Author: Mistofstars

Pairing: Dean Winchester/Castiel (mild but present)

Warnings: None actually (that's a surprise), except maybe spoilers for season 4 if you haven't seen it yet

Disclaimer: No, yada yada yada, Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester and Castiel – none of them are mine, they are fictional characters that belong to their creators. All of this is made up, yada yada yada, no money made with it.

Author's note/ Plot: I just thought Dean needed to see / feel some basic nice things of life on Earth after his time in Hell. And Cas is there to show him some. I also figured I kind of used the 4 elements but I didn't want to take earth, I mean, what's great about mud except for weird mud sex haha? X3

Rating: T or 13+

Fire, Water, Wind

Fire

Dean roughly broke some branches over his knee for firewood, and they cracked loudly through the night. He placed some of them on the already blazing bonfire and watched the fire come to life even brighter than before. It was a frigging chilly night, and his hands felt like they were already frozen as he held them against the heat to warm them up. Unfortunately they were in the middle of nowhere and they all needed a few hours rest before they continued their drive. Sam sat on a rock nearby the warming flames with closed lids, almost lulled to sleep by the warmth, the silence and the late hour. Dean scrutinized him, making sure his brother was not too close to the fire should he fall asleep, then he turned towards his own thoughts again.

As he was staring into the yellow and orange tongues of dancing flames he couldn't help but be reminded of Hell, the comparison was staring him in the face. Again there were his own tortured cries ringing in his ear, and he remembered the pain, the awful pain his body had been put through. All those knives, those claws and teeth and sharp metallic objects rammed underneath his skin, between tendons of his flesh, mingled with insane laughters and evil eyes. The blood, the stench smell, the heat burning his flesh. He startled, when he felt a hand on his shoulder, slender fingers digging into his blade-bone. He winced like a trapped animal and turned around with widened eyes, only to see Cas standing in front of him, a concerned expression in his eyes, more gathered firewood in the crook of the arm. He gave Dean a thorough look, then he laid the wood down on the ground.

Dean observed him when Cas came back to him, his attention solely focussed on Dean. He saw the understanding in the angel's eyes and he quickly looked away, turned himself back to the fire again. He couldn't suffer his pity nor that Cas was able to comprehend what Dean was going through. He wasn't able to share his thoughts, wasn't willed to shape them into words – but when he felt warm arms around his frame, and Cas' chest leaning against his back, he knew he didn't even have to utter anything. Cas knew all of it. He had been there, he had rescued Dean, and he had seen all the things Dean had seen in the Pit. When his hand had agonizingly burnt its mark through Dean's skin, they had shared their minds with each other, and Dean knew that ever since no one understood him as well and as thoroughly as Castiel did. It was downright scary, confusing and moving.

Cas' warm fingers crawled underneath his jacket and dug into the soft fabric of his shirt. He placed his jaw upon Dean's shoulder and for a while both of them stood there in silence, staring into the flames as their bodies heated up in the waves of warmth washing over them. Finally Dean let out a heartfelt sigh; then he brought his hands up to lay them over Cas', and their fingers slid together. Cas snuggled his nose against Dean's cheek and pressed himself closer to Dean's body.

"The fire can burn you, but it can also warm you. Not everything God created is wicked, even if sometimes things cut both ways. Everything in this world has its justification", Cas quietly said into the tranquillity of the dark, starless night. It took a few moments, then Dean leaned his head back and rested it on Cas' shoulder, becoming heavy in Cas' arms. He moved his cheek against the warm crook of Cas' neck and placed a gentle kiss there as if he answered his acceptance without words.

Water

They had been driving for what felt like a month, though not even a whole day had passed. Dean's body was uptight and his numb legs desperately needed a walk for a change. Sam was sleeping in the back-seat and Cas sat next to Dean; both of them hadn't spoken in hours. Dean drove with a stern face, his jaw was clenched, his features were nothing but a grim mask. He was so lost in thoughts he didn't even feel Cas' prying eyes on him time and again. Even when he was awake Dean could see Hell now, the memories of it, as if they had been painted to the retina of his eyes. He still heard the terrible screeching sounds in his ear, he could smell the unnameable things and creatures toying with him. He didn't notice he was getting goosebumps nor that he was driving faster and faster on the empty highway.

Then there were cautious fingertips on his forearm and he was startled out of his thoughts. He turned his head and saw Cas looking at him, not removing the warm digits from his skin. The bright blue in the angel's eyes had a soothing effect on Dean and he even smiled a bit at the angel whereupon he returned the smile gently.

"Dean, you should rest for a while", Cas suggested and soon they drove to a nameless rest stop with a lake in sight. As soon as the engine was turned off Cas got out of the Impala and walked straight to the edge of the water. Dean asked quietly "What about Sam? We can't just leave him here in the car", whereupon Cas looked back, a little smile playing on the corners of his mouth. The last sunrays lost themselves in the dark strands of Castiel's hair, and his skin seemed to glow as white as marble, his eyes were bright and vivid. Dean couldn't help but feeling amazed at his sight, nor could he hide the soft smile which uplifted his lips as well. "Have a little faith, he'll be alright", Cas answered, then he continued to pace to the lake, and Dean followed.

The soft grass was giving way under his boots and pebbles were scrunching as he walked to Cas. The angel was already kneeling at the water's edge, his fingers dipped into the cool liquid. Dean observed him as he peacefully let his fingers glide through the water, back and forth, and his blue eyes feasted happily on the whirls his hand created. Dean let him do this for a while, then he looked around to view the landscape. The sun was gone and a grey twilight took over the sky. The first white stars were appearing and the pale shape of the waxing moon joined them. There was a nearby dark wood around the lake; crickets chirped through the peaceful stillness of this place. Dean absorbed the peace of this place as he inhaled the clean air of the nightfall.

"Come here", Cas said and his wet hand grasped Dean's and the human allowed himself to be gently pulled down next to the angel. Dean knelt to his side and gave him a confused frown as he felt Cas plunging his hand into the water along with his. At first the cold water felt unpleasant, but then Cas moved his and Dean's intertwined fingers through the clear water in the same way he did before, creating small whirls and bubbles in doing so. Mesmerized Dean opened himself to the sense of the water against his skin, its cold dizzy embrace of his hand, and Cas' cool fingers slid against his, keeping his hand in place. He looked at the water, then at Cas, and he saw the angel giving him an understanding smile, which he replied to shyly. Cas disentangled his hand from Dean's and held his dripping fingers out, just below Dean's jaw, in a welcoming gesture which Dean did not understand.

"Taste the water", Cas said and Dean frowned. The situation was already crazy enough, but since every invitation to an aha experience Cas had given him within the last weeks had made him feel good, he wasn't going to resist him, no matter how crazy it might be. So he reached out for Cas' wet hand and held it tenderly in his own two hands. He stared into Cas' blue eyes and saw they were dark with arousal, his pupils were widened and the blue of his iris shone to him through the twilight. Dean slowly tilted his head and let his tongue and lips glide over Cas' wet fingers, savouring the pure taste of the droplets of water running down into his mouth, among the salty flavour of Cas' skin. It tasted clean and heavenly and Dean felt thrilled to be so close to Cas. When he looked up he saw Castiel had bend his head to watch him and his cheeks were flushed, his look seemed dazed. He brought his hand down and quickly closed the gap between his and Dean's lips, sealing them with a forceful passionate kiss which brought life back to Dean. He gave in to Castiel's dominant kisses, perceiving not only the taste of water and Cas' skin on his tongue now, but also the taste of Cas' warm mouth exploring his own.

Wind

The end of another day was about to come, and after an immense length of the last drive Sam and Dean decided it was time for a break. They sat down on the hood of the Impala, both wordlessly sipping on their beers, taking a look around the wild countryside . The sun was setting and on the nearby highway no car ever passed them. Cas was still with them, though he preferred to climb a little hill of tall grass and dried yellow blades. Dean watched him as he stood on the top of it, spreading his arms as if he was simulating to fly. He saw the wind playing with Cas' dark hair, tugging at his trench coat as he stood there with closed lids. Dean's eyes caught how Castiel spread his fingers, as if he wanted the wind to stroke over every possible millimetre of his skin. Dean frowned at the given sight as he downed his beer and put the bottle to the ground. Sam detected Dean's surprised expression and followed his gaze to see Castiel doing whatever it was that he was doing. When Dean turned his attention to Sam, he gave his younger brother a wry smile; then he got up and ascended the hill to meet Cas. When he got there, a little out of breath, he saw Castiel had already felt his presence, because the angel opened his eyes and turned his head to him to smile at him warmly, tenderness clearly visible in his blue eyes.

"What are you doing, Cas?", Dean asked, slightly amused and confused at the same time. Cas' smile dropped a bit and he looked away, facing nothing but the landscape in front of them.

"Nothing", he sighed sluggishly. "Just relieving my mind a bit from today. You've been thinking about Hell the whole ride long, I can say it's been burdening me."

Dean was shocked and worried at this statement; he had always assumed Cas could somehow read his mind, but that he'd been unconsciously troubling the angel the whole day with his horrible thoughts had never been his intention. He felt sorry about it and angry at Cas for not saying one damn thing.

"Well, why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you disappear? You don't have to sit in the car with us the whole day when I'm burdening you with my memories!"

Castiel's smile returned and he gave Dean a long estimating look, something like comprehension and love in his eyes. He gently took hold of Dean's hand and entangled his fingers with his, and Dean's jaw just dropped.

"You don't get me, Dean. If you can live with it, I can take it as well. I'm not complaining, I just say I need to relax my head for a while. And so should you. You don't have to torture yourself the whole day long either." Dean didn't know what to reply to this, and he guessed Castiel was probably right, so he sighed and nodded his agreement, whereupon Cas' fingers just held his hand tighter.

"Close your eyes", Cas said, and the last thing Dean saw of him were his smiling eyes; he still saw them when he shut his own. He felt Cas' thumb gently stroking over the back of his hand, and only now did he listen to the sound of the wind rushing in his ears. He sensed the warm touch of the breeze playing with his eyelashes and his hair, playfully uplifting the hems of his shirt.

"Do you feel the wind? It's the breath of the Earth. Take a deep breath of it", Castiel advised and soon Dean complied, as he deeply inhaled the moving air. It spread refreshingly in his chest and he took another few great portions of it. His body became calmer and soon he felt drowsy and relaxed in the arms of the wind, pulling at his body, rumbling in his lungs. In his mind there were no more memories of pain or torture sessions, there was only the sound of the wind, lulling and soothing. And so was Castiel's hand holding his, repeatedly stroking the palm and the back of his hand. For a while they stood there, and it was enough to hold each other's hand in mutual understanding, as their bodies and minds allowed themselves a little rest. Finally Cas let go and kissed Dean's cheek gingerly, and Dean was tuned so sensitively that he could recognize each detail of Cas' warm lips pressing against his skin. He opened his eyes and drowned for a while in Cas' calm face, and happiness flooded his heart.

"To overcome this you sometimes need to take a hiatus", Castiel explained with a smile. "I'll be there whenever you need me." With that he turned around and walked back to Sam, who had been eyeing them with a knowing smirk.

THE END

Sorry, if this was a little weird x3 Hey, if anyone is in the mood to write this nasty mud sex scene, let me know X3