"Captain on deck!" Gabriel barked from starboard, and Chuck acknowledged him with a curt nod.

Aboard Heaven's Wings, everything ran like clockwork. The double decker frigate never had the slightest issue; the crew kept it running like a dream. She was beautiful, too - gold inlay with a beautiful hull of meticulously polished oak and sails that billowed in the wind, giving them such an air of the wealth that they had. She rocked slightly beneath their feet. A storm was coming.

"Castiel." Chuck called gravely, striding over to where he stood.

"Yes, captain?" he turned, lowering the spyglass to meet his eye.

"Anna said you wanted to see me."

"Yes, captain. Do you see that ship?" he turned back to the rail to point out a large ship on the horizon.

Chuck raised a brow. "What of it?"

Castiel frowned. "Pirates."

Chuck opened his mouth to question how he knew this, but wasn't in the mood for a lecture. He took the spyglass from Castiel's offered hand and peered at the ever growing ship on the horizon. If they were to make it to land in time to get their goods unloaded for trading season, they couldn't be dealing with a run-in with pirates. There wasn't enough time to turn and sail away, and the wind did not favour them. He sighed and tapped the spyglass back into Castiel's hand.

"Prepare the cannons."

"Charlie!" Dean called. "Canons?"

The redhead looked up to glare at the captain. "Patience is a virtue, captain."

Dean laughed and hauled himself up onto the forecastle by the Impala's polished railings. He drummed his fingers there for a second, savouring the way her dark wood – so dark it was almost black - felt under his fingers, before walking over to where Bobby and Sam were stood at the helm. He slapped a hand on each of their shoulders.

"Hey, how's navigation, Sammy?"

His brother rolled his eyes. "It would be better if our navigator was well enough to do it," he barked.

Dean seemed to physically deflate and dropped his gaze. Ash had gotten really ill over the last few days, along with most of the rest of their crew. Though there was not a lot he could do about it, their captain put most of the blame on himself and it was weighing him down.

"Sam…" Bobby warned. He knew how much pressure Dean was needlessly putting on himself.

Sam rolled his eyes again and turned back to the helm. Bobby swung around to face Dean and put a hand on his shoulder. "This ship could have the medicine we need, boy. I-uh . . . chin up."

Dean smiled slightly. Yeah. Maybe there was hope.

"Cannons ready, captain!" Charlie called from below, and Dean's smile spread.

He jumped back down to the main deck. "Take aim!"

"Captain! Captain, we're sinking fast," Anna was calling, but Chuck wasn't listening.

"Uriel!" he yelled with urgency, but he had fallen and the sticky red liquid pooling about his head did not suggest that he was getting up.

Another loud gunshot sent Chuck flying and he landed with a large thud on the hard wooden floor. Samandriel came rushing to his side, but he waved him away – they needed all the gunners they could get.

"Captain!" Gabriel's voice yelled urgently, "Pirates on board!"

At that, he pushed himself up, ignoring the bruises and scrapes and pulling the sword from its sheath in his belt, eyes sweeping the deck until he found the unfamiliar faces, armed to the teeth. It took him a moment to realise what they were doing, not at first recognising the sacks they were hauling onto their own ship.

"Thieves!" Then it clicked. "Filthy, thieving pirates!" Anna was yelling.

Someone laughed.

They were losing. Half their crew was dead, and they were losing.

Castiel fought with dignity and as much energy as he could muster with the wounds he'd acquired. His shoulder was burning and he was in agony from trying to run with a gash on his thigh. However; he'd managed to get the upper hand somehow, and had the pirate captain cornered with a sword raised.

But the captain didn't seem fazed. He just smirked, and when he heard the familiar sound of a gun's clicking, he instinctively lowered his sword. He'd have a bullet through his head before he'd said his last words.

"And what do they call you?" he demanded.

Castiel refused to answer. He clamped his mouth shut and tried staring him down.

"What is your name, trader?" his voice was becoming urgent, and Castiel's breath hitched in his throat when he heard him flip the safety.

"Castiel," Gabriel called for him. His eyes darted over to where his brother was pressed against the side in a similar situation. "His name is Castiel."

"Yes," he swallowed, feeling brave, "My name is Castiel. Now do me a favour and kill me."

The captain just smirked. "Welcome aboard the Impala."

A/N:

Hello! Welcome to my pirate AU, I guess :) I'm sorry this first chapter is a little short but I rushed to get it done for a certain someone's birthday ;) It took me quite a while to plan this (I don't normally plan, I just wing it) and I really do hope you enjoy this is as it continues!

Much love,

SC