooo, you got Katgoddess666 and ashten14 over there guessing exactly what was gonna happen! And here I thought I was being all surprising and stuff. *pouts*

No, but really, kudos to you two. Nicely done.