Dean Winchester, the keeper of the infinite soul, as he was known throughout Heaven, Hell and certain places on Earth, was standing anxiously at a packed club in the center of South Dakota. The lovely dark-eyed bartender had been checking him out all night, but he paid no heed to her at all. If she had any inclination she would have known that he was sending messages back and forth to the one he was waiting for.
"I make a mean Hurricane," the bartender insisted to the dazed hunter. "Hello?"
"Yeah," Dean gasped, snapping out of it. Enochian speak tended to relax him a little too much. "Uh… not yet. I'm uh… waitin on someone."
The bartender's expression wilted. "Oh… someone… special?"
"Definitely," Dean said unable to contain his own smile.
She was about to say more when Dean turned on his stool to catch the eyes of Castiel, having chosen the female vessel for this particular assignment.
"They should be popping out, Cassie," he heard Belthazar exclaim as the angel attempted to readjust the bust of Castiel's stunning red cocktail dress that fell in an a-line design just above her knees, exposing the smooth curve of her legs. The v-neck promised to barely conceal her all too impressive rack. On her wrists she wore silver bangles and pinned to each of her ear lobes were tiny diamond studs. Her hair had been styled in a French roll with two thin long clips to keep it in place, both of which were black with red and gold Chinese dragon designs. Dean tried not to stare, but found the feat difficult. This was obviously all Balthazar's doing since he had insisted Castiel try the sexy knock-out approach to get them into the club without resorting to means of teleporting. It was clear he was having fun dressing up and styling Castiel like she his own personal Barbie.
Castiel swatted Belthazar's hand away, giving him a 'touch me again and you will regret it' glare before the two angels approached Dean. "Sexy get-up, Cas," he remarked in a manner that didn't sound as though he might be hitting on her. Unfortunately, she was not pleased.
"Men are pigs! Since when is it okay to grab anyone's behind in public?"
"That was a compliment, Cassie," Balthazar defended. "Those men were complimenting you on your nickel-sized ass."
"First off," Castiel charged, "this… nickel-sized ass," she said, adding quotations, "is not mine." She was fuming, glaring at her comrade as he lifted his hands to attempt adjusting her again. Finally, with an angry huff, she snatched both his ears, pinching them hard between her fingers, causing him to howl out in unexpected pain. "Enough, Balthazar!"
"You're no fun," he pouted.
Castiel's eyes travelled around the circumference of the packed club, giving Dean time to admire her without words. She was easily the best looking woman in the room and this was not simply due to her nickel-sized ass or her popping rack; Dean noticed something else, something he hoped no one else could see. The furious and seething angel was glowing, her skin radiant and her hair glittering with diamond streaks. The light she carried with her was the quality that seduced Dean and that had been seducing Dean since Luckless and the kiss he could now vividly remember. Her eyes landed on his so swiftly that his heart leapt startled and he was forced to swallow back a tirade of emotions. "Where's Sam?" she asked.
Had she not tilted her head at that exact moment, he might have been able to produce more of an answer than the lame "Uhhh…." he came out with.
She rolled her eyes. "I see," she said with a sigh, "I forget how tongue-tied you can get around beautiful women."
"No uh…" he started again, resulting in a silent lecture to himself before continuing with what he hoped was more composure. "She ain't that beautiful." He wasn't sure how to interpret Castiel's expression following this, but he already regretted the words and so tried to back pedal over them unsuccessfully. "Not saying you aren't… cause angels probably…"
"Slow down loverboy," Balthazar laughed, slapping Dean on the back.
"Sam's out back," Dean muttered, gesturing to the exit where he remembered Sam disappearing through after noticing a shady character that had given him weird vibes. Being a hunter, they both followed their gut a lot more than their brains since their brains focused on the rational most of the time.
"Why?" Castiel asked, drawing her thin eyebrows together in confusion.
"He caught a scent and followed it. Occupational hazard," he added. "He left just before you got here. So, what's goin on, anyway?"
"Balthazar and I are gathering several of the angels down here to join their garrisons earlier than expected. We both thought it would be best if those angels met the Winchesters before they were exposed to the lies surrounding the two of you and the upended apocalypse," she explained, glancing around again. "Unfortunately, I have searched this entire place for our new angel and have found no sign of him."
"Him?" Dean croaked, feeling a slight twinge of unease in his stomach.
"Yep, he got one look at our Cassie's new melons and he was in!"
Dean glared at Belthazar on behalf of the furiously blushing and embarrassed angel. "If you make one more crack about Cas's… whatever… I will stab you in your face!"
Balthazar reached a hand to Dean's shoulder but he knocked it away with a grunt of warning. "Oh take it easy, Dean, I'm just helping our Cassie out here."
Dean couldn't be sure, but he thought he had seen a flicker of gratitude in Castiel's eyes before she returned to the task at hand. "Why would our angel choose a place like this?"
Balthazar kept his distance from Dean before speaking, "No doubt, he was expecting a good time from the sweet piece of ass he just met…"
Dean attacked the angel, throwing a swing into his jaw and abruptly striking air. Balthazar had vanished only to reappear behind Castiel. "Hey, Cassie, call off your boyfriend!"
"Dean, that is unnecessary," Castiel told him, "And besides, you already know that attempting to punch an angel, despite how vulgar he may be, is fruitless. You will only end up hurting yourself."
"I'm just being honest," Balthazar defended, "the fact is that our new angel is obviously a horndog. If you wanna swing your gorilla fists at someone, he's your man!"
"Stop talking, Balthazar," Castiel demanded, eyeing him dangerously. "I suggest we take opposite sides of this… horrible place… in search of him."
"Oh, fine," Balthazar muttered. "But you two don't do anything naughty while I'm away."
Dean took a step closer to Castiel, feeling the sudden urge to protect her from the prying and perverted eyes of all the men in that club. "If these… angels look human, then isn't this kinda like lookin for a needle in a freakin stack of needles?"
She made her way through the crowd and Dean followed. "He should recognize me. I really do hope that Balthazar is not correct about his intentions," Castiel sighed.
Dean grimaced. "Well, if you talked to him lookin like… the hot chick… then don't be expecting a gentleman to walk through the doors." They reached the dance floor, the strobe lights attacking Dean's senses and making it difficult to keep his eye on her. Almost instinctually, he grabbed for her hand. She responded to this by radiating warmth through her fingers into his skin. The result was a rush of adrenaline straight to his brain. They came to an unexpected stop in the center of the dance floor. Dean had not been prepared for the chain of events to follow. A woman was no longer able to hold herself up and collided into Castiel. The angel, unable to teleport due to the crowd surrounding them for fear of being noticed, fell right into Dean. He caught around her before they could both topple, but he had been temporarily knocked off balance having to right himself. "Cas, are you…" he started, but he was cut off by the inebriated woman's boyfriend coming to collect her and profusely apologizing to Castiel.
She insisted that she was fine, but Dean felt the tremor of unease in her. She straightened, stiffened, and parted from Dean to walk swiftly through the crowd. "Please don't ask, Dean," she started before he could attempt his question a second time. "I really am okay."
"Look, you're talking to the poster boy of 'okay but not really,' Cas. You don't think I can tell when you're lying by now?"
"This is not a discussion I would like to continue, Dean," she remarked in a brusque manner. "So can we drop it?"
"It's dropped," he said, but added after a tense pause, "for now." He decided to change the subject no longer wanting to be met with the cold shoulder for the rest of the night. "So why bring in noobs from down here, huh? And while we're at it, why didn't me and Sam get a recruitment letter?"
Castiel's voice abandoned some of the chill to answer. "This is not recruitment, Dean; these are angels chosen since birth, acting as guardians down here until they are brought up to Heaven. Usually, the guardians remain down here, but with our kind dwindling, we are forced to set up new strategies. There is still a lot of work to be done on Earth as well as up in Heaven. And there are just not enough of us to do the job."
Dean nodded just as "Smoke on the Water" blasted from his cell phone. He tugged the phone from his pocket to answer, feeling warm under Castiel's intense gaze. "Sam? What the hell, dude? Where are you?"
"Man, I've been tryin to call you for a while now! Are Cas and Balthazar there yet?"
"Yeah, we're scouring every inch of this place for their noob angel, but we got nada."
"I might know why. You need to come see this."
Dean didn't have to say a word to Castiel for her to know that something was up.
Their steps echoed as the two angels and the hunter made their way to where Sam was standing in the dark alley. He stood erect next to a dumpster, holding an odd looking blade arched into a crescent shape similar to the one Dean remembered Alistair using on a reaper, but this blade had markings along the edge; the markings were a deep wine red color. Lying in the alley at Sam's feet was the new angel Castiel and Balthazar had come to collect. She pushed past Dean to kneel next to the fallen angel, pressing two fingers to his forehead. Her heart which seemed to have stopped for a moment started up again when she recognized that the angel still had his essence. "He's alive," she exhaled in her relief.
"What the hell has the mojo to knock out an angel?" Dean asked.
"There isn't a whole hell of a lot, sweetie," Balthazar replied with a shrug. "We better hope we don't have another anti-Christ on our hands."
"I thought there was only one," Sam said with the naivety God reserved for his human children.
"We'll have a discussion about it later, shall we?" Balthazar offered with a wink to the younger hunter now shrinking back in horror. "I've got all the goods, hot stuff. I'm like your own personal Wikkipedia for all things angels."
Dean chuckled. At times, Dean reminded her of a child, although he had once compared her to a 'baby in a trench coat' so neither lacked weakness or naivety. She gazed down at the new angel, swept his dark hair off his youth defined face and teleported him to a safe place—a haven her and Michael had constructed when Michael was still alive and helping her with this responsibility. She stood to find Dean watching her. For years she possessed the body of Jimmy Novack, a radio ad salesman from Illinois, a married man with a daughter. He was a devoted husband so even when her feelings for Dean had changed, Jimmy's devotion never wavered which allowed her to keep control, but now she possessed the female vessel of Audrey Novack, a woman clearly single and clearly looking in all the wrong places. Her last boyfriend was a thirty year old horn dog who only wanted her for sex, which he almost always got. This woman carried this horrible man's child in addition to a host of emotions uncontrolled. There was no husband in the picture and no real reason to keep her emotions in check. Audrey jumped into relationships with both feet, fearless, and willing to risk it all for the high it gave her in return. Castiel had never felt this way, never wondered what Dean looked like beneath that black t-shirt, never dwelled on the kiss in Luckless or the one that potentially saved her life in the beautiful room or the one next to his car—at least not until now. Audrey's body responded to Dean in a way Jimmy's never did. She did notice the bronze slivers in his deep green eyes. She did notice the smooth jawline and soft sprout of peach fuzz just above his top lip. She did notice the ripple of muscles beneath his shirt, especially when she had fallen into him.
She shook her head attempting to eliminate all those thoughts, but it had no effect. If he had felt nothing, she could have easily brushed this physical attraction aside, but he was looking at her in such a way that set her on fire from the inside. She watched those green eyes smoulder under the sheen of pale moonlight. She could have harboured jealousy for her own vessel, but she could read Dean's thoughts, feel what he was feeling and in a startling twist to her, he was not at all focussed on the looks of a beautiful woman; he was focused on her.
"Hey, Cassie! Lady with the impressive melons!"
"Dean," Sam was calling. "Earth to Dean!"
Castiel jolted at the same time as Dean with neither realizing that they had been staring at each other. She hurriedly met Sam's gaze, one she regretted meeting once aware that he carried the expression of most of the men back inside the club. "My eyes are up here, Sam," she snapped, causing the young hunter to jerk his head up and apologize profusely, bumbling over his words. "It's fine," she insisted though it really wasn't. How did Audrey stand it, being ogled by men like she was a piece of meat dangling on a hook?
"Balthazar doesn't know where to begin with this… whatever it is, but maybe…" he handed it to her, forcibly keeping his head up. She sighed heavily as she slipped the weapon out of his fingers to examine it. The markings were not any she recognized. Determining this as one of Heaven's many weapons was no longer an option. "What do you think?" he asked.
"I don't know," she admitted, sliding her finger across the edge. She expected it to be sharp, but it wasn't.
"You don't know?" Dean repeated incredulously. "You've gotta be kiddin me! You always know!"
"I can't recognize the markings or the design," Castiel admitted, glancing up at him. For a moment, he was Dean again, the Dean she remembered—the one who snapped at her when he was frustrated, the one who made bad jokes at her expense and made references to a culture she was still learning about. She was used to this Dean. She was comfortable with this Dean.
"Do you know anyone who would know?" Sam asked. He looked about as uncomfortable as she felt, but was now relaxing because things were temporarily normal.
"Besides our father who aren't in Heaven, nope," Belthazar replied, lifting his head once to glimpse Sam.
"So we have a dead archangel and a blade not even angels can recognize? We're screwed," Dean exclaimed. "Any chance our mystery monster would still be here?"
Castiel crossed her arms loosely across her chest in an effort to hide her exposed breasts. "Whatever it is, they did not come here to kill an angel, and this blade," she held the blade up for all of them to see, "is not sharp enough to cause any real damage. I don't know what we're looking for, but if this creature is dangerous, it has not left any evidence behind to suggest it."
"Best we find it before it finds us then we can decide whether or not it's dangerous." Dean said, receiving nods of agreement from both Balthazar and Sam.
The four emerged back inside the club but no one even squeaked upon their mysterious appearance. They all made their way across the crowded dance floor, but ended up becoming separated by the crowd. Dean had taken the strange artifact to hide inside his jacket. His voice was gruff when he spoke. "So you gonna tell me why you don't agree?" he asked.
"What are you talking about?" she asked, keeping her eyes peeled and watchful.
"I'm talkin about back there when I suggested we find this friggin thing before it finds us! You understand this is what we do, right? We hunt monsters."
"Define monsters for me, Dean," she said, voice firm, unwavering.
"You want a definition, look it up on Wikkipedia! You can tell Sam you wanna borrow his tablet. I'm sure with the way he was gawkin at ya, he'd let you keep it if you asked nicely."
She was about to fight back, feeling a familiar frustration writhe in her stomach, but was instantly caught off guard by a large unfriendly hand grabbing a handful of her. She had been pinched several times tonight by drunken idiots, but this one caused pain. She rounded on the imbecile, but in this body, she obviously seemed to pose no threat. The man that had grabbed her was taller than her by at least a foot and grinned down at her as though he had found his catch of the day. His thick fingers locked around her thin wrists. If she wanted to, she could easily take him out with one look, but she was standing in a public place packed with people, some of whom were now staring at the two of them intrigued and entertained. "Release me," she ordered in a hiss.
"Not until you give us a kiss, sweetheart," bargained the stranger; he smelled of stale smoke and alcohol, a toxic combination.
"I will do no such thing! Release me—now!"
"I like 'em feisty!" laughed the stranger, "Come on, at least dance with me. You know you wanna."
She had had enough with these men, these horrible men with their groping hands and their disgusting view of women. Her plan was to put him out, making it look as though she had found a pressure point in his neck, but before she had a chance to follow through, Dean's voice cut through the growing crowd. He grabbed the idiot around the neck from behind and dragged him back with a hard yank. "Touch her again and we might have to have a throw down," he threatened, "understand, you dick?"
The stranger choked, but even though Dean frightened him, he pretended to carry his bravado on his shoulders. "You her pimp or something?" he hissed.
The fight started once Dean had released the foolish man. He threw a punch, but Dean was agile and dodged it, delivering one of his own directly into the man's stomach. He didn't stop there. The man decided to cash in all his chips and threw his weight into Dean. Bad move. Dean grabbed around the man's upper body and chucked him to the floor. The crunch indicated a broken bone in the man's arm when he landed on it. "You son of a bitch," the man said through gritted teeth.
Dean ignored him, turning to face Castiel. She stood there unsure how to respond to this. "We should leave before you are charged for assault," she snapped, making a beeline towards Sam and Balthazar. Both had been waiting next to the bar and both looked mildly impressed with Dean's performance.
"No thanks necessary, Cas," Dean called after her.
"I could have handled him, Dean," she fired back over her shoulder. "And I could have done it without breaking his arm!" She could still hear the wounded man groaning from the dance floor.
"We've gotta get outta here," Sam hissed, gesturing to the two security guards tight on Dean's heels.
"That was incredibly hot, though," Balthazar admitted with a grin, "Cassie may not have appreciated it, but I am definitely replaying it later."
"Bite me, Balthazar," Dean mumbled.
"What did we find out?" Sam asked once both Castiel and Balthazar teleported them out of the crowd. "Do we have any leads besides some archaic blade?"
They had arrived next to Dean's Impala. Castiel avoided all eye contact with Dean as she walked around to the passenger's side. "Our angel is safe and will probably have the answers so I suggest we leave here and never return."
Dean was gazing steadily at the door unbeknownst to everyone else there. Castiel walked over to him, studying his steady gaze. Whatever he had focused his attention on was clearly not within her ability to see. "Dean?" she called.
"We're being watched," he said gruffly.
"What makes you say that?" she asked, squinting her eyes for a better look; she still saw nothing.
He glanced over at her. "You can't see him?"
"See… who?"
He let out a harsh puff of air. "Damnit! I know what we're up against! Son of a bitch!" With that last outburst, he crossed the road. Castiel followed, but she could hear Balthazar's comment from behind her.
"He's hot but obviously off his gourd."
She came up alongside Dean, but she still could not see what he was seeing. His eyes were downcast and serious when he spoke, "You're a freakin fairy, aren't you?"
She jumped to the sound of a small voice coming from the empty spot Dean had focussed all his energy on. "You found my key?"
Dean slipped the foreign object out of his jacket, and something snatched it from him. Within seconds, a figure emerged, bathed in a pale yellow glow—the markings on his key illuminated but still unrecognizable to her. Soon, both Balthazar and Sam had joined them.
"Holy crap, not again," Sam gasped with a less than fond memory of this creature.
The fairy's mouth closed as slowly as it opened and, after a moment, he did speak again. "My name is Teasel and I'm here on behalf of my brother."
"Teasel?" Dean scoffed, "I'm bettin you got beat up a lot in school."
Castiel gazed down at the fairy, confused by his presence. Since when were these creatures real? She was led to understand that fairies like aliens were mythical creatures—not real—legends straight out of storybooks. "I don't understand," she admitted after a pause.
"Fairies exist," Dean announced, sweeping a gaze of indifference over her. "Sam and I tangled with a few back when Sam was… well… RoboSam."
She shook her head. "Impossible. That's only a legend."
"Nothing's impossible, Cas, you should know that by now," Dean quipped, returning his attention to the patient fairy still standing there.
"Anyone got a camera?" Balthazar asked. No one did. The fairy looked perplexed.
"How can you… a human… see me without my…?"
Dean interrupted. "One of your mooks made a deal with some watch maker down here. They weren't accepting Mastercard, but they did try to take every first-born son as payment. I ended up getting dragged to fairy hell where I was poked and prodded. You're all lucky you let me go or your kind would be friggin extinct right now."
Teasel stared at him, huge eyes glimmering. "In many ways our world is similar to yours—very big, very densely populated. We are not all alike."
"Tell that to the unconscious angel you left out back," Dean snapped.
The fairy whimpered, "I dropped my key. All your angel had to do was touch it and he was out—there was nothing I could have done."
"So why make a key or whatever? You just come to spy on us, maybe make a deal with another watch maker?" Dean snapped agitated. Castiel could not read this creature's thoughts, but she understood his body language and maudlin expression to mean that he needed help.
"I have come in search of… a cure. My brother is not well and we discovered that… there is something here that will save him."
Teasel watched Dean intently. Dean responded with a gruff "You mind?"
"Do you have a brother?" The fairy asked.
Dean nodded, gesturing to Sam who was taking a peek around the corner, and examining the alley.
"Would you do anything for him?"
"You name it, I've done it," Dean replied.
"Then we are more alike than you think," Teasel murmured. "I need help. I didn't come here to bargain or… take any first-borns; I just… came to ask for help to find the cure."
"What makes you think we're gonna help you?" Dean challenged.
The fairy's eyes shifted over to Castiel's. "I followed the trail left by the angels. I understand that angels… help… those in need. Well…" he gulped, "I'm in need."
"What do you need?" Castiel asked, refusing to look at Dean directly.
His voice was adamant. "Cas, don't!"
"Teasel, how can I help you?"
Teasel made to approach her, but Dean stopped him with one arm. "You wanna speak to her, you keep your friggin distance," he ordered.
Teasel nodded obediently. "I need you to help me find… the infinite soul."
"Holy crap, Dean!" Sam exclaimed.
"Seriously? Fairies know about that, too?" Dean sighed in frustration.
"Of course," Teasel replied. "It is common knowledge where I'm from. Something as powerful as the infinite soul does not stay a secret long."
Castiel exchanged anxious looks with Dean.
"You two are close," Teasel observed.
"Yeah, we're close," Dean replied. "So what the hell you want with the infinite soul, huh? Are you and your brother two power hungry freaks?"
"I need it to save my brother," Teasel appealed, looking from Dean's face to Castiel's hopefully. "If you can just direct me to it…"
Dean crossed his arms. "You don't need directing."
"Why?" Teasel choked.
"Because I'm it," Dean replied. "And sorry to tell you this, buddy, but I've had my fill of lyin, cheatin little bastards like you! I know what your kind is like. You abduct people, torture people and do god knows what else to them! I don't even wanna know who Operon is, man and why the hell he needs to be serviced, but you aren't getting one piece of me! I fought you guys before, and I'll do it again!" He pulled the Colt off his belt. "Now back the hell off, you fairy bastard!"
Teasel stepped back as though Dean's words were as forceful as a punch to the gut. "My brother does not deserve to die," he choked.
"After what you did to me and a bunch more before me, you all deserve to die!"
Teasel's eyes dried instantly. "I cannot convince you of my innocence so I may as well act as the monster you claim I am! Dean, I will make you a deal…" as he said this, his eyes glimpsed Castiel briefly.
"No deals," Dean snapped, cocking the pistol.
"You have a choice to make, Dean," Teasel threatened, vanishing only to reappear right next to Castiel. He placed a trembling hand on her arm, but she didn't even flinch. "Either lose her or help me."
"She's an angel, you idiot, you can't…" Those were the last words Castiel heard before all went dark.
The angel vanished, but not in a rush of wings. "Different set of rules, Dean. We don't abide by your god," Teasel explained, straightening with the key now held to his chest. "Now lower your weapon and come with me."
"Cas," Dean called, feeling panic rise in his chest. "Cas! Can you hear me?"
"She's gone, Dean," Teasel insisted. "And she will stay gone until you help me." Sam stepped alongside Dean, patting the pistol on his own belt while Balthazar stayed remarkably silent. Dean holstered the colt reluctantly.
He faced his brother. "I have to go, Sam," he gasped.
"You know it's probably a trap for you… and Cas," Sam said in a hiss of concern.
"It's Cas, man. Even if it is a trap, I can't just leave her in it."
"What if they take your soul?"
Dean's sigh was heavy. "Then I won't come back, Sammy. Just uh… take good care of my baby, okay? She'll need a wash and polish after this."
"Balthazar and I will go with you, Dean," Sam suggested.
Teasel gazed at Sam. "You can't go with your brother, Dean. Nobody can enter the realm unless they have been formally invited there by the Board."
"Or unless you're abducted," Dean spat bitterly. "Can we just get this done, already?"
This transfer between realms was not at all like the first. Dean felt nothing; in fact he was certain he hadn't moved from his spot, yet. That is, until he opened his eyes. He was standing in… paradise, not hell, and there were things—beings fluttering all around him, summersaulting gracefully beneath his arms and through his legs. "Holy crap," he whispered in awe of what he was seeing. "Jesus!"
Teasel clutched the key beneath one arm and led Dean to a small cottage in the center of a swaying blue field. Dean had to duck to avoid bumping his head on the door frame. Inside, Dean felt his chest inflate to the sight of Castiel standing at the side of a small bed, unusually small by human standards, probably half the width and length of a regular single. "Dean?" she murmured.
"Cas," he exhaled in relief. "Did they… hurt you?"
She shook her head and lowered her gaze to a figure on the bed covered up with blankets. "His name's Tangle… and he's dying, Dean."
Teasel went to the rigid form on the bed, sitting next to him to clasp the small pale hands. "Hey, I found the infinite soul, Tangle. It wasn't just a myth after all."
The figure on the bed called Tangle made no response, didn't even twitch to acknowledge his brother. He simply lay there, skin so white snow paled in comparison to it. Dean swore that for a moment, he was staring at his own brother when Sammy was lying on Bobby's floor unconscious, fighting off memories of Hell's cage. Tangle was so small compared to his brother, but both were blond and thin.
"What am I supposed to do, huh?" Dean muttered, feeling awkward and guilty and terrible all in the same moment. "What do you expect me to do here?"
Teasel got to his feet and approached Dean, green eyes burning. "I just need some of your energy to revive him."
"What the hell happened to him?" Dean snapped, though his tone was not cold.
"We went up against a dark fairy. Tangle thought he could take her, but she was stronger than we both ever could've imagined. She drained him of all his energy with one blow."
Dean levelled his gaze on Tangle. "You went up against? As in… hunted?"
"Yes… we subdue evil fairies and goblins and whatever else might want to take over our home. Our father taught us early because…"
"Your mother died and he wanted to get revenge on the thing that did it?" Dean finished for him.
Teasel's mouth fell. "How did you know all that?"
"We are more alike than I thought, Teasel," Dean confessed. "I just had no idea how much."
"So… you'll help him?" Teasel gasped, glowing vibrantly from just this news alone.
"I don't know what I'm supposed to do, man. It's not like I have a handle on this infinite… whatever."
Teasel snatched Dean's wrist to place one of the hunter's hands down on his brother's chest. Nothing happened. "It has to work," Teasel croaked desperately. "It has to!"
"Dean," Castiel murmured. "That is never how it has worked before."
Dean glared at the angel. "What do you want me to do, Cas? Kiss him?"
She smiled warmly. "That is exactly what I want you to do, Dean."
"Jesus," Dean grumbled. "This soul is not worth all this crap!"
Teasel's eyes were wide and full of tears. "My brother is all I have left. After dad died, it was us against…"
"Please don't finish that," Dean choked, stepping past the fairy to stand just over Tangle. "Hey, uh… Tangle—you should know your brother's a good guy—a good hunter and he just convinced a complete douchebag to save your life. You owe him big, dude!" With that, and with one last look to Castiel, he bent down, mimicking the actions of mouth to mouth resuscitation, but instead of breathing air into the dying fairy's lungs, he was breathing energy. With each breath, a stream of light escaped him to fill the young brother.
"Tangle," Teasel choked, sitting on the opposite side with his hands clasped around his brother's. "Come on… please…"
The fairy stirred from beneath him, and Dean eased back to stand alongside Castiel while Teasel let out a yelp of joy and hugged his brother. Dean didn't look at the angel when he spoke. "You easily could've taken Teasel out."
"Yes," she admitted.
"I feel like I've been duped. Were you actually in any danger here?"
"No, Dean."
"Jesus," he muttered.
Tangle was still very small, but no longer pale. His grin was lopsided as he thumped Teasel's back. "Come on, Tease, I'm fine. I told ya I'd be fine. Enough with the… hugging."
Teasel pointed at Dean with a light in his eyes. "That's him, Tangle—that's the infinite soul! I told you it existed."
Tangle eyed Dean suspiciously. "Uh huh. So… do I owe you a thank you?"
"Nah," Dean replied with a shrug. "But you probably owe her one," he added, gesturing to Castiel.
Both fairies stared at Castiel, but it was Teasel that addressed her, standing and bowing a little. "My debt to you is my life. I thank you for believing me when no one else would." His small face was glowing brilliantly.
"You owe me nothing, Teasel," she murmured with a small smile.
"So uh…how do we get outta here, huh? I've gotta get back to my own brother," Dean said unable to discount the proximity between him and Castiel. She stood the way she always stood—stiff and erect, but there was something different about her posture now. Her shoulders were relaxed. Her expression was no longer indifferent but beaming with admiration.
Tangle climbed out of the bed. "You can take the long way or the short-cut?" he bargained with a mischievous grin.
"What's the short cut?" Dean asked.
"I kick you out."
"Tangle," Teasel chided.
"What? I'm not being mean, I'm just saying, it's a short-cut. It works—a boot to the ass usually sends foreigners back home in a jif."
Dean grinned and grabbed Tangle's hand to shake. "I like you, man. If you ever need to team up, just let me know. Sammy and I are the real deal where I come from."
Tangle nodded. "Your brother hates that nickname?"
"Yep."
"Mine hates Tease."
Both laughed. "I wasn't lying about the boot to the ass, but I won't do it since you saved my ass."
Castiel interjected in a calm tone of voice. "I can take us home, Dean. I suggest we leave now since both your brother and mine will be anxiously awaiting our return." She gazed tenderly at each of the fairies before leaving the small cottage. He faced the hunter brothers and straightened. "I'm Dean Winchester and my brother is Sam."
Tangle responded first, "I'm Tangle Elfsnap and, of course, you've already met my brother, Teasel."
Dean nodded. "You got a good name there, Tangle. It's manly."
"I was going for elfly."
"Is that like manly?"
"Better than fairy," Tangle admitted.
Dean knew that he could talk to this fairy all day if he had the time, but he still needed to get back.
Teasel approached Dean with regret filling his large round eyes. "I'm sorry, Dean, I was just…I was desperate for you to listen. My brother is all the family I have left and I just…"
"I understand, man; I probably understand better than anyone. God knows how many times I've been there."
Teasel let out a relaxed breath. Tangle clapped his hands together twice, opened them and blew. A mist of glitter assaulted Dean instantly. "What the hell, Tangle?" he coughed, backing towards the door.
"It's good stuff, Dean. Trust me, you'll like it. You might be coming back to get more," Tangle insisted.
"What is it?" Dean choked, avoiding the door frame by barely an inch.
"Pixie dust."
Dean left the small cottage unable to restrain his smile. The pixie dust worked like a handful of Prozac. He found Castiel waiting for him on the path surrounded by blue field. The sun burned red on the horizon, allowing glowing creatures to erupt out of tendrils of grass and flutter innocently around him. "This is unreal," he moaned. "Definitely better than bein in some room fighting off a bunch of freakin fairies." The pixie dust Tangle had blown on him was relaxing his muscles, easing the tension out of his chest, infusing him with a giddy sense of wonder. "Oh my god! This is friggin fantastic, Cas!"
She looked over at him. "I think it's time for us to go. You seem… loopy… if that is the right word."
"Pixie dust, man," he sighed with a chuckle. "It's good stuff." He watched as a tinkerbell fairy spiralled up above his head. "I feel so damn good right now!" His head turned to meet the angel's eyes. He recognized her by her eyes—blue eyes, hypnotizing eyes that were capable of prying through his layers right into his soul. He smiled at her. "I saved a fairy tonight, Cas. Who knew there were fairy hunters with absent dads and little brothers? They're like us! They're a lot like us!"
"Too much pixie dust," Castiel noted, turning Dean around to her. "I think it's time we go back."
"Right now? I'm enjoyin this, though!"
"Dean…"
"Cas," he murmured, "Castiel…"
"It's time to go, Dean."
"You know… I'm being surrounded by fairies, I've been sprinkled with pixie dust, this place is literally glowing, and you just look… so beautiful tonight," he rasped.
"That is the pixie dust talking," she insisted, rolling her eyes. "Bend your knees, Dean…"
"That is me talking, Cas," he argued. "That is me sayin what I couldn't say the minute you walked in lookin… like this." He gestured to her attire with an approving wave.
"Balthazar apparently likes to… shop."
"Good for Belthazar," Dean laughed.
He leaned in closer to her, surprised that the glowing creatures could still make their way in between the two of them. "You know you were takin a big risk in trusting that fairy, right? Why do it? Why trust him?"
Castiel lowered her eyes from his face. "Because the look on his face reminded me of you," she whispered, "And when he brought me here, when he showed me his little brother lying there so still, I just… I thought about what you have done for Sam, and how you would have done anything to save him. You have turned the world upside down for your brother. Teasel would have, too."
"So you knew I'd come, right? You knew that once I saw what you saw… I'd cave."
Castiel nodded. "How could you not?"
"Cas…"
"If I misled you into thinking I needed rescuing, I apologize, but… I don't regret it, and I know you don't either."
With pixie dust still wild in his system and glowing creatures summersaulting around them, he was unable to take his eyes off her face. There was a warm compassion he had never seen there before; he was seduced by it, and by the light emanating off her in tantalizing waves. He was drawn in, hands lifting with the sudden urge to touch her though it was literally impossible to touch the light; instead he framed her face in his hands. The light glowed brighter still, until he could no longer restrain himself and surrendered to a kiss. A flood of warmth was the instant result, drawing them closer together. She lifted her hands to his shoulders and his found her waist in an effort to pull her closer. She sighed in appreciation and released his shoulders to lock her arms around his neck. The kiss went on even as the wings of tiny fairy creatures brushed Dean's cheek. This moment made up for all the ones he had resisted after Luckless. She was eventually the one to separate the kiss, breathing her instructions heavily against his cheek. "Bend your knees, Dean."
He obeyed without an argument, heart now turning cartwheels in his chest as he thought about resuming the kiss once they arrived home. He had kissed a lot of women, but none had the ability to make him feel like he had been tipped upside down. He was lighter than air, floating and thankful that his arms remained around Castiel; she kept him grounded.
They had returned to Bobby's. Sam and Balthazar were both waiting for them next to Dean's parked Impala. Castiel struggled out of Dean's arms, and without a word, walked straight over to them.
"You're flushed, Cassie," Balthazar noted, "and so are your melons," he added with a chuckle of glee. "Please tell me you got a little naughty in fairy land."
"We're leaving right now," she ordered, grabbing his arm, "we have work to do!"
"Oh sweetie, I'm so proud of you—my little sister is growing up. Do we need to have the talk before you take that next step?"
"Shuttup," she hissed, shot one last look at Sam before vanishing with Balthazar.
Dean approached with his shoulders slumped. "Don't say a friggin word," Dean ordered upon sight of his brother's mouth opening. He closed it again and both walked to the house. Once inside, Sam commented.
"You kissed her—again?"
Dean went straight to the kitchen to pour himself a tumbler of whiskey. "Tangle sprayed me with friggin pixie dust, dude! Do you understand what that stuff does to you? Huh?"
"Who's Tangle?" Sam asked, grabbing a glass of whiskey as well.
"Teasel's brother. He really was dying, you know. And all fairies aren't like the douchebags that abducted me before. These fairies—they're hunters. I think the dust is wearin off now. Son of a bitch!" He slammed the glass on the table, grabbing the back of one of the chairs to steady himself and his reeling mind. "What the hell was I thinking? Jesus!"
"You did kiss her," Sam said, downing the rest of his whiskey, "Again," he added.
"It's not like she didn't kiss me back," he muttered, pressing a shaky hand to his forehead. "Friggin pixie dust!"
"Was it… you know… good?" Sam asked unexpectedly.
Dean straightened to eye him. "I'm gonna pretend you didn't just ask that."
"Come on, dude!"
"No," he stormed, heading for the door and throwing it closed behind him. There was no denying that the kiss, much like the others, drove him crazy. He went to his Impala; he even climbed into the driver's seat, but he didn't pull his keys out and he didn't start her up. He simply sat there, gazing out at the gravel road. He was trying to concentrate on anything else but the kiss. Anything else. A flap of wings threw his concentration and he swore under his breath.
"Dean," he heard her call softly. "Dean, I'm sorry…"
"For what?" he mumbled, "I was dosed with pixie dust so whatever happened in the fairy realm stays there, right? Kinda like Vegas."
Castiel's hand landed on his arm. He turned to face her and was impressed with the dark hair she had released from its prison of pins. "I have an obligation to protect you, Dean. In order to do that, I need to keep my distance."
He laughed but the laugh was painful. "Seriously? You're giving me the 'it's not you, it's me' speech?"
"The… what?" she asked puzzled. "I don't understand."
He shook his head. "Forget it. Look, what are we doin here, huh? We both know something else is goin on…"
"Yes, you're right," she cut in, "but nothing can happen, Dean. To preserve your life, nothing can happen. Do you understand?"
"No," Dean said, "Explain it to me, Cas."
She gripped tight to both his hands. "I am conflicted with feelings I have never dealt with before. Jimmy's vessel, though admittedly difficult to move around in, is bound by the sanctity of marriage while Audrey's is not." She let go of his hands to slide back a ways. "Dean, I think about you in ways forbidden to my kind."
Dean's immediate reaction was to laugh.
Castiel frowned. "This isn't funny! You cannot even begin to comprehend the danger you're in if we abandon self-control!"
Her face was flushed, fearful, angry that he was not taking her warning seriously. He swallowed back the rest of his laughter to adopt a more serious tone. "So we won't." He cleared his throat unsure how he felt about her declaration. "You really think about me… like that?"
She lifted her eyes to his. "In this vessel… yes," she exhaled heavily.
He released a nervous laugh. "The backseat of this baby's pretty damn big if you wanna… you know… get freaky."
Her eyes were sharp like daggers in response to this. "You're not funny!"
"Hey, I gotta break the tension in here, somehow," he muttered, pulling himself up. "I don't know what you want me to say right now."
The anger receded to be replaced with a heavy amount of sadness. "I would beg you say nothing."
"Cas," he started, but her eyes flashed in desperation.
"Please, Dean." A thick and loaded silence fell and she was about to vanish. He needed to say something to make her feel like she wasn't the only one, make her feel like the pixie dust wasn't all that pushed him into making the first move, though it did give him the courage he needed to do so. He wished he had some of that dust now. He kissed her only when it was a matter of life or death—the decision had nothing to do with wanting to. He had to. If he had had another choice he would have taken it and avoided the kiss altogether. Now that he thought about it though, it didn't seem all that cut and dry. He didn't ask for the kiss that blew out all the windows in his car, but he didn't try to avoid it, either. It was getting more and more difficult to keep himself in check around her. The truth was that he wanted to kiss her in the fairy realm just like he wanted to kiss her right now. He slid across the seat, drew her eyes to his and captured her lips in a kiss that shook him off his foundation. Both her hands lifted to clasp around his face, hands so incredibly warm that he felt that warmth reach deep inside him. She broke away with a gasp but kept her hands pressed to his face. "I have to go… now," she told him.
"Cas, we've got a handle on this," he breathed unsure if that statement was even remotely true.
"I don't have a handle on this," she said in a trembling whisper.
He pulled back from her, straightened and composed his next words to remain stable. "Fine, I'll be the one to keep us on the straight and narrow, and you do what you gotta do at the home office. We'll be fine," he insisted
Castiel regarded him with a trusting smile before vanishing in a flap of wings. She had left Dean to contemplate the words he had just uttered, words that now sounded ridiculous coming from him what with his known track record. If he was being truthful, after tonight, he was definitely screwed.