Chapter 8
The man stood next to Sam, and even though Gabriel's manservant was something of a giant, he still seemed tall. As the prince's eyes roamed over his form, Castiel noticed that the man was incredibly fit. His tunic, though loose, showed the outline of the trim torso that led down to slim hips and bowed legs that were encased in a pair of plain brown trousers. Castiel's eyes made their way back up to the man's face where he found a strong jaw covered in light stubble, before they traveled up to high cheek bones, and finally, he looked into the most brilliant set of green eyes he had ever seen. This man had eyes that could make the women of the court jealous, and they were staring back at him in the same evaluating manor that had been used by the prince just moments before. When the green eyes raised to meet his blue, the men's gazes locked, and Castiel felt a shiver run down his spine.
They stared at each other for several moments until Sam cleared his throat.
"Hey… Uh…Castiel… It's good to see you up and about again, and I see you and Dean are getting along pretty well…"
The young prince nodded before he tore his gaze away from the mean, Dean, his supposed love, to look at Sam. "Yes… I do believe that Dean and I will become very close…" He glanced between the two brothers, unsure if he should tell them that he and Dean shared a bond.
After several long moments of silence, Gabriel smirked. "Cassie, you and Dean are already sooo close. I mean, Dean-o here was practically falling over himself to save you last night, and then, he refused to let anyone carry you back up here. He just wanted to hold you real close and never let go." The prince was exaggerating, and everyone in the room know that, but that didn't stop Dean from clenching his jaw and glaring at the short prince.
"Shut up, Gabriel." Dean growled. "You may be a prince but I will not hesitate to kick your ass."
The prince's amber eyes glittered with mischief as he ducked behind Sam and wrapped his arms around his waist. He poked his head out from behind Sam's back and grinned. "You touch me and I'm releasing my attack moose. He will show no mercy to overly masculine dicks."
Dean's glare intensified, but Castiel could only focus on one thing.
"Gabriel, what do you mean Dean saved me?"
The tension that Gabriel had almost succeeded in banishing came flooding back. Both Winchesters tensed visibly. Gabriel had the sense to release his hold on Sam and walk over to sit next to the younger prince.
"Cassie, you didn't get drunk last night… In fact I'm pretty sure you didn't drink anything because you're no fun at parties, but there is a reason you don't really remember last night."
"What reason would that be, Gabriel?"
"Because you were attacked by a wraith… She tried to kill you. Dean stopped her just before she could, but she still pumped you full of venom. You were paralyzed with fear and you passed out so Dean carried you up here. I would have told you the first time you woke up, but we agreed that it would be better if you had some evidence that all of this was real." He glanced at Sam and Dean, "Without them here I didn't have evidence." Gabriel shrugged and looked at Castiel. "You look like you're taking this alright…"
"Gabriel, you expected me to believe that there are angels that are willing to help me with my love life, but that I wouldn't believe that there are things out there that are very evil things out there willing to try and hurt us?" He shook his head. "Gabriel, it would be ridiculous of me to believe in just the good and not the evil as well."
After he was done speaking, a low chuckle filled the room. Castiel turned and found out that the noise was coming from Dean. His green eyes were sparkling with laughter, and the laughter was coming from deep down in his chest.
"Well, Cas, you've taken this better than I could have ever expected you to. It saves a whole lot of time for us since we don't have to go through the whole 'the truth is out there' speech. Thanks."
Dean's voice was amazing. Castiel had to keep himself from shivering as the deep, but smooth voice floated out towards him. He remembered back to when he first woke up and realized, that if that voice had been soothing when it wasn't directed at him, it made him want to melt when it was. It made him feel warm and slightly dizzy, but grounded and calm at the same time.
He loved it, and he wanted more.
-Handprint-
Dean watched as the prince quietly as he came to his senses, studied him, and took in the information that was presented to him. He was surprisingly calm for someone who just found out that they had almost died, but that just made Dean smile. He hadn't lied to Sam when he had said that he thought that Cas was attractive, but he hadn't been expecting to find the guy's glowing blue eyes to be so damn adorable when he squinted because he was confused. He also hadn't been prepared to deal with the way Cas' voice sent tingles throughout his body and, for some reason, made his shoulder itch. Maybe it was just a coincidence, but Dean doubted that. He didn't believe in coincidences… But why would his shoulder… The shoulder with the handprint on it… Why would Cas cause the mark to itch? He was caught in his thoughts, but he tuned in when Cas started to explain why he wasn't completely freaking out, something caught his attention. Angels.
When Cas was done he let out a low chuckle. "Well, Cas, you've taken this better than I could have ever expected you to. It saves a whole lot of time for us since we don't have to go through the whole 'the truth is out there' speech. Thanks."
He studied the other man's reaction, but he appeared to be lost in his own thoughts, so he kept going.
"But, Cas, what was that about angels? You said there were angels willing to help you with your love life? What's that all about?" Dean said, amusement dripping from his voice. "Were you serious about that?"
Cas nodded and bit his bottom lip, causing a rush of warmth to flood through Dean and come to rest at the mark on his shoulder.
"Yes… It is common knowledge that my father has an arrangement with each of his sons. Find the one that you love and you can marry whomever you please, but only if you find them by the age of twenty five. My oldest brother, Michael, was married off, but he ended up with someone that he truly cares about, but Lucifer, the second eldest, refused to marry, he rebelled and renounced his throne…"
"Wait, Lucifer is your brother?" Sam exclaimed, interrupting the prince's explanation.
Cas nodded, "Yes, why?"
Sam shook his head, "Nothing… I've just run into him once or twice… And he's kinda the reason I'm here… and the reason I gave up hunting… Other than the occasional job nearby. He became obsessed with me. Wanted me to join his gang, and I told him no. He made my life a living hell. He stalked me, killed my girlfriend, and tried to kill me, just so that I would say yes… But I got away from him and came here." He shrugged. "It's not a big deal anymore though… Go on, Cas. I interrupted."
Dean watched as Castiel resumed his story.
"Well, it is only a few months until my twenty fifth birthday. Since I was a child I have prayed to the angel of love and passion, Anael, to help me find my true love before it came time for me to be married to someone I didn't love, but my prayers went unanswered for years… Until a few days ago."
Dean spoke up, "What happened a few days ago?"
"Well, I came here to tell Anna, Gabriel's sister, that our parents had arranged for us to be married. Thankfully, she found someone she loved, and now she is engaged, and I have more time."
"What does this have to do with angels?"
"I'm getting to that, Dean, you just have to be patient."
The hunter nodded slowly and crossed his arms. "Okay, Cas. Go ahead. We'll quit interrupting you."
"Thank you, Dean… But…" He tilted his head and squinted slightly, causing Dean to smirk. "Why do you call me Cas? My name is Castiel… Granted, Cas is better than Cassie, but my name is Castiel."
Dean chuckled, "Sorry, but Castiel is kinda a mouthful… So I've decided to call you Cas. If you don't like it you can just cry about it."
His words seemed to have the desired effect when the corners of Castiel's, Cas', mouth twitched upwards into a small smile.
"No, Dean, you may call me Cas… I actually enjoy the nickname."
"Good." He nodded, "Now, can you finish our bed time story?"
"Yes… As I was saying, I had more time, but I had no clue of how to find my true love. I have been searching since my father informed me of the arrangement, but not once have I been able to find someone that I have even been partially interested in. So, I was sitting there with Anna, wondering what I was going to do, when there was a light flashing through the sky. Anna said 'yes' and the light flooded into her body. She collapsed for a few moments, before coming to, and it wasn't Anna anymore… It was the angel, Anael. The one I had been praying to for all these years. She told me not to give up hope and that my love was closer than I thought he was. That I could find him before my birthday, because he had been marked since birth so that I could find him."
Dean raised an eyebrow, "And why would an angel do all of this for you?"
He shrugged, "She said that our bond was the strongest she had seen in generations."
At this, Dean walked up and sat next to Cas. "So… Being the angel of love and passion she just had to make sure it happened, right?"
Cas nodded, "Exactly. She told me that the man I was looking for would be at the castle that very day actually. She said he would be with Gabriel."
Dean looked over at him as the throbbing in his shoulder increased and a thought popped into his head. "What was he doing with Gabriel?"
Cas sighed deeply and bit his lip. "He was looking for his brother."
Dean's eyes narrowed as his suspicions grew stronger, "Cas, how many days ago was did this happen?"
"Two days before the engagement ball."
Dean stood up and looked down at the dark haired prince, who had his head bowed so that he was looking at the ornate carpet.
"Cas, are you saying that I might be your soulmate?"
"From what I have been told and what I have gathered… Yes… But only if you have the mark."
Dean nodded. "What is the mark? Do you know what it is? Or do you just have to guess?"
"I know what it is." Castiel murmured quietly.
"What is it, Cas?"
"It's a scar in the shape of a hand print. She said it would be on the shoulder of the man that I share the bond with."
The throbbing in his shoulder got stronger but Dean ignored it. He noticed his brother looking at him, but he stayed in his spot, just trying to process the information he had been given.
"Dean, didn't that thing on your shoulder just turn into a handprint?"
At Sam's words, Cas' head snapped up and his eyes locked with Dean's.
"Yeah, Sammy… The thing on my shoulder is a handprint. It has been for about six months… And right now it's going crazy." He said without breaking his eyes away from Cas'.
Slowly, Castiel got to him feet and stepped closer to Dean.
"Which shoulder is it?" He asked quietly as he stepped closer again. Dean saw his deep blue eyes flick back and forth between his shoulders.
"It- It's on my left shoulder."
"May I see it?"
Dean took a deep breath and nodded before pulling his shirt over his head because he knew his long sleeves wouldn't go up all the way to reveal the mark. He heard Cas' breath hitch when the mark was finally free from his shirt. Dean studied Cas' face, but the prince was focused on the mark. The deep blue eyes were filled with awe, and his face was full of hope. After a few moments, Dean cleared his throat.
"So is this anything like what she described?"
"It's exactly like what she described." Cas replied breathily. He swallowed hard and looked away from the mark to look back into Dean's eyes. "May I touch it?"
It was like the mark could sense what Cas had said, because a pleasant tingling flowed from his shoulder throughout his entire body.
"Yes." Dean nodded. "Just to shut the thing up or something."
The prince's eyes squinted in confusion, but he still reached towards dean's shoulder slowly. At first, he just brushed his fingertips against the red raised skin. The resulting jolts of pleasure caused Dean to suck in a deep breath.
Cas pulled his fingers away, "Did I hurt you, Dean?"
"No, Cas, just…" Unable to finish his thought, the hunter grabbed the prince's wrist and placed the other man's palm flush against the print. When Cas' fingers stretched out, his hand fit the mark entirely.
Dean sighed with relief, "That shut up it up." He chuckled, "The entire time you were being a damn tease it would stop tingling and sending jolts through my body… And now it's quiet."
Cas smiled, just a brief twitch of his lips upwards again, but it was a smile. "I'm glad that you are content, Dean."
"Yeah, it's great… I feel better than I have in a long time." Dean grinned and leaned closer to Cas.
The prince stepped closer and used his free hand to wrap around Dean's waist, closing the distance between the two of them. Dean rested his forehead against the other man's with a smile. Dean went to close the distance between their lips, but they were interrupted when Gabriel cleared his throat loudly.
"Alright, lovebirds. We get that you two are like soulmates or whatever, but we'd prefer not to be mentally scarred at the sight of the two of you brushing each other's teeth with your tongues."
Dean clenched his jaw and glared at the shorter prince, who immediately ducked behind Sam's back once again, but Cas stepped away from Dean anyway. Dean groaned and pulled his shirt back on.
"You're an ass, Gabriel." Dean grumbled.
Sam chuckled, "So are you, but you don't hear me complaining."
"Oh please, you complain all the time, bitch."
"Whatever, jerk." Sam said with a chuckle.
Dean smiled and felt another rush of warmth run through him again when Cas wrapped an arm around his shoulders so that his hand rested on the mark, even though it was hidden by Dean's shirt. Dean smiled and looped his arm around the other man's waist and looked at his brother.
"Now that I have my shit sorted "He chuckled and pressed a kiss to Cas' temple, "It's your turn." He said with a nodded to Gabriel and then to Sam.
Sam flushed red and Gabriel winked at them from behind Sam's back.
(AN: I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I know I did, and I know I have a couple of friends who will stop threatening me with death because of that cliffhanger (sorry not sorry).
PS. I'm on a diet, but reviews are my cheat food.
-Aj )
