The air in the basement was heavy and reeked of demonic possession, a smell Castiel had long since grown used to. But this time was different, because the distingushing smell of sulfur was mixed with a scent that had grown on the angel and he had started to connect to a feeling of safety. But now it was all wrong.
Manhandling the snarling Dean -the demon- down into the demon proof cell had been mentally draining. The aura of Dean's soul had always been dark, yes, but the love and sacrifice had been palpable. A heavy emphasis on the had been. The lack of care Castiel had practically tasted on his tongue was worse than any anger or hatred or sorrow he had ever witnessed from Dean. For someone with so many beautiful and complex emotions to be mutilated into something so passive and... dead. If Dean could not be cured, Castiel would not allow for this thing to keep on breathing.
Trying to calm his troubled mind, Castiel started to count the flecks of dust in the air, in hopes of it distracting him from the muffled and pained sounds coming from the other room. Sam had left Castiel alone to watch over the demon while he'd gone out for more blood. They'd assumed it was safe for now, while the monster was still mostly knocked out from the treatment. But Castiel still had an uneasy feeling about it.
After counting five hundred and eighty one pieces of dust, a low grumble made Castiel rush over to the door. Was Dean making another attempt for escape? Listening through the thick bookcase, he finally made out words instead of grumbles. "Sammy? Hello? Cas, guys, please..."
In a heartbeat, the doors were pushed open and Castiel stormed into the room. Dean's head was limp, chin resting on the slowly rising chest. "Dean?" Unable to hide the tinge of hope - hope that maybe the cure had worked and that his Dean was back - Castiel ventured closer to the demon than Sam had advised. "Dean," he tried again, voice raspy from the low volume, afraid that any sudden noise would startle Dean.
"Cas," came the almost inaudible reply, followed by a quiet whisper that not even Castiel's ears picked up on. Throwing caution out the window and slamming the shutters, Castiel leaned in close, arms braced on either side of Dean. The timidness of Dean's voice and his frail appearance was enough to fool Castiel into forgetting what sly creatures demons could be.
His trenchcoat was suddenly hooked in a vice-like grip and pitch black eyes stared straight into Castiel's soul as Dean's head raised. "You always were so damn gullible," the demon taunted. The snarl that followed finally shocked Castiel into retreating, leaving Dean with a torn piece of tan material in his hand. Castiel's face set into a harsh expression and for anyone other than Dean, it would have been hard to notice the jumble of hurt swimming behind the stinging blue gaze.
"What is the meaning of this?" Castiel hissed, angrily shoving off the now ruined coat and tossing it into the corner. Honestly, he was surprised that the jacket was all Dean had attacked.
The demon shrugged, eyes back to their usual vibrant green. The smug smirk still conveyed the menacing thoughts racing through his head. "Bored. Just wanted to mess around with you for a bit before my dear brother Sammy comes back and starts to burn me from the inside out again."
One of Dean's eyebrows cocked and Castiel sniffed, turning away from the demon. He should have known better than to think the cure would have just suddenly worked. Dean had been right about one thing - he really was gullible. Especially when it came to Dean.
"Oh, come on, Cassie. Don't be such a party pooper. Let's have a chat. Y'know, before you guys start slicing and dicing when the cure doesn't work."
Ignoring the too-gleeful words and the spark of anxiety they ignited, Castiel trudged out of the room, back even more rigid than usual. "I won't be a part of your games."
"Oh, I see. Guess Sam will be your favorite now. You gonna make a profound bond with him, too? Maybe you can start the bonding while you burn my corpse. Who knows, maybe you guys will be even closer than we were. I mean, you've only done the dirty once and you were stabbed afterwards. Sam could probably teach you a few things, even though he's gotten a bit rusty, what with all his fuck-buddies dying horribly-"
Holy water splashed over Dean's face and anguished screams filled the room along with the sound of his skin burning. From the wheezing as Dean caught his breath, a low chuckle formed, evolving into a smug, taunting laugh. "I'm sorry, did I push a sensitive button there? Do you maybe have a thing for my brother, Cas? Naughty." Dean's grin was wide and Castiel itched to wipe it off with more holy water.
"Your taunting is useless so you might as well just shut up," Castiel commanded, his voice ringing through the small space. Dean raised his eyebrows mockingly, conveying a look of fake hurt.
"Shut up? But I thought our conversation was just starting to flow. Honestly, I don't mind that you want to stick it to my brother. He's a good looking guy and he's probably going to feel lonely after he kills his own brother. I'd owe you big time if you... kept him company." Dean winked, eyes flashing black as he settled comfortably into the chair. Castiel's hand tightened around the silver flask. "Ooh, gonna splash me again? I always knew you were sort of violent but I'm starting to think this is a bit of a kink for you."
The flask was slammed down onto the table and Castiel stormed from the room without a look over his shoulder. "You're too sensitive!" Dean shouted after him, his laugh echoing even after the doors were closed and locked once again.
...
Gas pumped into the sleek Chevrolet Impala, the run-down gas station casting a shadow on the car and it's owner. The area surrounding the gas station was completely abandoned, save for Sam Winchester and the teen sleeping at the service counter inside the station.
Even though he had only been gone for a few hours, Sam still felt the need to check up on Cas. He'd been nervous to leave the angel behind with his now-demonic brother but it had been the only thing to do if they wanted to cure Dean.
Unlocking his phone, he dialed Cas' number, eyes distractedly following a stray car that drove past and continued down the abandoned road.
The phone rang three times. Four. No one picked up. Sam's stomach immediately twisted with knots of worry. What if something had happened? He should have known better than to leave Cas alone with a freaking Kain-marked demonic hunter, he should never have left them, if anything happened to either of them it was his fault, it would have been smarter to send Cas for blood, no, that was an awful idea, Cas had never been a very talented liar and Sam could barely handle Dean alone and oh god, what if Dean had killed Cas? Pick up Cas, come on, pick up the goddamn phone-
"Sam?"
Air finally escaped from Sam's lungs and the worried thoughts unraveled, but only for a moment. Cas' tone suggested something was wrong.
"Did something happen? Are you okay, is he-"
"Your brother is fine," Castiel cut in. "For now." Sam frowned, detecting a great mix of emotions in Cas' voice. The added comment didn't calm Sam's unease but he decided not to comment on it. For now. "He is very disturbing in this state."
Sam sighed. He had become painfully aware of that fact when his own brother had tried to slice him open. "Yeah, no kidding. Just don't let him get to you, alright? You know he doesn't really mean it. As soon as we fix him, everything will be okay," he assured with conviction that was so glaringly fake that it would be a wonder if Cas didn't pick up on it.
It would have been a complete lie if Sam said that Dean's words had had no effect. The pessimism and the words purely designed to hit a sore spot had done their intended damage. But despite that, he would not give up on his brother, demon or not.
"I will try my best to ignore him," Castiel promised. Even through the phone, the lack of faith in this simple plan was audible. "How long will it be until you return?"
Sam balanced the phone between his shoulder and ear, extracting the hose from the car and putting it away. "Hopefully sometime during the night, if I'm awake enough to drive. I'll try to hurry back... just in case," Sam promised, just as anxious as Cas to get back and get this over with.
A rumble of approval came from the other end of the line.
"Just be careful, Cas," Sam said in parting as he headed inside to pay for the gas and to grab coffee for the road.
"I will-" Castiel was cut off by a loud jangling sound that carried through the phone. "I have to go," Cas rushed out. Sam's reply of 'call if you need me' was cut off mid-sentence, leaving him in the dull noise of the struggling gas pump with a growing feeling of worry in his mind.