Work Text
It was on an overcast day that Castiel decided to wander to the bookstore to stock up on his collection; his small apartment was packed with books and he continued to add to them. He spent nearly all of his disposable income on the books, and what he didn't spend on books, he spent on documentaries and movies of the same genre. Castiel happily swung the heavy bag at his side as he walked down the street towards his favourite coffee shop. He often spent a few hours at the coffee shop; he sat near the back in a secluded corner so that he could read his books in peace and without judgement. From his seat, he could see the entire shop and its customers. He noticed a few regulars sat sparcely around the coffee shop but there were a few people he didn't recognise. Like the handsome businessman stood in line. Castiel lowered his book to his lap to look at the man; he was wearing a black suit with a blue shirt and tie and a black trench coat, his hair was neatly parted in such a way that Castiel wanted to run his hands through it to mess it up. The man turned and met Castiel's eyes, much to the blue eyed man's horror. The man winked with a flirty smirk, a deep blush darkened Castiel's cheeks and his eyes flicked back to his book. He kept his eyes glued to the book, not really paying attention to the words, hoping that the handsome businessman would just leave and let him live in his embarrassment. "That book must be awfully interesting." A deep voice said from above him. He moved his gaze up to the owner of the voice and groaned internally, God was not on his side. The handsome businessman was stood next to the spare chair at his table with a small smile on his face and a coffee in his hand. "It... It is actually." Castiel replied lamely. He had barely started it really and he knew that the other man could see that. "I'm sure." The man said with a raised eyebrow, "May I sit?" Castiel looked at the man's face and just... stared. The man had bright green eyes, angular features, full lips and freckles dotted over his nose and cheeks. Castiel nodded absently, drawing an easy chuckle from the man. Castiel really liked that sound. "What's your name?""Cas-Castiel Novak." Castiel stuttered out. "Dean W- Smith." The man introduced confidently. Castiel noticed the stumble the man had when introducing himself but didn't question it. "So Cas, what are you reading?" "Erm..." Castiel hesitated, while he was enthusiastic about his interests but he was embarrassed and nervous about telling other people about it in fear of judgement. "Helter Skelter." He mumbled but he knew that Dean heard him as he hummed."Charles Manson." Dean confirmed appreciatively. Cas frowned slightly and tilted his head to the side. That wasn't the reaction he usually received. "Yeah." Cas replied unnecessarily, since Dean seemed to know what he was talking about. "He was a good one." Dean commented. Cas was taken aback by the statement but had to agree. There was something akin to awe and respect in Dean's voice as he spoke about the notorius man but it wasn't as though Cas could judge the other man. "So you're interested in serial killers, huh?" Dean had leant over to peek into Cas' bag and looked at the titles of the books there before he spoke. "Yeah, I find them fascinating. I have so many true crime books detailing all kinds of crimes but serial killers are my favourite." Cas blushed when he realised how crazy that sounded when he said it out loud. However, when he looked up at Dean to gauge his reaction, the businessman had a glint in his eyes and an odd smile on his face. "Yeah? Who's your favourite?" Dean asked. Cas thought that, to anyone else, this would be a weird, psychiatric ward worthy conversation. "Jeffrey Dahmer." Cas replied easily. Dean nodded approvingly."Although, the Death Wish killer is getting close to overtaking." Dean's face spilt into a wide grin upon hearing that, causing Cas to tilt his head in confusion again. "Oh really?" Dean asked. He leant forward on his forearms, leaning closer to Cas in interest. "Yeah, he's so good at it. They've found no leads towards a suspect for any of the victims, he leaves no evidence despite obviously being very hands on with victims. And his signature? Off the top of my head, I can't think of another serial killer that carves intials into their victims chests." Cas rambled. He knew he sounded insane for praising a serial killer on his work ethic and ability but Dean had a pleased smile on his face with that odd glint returning to his eyes. Cas relaxed slightly but he seemed to be missing out on something. "How do you know that there's no evidence on the victims? That's not in the news." Dean asked."I work at the library, the police sends us a copy of their reports to put in the Vault with the others." Cas admitted. "I'm not really supposed to read them but I knew they were about the Death Wish killer and I couldn't stop myself." Dean smirked and looked at his watch. He pulled out his phone and handed it to Cas. "Put your number in." Dean ordered. Cas felt inclined to obey and quickly did as he was told. "I need to go to a meeting but I'll text you." Dean stood up and observed Cas carefully. "See what else you can figure out about the DWK." With an easy wink, Dean disappeared out of the coffee shop. Cas watched him leave, awestruck. He couldn't understand why such a handsome man would have any interest in a lowly librarian that had a morbid obsession with crime. He hurriedly finished his drink then packed the book back into his bag so he could get to work. Once he had settled down at his desk in the library, Castiel pulled his laptop out of his backpack. He would have done his research on the library desktop but he knew that all searches made on the desktops was tracked by his boss. He knew, however, that he could connect to their WiFi without his actions being watched. He decided to start out from the beginning, the first reported victim of Death Wish. It had been a young college student called Lisa Braeden, 12 years ago. Her boyfriend at the time had been questioned but they had no evidence that he had been involved and he had an alibi, he had been at work for 12 hours and his boss had confirmed his presence. The police had suspected the boyfriend due to his criminal past; he had been charge with theft and assault 2 years prior but had served his sentence dutifully. The boyfriend's name was Dean Winchester. Castiel frowned and opened a new tab, searching for the US census. There were 7 people in America called Dean Winchester, 175,933 called Dean and 1,550 people called Dean Smith. It was surely a coincidence that the Dean he'd met had stuttered on his last name, implying that it really started with a W. Although with that said, there were many names that started with a W. The first victim of Death Wish had been in Lawrence, Kansas, though various others appeared in other-but not all-states in America. It wasn't unreasonable to think that Dean, the Dean he had met, moved to Texas after nearly being a suspect in his girlfriend's murder and changed his name to prevent unwanted questions. He pulled up some of the widely circulated images of Death Wish's victims, admiring the man's handy work. He was aware that it wasn't normal to hold a killer in such high respects but he didn't care, no-one would know. All of the victims had brusing around their wrists and ankles, which suggested that they had been bound and restrained during the torture. They had extensive bruising all over their bodies that coupled with many lacerations that varied in severity. Many bones were broken in each victim but they differed between the indiviuals, however, all of the victims had broken legs. They all had dark, distinctive hand marks around their necks but none of them died of asphyxiation, perhaps they had meerly been starved of oxygen momentarily as part of their torture. Death Wish had mutilated some of his victim's genitals but not all, the reason for this factor had not been found. The cause of death was found to be starvation and dehydration. Of course, there was the signature DW carved into every victim's chest, which everyone assumed stood for Death Wish after the lead investigator had publicly said that the public 'must have a death wish to leave their homes at night with this killer on the loose'. This explanation would make sense if the initals had appeared after the investigator made his announcement but they had been there from the beginning, they'd been there with Lisa. Castiel seemed to be the only one that noticed the other possible explanation, that Dean Winchester was Death Wish. Same initals, no suspicion. However, Dean Winchester went missing two months after Lisa's murder. Everyone had just assumed he'd ran away or was an undiscovered victim of Death Wish. After a lot of digging, Castiel managed to find images of Dean Winchester and his family. Unsurprisingly for Castiel, the photos depicted a young Dean Smith, he was sure of it. There was a newspaper article that stated that Mary Winchester had been killed in a house fire and John Winchester had taken his own life in his grief, leaving Sam and Dean Winchester, 1 and 5 years old respectively, alone with their uncle, Robert Singer. But there was nothing else on any of them, nothing beyond the article that stated that Dean Winchester had gone missing.
6 months after the death of Lisa Braeden, Dean Smith and Sam Wesson appeared in Texas. Dean had gotten a job at Sandover Inc as a sales associate. He had quickly climbed the company ladder and had become the CEO of the company after 5 short years. Sam Wesson joined Dean Smith at Sandover as a tech support worker the same week that Dean was promoted to CEO. Castiel sat back in his seat with a heavy sigh, he was sure he'd just found the true identity of the Death Wish killer. An excited shiver shook up his spine. He guessed that a normal citizen would take their findings to the authorities but he was anything but normal. With a rush of adrenaline, he pulled his phone out of his bag; not realising that it was him that had given Dean his number not the other way around. His face fell when he remembered this fact. But his disappointment didn't last long as his phone buzzed in his hand.
Unknown (4:38pm)
--> Missing me already? x -D
Cas bit his lip, an unusual thrill shooting through his nerves. He quickly added Dean's contact to his phone before he replied.
Dean (4:40pm)
<-- We should talk -C
Dean (4:46pm)
--> You did your homework? x -D
Dean (4:47pm)
<-- I did. Don't worry, my lips are sealed -C
Dean (4:50pm)
--> It would be you that should be worried if they weren't. x -D
Dean (4:52pm)
<-- I'm aware but I'm not going to tell anyone, you don't need to threaten me. I finish at 6 -C
Castiel dropped his head into his hands, what was he doing telling Dean what to do? Especially if his suspicions were correct. The businessman practically exuded dominance and masculinity, and his strong muscles were obviously hidden underneath his expensive suits. Castiel had no business trying to challenge him, if fact the teen wanted to to the opposite. He found himself wanting to submit to the man, in every way he could. His phone finally vibrated, breaking his out of his inappropriate thoughts.
Dean (5:04pm)
--> I know, I'll be there x -D