A/N - all right, my babies, this is the last "proper" chapter, with the epilogue coming next. I have to admit, the epilogue is the chapter that I had the most FUN writing, so I hope you like it. Seeing as how this is the end of the actual plot line (the epilogue is a wrap-up that made me smile), I will still post the epilogue tomorrow (Monday).

Enjoy,
~~ ** Lady Tuesday ** ~~


Chapter Twelve – La Not-So-Petite Mort

He might possibly be dead. Although… breathing. So not dead. But nothing seems to work just yet. He can't see? Oh. Eyes not open. Colossal effort, though, pulling his eyelids back, but worth it, because Cas hovers over him with a happy, strangely relieved expression. He tries to smile but his face feels too tired right now so he just looks back up at Cas and blinks. He's got pretty eyes. Nice face, too. Poor Jimmy, it was his face first. Could definitely get down with riding that face in, like, forty or fifty years when he can move again. Hrmm, though. Misuse of Jimmy's face? Not like the guy could protest. Can you send a thank you fruit basket to Heaven for great sex? Whenever Dean does die and, presumably, makes it back to Heaven, he'll have to thank the guy. Although, how would that conversation go? Thanks for loaning my bestie your body. Yeah, we fucked like beasts and it was awesome, so we put it to good use. You know, after that whole Death by Angel-splosion to Save the World thing. Sorry your body is banging dudes without your consent, but hey! At least you weren't in there at the time. But Cas says it feels great, so …. Nice work on the man-scaping by the way. My asshole appreciates the lack of rug burn. Anyway, thanks. It seems a little … callous.

Of course, Dean's not a proper gauge of good sex manners apparently. I mean, he just had pushy, slightly angry sex with his favorite person in the world – aside from Sam, obviously – and judging from the state of the room around him, it may have been a bit earth-shattering. Also, Dean has at one point banged what was essentially Cas's sister. So yeah, maybe Dean's not an authority on the Emily Post of sex.

Cas is talking to him. Should probably focus on that. Can't seem to. Maybe Dean had something right when he thought that having sex with Cas might actually do him some harm. Shit, Cas is starting to look worried. Better do something. Dean reaches up – hurray! Motor skills are working again! – and runs a finger around Cas's bottom lip. He smiles because he wants to kiss that lip, but he doesn't really have the energy to move. Cas breathes a shaky sigh of relief, so Dean must look better than when he came around a minute ago.

The brain-cell frying theory might hold some water, though, because the first thing Dean manages to say is, "Do you care that I had sex with your sister all those years ago?"

Bless him, Cas only looks mildly startled at the question.

"Should I?"

"I was kinda hoping not," Dean answers, and notices how rough his voice sounds. "But I figured I should ask."

Cas's brow wrinkles and he lays two fingers to Dean's temple. "Are you delirious in some way I'm unable to detect?"

Dean manages an unsteady chuckle. "Not that I know of; why?"

A thick frown. "Because you were out so long I started to be genuinely worried, and then when you do wake, you ask about a sexual experience with Anna from eight years ago. It is a non-sequitur to say the least."

"You worry too much," Dean says, smiling. "I just needed some time to reboot after a face-melting orgasm. You should take it as a compliment."

"Dean, you were completely unresponsive for nine minutes. I believe my worry was justified."

Dean rockets up, and immediately regrets it because damn his muscles feel stiff. "Nine minutes?!"

Cas nods, his brow still pinched with concern.

"Damn," Dean replies, baffled. "Felt like about nine seconds. Okay, some of that was a really insanely wandering inner monologue, but it was all about how awesome the sex was, so again, compliment."

Cas smiles a bit, but lays a hand against Dean's cheek; his palm feels cool against Dean's heated skin.

"Are you sure you're all right? I did try healing you already, just in case there was something actually wrong, but you seemed fine. Just … unresponsive."

"I'm fine. Promise."

Dean lays back down and scoots up the bed so he can lay against the pillows. They're scratchy, but they'll do. He yanks on Cas's wrist until Cas joins him, pulling the angel into his side until he feels Cas's head rest on the pocket of his shoulder.

"Okay, so … what the hell happened? All I remember is that you put your hand on my shoulder and when you came, it felt like I was freaking electrocuted."

At that, Cas turns his face into Dean's arm, weirdly sheepish, and clears his throat before speaking.

"I never properly explained to you … When I brought you out of Hell, Dean, it was after a great deal of battle—"

"Yeah, 'vanquished countless scores of minions of Hell in order to liberate me'," Dean says gruffly. "So I heard."

"Yes, but … Dean, the print on your shoulder wasn't a result of the battle with the creatures of Hell."

Something in Cas's voice pricks Dean's attention so he leans up on an elbow to look down at him. Dean gives him a silent expression to go ahead.

"You fought me, Dean. You wanted to stay."

Dean is speechless. Honest-to-Chuck, struck dumb.

"In order to subdue you, I cradled you to my chest," Cas demonstrates by flipping Dean away from him, wrapping his right arm across Dean's chest, and clutching at his left shoulder, "and pulled you up with me. As a result, I had to use some of my Grace to … bind you to me, I suppose you would say."

"Bind?!" And okay, that sounds way more harsh and panicky than Dean means it to, but after quasi-bondage sex and sort-of declarations of love, it sounds a little too rape-y right now.

Cas turns Dean back over to look him in the face. "Not in the manner of a compulsion, Dean, just…." He trails off, searching for words, then regroups. "You had spent so long under torment and your soul was so ravaged and warped by torture, that you were half-mad with grief and anger. I imprinted your skin with my Grace so that you would feel its goodness, recognize me as an ally. So you would know that I was there to bring you into the light."

"Jesus, Cas," Dean says, because it's all he can think of to say.

Cas reaches out a hand towards Dean's face and he's so tentative as he stretches out his fingers, as if afraid that Dean will shy away, that Dean feels a tear trickle down his cheek. Cas thumbs it away and leaves his hand there; Dean leans into the touch.

"I can't be sure, but I believe that even with my print on you gone, some of my Grace still lingers in your skin. A sexual climax has the potential to be a very potent thing under normal circumstances, but with what passes between us—"

"Profound bond and all," Dean smirks.

"Mmm," Cas agrees, "a connection of that nature then added upon by the linking of my Grace with that which still lives in your skin? It's a powerful thing. A very powerful thing." Cas lets the hand on Dean's face slide down his arm to wrap around his back. "Although I am sorry that it seemed to affect you in such an unfortunate way. I was very concerned about you."

" 'M good now," he says and leans his forehead in towards Cas. The angel presses a kiss to it before leaning his own against Dean's.

"So yeah," Dean says after a long moment of quiet. "That, uh … that was pretty spectacular."

"Yes, it was," Cas confirms and seems content to leave it at that.

Dean bites his lip for a second before thinking fuck it and saying, "Cas, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

Dean clears his throat. "Where the hell did you learn that stuff?"

Cas leans back and quirks an eyebrow at him. "What 'stuff'?"

"Well, I know you said you'd never given a blow job, but you clearly had a good idea of what to do and … uh … the other thing …."

He doesn't want to be shy talking about this because Cas just had his tongue up Dean's ass a bit ago, but he can't seem to make himself say it. Cas and his lack of social graces to the rescue.

"Oh," Cas says, realizing Dean's meaning. "The—"

Please don't say the clinical term, Dean thinks, please Chuck don't say 'analingus'.

Dean didn't intend to actually pray but Cas must hear him because he grins a little and says, "Rim job?"

"Yeah, that," Dean mumbles, red in the face.

Weirdly, Cas blushes too, sheepishly turning his face back in towards Dean's shoulder. "I may have spent some of my free time over the last few weeks watching more movies." When Dean makes a noise of confusion, Cas clarifies, "Of the Pizza Man variety. You inspired me to … research."

A helpless laugh bursts out of Dean's mouth. "You spent weeks 'researching' gay porn to learn how to lick someone's ass?"

Cas gazes at him with a strangely serious expression. "Not someone's, Dean; yours. And it wasn't just that; I wanted to make sure that when we did have sex, I could please you. So I researched various techniques on how to achieve—"

"Okay, awkward. But hot," Dean concedes. "Which is you in a nutshell, I guess."

Cas huffs but smiles as he settles back down onto Dean's shoulder. They're both quiet for a long time and it feels … comfortable.

Eventually, though, Cas speaks again. "No regrets?"

"Of course not," Dean answers instantly. Something pops into his head that causes him to laugh, though.

"What?" Cas asks, scooting back to look him in the eye.

"Don't get me wrong, Cas, the whole Scowly, Smitey, Respect My Angelic Hotness thing definitely worked for me, and," Dean colors in the cheeks, "I liked having you fuck me more than I thought I would – like, way more – but … I mean, some of those fantasies, particularly the one in the car … I would really, really love it if some of those could happen. So, uh, you are going to let me fuck you some time, right?"

Cas gives him a lopsided smirk. "Yes, Dean. But not today."

Dean tries not to look put out and fails.

Cas's face takes on Smitey Bitchface again. "Even if you did acquiesce to my position on control and dominance, I'm not particularly convinced that you learned your lesson about patience." Cas waits a beat, his face never even twitching, before he adds, "Besides, I never did get to carry out my threat to push you to your knees and thrust between those very enticing lips of yours."

Yeah, the blushing, it gets so much worse. Damn, who knew Cas of all people would take to sexy talk so easily? "Well, hell, I won't be able to get it up for at least another fifteen or twenty minutes anyway. I've never done it before but I could certainly, uh, give it a try while we wait for me to recover."

Cas props up on an elbow. "Recover?"

"Yeah, you probably didn't have sex enough as a human to discover that disappointing detail." Dean grumbles as he continues. "In my teens and twenties, my refractory period was like ten minutes tops; now I have to wait a good twenty minutes before Little Dean gets with the fucking program. Sometimes half an hour. Fucking middle age."

Cas uses his free hand to tap two fingers to Dean's forehead. "And thus, you are recovered," he says with a small smirk.

Dean shoots up next to Cas and does a quick self-evaluation. Cas trails a light skim of fingers from Dean's thigh, around the curve of his ass, over his hip bone and heading towards his cock which, wonder of wonders, gives an interested twitch. Cas leans forward and takes Dean's bottom lip between his teeth momentarily and now Little Dean is way more than interested.

"Cas, did you mojo away my Refractory period?!"

"Not indefinitely, but for the next few hours or so."

Dean's eyebrows practically hit his hairline. "So for the next few hours, I could just keep going and going and going—"

"And coming and coming and coming," Cas confirms with a chuckle.

"Hot damn," Dean says, and then pounces forward, pushing Cas onto his back and pinning him to the mattress. "You are," he says, planting kisses that trail from the angel's jaw down his chest, "without doubt," tonguing over his nipples earns Dean a heavy inhalation, "the best thing," a bite to his middle has Cas's stomach muscles bunching, "to ever happen to my sex life."

Dean smooths out his tongue over Cas's 'happy trail' and sucks hard. The angel groans and curls up off the mattress again, but spread his legs to allow Dean to lie down between them.

"Well, so long as you're aware," Cas says in a gasping voice as Dean takes Cas's length into his mouth.


A/N - Obviously this has gone AU now that season 12 is in progress, but I feel like it still fits into what season 12 COULD have started out. That being said, once I start on the next 5+1 that will make up the first of the two sequels, it will be full AU. I haven't decided whether I want to bother dealing with Mary yet ... so tune in to find out. The 5+1 is already outlined, so hopefully won't take TOO long to get it up and running.