2 - Lucien, stop hitting on the newcomer!

Bobby did notice Dean's thrill. He actually found it so endearing, he decided to leave those revelations for a little later. "Say, son. Do you remember how to fish?"

Hanakael blinked when looking at that file. He assumed Crowley must have always carried it from his office, since he didn't see it before. He nodded quietly at his remark, and followed him quietly. Only once in the car did he talk again. "If I may, something's surprised me. I know you for being very influential, and an excellent lawyer. Yet, at the office, there is only you, your assistant, and me... How many cases do you usually take at once?" Yes. He had noticed how rich Crowley was.

Dean seemed to think about it for a second, then shook his head. "I remember very little, actually. I might need to refresh my skills a bit", he laughed, scratching his neck. "I mean... it has been years since the last time I went fishing, I think."

Crowley didn't answer right away, busy glancing out of the car window as they drove past some buildings in the city centre. He didn't turn to look at his intern, but merely glanced at him with a smirk. "Aren't you curious. Well... let's say my... range of clients is narrow, but important. Voice goes around in between the right circles, and so I can allow myself to accept few cases, yet thrive off of them." A kind way to say, he only took in those few that could pay him well. Very well. "I am the best at what I do. I am worth it. And people know that as well - that's why I don't have to undersell myself."

Bobby held back a smile. "We went fishing only once back when we were human, I thought you wouldn't remember much. Come on, grab those fishing rods, I'll show you." He gathered fishing attire for the both of them, and walked with him to the spot he had pointed at earlier.

"I see," Hanakael said, thoughtful. "I have indeed heard you've never lost a case." And he was downright impressed by that, given his tone. He did value Crowley's worth as a lawyer, and was looking forward to learning from him.

Dean followed him, eager to learn. "That's why I don't really - wait a second. We went fishing back when I was human?", he exclaimed, voice filled with disbelief. He had gone fishing with God and he did not remember?!

Crowley finally turned to Hanakael, and grinned. His smile did look feral, in the dim light that managed to get through the dark windows of the car. "You know they do call me the Devil's Advocate, hm? It's not just a pretty title." He chuckled. That little word play seemed to please him very much.

"Oh, we did. We mostly... went hunting together, though." Bobby's expression grew a bit grimmer. "Hunting, yeah." His voice was now but a mere whisper. He set the chairs, and sat down on his own, taking a deep breath.

Hanakael held back a smirk. Zachariah hated that nickname they gave to his best lawyer. As if he felt personally targeted. "Truth be told, you're my family lawyer. I wouldn't be surprised." He was also thinking hard about his cousin Lucien, which was a bad enough case on his own.

Dean tilted his head, frowning slightly. He didn't ask questions, for the moment - he merely sat down next to his father, observing him for a bit as he got a hold of his own equipment, to take care of it before beginning. Finally, after a long moment of silence, he dared to ask, "Hunting?" He didn't know why, but that word sounded bad to him. Bad, but important, like a duty he had forgotten.

Crowley's smirk got wider. He did seem to take pleasure from the knowledge that his nickname wasn't exactly well-liked, yes. "One hell of a lawyer does deserve one hell of a name", he observed lightly. "And, seeing just who I take care of in your family, yes. It makes a whole lot of sense." Indeed, he was thinking of Lucien as well.

Bobby remained silent for a while, as he showed Dean silently how to get his fishing rod ready. Then, he waited a bit, and took a deep breath. "He did take a lot of your memory away, didn't he," he whispered to himself. Then he cleared his throat. "Hunting, yes. That's actually how your father and I met. And how I ended up raising you more than him."

Hanakael held back a smile to himself, and remained silent this time, looking through the windows the best he could, to kill time. He appreciated what kind of person Crowley was. But it was too early for him to be completely at ease with him.

Dean followed Bobby's movements, careful to get it all right. He nodded at the answer, shrugging off that weird feeling he had gotten at the word 'hunting'. "I see", he simply said. "I do remember dad being obsessed with stuff. So I guess hunting was a big one. Can I have some bait?", he asked, suddenly. Not knowing how sadly fitting it was, to use the word bait in that context.

Truth is, nobody should be too at ease with Crowley. It was dangerous to lower your guard around him! The car stopped soon after, and Crowley got down and gave instructions to his driver as he waited for Hanakael to get at his side. They were facing a fancy restaurant in the downskirts of the city, known for being quite high-class.

Bobby gave it to him, and remained silent for another while. When he talked again, it was to give him some advice on fishing instead. He showed Dean how to throw his line into the water, how to carry a fish out of the water if his bait were to work. Only then, when they arrived to the essence of fishing itself, being the wait, he sat back down in his chair, and took out a folded paper out of his jacket, which he handed out to Dean without a single word. That folded piece of paper was actually a worn-out photograph featuring Bobby himself sitting on a chair. Behind him were Dean and Sam. Dean's arm was behind... a man that looked like an older version of Castiel, probably in his early 40s.

Hanakael joined Crowley's side, and suddenly felt quite... underdressed, even though he was wearing a suit. Well. His father was always wearing suits that were perhaps as expensive as Crowley's, but he had never been ready to invest much money into his son's, who had to buy his on his own.

Dean raised a brow, grabbing that photograph as he settled down more comfortably in his chair. He immediately recognized himself and his handsome grin - and that was Sammy! His gaze descended on the man sitting on the chair, and he smiled softly. Then it was true, Bobby was around when he was still alive. But, who was the other man standing close to him, clad into that old trench coat...? Something clicked in his mind. His eyes widened. That face did look older, more tired and serious than the one he was so accustomed to, but...
Those blue eyes. It couldn't be... "... Castiel?", he whispered, hands trembling slightly. He frowned deeply, then looked at Bobby. "What is this?"

"You look fine", Crowley said in a matter-of-fact tone, as if he had sensed Hanakael's uneasiness. He walked to the entrance of the restaurant, and the maitre immediately recognized him - at least judging by the bright yet uneasy smile he threw at both of them. He asked something about the usual table, to which Crowley nodded, adding they were waiting for someone, and they were immediatly brought to a nice table, a bit further away from the other ones - to grant privacy.

"This is the last picture we took all together before a hunt," Bobby replied. He had joined his hands, and was looking straight down at them, his chest heavy. "We hunted monsters, Dean. Human-killing creatures. Ghosts, and demons." He took a deep breath, and looked over to where Chuck and Castiel were carelessly chatting, while waiting for their bait to attract fishes. "And this was Castiel, yes."

Hanakael did look around a bit sheepishly at first. Even though he could afford those kinds of restaurants, his father rarely took them out, as if he was sort of ashamed of his own family. Which he probably was, to be honest, since only his sister Hannah looked sort-of-white.
He let Crowley handle all of the speaking during that lunch, noting details down in his mind, and waiting for his briefing in the car. He was there to learn, after all!

Dean looked like he was pretty much about to have a panic attack. He breathed heavily, trying to wrap his mind around that absurd information - monsters? They hunted monsters? And that Castiel - how could that be possible? "How", he finally managed to ask, his voice raspy with anxiousness.

"... and as you could see, that is how you handle a client who is going through a difficult divorce", Crowley concluded, crossing his legs. "Now - I usually handle both civil and penal causes, but while it is penal ones that bring in the most money, it's the civil ones that get more often on the desk. So, if you are decent with those, you can make a living out of civil advocacy." He glanced to Hanakael, finally getting bored of glancing out of the window. "Any questions?"

Bobby turned to him, and actually stopped time around them. "Take your time, son. There used to be monsters, yes. You and Sam battled hard for them to go extinct over the years, during your human life. The fact you haven't spotted a single one while watching over Castiel means you succeeded."

"No, sir," Hanakael replied, thinking all of this over. "Now that I think about it, I saw mostly civil files on my desk this morning, so I understand you deal with them more often." He also suspected Lucien's case was one of the few penal cases Crowley handled.

"But-" Dean took another deep, shaky breath, glad that his father had stopped time. At least he could have his nervous breakdown without frightening off their friends. "-how can Castiel be there with us?", he asked, aggressively pointing to the photograph. "It sounds out of this world that there were monsters, and that me, Sammy and you used to hunt them - but I got this. Me and Sammy died, you went back being God when it happened, we became angels. What about him?" As he spoke, he kept having quick, werid flashes of memories. A closed space, filled with books. Him and his brother reading, drinking a beer, talking about werewolves and ghosts. The Impala, hours spent in there travelling from coast to coast, Sam always on his side. And someone familiar, yet unknown, cracking small smiles at him from the backseat...

Crowley nodded. "Exactly. It happens more often that someone very rich wants to divorce, or issues a cause against some other big name, rather than one of them losing their marbles and suddenly murdering someone else. It does happen, I won't lie. But it is less likely." He finally smiled at Hanakael. "You are attentive. I appreciate that. People struggle to keep up with me, usually." Yes, Hanakael might have noticed in that short amount of time that the man was quite vain. A bit full of himself.

Bobby hesitated for a bit, but then gave in. He had begun to tell Dean the truth, he might as well tell him as much as he was allowed to. "Castiel used to be an angel. Your guardian angel. That photograph was taken 4 years after he appeared to you for the first time. On that day..." He took a deep breath. "He had been human for a month. Fully human."

Hanakael smiled politely back at Crowley. He of course had noticed the peculiar personality of his boss, but he... appreciated it, somehow. It felt new and refreshing from what he was used to. "I do hope I'll keep satisfying you over this internship."

Dean felt his throat go dry, face pale and fingers tightening on the photograph. "That's something that happens, then", he whispered, more to himself than to anybody in particular. He didn't even manage to glance at Bobby when he finally asked, "Why did he... How come he is here?" He felt his brain floating, the informations he was being given almost too much for him.

"Oh, I am sure you will", Crowley commented, his smile enigmatic. "Either you do, or your internship ends. It's easy~" The car stopped once again and they were back at the office again. "Same recommendations as before, Hana. Take care of the phone calls, study your files, try not to disturb me. And knock on my door at six sharp, we'll have another nice chat."

Bobby looked at him. The pain he remembered from that day could be read on his face, yet he tried hard to keep his voice steady. "Castiel died on that day," he whispered. "When he knew I planned on making you an angel, God wished he could be reborn as well. So after a little while... here he is." He looked over to where Chuck and Cas were, standing still in the middle of a carefree laugh.

Hanakael nodded, and bowed just a bit. "I'll be there, Mr. Crowley." He went back to his office, and once again studied the files and answered the phone when needed.

Dean let out a choked sound, and let himself fall back on the chair. The thought - the mere thought of Castiel dying was just unbearable to him. He tried to calm down, taking deep breaths. But for each one he took, he shaked. "What is happening now", he asked in a whisper. He felt like Bobby had told him all of that for afree reason, yet he couldn't see which. "And - why are you calling someone else than yourself 'God'?"

Crowley strolled in his office, satisfied with the answer, and kept himself busy the whole afternoon, actually talking with his... associates. "... I don't care if his stupid daughter is going to give birth in a month. Contract expires in two days. We aren't a bloody charity association, Gerald", he barked at his cellphone. Thankfully enough, door was closed, and the conversation seemed quite... tame, even if weird.

"... I didn't create the world, Dean." Bobby looked around them, embracing the nice, still scenery around him. "I'm just- God wanted to give himself some time off, and give a new chance to his dearest children. So he appointed me in charge in his stead. Hid everyone's memory of him." He looked back at Dean. "As to what is happening right now... At first, I thought it was God's little whim. Bringing his dearest children back to life by making them human, to set things differently. But it's not. He just wanted them to try and be friggin' happy."

Dean stared at his feet for a good while, in silence. He observed the worn out photograph that he was still holding too tight in his hands, fingers relaxing bit by bit, until he carefully folded it and handed it over to Bobby. "So... this would be their second chance", he said, a bit more calm. "And I ended up in it. That's... some destiny bullshit, huh", he joked weakly.

Bobby held back a small, sad smile, and took back the photograph. "No. I wanted you to have a second chance at being happy too." He looked grim again. "You weren't the same once you lost Castiel. It wrecked you. And you kept telling me how much you wished you could have protected him instead. So I wanted to give you that opportunity."

By the end of the day, Hanakael knocked on Crowley's office door at six sharp. He had heard sometimes his boss' voice raising up with anger, but he couldn't hear most of what happened. He just guessed that this Gerald guy was annoying him.

Dean's throat tightened again. "And now I am the one getting human, instead. Why", he pressed on, glaring at Bobby and frowning. "Did I get it wrong again? Haven't I protected him enough? You yourself told me more than once that if I tripped Lucien down the stairs once more I could get demoted", he observed bitterly. But he could bet it - the answer would have been 'You have to discover it yourself'.

Crowley had gotten rid of his jacket and vest, as he tended to get a bit too warm whenever he yelled at his executives. He was knotting his tie back when he heard the knocking. "Come in", he said simply, glancing at the window.

"There's no use of me telling it to you. You have to find that out alone. I can only give you a hint." He looked back at Dean. "You knew someone else than Castiel to whom it happened. Now- don't overthink this. Remember. You and Castiel are to live your new lives fully now. The monsters are gone." Time resumed, and he took another big, deep breath. From afar, they could hear Chuck and Castiel's enthusiastic chat.

Hanakael opened the door and came in. He discreetly took in the pleasant sight of Crowley wearing only his black shirt, but forced his eyes not to dwell on his body too much. He politely waited for Crowley to ask him to either sit down or start their little chat.

Dean hung his head low in understanding, a bit bitter about the cryptic answer. But well, he had been expecting it. He threw a glance at Castiel, laughing and chatting with his father, and felt his heart clench in his chest.
He didn't remember his suffering, his loss, but he could imagine it. And he would have never wanted to bear it ever again.

Crowley shrugged on his vest again, then finally turned to Hanakael, inviting him to sit down with a gesture and a smile. "So", he drawled, sitting down himself. "How did you enjoy your first taste of a working routine in my office?"

Bobby looked at Dean, and remained silent for a while. Then he smiled. "Hey, Mr. Long-face. You got a fish pulling on your line."

"It was very interesting," Hanakael replied right away. "As I said earlier, your files are the most detailed, well-built I've ever seen. You do have demanding clients, but I like the challenge it offers for a day-to-day work here."