Dean laid on the bed of a cheap motel somewhere in Maryland, rubbing his back against the bed in an attempt to relieve himself of the scratch that had consumed his body since Castiel had disappeared. Sam sat in the chair nearby, narrowing his eyes at Dean, forehead creased with worry.

Dean sat straight up, letting out a loud and frustrated sound between a growl and a yell, wiping the sweat off his brow. "What the fuck is going on!" He screamed out, scratching at his neck furiously and panting. He felt sick, as if he were frikkin dying all over again, his skin was paler and clammy, and he was getting really worried. Vessels aren't supposed to get sick like humans, and especially not like this. He hasn't even had a tickle in over a thousand years!

"Do we go to a... hospital?" Sam suggested, clearly confused and pained at seeing his brother like this.

"That's a terrible idea, Sam!" Dean snapped, digging his nails into his arms until they bled, healing only to be opened up again. He sighed, frowning as Sam looked down. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you. I'm just.. I feel like I'm dying!"

"I understand Dean. I just don't know what to do! I feel so helpless." He gave Dean a puppydog look, eyes wide and sad. Dean saw Sam's position and felt sympathy for him, until of course he felt another wave of nausea and fell back onto the bed, groaning.

"Maybe if you walk around?" Sam poked Dean's knee gently, making it itch even more. Dean leaned up on his elbows and scratched at it, a large frown on his face.

"I guess I can try." He got up slowly, working his way through the pain and stinging sensations hitting him. He wobbled slightly, eyes heavily lidded.

A soft flutter hit Dean's ears and suddenly lips wee ferociously on his, growls coming from the man in front of him's throat as he kissed Dean hard, hands grabbing at any part he could reach. Dean only needed a second to register before he was kissing Cas back, teeth biting roughly at him and hands pushing their faces closer together. The pain and the itching melted away instantaneously and he groaned in relief, not breaking lips with the angel in front of him.

"Umm." Sam cleared his throat, averting his eyes awkwardly as the two men kiss-fought in front of him. Dean broke away, gasping, his eyes glazed over with the bliss of being pain-free once more.

Castiel glanced over at Sam, turned away, and turned back, staring at him intently, eyes squinted, head tilted in that adorable way he has.

Sam squirmed, clearly uncomfortable. "Um hi. I'm Sam. You're.. Castiel, I'm assuming." Cas's eyes widened, mouth opening slightly. He seemed to consider something before giving a curt nod and turning back to Dean.

"We need to talk." His voice was gruff, eyes intense. Dean turned his head to Sam, cocking an eyebrow.

"Oh.. Oh! Right. I'll just..." he disappeared, leaving the older demon and angel alone.

"Dean, please sit down." Castiel's voice was restrained, his brow furrowed deeply. Dean complied, eyeing Cas suspiciously.

"I need you to listen carefully to what I say, and not 'freak out' as you say." Castiel twiddled with his thumbs, looking nervous.

"Just say it Cas!" Dean was nearly panicking now and was sure it had to do with the feelings he had lately.

Castiel bit his lip before talking fast, voice hoarse and raspy. "When you touched my oils for the first time, you activated an ancient angel mating ritual, coupled with the taking of my virginity. This process has bonded us for eternity and being separated is what's causing the extreme pain and sickness we have been feeling." He looked down as if he were ashamed. There was silence for a long time and Cas looked up at Dean, eyes pleading for Dean to say something, anything at all.

-

Dean looked as if he had just been shot, eyes wide and mouth gaping. His hands were dug into the bed, nails deep in the mattress. "Dean?" Castiel whispered, mouth dry. He had felt the symptoms, though had not immediately thought that the ritual was the cause. After some research, he had found that it was indeed that and had spent the day trying to find an acceptable way to break the news to Dean. Perhaps he chose wrong.

"Oh what the FUCK!" Dean yelled loudly, face contorting into a look of pure shock with a bit of rage.

"It was not my intention for this to transpire." Castiel frowned, trying to sort out these new emotions. He was accustomed to feeling nothing, but now he was being flooded with feelings and sensations he knew nothing about.

"Just... just don't talk to me for a while." Dean stood up abruptly, moving as far away as possible from Cas and sitting down, facing away and curling up.

Castiel waited there, sitting completely still and quiet. There was silence for a long while, neither man even breathing, until Dean finally stood up, about two hours later. He sat across from Cas, staring at him, face composed but eyes darker than usual. He seemed angry at Cas, and Castiel was not sure why. He had not wanted this to happen, he was being taken away from his mission. He had had Sam Winchester right there, he could have easily killed him. But he had not, he could not do that to Dean.

"We have entered the ritual, and are bonded for life. There is still more to do, to finish the bond. After that, we will no longer feel such pain to be separated." Castiel's voice was emotionless and simple.

"So, we're bonded for fucking life. That's real frikkin great. I've never even had a relationship, and now I'm bonded for life with my sworn frikkin enemy. Fuck!" Dean was clearly angry, but Castiel could tell he was not as upset as he seemed. The bond was strong, and Cas was sure that Dean felt he needed no one else. "Okay, what do we do for the damn ritual?"

"With angels, it involves a ritual with our wings. Seeing as you have wings, I assume it could be executed in a similar fashion. You will adopt some of my grace into your body, connecting us in a 'spiritual' sense." He looked away. He was uncomfortable with this part, afraid of what feelings Dean would see and give him in return.

Dean's eyes filled with panic at this. "What the Hell is grace?!" His voice was an octave higher than normal and it cracked on the last word. Castiel felt the urge to hold him tightly, though he was certain that could only worsen the situation.

"I believe it is the equivalent of a human soul for angels. It is what makes me an angel. Without it, I would fall and become human." Dean cocked his head at this, taking the information in.

"So what do we do in this ritual?"

-

"Copulation." Castiel's face was blank when he said this, and if Dean wasn't panicking, he would have laughed.

"So wing sex?" Dean smirked inwardly at this. At least the ritual was nice.

If Dean was being perfectly honest with himself, and he was desperately avoiding doing so, he didn't mind being bonded to Cas. The angel was just that, a perfect angel. He couldn't think of a better person to be bonded to, especially one that would live forever as he did. But it was completely taboo. A demon is literally the exact frikkin opposite of an angel. It's like some stupid Romeo and Juliet, and Dean hated that story.

Castiel fidgeted, a slight blush creeping up on him; Dean found it made him look even more beautiful. "To put it bluntly, yes I suppose it could be seen that way."

"Well then, let's get started, shall we?" Dean advanced on Cas and removed his shirt in one fluid motion, pressing his lips to the angel's shoulder in a barely-there kiss.

Cas moaned softly as he quickly removed Dean's shirt, leaning in close. "I'm going to make you scream, pizza boy." He growled, vibrations making Dean's ear tickle. Dean leaned back, staring at Cas incredulously.

"What did you just say?" His lips twitched up at the edges as he desperately tried not to laugh.

Castiel cocked his head the the side. "I... I have been doing research in the art of copulation through pornographic material. The phrase seemed to be rather common." His face flushed, though he was unabashed.

Dean snickered, resting his forehead on Cas's shoulder as his back shook with laughter. "Dean, I do not comprehend what is so entertaining about this situation to fill you with such mirth. Is that not the correct phrase?"

Dean looked back up into Castiel's confused eyes and smiled warmly. He was so frikkin adorable, how is it even possible? "No no, what you said is good. Just.. leave out the pizza boy part." Dean was suddenly very touched that Cas had gone through such trouble to try and please Dean. Castiel nodded, a small smile on his face. He looked genuinely happy to learn.

Dean leaned in, kissing Castiel's soft lips, wrapping his arms around the smaller man's waist. "You are fucking cute." Dean mumbled, nuzzling Cas. "Listen, if we are going to be bonded together, then I promise to try to make this work. We are in this together forever, literally, accidentally or not. It's gonna be work, and holy Hell are we gonna face some hard times, but we don't really have a choice. I'm not at the point at loving you yet, but with time I could. With time, I think we could learn to really love each other and feel new emotions we've never felt before. It's you and me now, Cas."

Cas's face was shining with happiness and he looked perfect. "I agree completely Dean." There seemed to be something in Castiel's eyes that Dean couldn't identify, but he leaned in to kiss him anyways, soft and chaste.

"Okay, enough chick flick moments. Let's get down to the sex ritual."