Author's Notes: OMG. I finally got this chapter out! Hi guys, sorry about the wait but in all honesty I just needed to take a break in writing and focus on other things in life. (It helped that I was away traveling and then started school again) Anyways, back now. Expect regular updates again.
Show: GUYS. GUYS. SUPERNATURAL IS BACK, DID YOU KNOW! But seriously thank Castiel the summer is over and SPN is back in our lives. I won't say any spoilers but what did you guys think of Friday night's episode? We must talk. WE MUST. For right now I'll just say that I was happy with how things went but that the writers are still on shaky ground and need to be careful not to mess shit up.
Beta'd version up!
IMPORTANT: This story is beta'd by the ever awesome KittyBits, she is such a doll to work with and has helped me SO much with this story. Go check out her profile here (by simply taking out the spaces):
http : / /www . fanfiction . net / u / 2575151 /
Chapter Rating: M (Language and smut)
Disclaimer: If SPN actually belonged to me, believe me, things would be MUCH different. As such, please don't sue.
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The Name of the Game
It was another week before Dean could go back to school.
Sam had been able to get released on the day Dean had woken up, only needing crutches to get around, and had returned to school that following Monday. Dean had not been as lucky. His burns and lungs were still healing and the doctors were hesitant to let him walk around in an non-sterile environment. As such, Dean had been confined to the hospital for another week.
So, Dean had spent more time than he would have liked sitting in bed and staring at his ceiling. He had been able to contact most of his professors and get caught up with a lot of his work. Theology had been surprisingly easy (he figured that's what happened when you actually read the assigned material) with Lucifer's help, and Chuck had helped him catch up in English. His major-oriented professors, most of whom he had taken before and knew him well, were very understanding and had given him his missed assignments with no fuss. And since Dean had nothing else to do, he had been able to finish everything in two days and give his work to Jo and Gabriel to hand in for him.
The only problem was Fitness class. It wasn't that Rufus wanted to fail him, the professor had actually come in person to visit Dean and check up on him. But the class was graded heavily on participation, of which Dean had missed two weeks, and that basically guaranteed failure. Even once Dean did get back, he knew it would take a few classes for him to get back into shape and he'd have to be careful with his arms.
"There has to be something I can do to make it up, sir," Dean had begged. He really wanted to passed Rufus' class, it was one of his favorites.
"I'll see what I can do Winchester," Rufus sighed, "but I can't make any promises." And he had left after that.
So it was finally, a week later, that Dean was able to come back to his dorm. Two weeks of no school made it look almost homely...almost.
"Dean! You're back!" squealed Chuck as Dean opened the front door to the dorm and the bearded young man threw himself onto the Industrial Design major.
"Hey Chuck," Dean wheezed, "glad to see you too."
"Everyone's been so worried," Chuck babbled as he let go and stepped back, "The past two weeks have been complete hell."
"Tell me about it." Dean agreed. Physical therapy for his arms had been horrible.
"At first we weren't even sure you'd wake up." Chuck admitted, "Glad you did, though."
"You could say I had a guardian angel watching over me," Dean joked as he saw Castiel come barreling out of his room and make a beeline towards Dean.
"Dean!"
"Cas!" Their kiss was passionate and quite awesome, Dean thought.
"Welcome home." Castiel whispered.
"Guardian angel..." Chuck whispered after a moment and got a strange look in his eyes before running off suddenly. Castiel cocked his head to the side.
"I don't get him either sometimes," Dean agreed as Crowley, Gabriel, and Balthazar all popped up out of nowhere.
"Oh, you're still alive," Crowley observed before shrugging and moving to lounge on the couch like he didn't care and Dean figured that was the best he would get. Gabriel wasted no time in sweeping the young man up into one of his powerful bear hugs and left Dean momentarily breathless.
"Dean-o! Welcome back to the land of the living!" Golden eyes winked at him.
"Thanks Gabe," Dean sighed, "but I wasn't dead."
"Yeah, I know," Gabriel agreed then tilted his head towards Dean and spoke in a voice that was meant to be a whisper but was in no way quiet, "But it means this hobo—" he jabbed a thumb at Balthazar, "—will finally stop sleeping in your room."
"What!" Dean yelped, "You let him into my room?"
"Nah, just kiddin', mate." Balthazar laughed and he and Gabriel high-fived, "I've been sleepin' on the couch."
"I hate you all." Dean deadpanned, but then grew serious, "So what's been up since I was gone?"
"No much." Gabriel shrugged.
"Just then end of the world, nothing new." Crowley threw in but everyone ignored him.
"Fire was started by those wankers a few flights below that kept gettin' into trouble, I mentioned them, yeah?" Balthazar explained, "Got themselves arrested—few people died in the fire, see—and the school is lookin' for new flats for the students that were housed in it."
"School itself has been relatively quiet," Gabriel answered.
"Good to know." Dean sighed. He blew out a breath of air and rubbed the back of his neck. Castiel made a motion to help but Dean waved him off and smiled, "Well, I'm gonna go visit Sam now."
"What? And miss the Halo Battle Royal between Crowley, Gabe, and myself?" Balthazar feigned hurt, "Your loss, mate." And he flung himself onto the couch and across Crowley, who shouted indignantly.
"Can I come?" Castiel asked quietly.
"What? Of course Cas." Dean cocked an eyebrow, "You even need to ask?"
"I just wanted to make sure, if it was a private family matter you were looking for I did not want to interfere." the blue-eyed boy ducked his head.
"I was just gonna say hi to Sam." Dean chuckled as he threw his arm over Castiel's shoulders (which probably wasn't the smartest thing he'd done, his arm twinged in protest) and pulled the boy along with him while waving goodbye to Gabriel, "Anyways, even if I was looking for some deep fluffy moment with family," Dean said as they walked down the hallway, "you'd still be invited Cas; I consider you family."
Dean watched as Castiel's eyes got impossibly large, "Really?"
"Cas," Dean sighed and bumped his forehead lightly against his boyfriend's, "don't ask stupid questions." That earned him a shy smile and Dean felt more at peace in that moment then he had for several weeks.
They reached Sam's dorm without incident and Dean threw open the door with more force than was probably necessary.
"SAMMY!"
There were several squeaks and a yelp as four young teens toppled off their respective chairs. Dean grinned widely as Castiel shot him a disapproving look.
"Dean!" Sam yelled from where his younger brother lay sprawled on the floor. Andy had somehow landed on top of Jo and was apologizing profusely while simultaneously trying to protect himself from any punches she might throw at him, which she didn't because as soon as Jo spotted Dean she bounded up and pounced on him.
"Dean!" she cried and they hugged.
"Oh, hey Dean." Ava also said and Dean blinked.
"Ava? What are you doing here?"
"Jo and I live in the same dorm." Ava crossed her arms, "Remember?"
"We both came over to visit Sam," Jo continued.
"Uh, I live here too." Andy raised his hand and Dean chuckled.
"So I see you're back," Sam said as he sat up, "Everything go smoothly with discharging from the hospital?"
"Yup." Dean nodded. "Bobby wasn't happy signing all that paperwork but it worked out in the end. I'm ready to start school tomorrow!"
"You sure you're going to be ok, Dean?" Sam asked and put on his Bitchface #7, the 'Dean-I-think-you're-pushing-yourself-too-hard' look that Dean had seen more than once.
"Yeah Sam, I think I'm well enough to sit in a chair and listen to people talk for several hours," Dean groused, "And before you say it—I can write just fine. My hands weren't hurt as bad as my arms."
"What about Fitness?" Sam's bitchface was still on and Dean felt like he was being scolded for something he didn't do.
"Talked to Rufus, we're working something out—god, are you done being my mother now?" That got a few giggles from Jo and Ava and Sam had the decency to blush.
"I'm just—y'know—making sure..."
"Dude, I've got Cas for that too now." Dean pointed to the other boy and Castiel nodded vigorously, "Between the two of you I don't think I can get away with anything right now."
"Then I'm doing my job correctly." Sam grinned.
"What job?"
"The job of being a younger brother, it's a tiring task."
"Oh screw you Sam!"
"Jerk."
"Bitch."
"It's good to see everything is getting back to normal." Jo laughed.
"Yeah, it's been so quiet lately." Andy sighed, "Like nothing has been happening lately."
"Well, if you guys are all up for it, there's a party Monday." Ava threw in.
"A party tomorrow?" Dean arched an eyebrow, "Who has a party in the middle of a school week?"
"Well, I guess party might be too strong of a word." Ava tilted her head as she thought, "It's more of a social gathering—"
"That is a party," Andy said with a frown.
"—and way more low key than like what's normal around here." Ava continued, "More just chilling with other students, talking and stuff. Its been a great way for students from Heavens State and Hunters Academy to bond. Becky and I have gone to a few and its been really pleasant."
"Low key, huh?" Dean said, "Sounds nice right about now. Who's hosting?"
"Michael, of course!" Ava said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Michael?" Dean frowned.
"He's a grad student from Heavens State getting his PhD in, um, Criminal Justice I think. Anyways, he's super popular and rich and he throws these really chill parties and its just awesome. Cas, you must have heard of him, he's from your school."
"Yes." Castiel nodded. "He comes from a very wealthy family up north and graduated top of his class for his undergraduate degree, he actually set the record for highest GPA at our school." He paused. "I've never met him, though."
"I think even I've heard the name before..." Sam said.
"Yeah, cuz' its not like it's a popular name, Sammy."
"Shut up, Dean."
"Well, sounds good to me. I'm in." Dean grinned, "I'll run it past the guys later tonight."
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The night air chilled Sam's skin as he sat on the wooden bench beneath a giant oak tree. The full moon shone down a pale light that bathed everything in a silver glow, a fine dew that covered the grass made it glisten and shimmer with the light breeze. Looking out, Sam could see thousands of stars glittering in the sky, so beautiful in their vastness that it nearly took his breath away.
He and Jess used to sit here during lunch.
Sam blinked suddenly and lowered his head, bangs falling in front of his eyes. Two weeks was just about enough time to stop crying from the slightest memory, but that was it. Everything else still hurt. The emptiness inside still gnawing at his chest. He missed her. He missed her so badly.
He had barely clung on the first week, so scared he would loose Dean and then he would be alone. His big brother couldn't die. He just couldn't, nothing could hurt Dean Winchester. Except he had watched as his brother's heart stopped and he did die. Ninety-seven seconds. The worst ninety-seven seconds in Sam's entire life.
But Dean was alright now. He was alive. His forearms would be covered in scars the rest of his life from saving Sam, but he was alive and here and that was enough for Sam. Jess though, Jess wasn't here. The funeral had been three days ago and it had been a beautiful day. And Sam had hated it because it should have been stormy and raining and miserable, but no. It had been beautiful and perfect like Jess would never be again.
If only they hadn't gotten separated. If he had kept a tighter hold on her hand. If she'd been in front instead of behind him. If only...
"You shouldn't be out after hours, Sam."
Sam's head snapped up suddenly at the voice and he found Lucifer standing in front of him. Straw-blond hair a mess and electric blue eyes full of concern.
"L-Lucifer." Sam stammered, "Wh-what—"
"Grad students can be out late." Lucifer shrugged. "One of the perks."
"Sorry." Sam hung his head again.
"What are you doing out here?"
"Nothing."
"Thinking about her?" Lucifer asked and Sam flinched.
"I—" he tried to say but ended up choking on his words as tears flooded his eyes, "No...yes." Fuck, he was crying now. In front of Lucifer of all people.
"Sam." Lucifer's eyes widened in shock and he floundered for something to do.
"I'm sorry," Sam sobbed, unable to stop crying. Dammit, why couldn't he stop!
"No, no, i-it's—there's no reason—" Lucifer panicked and suddenly Sam found himself surrounded by two large, strong arms that held him gently, "Please Sam," Lucifer whispered, "I can't stand to see you cry. It breaks my heart."
Unfortunately this only made Sam cry harder.
But he gripped the older man tightly and buried his face into Lucifer's chest as he cried, finally letting everything that had been building in the past two weeks out. It wasn't pretty, but it felt like Sam was drawing some type of dark poison from himself and a knot that had been forming in his chest suddenly loosened.
"Thank you." Sam finally managed to mumble some time later as his tears stopped at last, "Sorry I ruined your sweater."
"It's old." Lucifer said, "And it's a small price to pay if you feel better, y-you do feel better, yes?"
"Yes." Sam gave a wane smile, but a smile nonetheless.
"Excellent."
"How are you always there when I need you?" Sam asked quietly and Lucifer stilled underneath him, "You were there at the fire and you're here again now."
"It-its just luck, I suppose," Lucifer said quickly.
"Then I'm lucky to have you." Sam breathed as he started to nod off, lulled to sleep by the steady beat of Lucifer's heart.
"And you shall always have me." Was whispered into the night.
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Dean was slowly starting to fall asleep, curled up in his own bed for the first time in weeks it wasn't that hard. A man never knew how much he relied on his pillow until he didn't have it anymore. The hospital pillows had been stiff and scratchy and an absolute nightmare to try to sleep on, but now he finally had his old, squishy, stuffed pillow back and he was in heaven.
Until he heard the creak of his door.
"Hullo?" he asked blearily as he sat up. There was a dark outline by his door.
"Dean?" It was Castiel.
"Cas?" Dean's mind was slow at the moment.
"I-I'm sorry if I woke you." the outline started to back up.
Dean held out his hand, "No, no. It's cool. I was still awake." Dean could practically sense Castiel's frown. "Seriously, I was awake. What's up? Need something?"
"No, it's nothing, nevermi—"
"Cas." The outline quivered.
"I just—I was wondering if perhaps, if it's alright with you..."
"Cas, you're killin' me here."
"Do you think I could sleep with you tonight?" It was so quiet Dean thought he had misheard.
"You want—in the same bed?" Dean's mind was still slow. He plead exhaustion.
"N-not like sleep!" Castiel stressed, "I assumed sexual intercourse would have to wait until you're completely healed." If Dean had been drinking something, he would have spit it back out. As it was, he simply choked on the air.
"Dude, I knew you meant just sleeping, not sex!" he whispered loudly, blushing furiously, "But thanks for letting me in on your plan."
"Um!" Castiel squeaked and Dean figured the blue-eyed boy must have been an even deeper shade of red than he was at that instant. The moment of silence stretched until it was passed uncomfortable. Finally, Castiel's outline moved, "I'm sorry, I—you're tired and I'm just wasting your time and—"
"Cas." Dean huffed, "Get over here." He lifted his comforter a bit and motioned towards himself. Castiel hesitated only for a split second before crawling in next to him and immediately curling himself around Dean's body. "Somehow I knew you'd be a cuddle person."
"Do you mind?" Castiel asked as he laid his head on Dean's bare chest.
"Hell no." Dean grinned and he felt as Castiel smiled with him. He couldn't ever remember falling asleep as peacefully as he did that night.
Dean opened his eyes suddenly as he found himself on a dock by a lake. This time, however, instead of facing towards the lake he was already at the end of the pier facing back at the shore. Odd. Dean looked up to the blue sky, only to see it was night and the stars were everywhere, swirling in a circle above him. Dean's jaw dropped as he watched the sky move before him, shifting slowly like sand. Only the moon stood completely still, a beacon in the night.
As Dean lifted his hand up to see if he could reach it he felt the wind blow past him and the world shifted again. It was then he realized he was falling. Falling backwards. Dean kept his arm outstretched, eyes never leaving the sky as he felt back and hit the water. In slow motion he felt the water close in around him and pull him down further. He still held his hand out as he watched the watery surface slide farther and farther away until his entire world was surrounded in the inky darkness. Only one thought came to Dean's mind as he floated down, just one.
I'm not scared of falling.
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To Be Continued...
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A/N: Lalala, everything is slash and NOTHING HURTS. Good comeback chapter?
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