At the Right Time

Genre: AU, pre-Destiel
Characters: Castiel, Dean, Sam, Crowley, Meg, Balthazar
Summary: Castiel is just going through the motions anymore. Then comes a photo shoot at Winchester Farms...
Note: This is for the model!Cas square on my SPN AU & Trope Bingo card
Tags: modeling, horses, Dean to the Rescue, romance, meet-cute

At the Right Time

"But I don't know anything about horses!" Cas complained, eyeing the horses by the fence with concern. The makeup artist fluttering about him tsked at him to hold still.

"And if I were asking you to deliver a letter by Pony Express, that would be a problem. As it is, all you have to do is shut up, sit on it, and look pretty enough to sell ... what the hell are we selling today?" Crowley snapped his fingers insistently and Meg appeared.

"Cologne, I think," she answered, shuffling through papers.

Crowley's attention had already shifted. "No, no, no!" he shouted at someone as he strode across the paddock. "That's completely wrong for this shot. Are you a total and complete imbecile?"

Meg flipped him the bird, then turned back to Castiel. "You'll be fine, Castiel. You get up, you sit, you smile, it'll be over." She patted Cas on the shoulder, adding, "And undo another button on the shirt."

Fingers - not his own - were unbuttoning his shirt as she spoke. Hands were on his face, in his hair, and he just stood there, letting them turn him this way and that, eyeing him critically, consulting each other about his hair, his clothes. He tried to tune it all out, tried to ignore the feeling that he was nothing more than a posable doll, but that had been getting harder to do lately. The excitement he had felt in the early days of modeling had faded long ago. But this was his job, after all, and he was being well compensated for it. Even the paychecks however had a hard time making up for the empty feeling these shoots were leaving him with.

He needed a break, maybe even permanent retirement. He knew that; he just couldn't find the right time to make the move.

Being on the horse wasn't as bad as he had feared. The animal was big, certainly, but there was a certain euphoria he felt sitting astride it. Maybe he would have to think about taking lessons someday.

"Cassie, love, stop looking down at the horse," Balthazar shouted. "Your public wants to see those lovely bedroom eyes. I don't want Dr. Doolittle. I want sinful, smouldering sex!"

Cas looked up, smouldered for the camera, and Balthazar made slightly less displeased noises. Behind him, Crowley was yelling at an intern who was headed to the decrepit old staff car. To their left, Cas could see a man riding up on a black horse. He started to wonder if the new guy was another model for the shoot or an employee of the stables when a sharp sound echoed through the air around them, and the previously docile horse under Castiel startled ... and sprinted away.

He could hear people yelling behind him, but all Cas could do was grab onto the reins and hold on for dear life. He thanked whoever looked out for foolish models that the gate was open and that the horse made right for it instead of trying to jump the fence. He lost track of time - surely it had only been a few minutes at most, but it somehow felt both instantaneous and interminable before there was a horse beside him.

It was the black horse - definitely not another model then, Cas thought hysterically - as the rider paced his horse, angling it to gently off its course, whistling and making other apparently calming sounds. The horse Cas was on started slowing to an easy jog, then a walk, and eventually stopped.

Cas sat as still as possible, trying to remember how to breathe.

"Are you all right?" Cas looked over at his rescuer and found the greenest eyes he had ever seen staring at him in concern.

"I ... yes, I think I am." His heart was racing and he felt sore all over, but he was in one piece. "Thank you, um..."

"Dean Winchester," the stranger said with an easy smile - as if saving stray models from runaway horses was no big deal. "This is my family's farm."

Cas deliberately unclenched his hands from their death grip on the reins, rubbing at the grooves across his palms.

"I am really sorry about this. They were supposed to put you up on Foxtrot, he's a real gentleman. But apparently not as photogenic as Whiskey here." Dean leaned forward and patted the horse's neck soothingly. "She's a good girl, but still a little skittish. Unfortunately, when the snooty guy in the suit insisted on the switch, I was up at the house, and the groom on site wasn't quite able to stand up to him."

"I quite understand. Crowley can be ..."

"A dick?"

Cas laughed. "To put it succinctly."

"Hmmm. People usually just say I'm an ass. I think I like succinct better." He looked back the way they had come. "So, it's not too far back to your people. You want to ride, or walk?

"Walk, please," Cas responded with conviction.

Dean dismounted with an obscene grace and walked over to Cas, holding a hand out to help him off his horse. He took the reins from both horses in his hand and motioned for Cas to walk with him.

"You been riding long?"

Cas almost looked around to see who Dean was talking to. "No, I've never ridden a horse before."

Dean whistled, impressed. "I'm really damn impressed that you stayed up, then. You've got a great seat."

"Sheer survival instinct," Cas replied.

"Well, it works for you, Cas," Dean laughed.

Cas tilted his head looked over at Dean. "You know my name?"

Dean's eyes widened, and a flush spread across his face. "Oh, uh. Well... yeah. I mean, you're pretty well-known. I musta just picked it up somewhere. But, sorry, I mean we haven't even been actually introduced and I'm using your nickname and -"

"It's fine, Dean. I think saving me from a runaway horse entitles you to a little familiarity." Not to mention the way Cas's heart had jumped just a little at the sound of Dean's voice forming his name. It had been a long time since he'd felt anything like that. He definitely wanted Dean to keep talking. He wondered if it would be too forward to ask Dean out for coffee

"You grew up here?"

"Yep." Dean beamed as he looked around. "I love this place. Been in my family for a few generations now. Can't imagine any place more beautiful. Or more peaceful."

Cas looked over the rolling green pastures up to the tree-shaded mountains in the distance. Unseen birds chirped and chattered. It was peaceful, and beautiful, and so alive.

"'Course it's probably nothing next to what you've seen. All over the country, hell, even the world. You must have seen some really amazing things.

"My life is probably not as glamorous as you might think. There are times ... "

He sighed when he realized they were almost back to the main paddock, where a crowd of people was waiting. Balthazar was right in front, snapping away as they approached.

"You, cowboy!" Crowley's voice rang out. "You need to come sign these papers."

Dean frowned. "I've already signed everything."

"We need permission to use your image in the campaign."

"What?" Cas asked.

"What?" Dean echoed.

"The two of you walking back. The mountains, the sun, the horses - just perfect, darling." Balthazar practically purred. "He'll sign, right? These pictures are magic! It would be a travesty not to use them."

Meg thrust a sheaf of papers and a pen in front of a bemused Dean.

He glanced at them briefly, then yelled, "Hey Sammy!"

A tall, handsome man walked over and Balthazar jabbed Castiel in the ribs. "Are all horsemen were this sexy?" He looked between Dean and 'Sammy.' "Why didn't anyone tell me?"

Dean glared at Balthazar. "Dude. Not cool. This is my brother, Sam Winchester. He's a lawyer." He shoved the papers into Sam's hand. "Read this and tell me if I'm signing my soul away. I've got to go take care of Whiskey." He turned to Crowley. "Any other pictures you want, you take on Foxtrot. End of story." He pivoted on his heel and led the two horses away before Cas had a chance to say anything else.

Everyone stood there watching as Dean disappeared into the stable. Then Crowley barked, "What's everyone standing around for? Let's get back to it, people!"

Although Cas kept an eye out through the rest of the shoot, he didn't see Dean again. Crowley disappeared for a while and came back looking pretty satisfied, so Cas assumed that Dean had signed the release paperwork.

When they started packing up, Cas found himself lingering much longer than he normally would after a shoot: half hoping Dean would turn up, and half trying to absorb as much of the living energy of the area as possible.

"Something I can help you with, Clarence?"

Meg looked entirely too amused when Castiel turned to face her. "No, thank you, Meg. I'm just enjoying the feel of this place."

"Sure. This ... place ... is quite attractive." She nodded over his shoulder. "Hey there, Dean."

Cas narrowed his eyes, unsure if she was baiting him or not, until he heard Dean's voice. "Meg. Cas, I was hoping to catch you."

"Well, you almost missed him. Last car's about to leave, Castiel. You do have a flight to catch."

"I'll just be a minute, Meg."

She pursed her lips, then threw her hands up in the air. "One minute, Castiel. You miss your flight, Crowley will feed me to his dogs." She stalked over to the car and leaned against the side. At Cas's glare, she at least pretended to divert her attention to her phone.

"Dean," he said warmly as he turned back to find him shuffling nervously.

"So, yeah, don't wanna make you late. It's not ... Just, y'know, if you ever just want to take a break, we've got a couple of guest rooms up at the house. You'd be welcome to come hang around. I could even give you some riding lessons." He coughed abruptly. "Horses. Ride horses. Lessons for riding horses. You know what? Never mind. This was such a bad idea." His face was flaming red as he took a step away from Cas.

Cas stepped forward until he was well within Dean's personal space. "Not a bad idea. A very, very good idea."

Dean's eyes lit up and a soft smile curved his lips.

"That's great, then. Um..." He dug a business card out of his pocket and held it up between them. "Stable's info on the front, my personal cell is on the back. Anytime you're free."

"I'll have to check my commitments, but I would like to come back as soon as possible."

"Works for me."

Dean licked his lips as Cas stepped so close they were almost touching. For a moment, they stood still, watching each other. Then they were kissing - Cas couldn't tell to save his life who had ultimately made the move - a soft, almost tentative, press of lips that he felt in his very core. Before he got more than the faintest taste, a car horn beeped.

He pulled back to see Meg looking almost genuinely apologetic. She tapped her wrist.

"You gotta go," Dean murmured.

"I will be back."

Not trusting himself to allow only one more kiss, he stepped back, taking the card from Dean's hand and nodding. He looked back once he had settled himself in the car to see Dean still watching and waved. As the car drove away, he pulled out his phone and entered Dean's phone number before he began composing an email to Crowley instructing him to decline any new jobs for the time being.

It was definitely time to take a break.