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“Good morning Cassie!” Gabriel greets, way too cheery for the early morning, especially since Castiel has been baking all night trying to get his recipe just right. “What has your lovely soulmate been snacking on lately?”
“Pie,” Castiel answers shortly, watching the pie in the oven extremely closely so it doesn’t over-bake like the last one did.
“Shocker. New one?” his brother asks, coming to sit next to him on the floor.
“Yes. Cherry with another flavor in there that took me a while to figure out, but I think I have it correct now.”
“How long have you been at this?” Gabriel asks, taking note of the disaster in their kitchen, flour, sugar, salt, oats, and various other ingredients scattered about.
“All night, he started eating it around eleven and I couldn’t ignore it this time.” Castiel explains rubbing at his tired eyes. “I swear he ate the whole pie because the craving didn't go away for hours.”
The timer on his phone goes off with a light jingle. Forcing himself to his feet with a groan, Castiel grabs the oven mitts from the counter and reaches into the oven to bring out the perfectly baked cherry-bourbon pie. The delicious smell of cherries flitters through the air and a satisfied smile grows on Castiel’s face.
This is the one.
After hours and hours of baking trying to find the perfect recipe, he thinks he has finally done it. Gabriel reaches around him trying to steal a taste but backs off after a quick swat and disapproving glare from Castiel. He sighs and walks over to the coffee machine instead. Castiel leaves the pie to cool on the counter and starts on cleaning up the mess he had created.
He has lost track of the late-night baking sessions he's had thanks to his soulmate. Whoever his soulmate is has a sweet tooth that rivals his own brother, which is concerning enough. Luckily, his soulmate actually has good taste and Castiel isn’t constantly craving something disgusting. Mostly the cravings are for various flavors of pie and Castiel can usually satisfy the craving by eating some fruit or something else with a little sweetness to it. Other times he uses his baking.
His mother was the one to help him discover the best way to handle his cravings. Whenever Castiel had complained about them growing up, his mom would sit with him and they would talk about it. They would figure out what the specific flavors were and find something similar enough. The first time they discovered that it was pie specifically his soulmate was eating, they decided to bake one themselves. Turns out just the process of putting all of the ingredients together and baking them helped Castiel immensely.
Over the years, Castiel has accumulated hundreds of different recipes and has grown to love baking. He loves the puzzle of determining the specific ingredients and piecing them together just right to satisfy his cravings. Either Gabriel or his other employees will give the newest creation a taste test and, if they approve, Castiel adds it to the rotating menu. Sometimes he will add his own twists to the recipe, usually by adding a tid bit of honey from the local farmers’ market. He has several flavors of honey that all pair nicely with different pies. He’s already picturing a little bit of the chocolate honey added into his newest creation, and can't wait to add it to the menu next week.
– – – – –
Castiel finishes wiping the counter down. All the pies and other pastries are done for the day, the last two pies sitting on cooling racks waiting to replace whatever they sell out next. Jack is working the front today and Charlie is in the back with him, already prepping for the next day. Charlie is a blessing to the bakery; she and Castiel get along splendidly and work together seamlessly. They have a system down where Castiel opens and Charlie closes. On Wednesdays, Charlie works the full day, allowing Castiel a day off, and Castiel does the same on Thursdays, just to keep them both sane.
Gabriel runs the back-of-house operations, taking care of the actual business side of things and allowing Castiel to just focus on his baking. He knows he would be nowhere near as successful as he is without his brother's help - Gabriel was the one who found Charlie and all of their other amazing employees. Castiel will forever be thankful for Gabriel jumping in, no questions asked, when Castiel first proposed the bakery to him. They found a location they both loved, put in a ton of money to renovate the little building into something they are both proud of, and have been up and running since.
Of course, they have had their ups and downs. It took them a little while to build a name for themselves, but now people come from all over for a slice of one of Castiel’s pies. They didn’t always have the best employees either, but Gabriel has worked hard to find the best of the best. With their current small team of seven, they are happy and confident they really do have the best people working for them.
“Can I help you with anything before I head out, Charlie?” Castiel asks, walking over to the prep station.
“The shopping list needs to be finalized!” the redhead reminds him. The local farmers’ market is every Wednesday and Castiel takes advantage of his day off to stock up on some of their ingredients. It also happens to be the next day and Castiel already knows he has to restock on honey, especially the chocolate one that he added to the cherry-bourbon pie. The new pie was a huge success and became one of their best sellers over the last few weeks.
“On it.”
Castiel goes around the kitchen, checking the stock of all of their ingredients and writing down whatever they’re running low on. Knowing him, he will forget something anyways and have to go to the store again. His soulmate hasn’t inspired him to create any new flavors, but he knows it's only a matter of time before a new craving hits him and he will just have to go to the store for those ingredients when needed. He does give the list to Charlie for a quick look-over and, sure enough, she scribbles two more things he missed at the bottom. Just then Jack walks through the swinging doors and grabs the last two pies.
“Cherry-bourbon sold out again boss! Just sold the last piece!” Jack exclaims, a big toothy grin on his face. The young boy is their newest employee and is working out wonderfully. He is always smiling and has taken an interest in Castiel’s baking. Castiel made the promise that, once or twice a week, Jack can shadow him in the kitchen and learn a few recipes.
“Thank you, Jack, I’ll see you Thursday, right?” Castiel asks.
“Yes, sir!”
Castiel bids his goodbye to Charlie before heading to the little office that doubles both as Gabriel’s workplace when he's there and as a break room. He takes off his apron and hangs it on his designated hook before grabbing his wallet and keys from his little cubby. Double-checking his pockets for his phone, Castiel smiles to himself. Another successful day over and done with. Tomorrow he can sleep in, enjoy the early summer day at the farmers’ market, and maybe try out a new recipe if he gets inspired.
If he’s being honest with himself he’s a little worried about his soulmate. There hasn’t even been a hint of craving for some kind of pie the last few weeks, not since the cherry-bourbon pie. Normally , his soulmate would have pie at least once a week, but now nothing. No apple, or cherry, or pecan, or any flavor. Castiel doesn't know if he has ever gone this long without a craving and it worries him slightly. He’s pretty sure his soulmate is fine, though, because he would know if something had happened to him. Right?
Trying not to think too hard about it, Castiel leaves the bakery out the back door to the small employee parking lot. He settles into the driver's seat of his truck and carefully pulls out onto the busy street heading for home. It's not even a minute later when he gets a familiar feeling in his stomach and relief washes over him like a giant wave. His soulmate is okay. His soulmate is eating pie and everything is okay. Castiel can’t help the smile that takes over his face as he waits for the craving to take full effect and he can figure out what flavor pie his soulmate has chosen. He’s kind of hoping for a new flavor he can experiment with.
Slowly the flavors come together and Castiel can practically taste the cherry himself. The bourbon comes next and Castiel chuckles quietly to himself. He can’t blame his soulmate for going back to the cherry-bourbon pie. It was pretty good the last time. It's only when Castiel is halfway home that the next flavor hits him and he slams on his brakes, thanking whatever high power there is that there is no one around him. Carefully, he pulls over to the side of the road and puts his truck into park.
Castiel focuses intently on the forming craving. Cherry. Bourbon. And chocolate. Chocolate that most definitely wasn’t in the last cherry-bourbon pie his soulmate had. That doesn’t mean anything, it could be a complete coincidence that whoever made the last cherry-bourbon pie also decided to add chocolate to their next one. But there is this nagging feeling in the back of Castiel’s mind telling him he's wrong.
Taking a deep breath, Castiel puts the truck back in drive and signals to get back on to the road. He has full intention to continue on home and relax for the rest of the day, but apparently his body has a different plan because he soon finds himself heading right for the bakery. Only minutes later, Castiel bursts through the back doors, startling Charlie from her tasks and Castiel pushes on through the swinging doors into the cafe part of his shop, ignoring her questioning.
“Castiel? What are you doing back here?” Jack asks from the cash register, staring at him in confusion. Castiel is vaguely aware of Charlie pushing through the swinging doors staring at him as well. But he only has eyes for the customers scattered around at the various tables. Several of them he recognizes as regulars who have all complimented him on his pies and pastries before; a few he doesn’t recognize and those are the ones he focuses on.
There are two teenage girls sitting at a table with empty plates and books scattered around, probably studying for finals. Castiel quickly moves on to the next table. An elderly man sitting with the day's newspaper and a mug sits in front of him. The next table has a younger man, maybe a few years younger than Castiel at it, with an empty plate in front of him. Castiel’s breath catches in his throat. Is it possible?
“Castiel?” Jack’s voice breaks him out of his trance. Castiel drags his gaze away from the stranger and stares at Jack, unable to form words. “Are you okay?”
“The young man at the table over there,” Castiel starts, once he finds his voice. It sounds breathless to his own ears and he can’t imagine what his employees are thinking of him at the moment. “What did he order?”
“Um,” Jack glances around the cafe, his eyes settling on the stranger and he squints his eyes trying to remember. “I think he had the coffee cake.”
Disappointment settles heavy in Castiel’s stomach. He really thought his soulmate was here. The chocolate must have just been a coincidence and he got his hopes up for nothing. Something must show on his face because before he knows it there is a gentle hand on his arm and his vision is filled with wide concerned eyes framed by fiery red hair.
“Cassie, you alright?” Charlie asks, the worry clear in her voice.
“I thought it was him,” is all Castiel manages before pushing back into the kitchen and settling heavy onto one of the bar stools. It only takes Charlie a few seconds to understand what he's talking about. She lets out a soft ‘oh’ before wrapping her arms around him and holding him tight.
“Him?” Jack asks from the door.
“His soulmate,” Charlie answers, not letting go of Castiel. He mentally thanks his brother, because he will never say it to his face, for bringing this fiery red head into his life. Charlie and Jack exchange a few more words. Castiel doesn’t pay too much attention but before he knows it Jack is back out front and Charlie is handing him a cold bottle of water. “Drink this.”
“Thanks,” Castiel manages, taking a few gulps of water. His heart is still sitting low in his gut, having sunk to the bottom of the ocean when his hope came crashing down. The last half hour has been a whirlwind of emotions and has left him feeling exhausted.
“Go home Cassie. Eat some food and get some sleep,” Charlie urges him, walking him back out to his car. He hugs her tight and does as he’s told. The food tastes like cardboard and sleep doesn’t come easy, but eventually his mind settles enough for his eyes to close.
– – – – –
(Dean was eating the pie, he just got his slice to go… shhhhh don’t tell Cas!!)
– – – – –
It's been two months and Castiel is going insane.
At least once a week, Castiel gets a craving for pie. This is nothing new; he has been having these cravings for over thirty years. What is new is that he is getting cravings for his own pies! There is no way his soulmate is getting his pie anywhere else, because nobody else adds flavored honey to almost all of their pies. You would think Castiel would be overjoyed to discover his soulmate is near, except Castiel can never find him.
Most of the time his soulmate is enjoying a slice of pie in the evening when Castiel is long gone from the bakery. The few times his soulmate came in earlier, Castiel managed to miss them. He figures his soulmate must be taking his pie to-go because everytime he checks the dining area there are no possible candidates. The unintentional cat-and-mouse game is slowly driving Castiel to insanity, and, unfortunately, he ends up taking it out on his coworkers.
Charlie takes it the best she can, but Castiel can tell he’s starting to wear on her nerves. Gabriel told him to just stalk the front of the shop and wait for his soulmate, but the one time his soulmate did come in that week, Castiel somehow managed to fall asleep and miss him anyways. His brother just laughed when he found out and Castiel swore to never go to his older brother for help ever again.
Jack tries to help, too, by asking their customers about their soulmates and other extremely personal questions, and Castiel had to put a stop to that as soon as he found out. The kid is great, but he is incredibly naive and doesn’t always understand you can't just ask whatever you want. Luckily, they didn’t have any complaints, just a bunch of weird looks and fewer tips for the day. Of course, that didn't stop Jack from continuing to try to help. If a male customer comes in and orders pie, Jack always calls Castiel out from the back which got more weird looks, fewer tips, and Castiel became way less efficient with his baking.
“What if we did a special?”
Castiel is pulled out of his thoughts and realizes he has just been staring at two cooling pies for who knows how long. He turns his head to look at Charlie behind him. “What?”
“A special,” she repeats. “What if we did a buy-two-get-one-free kind of deal? There's no way your soulmate could pass up something like that if they love pie as much as you claim, right?”
“How would that change things? I keep missing him no matter what time he comes in,” Castiel argues even though a small flicker of hope begins to stir. He tries to stomp it out again. The back-and-forth between hope and disappointment is exhausting him during the day and keeps him up at night.
“We can advertise it for a couple weeks, make sure your soulmate and everyone else knows about it, and we can hold it on a Thursday since you’ll be working the full day anyways,” Charlie starts to go off with her plan, making it obvious she has thought about this for a while. “I’ll come in in the morning to help you bake the extra pies and then, when we open, Jack can help me while you work the counter so that way there is no way you can miss him!”
“Charlie, I can't ask you to come in on your day off,” he protests, shaking his head no.
“Castiel, you are miserable. You have been ever since that first day, and I miss my best friend. I just want to see you happy,” Charlie says quietly, the puppy dog eyes in full effect.
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely!”
Castiel has to admit: the plan is good. If he knows his soulmate’s love for pie at all, he knows there is no possible way he would miss out on a pie special. Of course there are many flaws in the plans, like Charlie coming in on her one day off, Jack baking the pies even though he has come a long way while shadowing Castiel the last couple months, and Castiel working the counter. Oh god, he has to work the counter! He’s terrible with people; there's a reason he stays in the back. But his soulmate. He has to do it for them.
“Okay, let's do it.”
“But Cassie, think about it: this could be your chance to finally meet him! You’ve waited this long and the past couple months I feel like you’ve been so close, but the timing has just been off! There is now way he could pass this kind of thing up you know?” Charlie goes off, pacing back and forth in front of him. Castiel does his best to not burst out laughing. “Gosh, Cassie, you could finally– wait, what did you say?”
Castiel chuckles at his friends' antics. He can’t blame her; normally, it would take a lot more to convince him to do something like this. But he really wants to find his soulmate and if his friend's crazy plan could make that happen, then who is Castiel to say no to that?
“We can do it?” Charlie asks, looking up at him with a twinkle in her eyes he doesn’t necessarily trust. With a slight nod of his head, he quickly has to cover his ears from the soul piercing squeal she lets out. “Gabe! He said we can do it!”
Gabriel bursts out of the office holding a huge stack of papers and a self-satisfied grin plastered on his face. “Perfect. Red, put these out front. I’ll have Alfie go around town and pin these on every available surface.”
Castiel is torn between feeling betrayed, in awe, and thankful that his friends and family care so much about him that they already have this event planned. Not only planned, but basically ready to go, with advertisements and the work schedule planned out, all to give Castiel a chance to meet his soulmate. Hope sparks to life within him and starts to spread like wildfire. He’s finally going to meet his soulmate.
– – – – –
Dean walks the now familiar route to the bakery. He discovered the place the second week he moved into town and has been going back at least once a week ever since. They have the best pie he has ever had and Dean is one to never turn down a good pie. Which is why he was extremely excited to see the flyers all over town advertising a buy-two-get-one deal the last couple weeks. He’s been waiting for this day for forever and can't wait to see which flavors they have going on today.
His favorite so far is the cherry-bourbon pie, but the apple cinnamon is a close second, followed by all the other flavors. There is just something a little extra about the pies that Dean hasn’t been able to put his finger on yet. Maybe he should ask the barista, although the recipes might be a closely guarded secret, and really Dean doesn’t mind paying for pie once a week. God knows if he had the recipe himself, he would be eating pie everyday. Which would not be good for his health or his slightly pudgy tummy. Although it's pie, so maybe it's worth it.
He makes it to the bakery doors and notices the long line leading to the counter. Dean hopes he didn’t come too late and miss out on his favorite pies. With a quick glance at the display case, Dean can see several pies waiting, and he lets out a sigh of relief when he sees Jack bring out two more freshly baked pies. Yes, Dean has become so much of a regular that he knows a few of the workers. There's Jack and Alfie, usually, ready to greet him with a smile, but every now and then, when he comes later in the day, a small redhead woman is there. Charlie and Dean hit it off immediately when he made a comment about her Star Trek shirt the first day.
As the line moves forward, Dean notices someone new working the counter today. The guy is tall, with dark hair that is just begging for someone to run their fingers through it. Dean clenches his fist at the urge and frowns down at himself in confusion. Normally, he is able to contain his attraction to people better than that. With a deep breath, Dean looks back up and is captured in two bright blue pools of light. The man’s eyes aren’t even trained on Dean, yet he can’t look away. It's only when the man glances back down at the cash register that Dean blinks out of his trance.
The man smiles slightly at something said to him and Dean’s attention skims over the long straight nose and high cheekbones to land on a pair of a pair of full pale pink lips. Dean’s tongue flicks out to lick his own lips unconsciously. They look so freaking kissable Dean can’t think about doing anything else except for just that for several seconds. A clearing of a throat behind him brings Dean back to reality and he notices the line has moved forward several feet. Heat floods his face as he scoots forward, hoping no one noticed him staring.
In order to distract himself, Dean looks around the rest of the bakery. He’s been here plenty of times before, but has never actually stayed and enjoyed his pie in the sweet smelling cafe. Dean has always had to take his pie to go and get back to work, but his boss gave him the rest of the day off since he knows if Dean eats all three slices of pie he is totally getting, then he will basically be in a coma the rest of the day. Perks of working for your surrogate uncle's shop, he guesses. There are several tables strewn about and Dean decides that if one opens up after he orders, he’ll stick around for a little bit. If the incredibly gorgeous barista has any role in that decision, no one needs to know except for Dean.
By the time Dean gets to the counter, he is surprised to find the mystery blue-eyed barista gone and Charlie standing in his place. Dean tries really hard to not let his disappointment show on his face. He really likes Charlie and hopes they can take their friendship beyond these few short interactions.
“Hi, Dean! How are you today?” Charlie asks, a bright smile in place.
“Heya, Red, I’m good! About to be even better once I get some pie in me,” Dean smiles back, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.
“Here for the buy-two-get-one?”
“You bet! I love me some pie, and there was no way I was missing out on this. Boss even let me go early so I can fully enjoy myself,” Dean replies. He looks at the remaining flavors available. There are still slices of his two favorites, but the third flavor he is undecided on.
“Whatcha thinkin today?” Charlie asks.
“Cherry-bourbon and apple cinnamon for sure,” Dean glances between the others, but still can't decide. “What else do you recommend?”
“Hmmm, since you have two fruit pies already, have you tried the pecan pie yet?” Charlie looks at the many delicious pies on display. “Or the Razzleberry is amazing, and so is the strawberry-rhubarb!”
“Charlie, you’re supposed to make this easier on me!” Dean complains, wanting a slice of all of them now.
“It's not my fault Castiel is a genius when it comes to pie!” the redhead protests with a smile.
“Castiel?”
Charlie nods her head. “He’s the head baker here, and all of the pie recipes are his own creations.”
“Damn, he really is a genius then. His pies are easily the best pies I have ever had, and I’ve had a lot of pies in my lifetime.”
Something flickers across Charlie’s face, but it's gone before Dean could make sense of it. “Is that so? Well, he’s in the back, helping Jack with one of the more complicated pies, but once he's done, I can send him out and you can tell him that to his face?”
“I don't want to inconvenience him,” Dean shakes his head. “You can just pass along the message for me.”
“Nonsense, Cassie loves to hear from people that enjoy his creations! Now, what have you decided on?” Charlie asks, twinkle in her eye.
“I’ll go with the pecan please,” Dean grabs his card from his wallet ready to pay. Charlie grabs a plate, not even giving Dean the option of taking the pies to go, and plates his three slices for him. Once he’s paid, he turns around and scans the room for an empty table; luckily, one appears to have just freed up, and Dean makes a beeline for it. He doesn’t even waste a second before taking the first bite of the apple cinnamon. Dean nearly moans out loud as the flavors blast over his tongue. Damn Castiel.
A high pitch squeal startles him and he glances up to see Charlie bouncing up and down staring right at him. He stares at her in confusion, which only grows when she disappears into the back. Jack appearing only moments later to take over the front. Not knowing what is going on, Dean turns back to his pie and takes a bite of the pecan pie. He can’t believe he hadn’t tried that one before. Even with only one bite, it moves way up the list of his favorites.
When Dean is down to just the cherry-bourbon pie left, commotion at the counter grabs Dean attention. He freezes with a forkful of pie halfway to his mouth when he sees Charlie, Jack and the gorgeous man from earlier all staring at him. Charlie says something to the man and he starts making his way towards him. Dean watches, anticipation growing, as the man works his way through the maze of tables until he stands right in front of Dean.
Damn. If Dean thought the man was beautiful before, there are no words now. The light coming through the windows highlights slightly tanned skin and the same bright blue eyes that captured Dean’s attention earlier. Dean manages to set his fork, still full of pie, back down onto the plate, all while never taking his eyes off of the man before him.
“Hello.”
Damn that voice! Dean has to hold back a whimper at the deep gravelly tone. What the hell is wrong with him? No one has ever affected Dean like this before! Granted, Dean has never met someone as hot as this guy before, either.
“Um, hi,” Dean replies awkwardly. The two men remain in silence, just staring at each other for what feels like hours, but is probably only a few seconds.
“I’m Castiel,” the guy finally says, and Dean lights up.
“You make the pies!” Dean exclaims, smiling broadly. “Man, I gotta tell you, these are the best pies I have ever had.”
Castiel cracks a smile at that and seems to relax a little bit. “Thank you, I’ve had a lot of practice.”
“I’m Dean,” he smiles back and offers out his hand. Castiel takes it and the instant their palms touch Dean’s whole world is flipped. Their surroundings fade into the background, leaving just the two of them standing in the dark with a single light between them, pulsing blue and green. Dean is mesmerized and reaches out with his free hand to touch the floating ball of light. Castiel does the same and soon it feels like everything falls into place.
Dean didn’t even notice he had pieces missing until he met Castiel, but now the puzzle is complete and he can't help the smile that splits his face. Castiel returns the smile with his own, showing off his gums, and Dean melts from the sight. He feels safe and happy. Castiel feels like home. The two men come back to their senses, the noise from the cafe returning and the warm feeling of a hand still in his.
“Hiya, Cas.”
“Hello, Dean.”
Dean’s heart stutters at the sound of his name in that deep voice. He found him. He finally found his soulmate. His soulmate who knows how to make the best pie Dean has ever had.
“Marry me,” Dean blurts out. He can feel the heat rushing to his cheeks and he really hopes his face isn't too red. Luckily, Castiel’s smile just grows, showing off more of his gums, and Dean is done for. He just met the guy, but he is already so far gone on him.
“Maybe sometime,” Castiel replies, chuckling softly. “Soon.”
“Yeah?” Dean smiles. He likes the sound of that.
“What about dinner first?” Castiel asks.
“That sounds like a good idea. Tonight?”
Before Castiel can reply a large box is placed on the table between them by Charlie. She looks between them with a big smile before pulling them both into a hug. “Freaking finally! Alright now get out of here. Cassie, we can cover the rest of the day.”
Dean glances down at the box Charlie brought over and finds an entire cherry-bourbon pie. He glances up and Charlie just winks before skipping away back to the counter, where Jack gives her a high five. Castiel watches his coworkers, too, before turning back to him. Once again Dean is struck by just how blue Castiel’s eyes are.
“Well, looks like I have been released. Would you like to go get dinner now?” Castiel asks, his head slightly tilted to the side. In an odd way Dean finds it extremely adorable. There's no stopping the smile spreading across his face. An idea pops into his head, and he grabs the pie box before reaching for Castiel’s hand.
“How do you feel about burgers?” Dean asks, leading Castiel out the door and over towards the Impala.
Castiel lights up and Dean is tempted to kiss him right then and there. “I love burgers!”
“I had a feeling you were going to say that. Luckily I know how to make a mean burger and we have an entire pie to eat tonight,” Dean replies.
“You know how to make burgers?” Castiel asks, not even hesitating climbing into the passenger seat.
“I’ve had a lot of practice,” Dean winks, after he settles into the driver's seat and starts his beloved baby up. The engine roars to life and he glances over to Castiel to gauge his reaction. He finds Castiel staring right at him with a strange mix of awe and fondness.
“Marry me.”
There is nothing stopping Dean when he leans across the bench seat and pulls Castiel into a soft kiss. Dean finally gives into the urge of running his fingers through Castiel’s thick dark hair and deepens the kiss, wanting more. They lose track of time and everything else, but, eventually, they pull apart, sharing a small smile and a few more light kisses. Dean leans back in his seat, one hand on the wheel, the other grasping hold of Castiel’s, and smiles at his soulmate.
“Maybe sometime soon.”