A/N:
Sorry, I haven't written anything in forever. School and such. I made some edits on it so yeah. This is off of 8x02. Inspired by the song "Golden" by Farewell Fighter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or any of its characters. This is inspired by "Golden", I do not use any of the lyrics, 'cause that ain't cool.
Golden
Castiel wasn't human. Dean knew that; knew that even the blood and dirt staining Castiel's originally pristine white clothing couldn't penetrate the angelic being. It just seemed amazing that all that mud couldn't somehow putrid the angel enough to completely rip the grace out of him. Because Castiel looked human, and even sometimes acted human. Sometimes the disorder of purgatory caused Castiel to shake uncontrollably, and Dean would have to hold him until the shakes wracking his body would dissipate. Even then Dean wouldn't let go until Benny reminded him that they had to keep moving.
The raw need to survive was different than any war Castiel fought, and their army of three caused all of them to be more jumpy than necessary. Now that Castiel was with them monsters weren't the only thing chasing them, Dean occasionally heard the cackle of Leviathans on their trail. The worst part was when the Leviathans were silently hunting them, and not even a snap of a twig alerted them of their vulnerability. The Leviathans were always there, that Dean knew by the sense of being watched, but the Leviathans never attacked. It worried the three of them, expecting the first attack to be at any time, or when they finally lowered their guard out of exhaustion.
Dean was almost relieved when the first attack came. The relief was quickly replaced by fear when Dean heard a cry of pain that sounded too much like Castiel. Dean sliced the head off the Leviathan he was fighting, now powered by a new rush of protectiveness and adrenaline, and looked to Castiel. Castiel was trying to fight back two Leviathans with his makeshift weapon, but it was knocked out of his hand. Long claws ripped down Castiel's shirt and created deep and jagged cuts across his chest.
"Cas!" Dean yelled, sprinting to the angel. The Leviathans were ugly creatures now that they didn't have any humans to occupy. Something that only resembled fins protruded out from their scaly, black skin, yet they were perfectly coordinated on land. Large claws and teeth sunk into Castiel.
"DEAN!" Castiel screamed out, his voice breaking mid-cry. Dean cut through the rough skin of the Leviathan, and it released its claws and teeth from Castiel. A growl emerged from the monster, and it lashed out at Dean, who was prepared and used its momentum to cut its head clear off. The second Leviathans attention was now on Dean and started to run towards him until it was cut short, literally, by Benny slicing its head off. There was one moment of silence when no one moved or breathed, then Castiel broke the silence with a groan of pain.
Dean caught Castiel before he could hit the ground, and gently lowered him the rest of the way down. He laid Castiel's head on his lap, and stroked his hair away from his clammy skin. Dean felt Castiel's heart beat wildly in his chest, and Dean didn't know if he should be relieved or worried. "Hey, Castiel, calm down. I got you," Dean reassured. Castiel's breathing seemed to slow down a bit, so Dean checked his wounds. "Can you heal?" Dean asked as he gingerly touched the cuts. Castiel's eyebrows furrowed in concentration, and some of the shallower cuts stitched together slowly. The skin edging the deeper ones made an effort to stretch across the cut, but instead it ripped apart more. Castiel burst into a fit of coughs, and tried to roll onto his side. The movement agitated his wounds, and his face retorted in a pained expression.
"I don't think I can breathe," Castiel gasped out. Dean positioned Castiel's head back on his lap, and continued running his fingers through Castiel's hair. He picked through the tangles and matted clumps.
"You don't think you can?" Dean snapped, but immediately regretted it. "Sorry. Just, uh, try to breathe." Castiel's eyes fluttered closed as he tried to deepen his breathing. Dean looked up to Benny, who averted his gaze and went to start a fire. "We'll get out of here, Cas. I promise you." Castiel's eyes opened to stare at Dean and Dean grinned. "You think I'm going to let you die in this hellhole? Fuck, you haven't even tried out the perks of human-life."
Dean kept his voice low and private so only Castiel could hear. He told him about food, movies, and books. All the places he will take him, all the things that they will do, all the music they'll listen to.
"Don't let Sammy try and lure you in with his crap music, alright? I'll show you what to listen to."
Castiel's breathing had slowed, and Dean thought he had fallen asleep. When he stopped talking, Castiel moved to grip Dean's hand.
"Keep talking," Castiel mumbled. Dean paused, not entirely sure what else there was to touch on. He sighed, mind digging for anything he missed, anything that could be even remotely useful to a guy who doesn't know how to keep his tie straight. Dean opened his mouth, expecting some superficial advice or restaurant recommendation to come out.
"Don't take me as an example, Cas. There's tons of shit I've done that I'm honestly not proud of. One-night stands aren't that great," Dean continued before Castiel could give him a scrutinizing stare. That time at the bar seemed ages ago anyways. "Alcohol doesn't fix anything. The best it can do is knock you out for a few hours." Castiel squeezed Dean's hand, and Dean reminded himself to breathe, or he would be the one having a panic attack. "I don't know what else I can tell you, because you shouldn't be taking advice from me. All I can say is do what you want. You fought for free-will, so you damn well better use it. Sing along to your favorite songs. Memorize lines to your favorite movie. Fuck, Cas, read every friggin' book out there," Dean swallowed, and a beat passed in which Dean could only hear his heart pounding in his ear, then he leaned down to press his lips against Castiel's. Dean broke apart and rested his forehead against Castiel's. "And most of all; don't you dare leave me again, Castiel."