Innocence (AO3)

Requested by jensen-fuckles

Prompt: (#193 - INNOCENCE) Dean is driving home from work, when a milkshake hits his car. Maybe he’s a little out of line with the hasty arrest, but so what? Nobody touches his baby.

“You need a ride home, Benny?” Dean asked his partner, jangling the keys to the Impala. It had been a long shift, but eventually they were free to go home and relax, and there was a crate of beer and a slice of apple pie with Dean’s name on it.

Benny shook his head. “Thanks chief, but I got Andrea comin’ to meet me. We’re goin’ out for dinner later. Gonna take her to that fancy restaurant across town. Got a reservation at lunch. Seems most people will bend over backwards for a cop,” he chuckled.

Grinning, Dean shook his head. “I’d quote the morality of abusing your position, but it’s not like I wouldn’t do the same thing in your shoes. Go wine and dine your lady, Lafitte, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He wasn’t jealous at all that Benny had someone to share his nights with. After Lisa had filed for divorce, Dean was glad to have some time to himself. Of course, that had been nearly two years ago, and he wasn’t fooling himself anymore let alone anyone else. But what was he meant to do? Every date he’d gone on had ended quickly as soon as they found out what he did for a living. Nobody wanted to date a cop, long hours, dangerous, and not that great pay.

No, Dean was happy on his own. Beer, pie, Star Wars marathon and he was set. There was no better way to spend an evening.

Clapping Benny on the shoulder, he headed out of the precinct. He was in a pretty good mood today, glad his shift was over and with the indulgent evening ahead of him.  He might even pick up a pizza on the way home, double pepperoni and sausage, with extra cheese. Dean practically drooled at the thought of it, and hurried to unlock his car.

He was in no rush, content to let his baby purr her way to the nearest pizza place, the sounds of Led Zeppelin filling his car. Pulling up at the stop sign, Dean drummed his fingers on the wheel.

THWACK!

“What the –!” Dean cursed as his windscreen was suddenly covered in white goop, blinding his view to the road. He cut the engine and got out of the car, looking at the milkshake cup on the floor, to his baby’s windshield in disbelief. Wheeling around, his eyes narrowed, he spotted a dark haired guy legging it down the sidewalk.

“Hey!” Dean bellowed, slamming his car door shut and flashing his badge at the honking cars behind as he gave chase. Either the guy didn’t hear him, or he had no intention of stopping, because Dean was forced to run full pelt towards him, catching him at the corner of the block. “You picked the wrong car, pal, you’re under arrest.”

The guy stared at him in alarm, his blue eyes wide, and he yanked his headphones out as Dean fished out the handcuffs. “What? What did I do?”

“Don’t blame dumb, you know exactly what you did!” Dean snapped at him, manhandling the man over to his car. “This, you asswipe!”

The man stared at the milkshake blankly. “I didn’t do that. I swear, officer, it wasn’t me. You’ve got the wrong guy.”

Dean glared. “Uh huh,” he told him sarcastically. “And you just happened to be running away from the scene? I didn’t see anyone else around, did you?”

“With all due respect, officer, you couldn’t see much with that crap all over your windshield,” the guy muttered.

A wiseass. That was all Dean needed to deal with, now he was going to have to cart this guy back to the precinct and that would put a delay on his pizza. He probably wouldn’t have time to watch all three Star Wars movies before passing out. He needed his four hours before his next shift, after all.

“Dean? You’ve got the wrong guy!” Kevin Tran, a guy Dean knew well because he lived in the house across the road from his own, came running over. “I was in the video game store, it was a couple of kids that threw the milkshake.”

Dean knew Kevin had no reason to lie, and he deflated. “Then why was he running away?”

“Because I run for a hobby!” The guy snapped, his blue eyes dark with anger. “I sit behind a desk all day, so I like to get some exercise when I’m done for the day. I’m dressed in running gear, for goodness sake!”

Holding back a wince, Dean let the guy go, pocketing his handcuffs and giving him an awkward smile. “No harm done?”

It didn’t seem like the runner agreed, from the sour look on his face. “There’s plenty of harm done. I want your badge number and I intend to take this up with your chief at the earliest opportunity.”

With a begrudging sigh, Dean handed out the information, watching the guy turn around and stomp off. He thanked Kevin and got back into his car, turning on the wipers.

It definitely put him in a foul mood. Instead of spending his evening with pizza and a movie, he ended up having to wash the Impala from top to bottom, just to make sure there was no milkshake left. By the time Dean went to bed, he’d wasted the whole night fuming about disrespectful kids and douchebag runners.

He’d forgotten all about the guy he’d almost arrested when he got into work the next day, and it wasn’t until the chief called him into his office the next afternoon that he remembered everything that had happened the previous day.

“There’s a Castiel Novak in reception, he wants to speak to you. Says something about a wrongful arrest over a milkshake?”

Dean groaned and buried his head in his hand. “Some kids threw a milkshake over my windshield when I was on my way home yesterday. I got out the car, saw this Novak guy and tried to arrest him. So I got a little pissy, it’s my car! C’mon, boss, don’t haul me over the coals for this,” he complained.

Victor chuckled, shaking his head. “You go and apologize to the guy, make sure he’s satisfied with his apology, grovel a little, and I won’t tell the boys. Otherwise your car might be covered in milkshake every day,” he added slyly, when it looked like Dean was about to argue back.

Grumbling, Dean stomped through to reception, plastering an amiable smile on his face. He expected to see the same sweaty dark haired guy, in jogging shorts. Instead, a dark haired man in a fitted black suit with a blue tie and artfully tousled dark hair got up instead. Dean felt his mouth go dry and he looked him up and down. Was this really the same douche from yesterday?

“You look different,” he muttered, before clearing his throat. “Uh, Mr. Novak, I wanted to apologize for what happened yesterday. I got a little touchy because my baby… uh, my car is important to me and I possibly may have jumped the gun a little.”

Castiel smiled, and his eyes crinkled. He inclined his head. “Castiel, please. And I may have been a little hasty in my decision to complain to your boss. I didn’t, by the way. I told him the story but said I didn’t want to take it any further. I just figured it might make you sweat a little if you knew I was here. Call it payback.”

Blindsided by the easy apology, Dean smiled back, taking the joke for what it was and inclining his head. “I suppose I deserved that. Although I maintain I already got my payback from cleaning my baby instead of curling up with a copy of Star Wars and a pizza.”

“Sounds like a good night. Although I’ve never seen Star Wars, but my brother says it’s good,” Castiel admitted, sheepishly, running a hand through his hair, which went from artfully tousled to total sex hair in one movement.

Dean swallowed. “They’re good movies. You should watch them sometime. Uh, I didn’t mean with me, I just meant, um, I should probably get back to work. I’m sorry again.” He mumbled, thinking he was destined for another complaint if this guy thought he was hitting on him. Which he definitely wasn’t. So he was cute when he wasn’t all red-faced and sweaty and accused of throwing a milkshake over baby. Dean wasn’t blind. He was just… admiring him.

Castiel raised an eyebrow and shrugged. “Of course,” he said softly. “You probably have some milkshake fiends to arrest. I hope you have a good day, Officer.”

“Dean. Uh, Officer Dean Winchester. I know your name, I figured you should know mine.” Dean rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, giving Castiel a sheepish smile.

The smile returned, and so did the piercing blue gaze. “Dean. I might give those movies a try tonight,” he paused and his smile widened. “Just a hypothetical question. If I do watch Star Wars, do I need to watch them with the volume up loud to appreciate them? I mean, what if my neighbour calls the cops?” He asked innocently.

Unable to help himself, Dean found himself sporting a matching grin as he recognized what Castiel was trying to say. “I’m not sure, Cas, I think it would be much easier to give me your address and then I can come around and check it to make sure it’s not too loud. Wouldn’t want someone to complain after all. I might have to arrest you again.”

Castiel’s eyes glinted and he pulled a pen and a business card from his pocket, scrawling down his details on the back, before pressing it into Dean’s hand.

“I can think of a better use for those handcuffs. But we might have to get through all six movies first.” He teased. “Call me when you get off.”

Dean watched him leave and turned to head back to work with a smirk on his face. Looked like he was getting that movie marathon after all. And if he was lucky, maybe a little more than that.

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