A/N: I couldn't resist uploading this straight after chapter three - it's definitely my favourite chapter so far, and you're about to find out why ;)
Sam came into the motel room, bearing burgers.
'How'd it go?' asked Dean.
'No EMF, no sulfur, so ghost possession and Demonic possession are definitely out.'
'Hm. That's where i was putting my money.'
'Nope.'
'What then? Oh, dude. At the coroner's, you should have seen these bodies.'
'They started eating and just. Didn't. Stop,' said Callisto, shuddering.
'I mean, their stomachs were full.'
'Like, Christmas dinner full.'
'Talk about co-dependent.'
After finding out that Lucifer had summoned Death, they had decided to completely disregard this fact in favour of working normal cases. This one involved two people who had apparently eaten each other to death. Was it gory? Yes. Did it make a shred of sense? No.
'Well, I'll work on the files, so you can get going,' said Sam, pulling the laptop towards himself.
'What?' asked Dean.
'Go on, unleash the Kraken.'
'Where am I going?'
'Dean, it's Valentine's day. Your favourite holiday, remember? What do you always call it? Unattached drifter Christmas?'
Callisto snorted, taking three beers out from the fridge and handing them out.
'He's got a point, you know,' she said. 'The bars will be crawling with desperate single chicks.' She paused. 'I might join you, actually.'
'I dunno,' said Dean. 'Guess I'm not feeling it this year- wait what?'
'What 'what'?'
'Did you just say you wanted to go after desperate single chicks? You're into chicks?'
Callisto shrugged.
'Not emotionally. And only if they're hot.'
'Fair enough.'
Sam was still staring at Dean as if he'd grown an extra head, and some antlers for good measure.
'It's when a dog doesn't eat,' he said, 'that you really know something's wrong.'
'Remarkably patronising concern,' replied Dean. 'Duly noted. Come on, let's do some work.'
Callisto stood up.
'You guys mind if I opt out? I haven't been laid in God knows how long, and hot single women are most likely to experiment on V-Day. I also wouldn't say no to a hot, single man. Or a hot, not single man; I'm not really fussy, as long as they're attractive.'
'Remarkable,' Sam muttered. 'We have a new old-Dean. Go on.'
Callisto grinned, shrugging on her leather jacket.
'Don't call me unless it's an emergency.'
This better be good, Winchester. I'm about to get laid.
'There's been another double suicide.' There was a pause on the other end of the line. Dean could hear the thump of music and the chatter of people talking and flirting.
Fine. Fine! I'll meet you at the morgue.
The line clicked and the phone went dead.
'These morons picked a fine time for a double suicide,' Callisto fumed as she stalked through the double doors of the morgue, Sam and Dean all but running to keep up. 'Some people are so inconsiderate.' She stopped in front of the terrified-looking mortician and folded her arms expectantly.
'Agent Callow, Agent Marley,' he greeted them.
'Dr. Corman, this is my partner, Special Agent Cliff.' Sam and the mortician shook hands.
'You mind if we take a look at the bodies?' asked Sam.
'Not at all.' He opened a freezer to reveal several tupperware boxes of organs. 'Their good 'n' plenties are all boxed up for you. And please, gentlemen,' he put on his hat. 'Refrigerate after opening.'
And with that elegant parting repartée, he left.
Half an hour later, and the three of them were knee-deep in blood and guts…figuratively speaking. In reality it was more halfway-up-to-their-elbows-deep, but that didn't quite have the same ring to it.
'Hey Sam.' Dean pushed a heart towards him. 'Be my Valentine?'
Callisto chuckled while Sam rolled his eyes, unimpressed. Then, suddenly, he grabbed the heart, pulled it towards him and tore off the lid from another box. Dean and Cal stared at each other, identical expressions of do-you-know-what-he's-doing-because-I-don't on their faces.
'Guys, look,' he said, urgently. 'These hearts both have the same symbol etched into them.' He inspected them under the magnifying glass. 'Oh...no.'
'What?' asked Callisto, craning her neck to get a closer look.
'I think…I think it's in Enochian.'
'What, like Angel scratches?' asked Dean. 'So you think it's like the tagging on our ribs.'
Sam shook his head.
'I dunno.'
'Well good thing we know someone who does, then,' muttered Callisto, stripping off a glove and taking out her phone. She wandered around the room as the call connected.
'Cas, it's Callisto. Can you come to room 31C, basement level, St. James' medical centre.'
She stopped short as Castiel appeared not three inches in front of her.
'I'm there now.'
Callisto gave him an unimpressed look as his voice echoed through his phone.
'I can see that.'
'I'm gonna hang up now.'
'You do that.'
'Cas, we need you to have a look at these symbols. We think they're Enochian,' explained Sam.
Castiel slipped his phone back in his pocked and walked over to examine the hearts.
'You're right, Sam,' he said. 'These are Angelic marks. I'd imagine you'd find similar marks on the other couple's hearts as well.'
'So what are they? What do they mean?'
'It's a mark of union. This man and woman were intended to mate.'
Callisto raised her eyebrows.
'Intended to mate? What, like Cupid's arrow sort of thing?'
'Exactly. What human myth has mistaken for Cupid is actually a lower order of Angel. Technically, it's a Cherub. Third class.'
'Cherub?' said Dean, incredulously. 'You mean the little flying fat kid in diapers?'
'They're not incontinent,' said Castiel, seriously.
'The Cherubim are said to have the faces of a lion, ox, eagle and man, and four wings,' explained Callisto, fighting to keep a straight face. 'A little scarier than the chubby babies in Raphael paintings.'
'Ok, so what you're saying-' began Sam, but Castiel cut him off.
'What I'm saying is that a Cupid has gone rogue, and we have to stop him before he kills again.'
Sam threw up his hands in exasperation.
'Naturally.'
'Of course we do,' said Dean, winking conspirationally.
'Classic,' grinned Callisto.
They found themselves in a restaurant not too far from the morgue. Everything about the interior was ridiculously kitsch, from the red scented candles on each table to the hearts hanging from the ceiling, bearing the legend 'Be My Valentine'
Callisto leaned back into the corner of the booth, sipping her glass of wine superciliously and observing the rest of the restaurant's inhabitants with an expression of mild distaste.
'So, you just happen to know Cupid likes the Cosmos at this place?' asked Dean as the waitress delivered their food.
'This place is a nexus of human reproduction,' said Castiel. 'It's exactly the kind of…' he paused, staring at Dean piling ketchup onto his burger patty, 'of garden that Cupid will come to…pollinate.'
Dean raised his eyebrows, picked up his burger, got it halfway to his mouth, then seemed to think better of it and put it back down again.
'Wait a minute,' said Sam, looking incredulous. 'You're not hungry. You.'
'No.' They all stared at him. 'What? I'm not hungry!'
'Then you're not gonna finish that?' asked Castiel, looking hopeful. Dean pushed his plate towards the Angel. 'Awesome.'
He picked up the burger but froze before taking a bite, and lowered it again.
'He's here.'
'Where?' asked Sam. 'I don't see anything.'
'Is anyone going to eat that burger?' muttered Callisto, sullenly stabbing at her carbonara with a fork. Nobody payed her any attention; they were too busy looking at a couple who had spontaneously started kissing in their booth.
'Meet me in the back,' said Castiel, and disappeared.
'C'mon,' said Sam. Callisto closed her eyes, a pained expression on her face.
'Am I not going to get to finish anything I start tonight? This carbonara wasn't half bad.'
'I'll buy you a baconator when this is over,' said Dean. 'Come on.'
'Can you buy me an extremely attractive college girl desperate to experiment with her sexuality?' she muttered under her breath as they made their way towards the kitchens.
They went around the back of the restaurant and came in to find Castiel with his arm raised. He was chanting in Enochian.
'Manifest yourself,' he said finally, and lowered his arm. Nothing happened for a few seconds.
'So, where is he?' asked Dean. His question was answered when he was lifted from the ground from behind in a spine-cracking hug from a slightly overweight, extremely naked man.
'Here I am!' Cupid bounced Dean up and down, chuckling. Dean could only make choking sounds, but was rescued when Cupid caught sight of Castiel and dropped Dean, making a beeline for the other Angel instead.
'Hello, you!' He hugged Castiel and lifted him up. Castiel looked extremely uncomfortable.
'This is Cupid?' asked Dean.
'Yes,' choked Castiel. Cupid set him down and turned to Sam.
'And you!'
'Oh, no, no-' Sam got off lucky, being the only one in the room half a head taller than the Cherub. Callisto did not fare so well. Dean never saw her look as terrified as she did when embraced by a fat, naked angel.
'Is he fighting us?' asked Dean, looking wildly around. 'Are we in a fight?'
'No. It's their handshake.'
Dean stared at Cupid, then looked back to Castiel.
'I don't like it.'
'No one likes it.'
Cupid finally let go of Callisto and turned to Cas, a massive grin on his face.
'What can I do for you?' he asked, cheerfully.
'Stop it.'
'Hm?'
'Your targets, the ones you've marked. They're slaughtering each other.'
The grin on Cupid's face faded.
'What? They are?'
'Listen, birthday suit,' began Dean. 'We know. We know you've been flitting around, popping people with your poison arrow, making them murder each other.'
Cupid's facial expression was becoming more and more distraught.
'Dean-' Callisto warned.
'What we don't know is why,' added Castiel. Cupid looked up at him, his eyes big and shining.
'You think that I-' His face crumpled and the Cherub began to cry. 'I don't know what to say!'
'Oh, now you've done it,' muttered Callisto, throwing her hands up and letting them fall back against her thighs with a resounding slap.
'Do something!' hissed Dean.
'Me? Why me?'
'You're a girl, you're used to crying things!'
'Oh, remind me to hit you for that when this is over, Winchester. Why doesn't halo-boy go?'
'Oh, no, I'd just make it worse. You're by far the most compassionate out of all of us.'
'Me? No, I inherently dislike- Fine.' She walked over to where Cupid was hunched over, his back to them and, with a final glare at the other three, placed a hand on his shoulder.
'Look, I'm sorry my friends upset you, it's just there have been some confusing murders recently and all the victims had your brand on their hearts. I know you didn't do it, but could you please maybe shed some light on this? We didn't mean to…hurt your feelings.'
Cupid turned around and pulled Callisto into another gigantic hug.
'Love is more than a word to me, you know?' he sobbed into her shoulder. 'I love Love! Love it, and if that's wrong, I don't wanna be right!'
'Of course,' said Callisto, patting him on the back reassuringly while mentally sending daggers towards the others. 'Don't we all? I, personally, am a huge fan of your work.'
Cupid released her. Callisto took the chance to back away slowly and stand next to Castiel.
'I love how much love there is in this room right now! Everybody loves everybody else, without me even trying, it's just so beautiful. Castiel, my brother, it's as if I shot an arrow through your heart while you were looking right at-'
'Yes, thank you, Cupid,' said Castiel, a tad louder than necessary. 'Could you please explain the four suicides we've had?'
'I was just doing my rounds!' he exclaimed. 'Whatever my targets do after that, that's nothing to do with me. I was following my orders!' He looked over to Cas as if he'd had a sudden realisation. 'Please, brother,' he said, seriously. 'Read my mind. Read my mind, you'll see.'
Castiel walked over to him and looked into his eyes intently for a few seconds.
'He's telling the truth,' he said, finally. Cupid breathed a sigh of relief.
'Jiminy Christmas, thank you!' he said, throwing his arms up.
'Wait wait wait, hang on a second,' said Dean. 'You said you were following orders. Whose orders?'
Cupid's face cracked into a grin once more.
'Why Heaven, silly!' Dean raised his eyebrows.
'Why does Heaven care if Harry meets Sally?'
'Well, mostly they don't. I mean, certain bloodlines, certain destinies…' He bobbed his head from side to side. 'Oh, like yours!'
'What?'
'Yeah, yeah, the union of John and Mary Winchester, very big deal upstairs; top priority arrangement.'
Dean stared at him.
'Are you saying you fixed up our parents?'
'Well, not me but…yeah! And it wasn't easy, either. Oh, they couldn't stand each other at first, but when we were done with them,' he gave a little laugh, 'perfect couple!'
'Perfect?'
'Uh-huh!'
'They're dead.'
'Well, I'm sorry, but the orders were very clear. You and Sam needed to be born, and your parents just…meant to be! A match made in heaven…' he sang. Dean swung back an arm and cracked his fist across Cupid's face. Literally, cracked. It did not sound pretty.
'Son of a bitch.' Dean cradled his injured hand. By the time he turned around, Cupid had disappeared.
'Where is he? Where'd he go?'
'I believe you upset him,' said Castiel, wearily.
'Upset him?'
'Dean,' said Sam, finally. 'Enough.'
'What?'
'You just punched a Cupid.'
'I just punched a dick!'
'Um, are we gonna talk about what's been up with you lately, or not?'
Dean glared at his brother.
'Or not,' he said before stalking out of the morgue, shaking his bruised hand.
Two days and four more suicides later, Sam, Dean and Callisto found themselves in their motel room, facing a black leather briefcase. Sam had acquired said briefcase when attacked by a mysterious, suited man earlier that day.
'We should crack it,' said Callisto.
'What's the worst that could happen, right?' said Dean.
'Let's do it,' said Sam.
Callisto stood back to let the other two pick the combination locks. A minute later, the tumblers clicked and the lid of the suitcase swung back, spilling a blinding white light. The light washed over the three of them and they cringed away from it, shielding their eyes.
'What the hell is that?' asked Dean, once the light had subsided.
'A human soul,' came Castiel's voice from behind them. He was holding a paper bag from Whitecastle in one hand and a burger in the other. 'It's starting to make sense.' He took a bite from the burger.
'Now what about that makes sense?' asked Sam.
'And when did you start eating?' added Callisto.
'Exactly,' enthused Castiel, gesticulating with the burger. 'My hunger - it's a clue, actually.'
'For what?' asked Sam and Dean simultaneously, pausing briefly to share the tiniest of smug sibling-telepathy looks.
'This town is not suffering from some love-virus gone wrong,' said Cas, taking another bite of burger. Callisto was starting to get peckish. 'It's suffering from hunger. Starvation, to be exact. Specifically, Famine.'
'As in the horseman?' asked Callisto.
'Great,' muttered Dean. 'Freaking great.'
'But I thought famine was starvation,' said Sam. 'As in, you know. Food.'
'Yes, absolutely,' said Cas, earnestly. 'But not just food. Everyone seems to be starving for something. Sex, attention, drugs. Love.'
'Well that explains the puppy lovers,' commented Dean. 'But what about you? I mean, since when do Angels secretly hunger for Whitecastle?'
Cas looked down at the paper bag in his hand.
'It's my vessel,' he explained. 'Jimmy. His, uh, appetite for red meat has been touched by Famine's effect.'
'So Famine just rolls in and makes everyone crazy?'
'And then will come Famine,' quoted Castiel, 'riding on a black steed. He will ride into the Land of Plenty. And great will be the Horseman's hunger, for He is Hunger. His Hunger will seep out and poison the air.' He paused to explain. 'When Famine is hungry, he must devour the souls of his victims. Lucifer sent his Demons to care for Famine, to make sure he is ready.'
'Ready for what?' asked Callisto, warily. Castiel looked at her.
'To march across the land.'
She raised her eyebrows.
'And what, exactly, does that marching entail?'
'I just said - his Hunger will seep out and poison the air.'
'Right.'
'So, what, this whole town is gonna eat, drink and screw itself to death?' asked Sam. Castiel nodded.
'We should stop it,' he mumbled round a mouthful of burger.
'Hey, that's a great idea,' said Dean, sarcastically. 'How?'
Castiel chewed thoughtfully.
'How'd you stop the last horseman you met?'
'War got his mojo from his ring. And after we cut it off, he just tucked tail and ran, and everyone who was affected, it was like they woke up out of a dream. You think Famine has a class ring too?'
Castiel swallowed.
'I know he does.'
'Well, lock and load, boys,' said Callisto, grabbing her gun off the table and checking it was loaded before tucking it into the back of her jeans. 'Chop chop. Literally.'
'Yeah…' said Cas unenthusiastically, peering into his paper bag and looking disappointed when he found nothing but a few crumbs.
'What are you, the Hamburglar?' asked Dean, rolling his eyes.
'I've developed a taste for ground beef.'
'Have you tried to stop it?'
'I'm an Angel, I can stop anytime I want.' Castiel crumpled up the paper bag and chucked it into the wastepaper basket.
'Whatever,' said Dean. 'Sam, let's roll.'
Sam came out of the bathroom, looking extremely uncomfortable. A fine sheen of sweat had appeared along his forehead and he was breathing heavily.
'I…can't. I can't go.'
Callisto raised an eyebrow.
'What, you eat some undercooked chicken or something?'
'No. I…uh…I think it got to me, Dean. I think I'm hungry for it.'
Dean's eyebrows knitted together as he glared at his brother.
'Hungry for what?' he said, although he already knew the answer.
'You know.'
'Demon blood? You've gotta be kidding me.' Dean turned to Cas. 'You gotta get him outta here, you gotta beam him to, I don't know, Montana, or-'
'It won't work, he's already been infected. The virus is just gonna travel with him.'
'Well then what do we do?'
'You go cut that bastard's finger off,' said Sam. Dean shrugged and turned to Castiel and Callisto.
'You heard him.'
'But Dean, before you go, you better-' he exhaled sharply. 'You better lock me down good.'
Castiel and Callisto began to make their way towards the car while Dean cuffed Sam to the bathroom sink. Callisto bit her lip as she felt the effects of Famine tug at her edges. It wasn't food or drink she wanted, either. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She was not going to let this get the better of her. She was better than that.
The Impala was parked around the corner, and the two of them walked towards it, side by side.
'Are you sure you don't want to stop off at the drive-thru?' Callisto asked condescendingly as they neared an alleyway coming off the street they were on.
'I told you, I have self control,' said Cas. 'I just choose not to exercise it. Besides, I don't want burgers anymore.'
'Then what do you want? Steak? Milkshakes?'
'You.'
Callisto stopped in her tracks and looked at him sharply. Then, she grabbed him by the tie and pulled him towards her. He whirled her around and pushed her against the wall of the alley, his lips crushing hers. One of his arms was wrapped around her waist, the other hand threaded through her hair, cradling her head as he kissed her hungrily. Callisto didn't waste any time, her hands were already loosening his tie and unbuttoning his shirt. He pushed her jacket off her shoulders and pulled her top over her head. Her gun clattered to the ground but they both ignored it.
Castiel's warm hands slid over her stomach to cup her breasts and she moaned, arching her back. He kissed her neck and each kiss sent a jolt of pleasure through her. She unbuckled his belt and used it to pull him close to her, slipping her hand down his boxers and feeling his length. He groaned, his fingers digging into her hips as she stroked him.
'Cas! Callisto!'
Callisto snatched her hand out of Castiel's trousers and whipped her head around. Dean was standing at the entrance to the alley, looking furious.
'Seriously, guys?'
Castiel opened his mouth, couldn't think of a suitable response, and promptly closed it again. Callisto snatched her top off the ground and pulled it on before grabbing her gun and tossing it to Dean.
'I've been compromised,' she muttered. 'I shouldn't have this.'
'Maybe you should stay in your room,' said Dean, sternly. 'You're a liability to this case. Cas, you're with me.'
Callisto nodded and made to leave, but not before Castiel grabbed her around the waist and kissed her deeply. Dean rolled his eyes.
'Cas.'
They broke apart.
'I won't be long,' Castiel promised.
One dead mortician later, Cas and Dean found themselves in the car park of a shut-down restaurant.
'You wanna go over the plan again, stud?' said Dean. He hadn't stopped calling Castiel 'stud' all evening.
'I take the knife, I go in, I cut off the ring hand of Famine and I meet you back here in the parking lot.'
'Well that sounds foolproof,' muttered Dean, turning to survey the entrance. By the time he turned back, Castiel had disappeared. He waited for a minute. Castiel did not return.
'This is taking way too long,' he muttered, grabbing his gun and getting out of the car.
Careful not to make a sound, Dean crept into the restaurant. He passed a man who had drowned in a vat of boiling oil and paused to watch in disgusted fascination as the oil bubbled around him, blistering the poor bugger's skin into huge, red sores. He almost didn't notice the Demon creeping up behind him, but managed to hit it in the face with the butt of his shotgun before it could grab him. He didn't have as much luck with its partner, though, and found himself being relieved of his firearm and dragged through into the next room.
An ancient man sat in an electric wheelchair in the middle of the room, a breathing tube attached to his nose.
'The other Mr. Winchester,' said Famine.
'Where's Castiel?'
'You set your dog on me, I merely tossed him a steak. He's probably off screwing that whore who took his fancy earlier.'
'Don't talk about Callisto like that,' growled Dean, straining against the Demons. 'So this is your big trick? Making people coucou for coco puffs?'
'It doesn't take much,' responded Famine. 'Ah America, all you can eat, all the time. Consume, consume, consume…A swarm of locusts in stretch pants! And yet you're all still starving because hunger doesn't just come from the body, it also comes from the soul.'
'That's funny, it doesn't seem to be coming from mine.'
'Yes, I noticed that. Have you wondered why that is? How you can even walk in my presence?'
'I like to think it's because of my strength of character,' said Dean, with a winning smile.
Famine gave Dean an unpleasant look.
'I disagree.'
He wheeled himself forwards and placed a hand on Dean's torso, just underneath his ribcage. An unfamiliar agony engulfed Dean; he gave a grunt of pain.
'Yes,' said Famine. 'I see. That's one big, deep, dark nothing you've got there, Dean.'
Callisto lay on the bed in her motel room, feeling frustrated. That was the second time that day she had been interrupted in pursuit of pleasure by a Winchester. Still, it was quiet in Sam's room next door, so she assumed he'd restrained himself from whatever it was he'd been craving and gone to sleep, or something.
She got up and peeled off her top and jeans. It was way too hot in this room. She dropped her clothes in the corner and turned around, almost walking straight into Castiel. The way he looked at her was hungry, animalistic, like he wouldn't stop until he had her. It would have scared her if she hadn't felt exactly the same way.
'I tried to stop myself,' he said in a low voice. 'But I couldn't.'
Callisto responded by pushing his trench coat off his shoulders and ripping his shirt open before kissing him. He pulled the sleeves of the shirt off, then picked Callisto up by her hips, not breaking their kiss for a second. She wrapped her legs around his waist as they collided with the wall. Her hands knotted through his messy hair as he kissed her neck, her collarbones, her chest. Then, she pushed off the wall so Castiel stumbled back and landed on the bed with Callisto straddling him. She unbuckled his belt and pulled off his trousers before mounting him again. With a growl, he pushed her over so he was on top of her, pinning her wrists above her head with one hand. She bit his bottom lip and tugged on it roughly, he responded by letting go of her lips and biting down hard on her neck. She cried out, her back arching. His hand ran over her stomach and his thumb hooked into the top of her pants.
He stopped, however, before he could pull them down. Callisto blinked. Castiel pulled back, looking down at Callisto's face, seeing her properly for the first time that evening. She looked up at him with those big, honey-coloured eyes.
'No,' he said, shaking his head. 'I can't, not like this. You deserve better.'
She blinked 'Do you feel like you've just woken up?'
'Yes,' he said, sitting up. 'You too? I think Dean has put Famine out of play.'
She frowned, and for the first time Castiel payed attention to the way her eyebrows moved fractionally closer together, the way her lips puckered slightly.
'Callisto, I am so sorry-' he began.
'Don't,' she said, softly. 'I wanted it as much as you did, remember?'
She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek, then stood up to put some clothes on. He watched the way her muscles moved beneath her skin, golden in the soft glow of the lamp. She picked up his shirt and threw it to him before picking a fresh pair of black jeans and grey t-shirt (she seemed to have endless collections of both) out of her bag.
'We should check on Sam,' said Cas as he shrugged on his shirt and buttoned it up. 'See if he's alright.'
Callisto bit her lip and paused halfway through pulling on a jeans leg.
'He's been silent all night. I figured he'd be asleep or someth-'
Castiel disappeared before she'd even finished her sentence.
'He sure knows how to romance a girl,' she muttered. He was back by the time she's finished dressing herself.
'Sam is gone.' He picked up his coat and fished in the pocked for his phone, but Callisto's rang before he could dial. She threw on her t-shirt and picked it up.
'Yes, Dean?…Um, ok, is Sam with you?…Yeah, he's here…Ok, see you soon.' She hung up and turned to Cas. 'He said we need to be ready and outside in ten minutes. Sam's with him.'
Castiel nodded sagely.
'I assume he drank Demon blood and then went to assist Dean in getting Famine's ring.'
'You'll have to explain all this Demon blood crap to me in the car,' she replied, throwing things into her travel bag haphazardly. 'Let's go.'
