A short story I wrote for a friend.
'So, without further gilding the lily and with no more ado, I give to you,' the story!
"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster."
Friedrich Nietzsche
"Why do you always drag me here so late?" The sandy-haired teen asked, letting himself be led down the darkened staircase. His shorter brunette companion rolled her eyes and re-adjusted the scrolls of poster paper in her arms.
"Because we have work to do, Rick. We're on the student council for a reason." Marie jumped down the last three steps, leaving Rick to hurry after her.
"Can we at least turn some lights on?" Rick asked, trying to keep close to Marie in the pitch-black hallway. Marie scoffed.
"We're always here, we know where everything is. Plus, it's more fun this way!" Marie shuffled the scrolls to one arm and took Rick's hand with her now-free hand. "Aren't you having fun?"
"Yeah, sure. Havin' a blast." Rick mumbled. Marie dropped his hand to twist a doorknob into the janitor's closet.
"We'll just leave the stuff in here and get going, we can probably still catch a movie before curfew." Marie made her way into the closet and felt around for a shelf. A small thump came from the ground behind her, causing her to freeze in place. "...Rick?"
When no answer came, Marie put the scrolls onto the shelf gingerly and took in a deep breath, trying to slow her heart down. A scratching noise made it's way to her on the invisible floor beneath her before something clawed grabbed her ankle. She was yanked down to the ground and dragged away before she could even scream.
"This looks like a case we could do, Dean." Sam pressed his laptop screen back when Dean leaned over his shoulder so that his older brother could more easily read the article. "Plus, Cas would be fine even if he wanted to, you know, stay behind."
Dean turned the laptop away from Sam, placing his hands on the plastic motel table to steady himself as he read. Sam leaned back in his own hard, uncomfortable chair, putting his hands behind his head and twisting so he could see Castiel. The fallen angel sat at the edge of Dean's bed, wearing an old shirt and old jeans of Dean's under his familiar trenchcoat. He stared at the wall ahead of him, smiling every now and then at nothing.
"Yeah, this could work. It's not too far. Massachusetts." Dean stood up straight again, cracking his back. "Wait, where are we now?"
"Ohio. " Sam turned back to his brother and the laptop. "I'll check how long the drive is."
"Don't use your sissy Google Maps. I've been driving for years. It's probably, like, a five-hour drive, at most." Dean turned away from Sam to dig his duffel bag out from under the bed. Castiel didn't move as the mattress jostled, but he started laughing again. Sam turned around to watch him, concerned, but Dean acted like he hadn't made a noise. Sam watched his brother for a moment before turning back to the computer and raising an eyebrow.
"Uh, Dean?" Sam said, scrolling down on the web page that he had pulled up. "Try thirteen hours."
Castiel looked up at that, grinning widely before looking down at Dean. "Road trip, Dean!"
"Yup, Cas. Road trip." Dean threw his duffel bag on the bed behind Castiel and ran a hand through the hair on the back of his head. Castiel twisted on the bed and caught Dean's eyes, staring at him worriedly. "I won't forget your pillow, man, don't worry."
"Thank you, Dean." Castiel turned back to face the wall again, satisfied. Sam, watching the scene, opened his mouth, but Dean just held up a hand.
"Not now, Sammy." Dean warned, but Sam spoke anyways.
"Are we going to talk about what happened to Cas, or what, Dean?" Sam asked, not bothering to whisper since the angel clearly could care less what they said about him, whether he was there or not.
"He'll be fine. Give him time to … just to deal, alright?" Dean wrestled all his clothes out of his dresser drawer into the duffel bag. Castiel bent over and picked up a lone sock Dean dropped, handing it to the hunter without looking at him. "Thanks, Cas."
"What if he doesn't deal? This has never happened before, Dean. This is something entirely new!" Sam exclaimed. Dean shot him a look and tugged the zipper shut on his bag harshly.
"Bobby says nothing's new, so this isn't new." Dean snapped. Sam just sighed and shut his laptop.
"When are we heading out?" Sam asked after a moment of tense silence. Castiel tilted his head up to watch Dean as Sam spoke, and Dean met the fallen angel's eyes before answering, as though they had an unspoken discussion about this.
"First thing in the morning. We need some sleep first." Dean answered finally. Castiel nodded and turned back to the wall. Dean pulled Castiel's trench coat and jeans off before pushing him down onto the bed. Sam watched, eyebrows knit together, as Dean tucked the blankets around Castiel.
"Dean..." Sam began, but the look Dean threw at him effectively silenced him. Dean grabbed the spare blanket and pillow from the closet and tossed it down on the ratty sofa.
"Get some sleep, Sammy." Dean motioned vaguely in the direction of the second bed before throwing himself down onto the sofa, pulling the holey blanket over him. Sam conceded defeat for the night and shut the lights off in the room.
It was about ten o'clock in the morning by the time Dean and Sam had gotten their weapons and bags packed back into the car. Dean had easily bundled Castiel into the back seat, where the fallen angel had promptly fallen asleep with his forehead pressed against the window.
"Dean, we need to talk about him." Sam said finally, about twenty minutes into the drive. Dean flexed his fingers on the steering wheel before clenching them back down tightly, his knuckles turning white.
"There's nothing to talk about." Dean said lowly through clenched teeth. "Drop it. What research did you get?"
"Dean, for the love of God, you have to realize this isn't normal. Cas hardly ever even cracked a smile before, and now he's basically whacked out of his mind all the time and you're completely ignoring it!" Sam exclaimed. Dean turned to look at Sam briefly before snapping his attention back to the road.
"Sam, don't look this gift horse in the mouth, alright?" Dean answered eventually. His voice cracked, and he cleared his throat quickly. Sam fell silent, turning to look out the window at the passing highway. "He just... He's back, so don't question it. Just be glad he's back."
Sam let his gaze fall down to his lap. "Sorry."
"Don't be." Dean hid his face from Sam, looking out the window to his left and pushing at his eyes with the heel of his hand, pushing away the emotions and the oncoming headache. "Just drop it and let him come back to himself in his own time. It's a lot to deal with."
"I get that he fell and everything, but I don't even think he remembers any of that. He doesn't seem to." Sam countered. Dean shook his head, turning back to look out the windshield.
"Just let him do all this in his own time." Dean repeated. Sam twisted in his seat to look back at Castiel, who was still sound asleep behind them. "What's going on with this case?"
"Uhh, two kids disappeared from a school at night. Reports of sulfur there and suspicious circumstances. Could be our kind of thing." Sam read off his notepad. Dean grinned.
"The two kids were in a school, at night, all alone?" Dean chuckled. "That's some hardcore dedication to education. Horny kids."
"Well, pretty sure they're dead now, Dean." Sam said, trying not to smile and failing slightly.
"Not for lack of trying." Dean laughed. Castiel was suddenly right beside him, face close and curious.
"What's funny?" Castiel asked, smiling slightly at Dean's laughter. Dean didn't jump anymore, to his credit; he tried to familiarize himself with Castiel's sudden appearances.
"Dead teenagers having sex." Dean replied. Castiel looked to Sam for confirmation, face creasing, and Sam just shrugged.
"Well, yeah, basically, I guess." Sam agreed, starting to laugh with Dean. Castiel grinned.
"I'm happy when you smile." Castiel commented before sitting back. Dean nodded and just kept driving. In the quiet, Sam leaned forward to turn the radio on, but Dean just slapped his hand away and found a station himself. The three men drove to Massachusetts to the tones of The Beatles.
The Impala drove up in a circle around a patch of grass up in front of the high school they'd been looking for. Much to Dean's disdain, it was not only in the middle of nowhere, but the school was even tucked away down side streets.
"Look at this place. There's gotta be, like, twenty students in the graduating class or something." Dean commented as he pulled a gun out of the trunk and tucked it into the back of his suit pants. Sam bent over the passenger's side mirror, adjusting his tie in the reflection. Castiel leaned against the side of the car, looking up at the sun through Dean's sunglasses.
"It's no smaller than any other towns we've been to, Dean. We just gotta find out what this is, whatever it is, get it out, and then we can hit the road." Sam assured him.
"Look." Castiel pointed as a huge black shape moved to the rear of the school. Dean scoffed and slammed the trunk shut.
"That's a bear. God, even the bears here try to run away." Dean passed a gun to Sam and Castiel frowned at them.
"Don't I get a gun?" Castiel asked. Dean shook his head and pulled Castiel away from the car before taking his suit jacket off, turning it right-side-out, and handing it back to him.
"You get a gun when you put your clothes on right, Cas." Dean told him before patting down his own pockets. "Everyone got your badges?"
"Yup." Sam answered. Castiel just fished his out of his pocket and held it up before slipping it back. Dean took the sunglasses off Castiel's face and shoved him towards the door.
"Act professional. We just wanna gank it and get out." Dean reminded them as they walked towards the school. Unfortunately for them, a faint scream echoed from somewhere inside the school. Dean swore and ran ahead of them, yanking on the door handle to no avail; it was locked.
"Why is it locked? Who would break in?" Dean shouted, tugging on it again before giving up, backing up a few steps, and hurtling through the glass wall to the right of the entrance. Alarm bells went off as the three men sprinted towards the source of the noise, a heavy set of doors that Sam yanked open to reveal an auditorium with a group of teenagers on the stage.
"Who screamed?" Sam demanded as soon as they got in. A confused, red-headed teenage girl moved to the edge of the stage to peer at them in the darkened back of the room.
"Uhh, I did. My character just got jumped." The girl answered, squinting at them. "Who are you? Did you make the crashing noise?"
"Nope." Castiel answered. Dean shot him a look as Sam made his way forward towards a teacher who was storming over to them.
"You interrupted my rehearsal. What do you need?" The short woman asked, folding her arms across her chest. Sam looked surprised for a moment before answering.
"We're investigating the disappearances of Rick Rogers and Maria DeVilla." Sam informed her, pulling out his badge and showing it to her. Dean and Castiel caught up behind him and held up their own badges.
"Well, I can't imagine you'll find your answers here." The teacher told them before turning around. "But I suppose you're free to ask a few students."
"Water break!" One of the kids announced loudly, and the rest of them cheered and scattered from the stage. A couple of them sprinted past Sam, Dean, and Castiel, bursting out of the room. The red-headed girl kept turning to stare at them as she spoke with her group of friends. Eventually, she stopped talking to them and approached the three men.
"You guys are here about Rick and Maria?" she asked, tugging her sweater closer over herself as she spoke. Sam nodded.
"Yeah. Do you know anything?" Sam prodded. Dean and Castiel moved around the two to ask a group of giggling girls questions.
"Not for sure. But I think they were murdered." The girl looked around her before leaning in, prompting Sam to do the same. "By a monster."
Sam's eyes widened and he met her eyes again, trying to see if she was joking. "A monster? What makes you think that?"
"Come on. The signs were there. Sulfur and stuff. Plus, we hear noises here all the time. The lights always turn on and off, TVs do it, too." The girl shrugged and looked over her shoulder at a short friend, who waved at her. The girl waved back before turning to Sam. "Look, just gank it, alright? I don't want it to kill anyone else. Even if Rick was kind of a bitch."
"I, uhh-" Sam began, but the lights all went out then. Someone screamed up by the front of the auditorium; not the same scream they'd heard before, but one of genuine terror that was abruptly cut off. Everyone immediately descended into chaos, trying to flee the room but unable to open the doors, which had been suspiciously locked. Castiel pulled his flashlight out of his pocket and shined it around himself in a circle.
"I don't see anything, Sam!" Dean shouted to his brother. Sam pulled his gun out and moved swiftly around the girl and down the aisle.
"Move up, it came from the stage!" Sam replied, prompting Dean and Castiel to jog after him up the wooden stairs onto the stage. Another scream came from a room off the side of the stage in the wings, and Sam kicked the heavy door right off it's hinges.
"Get her off!" A girl was screaming from the corner of the messy room. Sam fought through piles of clothes, stacks of shoes, and a wagon to her before ripping the thing off of her. The thing had long tangles of white hair, bloodshot eyes with burgundy irises, and seemed partway between a normal woman and a horrible monster.
"What the hell is that thing, Sam?" Dean asked as he held his gun up. Castiel peered over Dean's shoulder, shining the flashlight at the creature's face.
"Uhh, I think it's a..." Sam dragged her up by her hair, and she winced, not even trying to put up a fight against him. Sam tightened his grip, suspicious of her lack of fighting. "I'd say...Oh, crap, it's an aswang. You were that bear outside, weren't you?"
"Son of a bitch. I fought one of these with Dad once." Dean came out of the doorframe, reaching into his pocket for his flask of holy water. Castiel ducked into the room and grabbed the girl's hand, ushering her out of the small room. The aswang shot out of Sam's grip, living him with a fistful of hair and no monster.
"Shit!" Dean swore loudly before tossing the flask to Sam and chasing after the aswang. She turned to fight when Dean grabbed her thin arm, pushing him easily. Dean flew across the stage into the brick wall behind them, smacking his head against the hard stone. He stumbled up and started running after it again.
"Holy water kills it, Sam! Just throw it!" Dean yelled, firing a shot at the aswang. A couple teenagers screamed and ducked from the flash of sparks that erupted as the bullet ricocheted off a solid pipe high on the wall.
Sam uncapped the flask and started flinging holy water desperately, trying to hit the aswang. Castiel flew out of nowhere, jumping once he was beside Sam and hurling himself onto the aswang's back, tackling her to the ground. She screamed bloody murder and tried to flip Castiel over, but the fallen angel's strength was still unreal and he was able to keep her pinned.
"Burn her, Sam." Castiel said calmly, clenching his hand around her throat, forcing her head to remain on the ground. Sam leaned over her and poured a generous amount onto her face. The creature screeched horribly as her flesh began to melt away.
"What the hell are you here for?" Dean shouted, holding his hand against the back of his head to stem the flow of blood.
"No reason." The aswang replied quietly, clenching her jaw to stop herself from screaming. She seemed almost shy, elusive in how she held herself, even in Castiel's grip.
"Dean, aswangs are cannibals. They eat people in the dark. They're just monsters." Castiel answered, pushing down on her neck. The aswang made a choking noise and shut her eyes tightly.
"Guess so." Dean held his hand out to Sam, who passed the flask over easily. The elder Winchester brother bent over the creature and reached down, pulling her jaw open with his bloody hand. "Sayonara, bitch."
The aswang shook her head in short bursts, eyes widening as Dean poured the holy water into her throat and forced her mouth shut. She swallowed it and her skin burst into flames almost immediately. Dean jumped away from her, grabbing Castiel by the back of his collar and dragging him back across the smooth, polished floor of the stage.
"Dean." Castiel leaned against Dean's legs, breathing heavily. A door swung on the opposite side of the stage, letting sunlight in as the teacher and all the students sprinted outside. Castiel looked up as the lights on the stage flickered back on. Dean looked down and swore loudly before falling to the ground beside Castiel and smothering the flames on Castiel's sleeve with his jacket.
"Son of a bitch, Cas." Dean breathed as Sam grabbed a couple water bottles from the side of the stage and poured them on the dying flames of the smoldering ashes.
"Dean, I'm so sorry." Castiel's voice was low and gravelly. Dean sighed and moved to stand up, but Castiel reached out and grabbed his shoulder, holding him down with his supernatural strength. "My heart is beating very quickly."
"It's the hunt, Cas." Dean pulled his jacket off of Castiel, using it as an excuse to not have to make eye contact with the fallen angel. "You just killed an...ass-wang or whatever Sam said that was."
"Aswang." Sam supplied helpfully, pushing the pile of ashes together and pouring the last of the holy water on it for good measure before scooping them into the flask. "It's a cannibalistic creature who is often-"
"Save it, Sammy." Dean told his little brother, pushing Castiel's hand off. Castiel allowed it and moved his hand, letting Dean get up and pull Castiel up with him. "We gotta get out of here."
"Yeah, couldn't agree more." Sam jogged across the stage and picked up his and Dean's guns, along with Castiel's flashlight. He tossed the flashlight to Castiel, who caught it easily, and passed off Dean's flask and gun to his brother. The two of them starting picking up the ashes Sam left behind.
"Think they'll make us pay for the door?" Dean asked as they went back out through the front door that was unlocked from the inside. Sam looked over the building and shrugged, walking ahead of his brother.
"Not if we get out of here, they won't." Sam laughed, sliding into the passenger seat of the Impala. Dean tucked his own gun and his brother's in the trunk with the ashes before climbing into the driver's side. Castiel quietly appeared in the backseat, staring at his hands.
"You okay back there, Cas? I know that was a bad fight, but we ganked the bitch." Dean smiled and looked up in the rearview mirror at the fallen angel in the backseat.
"Dean, I almost destroyed the world." Castiel said quietly to his hands. Dean and Sam fell silent at once and shared a look with each other.
"Cas, you didn't, you just got a little out of hand." Sam told him.
"Don't lie to him, Sam. He didn't get a little out of hand. He was a frickin' whackjob who murdered hundreds of people." Dean snapped before taking a deep breath. "Sorry, I'm sorry."
"Dean is right. That's what I did." Castiel took a deep breath. "What can I do?"
"What do you mean?" Sam asked, brow furrowing in confusion. Dean watched the road and Castiel in the rearview mirror alternately.
"To fix this. To make it right. What can I do?" Castiel repeated, looking up from his hands to meet Dean's eyes in the mirror. "I need to make this right, Dean."
"You've saved our lives countless times. I think that we can just..." Dean broke eye contact to keep his eyes on the road. "Just don't mention it."
"As you wish, Dean." Castiel said. Sam laughed once, loudly, enough for Dean to look at him with a raised eyebrow.
"What're you laughing at, moose?" Dean asked gruffly, turning back to the road. Sam rolled his eyes.
"He totally just Princess Bride'd you. 'As you wish.' You know, like with Westley and Buttercup." Sam told them. Dean snorted.
"I actually think you'd quite like that film, Dean. I found it to be something that is quite close to your taste." Castiel offered, and Dean shook his head.
"No way in hell am I seeing a movie called The Princess Bride with a character called Buttercup." Dean informed them both. Sam shrugged.
"You don't know what you're missing, Dean." Sam turned to look out the window as they drove through the small town.
"I love you, Dean." Castiel spoke up after a moment of silence. Dean swerved on the road before pulling over to the side. He turned around in his seat to look at Castiel.
"What the hell, Cas?" Dean shouted. Sam raised his eyebrow and sat back to watch. "We just ganked a friggin' ass monster-"
"Aswang." Sam helped. Dean shot him a look.
"Shut up, Sam." Dean snapped before turning back to Castiel. "We gank a monster and you, what? Want to jump my bones?"
"I-I don't..." Castiel looked to Sam for help, but Sam just looked like he had been caught off-guard and held his hands up.
"I'm not getting involved in your tangled angelic feelings for my brother." Sam said, trying not to smile. The corners of his lips twitched, and Dean scowled at the both of them before shoving his car door open and getting out into the road. He yanked Castiel's door open for him and swung his arm out in a wide, sweeping motion.
"Get out of the car, Cas." Dean ordered. Castiel met Sam's eyes for a moment, his own azure eyes worried, but Sam just shrugged and motioned forward.
Castiel slid out of the car to stand beside Dean in the street. Dean hesitated before reaching up and grabbing both sides of Castiel's face in his hands, pressing closer and kissing the fallen angel fiercely. Castiel stood stock-still, eyes still wide open, studying Dean's face as Dean scrunched his own eyes shut tightly. After a moment of tenseness, Castiel responded, reaching up and kissing Dean back.
"I, uhh..." Sam trailed off from inside the car before pulling himself out of the car. He leaned on the roof of the Impala and tried to avoid watching his brother trying to eat the fallen angel. "It's not that I don't understand, it's just... that I don't understand."
"I believe that Dean has been suppressing feelings because he is afraid of being aband-" Castiel murmured, pulling away from Dean slightly to answer Sam before Dean sighed and cut him off.
"Don't Sigmund Freud me, Cas." Dean scolded before kissing him again. Castiel immediately responded this time, wrapping one hand around Dean's waist and burying the other in Dean's hair, turning to press Dean against the car. Sam sighed and climbed back into the car to wait it out.
"Glad Cas is back to normal?" Sam asked, smirking as he tossed his pants into a dresser drawer. Dean threw a shoe at him and went back to untying his other shoe.
"Yeah, pretty glad." Dean answered after a moment. "Missed him."
"He missed you, too." Sam replied, pulling the flask out of his bag and dropping it back in immediately. "Really, Dean? You put the aswang ashes in my duffel bag?"
"Didn't want them to spill in the trunk, you know." Dean answered, grinning at his younger brother. Castiel appeared out of the motel bathroom after his shower, rubbing a towel fiercely at his hair.
"Humans are always damp. It's very frustrating." Castiel muttered, casting the towel aside onto his bed and grabbing jeans from Dean's bag, pulling them on quickly. Sam grinned and nodded to Dean, who motioned, smiling back at his brother, to Castiel.
Sam quickly uncapped the flask of ashes and chucked them at Castiel, the pieces sticking to his damp skin. Castiel shouted and fell backwards over the bed, causing Sam and Dean to nearly collapse in uproarious laughter. Dean's phone started ringing on the low side table, and he staggered up to his feet and answered it quickly.
"Yeah, hey, Bobby." Dean greeted the caller, trying to stifle his laughter. "You what? ...Yeah, we're coming. Bye, Bobby." Dean snapped the phone shut and turned to Sam and Castiel, the former still laughing loudly and the latter trying to brush the ashes off with his damp towel. "We have to head up to Sioux Falls, Bobby needs our help with a wendigo."
"Figures." Sam sighed, smiling still and starting to re-pack his bag again. Castiel scowled at them both and disappeared back into the bathroom with his towel.
"Back to the old grind, then, Sammy." Dean commented. Sam shrugged and chucked the flask back to his brother before snatching the keys off the table.
"I'm driving!" Sam announced. Dean stood up straight and turned to look at his brother.
"The hell you are!" Dean shouted before tackling his baby brother to the floor.