After that Castiel did his best to focus on nothing but his search for anything that could help them. That didn't mean the two humans left him alone, though. They hadn't locked him in a room again yet, although every time Castiel entered one, he made sure to keep the door open and look outside at least twice per minute.
However, they took a different approach now. A very annoying one. One of their favorite things to do was blocking the angel's way – preferably from both sides – while insinuating that it would be best for everyone if Castiel just left. They'd even managed to trip him once, which made the angel angry enough that he'd almost smote the two. The fact alone made Castiel feel even worse about himself.
But despite all of this, Castiel had no intention of leaving, if only to spite Brian and Jeremy. Besides, the few times he'd spoken with Sam over the last few days always had made him feel assured that he wasn't in the way, and that Sam was glad he was there, so Castiel would stay.
He did miss talking to Dean, though, so when Castiel walked past the kitchen and noticed there was no one else but the hunter there, drinking beer and looking deep in thought, Castiel automatically went in. Only after Dean noticed him did Castiel realize it might have been a bit rude to intrude, but Dean's smile made him stop worrying about it.
"Hey, Cas."
"Hello, Dean," the angel replied, a small smile tugging on his lips, his heart immediately feeling lighter.
"You want a beer?" Dean asked almost immediately, already getting up and heading towards the fridge. Castiel let out a fond sigh and sat down opposite Dean, thanking him for the beer when it was put in front of him. It wouldn't do anything for him, but it was the thought that counted.
"So, how you been, man? I haven't seen you in days," Dean said, taking a swig of his beer, Castiel doing the same, however with much less enthusiasm. "You're not avoiding me, are you?"
Castiel knew Dean was joking, but it still made him a little sad regardless. He wasn't avoiding Dean, but excluding Sam, Jack, and Mary, Castiel was avoiding everyone else. And since there usually were other people around the fours (well, three, because Jack was avoiding Castiel), he had to avoid everyone.
"Seriously, you doing okay, Cas?" Dean asked, frowning with concern.
"I…" For a moment Castiel thought about whether or not he should tell Dean about his alternative self, or what had been going on since they'd gotten back, but then decided against it. Dean had enough problems without Castiel adding his own to the pile. "Yes, I'm fine. Just tired."
Dean grimaced a little, and tried to hide it by drinking some more beer. "Hey, Cas, y-you know when we gave someone else your room, it was nothing personal, right?"
Castiel blinked, surprised that Dean was bringing it up, but definitely touched that the hunter realized it might be bothering the angel.
"We just don't have enough-"
"Enough beds," Castiel finished, smiling at him, although he couldn't quite keep the sadness from his eyes. "I know, Dean, it's okay. I understand."
"Okay," Dean nodded. "Just wanted to make sure you didn't feel like we were pushing you away or somethin'. God knows we've done enough of that shit."
Castiel raised an eyebrow, his smile widening. "How many beers have you had?"
"Yeah, yeah, you're hilarious," Dean said, feigning annoyance but unable to keep the grin off his face. "Alright, chick flick moment over. I need to talk to Sam."
Castiel nodded, still smiling. He wasn't sure if the brothers had spoken about Sam's, albeit temporary, death at the hands of rabid vampires, but if they hadn't, they most definitely should. Castiel watched Dean leave, and then spent a few second staring at his beer, debating whether or not he should finish it. He decided to do so, if only not to seem rude, but of course the quiet moment was over just a few minutes later when Brian appeared and started glowering at the angel.
Castiel only gave him an annoyed look and continued drinking his beer.
"Slacking off again, huh?" Brian said, the threat in his voice barely hidden now. "I think I told you something about that."
Castiel slammed the beer bottle on the table – surprisingly it didn't break – and got up, glaring at the man with all his might.
"Yeah, you said that if I 'didn't pull my weight'," Castiel said, putting the words in air quotes, "then I should leave. Well, I'm not going to. You know why?" Castiel advanced on Brian, both satisfied and unnerved when he saw the man take a step back. "Because Sam and Dean want me here. And I'm not leaving until that changes."
He hoped that never happened, but he would have to accept it as a possibility.
Brian narrowed his eyes, but then without a word turned around and left, leaving Castiel once again alone in the kitchen. The angel couldn't believe that had worked, but he decided not to question it He sat down again, finishing his beer and thinking about what to do next.
He spent the rest of the day going through the Men of Letters' files. There were an astounding number of them so it was not at all surprising that he didn't even realize it was midnight already. And he certainly didn't have the time to think about that when something hard collided with the back of his head and made him fall to his knees, feeling completely disoriented.
Before he could figure out what was going on, his hands had already been cuffed and his grace had been rendered useless. Castiel stared at Brian and Jeremy in shocked that they'd actually done this, but he did know that if there was a time he was willing to tell about this to Sam or Dean, it was now. However, before he could try and call out for help, Brian put his hand over the angel's mouth and held his head still as Jeremy tied a blindfold over his eyes.
Castiel let out a muffled cry of protest, trying to shake the hand off his mouth while also trying to push Brian away, but it was useless. With those handcuffs, Brian was stronger than him, not to mention Jeremy was just behind him.
"Shut up, halo," said Jeremy as Brian took the hand off Castiel's mouth. Before Castiel could say anything, a fist slammed into his abdomen, making Castiel gasp in pain, which one of the two men used to shove a large piece of wadded up cloth into his mouth, which was then secured by a strip of another cloth which was tied around his head tightly, pulling at the corners of Castiel's mouth painfully.
Now, rendered blind, mute, and powerless, Castiel was pulled up to his feet by the chain connecting the cuffs, and one of them started dragging the angel out of the room. Castiel tried to resist the pull, but he only managed to almost fall down, much to the delight of Jeremy who laughed.
Castiel made a questioning noise behind the gag, hoping that they would at least explain what they were planning on doing with him. Neither of them told him anything. They didn't say anything at all until they'd dragged him out of the bunker, which Castiel recognized only by the cold night air suddenly blowing in his face.
He flinched when he heard the bunker door close, sealing him away from any potential help. Castiel was dragged a little further, about five minutes or so, although with his grace on lockdown, he'd lost his internal compass, and then suddenly they stopped.
"We're not going to hurt you," Brian began, only to be interrupted by Jeremy.
"You mean more than we already did, right?"
Brian let out an annoyed sigh. "Anyway, since you're so convinced that you're wanted in that bunker, we decided to take matters into our own hands."
Oh. So they were making him leave by force. That still didn't explain how they were planning on keeping him from coming back. He didn't have a key, but surely Dean or Sam would open the door if he knocked. Apparently, Brian thought that was enough of an explanation and started dragging the angel away.
It wasn't the easiest task, stumbling through a forest, unable to see roots and rocks, and Jeremy seemed to realize this as well because about fifteen minutes into the walk, he gripped the angel's elbow and pulled him to the right, which resulted in Castiel tripping over something on the forest floor and falling down, while Jeremy laughed at him.
Castiel was pulled up, groaning as the cuffs cut into his skin, and he continued being dragged away while Brian scolded Jeremy.
"C'mon, man, leave him alone. We're not bullies."
Castiel begged to differ, but he couldn't state his opinion right now.
"Yeah, yeah, but it's funny," Jeremy replied, and Brian huffed.
"Yeah, okay, it is pretty funny, but still…"
"Just one more."
"…Fine."
Castiel expected to fall down within a few second, but he didn't. A minute passed, then ten, then an hour. Castiel wondered just how far into the forest they were trying to take him. They kept changing directions, although that would change nothing about his ability to find his way back home. And he would go back to the bunker as soon as he could, this changed nothing.
"This is far enough, don't you think?" asked Jeremy, and Brian agreed. And then suddenly Castiel was on the ground again as he tripped over Jeremy's foot.
"Why is this so funny?" Jeremy asked no one as he and Brian pulled Castiel to a thick tree trunk, and started wrapping a strong chain around him, binding Castiel to the tree. The angel wriggled as the chain bound his arms to his chest, and made him more or less immobile. Once the locked the chain together with a padlock, they moved on to Castiel's hands.
The angel thought it was a bit of an overkill since there was no way he could break metal with those handcuffs, but then they were taken off.
Castiel froze in surprise, not understanding at all as they finished wrapping his wrists in chains and locking a padlock there as well.
"Take this as a warning, Castiel. Come back to the bunker, and we promise you'll regret it," Jeremy said, gripping Castiel's hair, jerking his head to the side, and running an angel blade down the angel's neck.
Castiel shuddered slightly at the cold touch of the weapon, relieved when it left his neck. He listened to the two men leaving as he started fighting against the chains. He could break them now, he was sure of it, but it would take him a while to do so, which he supposed was what Jeremy and Brian had intended.
But he wouldn't stay away from the bunker because of this. He would show them that he wasn't afraid of their threats.
