"Yeeeah..." Gabriel said slowly, "There is noooo way that thing will hold any of us all the way to the other side." Just then, he felt a sharp pain, and collapsed to the ground.
"Gabriel?!" Dean asked, rushing forward, "Gabe?!" The Pegasus roused, groaning. "I'm... I'm just a little faint, 'at's... 'at's all..." Dean looked at him grimly. "Your grace." Gabriel lifted his head. "Ow... yep, I'd say that's what doin' it... I guess it's fading faster than I thought..."
Dean looked off into the distance. "We should never have let you come this far." "Let me? I'm an omnipotent being! Just because you're gonna marry a prince, doesn't mean you can boss me around!" "Yeah, yeah, but you'll become a regular horse if you lose it all!"
Gabriel sighed. "I know... that's what kinda scares me. Look… I'll be fine. We've come this far- let's just do this, and I'll heal soon."
Dean narrowed his eyes, but Gabe started trotting toward the bridge. Crowley looked wearily across. "Right... may I request a leave of absence?" "You're coming with us, Crowley." "But-" "Now!"
The cat clucked his tongue, and followed suit. They stood at the mouth of the shaking bridge, rungs missing here and there across the rotted wooden pathway, suspended in the air.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," the cat said, and Dean winced, peering over the edge. Little spouts of fire burned from the lava below. Uncontrollable fire... Just then, he had a flashback.
Running.
Burning.
Beams falling.
Screaming.
Crashing.
Mom.
Sammy.
Fire...
Dean shook himself back, his breath choking out unevenly. "Dean? Dean?!" Gabriel and Crowley were saying, and Dean turned to them, expression scared as hell.
"I... I can't," he said softly, looking down at the fiery lava. He squeezed his eyes shut. "Now isn't the time for a panic attack, buddy," Gabriel said, "Hey! Look at me."
Dean opened his eyes, doing so. "You are this close, to getting the one you care about. He's right there. You can do this, Dean. You know you can do this."
The young man gazed back out over the bridge to the tall tower, and took a deep breath. He could do this. Cas was waiting. He had to do this for him.
He set one foot out onto the rickety bridge. It swayed from his weight, and he accidentally dropped the map from his hands, watching it flutter down only to be devoured by the curling flames. He had to grab onto the ropes along the side to somewhat steady himself.
He looked back after a second, attempting a smile. "You comin'?"
Gabe grinned at the return of Dean's usual disposition. "Hells yeah. Let's light this candle!" Crowley simply nodded, a little too disturbed by what he was about to do to answer properly.
They began to make their way over. The bridge was just as shaky as it looked, and Crowley kept glancing down and shuddering. Just then, Gabriel shifted a little, and the black cat clutched the ropes for dear life.
"Don't DO that!" he growled at the Pegasus. Gabe turned back, smirking. "You mean... this?" He swayed the bridge a little. "AHGODBOLLOX yes, stoppit!" Crowley grabbed for his colt gun for protection, as if it would make a difference in their predicament. Gabriel just chuckled, keeping on.
Dean sucked in a breath. He wasn't that scared of heights- they didn't bother him as much as what was actually under them, and what it would do to them if this stupid bridge ever broke.
He suddenly wondered something- where was this dragon?
He shook his head. Not the best idea to start thinking about a potential visit from a dragon when in the midst of crossing the most dangerous bridge in all of Far Far Away.
He banished any negative thoughts from his mind. All he could see now, was Castiel- his beautiful lips, his strong nose, angelic blue eyes... and it didn't hurt that dude's manhood was larger than life, he smirked.
Dean grinned while absentmindedly thinking about the Prince's body. He hadn't really allowed himself indulge in thoughts like that before on this quest, because he didn't want to risk an awkward situation where they were, but now, mmm...the thought of what was waiting for him...
Cas was waiting for someone. Counting on someone. Losing hope in that someone, with every second that ticked by.
So Dean pushed on, bravery he never knew he had showing through. Funny- he always thought he would remain a brothel boy until he got laid off or something- now, he was living his own epic, (albeit fucking terrifying), actual adventure.
Meanwhile, Crowley was giving himself a pep talk.
"I, Fergus McCrowley, am going to die," he told himself, "I am going to fall off a bridge and burn to death in a pit of molten magma. I asked to join the quest- I bloody asked for this… but I never asked for execution. I don't know if I have nine lives to spare, and I certainly don't fancy finding out! Bloody hell, they don't come much stupider than this."
Gabriel threatened to rock the bridge again if he didn't shut up, but the cat just kept on going.
"This is absurd! After all I've been through my entire short life, and now, this is how it all ends," Crowley muttered, "This is goodbye, cruel world. This is-" "Hey!" Dean cut him off sharply, his voice loud and commanding, and Crowley looked down. He was one step away from the other side.
"Ah," he said, stepping onto the land. "That'll do, Crowley," Dean smirked, patting him, "That'll do." Crowley hissed at him, but looked relieved nonetheless to be on land again.
"So," Gabriel said, "The plan is to cross this horrid, sizzling hellhole to get to that castle over there?" Dean squinted through the steam. "Yup." "Well. Great plan. Let's go."
They made their way across, avoiding potholes of lava, and finally came to a huge, stone castle. It was crumbling, and was extremely tall- it must have been at least a hundred feet high.
Boy, Dean thought, When they exile a prince, they do it right.
The smoke had slightly cleared around them, so the air was a little more clear over by the castle. There was still no sign of the dragon.
"We'll stand guard and watch out for anything while you rescue the damsel in distress, kay pal?" Gabe asked, shooting him a wink. Dean nodded.
As Gabriel watched him go, he gazed down at his leaking grace, a trace of worry spreading through him. He wasn't doing too well, and he knew it. His grace was almost gone... he didn't know what to do.
It wasn't like he would die if he lost it all, if you were looking to find a silver lining of some sort- so as much as he loved to rub it in people's faces that he was more powerful than them, he didn't know what he would do without his mojo. A regular horse...
By now, he could barely do anything magical, let alone get by. He had a finite amount of divine grace left in him, he found in grim realization.
Dean walked through the castle to the entrance of the stairs to the tower. As he went along, he noticed a couple of old bones strewn about the place... some even full skeletons, still bearing old, tarnished metal armor, and others, just half skulls or small remnants.
There were shadows permanently burned into the stone walls of the place, made from the outlines of past intruders, years dead. Must have been from the fire breathing dragon, Dean thought, and shuddered. Wherever the thing was, he hoped it remained dormant and sleeping, cause he sure never wanted to meet it.
Before he approached the first step, he looked around. There might be some crazy trap or some shit up there to prevent people from going up, he thought, so he grabbed a knight's helmet from a skeleton a few feet away, fitting it over his head and letting the metal grate drop over his face.
He straightened out his white button up and brown pants, and suddenly felt under-dressed- he strangely felt as if he should be wearing a three piece suit to save his Prince.
Don't get ahead of yourself, he thought, you're rescuing his ass- that's damn well enough.
He started up the many, many stone steps, avoiding the ones that were cracked or crumbling.
Up in the tower, completely oblivious to what was happening around him, Cas sat with his legs crossed over themselves on the bed.
Then he thought of something funny. He began to imagine his happily ever after, and what it could have possibly looked like...
Dean took the stairs two at a time. He couldn't wait to get to the tower. He was so close- after days of this physically dilapidating quest, Cas was finally within his reach.
He ran up the stairs, getting dizzy. It was a circular twist up, and Dean's head was spinning. But he didn't care. He would keep running to get to Cas as soon as possible.
Cas sat, dreamily imagining Dean in a shameless fantasy, riding a horse, fighting through scary opposition and roadblocks to get to him... he imagined Dean looking rugged and masculine, covered in dirt and sweat, clenching that jaw and flexing those toned muscles. Then he would come up to the tower after slaying the dragon...
Dean gunned it up those stairs, feeling his stomach churn as everything went by in a blur. Why are there so many damn stairs? he thought to himself, but he kept going. Cas... he would be there with Cas in a few more moments...
He grinned triumphantly as he caught a glimpse of a wooden door at the top. Yes... finally! Almost there...
Cas imagined that the door would open slowly, revealing a chivalrous Dean, looking gorgeous and torn up and smiling his charming smile, then he would hold out a gentle hand.
Cas would take it, and they would kiss passionately, a kiss long awaited.
Their eyes would lock, and then their lips would connect, a soft, romantic gesture of their unremitting love for each other. Dean would gracefully sweep Cas off of his feet, and kiss him all over as he carried him out-
*BAM!*
The loud noise startled the Prince, and he jumped slightly as he looked over at the door.
"Oh," he muttered, "You can just use the hatch to send in the food," he deadpanned, assuming it was the stone knight. He rolled his eyes, reality snatching him back.
Just then, in one crashing swoop, the door broke down, wood splintering everywhere. "Son of a bitch!" a voice said, "Those stairs, man! No wonder no one makes it up here, god dammit!"
Cas cried out in alarm, scrambling up on his bed. He peered cautiously through the dust, and his eyes widened as he made out the figure. "Dean?!"
Dean looked up, a smile flickering over his face as his eyes met the Prince's. "Castiel," he murmured, the name ghosting over his lips.
After a second of nonsensical gaping, Cas compulsively rushed forward, throwing his arms around Dean and slamming their lips together. The kiss was a hot, sloppy, needy one, not at all what Cas had previously imagined as the 'soft, romantic gesture.' But he didn't care. This was better. This was real. This was… one hell of a true love's kiss.
They mumbled words, almost incomprehensible, to each other, as they planted kisses all over each other's lips. "Cas... oh, Cas... I missed you so much..." "Dean, I thought you forgot about me..." "How could I forget you, Cas? You changed my whole friggin' world..." "Oh, Dean, I love you..."
Dean looked at him, and smiled, cupping Cas' cheeks. In a second, the mood changed between them, and Dean deepened the kiss. He had forgotten just how horny he'd been, since he'd gone days upon days without getting any- like, any at all- and his cock emphasized this by giving an excited twitch.
Cas' pupils dilated a little, and hungrily continued to ravish Dean's mouth.
"Dean," Cas moaned quietly, trailing back toward the bed. "Cas... h-how many times did you touch yourself while thinking about me on this bed?" he asked softly, running his lips over Cas' neck. "Only once," the Prince recalled, "More than anything, after I had gotten off, and gotten the urge out of my system, it just hurt to think about you... to think that you weren't coming."
Dean looked at him. "I tried to come as fast as I could..." Cas stared back at him, giving the first true smile he had let out in days. "Would you like to do that again, Dean?"
When Dean realized what Cas was inferring, his eyelids drooped, his dick now straining against his pants. It made him so hard, being pressed down into the same sheets that Cas had once come all over.
"Please take me, Castiel," Dean mumbled, and Cas rolled over on the bed, shifting on top of the other man. Dean groaned, wanting this more than anything he had ever wanted. "Oh, fuck, Cas..." he muttered, grinding his hips up against Cas' own growing erection.
Suddenly, Castiel remembered something, drawing away a little to look at Dean. "You know... I thought... if you ever did remember me... I thought you would be angry that I lied to you."
Dean huffed. "I was. I was damn furious. Emmanuel," he said, rolling his eyes. Cas bit his lip. "-But after a long session of self-loathing and heated internal debate, my feelings won out. I knew you were my happily ever after... Prince Castiel, most handsome man in the kingdom," Dean said playfully, rolling his tongue.
Cas laughed, blushing. He hadn't seen Dean smile like that, ever. At the brothel, he had of course expressed a natural attraction to Cas, but his smile had been forced, as if burdened with other things. Now, it was free, and Dean looked blissfully... happy.
He grinned, and they kissed again, feeling the weight of each other's bodies pressed together again. The kiss began to progress, and Cas reached between Dean's legs to touch him again-
"DRAGON!"
The young men's heads shot up, surprised and disoriented. Dean frowned. "What?" "Wha... did you hear, what I just heard?" "Uh..."
"DRAAAAAGOOOOONNN!"