FIC: Twitfics III, Multiple Pairings, R
May. 6th, 2010 01:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cloudy_ficTitle: Twitfics III: AprilTwitFic
Author: CloudyJenn
Fandom: Supernatural
Pairings: Dean/Castiel, Jimmy/Amelia, Sam/Gabriel, McKay/Sheppard
Rating: R
Word Count: 9500+
Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me. I am making no profit from this fanfiction.
Warnings: General Season 5 Spoilers
Summary: Too many for one summary. Supernatural characters doing things!
Author's Notes: A third collection of ficlets from my twitter. Most of them are based on our AprilTwitfic challenge. Some got really long! But are still short enough to be all included here. Lots of series as well. I hope you enjoy it!
Stitch and Screw
"Cas?" Dean asks breathlessly. Cas presses harder against him and whips out his needles.
"Let's knit."
Dean moans. "God, yes."
~~~
Cultural Differences
"I've to ask for permission to court your brother."
Sam stares.
"It's the angelic way."
He blinks.
"I should just ask himself, shouldn't I?"
Sam nods and silently watches Castiel walk away.
~~~
Envy
Dean eyes Cas' bowl.
"What're those?"
Cas looks at the small brown bits on his ice cream.
"Sprinkles."
Dean scowls. "I want sprinkles."
~~~
Family History
At 5, Jack asks Dean how he 'met Daddy'.
"Um, Daddy won me in a fight."
Years later, Jack finally understands the fight was with Dean himself.
~~~
His
When Dean reaches for himself, desperate and babbling, Castiel smacks his hand away. Dean's pleasure is Castiel's task and no one else's.
~~~
Angel Series
Introductions
"Castiel." Cas turns at Anael's voice and smiles pleasantly.
"Yes, brother?"
She takes his arm and they walk. "I have a new task for you."
Pride echoes within his grace. "What is it?"
"Our Father wants you to train our newest brother," she says as she tugs him through space. They explode into existence next to another angel. He is larger than Castiel, but undoubtedly newer.
"This is Dean," Anael says, but Castiel barely hears her. His attention is caught by giant brown wings and green eyes and a spatter of freckes.
"Hey," Dean says and Castiel falls.
Warning
"Dean is a warrior, but our Father would like for him to learn strategy," Anael explains. Castiel senses she's hiding her amusement, but he can't stop himself from staring at Dean. Without a doubt, Dean is the most beautiful angel their Father has ever created. Castiel would swear not even the Morningstar could compare.
"Castiel," Anael says in a quiet undertone as Dean examines his own wings. "Be careful. He's full young, you know."
Castiel shrugs off her touch and glares at her. "I will allow nothing to harm him. Especially not myself."
Separation
"I'm leaving you now," Anael says softly to Dean and Castiel braces himself. It's hard for new angels to be separated from the angel who first met them on their journey. Dean just looks at her, then flies to Castiel's side, wings flapping wildly.
"Okay," he says and Castiel shivers as their wings brush against one another. "See ya around."
Anael is laughing as she flies away.
Beauty
"Show me your wings."
They explode to either side, huge and powerful, casting great shadows across the ground. Each feather a collection of browns, sandy and chestnut and chocolate. Castiel's breath halts in his lungs. Oh to be wrapped up in those wings.
"V-very impressive," he stutters.
New Name
"Again."
Dean screeches to a halt, wings tossing restlessly on his back.
"C'mon, Cas. I'm bored."
A strange warm feeling swells within his grace.
"Did you call me 'Cas'?"
Dean smirks at him. "Yeah, I like it better," he says with a mischievous grin and suddenly Castiel does too.
Abandon
He takes Dean to the ocean. They fly side by side over a vast crystal landscape. Joy blooms on Dean's features and Castiel cannot understand the feelings coming to life within him.
"Hey, watch," Dean suddenly says and then he is hurtling downwards. Castiel watches in horror and awe as Dean crashes headfirst into the waves. He charges to the surface.
"Dean!" A shape circles silently under the water. "Dean?"
His student bursts out of the water with a tremendous splash, shooting up past Castiel straight into the air. His soaked wings shake and quiver, sprinkling Castiel with droplets. Dean let's out a whooping noise.
"Damn, that's cold." He floats down to Castiel's side, only then noticing Cas' shock. "What? You never tried that?"
Castiel glares at him. "Of course not. We're angels. Not human children."
Dean grins.
"Yeah, but human kids are fun!"
And then his hands are wrapped around the edge of Castiel's silvered wings.
"Your turn!" Castiel jerks back, but he only manages to bring Dean closer. Their chests press together and Dean's leans in, his mouth hovering just over Castiel's. "Don't worry. I'll go too."
Castiel's eyes fall shut and he nods. The first shock of water is icy and painful and glorious.
Quiet
They lay in the garden, both tired from Dean's most recent lesson. Dean has pulled Castiel's left wing into his lap and his fingers lazily card through the soft feathers. It's peaceful and quiet and Castiel can't remember his life before Dean.
Permission
"Hey, Cas?" He looks over to where Dean sits, one arm wrapped around his right wing. His expression is uncharacteristically nervous.
"What is it?"
Dean swallows hard, then looks up, the green of his eyes darker than usual.
"Are we allowed?"
"Allowed what?" Castiel asks on confusion. Dean's answer is a soft kiss, pressed to the corner of Cas' mouth.
"Are we allowed?"
Castiel's breath whispers across his face and Dean's eyes close as Castiel's fingers thread into the dark brown feathers.
Yes, Castiel thinks as he presses the same answer against Dean's lips.
Discovery
Months pass and the initial training is finished. Dean is ready for his first supervised task.
"We will seek the human and then try to discover what they need. Are you ready?"
Dean merely nods. They shoot towards Earth, following the glow of the human's soul until they finally see a young man, kneeling in the grass. Dean's eyebrows form into a dark worried line.
"Dean?"
"Shhh," he urges as they move closer to the man. He is staring at a rugged wood cross shoved deep in the ground.
"They won't deal," the human says dully, his eyes red with tears. "But don't worry. I'll find a way to bring you back."
Beside Castiel, Dean begins to tremble.
"No," he whispers.
"Dean?"
He curls forward as if in pain and the man continues talking, "I promise, Dean."
Dean pitches to his knees and when he speaks, his gorgeous voice is a wrecked whisper.
"Please no...Sammy..."
Confrontation
"How could you not tell me he was a transformed human?"
Even as he shouts at Anael, Castiel thinks to himself that if makes sense. Dean's carefree spirit, his deeply ingrained passion, the nicknames and the joking; they are all such human attributes. So different from Castiel. A large part of the reason Castiel loves him so.
"He wasn't supposed to remember," Anael defends.
"Well, he does now! I had to stop him from appearing to his brother in this form. Why was he sent to his former family?" Castiel demands.
"I don't know, but obviously he can help Sam," Anael says, her tone serious and forceful. "He will find a way."
She rises on gray wings and flies away, leaving Cas helpless.
Sacrifice
"We gotta go help him," Dean says the instance Cas returns to him.
"We will. I believe you are meant to stop his spiral into darkness. In this case, I think whispers would-"
"No," Dean interrupts, hands clenched at his sides. "He needs me. A couple of whispers and a shot of grace ain't gonna cut it."
Everything begins to collapse around Castiel. "You can't mean..."
Dean looks at his hands.
"You don't understand. I always looked after him. Hell, I practically raised the kid. He needs me. Not just to perch on his shoulder like a damn invisible parrot. He needs me."
Castiel's wings twist and curl together and this must be what dying feels like.
"I need you," he whispers and then Dean is beside him arms round his waist, glorious strong wings wrapped over both shoulders.
"Come with me," he says. "Please, Cas. I need you too. I can't go alone. I love you."
Castiel hides his face in Dean's neck. How could he leave his home? How could he let Dean throw away his precious grace or lose these beautiful wings?
"We would change," he says, words muffled. Dean lifts his chin.
"This will never change." He kisses Cas with a gentleness Cas didn't think he could find in his frantic worry. "We'd be back someday. But Sam needs me now. We'll be back, but I don't know if we could save Sam from hell."
Castiel peers up into Dean's earnest eyes. There is such love and hope traced along the edges of green and gold. A promise to protect and support. And his fate was sealed a long time ago, the first time he saw those same eyes giving him a curious look. Dean leans forward, lips brushing against Castiel's.
"Don't worry. I'll go too."
Castiel puffs a laugh against Dean's mouth and kisses him, deep and long.
"Yes," he murmurs. Dean rests his forehead against Castiel's and his body sags with relief. "Thank you," he rasps. "Thank you so-"
But Cas kisses him hard again and tugs at his wings. And together, they fall.
~~~
A Very Good Day
"Happy birthday!" Dean's eyes widen as Sam and Castiel carry in the biggest damn pie he's ever seen, 34 candles shoved down in the crust. It looks like it's going to fall apart any second and Dean sees chunks of apple showing through the crust. It's amazing.
"Happy birthday to me," Dean declares as Sam starts to light the candles and Castiel swoops in for the first of many birthday kisses.
~~~
The Bet
"So what's your name?" Dean asks as he slides his fingers down the man's bare chest to settle on his hips.
"C-Cas," he stutters. His voice is breathless, but also bewildered as if he can't quite believe he's standing naked in Dean's motel room. Especially not when Dean is still fully dressed.
"Cas," Dean repeats with a smile. "I like it," he murmurs against Cas' neck.
Far away in another time, another realm two brothers watch the proceedings with interest.
"See? I told you they'd go there if we took away those pesky memories."
The other nods his defeat. "I still think it seems cruel. Castiel will be very angry with you."
"I'll deal with Castiel. You owe me five bucks."
Michael pays Gabriel as they both watch Castiel forcibly remove Dean from his clothing. Gabriel grins. If nothing else, it's totally worth the fallout to see that cocky son of a bitch completely submit to Castiel.
''Atta boy, Cas," he mutters to himself.
~~~
8-Ball
Outlook good. It is decidedly so. You may rely on it. Signs point to yes.
"Fine," Dean snaps as he flings the ball across the room. He pulls out his phone and dials. "Hey, Cas? Could you come over? I got something I need to ask you."
~~~
Hands Off
"What happened to my box of Kix?"
Castiel's voice was low and tense. Dean and Sam exchanged a glance.
"Um," Dean said. "We got hungry?"
As the first crackle of energy sparked around Cas and his eyes narrowed to slits, Dean knew they were in trouble.
"Run, Sam!"
~~~
Lazy
"We should make breakfast," Dean says into Castiel's hair.
"You should make breakfast," Castiel counters as he tightens his grip on Dean's waist and presses a leg between both of Dean's. "I don't require food."
Dean snorts.
"Excuses, excuses."
He traces patterns across Cas' bare back with the tips of his fingers and decides breakfast can wait.
~~~
Pizza Series
Unexpected
Just one more delivery and he can go home. The door opens.
"Pizza for...whoa," he says as he looks up into the eyes of the hottest guy he's ever seen. Hot guy's head cocks.
"My name is not Whoa. It's Castiel," he says in a deep growl that nearly causes Dean to drop the pizza.
"Um, right."
They exchange money for food and as Dean stumbles back to his car, he reminds himself to always ask for this route.
Good Customer
"Novak again?" Dean asks, incredulous, but pleased. He takes the latest order and books it to Castiel's house.
"You sure love pizza, dude," Dean comments with a smile. "This is like the fifth time this week."
Castiel takes the pizza. "Actually I rather dislike your pizza. The sauce is too sweet and crust far too thin."
Dean frowns. "Then why...?" Castiel raises an eyebrow at him, his lips twitch and suddenly Dean gets it. "Oh." He grins. "You know, it'd be cheaper just to ask me out," he says as he writes his number on Castiel's ticket.
Suave
When the unknown number comes up on his cell, Dean grins and cuts Sam off mid-babble. "Shut up. I'm getting a booty call."
Sam's eyeroll just makes Dean that much happier.
"Hello?"
Castiel's weird growl echoes down the line. "Hello, this is Castiel Novak. Your pizza customer?"
Dean chokes down his chuckle.
"Yeah, I remember," he says.
"Good. I was hoping you would allow me to escort you to a restaurant with more acceptable food."
This time Dean actually laughs. "You really know how to romance a guy, don't you?"
"Actually, no,' Castiel says and Dean just laughs again. This is going to be interesting.
~~~
Loving Revenge
After Dean's death, he found himself sitting on a rock next to a cliff jutting out over an immense crystal blue ocean. The first thing he became aware of were two heavy awkward objects against his back.
"The hell?" A voice speaks out to him from the left.
"Curious choice of words."
Dean jumps off the rock and spins around, eyes wide. "Cas...?" He hasn't seen the angel since the end of the war. Really only five years in Earth time, but still long enough that seeing him again is a shock. A very pleasant shock.
"Yes, Dean. Hello." He's not smiling, but Dean can tell he's amused. "Welcome to the new and improved Heaven."
Dean looks out over the bright green grass and the distant waves. "This isn't a memory."
Castiel nods. "You're not human. I assume you noticed the wings."
"Yeah...I was kinda hoping that was a dream," Dean admits as he looks over his own shoulders. Sure enough, there are tall black wings arching over both shoulders. Well...at least they looked pretty badass.
"I'm here to teach you to fly," Castiel says. Dean's lips twitch.
"That all?" Castiel looks away and a faint smile touches his mouth.
"Well, for now. This is eternity after all. We've got time." The unspoken message being, yeah, I'd hit that, but you've got a lot of shit to make up for. Dean can handle that.
"So flying." He peers down over the edge of the cliff and shudders. "Can't be that hard, right?"
"Indeed not." Castiel walks up to his side and together they look out over the view. "First, you have to think a happy thought."
Dean's head jerks to the side.
"Seriously?"
"No," Castiel said and then he pushes Dean off the side of the cliff.
As Dean plummets to the rocks, his wings beating erratically on his back, he thinks to himself that he totally deserved that.
~~~
Girly
Sam's pretty sure if Dean doesn't stop playing with his new boobs, Castiel is either going to kill him or pounce on him. Not that it would be very different than normal. And since Sam already has the horror of knowing what his brother's throaty mid-coitus moan sounds like, he's not eager to learn the higher pitched female version.
"Right, I'm leaving."
Dean looks up, but Castiel's eyes remain firmly fixed on his lover's strange new curvy bits.
"Oh," Sam adds as he opens the door. "Please don't forget to use a condom."
~~~
Competition
Castiel sits in the Impala, quietly waiting for Dean to return from the grocery store. The car echoes with the obvious imprint of Dean's love. On a strange embarrassing human whim, Castiel reaches out and lays his hand on the dashboard.
"He is mine now," he calmly announces. The car remains silent. Castiel feels oddly triumphant.
~~~
Good Idea, Bad Idea
"We should find Sam a girl," Dean says absently as Castiel presses a precise line of kisses along his chest.
"Why a girl?" Cas asks mid-kiss and his expression implies that Dean better have a good answer.
"Um, what, you think we should get him an angel dude?"
As one, their thoughts turn to the only male angel they know who isn't dead or consistently trying to kill them. Dean shudders and Cas raises an eyebrow.
"We should find Sam a girl," Castiel agrees.
"Yeah," Dean says, tilting his head in a silent request for neck kisses.
Cas complies.
~~~
The Little Things
"Dean." Cas holds up a tiny square box. "Did you know about these very small pies?"
Dean stares at the gift Cas hands him. "I love you, man."
~~~
Kara Series
Unavailable
Mrs. Teague sighs when Kara's hot dad (without the wedding ring) is absent one morning in favor of a dark-haired man who introduces himself as 'her other father, Cas.' Ah well, she probably shouldn't have crushes on her students' parents anyway.
Charmed
Kara climbs onto Castiel's lap, though he is asleep and listing to one side. As Dean watches, she settles into his lax arms. "Night Daddy," she whispers and Dean wonders how they ended up with such a sweet kid. It was probably Sam's fault.
Learning from Uncle Sam
Sam pauses, not quite panicked, but close to it. He has no idea what to tell Kara when she asks why her parents wanted to be alone that night.
"Um, well, see, they're friends...best friends...and sometimes best friends want to be alone together," he settles on saying.
"So they can play?" she asks and Sam's stifles an inappropriate laugh.
"Yeah."
Kara frowns. "But you're their best friend too. How come you aren't invited?"
Sam blinks, has a disturbing mental image and then shakes himself.
"Hey, do you want to get some ice cream?" he asks instead of answering her and when Kara lets out a whoop, running to get her coat, Sam sags with relief.
Babysitting is hard.
Drop-off
Later that night, when Sam drops Kara off, she runs up to Dean, throws her arms around his legs and shouts, "I hope you had fun playing with Daddy!"
The looks Dean and Cas give him tell Sam he's in for an interesting conversation later.
~~~
Text Messages
Dean to Bobby: "Do you know how to get food coloring out of feathers?"
Sam to Dean: "That's it, man. Next time, I'm recording you guys and selling it online."
Cas to Dean: "It won't go away. Where are you?"
Cas to Sam: "I found him. Does Dean own a snood? Because if not, I should find and return it to its original owner."
Dean to Sam's phone: "Fuk man i lvoe yu c'nonover nad lemem show you."
Sam to Cas: "You're idiotic boyfriend is drunk texting me. Go do something to him."
~~~
Stubborn
He needs the remote, but Castiel won't let his hand go.
"Cas?" His mulish look amuses Dean. "Alright, keep it."
Castiel tugs the hand into his lap.
~~~
Transformation Series
Oops
Of all the things Dean expected to wake up to, the shining bright grin of a three year-old Sammy wasn't one of them. "Dean!" Sam falls onto Dean's chest and hugged him for all he was worth. Instinct had Dean's arms wrapped around his baby brother and he sighed. It was going to be a very long day.
Innocence
"It was a thoughtform creature," Castiel says as he examines Sam, who grins and pats the side of his face.
"Cas," he says gleefully and then leans up to plant a messy kiss on his face.
"The creature twisted Sam's dreams and desires," Castiel says as if Sam hadn't just slobbered on him. Dean's eyebrows raise.
"And Sam wants to be a baby?"
Castiel gazes at Sam, head cocked. "Perhaps rather he wishes to return to a more innocent time of his life."
Dean sighs. Great. Just great.
Adorable
"Alright, I got the food-" Dean's voice trails off as his eyes land on the most disgustingly sweet image he's ever seen. His tiny baby brother sprawled on Castiel's chest, both sleeping and in Cas' case, snoring lightly. The only thing he could think to do is take pictures.
Questions
Dean hears Sam and Castiel murmuring quietly together across the room.
"You got wings?"
"I do."
"I wanna see."
"You can't."
"Why?"
Dean grins at the whiny quality of Sam's voice.
"Humans can't see them."
"Didja show Dean?"
Dean looks over to see Castiel's frown. "Dean is human."
He considers telling Castiel not to argue with children, then decides he'll figure it out.
"Please?" Sam says and Dean laughs into his drink.
~~~
Saved
Deafening silence fills Dean's ears and he sags into Castiel. "Nice timing," he croaks, collapsing and staring up at a blessedly tornado free sky.
~~~
Kids Know Best
Dean looked over top of his cereal bowl at Beth. She'd grown a lot in the three years since Dean found her as a tiny five year-old, hiding in the attic from what she thought was her murderous Uncle Nick.
"What?" he asked and Beth sighed.
"I said I need another parent. I think you should marry Cas."
Dean sat back. "Uh huh. And why Cas?"
Beth folded her hands like she always did when acting 'grown-up'. "Because he's always here, you like him more than the girls you go out with sometimes and he looks at your butt a lot."
Dean hated how surprised he felt. "He does?"
Beth rolled her eyes. "Only all the time. How could you not notice? You stare at him all the time!" She leaned forward. "Uncle Sam told Aunt Jill you could cut the sexual tension with a knife."
"Alright!" Dean snaps. "First off, you stop spying on Sam. Second of all if I talk to Cas, will you promise never to say sexual tension in my presence again?"
Beth grinned and nodded. Mission accomplished.
~~~
Human Lovers Anonymous Series
First Step
Castiel stands and takes a deep breath. Around him sits a group of his fellow angels. All with sympathetic expressions on their faces. He takes one more breath and says, "Hello. My name is Castiel and I'm in love with a human." The other angels nod. "Hello, Castiel," they say.
Commiseration
"We met in Perdition."
Another angel sighs. "You can't resist ones seared to your grace by hellfire," she says. He's glad he's not alone.
Sharing
"Does he love you too?" A blond angel with a sad smile asks. "Mine never did."
Cas aches for them both.
"I don't think mine even likes me."
New Friend
"Humans aren't designed to love angels," one haughty petite angel declares and Castiel's stomach hurts.
"Don't pay attention to her," another angel whispers to him. "She's just mad that her human married someone else." She offers a hand. "I'm Eliael." They shake hands.
"You seem happier than most here," he comments.
"Yes, well." She pauses. "Mine loved me."
Castiel raises an eyebrow. "Then...?"
"They only live so long, Castiel," she says softly. "Sometimes it's harder if you have your feelings returned."
Castiel has no words for that.
Flying Lessons
"What's it like?" Cas asks shyly, feeling foolish.
Eliael seems confused for a moment, then faint amusement grows in her brown eyes.
"I assume you mean physical affection."
At Cas' obvious blushing, Eliael nods. "Yes, I thought as much. Well, do you remember how you felt when first learning to fly? That moment when you crossed the barrier from Heaven's doorway into the gravity of Earth's corridors?"
Castiel's perplexed, but he nods silently. "It felt as if you were teetering on the edge between safety and the unknown and you feared the weight pulling down your wings because it might drag you under."
"I fought it," Castiel murmurs, perfectly recalling that breathless fear, that brief loss of control just before he slipped into the world of humans.
"Yes, I did as well, but the moment took me against my will and do you remember how you felt when the winds touched your face and the sun found your wings the first time?"
He does. Like rushing headlong into joy and freedom, the winds fighting gravity and lifting his wings into a soaring circle over his Father's most glorious creation.
"Yes, well," Eliael says, seeing the understanding in Castiel's eyes. "Physical affection is like that moment, but shared with the one you love."
"Dean doesn't like to fly," Castiel says automatically, trying to process the idea of sharing that kind of ecstasy with Dean.
Eliael laughs.
"I've heard that you can be quite literal," she says and Castiel fidgets. "Maybe Dean would like flying better if you were the one teaching him."
He blushes again.
The Risk
"Is it worth it?"
Eliael considers this and Castiel can't guess at the memories flashing across her eyes. And then she smiles. "I wouldn't give up even a minute of it. So why are you wasting time at silly meetings? Go. Be romantic." At Castiel's perplexed expression, she amends her statement. "Be insistent. And if he refuses you, well...you know where to find me."
Castiel thinks about flying as he makes him way to Dean.
Taking Action
"Where've you been?" Dean snaps when Castiel shows up in his motel room. He's become even more prickly and irritated with Castiel since they won the war. His assumption has been that Dean's tired of Castiel sticking around. Keeping Eliael's advice in mind, Castiel intends to find out for sure.
"I had a meeting," he answers and Dean snorts.
"Yeah, sure. Another 'meeting'," he says, moving his fingers in that bizarre fashion humans use when they want to emphasize something with sarcasm. "You've had a lot of these meetings lately. You know, I'm beginning to think one of these days, you're going to fly off to one of these meetings and just not come back," he says angrily as he shoves clothing into a bag.
Castiel frowns.
"Have I been gone long?"
Sometimes he loses track of time in Heaven.
"Oh, just two weeks," Dean grunts, refusing to look at him. "But hey, we're not married, you can go wherever the hell you want for however long you want."
It's not the first time Dean has said something like this. We're not married. I don't own you. It's not like we're dating or something. You don't have to answer to me.
Dean's not angry because Castiel has stayed. He is angry because Castiel left and did not seek Dean's opinion about the matter.
Interesting.
"Perhaps it would ease your mind if we were married," Castiel contemplates aloud.
Dean stares at him.
"What the fuck...?"
"It seems like you want some claim on my time," Castiel says, moving closer to Dean, into his beloved personal space. "It would be easier if you just asked for it rather than snarl at me about other matters, but if marriage works better for you, then I could accept that."
"Cas," Dean says weakly, staring at Castiel's mouth of all places. "We're not getting married."
"No matter," he says. Eliael's advice streams through his mind. Be insistent. "But I am still tired of your poor attitude and longing for something it's possible I may have had all along."
"What are you talking about?" Dean asks, but it feels as if he is more interested in the sensation of pressing against Castiel's body with his own than with his question.
"I'm done talking," Castiel announces and then leans forward to press his mouth to Dean's.
There is a short moment of shocked hesitation on Dean's part. It quickly turns to heated action and the next hours pass in a haze of joy, affection and strange human pleasure.
Eliael is wrong though. It's not like his first time flying.
It's much better.
~~~
Home
Castiel watches silently as Dean rises from the bed time and again. First to check he locked the front door. Then to check the back. Next, a check to make sure the stove is off. Then to turn out the basement light. When he gets up to check the front door again, Castiel finally puts a hand on his arm to stop him.
"What's the matter?"
Dean shrugs.
"Nothing."
But Castiel doesn't believe him anymore than Dean believes himself. He doesn't even have to protest before Dean continues. "I don't know, man. This our first night in this place. Our...house." But Castiel knows he means to say 'home.' "I can't help thinking something's going to go wrong."
Castiel pulls him down, into the circle of his arms, rubs at his tense muscles.
"Something could go wrong," he allows. "But you should not worry about losing this home," Castiel says, squeezing his arms a bit to emphasize that he's not talking about the building. "Everything will be fine." He kisses Dean's temple and feels him relax bit by bit. "Trust me."
Dean snorts.
''Cause you're a big bad angel that'll protect the homestead from invaders?"
He nods solemnly. "Yes."
A strange expression flickers across Dean's face, gone before Cas can read it and then he smiles. "Alright then." He pushes in closer to Cas. "You know, we've had sex in like every room in this place except the bedroom?"
Castiel rolls over on top of Dean. "I've been saving it for last," he informs him. Dean starts to say something, but Castiel kisses the words off his lips and it isn't long before Dean is totally relaxed once more.
~~~
Fetish
Dean discovers not long after they start dating that Castiel really likes pockets. Specifically Dean's pockets. Everytime Dean stands still long enough, Castiel's hands dig into his coat pockets or better yet, his pants pockets. "To keep warm," he explains, though he does it in warm motel rooms and out in hot Southern climates. He begins slipping little gifts in Dean's pockets. Marbles, shiny rocks, candy, notes written in weird languages. He even takes to using the pockets to manhandle Dean, fingers thrust deep inside the clothes and tugging Dean where Castiel wishes him to go.
"What's your deal with the pockets?"
Castiel curls his hands into fists on either side of Dean's jeans.
"Angels don't have pockets. They're very intimate. Like a secret hiding place close to your body."
Dean stares.
"Weirdo," he says just as Castiel jerks him forward for a kiss.
~~~
Study Break
"Stop it." Dean kisses Castiel's neck, just below his ear. "Dean, I must study." Another kiss along his jaw. "Don't-"
Dean bites down and Cas snaps, tugging Dean onto his lap. The books can wait.
Good Grades
Castiel hands Dean the paper. "I got a 100, no thanks to you." Dean snickers.
"I remember this paper. Man, that was awesome."
Cas rolls his eyes.
~~~
Weeping Angel
"DON'T BLINK," Dean shouts drunkenly when Castiel shows up. Castiel glances to Sam, who sighs.
"Sorry. Made the mistake of showing him Doctor Who."
~~~
Mixed Up Series
Uncomfortable
"What are you doing?"
Castiel frowns, his eyebrows drawing down.
"Going to bed, Dean."
Dean crosses his arms. "No way. I'm not sleeping with you until you switch your body back with Sam."
Just in Case
"And what if we never switch back?" Castiel is only curious, not accusatory and Dean shrugs.
"That's not going to happen."
"But it might."
And Dean can't prove him wrong. He sighs and rubs his face. "Look, I said, you know...this thing..." He hates these conversations. Hates them passionately. "Look, I'm not screwing my damn brother, ok? But..you know, we could..."
Be weird platonic partners, he can't quite say. Castiel smiles.
"Yes, we could."
Worry
Sam is ridiculous in Castiel's body, taking too large steps and staring down at his body as if mesmerized. "Hey," Dean suddenly says as a prickle of discomfort strikes through him. "You're not doing...you know, anything weird with his body are you?" Sam glares at him.
"You're an idiot."
~~~
SGA Series
Rescue
The wraith bears down on them and Rodney knows. He just knows they're toast this time. Across the room, John battles the leader wraith and things are not looking good. This is Earth for pete's sake! They weren't supposed to be killed by wraith on Earth! On vacation even! And just as soon as the thought crosses his mind, there's an odd gust of wind and a flash of blinding light. A series of thumps and the sudden absence of the wraith trying to suck his life out of his chest alerts Rodney to the fact that the threat is over. He looks over at John, but the way is obscured by a totally incongruous man in a long tan trench coat.
"Castiel?" he hears John say and he sounds totally shocked. The man's head tilts.
"I'm glad to see you remember me, John Sheppard."
No Faith
"Let me get this straight," Rodney says, pacing around their hotel room. John would be watching him, but he can't take his eyes off Castiel who is standing by the door. Just standing there and looking around and actually freaking existing. "Your imaginary friend from childhood just saved us from wraith?"
John winces at the disbelief in Rodney's tone. "Yeah, I know how it sounds, but-"
"I'm not imaginary," Castiel comments. "I'm an Angel of the Lord sent to your past to ensure your safety till you could lead the expansion of the human race into the Pegasus Galaxy," he says calmly. "It was my first assignment post-Apocalypse. I was very honored to have been picked."
Rodney and John both stare at him.
"Okay, I think I like the imaginary friend story better," Rodney says.
Catching Up
"So...what have you been up to?" John asks because what the hell else is he supposed to say? He remembers he and Castiel playing with green army men together and counting stars in the nightsky outside his window and sharing his snacks at snacktime. And it was supposed to be fake but here Castiel sits, the same age, same outift, same slightly bemused expression. Rodney, of course, can't handle a normal conversation.
"Doing? He said...angel! Apocalypse! Were you listening?"
"Yes, the Apocalypse was quite an ordeal," Cas says calmly. "But that was over before we met."
"That's good," John says, shrugging at Rodney's enraged expression. "Oh hey, so that Dean guy was real, then?" he says suddenly remembering how Cas would talk about some dude named Dean and his brother...what was his name? Shawn? Sid?
Castiel nods. "Yes, Dean is my human lover," he says, still calm, as if angels go around having human boyfriends all the time.
"Oh." A pause. "Congratulations."
"Thank you," Castiel says and John's pretty sure Rodney's going to have an apoplexy. He grins. As usual, Rodney's reaction makes all the weird worth it.
Explanation
"So what? You still watch over him?"
Castiel contemplates the other man, Rodney. The connection he shares with John is obvious on his soul and Castiel is pleased. Rodney seems the difficult sort, but Castiel is well acquainted with the pleasures of a difficult partner.
"No, but I was nearby and felt his distress. I am accompanying Dean and Sam on their latest hunt."
Which leads to an explanation of 'hunting'. Rodney is horrified, but John seems understanding. After all, John is a hunter of sorts himself.
"I want to meet him,' John says suddenly. "You talked about him all the time. You know, I had a therapist tell me once that Dean was what my unconscious self desired to be. My, ah..dream hero," he says with a smirk. "It's nice to know I'm not crazy, but he did sounds kinda cool."
Castiel feels a strange sort of pleasant warmth he suspects is pride. "I'd like you to meet him too."
Strange Meeting
Dean is cleaning his guns when the door opens. Both Sam and Dean have weapons pointed at Castiel before they realize it's him.
"Why are you using the door?" Dean asks suspiciously, but the answer is obvious. There's two strange men over his shoulder. One is lean and attractive, the other stouter and wearing an annoyed expression. "Um?"
Castiel ushers his guests inside. "Dean, this is my former charge, John Sheppard and his lover, Rodney McKay."
The stout guy yelps and glares at him. "How'd you know that?"
The Sheppard guy snorts. "He's an angel, doofus."
Dean peers at Sheppard. "Thought he was a kid," he grunts. It's not like he doesn't trust Castiel. It's just well...the man is pretty good looking and Dean knows Castiel looks at other guys sometimes. Sam makes a small amused sound to his side and Sheppard apparently shares his humor because they exchange a smile. Castiel touches Dean's arm.
"He was mine as a child. He's since been passed to another angel who resides in the Pegasus Galaxy."
Dean relaxes. "Oh." He throws himself back in his chair and picks up his gun. "In that case, have a beer." Looking up, he sees a grin slowly growing on Sheppard's face.
"I was right,' he says as he slides into a nearby chair. "You are pretty cool."
~~~
Bad Patient
"Ow!"
"Be still."
Dean's glare is meant to burn, but Castiel is immune. Who knew the hunter who survived hell would fuss so over tiny splinter?
~~~
Bellevue High Series
Ambition
When Dean starts his first day as PE teacher at Bellevue, his only goal is to not traumatize the children. Then he has lunch in the teacher's lounge and meets Mr. Novak, the history teacher. His priorities shift.
New goal: get into Novak's pants.
Interest Returned
Jo grins at Castiel and nudges him. "Hot new gym teacher is staring at you."
Castiel glances at him. "Why?"
Jo sighs.
"Because you're hot too?" At Cas' blank look, she heaves another great sigh and walks away, grumbling under her breath. Cas watches the gym teacher until he leaves.
Protective Friend
"So tell me about Novak," Dean says when Jo drops by his office to introduce herself. She's suddenly a lot closer, in his face.
"Castiel is the sweetest, weirdest guy I've ever known. He goes back and forth between adorably awkward and awkwardly aggressive. He color coordinates his food, he has a cat named Treble Clef, he's obsessed with Canadian television and if anyone...anyone hurt him they'd have to answer to me."
Dean blinks and nods.
"Alright then."
First Impressions
When Dean walks into Castiel's classroom at the end of the day to introduce himself, Castiel speaks before he has the chance. "You were watching me."
Dean glares. "You were watching me too," he says defensively.
Castiel nods. "Yes."
When he only continues to silently stare, Dean sighs. He can already tell this relationship is going to be odd.
Business Date
Castiel misinterprets Dean's invitation to dinner as a meeting to discuss their students. They spend two hours at an Italian restaurant talking about the talents and problems of their shared students. It's only after Dean's returned home that he realizes it was kinda the best first date he's ever had.
Very Different
The next day, Dean brings Castiel a bag of treats for his cat, in the hopes that gift giving will make his intentions more apparent. Castiel takes the bag and stares at it.
"You brought me cat food."
Dean shifts from one foot to another.
"Yeah, you know, Jo told me about your cat," he says and Castiel's eyes light up.
"Oh they're for my cat," he says as if there were any other viable explanation for the treats. Dean wonders what he's getting himself into.
Second Date
"I'm sure he'd love to meet you," Castiel says. Dean frowns.
"Who?" A odd shyness creeps into Castiel's eyes.
"My cat. Would you like to come over?"
And that's how Dean got his first invite into Cas' private life.
To meet his cat.
Nervous
"What do you wear to meet a guy's cat?" Dean asks Sam as they peer into his closet.
"I can honestly say I have no idea."
Dean sighs.
Passing the Test
Castiel lives in a small apartment above a store in downtown that sells old records. Dean gets there 20 minutes early out of nervous anticipation and then is nearly late because he's distracted by looking for his favorite bands.
When Castiel answers the door, whatever Dean was going to say slides out of his brain. Instead of his usual suit and tie, Castiel is wearing a black buttoned shirt and a pair of battered blue jeans. Dean's eyes travel slowly from his collar down to his feet, where he discovers that Castiel is wearing mismatched socks. The first words out of his mouth are not the ones he would have chosen if he'd taken the time for careful thought.
"You match your food, but not your socks?"
"The two are unrelated," Castiel says in seeming confusion.
"Whatever you say, Rainman," Dean says. The comment earns him the little headtilt that Dean has cataloged as his fifth favorite thing about Cas. Or would have, if he were given to making the type of lists a fourth-grader might make.
"Would you like to come in?"
The inside of the apartment is as tidy as Castiel's classroom. Everything is green or brown or some other fall-type color and all the furniture looks antique. Dean might have thought Castiel was trying to be a stereotype if he didn't know for certain that Castiel's incapable of changing himself to fit anything.
Once they get into the living room, Dean spots an enormous brown cat sitting in a pile at the center of the sofa. Seriously, he's never seen a cat this huge in his life. Its paws are curled under its front and it looks up at him with what Dean imagines is a disdainful expression.
"Treble Clef," Castiel says in a formal tone. "This is Dean Winchester. We work together."
Dean feels like he's being presented to the Godcat or something.
"Um, hi," he says.
Treble Clef lets out a mewling noise and Castiel nods his head.
"Yes, he was the one who gave you the treats."
Dean whips around to stare at him, certain that Castiel is crazy-go-nuts and he's about to be slaughtered and fed to the Godcat. But then he notices the edge of Castiel's mouth quiver very slightly and he punches his arm.
"You freak!"
That's how Dean discovers that Castiel does have a sense of humor. Even if it's weird and not accompanied by any actual smiling or laughing.
He kinda likes it.
True Love
When Treble Clef crawls into Dean's lap and plops down, refusing to move for a good hour, Castiel sort of looks like he's fallen in love. Dean resolves to buy the cat more treats.
~~~
Missing the Point
"Come on, Cas," Dean wheedled. "Let me find you someone. Finally get rid of that pesky virginity."
Perhaps it was Castiel's mood, dampened by recent battle losses or perhaps it was the fact that this was the fourth time in as many weeks that Dean had mentioned sending Castiel away to learn sexual behavior. Either way, something in Castiel snapped and he found himself slapping the book he read down on the table.
"No," he growled. "Quit bothering me about it."
Dean made a face. "Geez, calm down. What the hell is your problem? Why don't you want me to help you out?"
Castiel stands and glares down at Dean. "Because you're always wrong about what you think I need, yet somehow manage to excel at being exactly what I want!"
And then he disappeared in a whirl of feathers, the strange combination of fear and relief he felt making it impossible to stay in that room with Dean.
~~~
Cockblocking
"I must leave," Castiel suddenly announced one evening. Dean frowned over the top of his car magazine.
"What? You gotta date?"
Castiel smoothed down the front of his coat. "Yes. I'm going to a restaurant with a man named Brad."
Dean leapt up from the bed. "What? Are you serious? Who is this guy? How did you meet a guy? You're always with us! Have I seen him?"
Sam snorted from the other side of the room. "Take a breath now and again, Dean."
But Dean ignored him, focus zeroed in totally on Castiel, who held out his arms.
"Do I look appropriate for dating?"
"No," Dean said instantly. "No, you look stupid and creepy."
Castiel considered himself in a mirror while Sam wheezed with laughter.
"Should I change?"
"No," Dean said again. "You're Cas. You can't change. You just gotta find someone who likes stupid and creepy."
"Man, this is the weirdest proposition I've ever heard," Sam commented through his laughter. He was ignored again.
"Perhaps Brad likes stupid and creepy," Castiel pointed out, but Dean grabbed his hand and dragged him to the door.
"Not as much as me. C'mon, let's go ditch him and then get drunk."
"How romantic," Sam said out loud to the empty room before returning to his reading.
~~~
The Giving Tree
"I thought you'd like this," Castiel says. He holds out a light gray feather. Dean frowns as he takes it.
"I don't understand."
"It's a feather from my wings." A pause. "My last feather. I've given you everything else. I thought you might as well have that too."
~~~
Sexual Harrassment
"It's right here." Sam moves to Castiel's side to peer at the ancient text he held. Without thought, he rests a hand against Castiel's back as he leans over to read. Castiel stiffens slightly, but Sam is so absorbed in his reading that he doesn't really notice. Until Dean walks in.
"Dude! Hands off the wings," he snaps, snatching Sam's hand of Castiel's back.
"What?" Sam looks from Dean's outrage to Castiel's blush. "Oh my god, I was fondling you inappropriately, wasn't I?"
Sam doesn't speak to Cas for a week.
~~~
Left Out
"-like nothing in this world-"
"Sam."
"-never seen that color white before-"
"Sam."
"-looked like they'd be really soft-"
"Sam!" His brother's attention finally caught, Dean glares and crosses his arms. "I really don't want to hear all about how you can see Cas' wings and I can't."
~~~
Cover Hog
Castiel glares at Dean till he slowly releases his grip on their quilt. Man, the angel took blanket wars way too seriously.
~~~
Koosh Series
Game
"Hey, think fast!" Castiel only cocks his head as Dean throws a koosh ball in his face. It bounces off and lays on the floor. "Dude...you suck."
Treasure
Dean eyes the bulge in Castiel's front pocket.
"What is that?"
Castiel tugs out the bright orange koosh ball Dean had thrown at his head.
"Why on Earth do you still have it?" Castiel frowns.
"Because you gave it to me."
Dean doesn't know whether to laugh in his face or hug him.
Stimulating
Dean watches Castiel hold one string of the koosh ball and bounce it up and down. It's hypnotic and strangely erotic. He swallows. He really needs to get laid.
Panic
"Dean," Castiel says, his expression panicked. Dean grabs his arm.
"What? What is it?"
"I lost Robert." Dean leans in as he couldn't hear.
"Who the hell is Robert?" he demands with absolutely no jealously whatsoever. He thinks.
"My string ball,' Cas answers sadly. A pause.
"The damn koosh ball?"
Dean wonders if maybe it's time to get Castiel laid too.
Recovery
About a week later, Dean finds the damned koosh ball shoved under the driver's seat of the Impala. He doesn't even want to know. The next time Castiel flies in, Dean tosses the ball his way.
"Here, I found Robert."
There is a brief moment where Castiel just stares at the mess of orange strings in his hands and then he suddenly has an armful of very grateful and rather amorous angel. Deans wants to ask Castiel what the big deal is about the stupid thing, but Castiel's tongue is in the way and he kinda forgets how to think. The next day, Dean very cheerfully buys and bestows a large herd of brightly colored koosh balls upon Castiel. It's when Dean realizes he finds the image of a naked Castiel surrounded by his little army of koosh balls pretty freaking adorable that Dean figures he's probably in love with the guy.
Go figure.
~~~
Hug Series
Friendly
Castiel likes hugging more than he thought he would. His borrowed flesh, his new humanity craves touch, the closeness and intimacy of a fellow human. It is not Dean who taught him this desire, but rather Sam. With Sam, hugging is ease and safety and feeling strangely small in comparison to his old self. It's nothing like the few brief hugs he's shared with Dean, those split seconds that leave Castiel feeling warm and unsatisfied. Hugging Sam is always enough. Hugging Dean never is.
Teacher
"You don't hug correctly," Castiel tells him one day. Dean frowns over his coffee.
"How's that?"
"You end them too soon. I've been learning from Sam the proper way."
His stomach twists at the thought. He's never seen them hugging.
"Private lessons?"
Castiel frowns, lost in thought.
"I suppose they were. Let me show you what you're doing wrong," he commands, gesturing for Dean to stand.
"What, like...now?" Dean asks, feeling a flutter of panic in his chest.
"Yes," Castiel says insistently. He stands and walks around the table, tugging Dean out of his chair. "This is how it should be done, I believe."
He slides his hands over Dean's hips and presses close, leaning his chest heavily against Dean's and resting his forehead against Dean's collarbone. His hands slip up Dean's back to settle over each shoulder. For a moment, Dean's own hands flutter uselessly. And then Castiel sighs softly, his breath warming Dean's neck and it snaps Dean into action. He wraps his arms fully around Castiel, one hand resting against the back of Cas' head and the other just under his shoulder blade.
"Like this?" Dean asks quietly, pressing his cheek against Castiel's hair. He feels another deep sigh and it sounds contented.
"Yes," Castiel agrees. "This is right."
~~~
Forceful
This was one part of their relationship that Dean hadn't quite figured out. Getting time away from Sam. With random girls, Dean would just tell Sam to get out, but this was Castiel. Sam's friend too and it just felt awkward. So as the evening wore on, Dean felt himself growing more and more antsy and Castiel grew more intense, eyes glued to Dean's face and Dean was pretty sure the tension was going to kill him. No matter what hints they dropped, Sam wasn't getting it. He just cheerfully babbled on about the latest case until finally Castiel's gaze snapped to Sam's face and he spoke.
"You have to leave," he growled. His invisible wings rustled on his back and his hair tossed back and forth. Sam leapt out of his chair.
"Sorry!" he squeaked as he escaped and then Castiel turned on Dean, stalking towards him.
"That was rude," Dean said as Castiel pressed him hard against the wall.
"I'll apologize later," Castiel said, his voice muffled against Dean's neck.
~~~
Common Interests
The two stand together and watch as Castiel and Jimmy, now seemingly twins, share an awkward goodbye.
"So," Amelia says brightly, turning to Dean. "I see we have the same taste in men."
They stare at each other in silence for a split second before bursting into laughter. Jimmy and Castiel's attention snaps to them.
"That can't be good," Jimmy comments.
"No," Castiel agrees.
~~~
Old Acquaintances
Dean looks between Castiel and Crowley.
"You two know each other?" he asks.
Castiel looks uncomfortable and Crowley smirks.
"How do you think the angel found you downstairs?"
~~~
Round Robin
Dean stares at Castiel's new pet.
"Dude, that is one fat bird."
Castiel scowls and gathers the robin to his chest, stalking out of the room.
~~~
A Father's Job
He shapes him lovingly, building a body of light, imbued with strength and crafting clever black wings. The new angel joins his garrison and the final piece is in place. A job well done.
~~~
Sick Series
Feeling Bad
The first time Castiel comes down with the flu, he begs Dean to end his existence. Dean just mops his forehead and promises to kill him in the morning so long as he drank his juice and got plenty of rest.
Spreading
"Okay, I got pills, juice and Kleenix," Dean says cheerfully. Two pairs of miserable eyes, one hazel and one blue, glare at him from either bed.
"What?" Dean asks. Sam coughs violently for half a minute before he rasps, "We hate you."
Castiel sneezes and then nods in agreement.
Secret Weapon
"Why're you pissed at me?" Dean pours some juice and hands it to Sam.
'Because you're well," Sam grunts, grabbing the juice. "We've been planning how to change that," he threatens.
"Yeah?" Dean pauses by Castiel's bed and slides a cool palm over his hot forehead.
"We decided on biological warfare based on your out of control sex drive."
Dean's already bent over, halfway to kissing Castiel's temple. He narrows his eyes at Castiel, who smirks at him.
"You suck," Dean declares.
Back to Normal
Dean pulls the thermometer from Castiel's mouth.
"Am I well?"
Dean throws it across the room and tackles Castiel to the bed.
Castiel takes that as a yes.
~~~
Brothers Series
Not Quite Friends
"No. No way. Never," Dean declares and then turns to leave.
"Help me with your brother and I'll help you with mine," Gabriel says. The words catch Dean at the door. His mind flies through a hundred reasons why this is a bad idea. Then he thinks about Castiel's big stupid eyes staring up at him and he curses under his breath.
"Fine," Dean snarls, turning back to see Gabriel's smarmy grin. Dean sighs.
This is such a bad bad idea.
Keep at It
"This isn't fair," Gabriel complains after he shows up from another failed conversation with Sam. "My stupid brother is already in love with you."
Dean shrugs and then tosses Gabriel his extra Snickers. "You want Sammy, you gotta work for it. He's a pain in the ass."
Gabriel snorts. "I don't know why I bother with you humans."
"The same reason I spent the morning listening to Castiel talk about Enochian fairytales," Dean says with a shudder. "So quit your bitching and go try again."
Gabriel's gone before Dean's last word finishes.
~~~
Special Gift
Sam watches on horror as Castiel and Gabriel sing to him while Dean tries not to laugh. "Dude, I got a choir of angels to sing for your birthday."
~~~
RPS
"What are you reading?" Dean scowls at Sam and then turns the screen.
"These fans are insane. Now it's not just us, but those dudes that play us in that stupid freaking show."
Sam makes a face, but then shrugs.
"Better than us."
Castiel makes a noise of agreement. "I don't see why this upsets you. You have no connection to these men."
"Oh yeah?" Dean begins typing and then flips the screen towards Castiel. "There." He points to a page on a website called twitter.com. "That's the guy that plays you."
Castiel reads silently for several moments and his eyebrows rise further and further up his forehead.
"This is troubling," he finally says and Dean nods.
"Told you."
~~~
Future
"Mommy," Stacie says as she leans in, her face covered in jam, "Andy said Grandpa's sad today."
Kara glances to the front porch, where her father stands ramrod straight. He looks the same as he always has, handsome and vibrant and younger than her forty-one years. Then her eyes find the calendar.
September 18th.
"It's okay, baby," she murmurs. "It's just an anniversary for Grandpa. He's a little lonely."
Stacie contemplates this and then hops off her chair.
"Maybe a hug will help."
Kara watches with a smile as Stacie runs onto the porch and flings herself into Dad's arms.
~~~
For Love
As soon as Sam registers the mess of tangled limbs as his sister and Castiel, he slams the door shut. Never in a million years would he ever have believed his womanizer of a sister would go for the very male angel. Love really does strange things to people.
~~~
Alias
"Okay, we need codenames," Dean decides. "I'll be Magnum. Sam will be Stretch. Cas, you can be Red Bull."
Castiel frowns. "Why Red Bull?"
Sam rolls his eyes.
"Because Red Bull gives you wings."
~~~
Knight
She points to the closet and Castiel nods. "Alright then. I'll take care of it."
He opens the door and holds up his hand. There's a flash of light. She hides her face in the blankets.
"It's fine now," Castiel assures her and he gathers his daughter to his chest. "I slayed the monster."
~~~
Soul Piece: Last Night
"Cas?" Dean's voice is quiet and sleepy, but his soul tugs insistently on Castiel's Grace. "Don't go."
Castiel carefully arranges himself and his wings next to Dean on the small bed.
"You must rest," Castiel says just as quietly. The expression on Dean's face is both pleading and mulish.
"Not tired," he protests, though Castiel can feel his exhaustion. He knows Sam's crying kept Dean awake during his afternoon nap time.
"Yes, you are."
Dean curls his hands in Castiel's wings and pulls, rolling himself into a cocoon of feathers.
"Don't go," he says again with a tinge of desperation. He's not afraid as far as Castiel can tell, but his reluctance to lose Castiel's company is unusually strong.
"Very well," Castiel concedes. He could use the comfort himself. Tomorrow is November 1st and his worry over Mary's deal grows each moment the deadline draws nearer. Dean lets out a tired whoops and cuddles in closer, buried comfortably in soft wings. Castiel smiles at his hidden charge.
"Goodnight, Dean."
"Night, Cas," is the slightly muffled answer.
Castiel stays with Dean until long after he falls asleep.
Author: CloudyJenn
Fandom: Supernatural
Pairings: Dean/Castiel, Jimmy/Amelia, Sam/Gabriel, McKay/Sheppard
Rating: R
Word Count: 9500+
Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me. I am making no profit from this fanfiction.
Warnings: General Season 5 Spoilers
Summary: Too many for one summary. Supernatural characters doing things!
Author's Notes: A third collection of ficlets from my twitter. Most of them are based on our AprilTwitfic challenge. Some got really long! But are still short enough to be all included here. Lots of series as well. I hope you enjoy it!
Stitch and Screw
"Cas?" Dean asks breathlessly. Cas presses harder against him and whips out his needles.
"Let's knit."
Dean moans. "God, yes."
Cultural Differences
"I've to ask for permission to court your brother."
Sam stares.
"It's the angelic way."
He blinks.
"I should just ask himself, shouldn't I?"
Sam nods and silently watches Castiel walk away.
Envy
Dean eyes Cas' bowl.
"What're those?"
Cas looks at the small brown bits on his ice cream.
"Sprinkles."
Dean scowls. "I want sprinkles."
Family History
At 5, Jack asks Dean how he 'met Daddy'.
"Um, Daddy won me in a fight."
Years later, Jack finally understands the fight was with Dean himself.
His
When Dean reaches for himself, desperate and babbling, Castiel smacks his hand away. Dean's pleasure is Castiel's task and no one else's.
Angel Series
Introductions
"Castiel." Cas turns at Anael's voice and smiles pleasantly.
"Yes, brother?"
She takes his arm and they walk. "I have a new task for you."
Pride echoes within his grace. "What is it?"
"Our Father wants you to train our newest brother," she says as she tugs him through space. They explode into existence next to another angel. He is larger than Castiel, but undoubtedly newer.
"This is Dean," Anael says, but Castiel barely hears her. His attention is caught by giant brown wings and green eyes and a spatter of freckes.
"Hey," Dean says and Castiel falls.
Warning
"Dean is a warrior, but our Father would like for him to learn strategy," Anael explains. Castiel senses she's hiding her amusement, but he can't stop himself from staring at Dean. Without a doubt, Dean is the most beautiful angel their Father has ever created. Castiel would swear not even the Morningstar could compare.
"Castiel," Anael says in a quiet undertone as Dean examines his own wings. "Be careful. He's full young, you know."
Castiel shrugs off her touch and glares at her. "I will allow nothing to harm him. Especially not myself."
Separation
"I'm leaving you now," Anael says softly to Dean and Castiel braces himself. It's hard for new angels to be separated from the angel who first met them on their journey. Dean just looks at her, then flies to Castiel's side, wings flapping wildly.
"Okay," he says and Castiel shivers as their wings brush against one another. "See ya around."
Anael is laughing as she flies away.
Beauty
"Show me your wings."
They explode to either side, huge and powerful, casting great shadows across the ground. Each feather a collection of browns, sandy and chestnut and chocolate. Castiel's breath halts in his lungs. Oh to be wrapped up in those wings.
"V-very impressive," he stutters.
New Name
"Again."
Dean screeches to a halt, wings tossing restlessly on his back.
"C'mon, Cas. I'm bored."
A strange warm feeling swells within his grace.
"Did you call me 'Cas'?"
Dean smirks at him. "Yeah, I like it better," he says with a mischievous grin and suddenly Castiel does too.
Abandon
He takes Dean to the ocean. They fly side by side over a vast crystal landscape. Joy blooms on Dean's features and Castiel cannot understand the feelings coming to life within him.
"Hey, watch," Dean suddenly says and then he is hurtling downwards. Castiel watches in horror and awe as Dean crashes headfirst into the waves. He charges to the surface.
"Dean!" A shape circles silently under the water. "Dean?"
His student bursts out of the water with a tremendous splash, shooting up past Castiel straight into the air. His soaked wings shake and quiver, sprinkling Castiel with droplets. Dean let's out a whooping noise.
"Damn, that's cold." He floats down to Castiel's side, only then noticing Cas' shock. "What? You never tried that?"
Castiel glares at him. "Of course not. We're angels. Not human children."
Dean grins.
"Yeah, but human kids are fun!"
And then his hands are wrapped around the edge of Castiel's silvered wings.
"Your turn!" Castiel jerks back, but he only manages to bring Dean closer. Their chests press together and Dean's leans in, his mouth hovering just over Castiel's. "Don't worry. I'll go too."
Castiel's eyes fall shut and he nods. The first shock of water is icy and painful and glorious.
Quiet
They lay in the garden, both tired from Dean's most recent lesson. Dean has pulled Castiel's left wing into his lap and his fingers lazily card through the soft feathers. It's peaceful and quiet and Castiel can't remember his life before Dean.
Permission
"Hey, Cas?" He looks over to where Dean sits, one arm wrapped around his right wing. His expression is uncharacteristically nervous.
"What is it?"
Dean swallows hard, then looks up, the green of his eyes darker than usual.
"Are we allowed?"
"Allowed what?" Castiel asks on confusion. Dean's answer is a soft kiss, pressed to the corner of Cas' mouth.
"Are we allowed?"
Castiel's breath whispers across his face and Dean's eyes close as Castiel's fingers thread into the dark brown feathers.
Yes, Castiel thinks as he presses the same answer against Dean's lips.
Discovery
Months pass and the initial training is finished. Dean is ready for his first supervised task.
"We will seek the human and then try to discover what they need. Are you ready?"
Dean merely nods. They shoot towards Earth, following the glow of the human's soul until they finally see a young man, kneeling in the grass. Dean's eyebrows form into a dark worried line.
"Dean?"
"Shhh," he urges as they move closer to the man. He is staring at a rugged wood cross shoved deep in the ground.
"They won't deal," the human says dully, his eyes red with tears. "But don't worry. I'll find a way to bring you back."
Beside Castiel, Dean begins to tremble.
"No," he whispers.
"Dean?"
He curls forward as if in pain and the man continues talking, "I promise, Dean."
Dean pitches to his knees and when he speaks, his gorgeous voice is a wrecked whisper.
"Please no...Sammy..."
Confrontation
"How could you not tell me he was a transformed human?"
Even as he shouts at Anael, Castiel thinks to himself that if makes sense. Dean's carefree spirit, his deeply ingrained passion, the nicknames and the joking; they are all such human attributes. So different from Castiel. A large part of the reason Castiel loves him so.
"He wasn't supposed to remember," Anael defends.
"Well, he does now! I had to stop him from appearing to his brother in this form. Why was he sent to his former family?" Castiel demands.
"I don't know, but obviously he can help Sam," Anael says, her tone serious and forceful. "He will find a way."
She rises on gray wings and flies away, leaving Cas helpless.
Sacrifice
"We gotta go help him," Dean says the instance Cas returns to him.
"We will. I believe you are meant to stop his spiral into darkness. In this case, I think whispers would-"
"No," Dean interrupts, hands clenched at his sides. "He needs me. A couple of whispers and a shot of grace ain't gonna cut it."
Everything begins to collapse around Castiel. "You can't mean..."
Dean looks at his hands.
"You don't understand. I always looked after him. Hell, I practically raised the kid. He needs me. Not just to perch on his shoulder like a damn invisible parrot. He needs me."
Castiel's wings twist and curl together and this must be what dying feels like.
"I need you," he whispers and then Dean is beside him arms round his waist, glorious strong wings wrapped over both shoulders.
"Come with me," he says. "Please, Cas. I need you too. I can't go alone. I love you."
Castiel hides his face in Dean's neck. How could he leave his home? How could he let Dean throw away his precious grace or lose these beautiful wings?
"We would change," he says, words muffled. Dean lifts his chin.
"This will never change." He kisses Cas with a gentleness Cas didn't think he could find in his frantic worry. "We'd be back someday. But Sam needs me now. We'll be back, but I don't know if we could save Sam from hell."
Castiel peers up into Dean's earnest eyes. There is such love and hope traced along the edges of green and gold. A promise to protect and support. And his fate was sealed a long time ago, the first time he saw those same eyes giving him a curious look. Dean leans forward, lips brushing against Castiel's.
"Don't worry. I'll go too."
Castiel puffs a laugh against Dean's mouth and kisses him, deep and long.
"Yes," he murmurs. Dean rests his forehead against Castiel's and his body sags with relief. "Thank you," he rasps. "Thank you so-"
But Cas kisses him hard again and tugs at his wings. And together, they fall.
A Very Good Day
"Happy birthday!" Dean's eyes widen as Sam and Castiel carry in the biggest damn pie he's ever seen, 34 candles shoved down in the crust. It looks like it's going to fall apart any second and Dean sees chunks of apple showing through the crust. It's amazing.
"Happy birthday to me," Dean declares as Sam starts to light the candles and Castiel swoops in for the first of many birthday kisses.
The Bet
"So what's your name?" Dean asks as he slides his fingers down the man's bare chest to settle on his hips.
"C-Cas," he stutters. His voice is breathless, but also bewildered as if he can't quite believe he's standing naked in Dean's motel room. Especially not when Dean is still fully dressed.
"Cas," Dean repeats with a smile. "I like it," he murmurs against Cas' neck.
Far away in another time, another realm two brothers watch the proceedings with interest.
"See? I told you they'd go there if we took away those pesky memories."
The other nods his defeat. "I still think it seems cruel. Castiel will be very angry with you."
"I'll deal with Castiel. You owe me five bucks."
Michael pays Gabriel as they both watch Castiel forcibly remove Dean from his clothing. Gabriel grins. If nothing else, it's totally worth the fallout to see that cocky son of a bitch completely submit to Castiel.
''Atta boy, Cas," he mutters to himself.
8-Ball
Outlook good. It is decidedly so. You may rely on it. Signs point to yes.
"Fine," Dean snaps as he flings the ball across the room. He pulls out his phone and dials. "Hey, Cas? Could you come over? I got something I need to ask you."
Hands Off
"What happened to my box of Kix?"
Castiel's voice was low and tense. Dean and Sam exchanged a glance.
"Um," Dean said. "We got hungry?"
As the first crackle of energy sparked around Cas and his eyes narrowed to slits, Dean knew they were in trouble.
"Run, Sam!"
Lazy
"We should make breakfast," Dean says into Castiel's hair.
"You should make breakfast," Castiel counters as he tightens his grip on Dean's waist and presses a leg between both of Dean's. "I don't require food."
Dean snorts.
"Excuses, excuses."
He traces patterns across Cas' bare back with the tips of his fingers and decides breakfast can wait.
Pizza Series
Unexpected
Just one more delivery and he can go home. The door opens.
"Pizza for...whoa," he says as he looks up into the eyes of the hottest guy he's ever seen. Hot guy's head cocks.
"My name is not Whoa. It's Castiel," he says in a deep growl that nearly causes Dean to drop the pizza.
"Um, right."
They exchange money for food and as Dean stumbles back to his car, he reminds himself to always ask for this route.
Good Customer
"Novak again?" Dean asks, incredulous, but pleased. He takes the latest order and books it to Castiel's house.
"You sure love pizza, dude," Dean comments with a smile. "This is like the fifth time this week."
Castiel takes the pizza. "Actually I rather dislike your pizza. The sauce is too sweet and crust far too thin."
Dean frowns. "Then why...?" Castiel raises an eyebrow at him, his lips twitch and suddenly Dean gets it. "Oh." He grins. "You know, it'd be cheaper just to ask me out," he says as he writes his number on Castiel's ticket.
Suave
When the unknown number comes up on his cell, Dean grins and cuts Sam off mid-babble. "Shut up. I'm getting a booty call."
Sam's eyeroll just makes Dean that much happier.
"Hello?"
Castiel's weird growl echoes down the line. "Hello, this is Castiel Novak. Your pizza customer?"
Dean chokes down his chuckle.
"Yeah, I remember," he says.
"Good. I was hoping you would allow me to escort you to a restaurant with more acceptable food."
This time Dean actually laughs. "You really know how to romance a guy, don't you?"
"Actually, no,' Castiel says and Dean just laughs again. This is going to be interesting.
Loving Revenge
After Dean's death, he found himself sitting on a rock next to a cliff jutting out over an immense crystal blue ocean. The first thing he became aware of were two heavy awkward objects against his back.
"The hell?" A voice speaks out to him from the left.
"Curious choice of words."
Dean jumps off the rock and spins around, eyes wide. "Cas...?" He hasn't seen the angel since the end of the war. Really only five years in Earth time, but still long enough that seeing him again is a shock. A very pleasant shock.
"Yes, Dean. Hello." He's not smiling, but Dean can tell he's amused. "Welcome to the new and improved Heaven."
Dean looks out over the bright green grass and the distant waves. "This isn't a memory."
Castiel nods. "You're not human. I assume you noticed the wings."
"Yeah...I was kinda hoping that was a dream," Dean admits as he looks over his own shoulders. Sure enough, there are tall black wings arching over both shoulders. Well...at least they looked pretty badass.
"I'm here to teach you to fly," Castiel says. Dean's lips twitch.
"That all?" Castiel looks away and a faint smile touches his mouth.
"Well, for now. This is eternity after all. We've got time." The unspoken message being, yeah, I'd hit that, but you've got a lot of shit to make up for. Dean can handle that.
"So flying." He peers down over the edge of the cliff and shudders. "Can't be that hard, right?"
"Indeed not." Castiel walks up to his side and together they look out over the view. "First, you have to think a happy thought."
Dean's head jerks to the side.
"Seriously?"
"No," Castiel said and then he pushes Dean off the side of the cliff.
As Dean plummets to the rocks, his wings beating erratically on his back, he thinks to himself that he totally deserved that.
Girly
Sam's pretty sure if Dean doesn't stop playing with his new boobs, Castiel is either going to kill him or pounce on him. Not that it would be very different than normal. And since Sam already has the horror of knowing what his brother's throaty mid-coitus moan sounds like, he's not eager to learn the higher pitched female version.
"Right, I'm leaving."
Dean looks up, but Castiel's eyes remain firmly fixed on his lover's strange new curvy bits.
"Oh," Sam adds as he opens the door. "Please don't forget to use a condom."
Competition
Castiel sits in the Impala, quietly waiting for Dean to return from the grocery store. The car echoes with the obvious imprint of Dean's love. On a strange embarrassing human whim, Castiel reaches out and lays his hand on the dashboard.
"He is mine now," he calmly announces. The car remains silent. Castiel feels oddly triumphant.
Good Idea, Bad Idea
"We should find Sam a girl," Dean says absently as Castiel presses a precise line of kisses along his chest.
"Why a girl?" Cas asks mid-kiss and his expression implies that Dean better have a good answer.
"Um, what, you think we should get him an angel dude?"
As one, their thoughts turn to the only male angel they know who isn't dead or consistently trying to kill them. Dean shudders and Cas raises an eyebrow.
"We should find Sam a girl," Castiel agrees.
"Yeah," Dean says, tilting his head in a silent request for neck kisses.
Cas complies.
The Little Things
"Dean." Cas holds up a tiny square box. "Did you know about these very small pies?"
Dean stares at the gift Cas hands him. "I love you, man."
Kara Series
Unavailable
Mrs. Teague sighs when Kara's hot dad (without the wedding ring) is absent one morning in favor of a dark-haired man who introduces himself as 'her other father, Cas.' Ah well, she probably shouldn't have crushes on her students' parents anyway.
Charmed
Kara climbs onto Castiel's lap, though he is asleep and listing to one side. As Dean watches, she settles into his lax arms. "Night Daddy," she whispers and Dean wonders how they ended up with such a sweet kid. It was probably Sam's fault.
Learning from Uncle Sam
Sam pauses, not quite panicked, but close to it. He has no idea what to tell Kara when she asks why her parents wanted to be alone that night.
"Um, well, see, they're friends...best friends...and sometimes best friends want to be alone together," he settles on saying.
"So they can play?" she asks and Sam's stifles an inappropriate laugh.
"Yeah."
Kara frowns. "But you're their best friend too. How come you aren't invited?"
Sam blinks, has a disturbing mental image and then shakes himself.
"Hey, do you want to get some ice cream?" he asks instead of answering her and when Kara lets out a whoop, running to get her coat, Sam sags with relief.
Babysitting is hard.
Drop-off
Later that night, when Sam drops Kara off, she runs up to Dean, throws her arms around his legs and shouts, "I hope you had fun playing with Daddy!"
The looks Dean and Cas give him tell Sam he's in for an interesting conversation later.
Text Messages
Dean to Bobby: "Do you know how to get food coloring out of feathers?"
Sam to Dean: "That's it, man. Next time, I'm recording you guys and selling it online."
Cas to Dean: "It won't go away. Where are you?"
Cas to Sam: "I found him. Does Dean own a snood? Because if not, I should find and return it to its original owner."
Dean to Sam's phone: "Fuk man i lvoe yu c'nonover nad lemem show you."
Sam to Cas: "You're idiotic boyfriend is drunk texting me. Go do something to him."
Stubborn
He needs the remote, but Castiel won't let his hand go.
"Cas?" His mulish look amuses Dean. "Alright, keep it."
Castiel tugs the hand into his lap.
Transformation Series
Oops
Of all the things Dean expected to wake up to, the shining bright grin of a three year-old Sammy wasn't one of them. "Dean!" Sam falls onto Dean's chest and hugged him for all he was worth. Instinct had Dean's arms wrapped around his baby brother and he sighed. It was going to be a very long day.
Innocence
"It was a thoughtform creature," Castiel says as he examines Sam, who grins and pats the side of his face.
"Cas," he says gleefully and then leans up to plant a messy kiss on his face.
"The creature twisted Sam's dreams and desires," Castiel says as if Sam hadn't just slobbered on him. Dean's eyebrows raise.
"And Sam wants to be a baby?"
Castiel gazes at Sam, head cocked. "Perhaps rather he wishes to return to a more innocent time of his life."
Dean sighs. Great. Just great.
Adorable
"Alright, I got the food-" Dean's voice trails off as his eyes land on the most disgustingly sweet image he's ever seen. His tiny baby brother sprawled on Castiel's chest, both sleeping and in Cas' case, snoring lightly. The only thing he could think to do is take pictures.
Questions
Dean hears Sam and Castiel murmuring quietly together across the room.
"You got wings?"
"I do."
"I wanna see."
"You can't."
"Why?"
Dean grins at the whiny quality of Sam's voice.
"Humans can't see them."
"Didja show Dean?"
Dean looks over to see Castiel's frown. "Dean is human."
He considers telling Castiel not to argue with children, then decides he'll figure it out.
"Please?" Sam says and Dean laughs into his drink.
Saved
Deafening silence fills Dean's ears and he sags into Castiel. "Nice timing," he croaks, collapsing and staring up at a blessedly tornado free sky.
Kids Know Best
Dean looked over top of his cereal bowl at Beth. She'd grown a lot in the three years since Dean found her as a tiny five year-old, hiding in the attic from what she thought was her murderous Uncle Nick.
"What?" he asked and Beth sighed.
"I said I need another parent. I think you should marry Cas."
Dean sat back. "Uh huh. And why Cas?"
Beth folded her hands like she always did when acting 'grown-up'. "Because he's always here, you like him more than the girls you go out with sometimes and he looks at your butt a lot."
Dean hated how surprised he felt. "He does?"
Beth rolled her eyes. "Only all the time. How could you not notice? You stare at him all the time!" She leaned forward. "Uncle Sam told Aunt Jill you could cut the sexual tension with a knife."
"Alright!" Dean snaps. "First off, you stop spying on Sam. Second of all if I talk to Cas, will you promise never to say sexual tension in my presence again?"
Beth grinned and nodded. Mission accomplished.
Human Lovers Anonymous Series
First Step
Castiel stands and takes a deep breath. Around him sits a group of his fellow angels. All with sympathetic expressions on their faces. He takes one more breath and says, "Hello. My name is Castiel and I'm in love with a human." The other angels nod. "Hello, Castiel," they say.
Commiseration
"We met in Perdition."
Another angel sighs. "You can't resist ones seared to your grace by hellfire," she says. He's glad he's not alone.
Sharing
"Does he love you too?" A blond angel with a sad smile asks. "Mine never did."
Cas aches for them both.
"I don't think mine even likes me."
New Friend
"Humans aren't designed to love angels," one haughty petite angel declares and Castiel's stomach hurts.
"Don't pay attention to her," another angel whispers to him. "She's just mad that her human married someone else." She offers a hand. "I'm Eliael." They shake hands.
"You seem happier than most here," he comments.
"Yes, well." She pauses. "Mine loved me."
Castiel raises an eyebrow. "Then...?"
"They only live so long, Castiel," she says softly. "Sometimes it's harder if you have your feelings returned."
Castiel has no words for that.
Flying Lessons
"What's it like?" Cas asks shyly, feeling foolish.
Eliael seems confused for a moment, then faint amusement grows in her brown eyes.
"I assume you mean physical affection."
At Cas' obvious blushing, Eliael nods. "Yes, I thought as much. Well, do you remember how you felt when first learning to fly? That moment when you crossed the barrier from Heaven's doorway into the gravity of Earth's corridors?"
Castiel's perplexed, but he nods silently. "It felt as if you were teetering on the edge between safety and the unknown and you feared the weight pulling down your wings because it might drag you under."
"I fought it," Castiel murmurs, perfectly recalling that breathless fear, that brief loss of control just before he slipped into the world of humans.
"Yes, I did as well, but the moment took me against my will and do you remember how you felt when the winds touched your face and the sun found your wings the first time?"
He does. Like rushing headlong into joy and freedom, the winds fighting gravity and lifting his wings into a soaring circle over his Father's most glorious creation.
"Yes, well," Eliael says, seeing the understanding in Castiel's eyes. "Physical affection is like that moment, but shared with the one you love."
"Dean doesn't like to fly," Castiel says automatically, trying to process the idea of sharing that kind of ecstasy with Dean.
Eliael laughs.
"I've heard that you can be quite literal," she says and Castiel fidgets. "Maybe Dean would like flying better if you were the one teaching him."
He blushes again.
The Risk
"Is it worth it?"
Eliael considers this and Castiel can't guess at the memories flashing across her eyes. And then she smiles. "I wouldn't give up even a minute of it. So why are you wasting time at silly meetings? Go. Be romantic." At Castiel's perplexed expression, she amends her statement. "Be insistent. And if he refuses you, well...you know where to find me."
Castiel thinks about flying as he makes him way to Dean.
Taking Action
"Where've you been?" Dean snaps when Castiel shows up in his motel room. He's become even more prickly and irritated with Castiel since they won the war. His assumption has been that Dean's tired of Castiel sticking around. Keeping Eliael's advice in mind, Castiel intends to find out for sure.
"I had a meeting," he answers and Dean snorts.
"Yeah, sure. Another 'meeting'," he says, moving his fingers in that bizarre fashion humans use when they want to emphasize something with sarcasm. "You've had a lot of these meetings lately. You know, I'm beginning to think one of these days, you're going to fly off to one of these meetings and just not come back," he says angrily as he shoves clothing into a bag.
Castiel frowns.
"Have I been gone long?"
Sometimes he loses track of time in Heaven.
"Oh, just two weeks," Dean grunts, refusing to look at him. "But hey, we're not married, you can go wherever the hell you want for however long you want."
It's not the first time Dean has said something like this. We're not married. I don't own you. It's not like we're dating or something. You don't have to answer to me.
Dean's not angry because Castiel has stayed. He is angry because Castiel left and did not seek Dean's opinion about the matter.
Interesting.
"Perhaps it would ease your mind if we were married," Castiel contemplates aloud.
Dean stares at him.
"What the fuck...?"
"It seems like you want some claim on my time," Castiel says, moving closer to Dean, into his beloved personal space. "It would be easier if you just asked for it rather than snarl at me about other matters, but if marriage works better for you, then I could accept that."
"Cas," Dean says weakly, staring at Castiel's mouth of all places. "We're not getting married."
"No matter," he says. Eliael's advice streams through his mind. Be insistent. "But I am still tired of your poor attitude and longing for something it's possible I may have had all along."
"What are you talking about?" Dean asks, but it feels as if he is more interested in the sensation of pressing against Castiel's body with his own than with his question.
"I'm done talking," Castiel announces and then leans forward to press his mouth to Dean's.
There is a short moment of shocked hesitation on Dean's part. It quickly turns to heated action and the next hours pass in a haze of joy, affection and strange human pleasure.
Eliael is wrong though. It's not like his first time flying.
It's much better.
Home
Castiel watches silently as Dean rises from the bed time and again. First to check he locked the front door. Then to check the back. Next, a check to make sure the stove is off. Then to turn out the basement light. When he gets up to check the front door again, Castiel finally puts a hand on his arm to stop him.
"What's the matter?"
Dean shrugs.
"Nothing."
But Castiel doesn't believe him anymore than Dean believes himself. He doesn't even have to protest before Dean continues. "I don't know, man. This our first night in this place. Our...house." But Castiel knows he means to say 'home.' "I can't help thinking something's going to go wrong."
Castiel pulls him down, into the circle of his arms, rubs at his tense muscles.
"Something could go wrong," he allows. "But you should not worry about losing this home," Castiel says, squeezing his arms a bit to emphasize that he's not talking about the building. "Everything will be fine." He kisses Dean's temple and feels him relax bit by bit. "Trust me."
Dean snorts.
''Cause you're a big bad angel that'll protect the homestead from invaders?"
He nods solemnly. "Yes."
A strange expression flickers across Dean's face, gone before Cas can read it and then he smiles. "Alright then." He pushes in closer to Cas. "You know, we've had sex in like every room in this place except the bedroom?"
Castiel rolls over on top of Dean. "I've been saving it for last," he informs him. Dean starts to say something, but Castiel kisses the words off his lips and it isn't long before Dean is totally relaxed once more.
Fetish
Dean discovers not long after they start dating that Castiel really likes pockets. Specifically Dean's pockets. Everytime Dean stands still long enough, Castiel's hands dig into his coat pockets or better yet, his pants pockets. "To keep warm," he explains, though he does it in warm motel rooms and out in hot Southern climates. He begins slipping little gifts in Dean's pockets. Marbles, shiny rocks, candy, notes written in weird languages. He even takes to using the pockets to manhandle Dean, fingers thrust deep inside the clothes and tugging Dean where Castiel wishes him to go.
"What's your deal with the pockets?"
Castiel curls his hands into fists on either side of Dean's jeans.
"Angels don't have pockets. They're very intimate. Like a secret hiding place close to your body."
Dean stares.
"Weirdo," he says just as Castiel jerks him forward for a kiss.
Study Break
"Stop it." Dean kisses Castiel's neck, just below his ear. "Dean, I must study." Another kiss along his jaw. "Don't-"
Dean bites down and Cas snaps, tugging Dean onto his lap. The books can wait.
Good Grades
Castiel hands Dean the paper. "I got a 100, no thanks to you." Dean snickers.
"I remember this paper. Man, that was awesome."
Cas rolls his eyes.
Weeping Angel
"DON'T BLINK," Dean shouts drunkenly when Castiel shows up. Castiel glances to Sam, who sighs.
"Sorry. Made the mistake of showing him Doctor Who."
Mixed Up Series
Uncomfortable
"What are you doing?"
Castiel frowns, his eyebrows drawing down.
"Going to bed, Dean."
Dean crosses his arms. "No way. I'm not sleeping with you until you switch your body back with Sam."
Just in Case
"And what if we never switch back?" Castiel is only curious, not accusatory and Dean shrugs.
"That's not going to happen."
"But it might."
And Dean can't prove him wrong. He sighs and rubs his face. "Look, I said, you know...this thing..." He hates these conversations. Hates them passionately. "Look, I'm not screwing my damn brother, ok? But..you know, we could..."
Be weird platonic partners, he can't quite say. Castiel smiles.
"Yes, we could."
Worry
Sam is ridiculous in Castiel's body, taking too large steps and staring down at his body as if mesmerized. "Hey," Dean suddenly says as a prickle of discomfort strikes through him. "You're not doing...you know, anything weird with his body are you?" Sam glares at him.
"You're an idiot."
SGA Series
Rescue
The wraith bears down on them and Rodney knows. He just knows they're toast this time. Across the room, John battles the leader wraith and things are not looking good. This is Earth for pete's sake! They weren't supposed to be killed by wraith on Earth! On vacation even! And just as soon as the thought crosses his mind, there's an odd gust of wind and a flash of blinding light. A series of thumps and the sudden absence of the wraith trying to suck his life out of his chest alerts Rodney to the fact that the threat is over. He looks over at John, but the way is obscured by a totally incongruous man in a long tan trench coat.
"Castiel?" he hears John say and he sounds totally shocked. The man's head tilts.
"I'm glad to see you remember me, John Sheppard."
No Faith
"Let me get this straight," Rodney says, pacing around their hotel room. John would be watching him, but he can't take his eyes off Castiel who is standing by the door. Just standing there and looking around and actually freaking existing. "Your imaginary friend from childhood just saved us from wraith?"
John winces at the disbelief in Rodney's tone. "Yeah, I know how it sounds, but-"
"I'm not imaginary," Castiel comments. "I'm an Angel of the Lord sent to your past to ensure your safety till you could lead the expansion of the human race into the Pegasus Galaxy," he says calmly. "It was my first assignment post-Apocalypse. I was very honored to have been picked."
Rodney and John both stare at him.
"Okay, I think I like the imaginary friend story better," Rodney says.
Catching Up
"So...what have you been up to?" John asks because what the hell else is he supposed to say? He remembers he and Castiel playing with green army men together and counting stars in the nightsky outside his window and sharing his snacks at snacktime. And it was supposed to be fake but here Castiel sits, the same age, same outift, same slightly bemused expression. Rodney, of course, can't handle a normal conversation.
"Doing? He said...angel! Apocalypse! Were you listening?"
"Yes, the Apocalypse was quite an ordeal," Cas says calmly. "But that was over before we met."
"That's good," John says, shrugging at Rodney's enraged expression. "Oh hey, so that Dean guy was real, then?" he says suddenly remembering how Cas would talk about some dude named Dean and his brother...what was his name? Shawn? Sid?
Castiel nods. "Yes, Dean is my human lover," he says, still calm, as if angels go around having human boyfriends all the time.
"Oh." A pause. "Congratulations."
"Thank you," Castiel says and John's pretty sure Rodney's going to have an apoplexy. He grins. As usual, Rodney's reaction makes all the weird worth it.
Explanation
"So what? You still watch over him?"
Castiel contemplates the other man, Rodney. The connection he shares with John is obvious on his soul and Castiel is pleased. Rodney seems the difficult sort, but Castiel is well acquainted with the pleasures of a difficult partner.
"No, but I was nearby and felt his distress. I am accompanying Dean and Sam on their latest hunt."
Which leads to an explanation of 'hunting'. Rodney is horrified, but John seems understanding. After all, John is a hunter of sorts himself.
"I want to meet him,' John says suddenly. "You talked about him all the time. You know, I had a therapist tell me once that Dean was what my unconscious self desired to be. My, ah..dream hero," he says with a smirk. "It's nice to know I'm not crazy, but he did sounds kinda cool."
Castiel feels a strange sort of pleasant warmth he suspects is pride. "I'd like you to meet him too."
Strange Meeting
Dean is cleaning his guns when the door opens. Both Sam and Dean have weapons pointed at Castiel before they realize it's him.
"Why are you using the door?" Dean asks suspiciously, but the answer is obvious. There's two strange men over his shoulder. One is lean and attractive, the other stouter and wearing an annoyed expression. "Um?"
Castiel ushers his guests inside. "Dean, this is my former charge, John Sheppard and his lover, Rodney McKay."
The stout guy yelps and glares at him. "How'd you know that?"
The Sheppard guy snorts. "He's an angel, doofus."
Dean peers at Sheppard. "Thought he was a kid," he grunts. It's not like he doesn't trust Castiel. It's just well...the man is pretty good looking and Dean knows Castiel looks at other guys sometimes. Sam makes a small amused sound to his side and Sheppard apparently shares his humor because they exchange a smile. Castiel touches Dean's arm.
"He was mine as a child. He's since been passed to another angel who resides in the Pegasus Galaxy."
Dean relaxes. "Oh." He throws himself back in his chair and picks up his gun. "In that case, have a beer." Looking up, he sees a grin slowly growing on Sheppard's face.
"I was right,' he says as he slides into a nearby chair. "You are pretty cool."
Bad Patient
"Ow!"
"Be still."
Dean's glare is meant to burn, but Castiel is immune. Who knew the hunter who survived hell would fuss so over tiny splinter?
Bellevue High Series
Ambition
When Dean starts his first day as PE teacher at Bellevue, his only goal is to not traumatize the children. Then he has lunch in the teacher's lounge and meets Mr. Novak, the history teacher. His priorities shift.
New goal: get into Novak's pants.
Interest Returned
Jo grins at Castiel and nudges him. "Hot new gym teacher is staring at you."
Castiel glances at him. "Why?"
Jo sighs.
"Because you're hot too?" At Cas' blank look, she heaves another great sigh and walks away, grumbling under her breath. Cas watches the gym teacher until he leaves.
Protective Friend
"So tell me about Novak," Dean says when Jo drops by his office to introduce herself. She's suddenly a lot closer, in his face.
"Castiel is the sweetest, weirdest guy I've ever known. He goes back and forth between adorably awkward and awkwardly aggressive. He color coordinates his food, he has a cat named Treble Clef, he's obsessed with Canadian television and if anyone...anyone hurt him they'd have to answer to me."
Dean blinks and nods.
"Alright then."
First Impressions
When Dean walks into Castiel's classroom at the end of the day to introduce himself, Castiel speaks before he has the chance. "You were watching me."
Dean glares. "You were watching me too," he says defensively.
Castiel nods. "Yes."
When he only continues to silently stare, Dean sighs. He can already tell this relationship is going to be odd.
Business Date
Castiel misinterprets Dean's invitation to dinner as a meeting to discuss their students. They spend two hours at an Italian restaurant talking about the talents and problems of their shared students. It's only after Dean's returned home that he realizes it was kinda the best first date he's ever had.
Very Different
The next day, Dean brings Castiel a bag of treats for his cat, in the hopes that gift giving will make his intentions more apparent. Castiel takes the bag and stares at it.
"You brought me cat food."
Dean shifts from one foot to another.
"Yeah, you know, Jo told me about your cat," he says and Castiel's eyes light up.
"Oh they're for my cat," he says as if there were any other viable explanation for the treats. Dean wonders what he's getting himself into.
Second Date
"I'm sure he'd love to meet you," Castiel says. Dean frowns.
"Who?" A odd shyness creeps into Castiel's eyes.
"My cat. Would you like to come over?"
And that's how Dean got his first invite into Cas' private life.
To meet his cat.
Nervous
"What do you wear to meet a guy's cat?" Dean asks Sam as they peer into his closet.
"I can honestly say I have no idea."
Dean sighs.
Passing the Test
Castiel lives in a small apartment above a store in downtown that sells old records. Dean gets there 20 minutes early out of nervous anticipation and then is nearly late because he's distracted by looking for his favorite bands.
When Castiel answers the door, whatever Dean was going to say slides out of his brain. Instead of his usual suit and tie, Castiel is wearing a black buttoned shirt and a pair of battered blue jeans. Dean's eyes travel slowly from his collar down to his feet, where he discovers that Castiel is wearing mismatched socks. The first words out of his mouth are not the ones he would have chosen if he'd taken the time for careful thought.
"You match your food, but not your socks?"
"The two are unrelated," Castiel says in seeming confusion.
"Whatever you say, Rainman," Dean says. The comment earns him the little headtilt that Dean has cataloged as his fifth favorite thing about Cas. Or would have, if he were given to making the type of lists a fourth-grader might make.
"Would you like to come in?"
The inside of the apartment is as tidy as Castiel's classroom. Everything is green or brown or some other fall-type color and all the furniture looks antique. Dean might have thought Castiel was trying to be a stereotype if he didn't know for certain that Castiel's incapable of changing himself to fit anything.
Once they get into the living room, Dean spots an enormous brown cat sitting in a pile at the center of the sofa. Seriously, he's never seen a cat this huge in his life. Its paws are curled under its front and it looks up at him with what Dean imagines is a disdainful expression.
"Treble Clef," Castiel says in a formal tone. "This is Dean Winchester. We work together."
Dean feels like he's being presented to the Godcat or something.
"Um, hi," he says.
Treble Clef lets out a mewling noise and Castiel nods his head.
"Yes, he was the one who gave you the treats."
Dean whips around to stare at him, certain that Castiel is crazy-go-nuts and he's about to be slaughtered and fed to the Godcat. But then he notices the edge of Castiel's mouth quiver very slightly and he punches his arm.
"You freak!"
That's how Dean discovers that Castiel does have a sense of humor. Even if it's weird and not accompanied by any actual smiling or laughing.
He kinda likes it.
True Love
When Treble Clef crawls into Dean's lap and plops down, refusing to move for a good hour, Castiel sort of looks like he's fallen in love. Dean resolves to buy the cat more treats.
Missing the Point
"Come on, Cas," Dean wheedled. "Let me find you someone. Finally get rid of that pesky virginity."
Perhaps it was Castiel's mood, dampened by recent battle losses or perhaps it was the fact that this was the fourth time in as many weeks that Dean had mentioned sending Castiel away to learn sexual behavior. Either way, something in Castiel snapped and he found himself slapping the book he read down on the table.
"No," he growled. "Quit bothering me about it."
Dean made a face. "Geez, calm down. What the hell is your problem? Why don't you want me to help you out?"
Castiel stands and glares down at Dean. "Because you're always wrong about what you think I need, yet somehow manage to excel at being exactly what I want!"
And then he disappeared in a whirl of feathers, the strange combination of fear and relief he felt making it impossible to stay in that room with Dean.
Cockblocking
"I must leave," Castiel suddenly announced one evening. Dean frowned over the top of his car magazine.
"What? You gotta date?"
Castiel smoothed down the front of his coat. "Yes. I'm going to a restaurant with a man named Brad."
Dean leapt up from the bed. "What? Are you serious? Who is this guy? How did you meet a guy? You're always with us! Have I seen him?"
Sam snorted from the other side of the room. "Take a breath now and again, Dean."
But Dean ignored him, focus zeroed in totally on Castiel, who held out his arms.
"Do I look appropriate for dating?"
"No," Dean said instantly. "No, you look stupid and creepy."
Castiel considered himself in a mirror while Sam wheezed with laughter.
"Should I change?"
"No," Dean said again. "You're Cas. You can't change. You just gotta find someone who likes stupid and creepy."
"Man, this is the weirdest proposition I've ever heard," Sam commented through his laughter. He was ignored again.
"Perhaps Brad likes stupid and creepy," Castiel pointed out, but Dean grabbed his hand and dragged him to the door.
"Not as much as me. C'mon, let's go ditch him and then get drunk."
"How romantic," Sam said out loud to the empty room before returning to his reading.
The Giving Tree
"I thought you'd like this," Castiel says. He holds out a light gray feather. Dean frowns as he takes it.
"I don't understand."
"It's a feather from my wings." A pause. "My last feather. I've given you everything else. I thought you might as well have that too."
Sexual Harrassment
"It's right here." Sam moves to Castiel's side to peer at the ancient text he held. Without thought, he rests a hand against Castiel's back as he leans over to read. Castiel stiffens slightly, but Sam is so absorbed in his reading that he doesn't really notice. Until Dean walks in.
"Dude! Hands off the wings," he snaps, snatching Sam's hand of Castiel's back.
"What?" Sam looks from Dean's outrage to Castiel's blush. "Oh my god, I was fondling you inappropriately, wasn't I?"
Sam doesn't speak to Cas for a week.
Left Out
"-like nothing in this world-"
"Sam."
"-never seen that color white before-"
"Sam."
"-looked like they'd be really soft-"
"Sam!" His brother's attention finally caught, Dean glares and crosses his arms. "I really don't want to hear all about how you can see Cas' wings and I can't."
Cover Hog
Castiel glares at Dean till he slowly releases his grip on their quilt. Man, the angel took blanket wars way too seriously.
Koosh Series
Game
"Hey, think fast!" Castiel only cocks his head as Dean throws a koosh ball in his face. It bounces off and lays on the floor. "Dude...you suck."
Treasure
Dean eyes the bulge in Castiel's front pocket.
"What is that?"
Castiel tugs out the bright orange koosh ball Dean had thrown at his head.
"Why on Earth do you still have it?" Castiel frowns.
"Because you gave it to me."
Dean doesn't know whether to laugh in his face or hug him.
Stimulating
Dean watches Castiel hold one string of the koosh ball and bounce it up and down. It's hypnotic and strangely erotic. He swallows. He really needs to get laid.
Panic
"Dean," Castiel says, his expression panicked. Dean grabs his arm.
"What? What is it?"
"I lost Robert." Dean leans in as he couldn't hear.
"Who the hell is Robert?" he demands with absolutely no jealously whatsoever. He thinks.
"My string ball,' Cas answers sadly. A pause.
"The damn koosh ball?"
Dean wonders if maybe it's time to get Castiel laid too.
Recovery
About a week later, Dean finds the damned koosh ball shoved under the driver's seat of the Impala. He doesn't even want to know. The next time Castiel flies in, Dean tosses the ball his way.
"Here, I found Robert."
There is a brief moment where Castiel just stares at the mess of orange strings in his hands and then he suddenly has an armful of very grateful and rather amorous angel. Deans wants to ask Castiel what the big deal is about the stupid thing, but Castiel's tongue is in the way and he kinda forgets how to think. The next day, Dean very cheerfully buys and bestows a large herd of brightly colored koosh balls upon Castiel. It's when Dean realizes he finds the image of a naked Castiel surrounded by his little army of koosh balls pretty freaking adorable that Dean figures he's probably in love with the guy.
Go figure.
Hug Series
Friendly
Castiel likes hugging more than he thought he would. His borrowed flesh, his new humanity craves touch, the closeness and intimacy of a fellow human. It is not Dean who taught him this desire, but rather Sam. With Sam, hugging is ease and safety and feeling strangely small in comparison to his old self. It's nothing like the few brief hugs he's shared with Dean, those split seconds that leave Castiel feeling warm and unsatisfied. Hugging Sam is always enough. Hugging Dean never is.
Teacher
"You don't hug correctly," Castiel tells him one day. Dean frowns over his coffee.
"How's that?"
"You end them too soon. I've been learning from Sam the proper way."
His stomach twists at the thought. He's never seen them hugging.
"Private lessons?"
Castiel frowns, lost in thought.
"I suppose they were. Let me show you what you're doing wrong," he commands, gesturing for Dean to stand.
"What, like...now?" Dean asks, feeling a flutter of panic in his chest.
"Yes," Castiel says insistently. He stands and walks around the table, tugging Dean out of his chair. "This is how it should be done, I believe."
He slides his hands over Dean's hips and presses close, leaning his chest heavily against Dean's and resting his forehead against Dean's collarbone. His hands slip up Dean's back to settle over each shoulder. For a moment, Dean's own hands flutter uselessly. And then Castiel sighs softly, his breath warming Dean's neck and it snaps Dean into action. He wraps his arms fully around Castiel, one hand resting against the back of Cas' head and the other just under his shoulder blade.
"Like this?" Dean asks quietly, pressing his cheek against Castiel's hair. He feels another deep sigh and it sounds contented.
"Yes," Castiel agrees. "This is right."
Forceful
This was one part of their relationship that Dean hadn't quite figured out. Getting time away from Sam. With random girls, Dean would just tell Sam to get out, but this was Castiel. Sam's friend too and it just felt awkward. So as the evening wore on, Dean felt himself growing more and more antsy and Castiel grew more intense, eyes glued to Dean's face and Dean was pretty sure the tension was going to kill him. No matter what hints they dropped, Sam wasn't getting it. He just cheerfully babbled on about the latest case until finally Castiel's gaze snapped to Sam's face and he spoke.
"You have to leave," he growled. His invisible wings rustled on his back and his hair tossed back and forth. Sam leapt out of his chair.
"Sorry!" he squeaked as he escaped and then Castiel turned on Dean, stalking towards him.
"That was rude," Dean said as Castiel pressed him hard against the wall.
"I'll apologize later," Castiel said, his voice muffled against Dean's neck.
Common Interests
The two stand together and watch as Castiel and Jimmy, now seemingly twins, share an awkward goodbye.
"So," Amelia says brightly, turning to Dean. "I see we have the same taste in men."
They stare at each other in silence for a split second before bursting into laughter. Jimmy and Castiel's attention snaps to them.
"That can't be good," Jimmy comments.
"No," Castiel agrees.
Old Acquaintances
Dean looks between Castiel and Crowley.
"You two know each other?" he asks.
Castiel looks uncomfortable and Crowley smirks.
"How do you think the angel found you downstairs?"
Round Robin
Dean stares at Castiel's new pet.
"Dude, that is one fat bird."
Castiel scowls and gathers the robin to his chest, stalking out of the room.
A Father's Job
He shapes him lovingly, building a body of light, imbued with strength and crafting clever black wings. The new angel joins his garrison and the final piece is in place. A job well done.
Sick Series
Feeling Bad
The first time Castiel comes down with the flu, he begs Dean to end his existence. Dean just mops his forehead and promises to kill him in the morning so long as he drank his juice and got plenty of rest.
Spreading
"Okay, I got pills, juice and Kleenix," Dean says cheerfully. Two pairs of miserable eyes, one hazel and one blue, glare at him from either bed.
"What?" Dean asks. Sam coughs violently for half a minute before he rasps, "We hate you."
Castiel sneezes and then nods in agreement.
Secret Weapon
"Why're you pissed at me?" Dean pours some juice and hands it to Sam.
'Because you're well," Sam grunts, grabbing the juice. "We've been planning how to change that," he threatens.
"Yeah?" Dean pauses by Castiel's bed and slides a cool palm over his hot forehead.
"We decided on biological warfare based on your out of control sex drive."
Dean's already bent over, halfway to kissing Castiel's temple. He narrows his eyes at Castiel, who smirks at him.
"You suck," Dean declares.
Back to Normal
Dean pulls the thermometer from Castiel's mouth.
"Am I well?"
Dean throws it across the room and tackles Castiel to the bed.
Castiel takes that as a yes.
Brothers Series
Not Quite Friends
"No. No way. Never," Dean declares and then turns to leave.
"Help me with your brother and I'll help you with mine," Gabriel says. The words catch Dean at the door. His mind flies through a hundred reasons why this is a bad idea. Then he thinks about Castiel's big stupid eyes staring up at him and he curses under his breath.
"Fine," Dean snarls, turning back to see Gabriel's smarmy grin. Dean sighs.
This is such a bad bad idea.
Keep at It
"This isn't fair," Gabriel complains after he shows up from another failed conversation with Sam. "My stupid brother is already in love with you."
Dean shrugs and then tosses Gabriel his extra Snickers. "You want Sammy, you gotta work for it. He's a pain in the ass."
Gabriel snorts. "I don't know why I bother with you humans."
"The same reason I spent the morning listening to Castiel talk about Enochian fairytales," Dean says with a shudder. "So quit your bitching and go try again."
Gabriel's gone before Dean's last word finishes.
Special Gift
Sam watches on horror as Castiel and Gabriel sing to him while Dean tries not to laugh. "Dude, I got a choir of angels to sing for your birthday."
RPS
"What are you reading?" Dean scowls at Sam and then turns the screen.
"These fans are insane. Now it's not just us, but those dudes that play us in that stupid freaking show."
Sam makes a face, but then shrugs.
"Better than us."
Castiel makes a noise of agreement. "I don't see why this upsets you. You have no connection to these men."
"Oh yeah?" Dean begins typing and then flips the screen towards Castiel. "There." He points to a page on a website called twitter.com. "That's the guy that plays you."
Castiel reads silently for several moments and his eyebrows rise further and further up his forehead.
"This is troubling," he finally says and Dean nods.
"Told you."
Future
"Mommy," Stacie says as she leans in, her face covered in jam, "Andy said Grandpa's sad today."
Kara glances to the front porch, where her father stands ramrod straight. He looks the same as he always has, handsome and vibrant and younger than her forty-one years. Then her eyes find the calendar.
September 18th.
"It's okay, baby," she murmurs. "It's just an anniversary for Grandpa. He's a little lonely."
Stacie contemplates this and then hops off her chair.
"Maybe a hug will help."
Kara watches with a smile as Stacie runs onto the porch and flings herself into Dad's arms.
For Love
As soon as Sam registers the mess of tangled limbs as his sister and Castiel, he slams the door shut. Never in a million years would he ever have believed his womanizer of a sister would go for the very male angel. Love really does strange things to people.
Alias
"Okay, we need codenames," Dean decides. "I'll be Magnum. Sam will be Stretch. Cas, you can be Red Bull."
Castiel frowns. "Why Red Bull?"
Sam rolls his eyes.
"Because Red Bull gives you wings."
Knight
She points to the closet and Castiel nods. "Alright then. I'll take care of it."
He opens the door and holds up his hand. There's a flash of light. She hides her face in the blankets.
"It's fine now," Castiel assures her and he gathers his daughter to his chest. "I slayed the monster."
Soul Piece: Last Night
"Cas?" Dean's voice is quiet and sleepy, but his soul tugs insistently on Castiel's Grace. "Don't go."
Castiel carefully arranges himself and his wings next to Dean on the small bed.
"You must rest," Castiel says just as quietly. The expression on Dean's face is both pleading and mulish.
"Not tired," he protests, though Castiel can feel his exhaustion. He knows Sam's crying kept Dean awake during his afternoon nap time.
"Yes, you are."
Dean curls his hands in Castiel's wings and pulls, rolling himself into a cocoon of feathers.
"Don't go," he says again with a tinge of desperation. He's not afraid as far as Castiel can tell, but his reluctance to lose Castiel's company is unusually strong.
"Very well," Castiel concedes. He could use the comfort himself. Tomorrow is November 1st and his worry over Mary's deal grows each moment the deadline draws nearer. Dean lets out a tired whoops and cuddles in closer, buried comfortably in soft wings. Castiel smiles at his hidden charge.
"Goodnight, Dean."
"Night, Cas," is the slightly muffled answer.
Castiel stays with Dean until long after he falls asleep.
