Sometimes Dean got himself into the stupidest situations. Mainly because of Sam, okay, almost always because of Sam. So sitting here, on the edge of the lake, at the top of the mountain, watching a star by the water through the bushes, was completely plausible.
It all started because Sam was caught sneaking out of Crown Prince Gabriel's room one early morning. A big, fat, no, no, grande size, the kind that warranted execution even when aforementioned Crown Prince got down on his knees begging for Sam's life and declaring his undying love before the court and the King.
And maybe the King would have let Sam go, but Gabriel let the fact that they had popped one another's man cherries slip and suddenly the King didn't care if Sam was a Hunter of the Winchester line. He was out for blood, which is when Dean spoke up of course, cause Sam shouldn't die for sleeping with the Crown Prince.
Which is what lead to Dean, sitting in the bushes, watching the star strip as it prepared to bath. It was a gorgeous star. Black hair, tan skin covered with the word in dark scrawling enochian, a strong jaw, muscles rippling with every move, and it's eyes shining a heavenly blue. Oh, and it's wings, blacker than the night sky, and trembling with colors under the light. It looked so innocent, pure, which made Dean feel guilty, because he had to capture the star for the king.
Everyone knew the story of Gabriel's mother, a star the King had captured by stealing her clothes, it was really just a sad tale. The King was smitten with the star's beauty, and forced her to be his wife, and eventually Gabriel's mother. Then one day she found her clothes, after all, heavenly things are indestructible. And she disappeared, it was assumed she left Gabriel behind because he was a half breed, and appeared to be like a human, so best he stay among the humans.
The King however; wanted his star back, and knew she was so noble, she would trade herself back to save her own brethren.
So Dean had to capture a star, and in return Sam wouldn't die. So Dean sighed as the Star shucked off the last of his clothes, and stuck a few toes in the water, testing the water, which was apparently fine because the Star gave a pretty sigh and continued walking right into the water.
After a bit the star was swimming languidly about, mostly floating as it stared up at the sky.
Dean didn't know why the stars came down to Earth, really, it seemed like a bad idea considering all the Stars who had been captured like this, bathing. But the star seems blissfully content.
And the star hasn't look at his cloth for a full two minutes, so Dean eases out of the bush, careful not to make a sound, guilt swelling in his blood as he creeps down to the shore, and very carefully picks up the star's clothes, which is when he sees it.
A sword, and it's beautiful, a shining metal he can't begin to categorize, and it's heavy. How can Dean move something this heavy? He grips the handle tugging it harder, he can't even rock it, and it's sitting over the cloths, pinning it down, no wonder the star's so relaxed.
His clothes is safely pinned under the sword, but as Dean's sticky fingers run over the rich, white, tan, and blue cloth, he realizes something.
The star's underwear are loose, and he picks it up, eyeing the star. Would underwear be enough?
Dean runs over all the accounts of star catching he knows, and slowly nods to himself.
It should be.
That's when the star notices him, and suddenly it stands up, exposing more enchain covered skin, and then it shrieks angrily, and Dean knows what an angry star is capable of, but as this star charges, naked, water flying off as it takes to the sky Dean remembers that stars are warriors of the Sun.
And Dean runs for the woods like a rabbit runs from a hawk, his lungs burning, his legs burning, his feet screaming, and the star screams from above again, but it can't get through the trees. It'll have to land and come on foot.
Dean has time to hide the underwear, and in that one moment Dean feels like a pervert holding those underwear, and he tries not to pay the garment clinched tightly in his hands any attention, not how smooth it is, or black like the star's wings or…
Oh Sunlight, why'd the star have to be male? A beautiful, heart crushing male?
Not that Dean doesn't like ladies, there great to, he likes both parties, but he's dealing with a hot guy star, and the grass is always greener on the other side, right?
He giggles crazily as he moves like an assassin down to the hiding place, even if the star found it, it could never enter.
Or it would't, that's the proper terminology, the star would never dare come here, but it could.
Heck, Dean doesn't like it here either, he shivers as he passes through the gates of graveyard, running through and over gravestones with strange names carved on them, star names.
"One may not enter the place of the Dead." The angel says in it's deep, sad voice from where it stands at the boundary line. It glares at Dean, and Dean understands, he's walking on the guy's dead family, breaking sacred rules, and has his underwear.
"One may do whatever he wants." Dean spits back, trying to sound cocky, in control.
"One may not enter the Sun's place." The star warns as Dean approaches the alter, a shiver of anger coloring it's voice.
"Oh, I'm not going to touch the alter, your undies sure are though." Dean smirks, flinging said underwear on the alter, the star draws in a deep breath at Dean's blatant sacrilege. "Don't lecture me, now we both knows how this goes. You do something for me, I give back your clothes, yes?"
The star just stands at the graveyards edge. Dean sighs, walking over, but careful not to get within arms reach of the star. "What is it you want me to do?"
"I just need you to come with me." And Dean's impressed with how sure he sounds, he really is, because up this close he can feel those glowing blue eyes burning into him, and he can count the black, long lashes that line those glowing eyes, distrustful eyes.
"Why?"
Dean grins, "I made a deal with a King, I bring a star to court, he won't execute my little brother."
The star pauses at that, "Brother?" He murmurs, looking faintly intrigued. "What did he do?"
"Slept with a man." Well, it kinda true, and the star puffs up at that.
"Then I find it in my own interests to accompany you, I must inform him that that is not a crime at all." The star says it so simply, like he had informed Dean of what he couldn't do earlier. And Dean relaxes, thank the Sun the star won't fight him, but then the star cocks his head to the side, "Perhaps you would give back my undergarment?"
"Nope." The star's eyes explode with light, dazing Dean and he stumbles back just in time, before the star's blade swishes through the air at his neck. "Sun's sake! You realize if I die you'll never get your underwear back?!"
"I'll find someone." The star responds coldly.
"Ah no, no you won't." Dean informs him with a shit eating grin. "I'm the only guy crazy enough to walk in a graveyard for stars, let alone touch the Sun alter."
And for a moment the star considers him, eyes raking up and down him. "Fine. We have a deal, I will come with you, and you will return my undergarment."
"Yep." Dean smiles.
0
Dean had let the star dress itself in it's robes, and even take the sword, it would need a weapon to defend itself from the King. Another surge of guilt made him pause a moment as they walked down the mountain side. But he pushes it away with thought of Sammy.
The star gives him an odd look, and even opens his mouth to save something, but shuts it again, looking a bit grumpy. They keep walking, and Dean's tough, but he's human, and the longer they walk, the slower he gets, while the star marches on, and Dean faintly recalls stories of the Wrathes of the Sun, the stars descending down on humanity, not as messengers and divine beings but slaughters.
Warriors that feared no man, no army, not starvation, not death, nor pain.
Dean glances at the star, and even though he seems rather… Harmless, the sword thudding in rhythm to each step makes Dean conclude otherwise.
Trust Dean to catch a warrior, not a musician, or a healer, just a fucking warrior, a killer who looks like he'd prefer to be curled up with a scroll and steaming herbal tea, not marching down a mountain to an unknown fate with Dean.
Dean sighs, which finally prompts the star into speaking. And Dean tries to not shiver at the gravelly voice of the star. "I could fly us, it is quicker."
Dean snorts, "Yeah, so you can drop me and split my head like a melon on the ground, I think not!"
The star seizes him by the arm, and Dean is surprised by his strength, Well, Dean knew they were strong, but it feels like his bone is breaking, it literally hurts, and the star lessens his grip at Dean's pained shout, but continues to slam him into a tree fiercely. "Do not doubt my honor human." The star growls, "Doubt yours if you wish, but never mine, we have a deal, and I will keep to it, and you will show me respect." The star hisses the last part into Dean's ear, and Dean wonders where the star learned its people skills from, because this is not really a threatening hold.
The star is gripping his arm hard, sure, but the star is pressed up against Dean, like Dean can feel each exhale and inhale, and see the pores in his fine skin, and smell him, he smells like sweet earth and rain, not that it matters, but the star holds him like something precious. Not like he's trying to threaten him.
"Okay." Dean mumbles, and with that the star smiles, just barely, more like an approval of Dean coming to his sense and not being stupid that shows its beautiful, white, white teeth.
And then it scoops Dean up like some damsel, careful not to swing his head into a tree or something, and Dean freezes, cause he doesn't want to be dropped, not because the feel of the star's cool, hard arms pressed into him is shockingly pleasant, no, cause the star's wings flash out to the sides and churn the air as they take off.
And Dean is flying. And pressed against the star's chest protectively as they glide down to the base of the mountain, and then the star just keeps flying, "Can we land now?" Dean asks, the farther they get from the ground the more he clings to the star, he won't being falling from the sky like in the legends.
The star frowns. "We would get where ever we are going faster-"
"Just land!" Dean orders him, because his feet are not suppose to almost touch the clouds.
"Very well." The star sighs as it folds in it's wings with a snap, letting them drop through the air like a boulder, but he snaps them back out at Dean's terrified screams. "What?" The star cries irritated.
"WE WERE GONNA CRASH!" Dean bellows.
"I have flown for millennia, we would not have crashed." The star informs him coldly, clearly insulted and done with Dean.
Dean grunts, "Just land for Sun's sake, slowly."
The star sighs as it circles a few times over a dirt road before finally touching down to the ground with a jolt. Then it drops Dean like a sack of pineapples. Dean groans as he sits up, but he only glares at the star, because he knows if their situations where reversed he'd do the same.
Surpassingly the star holds out a hand and helps Dean up, and they walk together in silence down the road.
Dean tries not to stare at it, but eventually lets himself openly gawk at the star, it doesn't bother looking at him, it simply glares forward.
And it's a damn beautiful glare.
0
Dean sighs as he settles down next to the fire, chomping on some poor animal the star had retrieved from the woods. Which had surprised Dean honestly, the star had been irritated that they had to make camp, but Dean need rest, and food, and he had told the star just that.
And all the sudden the star had huffed and went into the woods, only to return later with hunks of meat and bone. The star had tossed them right into the fire Dean had built, letting them get charred, but cooked, and pulled them out with it's bare hands, before giving them to Dean.
It wanted this to be offer as soon as possible it explained at Dean's questioning looks.
And so Dean ate, and the star sat, hunched over with it's dark, night sky wings tucked neatly to it's back, staring into the flames.
Dean has to admit it is a pretty sight, the firelight dancing over it's chiseled face, over the dark enochian on it's skin.
"So, like, does that come off or is it a tattoo or something?" Dean mumbles. The star sits up, looking at him, and then it's enochian covered arm.
"It is the word of the Sun." The star whispers, eyes skimming over the markings.
"So, what's it say… Here." Dean gets up and pokes the star's inner arm.
The star humors him, running it's fingers along the words as it reads. "You will seek me, and find me." The star murmurs, before moving to the next line, "When you seek me with all your heart."
Dean snorts, "Find who?"
"The Sun."
Dean tries not to seem cynical as he speaks, "Um, the Sun is in the sky, not hard to find."
The star sighs, it has gotten used to Dean, "Spiritually."
Dean coughs, "Oh, okay, um, what this say?" He taps the line wrapped around the star's wrist.
The star blinks, "I shall not be moved."
"And here?" Dean runs a careful finger over the star's exposed knee, it's robes parted to allow it greater mobility no doubt, but it also gives Dean a good look at it's long legs.
"You have armed me with strength for battle."
"Huh…" Dean chews on some more meat thoughtfully, "Suh, da whyting, whya id four?"
The star contemplates Dean's gibberish for a moment before finally saying, "I have no idea what you just said, however; it is about the enochian?" Dean nods. And the star smiles, baring his white, white, sharp teeth. "So I may remember my father where ever I may be."
"That's it?" Dean frowns, "Well, why's it brown? Why not black?" Most tattoos are done in black, it's easier to see, and at that the star actually looks ashamed.
"It is brown because my faith has wavered." The star then glares at Dean, "That is why I came down, to humble myself and strengthen my faith so my marks will stop fading, perhaps even become black again."
And Dean just blinks. "Oh. Why?" And then he stuffs his mouth full.
The star actually looks angry, and then simply resigned. "I have questions, and they have gone unanswered for so long… That doubt festered in my wonder." The star sighs. "I truly wonder what the Sun is… Doing."
Dean stops chewing on the leg, this is getting serious, and he stares at the star as it speaks, it's eyes on the Sun. "There is a plan… But I have begun to wonder if I have a place in it, and if the plan is a good one? How can this be good?" The more the star speaks, the more it's voice begins to tremble, "All I see is pain, and misery, terrible things, hatred, misunderstanding." The star suddenly turns to Dean and says in a tiny whisper. "I sometimes think the Sun has abandon us."
And Dean wants to laugh, say that's absurd, but instead he just rubs his jaw, "Why?"
And at that the star gets twitchy. "The Sun has not spoken to any of the stars for almost four centuries."
"Oh." And Dean notes the enochian on the star's tan skin has faded slightly. "That's rough."
The star nods, turning back to the fire quietly, his eyes troubled, and he just looks sad. Too sad, and Dean feels like a supreme douchebag for stealing his underwear now.
"Come on, you need to eat." Dean holds out what he figures is an arm to the star.
"I do not require food."
"You know you want to try it!" Dean teases, "Seriously, it's good."
The star lays a gentle hand over Dean's, holding him still as it bites a chunk off the arm. Which is when Dean realizes the concept of personal space is not something they teach in star school. "Mm." It hums, eyes shutting as it savors the meat. It takes the arm from Dean without another word. "This makes me very happy, thank you."
"Yep." Dean mumbles. He feels warm, and he wants to smile, so he does.
0
Dean had woken up to wings, black, black wings hanging in his face. And he spluttered indignantly as feathers smacked him in the mouth. "Hey!"
The star's wings pulled back. "The sun has risen, surely you have slept enough." And Dean wanted to hit it in it's perfect face because for the love of the Sun it was still dark out, light just barely coloring the dark morning sky with light washes of violet and orange.
"Sun's sake," Dean groaned, "Don't tell me you're rested all up?!"
The star cocks it head to the side, in a bird like manner, "I do not require rest."
Dean sighs, "Of course, do you have breakfast?"
The star stares for along moment, "More food?"
"Yeah." Dean blinks a few times, right, meals are beyond a star, "We have three meals a day, one n the morning, one in the middle of the day, and one at night."
And the star just stands there, still, as he processes this apparently mind boggling notion, "Why?"
"Because if we don't eat we die."
"Very well, stay here, I will find another animal." And with that the star is off.
0
Dean insists on walking, the star gives up after an hour of walking after Dean and a few failed attempts to forcibly take him into the sky. Dean has decided he definitely does't like having the star hold his life in those strong arms a couple hundred feet above the ground. even if flying filled him with a thrill, this exhilaration, this wondrous feeling as the wind whistled against his face, he ain't doing it.
Because his head and his logic aren't letting his stupid love for flying, discovered yesterday, get him killed.
The star trails after him, and he can feel it's blue, blue eyes burning into him, cerulean, azure, cobalt, indigo, sapphire, turquoise, teal… No more blue words, not one more, so Dean turns his attention back to Blue Eyes. And he realizes he has no clue what the star is called. At all.
Well, there's Caligo, Methuselah, and some more, but that doesn't help Dean figure out what the heck the star is called. "Um, hey, what's you're name?" And Dean wants to slap himself because he's way smoother than that, for the love of the Sun!
"I do not feel we need one another names." Oh Sun, the star doesn't even know his name, "After this is done, we will never see one another again."
"Oh. Well, I'm Dean."
"I don't care." The star informs him dryly, "Dean." It tests out the sounds, letting the letters draw out between them, and Dean's half certain the star is taunting him, it knows his name but he can't begin to fathom its. He wishes he could sound out the star's name.
0
"Shit." Dean hisses, the moment his eyes can see over the hill, he ducks behind a bush. And he grabs the star, pulling it down next to him, and he has a funny feeling that he only pulled it down because it let him, because the first half-second of tugging did nothing, and suddenly it just plopped down with what looked like an eye roll. Or something close, more refrained and uptight.
"Why?" The star asks, and Dean hushes it immediately. It frowns, and looks down the hill. "It's just people. Dean." It says quietly this time, making sure to flaunt the whole name thing in his face.
"Bandits." Dean explains, nodding towards the one group, and then the other, "Target, we wait, they leave, and we can get going." He tries to just stare at the ground, ignore the guilt churning in his gut.
"We should help."
Dean shakes his head, "We could get delayed." The star stares at him for a bit, but a girl starts screaming, snapping it's attention back to the people.
"I did not realize you were a coward Dean." It murmurs before standing, "Do not worry, we will not be delayed. Stars are warriors of the Sun, bandits are not a problem." And with that it flies down onto the bandits on silent, black wings. Death wings, blade swing out silently.
And Dean jumps over the bushes, running. Stop! He wants to scream, but he knows the star won't listen, it drops down, sword driving the bandits away from the people in wide, precise arcs of whistling blade.
And then there's blood, everywhere, and people are screaming and the star is on the bandits, loping off heads, cutting bodies in half with a terrible efficiency, it's wings bat bandits down, it's feet stomp down on their throats firmly.
And just like that, the bandits are all dead, and Dean just stands there, watching, the star even chases down a few who run off, and returns. It tries to help the people, but they shy away from him, and if he picks up a possession, they just leave it. The star's wings sag dejectedly.
"Come on." Dean calls, "They don't want anything to do with people like us." And them moment the people see him, he can feel their judgement too.
"Winchester." One spats.
"Yeah, anyone have a bone to pick with me or my..Friend." And the pause is so small no one probably notices, but the star looks surprised. It comes anyways.
"I just wanted to help." It murmurs, and it's crestfallen, eyes sad, even a little pouty looking, in that stern way it holds itself .
Dean shrugs, leading him away with a hand around the elbow, trying to ignore the blood drying on it's robes. "You killed those guys, that's all that matters to them, sure, you saved'em, but they don't know you. They don't trust you and you just showed them your dangerous." Dean sighs, "Probably were kicked out of there homes or something, happens a lot now a days, wars going on. Those types decide everyones a threat, even the people who try to help them."
"They knew you."
Dean coughs, "Well, lots of people know us Winchesters."
The star frowns, "Why?"
"We're Hunters." And Dean has never felt more ashamed of that fact before, not once.
"Ah." The star whispers, and that's it. No screaming, no trying to kill him, just calm, shocked, acceptance. "Have…You killed…?" It murmurs.
"No, but.." Dean feels a terrible need to be honest with the star. "My dad did. Um, he killed a lot of things. I'm sorry."
"Your brother." It mutters.
"No, he hasn't killed stars, but um.. Well, he drinks shadow blood." Dean does't even know why he said that, but he did, and the star just stops right there.
"What?" It hisses.
"It's not his fault!" Dean exclaims.
The star looks him straight in the eye, "Yes, it is, human get addicted to that sort of thing easily, did he want power? Respect?" It snarls.
"No!" Dean yells back, and that seems to surprise the star just a little, "No," Dean says, quieter, "This monster… It fed it to him when he was a kid… And you know, he has it under control, he helps people. Heck, he could break out of that prison if he wanted to, he's just to damn noble."
The star simply sniffs, "He will lose control."
"Not yet." Dean murmurs, because he knows the star is right.
The star scowls, "That's your contingency plan? Not yet? What will you do when he loses control, watch your brother become a monster himself?"
"NO!" Dean barks, "I'll stop him, it's my job."
The star laughs, "Really? Will you?" It stops walking to look Dean in the eyes. "Dean, you stole my undergarments to save your brother, is there anything you would not do for him?"
And for a split second Dean feels like the star knows him, knows him really well, but then that second is over, and Dean scowls. "I'd do my job, Sammy wouldn't want to hurt people."
The star just rolls it's shoulders and wings in a manner that says rriiiiiiigggggghhhhhhhtttttt.
Dean sighs.
The sooner they get to the castle the better.
0
Dean wakes up to footsteps, and the first thing he thinks is shit, this is what happens when you cut through bandit territory, there everywhere. He glances over at the star, which is sitting, posture slack, by the fire, which is as close as it gets to sleep, but it does seem to be getting…. Tired lately. It's markings are lighter too, which concerns Dean, he shouldn't be, the star's faith isn't his concern, but he is, and he can tell it troubles the star. He sneaks over on silent feet, and kneels besides the star.
And has to stop himself from gasping, the stars asleep.
It's head rests against it's chest, eyes shut, breath loosely slipping in and out, and his face is relaxed, the lines are gone and os is the harshness, and it catches Dean off guard, how human this star really is.
Then an arrow whizzes by, sinking into into the dirt with a thunk as more whistle by, Dean throws himself onto the resting star, knocking them both to the ground with a yelp.
The star groans, but then jerks against Dean with a start as another arrow thunks near them.
Dean covers as much of the star as he can with himself, grabbing its face, forcing it to look him in the eyes, "Hey, if I don't make it out of here you have to promises to keep going down this road, a few more miles north, you'll find a huge town, Triel, just tell them I sent you, make sure my brother doesn't get executed, he'll help you, okay?"
"Dean," The star hisses, "Let me up, I can fight, arrows can not hurt me."
"You sure about that? Cause I'm pretty sure you said you don't sleep either." Dean shoots back, clamping his arms around the star the moment it tries to weasel out from under him. "Now, I threw down basic boundary spells, that's why they're shooting at us, they can't enter the clearing, but when I die, the spell does too."
"You won't die, they have terrible aim." The star murmurs, nodding to the arrows around them.
"Yeah, but even an idiot can hit the target with enough tries." Dean tries to not trembles at the whistle of the arrowheads. "Just promise you'll save my brother."
The star actually rolls his eyes, and Dean realizes that the star learned that from him, it's trying to make him relax. "I will Dean, but this is unnecessary, you are over reacting."
"So why do you look scared?"
"Dean-Dean!" The star screams, and Dean's eyes just widen as his back explodes in a burst of ripping, tearing pain, bright white and hot, and it's that terrible sensation that makes Dean drop his face next to the star's shoulder.
"He gasps, it hurts, it burns, and his back is all wet, and red drips down off his neck and shoulder onto the star's horrified face and neck.
"Dean?" It hisses, "Dean?"
"You promised, remember you promised." He mumbles, because he suddenly feels woozy, his mind all bumbled up with pain and his lungs quiver, and his body screams.
"Dean," The star is holding him, "My name is Castiel."
"Oh." Dean mutters before shutting his eyes.
R and R :)