Bouquet

Chapter Three

Over the next few weeks, Dean continued to go to the flower shop, getting bouquets for any and all kinds of occasion. He came in at least once a week, which quickly became Castiel's favorite part of work.

Throughout his visits, Castiel had learned more and more about him. He had a brother who was going to school for law, who he talked about like a saint. His car, a '67 Impala, was his pride and joy. He loved pie. Classic rock was his favorite kind of music. Of all the things Castiel learned, where he lived, his number, and the name of the mechanic's place that he worked weren't any of them. Each time Dean came in, though, he would hope that Dean would let some offhand comment slip about one of those things, and provide Castiel with a way to seek him out rather than waiting for him to show up at the flower shop.

Gabriel kept giving Castiel suggestions to ask Dean out, none of which were very good. Some of them weren't even legal. Unfortunately, they were the best ideas that either of them had, so he was stuck waiting for Dean to show up, rather than following him home, then holding him at gunpoint until he agreed to go on a date with him.

Fridays were usually very quiet, which Castiel liked. They were also shorter- they opened later and closed early. And, best of all, their last customer was usually Dean, which meant that they could talk for as long as they wanted.

On that particular Friday, it was pouring rain, which meant business was slower than usual. That meant he and Gabriel had had plenty of time to talk, and Gabriel hadn't given up on getting Castiel to do something illegal to ask Dean out.

"I mean, honestly. What could go wrong?"

Castiel sighed. "I'm not a computer hacker. I couldn't hack into a government website if I wanted to. Even if I could, it would be sloppy since I'm not experienced, and then I would be arrested."

"Fair enough," Gabriel shrugged. "Maybe you should kidnap his brother and hold him hostage until Dean-o agrees."

"Sam is in California."

"Minor problem."

"Kidnapping is illegal."

"So? Just don't get caught." Gabriel pulled out a piece of hard candy from his pocket. "Or if you're so against doing illegal stuff, just ask him out the next time he shows up."

"Eat that in the back room, Gabriel."

Gabriel sighed dramatically, then headed for the back room.

The rest of the day passed, thankfully, without any more talk of Gabriel's plots. Ten minutes before closing, the bell above the door rang, and Dean walked in.

He looked like he had climbed out of a lake- his clothes and hair were drenched, and he grumbled, "You need better parking."

Castiel nodded. "We'd need a better building," he said. "One that actually has a parking lot."

"It would be a good investment," Dean said. "Preferably before the next time it pours."

Castiel gave him a small smile. "No promises. How's Sam?"

Dean brightened up a little. "He's good. Actually, he's top of his class in law." It was impossible to miss the pride in his voice when he told Castiel, "Some guy actually asked about giving him a job, from one of the big law firms."

"That's great," Castiel said, "What did he say about that?"

"He's keeping it in mind. Jess thinks he should take it, but he wants to wait until he's done with school."