Prompt: Castiel is seriously injured and Dean has to deal with his feelings and the way he's been taking Cas for granted. First time fic. (for spn kink meme on tumblr)
Just so you know, I fucked this prompt all up. I started with the best intentions for this fic to be true to the prompt, but I ended up with this:
Castiel has somehow managed to get involved in every case the Winchesters have had in a month. He doesn't mind so much because fighting these monsters is therapeutic compared to heaven, and he honestly missed Dean over that year.
Dean somehow managed to get hurt in every case he and Sam (and Cas) took for the last month. His injuries were never deathly severe, but enough that Sam had to reset his shoulder which popped out of it's socket, and Cas had to use his mojo to heal him. He'll never admit that he missed Cas just as much as the angel missed him.
Sam, no longer Robo-Sam, somehow managed to not get hurt on any case so far. He suspects Dean threw himself in the way each time, but never questions it or says thanks. Dean would probably kill him if he did. Probably not, but still.
Anyway, Dean tries to nurse his injuries on his own every time, but eventually gives in and lets Cas help him out. Sam lets them do this little ritual and usually begins cleaning up the site, making sure no further investigations into the area will need be made and smirking at the old married couple feel of their bickering.
"Dean." Castiel growled. "Just let me fix you."
"I'm not broken, Cas. Just a little banged up. Nothing a little peroxide and band-aid won't fix."
Castiel would love to sit and argue about how Dean is wrong – he was thrown into a chair and a concrete wall for goodness sakes – but instead disobeys Dean and reached out for his arm.
Seconds later, Dean is fully healed and fake pissed, " God, Cas! I said no."
"You were bleeding internally, Dean." Cas stated, glaring at Dean's feet.
Dean said nothing, but nodded in understanding. From then on, he just let Cas fix him up.
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Another month passes, and things are still the same. Cas still gets dragged into every case (especially ones that reek of angel interference) and he continually needs to save Dean from some life-threatening wound or another.
This particular case the Winchester's are on is a fun one. It has angels written all over it. And something powerful lurking just beneath the surface. Or so it feels.
Sam is the one that led them through the clues to this abandoned church, and immediately Cas could feel that something was amiss. An energetic charge hung in the air.
"Cas?" Sam looked at him with concern.
Cas' eyes scoped the place. There were no sigils or angelic presences to be noted, "Something feels wrong."
Sam started toward the door, "Maybe we should leave." He passed Castiel and Dean and wretched open the door that Dean had let fall closed behind him. The others followed him, but the door slammed shut just as Dean reached it.
"What the hell? Sammy!"
He pounded on the door. Behind him, Cas made a choked off sound, and he turned around just in time to see the angel slam against the alter at the front of the church. "Cas!"
"Boy, you angels are stupid," a feminine voice called from Dean's left. He turned. It was a young woman he'd never seen before, and her plain Jane attire suggested she was just a vessel for something much worse. She waved her arm and he slammed against the door; Sam's muffled shouts of "Dean! What's going on?" grew louder.
The woman-creature strode up to Dean, and took his face in hand, "Hmm, you're just human. But you have a touch of Grace in you."
"Now that we've established what I am, what the hell are you?" he spit out through clenched teeth.
She smirked and dropped her hand, "Let's just say that Mother hasn't had a chance to name me yet."
Dean slid down the door, weakened by something in the creature's power. She turned her attention to Castiel, who was still plastered to the alter with a look of agony on his face.
She stood a foot in front of him, "Cas, is it? Mother made me just for you. She doesn't want you angels fucking things up."
"What things?" Dean shouted from the back, struggling to sit up.
"Mind your own business, human." She shot him a look, and knocked him back down with a wave of her hand, satisfied when he didn't make another attempt to get up and his eyes remained closed after impact with the floor. "So, Cas. I'm not sorry, but I like to play with my food. I am young."
She gave him a coy smile as she raised her hand to inflict more pain, markings began to line Castiel's wrist, intensifying it. Castiel groaned and struggled, trying to reach for his sword and fight the pain to get to her, but all he could do was summon the weapon. Plain Jane kept quiet, not revealing Mother's plan while torturing him, but laughed and began wandering around the room when Castiel dropped his sword and fell unconscious from the pain, figuring she had won.
What she had not planned on was Dean feigning unconsciousness, and crawling to the angel's side. Plain Jane stared at a stain glass window while addressing him, "I'm going to have to kill you, too. And the human outside. Mother doesn't want anyone around to stop her."
Dean shook Cas gently. "Wake up, buddy," he whispered. No reply came from the angel, and Dean began to get worried. This was the angel of the Lord that saved his ass pretty much daily.
Jane was making her way back toward the alter, now that she knew Dean was there," You're a sneaky little bastard, you know that?"
Dean smirked up at her, less than a foot from him."Well, I am Batman," he said, before lunging forward, Castiel's sword in his hands, hoping that he would actually hit her, and hoping that it actually worked. When he pulled back, he looked up at Jane's shocked face.
"This wasn't supposed to happen," she choked out, falling to her knees. Her powers already started to dampen, and Sam burst in the door, shouting "Dean!" but Dean wasn't paying attention: Castiel was still unconscious and hurting. Jane lay dead on the floor in front of them.
Sam rushed to their side and coaxed Dean into helping Castiel out of the church and back to the motel.
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Sam was the one who suggested getting Castiel his own room, but Dean never left his side, so Sam was stuck with his own room. Not that he minded, but it was hard to enjoy porn when your angelic friend was in serious pain the next room over.
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Dean was perched on the second bed in Castiel's room, not daring to close his eyes while the angel still lay there unconscious. Relief flooded Dean face when he stirred.
"Cas? Cas, how do you feel?" He stood up and looked down at the waking form.
Castiel sat up slowly with Dean's help and blinked a few times before answering "Better," he croaked out. He moved to stand, but Dean held him down.
"Don't push yourself."
Castiel glared at him, "Don't treat me like a child, Dean. I'm an angel of the Lord and fully capable of taking care of myself."
"Well, great job back there, Mr. Angel of the Lord," Dean gave him an answering glare, not moving his hand from where it rested on Cas' shoulder. "You sure showed that baddie who's boss." His voice cracked a little.
They glared at each other for a few moments. Dean looked away first.
"I'm sorry, Dean." Dean met his eyes again with a softer stare. "I've been distracted of late. The war is not going so well, but I want to ensure your safety."
Dean could feel the honesty of this statement, and it flared up his defense mechanism, when someone gets too close, he has to push them away, "Don't do that. Don't put me ahead of humanity."
"You're the one that taught me humanity was worth saving. You mean so much to me. I can't..."
Cas trailed off, looking away from Dean, but something else flared up in Dean. That feeling he's been working so hard to repress. He's pissed at the way he can't deal with this like a normal human being, but he knows that he doesn't just mean so much to Cas, Cas means so much to him."Cas." Dean says it so broken, every word he's ever wanted to say to the angel packed into the one little syllable.
Castiel turned to look at Dean again, his blue eyes searching Dean's face, the hunter's thoughts pouring out through every pore. He lifted a hand to Dean's face, tentatively touching a cheek, eyes locking on Dean's.
It's too much, and yet, Dean finds it's not enough. He's craved the angel's touch for far longer than he can admit. He leans forward and presses a soft kiss to Castiel's lips.
Cas stares at him, his eyes crinkled in an almost-smile. They stay like that for a full minute. Dean finally breaks off enough courage to lean forward again, but Castiel's face darkens.
"Dean, I'm being summoned."
Panic seizes him, "You're not fully healed yet, you can't just march into battle now."
"I can and I must," Castiel insists, brushing his thumb along Dean's cheekbone. "I will be back as soon as I can. We have matters to… discuss."
Dean sighs, "Be careful." I don't want to lose you, again.
Castiel smiles with his eyes again, "Of course, Dean."
And he's gone in a flutter of wings.