"We should go see Jegudiel before we leave," Cas said urgently. Gabriel flicked a glance at him.
"Are you sure we can trust him?" he asked. Cas nodded.
"Yes. He helped us before, and he's been a useful source of information. Come on." Gabriel sighed and followed his brother to Jegudiel's quarters.
Cas knocked rapidly on the chamber door. Jegudiel jerked the door open.
"Where have you been? You can't let anyone-" he broke off. "Oh. Castiel. How are you, brother?"
"Expecting someone else?" Gabriel said his voice calm but with an edge of menace. Cas laid a hand on his arm.
"Easy, Gabriel. Jegudiel's on our side." His friend ushered them inside.
"Castiel, what can I do for you?" Jegudiel asked, ignoring Gabriel.
"We've seen Michael," Cas said. "Well, Gabriel has. What happened to him?" Jegudiel slumped.
"I don't know. Leliel says he was like that when they found him."
"In Hell?" Gabriel said carefully.
"Yes. In Hell. With half his Grace and all of his mind gone." Jegudiel sighed. "We're trying to keep it from everyone for now in the hope that he'll get better. But if anything he's getting worse."
"Something stinks here, Jegudiel," Gabriel said through gritted teeth. "Michael was first of us, the greatest of the archangels. How could anything do this to him?" Jegudiel eyed him mildly.
"Sam Winchester is responsible for the breaking of his mind," the angel said. "He was vulnerable after that." Castiel stared at him.
"Why would you say something like that?" he asked, astonishment and betrayal warring for dominance in his voice.
"It's the truth,"Jegudiel said. "It's not the Winchester boy's fault necessarily, I don't mean to imply that he deliberately did this to Michael. But he's still responsible for it. Like so many other things."
Gabriel stretched out his wings, his temper now seriously beginning to fray. Jegudiel looked nervous.
"I'm getting very tired of this," Gabriel told him. "Heaven's a mess, a number of angels are behaving very strangely and Aemeth is at the center of it." He glared at Jegudiel.
"I'm not Aemeth, don't blame me." he said helplessly. Gabriel wasn't convinced.
"So how come you're on the list of angels trusted to know the truth?" Jegudiel's mouth twisted.
"Castiel, you didn't tell him?" he asked. Cas looked guilty. "I've been trying to infiltrate Aemeth. But it's not easy, they're very close knit. And if they find out my true loyalties, I'll be neutered, just like Michael." Gabriel peered at him.
"You know something, something you're not telling us," he said accusingly. Jegudiel looked trapped. Gabriel wasn't above throwing his weight around, but if he kept doing it, it was going to come back and bite him. So he waited.
"Fine," Jegudiel said finally. "Castiel, I'm sorry. I lied to you. I'm not unaffiliated. I'm second-in-command for Táphos." Cas reared back in shock and Gabriel stared.
"Táphos? I've heard of you before but I don't remember what you stood for." Jegudiel shuffled uncomfortably.
"We've been quiet. Well, I suppose that's how we're meant to be. Táphos believes in the cold, silent death, the decay into entropy, chaos as the beautiful end of all things. We were against the Apocalypse from the beginning. We manipulated events so that Castiel was selected for the job of rescuing Dean Winchester from Hell. We undermined Raphael's power base, pushed Zachariah into position as the angel who we thought would antagonize Dean's personality the most. We're not the power behind the throne so much as the chaos beneath it. And as such, we are most devoted to you, Gabriel."
The archangel gaped at them and opened his mouth to speak, but Cas beat him to it, punching Jegudiel in the face. Since angels didn't typically resort to such human acts of physical violence, Jegudiel was not prepared for the strike and staggered backwards. Cas had loaded his Grace behind his fist and Jegudiel's expression suggested that it had hurt.
"I deserved that, I suppose," he said nasally. There was the silvery scrape of Cas drawing his blade and Gabriel grabbed his brother by the arm.
"Castiel! No, this is not the answer. I know you're angry, I understand. But if Jegudiel is on our side, we need him." Cas shook Gabriel's hand off, but put away his blade. Jegudiel gave a watery smile.
"I'm sorry, Castiel. We've been friends a long time and I know this is an unpleasant surprise. But would you really change things, if you could? Would you go back and let some other angel rescue Dean, one who might not have taken the chance on him that you did?" Cas regarded him in stony silence.
"So, what do you know about the use of Gracelight?" Jegudiel asked, changing the subject. Gabriel frowned.
"It's how Lucifer created the lapsit exillis," he said thoughtfully. "He'd had a huge falling out with Michael, the first one that really made me think about leaving. He gathered his followers and convinced them to donate some of their Grace to him, and he concentrated that power into an emerald, which he mounted on his crown. Like so many things powered by Grace, the stone became sentient. When Lucifer fell, and Michael cast him into Hell, the use of Gracelight was banned for any purpose. But when we found Michael, in that cave where he held Sam, it was lit by small Gracelight stones. I meant to go back and investigate, but there hasn't been time. I also saw Gracelight in Michael's room." Jegudiel nodded.
"And this is why we venerate you, Gabriel," he said with a smile. Gabriel felt a little sick. He didn't want to be venerated.
"Táphos have noticed Gracelight-created jewels appearing in a number of places around Heaven. Remiel wears a necklace with a Gracelight pendant, we think Leliel gave it to her. That's probably how Aemeth are influencing and controlling people. Even Michael. Gracelight stones are insidious in how they work. By the time any of us noticed something was up, it was too late, Michael's mind had already begun to crack."
"I don't understand," Castiel said hoarsely. "Gracelight has been banned since I was a fledgling, so where did Remiel's pendant and the other stones come from? And why has nobody done something about it."
"We don't know. How many angels even remember the full story any more?" Jegudiel asked him.
"A lot of the older angels are dead." He gave Cas a pointed glance and Cas looked away. "And a few years ago, Aemeth started a few rumors, that banning Gracelight had led to the failure of Heaven to bring your charges to heel and bring about Armageddon. Look at how easily the lapsit exillis corrupted Sam Winchester, inserted a slice of darkness into his soul that he'll never be free of. Imagine if Gracelight stones had been given to the Winchesters, by someone they trusted. They'd have quickly fallen under the influence and been the puppets of Heaven they were supposed to be all along." Cas sucked in a breath and Gabriel chewed at his lip. He'd never disagreed with the prohibition on the use of Gracelight, but he hadn't been as excessively concerned about it as Raphael had been. Raphael had been the one to convince Michael to proscribe its use.
"Some of us who remember Lucifer before the Fall wonder if the lapsit exillis was as much responsible for the Fall as Lucifer's own pride," Jegudiel added. "It's a pity. If Lucifer had given Michael what he wanted, instead of fooling around with power he didn't understand, there might never have been a Fall at all."
Dean had forsaken his glass and taken to slugging the whiskey directly from the bottle. Sam watched him, trying not to be too irritated because Gabriel and Cas had been gone a really long time and it was starting to become more than a little concerning.
"So," Sam said, more to have something to say than any real enthusiasm for the discussion. "I'm sorry you and Cas fought because of me." Dean glanced at him.
"I dunno, he's been in a funny mood recently. Something's eating at him, and I don't know what it is," he said, looking surprised at himself. Apparently the whiskey had loosened his tongue.
"Have you asked him about it?" Sam asked. Dean rolled his eyes.
"Yeah. He says he's fine. What am I supposed to do?" Sam sighed.
"I don't know Dean. Doesn't your bond tell you anything? Even if you haven't completed it yet, you should be able to read some things." Dean blinked and Sam peered at him. "Are you bonding with him?" Dean shook his head.
"Not as far as I know. Cas never mentioned it." He rocked the chair back, pursing his lips in thought. Sam frowned.
"Well, are you going to do it?" he demanded. Dean scratched the back of his head.
"I hadn't really thought about it," he said. "Do you think I should?" Sam wondered if there was any hope for his brother.
"It might be important to Cas," he offered. "It was to Gabriel." That hurt a little but he squashed it down. They were working on it, it was going to be OK.
"Then why hasn't he said anything?" Dean said as if this was his trump card. Sam crossed his eyes.
"I don't know, Dean. I mean why would anyone in a relationship with you have any reason to wonder if you were serious? I bet you've already lapsed back into flirting with anyone attractive who falls into your eyeline."
"Cas knows it doesn't mean anything," he scoffed. Sam leveled a look at him.
"How does he know that, Dean? Because you tell him you love him every day?" Dean looked away. "Please tell me you've told him at least once," Sam begged. Dean growled.
"Cas knows how I feel," he insisted. Sam pinched the bridge of his nose. Was this a competition to see who could be the most fucked up? Dean had nearly lost Cas twice, Sam thought. Maybe a bit of shock therapy was in order.
"You shouldn't assume that," he said finally. "If you take Cas for granted, one day you might turn around and he'll be gone." Dean looked haunted suddenly and Sam concealed his smile. Hopefully this would get some wheels turning in his brother's thick head. There was a curious popping sound and Cas and Gabriel appeared in the middle of the room.
"Hey, Gabriel," Sam said warmly. "How was Heaven?" The archangel frowned, considering.
"Seven shades of fucked up," he decided. Cas gave him a baleful look, but he looked shaken. Dean cast a glance at Sam then got up and tugged the angel in for a hug. Cas started and resisted for a second, then melted into his embrace as if they'd been parted for weeks. He clung so tightly that Sam raised an eyebrow at Gabriel.
"That good, huh?" he commented, still watching Cas who was quivering and making soft, needy little sounds against Dean's neck. Gabriel's mouth twisted.
"Yeah. Michael's lost half his Grace on top of all of his marbles." Sam raked a hand through his hair.
"What! How? Did the demons do that to him?" Gabriel shrugged.
"That's the official line, but I'm not buying it. Then there's the curious case of Jegudiel." Dean's head came up like an alerted watchdog.
"Cas' friend?" he asked, his voice strained. Cas nuzzled closer into his neck and he looked down again. "What happened?"
"Oh nothing much," Gabriel said sarcastically. "He just admitted to being responsible for several major events in Castiel's life for the past few years." Sam exchanged a look with Dean.
"What do you mean?" Sam asked.
"Jegudiel's a member of a faction called Táphos" Gabriel told him. "It's ancient Greek, it means-"
"Tomb," Sam finished for him. Gabriel gave him a pained look.
"Right. They worship me apparently, which is perfectly understandable of course." Sam knew him better than that, he could see the archangel's discomfort at the idea.
"They also believe in a natural chaotic descent into entropy as an end to creation. As opposed to the big show, Apocalypse!"
Sam knew the more animated Gabriel got, the more disturbed he was feeling. Gabriel was worried.
"They're the ones who got Castiel the gig of raising Dean from perdition. They made sure Zachariah, the most irritating angel ever to wear a pair of wings, was in position to annoy your brother into fighting back against fate. That kind of thing." Gabriel finished with a flourish. Sam held out a hand to him, not pushing but offering. Gabriel eyed it for a moment then took it tentatively. His grip was tight and now they were in contact Sam could feel the nervous energy thrumming through him.
"Cas?" Dean said gently. The angel looked up and Dean cupped his jaw. Sam swallowed past a lump in his throat. "I'm sorry," Dean said.
Cas nodded and tucked his head back into Dean's neck. Dean looked at Sam. "I'm gonna…" he broke off and waved a hand uncertainly. Sam waved him away. He needed to take care of Cas, who was clearly very distressed.
Gabriel sat on the table, facing Sam. He still held onto Sam's hand very tightly.
"Is Cas going to be OK?" Sam asked. Gabriel nodded.
"He should be, as long as your brother doesn't make a mess of it." Sam winced but Gabriel grinned at him.
"Don't worry."
Dean guided Cas back to his room, squeezing the angel's shoulders and watching his reactions carefully. When he tugged the angel over to the bed, Cas surprised him by sinking to the floor in front of him.
"Cas?" Dean prompted cautiously.
"Dean," Cas muttered. "I'm sorry. If it weren't for Jegudiel, so many terrible things could have been avoided."
"Maybe," Dean agreed. "But if it weren't for his meddling, we would never have met. Not everything that's happened since I returned from Hell has been bad, y'know." He dipped his head to kiss Cas softly. The angel shivered and made another of those needy sounds that shot straight to Dean's groin.
Suddenly, Cas stood up and leaned forward. He hovered over Dean's mouth for another moment, then with a growl lunged forward and thrust him back onto the bed, their lips colliding. Dean groaned out an indecent sound, which only served to increase Cas' fervor, he thrust one hand into Dean's hair and the other slid into the small of his back to press their bodies even closer together. Dean's hands had come to rest on Cas' waist and his hands grasped handfuls of shirt as the angel pulled back from his lips to trail butterfly kisses down Dean's neck. As his lips skimmed an especially sensitive spot, Dean whimpered.
"Cas…" he breathed. The angel slid both hands under Dean's shirt and tugged it over his head. Dean yanked Cas' button-down shirt open, spraying buttons everywhere.
"Sorry," he mumbled as his mouth nibbled at Cas' neck.
"No, you're not," Cas gasped and Dean grinned against his skin.
"Fine. I regret nothing." he said, meaning more than just his destruction of Cas' clothing. Cas was pulling his belt free and unfastening his jeans and Dean groaned as his hands glided over his skin, pulling the denim down along with his boxers. Dean fumbled with the fastening on Cas' pants and finally the angel huffed out a breath and dismissed their remaining clothes with a gesture. Dean let out a laugh which quickly turned into a gasp when Cas slid down his body and began to lick and tease at him. He looked down at the angel, his lips pink and glistening and swallowed hard. Then the angel took him fully into his mouth and his head went back with a groan.
Cas was wild tonight, Dean could do nothing but hold on tightly to the sheets and let him the angel drive him relentlessly onwards and upwards. When he felt his climax began to gather as a tightening coil of heat in his abdomen, he tried to stutter out a warning, but it was lost as Cas did something with his fingers and Dean's vision whited out.
After a few moments, he groaned and looked down at Cas, who was staring intently at him from between his legs. Dean crooked a finger at him and the angel crawled up his body, stopping to taste his skin at several locations on the way. When he finally brought his face level with Dean's, the hunter grabbed him and kissed him soundly, then brought his lips to Cas' ear.
"I want you inside me," he growled. Cas bit his ear and said something in Enochian. Whatever it was, it was clearly agreement, as he wiggled his hips and pressed insistently at Dean. He made an incoherent sound and then surged forward, forcing a gasp from Dean's throat. His senses were unraveling, the feeling of Cas' skin against his, the steady pace of the angel as thrust inside him and the sounds Cas was making. Hot, needy sounds that Dean wanted to spend the rest of his life listening to. Cas was increasing the pace and Dean tucked his head into Cas' neck, panting against his skin. Oh God, Cas.
He could feel it as Cas began to peak, the muscles twitching and straining until he threw his head back, his eyes squeezed tight and he cried out. He collapsed onto Dean's chest, gasping and sobbing. Dean held him tight.
"You're incredible, you know," he told the angel.
"I love you," Cas replied in an unsteady voice.
Leliel checked her surroundings carefully before unlocking her door and slipping inside. Michael, or what was left of Michael in Adam Milligan's body, rolled over on the bed to look at her.
"It's you," he said. "When are you going to bring me what I asked for?"
"Soon," she promised. He snorted and turned away from her again. She sighed and swept through to the second set of chambers connected to hers. Originally designed to open out into a larger suite for meetings, she'd commandeered the quarters after returning from Hell. She looked warily at the man leaning against the bookcase, perusing the volumes on display.
"My lord," she said formally, dipping into a curtsey. He turned lazily, his blue eyes twinkling and his blond hair catching golden highlights from the Gracelight in the sconce above his head.
"Leliel," he said, his voice low and rough. She gulped, knowing all too well what that meant.
"You know, I don't even know what to call you," she admitted. He grinned at her.
"I like 'my lord', personally." he said easily. "But if you need to call me by name, then do so."
"But…" she objected. "He's Michael. If I call you Michael too, it's going to be confusing." He glared at her.
"Say that again and I'll cut out your pretty tongue. There's no need for anyone else to know what has happened. Call me Lucifer, and keep your mouth shut." She shivered. "Come here."
She nodded and rose, smoothing her skirt as she did so. He beckoned her closer and when she was within reach, grabbed her and dragged her close to his body. He brought his mouth down on hers in a primitive, biting kiss that made her feel cold inside. He pushed her away.
"You're all talk," he told her. "There's no fire inside you." She ducked her head.
"I'm sorry, my lord."
"It's time, Leliel. We need to meet." he told her. She nodded and turned away, hurrying back to her chamber.
Adam-Michael, as she'd resolved to call him in her head, was curled into a ball. She touched her hand to his shoulder and he jerked away from her.
"Don't touch me!" he cried.
"Please," she said. "I have someone who wants to see you." Adam-Michael stared at her warily, but scrambled off the bed and followed her obediently. She ushered him into the receiving room of the adjoining chambers and watched his astonishment as he stared at the figure of Lucifer-Michael leaning nonchalantly against the wall.
"Lucifer!" Adam-Michael gasped in delight. He threw himself across the room and into Lucifer-Michael's arms.
"Oh Lucifer! I can't believe it."
Lucifer-Michael smiled down at him, then cupped his face between his hands. Casting a malicious glance at Leliel, he bent down and kissed Adam-Michael's lips, a gentle, chaste kiss that made Adam-Michael quiver. Then he slid one hand behind Adam-Michael's neck and the other down his back and clutched him closer, deepening the kiss and drawing a groan from Adam-Michael. Leliel's gorge rose and she began to back away. Lucifer-Michael lifted his head.
"No, Leliel. I have not given you permission to withdraw." She looked down at the floor.
"I'm sorry my lord, I was only trying to give you some privacy," she whispered. He laughed.
"I'd much prefer it if you watched. You were so interested in doing so not long ago, when Sam Winchester was our prisoner."
Adam-Michael twitched at the mention of the young hunter's name and Lucifer-Michael soothed him with gentle stroking motions down his back.
"Stay, Leliel." Adam-Michael made a needy sound and Lucifer-Michael dipped his head down again for another kiss, tugging on the smaller vessel's shirt. Adam-Michael wiggled out of it and Lucifer-Michael kissed a wet trail down his neck and over his chest. He raised his head again and smiled.
"I'm going to fuck him, and you're going to watch." She shivered in horror, realizing too late how out of her depth she was. She still hadn't figured out how it had happened, but she had two Michaels on her hands, and both of them were insane.