Chapter 11

Dean felt a warm body against him, he turned and found Cas snoozing by his side, one arm draped over Dean the other clutching a pillow. He looked at his watch, it was six in the morning. They had gotten back around mid-afternoon the previous day, after spending all night fighting Cain. He had been asleep for well over twelve hours but still felt utterly exhausted. Apparently, fighting Bible characters wasn't easy work.

Cas must've felt him stir because he snuggled into his side, hugging Dean close to him, as if he wasn't sure how many of these moments they had left.

"Morning," Dean grunted, sleepily, running his hands through Cas's beautifully disheveled bedhead. I will never get over how cute he looks in the morning, not even if I live to be a hundred, Dean thought, happily, leaning down to kiss his temple.

"Hey," Cas said, sitting up a little to look at Dean, his eyes overflowing with concern. "I was worried about you… How are you doing, Dean, really?" he asked, reaching up to softly cup his cheek.

"I don't know… Not good," Dean admitted, looking away but allowing Cas to put his arm around him. "Cain… he said that I'm going to kill you… and Sam. That it's my destiny, or something… I'm losing myself… I can feel it getting stronger," Dean said, tears slipping down his cheek.

Cas pulled Dean closer so that he was resting his head on the angel's chest. "Shh… Dean… We'll find a way. I promise you. I promise…" Cas said, rubbing his back in small soothing circles.

"But what if we can't? What if there isn't a way?" he sobbed. "Baby, I can't lose you! Not now… Not after all we've been through… I… I… just can't," Dean said between sobs. He had meant to tell the angel he loved him. But a thought crossed Dean's mind. A terrible thought. What if the Mark if making me fall in love as some sort of punishment, he thought, what if loving him is the reason I kill him?

Deep down, Dean knew that he'd loved Cas long before he had the Mark, but the thought was too awful to bear. So the words remained unspoken. Instead, he clutched Cas's shirt and cried. He cried harder than he had since returning from Hell. He would be embarrassed if it were anyone other than Cas. Cas understood. Cas had always understood.

Dean drifted off to sleep again, dreaming terrible dreams. Nightmares. The faces of those he had killed circling around in his mind. Cain's words following him like a dark mist. He couldn't escape. There was no escape.

When he awoke, Cas was no longer beside him. Dean panicked, worried that the past few months with Cas had been a dream, a terrible hallucination brought on by the Mark. But before Dean could cry out, Cas poked his head through the door carrying a tray of food.

"Dean! It's ok. I'm here... I'm not going anywhere," Cas said, rushing to his side. It was as if he could sense his panic. He placed the tray of food on the bedside table and put his arms around Dean so they were now spooning. He kissed the back of Dean's head, right below his ear, softly saying his name as he did so.

"Cas? Cas, is this real?" Dean asked, leaning into the embrace, "Are you real?"

Cas chuckled lightly, his face pressed against the back of Dean's neck. Dean could feel his breath as he talked, it sent shivers up and down his spine.

"Of course this is real," he said kissing his cheek and slowly turning him around so he was looking at the angel's blue eyes. "Nothing in all of creation has even been more real," Cas said, his voice quivering slightly.

Cas leaned in and kissed Dean's cheek, as if to wipe away his tears. His fingers soft and gentle on Dean's back.

"I brought you some breakfast, pancakes and bacon, if you're hungry," Cas said, his lips brushing against Dean's face. "Or you could sleep more, if you want. Whatever you need," he said, kissing the bridge of Dean's nose, and then moving to softly kiss his lips.

Dean kissed him back, softly at first but then the kiss turned desperate and rough. He pulled Cas close and rolled over so that Cas was lying on top of him, kissing along his jawline.

"I need you," was all he said, and began ripping the buttons of the angel's shirt in desperation. He pulled his trench coat and shirt off together, leaving the angel in only his tie and black slacks, and began kissing his neck, lightly tugging at the soft skin with his teeth. The angel let out a small hiss of pleasure and began pulling at the hem of Dean's shirt, coaxing him to remove his shirt and flannel in a single swift movement, tossing them uncaringly across the room.

Dean made his way down Cas's chest, kissing his skin as he did so, eliciting soft moans from the angel. He licked the sensitive skin around his nipple and Cas dug his fingers into Dean's bare back, scratching softly. Dean tugged Cas closer by his tie. God that's hot, he thought. Leaving the tie on was definitely a good idea.

"I need you," Dean repeated as he undid Cas's belt. He was more sure of himself this time as he helped Cas shrink out of his pants, throwing them and his boxers to the floor.

With desperate fingers, Cas began undoing Dean's pants as well, until both men were lying naked and pressed together, Cas still wearing the tie of course. Dean felt Cas's swollen cock rub against his own as he thrust against him. He reached for Cas's ass and squeezed tightly, pulling him closer to him.

"Cas, can I try something?" Dean asked, hopeful. Cas nodded and Dean slid his pinkie along Cas's crack, making him arch his back at the new sensation.

Dean took a deep breath, this was new for him too, but even so, he knew what to do. He traced his finger around his hole, causing the angel to gasp softly, and slipped his smallest finger in. Cas let out a small hiss.

"Am I hurting you?" Dean asked with concern.

"You cannot hurt me Dean. There's no need to be gentle," Cas huffed.

This excited Dean more than he was willing to admit so he slipped another finger in. Cas was surprisingly tight and warm as Dean began scissoring around, yet another finger sliding in.

"This is unnecessary," Cas groaned and pulled Dean's cock towards him, so that it was pressing against the tender flesh Dean was previously exploring, clutching Dean's arms as he entered him. He was positioned on top of Dean, riding his cock like a fucking angelic cowboy, making Dean lose his mind.

"Oh god, Cas! Oh god," was all Dean could say as he thrust into him.

Cas's cock was between them, bobbing up and down with each thrust. It looked lonely so Dean took it in his hands and began pumping up and down, trying to keep rhythm as he moved with the angel.

Cas shouted his name as he came white and hot onto Dean's chest. Dean quickly followed, his cock twitching as it shot into him, breathing hard.

Their breathing slowed. Dean still inside him, going soft but not caring. He looked up at his angel and saw him looking at him with the same long stare that always painted his face. In that moment he had a sudden realization. He now understood what the previously-undecipherable look meant. What it had always meant. Dean realized, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the look was love. It had always been love. His angel loved him back and he was so stupid for thinking otherwise.

Dean stared back at his angel but didn't say anything. Dean didn't confess his feelings very often. It wasn't something he took lightly and it certainly wasn't something he was going to say after sex. He wasn't about to pull that class-act move.

"Hey," Dean said, rolling over to rummage through his nightstand, "I want you to have this," he said pulling out the prop Samulet.

"Dean, I can't…"

"Sure you can!" he said, putting it around Cas's neck, on top of his tie, "One) it isn't the real amulet and B) even if it was I'd want you to have it… I was wearing it when we first met and this one came from that stupid musical so…" he explained pulling Cas in by the tie for a kiss.

"Well if you insist," Cas said with a smirk.

Dean kissed him again, he couldn't help himself. His angel was too cute not to. But then his stomach growled and he remembered the tray of food Cas had brought him.

"Coffee's probably cold," he said, reaching for the plate, and taking a bite of cool bacon. "Bacon's good though."

Cas stared at him as he ate, appearing to be deep in thought. At long last he spoke, "I need to take care of something. Will you be ok, here alone?" he asked, pulling on his clothes.

"Yeah, I guess," Dean said, a little confused. You don't own him , he thought, he has other shit in his life besides you.

"I'll be back later," Cas said, taking off his tie and leaning in to kiss Dean on the head.

"Wait," Dean said, stopping him. "No tie?"

"I can't very well wear two neck garnishments, can I?" he said, his fingers closing around the amulet, making Dean grin. "Eat your breakfast. Don't worry about me." And with that, Cas pulled on his coat and left the room, quietly closing the door behind him.

Castiel made his way to the map room where he found Sam on his laptop. Upon seeing him, Sam quickly closed it, looking slightly embarrassed. His embarrassment lessened a little when he noticed the samulet.

"You're wearing his necklace?" he asked, goofy smile plastering his face. "God you guys are so cute."

"Dean is having nightmares, Sam. He isn't… He's getting worse…" Cas stammered.

"Yeah… I know. We have to get rid of the Mark… We've got to talk to Metatron again, Cas, find out what else he knows," Sam said, with a sigh, not liking the idea much.

"If it's our only option…" Cas trailed off, absently playing with Dean's- no his amulet.

Cas and Sam made their way to the playground where the portal to Heaven was located.

"That's far enough, Castiel," the angelic guard said as the two men approached. "I have orders. You aren't allowed upstairs."

"On whose authority?" Cas asked, taking a step closer.

Just then, the door to Heaven opened and the guard's vessel went slack, blue light leaving his mouth. A second later, another blue light entered, and the new occupant turned to face the men.

"Hello, Castiel," he, or rather, she said.

"Hannah," Cas said.

"I swore I'd never occupy another vessel… but we need to have this conversation face-to-face," the other angel said, a sad look in her vessel's eyes.

"What conversation?" Cas asked, taking yet another step towards the sandbox entrance.

"What do you want in Heaven, Castiel?" Hannah asked, answering his question with yet another question.

"We're here for Metatron," Cas explained, his posture squared, not wanting to argue.

"Why? Is this about your grace? Are you fading further?" Hannah asked with concern.

"No. I'm fine. For now… This is about Dean," he said, lying about his grace.

"Your lover? Why? Do you think Metatron might have information about the Mark of Cain? Metatron lies, Castiel," Hannah said with pity in her voice.

"Hannah…"

"No, Castiel. We both know the only way Metatron will help you is if he is free… I can't let the scribe out of his cell. Not again. He's too dangerous. And you're just desperate enough to-"

"You turn me away? After all I've done for Heaven. After all I've done for you. Please, Hannah…" Cas begged.

"I'm sorry, Castiel."

"You should be!" Cas scowled, his voice venom, his eyes like icy daggers.

He swiftly turned and walked away, pulling Sam by his sleeve.

"What do we do now?!" Cas asked once back at the car. He kicked a tire out of frustration, his hands tight fists.

"Easy. Plan B. We break him out," Sam said, as if the idea weren't absolutely impossible.

"And how do you propose we do that?" Cas asked, desperate.

"We need to contact someone on the inside," Sam explained, taking out his phone and pulling up Google. " Ok, yeah. Look at this… So, back in the '50s, Oliver Pryce was a kid psychic. He performed everywhere. Carnivals, Atlantic City, you name it. He was the real deal. I guess, the Men of Letters were teaching him how to control his powers when they got . . . you know."

"Brutally slaughtered?"

"Um… The point is, he's one of the good guys. He might be able to help."

"Fine. Let's go find this Oliver Pryce…" Cas said, getting in the car.

Once the duo learned the whereabouts of the psychic, they decided to pay him a visit.

Sam knocked on his door. No answer. "Hello? Mr. Pryce? My name is Sam W-"

"Winchester. You're Sam Winchester, Man of Letters," Oliver Pryce said, opening the door.

"Yeah. H-how did you, uh…?" Sam stammered.

"Mind reader, remember? And you're…" The man paused. "What are you?" he asked, sensing something was off about the shorter man.

"My name is Castiel. I'm an angel of the Lord. We need your help to save my-"

"That's impossible!" the man said. "No, you can't be. I'm an atheist!"

"Yeah, don't care," Sam said, letting himself in.

"So you can read minds?" Cas said, stepping into the man's living room. "Then you know why we're here?"

"Yes… Well… not yours. All I'm getting from you is… colors. But the hippie over here? I'm seeing some creepy as fuck Hobbit looking fella… and a prison cell…?"

"Yes. His name is Metatron. That's Heaven's jail," Cas explained as he paced around the room.

"Wait? Like the Transformer…?" Oliver asked, taken aback. "And Heaven's got a freaking jail?"

"Metatron, not Megatron," Sam chuckled. "And yeah. Yeah it does. We're looking to break someone out of it."

"We have an inside man, but we need your help to talk to him."

"That ain't me anymore, Megan Fox, so I suggest you and Shia LaBeouf go back to where you came from and leave me the hell alone," said Oliver.

"I have no idea who those women are, but you're a mind reader so I'm guessing you know what'll happen if you don't comply," Cas said, his voice intimidating.

Pryce nodded and the men went down to the basement where a seance table was set up. They each took a chair around the crystal ball.

"You got anything that belonged to the deceased?" Pryce asked.

"Yeah," said Sam, pulling Bobby's hat out of his bag and placing it on the table.

"Good. Now shut up and hold hands," Pryce said as he began speaking Latin.

"Uh… Bobby, can you hear me?" Sam asked when the candles in the room went out. "Bobby… We need your help. It's Dean…" Sam said, his voice unsure.

"Sam? Sam is that you?" said a disembodied voice.

Sam sighed in relief. "Yeah, Bobby. It's me. Cas too."

"Sam… It's real good to hear your voice, son," said Bobby's voice.

"Bobby. It's Cas. Listen, we don't have much time. We need your help. It's important... It's Dean… he's not doing well, Bobby. He's cursed…" Cas stammered. "Each soul in Heaven is locked in its own private paradise. That's where you are now. You need to escape. You need to find the gate to Earth and open it. Then you and I will find Metatron, the Scribe of God. He's the only one who can help Dean. He can help us remove the curse."

"Ha… Hey, Sam? You remember when this job was just chopping up some fang and then tossing back a cold one?" Bobby laughed.

"Bobby, listen, the angels will not like a soul wandering free so you'll have to move fast. We've got no time to lose, not with Dean…" Cas said, trailing off.

"Hell, boys, I'm already dead. What's the worst that could happen?"

"Focus Bobby. You need to find your heaven's escape hatch. Look for something that shouldn't be there and that'll be your way out. Got it?" Cas asked, growing impatient.

"Just when I thought I was out they pull me back in…" Bobby muttered as the connection broke.

"You sure he can handle this?" Cas asked, dropping Sam's hand.

"He's Bobby. He can handle anything," Sam said with confidence. "Let's go back to the playground. We want to be there when the gates open."

Back at the playground, Sam created a diversion to distract the guards, punching one in the face, and Castiel ran and jumped into the sandbox gate, sliding in on the other side.

"Welcome to the party," said Bobby as he helped Cas to his feet. "Nice necklace."

"Uh, yeah. Dean gave it to me… We're kind of an 'item' now…" Cas said, looking down the hallway.

"Oh? I always kinda figured with that one…" Bobby said, following Cas. "Where is your significant other by the way?"

"Um… Well… Dean doesn't exactly know we're doing this," Cas said, turning another corner.

"Well, that's a page right out of the Winchester playbook, ain't it?" Bobby said, coming to a halt.

"You think I like lying to him?! He's getting worse by the day... I fear Dean has given up…"

"And you idjits haven't?" Bobby asked, annoyed.

"No. Never. Would you?"

"Hell, no. Let's get a move on, kid."

Bobby and Cas move quickly to break Metatron out of his cell and take him back to Earth, through the portal. On his way out, Bobby gave Cas a hug.

"Take care of him, son," was all he said, patting Cas on the back.

On the other side of the portal, Sam was leaning against Baby.

"Oh Sam-tastic!" the annoying man said, spotting Sam by the Impala. "Did you and Asstiel miss me? Where's Dean-o?"

"Not here," said Cas, shoving Metatron against the car. "This time, you're gonna be my punching bag."

Cas pulled out his angel blade, and held it up to the man's throat, slicing into the fragile skin. Metatron screamed as the angel extracted his grace, corking it up in a tiny bottle. He then healed the little man's throat, they wanted him alive, he had to remind himself. Even so, Sam shot him in the leg.

"We have your Grace, Metatron. You're mortal now." Cas growled. "So you will answer our questions, or Sam will, um . . . What's the phrase? Blow your fucking brains out. It's called leverage, Metatron. Ever hear of it? Now… how do we get rid of the Mark?"

"I told you already… I don't know, " Metatron said, his voice mocking. Sam aimed the gun at his head. "I don't know! I really don't. It's old magic. God-level magic! It's beyond my knowledge!"

"No! You said 'the river ends at the source!' What does that mean?" Cas shouted, grabbing the man by the shirt collar.

"I-I was just making crap up! Trying to buy time till I could screw you over! It worked before…"

Cas dropped the man and turned to Sam. "He's telling the truth… Shoot him."

Sam aimed the gun at Metatron's head, causing the man to cry out in terror.

"No! No! Your grace! I wasn't lying when I said there was still some left. I'll take you to it. Just, please, don't shoot!"

"Take me to it. And you better not be lying," Cas scowled as he shoved Metatron into the back of the impala.

For Dean, he reminded himself, he was doing this for Dean.

End of chapter 11