Love Bruises
Socks
It’s not until Thanksgiving break that Cas begins to wonder if something might be really wrong with the Winchesters.
After all the residents have cleared out the dorms, he and Meg do a quick spot-check of all the rooms before leaving for the long weekend. Meg takes the east side and he takes the west. Thankfully neither encounter any serious infractions (though Meg needs to have a talk with Anna about those candles), but Cas comes across a disturbing sight in the Winchesters' room.
“Bare Bones” doesn't even begin to describe the state of their room. Aside from a few textbooks and school supplies, the room is practically empty. Each bed holds a singular pillow and a ratty throw blanket. Their chest of drawers seem vacant and even the closets look mostly unused. The walls are bare, with the exception of some pictures Sam must have stuck to the door. It’s all photos taken on campus. Photos of Anna and Ruby, Garth and Abbie, Manny and Zeke. There’s even a couple of Cas himself and Meg - both dressed in goofy, homemade costumes at the Halloween bazaar.
There’s an eerie sense of emptiness that leaks out of the room. It gnaws at the pit of Cas’ stomach and he somehow feels guilty because of it. On his way out the door, he presses his fingers to the one framed picture in the room - two kids (Sam and Dean?) and a man and woman who must be their parents.
Over the long weekend, Cas chews on the Winchester dilemma. He wonders where the boys are this holiday as he pushes his own brother off the top bunk. As he savors his dad’s homemade Eskimo pie, he wonders what Dean’s eating and who’s feeding it to him.
When he goes with his Dad to the local Walmart for some heavier winter gear, he wonders how the Winchesters plan to endure a harsh winter with just a small blanket for comfort. Under his dad’s critical gaze, he picks up a few extra heavy comforters, sheet sets, and pillows to take back to campus with him.
The morning he’s set to make his way back to school, he wakes up to the first new bruise in nearly four months. He smiles mildly at the reminder, wondering what this crazy boy has gotten himself into now.
Armed with the new bedding and a few other items he pilfered from the linen closet back home, Cas plans to arrive back at school ahead of the crowd. He hits the student lot a little before noon and notices (with some trepidation) that the Winchesters' beat up Impala already sits in the best spot. Welp, he thinks, There goes my plans.
He stands in front of one of the halls side entrances trying to slide his ID to open the lock, when Sam comes bounding out, nearly hitting him in the face in the process.
“Ho shit, Cas!” he says, grabbing for the bag Cas has almost dropped. “Didn't see you there. You're back early.”
Cas nods, picking up his other suitcase, and follows Sam inside. “Yeah, needed to get away from my step mom,” he lies, “She’s kind of overbearing.”
Sam just raises his eyebrows but doesn’t respond otherwise.
Cas is, and always has been, a quick thinker, so as an opportunity presents itself, he takes it. “Give me a hand with my stuff?” he asks, moving further down the hall, leaving Sam little choice but to follow. As they walk to his room, he keeps talking.
“Winter’s coming soon,” he says, “So she’s packed me with a shitton of extra blankets and shit. I don’t even know where I'm going to put this stuff.”
As they get to Cas’ door, he drops his luggage to search for his keys. “Hey,” he says, the picture of nonchalance, “Any chance you and Dean could use some extra linen?” - he smiles like he’s almost embarrassed, as he opens the door. -“I might be able to get Meg to take some of these off my hands, but maybe you want first dibs?”
Sam watches as Cas starts emptying the bag onto his bed and a pile of sheets cascade out, revealing thick fleece blankets and pillows. It's hard to imagine his linen-abundance dilemma as anything but genuine.
“Uh, wow,” Sam says, eyes opened wide, “That’s kind of crazy. Your mom...huh?”
“Step-mom,” Cas corrects, genuinely blushing because maybe he did go overboard, “But you see what I mean, right?”
In a flurry, Cas starts plucking up stuff from his bed and stacking them high in Sam’s arms. “Here. Take these. Give some to your brother.” He grabs a bag of socks and places them on the pile. “Take these too. And tell anyone else if they need blankets or socks, come see me.”
He ushers Sam out of the room before he can really think on it. And once the door is closed, makes to clean up the mess he’s just made of his room.
After all the residents have cleared out the dorms, he and Meg do a quick spot-check of all the rooms before leaving for the long weekend. Meg takes the east side and he takes the west. Thankfully neither encounter any serious infractions (though Meg needs to have a talk with Anna about those candles), but Cas comes across a disturbing sight in the Winchesters' room.
“Bare Bones” doesn't even begin to describe the state of their room. Aside from a few textbooks and school supplies, the room is practically empty. Each bed holds a singular pillow and a ratty throw blanket. Their chest of drawers seem vacant and even the closets look mostly unused. The walls are bare, with the exception of some pictures Sam must have stuck to the door. It’s all photos taken on campus. Photos of Anna and Ruby, Garth and Abbie, Manny and Zeke. There’s even a couple of Cas himself and Meg - both dressed in goofy, homemade costumes at the Halloween bazaar.
There’s an eerie sense of emptiness that leaks out of the room. It gnaws at the pit of Cas’ stomach and he somehow feels guilty because of it. On his way out the door, he presses his fingers to the one framed picture in the room - two kids (Sam and Dean?) and a man and woman who must be their parents.
Over the long weekend, Cas chews on the Winchester dilemma. He wonders where the boys are this holiday as he pushes his own brother off the top bunk. As he savors his dad’s homemade Eskimo pie, he wonders what Dean’s eating and who’s feeding it to him.
When he goes with his Dad to the local Walmart for some heavier winter gear, he wonders how the Winchesters plan to endure a harsh winter with just a small blanket for comfort. Under his dad’s critical gaze, he picks up a few extra heavy comforters, sheet sets, and pillows to take back to campus with him.
The morning he’s set to make his way back to school, he wakes up to the first new bruise in nearly four months. He smiles mildly at the reminder, wondering what this crazy boy has gotten himself into now.
Armed with the new bedding and a few other items he pilfered from the linen closet back home, Cas plans to arrive back at school ahead of the crowd. He hits the student lot a little before noon and notices (with some trepidation) that the Winchesters' beat up Impala already sits in the best spot. Welp, he thinks, There goes my plans.
He stands in front of one of the halls side entrances trying to slide his ID to open the lock, when Sam comes bounding out, nearly hitting him in the face in the process.
“Ho shit, Cas!” he says, grabbing for the bag Cas has almost dropped. “Didn't see you there. You're back early.”
Cas nods, picking up his other suitcase, and follows Sam inside. “Yeah, needed to get away from my step mom,” he lies, “She’s kind of overbearing.”
Sam just raises his eyebrows but doesn’t respond otherwise.
Cas is, and always has been, a quick thinker, so as an opportunity presents itself, he takes it. “Give me a hand with my stuff?” he asks, moving further down the hall, leaving Sam little choice but to follow. As they walk to his room, he keeps talking.
“Winter’s coming soon,” he says, “So she’s packed me with a shitton of extra blankets and shit. I don’t even know where I'm going to put this stuff.”
As they get to Cas’ door, he drops his luggage to search for his keys. “Hey,” he says, the picture of nonchalance, “Any chance you and Dean could use some extra linen?” - he smiles like he’s almost embarrassed, as he opens the door. -“I might be able to get Meg to take some of these off my hands, but maybe you want first dibs?”
Sam watches as Cas starts emptying the bag onto his bed and a pile of sheets cascade out, revealing thick fleece blankets and pillows. It's hard to imagine his linen-abundance dilemma as anything but genuine.
“Uh, wow,” Sam says, eyes opened wide, “That’s kind of crazy. Your mom...huh?”
“Step-mom,” Cas corrects, genuinely blushing because maybe he did go overboard, “But you see what I mean, right?”
In a flurry, Cas starts plucking up stuff from his bed and stacking them high in Sam’s arms. “Here. Take these. Give some to your brother.” He grabs a bag of socks and places them on the pile. “Take these too. And tell anyone else if they need blankets or socks, come see me.”
He ushers Sam out of the room before he can really think on it. And once the door is closed, makes to clean up the mess he’s just made of his room.
♠ ♠ ♠
[07.10.2015] Sorry. I accidentally posted the fifth chapter instead of the fourth earlier. So if you read the earlier chapter four, you missed one!This is the real chapter four.