I'll keep you safe

Broken beer bottles littered the apartment's dingy floor, as well as red smears and bloodied handprints on the walls, both belonging to Cas.

He shuddered as he looked around, his hand wiping away the blood running down the side of his face. He'd have to clean it up before Michael got home. That's just the way it was for the last 2 years of their relationship. Michael would get drunk and angry, Cas would act like nothing happened, and life would go on.

Except this time, it was bad.

Cas stay leaning against the wall, every inch of his body hurting; his feet crushing the broken glass under his shoes. It was a fight that he was sure absolutely everyone in the dorm building had heard, what with how loud Michael had been yelling and the loud yelps of pain from Cas that he'd tried so vehemently to keep in.

The man bit his lip, wiping at the tears that were still running freely down his bruised and bloody face, debating whether or not he should go look at the damage.

Probably not.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been standing there, but Michael had finally left and Cas had been shock-still for what felt like hours now, the scene replaying over and over in his mind. He shuddered, staring at the shards of glass and mess of blood on the ground without really seeing them. He was trembling, barely keeping a hold on himself, only the sound of his short breathing and the tick of the clock to fill the silence.

A sharp knock at the door made Cas jump violently, but he couldn't bring himself to move, tensing as he thought of the possibility of it being Michael. He relaxed, however, when he realized it was the distinct knock of his best friend, the knock they'd established when they were kids and just naturally used, now. He still didn't move, simply staring at his trashed dorm room, not even caring enough to turn on the light even though it was the middle of the night.

Dean sighed impatiently as he waited for Cas to open the door. Everyone in the building had heard the fight, and it was either he talk to his friend, or he find Michael and beat the shit out of the ass hat, and he didn't think that now was the time for such violent acts.

Cas leaned against the wall for a moment, debating about letting Dean think he wasn't there, but that didn't seem like the best idea. He sighed and pushed himself off the wall with a wince, surprised at how weak and in pain he actually was. The glass crunched under his feet as he walked over to the door, and he ended up leaning against the doorway for support, opening the door slowly,

"Hello, Dean," he muttered, avoiding the Winchester's green gaze.

Dean's eyes narrowed as the door was opened, revealing a bruised and bloody Cas. "What in the hell happened?" He said sternly as he quickly went to open the door wider, and support the stumbling man.

Cas glanced up to him at last and guided both of them inside with a weary glance around the hallway, his brow furrowing when the door shut behind them as he tried to remember what had started it. "Michael... had a bit much to drink," he started, swallowing hard as he continued, his eyes slightly out of focus as he recounted the scene, "He was upset with me for coming home late, and he just started... bringing up everything else I've done over the last few months that made him angry, and..." Cas let the sentence trail off, biting his lip and giving a shudder, glancing to the door as if expecting Michael to walk in at that moment.

Dean eyed the other with distaste, not for Cas himself, but for the battered appearance of the dark haired man. "Jesus, Cas..." He trailed off, not knowing how to voice what he wanted to say. This had been going on so long, and every time it just got worse than the last. He'd even found the shorter unconscious on more than one occasion, and it made his stomach roll to imagine that he could one day come, and…

Cas sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head, "It doesn't matter," he mumbled, glancing up at Dean again sadly, "He was just angry and drunk. Maybe he won't do it again," Cas didn't even sound convincing to his own ears. He turned away from Dean to go into the kitchen, grabbing a trash bag and ignoring the pain as he started to pick up the bigger pieces of glass that littered the ground, wanting to clean before Michael got home.

Green eyes darkened in anger, and Dean quickly made his way over to the shorter man, yanking the trash bag out of his hands. "Dammit, Castiel! This can't keep happening!" He grabbed his shoulders, and then his chin when Cas refused to look him in the eyes. "This will never stop! You can't keep expecting him to change, when nothing has ever gotten better! Look at yourself," He swung him towards one of the mirrors on a close-by wall, forcing him to take in his bashed up appearance.

Cas flinched; it was worse than he thought, but he looked away again and jerked out from under Dean's hands, turning toward him angrily, "Don't you think I know that?" he asked furiously, glaring up at the taller man, "I've tried to leave before, Dean, and it just pissed him off even more. What the hell am I supposed to do?"

Dean thumped his fist on the wall, glaring daggers at his friend. "You can come live with me!" His voice lowered. "We've been friends our whole lives, Cas. Do you really think I can just keep letting this happen to you?" He put his hands on either side of the other's face, gripping his cheeks, and making sure that he wouldn't be able to look anywhere but at him. "You know I can protect you."

Cas hands reached up to Dean's wrists, but he didn't try to pry them away. He stared at Dean for a few seconds, his brow furrowing as he debated it, before sighing in defeat and giving a nod, "Fine," he agreed somewhat reluctantly, but he knew Dean was right. "Fine, I'll come with you. But if you get hurt, I'm coming right back. I'm not going to do that to you," he told the other, tugging on his wrists to pull them away.

Dean let his hands drop, letting a small smile of satisfaction and affection for his friend appear on his face. "Good," He pulled his keys out of his jacket pocket, making his way towards the apartment door. "Stuff your essentials in a bag and we can go," He contemplated for a moment. "And don't even think about trying to clean this shit up," He gave Cas a meaningful glare. "It's not your responsibility anymore."

Cas glanced at the glass as if considering disobeying, but he decided against it and made his way toward his room, "Alright," he said as he made his way through the mess. He walked out of the bedroom a couple moments later with a bag full of his stuff (which wasn't that much, considering Michael made him throw away a lot of it) and was able to fit all of it in the duffel bag from under his bed. He slung it over one shoulder and suppressed a wince as he followed Dean out the door, glancing wearily at his apartment door as it shut and trying not to imagine Michael's reaction.

Dean sighed as they climbed into the Impala, wincing in sympathy as Cas awkwardly shuffled into the passenger seat, trying not to jostle his bruises too much. "You ready?" He asked once his friend was seated, and the door closed. He hated the torn expression that was on the man's face, but had no regrets about getting him out of that death trap.

Cas nodded, "Yeah," he answered, tossing the bag into the backseat and scrubbing a tired hand over his face, leaning back against the seat. He didn't say anything for a moment as they pulled out of the parking lot, watching the city speed by them and his house fade into the distance before he swallowed, running a hand through his already-messy hair and looking to Dean, "Thank you for this," he told the other, his hand dropping to his side.

Dean nodded. "You know I'd do anything to help you, Cas," He swallowed. "I'm just glad nothing worse happened to you," His throat constricted at the thought, in his mind's eye, seeing his best friend crumpled on the ground. "I don't know what I would do if I lost you."

Cas bit his lip, glancing ahead of him out the windshield, "If I were being honest, if it wasn't for this, it would've happened one way or another," Cas mumbled, not sure why he was admitting to Dean that he'd thought of suicide before. Many times. "I'm glad it hasn't resorted to that yet, as well,"

A slightly uncomfortable silence descended on the two. Dean was staring straight ahead at the road, embarrassed for showing so much vulnerability in that moment, and he noticed that Cas seemed a bit stoic too. He quickly reached over and lightly punched the other in the arm, trying to show make things less tense. "But you're here now, man. Safe and Sound. Let's just be thankful for that."

Cas gave a small smile at that, "Yeah," he agreed, and they came upon Dean's house soon enough. Cas reached behind him to grab his bag and hauled himself out of the car, waiting for Dean to come around to the front of the car with him before following him inside, unconsciously checking around him to make sure Michael wasn't there. He was still a little paranoid about this whole thing.

He set his bag down when he got inside, letting out a small sigh of relief at not having that weight on him. "Is Sam home?" he asked, trying to fill the silence

Dean tossed his keys onto a side table, shrugging off his jacket to sling it over a chair. "Nah," He answered, flopping down on the couch. "He went out somewhere with Gabe," He noticed Cas not moving to sit as he turned on the TV, just standing awkwardly by the doorway to the living room. "You can relax, Cas" He said, putting what he hoped was a comforting smile on his face. "You're safe here."

Cas went to sit by him on the couch to watch whatever mindless TV show was on, not completely believing him but not daring to say anything on that point. He pulled one knee up to his chest on the couch, resting his chin on it as he stared at the screen without really seeing it. He watched for a couple minutes before letting out a breath, "I'm sorry," he told the other quietly, "You shouldn't have to be so involved in this," he supposed he should've talked about something else, but he couldn't. Nothing except the last couple hours filled his mind, no matter how hard he tried.

Dean sighed, sitting up from his slumped sideways position. "Cas," He put a hand on his shoulder, thinking that he might be able to get through to him through touch. "I'll just keep on saying this until you believe me, but you are my best friend," He turned more so he was facing Cas. "There will never be anything I wouldn't do for you... You're more important to me than anyone else." His cheeks turned slightly pink as he said that, but he didn't let that make him turn his attention anywhere but his friend.

Cas' hand reached up to cover Dean's on his shoulder, turning to face him and giving a small, dark smile, "I hardly deserve to be," Cas told him, denying the burn of tears behind his eyes as the 2 years of Michael's assurances that he was worthless rang in his ears, "It took two years for me to leave a man that was beating me every night and admit that he didn't love me. You should be disgusted with me," he muttered, biting his lip.

Dean sent his friend an appalled look. "How could you say that, Cas?" He leaned forward in his earnestness, trying to get his point across with his words and body. "There's nothing wrong with you," He was breathing a bit heavily, breath making the dark lock on the other's forehead sway a bit.

Dean's breath was hot on his face, and Cas lifted a hand to move the lock from his forehead, his shoulders slumping slightly, "I wish I could believe that," he mumbled, shaking his head sadly but forcing himself to hold Dean's gaze, finding a certain comfort in it.

Dean's hands tightened slightly on Cas' shoulders. "You listen to me," His voice was a throaty whisper. "I know you, Cas. I know how amazing you are. You are perfect, and there's never anything anyone can do to change that," He chuckled, but there was no traces of humor in it, coming out as more of a frustrated sound. "Hell, I haven't met one person that doesn't automatically love you," He was trying to hold back the frustrated tears, eyes burning with the effort. HIs voice lowered even more, so that Cas wouldn't have been able to hear him if he hadn't been so close. "You're my everything, Cas."

Cas reached out to cup his jaw without thinking, having to move closer since extending his arm all the way to reach Dean hurt. His thumb brushed gently over his cheekbone as he spoke, not liking the tears he could see in Dean's eyes, be it frustrated or not. He searched his expression carefully, surprised by his words. He leaned closer so his lips were inches away from Dean's, perhaps boldly, and made sure to hold his gaze, "You mean that?" he whispered, his head tilting to the side.

Dean lowered his eyes, though his head still held in the same position. "Yeah, Cas... I-" His voiced cracked, and he stopped to grunt and then start again. "I think I..." He didn't know how to finish, and instead looked up, surprised to find the shorter man so close. He could see every line in his face, and he noted the distinct lack of laugh lines. It only made his heart clench, and surprisingly, his lower lips tremble the slightest bit.

Cas saw the sadness in his eyes, and he found himself wondering what Dean had seen to make it that way. Nothing good, he guessed. He waited a moment for him to finish, and when it became apparent that Dean wasn't going to, he leaned in, pressing his lips to Dean's softly and quickly. He pulled away after a second to gauge his reaction, hoping he'd interpreted his words right.

Dean was speechless for a moment, wondering if he had simply imagined the brief weight pressed to his lips. But there was no doubting the tingling feeling spreading throughout his mouth, and simply taking over his whole body. He gaped as Cas looked back at him apprehensively, and suddenly it was simply too much. He dove at Cas, claiming the others mouth in a searing kiss that he swore he could feel all the way down to his toes. He prodded the other's mouth with his tongue, hoping to every god out there that the other would grant him access.

Cas' eyes fluttered closed, his hand sliding to the back of Dean's head and fingers tangling in his hair to hold him closer. The forcefulness of the kiss didn't scare him like it should've; it was so different, so much more loving and passionate than any time he'd kissed Michael, and Cas' heart was racing as the rest of the world melted away, along with the dull pain of his injuries. Cas parted his lips to allow Dean, his tongue meeting the other's just as desperately to match his passion easily, and Cas made a small noise as he tasted Dean's mouth, his free arm wrapping around his neck as Cas pressed himself closer to Dean.

The groan that escaped the taller man was best described as a growl. If there was a heaven, he believed he was in it. The taste of Cas' mouth made him shaky with desire to be closer to his best friend, and as he wrapped his arms around the other, it seemed as if Dean were trying to mold their bodies together they were so close, but wanting to be closer still.

Cas used the leverage he had on Dean's shoulders to swing his leg over to the other side of his legs without disconnecting their lips, sitting in his lap with his knees on either side of Dean's hips. He was breathing hard, but he didn't pull away, the burning in his lungs well worth it to keep kissing Dean. His hands left the taller man's neck and hair to trace along the hard muscles of his chest and abs through the fabric of his shirt, and then slipping under to feel the skin beneath his touch with a small groan of approval and desire.

Dean broke away with a moan when Cas ran his hands along the green-eyed man's stomach. "Cas, are you sure you want to do this?"

The only answer he got was their lips attaching to each other once more.

A/N: I did this as an RP on omegle, so the whole thing isn't mine, but I don't know who the other person was. I'm gonna make it a two-shot and write the second chapter myself. Don't know when it'll be posted, though.