InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Sugar... bring me sugar..."

You already have everything you need. Now fight. (heavenslancer) wrote in colligo_threads,
@ 2009-12-16 20:38:00

Entry tags:

!closed, castiel, claire winchester

Who: Castiel and Claire Bennett
What: Frozen confections
When: Now
Where: Starting outside Claire's building
Rating: Low

Castiel wasted no time. He was outside Claire's building in a moment. She needed him and he was determined to waste no time. Dean had asked him to watch over her but he would have done so anyway. Claire had been a good friend, loyal and patient. He would not leave her to suffer alone when he could offer her some small comfort so he stood outside her door and waited.

He did not know what he could offer but the confection and he only knew of that from the television programmes he had been made to watch. He knew people desired it, it appeared to be helpful and he hoped it could help her now. He waited, enough money in his pocket to buy some ice cream from the corner store.

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x_clairebear_x
2009-12-16 12:46 pm UTC (link)

From the minute Dean had contacted her to tell her Priestly was gone, Claire had found it almost impossible to stop crying. Yes, she had known going into the relationship that there was always a chance one of them would wind up going back home without any warning. However she had hoped, as time progressed, that they were going to beat those odds. Being young, and in love, she had started to see a real future with him. She wanted her future to be with him. But what she wanted clearly didn't matter as, in the blink of an eye, he was gone and she was once again alone.

Of course, logically Claire knew that she wasn't actually alone. She had both friends and family in the city who cared for her. People who would do just about anything for her, with her willing to do the same in return for them. She knew that they wouldn't let her mourn the loss alone and she knew that, eventually, she would get over the pain.

Logic, however, had very little room in a heart that was broken. So while she understood all of those things to be true, she currently didn't feel that any of them were. She had meant what she said when she'd contacted Gabriel and Peter. If there was a way to erase her memory of the past few months, she would take it. Was it an extreme reaction? Of course it was. Would she regret even suggesting such a thing later? Perhaps. For now, though, the pain far outweighed everything else and she simply didn't care about the rest.

Yet Gabriel's statement that she wanted to forget that pain and not Priestly had hit a little close to home. So when Castiel - the last person in the world that she expected to contact her about any of this - suggested ice cream, Claire had jumped at the opportunity. It was hard to be sad when you were eating frozen confections, as he called them, and the fact that it was with someone who really didn't understand the complexities of most human relationships only added to the appeal.

So, after leaving a note for Anakin to inform him where she was going, Claire slipped on her shoes and made her way out of their apartment. The trip down to the main floor was an uneventful one, and Claire stepped outside into the chilly winter weather with what might almost pass for a semi-smile on her face.

It didn't reach her eyes, though. Her ability kept them from becoming too red and puffy, dried her tears almost before she could shed them, but there was nothing her healing could do for the heartache that shone in her eyes and encased her heart. She could regrow limbs but even she couldn't heal from this, that quickly.

"Hey," she greeted the angel softly as she approached him, arms wrapped tightly around her middle either to keep out the cold or to possibly keep herself from falling apart right there on the sidewalk. She wasn't sure which. Decided it didn't matter.

"Thanks, for doing this. You didn't have to."

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heavenslancer
2009-12-17 05:20 am UTC (link)

"I am aware this was optional," Castiel said, taking her polite objection literally. Castiel did not have a great deal of experience around human females but he was relatively sure this one had been crying. His skills did not extend to especially knowing how to handle that so he ignored it.

He did, however, decide that Claire was in need of some comfort. He reached out his hand and placed it on her upper arm. He didn't move it, didn't pat her, just placed it and then removed it, his expression serious.
He turned in the direction of the shops. "I'm buying," he said. Castiel had taken to using recycled lines from television programs in his speech in an effort to appear more human-like (more like Dean truth me told). While he was quite good at getting the phrases in the right context his delivery was so stiff they always sounded wrong. He, of course, didn't notice.

"Do you have a preferred location for procuring the confection?" he asked Claire as he began to walk.

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x_clairebear_x
2009-12-17 12:19 pm UTC (link)

Claire's smile was slight but sincere as Castiel placed his hand on her arm. Yes, his behavior was decidedly odd for anyone who didn't know who, and more importantly what, he was. However she'd long since come to terms with the fact that he was never going to act like a human being in all aspects. In a way, she appreciated that fact. Most people would just offer their sympathy - even if they didn't understand what she was actually going through - and that would be that.

His statement that he was paying made her blink and fall into step beside him with a bit of a start. The saying sounded decidedly odd, coming from him. Out of place and definitely unexpected. She thought of objecting but opted against it. If he wanted to pay, who was she to tell him no?

Unable to stop from smiling at his question, Claire shook her head as she kept pace beside him. "No," she answered, "I don't have any preferences." She paused, glancing at him for a long moment, before finally asking rather suddenly herself, "Castiel, did Dean ask you to do this?"

Not that she'd be angry if he had. It seemed like something Dean would do. However she wasn't going to force him to take her for ice cream if it was all Dean's idea. Because while Castiel had said that his decision was an optional one, if Dean had asked him, it really wasn't fully optional. Not for him, at least. Not when it came to Dean.

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heavenslancer
2009-12-17 02:42 pm UTC (link)

Castiel frowned a little. Her lack of preference left her with a problem. He was not overly sure where to procure ice cream. That left the option of walking through the city until they chanced across a place that both sold it and made that fact obvious. He walked on in hope.

They walked in silence for a little was before she asked about Dean. "Dean expressed concern for you and relayed that concern for you. He suggested I watch over you." He paused. "He did not suggest I take you to eat." He did not really understand the question but he suspected it had something to do with the fact she doubted he wished to be there. He did.

Castiel did not notice the cold that bit the skin of the passers-by. He was not concerned by the ice water in his shoes. He scanned the shop fronts for some clue as to what they sold. There were plenty vending shoes, handbags, loud music that baffled Castiel. Some for chocolate and clothing and one for food. Then, tucked between a chocolatier and a tobacconists there was a milk bar. As there was a painting of an icecream on the window Castiel thought the question begged to be asked. "Will this be suitable?"

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x_clairebear_x
2009-12-17 08:27 pm UTC (link)

Although Claire was aware that it was cold outside, and had dressed appropriately, she didn't feel the sting of the wind against her cheeks or the bite of the chill in the air in her fingers or toes. Pain wasn't something she processed anymore. At least, not physical pain. Emotional pain she clearly still felt. That was the whole reason for this little outing, after all.

She frowned lightly at Castiel's answer about Dean. So he had asked Castiel to watch over her? Claire knew she should be insulted by that fact. It wasn't as though she could be hurt - not even self-inflicted. However she was far more touched by the gesture than she was anything else. It was sweet, and made her feel extremely grateful that Dean was still there and a part of her life.

At least until he gets sent back too.

Claire tried to ignore the nasty thought as it flickered through her mind, but she knew that it was right. Eventually, Dean would go home. They all would. Except for her. The more time that passed, the more she was starting to think she was going to be stuck there forever. Literally forever too, considering she couldn't age or die.

Castiel's question returned her to the here and now and she banished the sour thoughts from her mind. Glancing up, unsure when exactly her gaze had fallen to her own feet as she walked, she eyed the shop he'd found. It certainly looked like an ice cream shop.

With a small, sad smile, she nodded. "This works," she agreed in a deceptively light tone. Pulling her hands out of her pockets, she reached for the door and opened it. "If you're paying, you can go first," she stated with a light grin. It didn't quite reach her eyes, but she was trying. That was the best she could manage for the time being.

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heavenslancer
2009-12-19 05:59 am UTC (link)

Castiel entered the shop, looking around, trying to establish exactly what it sold and what he might wish to purchase. Castiel had had ice cream once before. It had had chocolate pieces in it and it had been brought to him by Aziraphale. He did not know where his brother had obtained it or what to ask for to get it again. He did know it had been pleasant to taste, had been soft against his tongue. He did not know of it would have the power to make Claire feel any better but something so pleasing could not make her feel worse, surely.

He hovered by the counter.
"What would you like sugar?" the woman behind the counter asked.

"Ice cream," Castiel said, and that was all.

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x_clairebear_x
2009-12-19 06:12 am UTC (link)

Most would probably be at least vaguely embarrassed at Castiel's off-putting mannerisms and speech patterns. Claire, however, found it endearing. So while she was still sad at the own crappy things going on in her life, she couldn't help but smile as she stepped up beside him and glanced at the various types of ice cream that were listed.

Ignoring the somewhat baffled look from the woman working the counter, Claire simply glanced at Castiel.

"What kind have you had before?" she asked. It was a total assumption that he'd even tried ice cream before, of course, but if he'd suggested it she could only guess that he must have tasted it at least once. Of course, that didn't mean he knew what the type was called by name, so for further prompting she added, "What did it have in it?"

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heavenslancer
2009-12-19 06:47 am UTC (link)

"Pieces of chocolate," he said. "It was white," he added helpfully.
He peered into the glass case, looking along the rows of ice cream tubs labelled with odd names like Old English Toffee and Peppermint cream. They told him little. He looked to Claire. "Can you identify it from that description?" he asked seriously.

He did not mind what he was given. He would try it if Claire thought it was worth trying. He saw a couple digging into the contents of a tall glass, cream and ice cream and tiny umbrellas protruded from the top. He stared at it intently.

He started over towards the couple.

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x_clairebear_x
2009-12-20 04:36 am UTC (link)

White, with pieces of chocolate. Claire paused, studying the various options available with a thoughtful look. The two immediate flavors that came to mind were mint chocolate chip, with white-colored mint flavored ice cream rather than green obviously, and just plain chocolate chip ice cream. Turning her gaze back to Castiel, she was all set to ask him if the ice cream had tasted minty or not - hoping that he would at least know what mint actually tasted like - only to find he was no longer standing beside her.

"What the-" A glance at the cashier had the woman nodding wearily in another direction. Claire turned in time to see Castiel moving toward a couple in the corner. Her eyes widened and she quickly moved after him.

"Hey," she said as casually as she could manage, while sliding her arm through his and doing her best to turn him back toward the counter, "let's figure out what to order so this lady can get back to what she was doing, okay? Now, was the ice cream minty tasting or did it taste like vanilla?"

Please let him at least know what one of those two taste like, she thought to herself, while managing to keep the smile on her face and her arm linked with Castiel's in the hope it would deter him from wandering off to bother strangers again.

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heavenslancer
2009-12-21 05:41 am UTC (link)

Castiel was about half-way to the back wall before he felt Claire's arm in his. He turned back towards her automatically. She seemed in a hurry to order and so he returned to the counter with her. Unfortunately he was no closer to establishing what it was he may like. He thought of letting Claire chose and simple ordering the same for himself when she asked him a question about his sole ice cream experience.

Castiel thought for a moment, his eyes looking upwards. He seemed to be listening to something Claire couldn't hear. "Mint," he said confidently after a moment. He looked down at Claire's arm, still linked with his. He didn't pull away, just stared as if he couldn't quite understand why it was there and hoped that if he kept looking at it it would either do something comprehensible or go away.

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x_clairebear_x
2009-12-21 06:16 am UTC (link)

Mint. Okay. That made the decision a lot easier, a fact which she had every intention of telling him... until she noticed the look he was giving her arm. Realizing that she must have somehow inadvertently crossed some invisible line that she wasn't even aware had existed, she slid her arm out of his.

"Mint chocolate chip," she said, voice purposefully a bit lighter than she definitely was feeling. Much less embarrassed sounding than she was at the moment, as well. "Do you want it in a bowl or on a cone?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, she wanted to take them back. If he wasn't sure what kind of ice cream he had before, she was willing to bet that he wouldn't have the first clue about the differences between bowls and cones, either. However, on the off chance that he would know the difference or would at least hazard a guess without wandering away again, she didn't bother cutting him off and answering for him. She simply stood there and hoped for the best.

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heavenslancer
2009-12-22 11:55 am UTC (link)

Castiel heard something called mint chocolate chip. He wondered of it was what he had described to her. He did not mind having it again. It had been pleasant but apparently it was not enough to simply order the ice cream. Apparently you also had to specify how you would like it presented. Castiel thought for a moment.

"It was in a bowl, last time," Castiel offered. Claire seemed interested in his previous experience, after all. He had no first-hand experience of cones but he could guess from what that was painted on the wall behind the counter that was what she meant. They certainly resembled the geometric shape. They seemed to be unstable, however, with all the weight being on the top.

He looked around the little parlour again.

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x_clairebear_x
2009-12-27 06:55 pm UTC (link)

Okay. Mint chocolate chip in a bowl. That seemed easy enough. And if he'd had it before, and liked it, he would like it a second time. Because while Claire was of the personal opinion that people should try all sorts of flavors of ice cream, she knew that Castiel was hardly a person and she wasn't sure how well he might react to some of the other flavors. So it was best to play it safe.

Smiling, she nodded and stepped up to the counter. The woman working there eyed her warily, but seemed a little more relieved when Claire finally decided to order.

"I'll have two scoops of mint chocolate chip in a bowl, and two scoops of-" She hesitated. In her haste to discover Castiel's preference, she hadn't really decided on her own just yet. A quick glance at the selection and she settled on, "Rocky road on a cone, please."

The woman nodded and rang up the purchases. Once she'd stated the total, Claire started to reach into her purse for her wallet before remembering Castiel had insisted he was going to pay. With an apologetic smile at the now exasperated clerk, she glanced over her shoulder at Castiel expectantly.

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heavenslancer
2009-12-31 06:54 am UTC (link)

Castiel’s eyes had been wandering around the little room, reading the lists on the walls, looking at the colourful paintings. He only looked back at Claire when she had finished ordering and even then he hesitated. Why was she looking at him like that? He looked at her and then at the store owner and at the till. It was then it occurred to him what they were waiting for. He pulled a ten dollar note from his pocket and handed it to the owner.

She rung up the purchase and handed Castiel the change before distributing the ice cream. Castiel took his over to an empty table by the wall and sat down. He looked up at Claire, expecting her to join him. He lifted the plastic spoon and poked at the ice cream, slowly worked the spoon into it before working a little free and putting it in his mouth..

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