It was almost too dark to see, but he could just make out the silhouette standing before him. A tall shadow that seemed to be illuminated by pure, soft light. His head was pounding, vision blurry. The floor beneath him was cold, but his legs didn't seem to have the strength to stand.
"Dean," a familiar voice caressed his ear.
Looking up, Dean found the figure looking at him. Upon further inspection, he recognized a curious, blue gaze, slight five o'clock shadow, and long flowing trench coat. But something was different, and very wrong.
"Cas?" he breathed.
The soft light grew slightly brighter, outlining Castiel's face revealing several cuts, scrapes, and bruises. Some had scabbed over, but most were still fresh, the blood slowly rolling down his face. The usual innocent look was replaced with one of blankness.
Frozen in shock, Dean watched as Castiel collapsed, falling towards the concrete ground. He didn't understand what was going on. Dean stared for a moment, before crawling to his fallen comrades' side.
"Cas." he reached out, grabbing the angel's shoulder, "Hey. Cas!"
Castiel remained unmoving.
Dean shook him roughly, "Hey! Wake up, dammit!"
"Well. Dean Winchester. What a surprise," chuckled a sarcastic voice.
Snapping his head up, he found Uriel standing over him, the ever present smug look still plastered to his face.
"You know, he really didn't put up much of a fight. I don't think he was even trying," Uriel continued, beginning to circle the two heroes, "Pity, really. Castiel was so stuck on abiding to your wishes, he forgot he was meant to be serving the Will of God. He gave up his loyalty to our father, and handed it over to you. Of course, father wasn't too happy about that. He wasn't happy about Castiel learning how to feel human emotions either."
"What the hell are you going on about? You're so full of yourself, I couldn't hear you over the sound of all of your pride. Isn't that supposed to be a sin?" Dean countered through gritted teeth.
Uriel's hearty laughter echoed in the empty blackness surrounding them.
"Don't preach to me about sins, Winchester. Have you forgotten? All those people you so willingly tortured in Hell? You don't just forget things like that. I bet you'd love to do it again. I see it in your eyes. You've got the eyes of a killer, Dean."
There's silence, except for the quiet dripping of water in a far corner.
"Whoops. Did I hit a nerve?" he laughs again, "I find it sad. You still don't know your place, human."
With that, Dean was pinned to the ground beneath Uriel's foot.
"I think," he wheezes, "you got it... all backwards here, man. Who's the one... killing who here? It obviously isn't me."
There's a sudden gust of air, and Castiel's forgotten body was gone.
"That bastard!" Uriel growled, grounding his foot harder into Dean's chest, causing him to cough.
Both of them turned their heads, looking for any signs of the missing angel. It was still too dark to see. That is, until Castiel stabbed Uriel, suddenly appearing behind him and illuminating the area around him.
"You are the one committing a sin. You are the one being sent back to father," Castiel snarled, "Now get your foot off of him."
Uriel grunted as Cas pulled the knife from his back, pushing his body to the side as it lit up the room with a blinding white light.
After the blinding flash, Dean blinked furiously, sitting up.
"Cas?"
His ears were met with a pained choke, "I'm here."
Following the noise, he found Cas to his right, kneeling and clutching his side. Dean crawled to his side once more.
"How did that happen?" he panicked.
"Calm... down, Dean. It'll be... ok. Uriel's... a strong opponent," Cas winced.
"Use some healing powers or something on that. Hurry up!"
"When an angel... harms another angel... we can't do that..."
"But, I still don't get how you got nicked, when you got him first."
"He... did it... when you... were still... passed out."
"Dammit," Dean huffed, running a hand through his hair, "You should lay down..."
Confused, Castiel watched as Dean moved so he was sitting with one leg outstretched and the other bent up with his elbow resting on it.
Looking down, he mumbled, "Lay down and put your head on my lap."
Like a puppy, Cas did as he was told. But with much effort, slowly and painfully.
"I'm so sorry, Cas."
"For what?"
Dean was quiet for a moment before responding, "I don't know."
"Dean... You're a... very confusing person."
"Yeah, yeah. You've told me before. So what are we supposed to do now? Just sit and wait here for one of your other friends to find us and ship your ass back to the big man? I feel like we're sitting ducks."
"No... I'll be there... before they can... find us."
"What? Come on. Don't... Don't say things like that."
Castiel looked up at Dean's face apologetically.
"It's... true..."
"No! It isn't! You can't go anywhere!" he snapped, "That's an order!"
Closing his eyes for a second, Castiel sighed sharply, "Dean, please."
"But..." his voice cracked slightly.
Dean clenched his fists and scrunched up his face in an attempt to fight back the tears.
"If you go... you aren't going to come back."
"I know... There's... not... much time... left..."
At a loss for what to say, he searched Cas's face for hint. Maybe he was joking. He was angel and virtually indestructible. Their eyes locked in an intense stare.
"Dean, I..."
"No, Cas. I..." Dean confessed as one perfect tear made its way down his cheek, "I love you."
Castiel smiled, eyes shining, "I... know..." he rasped, "I... love... you..."
He closed his eyes once more, letting out a sigh.
"Cas."
There was a flash of white light, followed by pitched black.
"Cas!" Dean cried, "I ordered you! I ordered you not to go anywhere!"
There's a slight moment of silence before Dean speaks again, "I told you I wasn't going to lose you again."
He jumps, senses alert, sweating profusely.
"Son of a bitch," the man growls as he runs a hand through his bed head.
He waits a moment before yelling, "CAS!"
The object of his annoyance appears at the foot of his bed.
"What?" Castiel states, giving him puppy dog eyes.
"You know what!" Dean continues yelling, "What have I told you about doing that? Stay the hell out of my dreams! Stop doing that!"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Castiel responds monotonously, but his eyes betray him, shining with contained laughter.
Before Dean can yell again, there's a knock on the door. It opens to reveal none other than Sam.
He rolls his eyes in mild annoyance, "Will you two stop bickering like an old married couple? I'm trying to sleep."