AN: I know that I promised kissing in this chapter, but at some point I also noticed that this chapter had breached 30pages. I was slightly intimidated and disappointed in my apparent lack of a proper stopping point or sense of pacing. I can't bring myself to send out a chapter that long. Aint nobody got time for that.
So, I ended up breaking the monster chapter into 3 easier to digest, more reasonably sized chapters. As such, you will have to wait until chapter 15 for the smoochies. But they are there, I promise. I know that's why you're here anyways, right?
soon.
When Dean woke the light of the sun had fallen from the western sky and Sam's dark shadow loomed over him. Neither were singularly unique events. Dean had seen thousands of nights and Dean could have identified his brother's silhouette in a lineup- any day or night, piss drunk or stone cold sober. He had mapped the plains of Sam's body since youth in the way that only a possessive and obsessive older brother could. And maybe that was a little strange in itself, but it didn't hold a candle to the fact that as the wheels in Dean's mind got slowly turning he realized that it was Sam standing over his bed- now-tonight- here- in Montana- with Cas curled around him, his dark hair tickling under Dean's very wide eyes.
"Dean?" And Sam's voice had a very specific lit to it- a thread of panic that meant this was not the first time he had invoked that name and Dean got the distinct impression that Sam had been trying to wake him for some time now.
"Sammy?" Dean tried to detach the sleeping Angel from his side, but at some point Dean had become as good at bedbound escapes as a teddy bear and there was no hope in hiding the fact that they were indeed, very actually… cuddling. Cas' arm tightened slightly and his breath grew warmer as he rutted his face deeper into the crook of Dean's neck and shoulder.
"Dude." And his voice wasn't too slurred with sleep, so at least he had that still going for him. "What're you doin' here?"
"You called me- said there was a problem…" Sam sank to the unoccupied bed; his brows knitted tight, casting dark shadows over his eyes in the wan glow from the little overhead light that he must have flicked on when he entered the room. "I've been trying to get hold of you for two days."
Dean twisted as much as he was allowed while in the angelic death grip, and groaned. The little bedside clock's cheery red numbers said that it couldn't have been more than eight hours since he left a message on Sam's voicemail.
"Calm your tits. I called you just after lunch." His stomach rumbled at the mention of the missed meal. "How'd you get out here so fast? You take a plane or something?" His mouth was working slowly as his brain struggled in vain to catch up. Naps had a way of messing up anyone's sleep schedule, but Dean (never having anything closely resembling a circadian rhythm) had never worried much about it. Even still, he couldn't remember the last time he felt this bone tired.
"You called me on Sunday, Dean." There was a bit of hysteria laced into those words, like he wasn't sure if he wanted to yell or laugh about it. "It's Tuesday." Sam winced, like having to say such a thing was equivalent to a sharp slap across the face. "Gabe and I- I spent all day yesterday and today looking for you guys. Kaleb's house had been burned down and there were remains… I thought- God damn it, Dean. I didn't know what I thought." He ran those big hands of his through his hair and just breathed.
Dean made a second attempt to escape the viselike grip and all it got him was a grumble and a light prickle of stubble, followed by teeth, grazing the thin skin over his carotid artery – which in turn made his ears grow hot in an awkward wave of embarrassment that he knew would not lost on Sam, but luckily, he was too upset right now to point out that his big brother was blushing.
"Fuck." Sam, who did not usually swear except for special occasions, let out a terse oath and pressed the heel of one hand to his temple. "You just about gave me a heart attack and here you are fu-" he caught his breath and tried again. "There's not a scratch on you and you're just sleeping here with Castiel."
"Hey," Dean barked surprisingly loud in the little room. "We're not sleeping together."
Sam just gave that bitch face he did so well and gestured at the two men twined together on the bed.
"Sam- we're just sleeping together- not sleeping together."
"What?" Sam was making faces, eyebrows low and nose wrinkled slightly.
"Never mind." Dean finally managed to free himself enough to sit up, unceremoniously dropping Cas from his chest with a cheerful squeak of bedsprings. Dean wasn't exactly hiding anything, he would tell Sam about whatever was going on- whatever there was between himself and the Angel- just as soon as Dean knew what that thing was exactly. But as of right now all of what they had consisted of a few messy kisses and a two gallon bucket filled with about three gallons worth of tumultuous feelings that begged to not be defined.
It was around then that Dean realized he had never bothered to put on a shirt after his shower- or boots for that matter, but he was, none the less, looking at his muddy steel toed boots half hanging from his feet with their laces loose and tangled, and his jacket unzipped over the vigilant black marker lines that danced over his chest. His thumbnail clicked anxiously against his ring he bit the inside of his cheek.
"It's Tuesday?" He asked slowly.
"Yes, Dean." And Sam sagged like a puppet with his strings cut. "What the hell happened?"
"I-I don't know."
"Hello, Samuel." Cas sounded like he had been gargling with broken glass and he struggled to sit up behind Dean.
"It's just Sam." Sam replied with a tense expression- like somehow that was important right now. "Are you two alright?"
"I cannot speak for Dean, but I feel better… Sam." The Angel said carefully, tasting the name and nodding when he seemed to find it to his liking. How he could sit there being cordial was beyond Dean's understanding right then.
"Better? I don't feel better. What the hell do you mean it's Tuesday?"
"What happened out here?" Sam was all hunched and worried, his shoulders smooth and arched as he leaned closer to the two men pressed together on the very small bed.
Dean was sending accusatory glares at the boots that he knew he had not put on himself. "I don't know. I went to Kaleb's- found him dead and did a salt n' burn just to make sure he stayed down." He rubbed the inside of a wrist over his mouth. "Got his journals from his daughter, picked Cas up from church and we decided to rest a bit before making the drive back to Bobby's… and it was Sunday." He added firmly, because that honestly seemed the most important point to make in all this.
"You seem to have forgotten about the time when I thought you were possessed by an Archangel and I tried to save you." Cas said so simply that it actually made Dean laugh, earning him a strange look and the Angel continued in a strained, yet unfathomably patient voice. "The exorcism was more than I should have attempted in my current state."
Sam just looked between the two of them like they were spewing drunken confessions and not a word of it made a lick of sense. Dean just shrugged, trying not to be phased by the realization that Cas hadn't just thought he was 'normal' possessed (which was what Dean had assumed from the righteous outburst on Sunday), but instead Cas had suspected something far more exciting. Possessed by demons and upsetting your pet Angel was one thing, but possessed by an Archangel? Well, John hadn't exactly spent a lot of time teaching his sons to deal with that sort of contingency.
Dean honestly had no idea if the anti-possession design tattooed into his flesh would protect against anything other than demons and that made fear clench like a fist, low in his stomach. He wanted to reach behind him and grab hold of Cas, to find something solid in his suddenly tipping world, but that ever present pride kept his hands restlessly fidgeting against his own legs.
It was in the midst of that prickly quiet that Gabriel let himself into the already crowded little motel room. "Here you all are. Gee, Samsquatch you could have told me they were still alive and-" his smile faltered, withering on the edges like he tasted something bitter. "And I wouldn't have hurried over so fast." He was watching Dean in an unsettling way, his eyes tight and angry, but he looked to be struggling to try and keep up a neutral smile. "I guess it's a good thing that I did."
"Oh, come on. Not you too." Dean rolled his eyes, recognizing the look for what it was. Cas had given the very same one to Dean in the church yard and it was roughly the equivalent of pointing and dramatically saying You. "I showered- I smell awesome."
"What?" Sam laughed out uncomfortably at the same time as Cas said in his wrecked voice "It's not what it looks like, Gabriel."
The littlest Angel laughed but it was almost completely devoid of any measure of humor. "Oh, boy. I'd love to hear you try and explain this one." His long fingered hands were clenched at his sides and Dean recognized that look too- the little man readying himself for a fight. "I leave you guys alone for three days and you let your big brother in to wear your boyfriend's meat suit. What happened, Cassy? Did he just ask you really nice to take Dean out for a test drive?"
Castiel made a sharp sound behind Dean's back. "He didn't ask me. I'm not even sure where Dean ran into him. I attended mass and when Dean got back he-"
"When he got back?" Gabriel half spun in a little circle, arms wide and graceless. "Sweet baby J. You had one job, Cassy."
"I can't be everywhere at once. And even if I had been with Dean when it happened there is very little I could have done." Castiel was restless against Dean's back, spitting out his words, the tension radiating off of him in a very tangible way and the hunter had just about enough of whatever the hell this was. "But he's clean. I preformed the exorcism myself, and it was a waste of Grace. There was no one to cast out."
"Oh, well- why didn't you say so?" Gabe planted himself down beside Sam recklessly. "Cassy did the exorcism himself, Sam. So it's fine now." He was wearing a bitch-face of his own and maybe was laying the sarcasm on a little thicker than was necessary.
"He is fine now." Cas was a wall of heat against Dean's back, pressing closer until the little jolting moment when they actually brushed against each other and neither shied away from the contact. "Whatever they needed Dean for has passed."
"Time out just a damn second." Dean made a big T with his hands, holding them up so everyone could see. "I was never possessed. Let's just get that straight."
Gabriel turned his attention back to Dean, his nostrils flaring slightly. "You get away from my Cassy. I don't know who's in there, but I'll crack your skull just the same."
"Gabe?" Sam was getting up off the bed, looking at his older brother apprehensively, suddenly unsure of the man he had known since birth.
Currently possessed, or formally- those were the cards on the table at this point. No one seemed interested in Dean's assurance that he hadn't even so much high-fived an Archangel in the past few days. Apparently he reeked of the sucker, and who was Dean to argue? It was a question that sort of answered itself.
"Fucking- fuck." Dean struggled off his own bed, feeling only distantly related to his extremities, mistrusting his feet and hands. He felt strangely numb, the few days worth of sleep had settled into his bones, making him movements sluggish and imprecise. "I'm me! I don't know what your magical Angel noses keep sniffing- but sniff off."
Gabriel squared his narrow shoulders, standing in that small space between the beds, his head barely high enough to look Dean in the eyes. "I know you, we grew up together. Do you really think you can just hide out in there?" His cocky little smirk flickered to life. "You may talk like a Winchester- but I'll bet you won't bleed like one."
And that's about when Sam's unnaturally long arms came down around his very small boyfriend and pulled him away, enveloping him in a very secure hold. "No."
"Sammy," Gabriel started in an even tone, like explaining something to a child. "My big brother is wearing your brother like a prom dress and you're just gunna'-"
"That's Dean." Sam's voice had gone hard, acidic and so very certain.
"You can't know that." Gabe insisted.
Sam's lip curled up, a junkyard dog look that fit oddly on his face. "I know my brother."
And maybe that wasn't wholly true. Couldn't be as true as Sam made it sound. How well can you really know someone? Even your own brother could be a stranger in the right situation.
Dean remembered when Meg had possessed Sam for a few days and somehow not a single alarm bell had gone off to warn him. And Dean knew Sam- knew him almost better than he knew himself.
Could he be possessed?
He sure as hell didn't feel possessed.
His thoughts were his own- his anger was a rational and very familiar sensation. He was just Dean Winchester. He didn't have anyone hiding inside of him. That really seemed like the kind of thing that couldn't slip by unnoticed for any length of time.
And in the face of all those coherent arguments, despite his rational line of thought, there did remain the problem of his boots, jacket and two missing days…
But Cas had plastered him to a car outside the church and exorcised him right and proper. No hidden Archangel had come spilling out. No one had bristled or even stirred at those commanding words.
No.
Dean shook himself.
This whole thing was just fucking stupid.
He held his arms out in a mock surrender, leaning towards Gabriel, his open jacket rustling against his bare sides. "I know I'm me. Do whatever you need to, shortstack."
"Dean?" Sam frowned, obviously not liking that offer.
"Let go of him and let's settle this so we can all move on with our damn lives." The confidence in his words was all a front. It was all bravado and smarm, Dean was actually not at all sure about this- but hey, when had that ever stopped him?
"Don't hurt him." Sam whispered as he let go of his boyfriend's shoulders and took a step back.
It injured something very important in Dean to see his baby brother's hand flick behind his back, where Dean knew there must be a gun. Apparently Sammy wasn't quite sure about this anymore, and that hit a little below the belt.
Gabe was all loose smiles and a bit of a swagger to his step as he closed the distance. "Just relax, Deano, it'll make it easier."
"Get on with it, you feathery little freak."
"Oh, I really hope it's you in there." He said through gritted teeth, almost conversationally, and really? Dean didn't know if it was directed at him or not.
The Angel's hands were warm on Dean's face, a little rough and smelling of maple syrup and blackberry jam. Gabriel hissed softly, "my, my- but you have been a busy boy." He dug his digits into Dean's hair, trapping him in place. "I knew you would be coming around eventually, Michael. I can smell you on him like too much AXE body spray- but Anduriel too? Talk about poisoning the waterhole." He was whispering, just a soft stream of words meant only for the two of them.
He pulled Dean closer and for a frightful second, the hunter was horrified that he was about to be kissed. But, the Angel stopped short and almost sang that short and beautiful exorcism, his breath ghosting over Dean's jaw and neck. It had been far more intimidating when Cas had been the one holding him in place- growling out the words, something very akin to rage on his pale face. It had also been far preferable than being manhandled by Gabe. Dean was sure he would come away from this with sticky, syrupy fingerprints all over his face and in his hair.
Nothing new happened, though everyone was on pins and needles as if they were expecting something cataclysmic. Gabriel finished, holding his breath and looking very seriously into Dean's eyes from far too close.
"That's enough." Cas pushed them apart, shoving his older brother back and away from Dean. "I told you, there is no one to cast out."
Gabriel was remarkably quiet for a spell, taking in the fact that Cas was now standing between them, rumpled and defensive, challenging with his very presence.
"You're right."Gabriel yielded suddenly, and that damnable smirk came back in full force. "Silly me- jumping to conclusions like that." A grin flashed- all teeth and no truth. "We're good, right Deano? Still best palls?"
Dean would have answered, he had a sharp remark on the tip of his tongue, but Cas turned to him, worry painted plainly over his face. His hands came up, running over Dean's cheeks, down the sides of his neck, then chest, ghosting over his stomach and then back up to run through the dance once more. "Are you alright?"
Cas was checking for damage- Dean was almost sure that was what Cas was doing. But as a thumb ran along his lower lip, far too slow and too intimate than the situation warranted, he started to feel doubt. Not doubt in the normal way that people felt such things. It manifested in more of a heart racing, pants are a too tight, sort of way. He batted those worried hands away.
"I'm fine." Which was a lie, but not for the normal reasons.
Sam was watching him oddly, a little confused twist to the corners of his mouth, like he was stuck on a particularly difficult problem but was still enjoying himself.
"You don't smell fine." Gabriel stage whispered like it was some kind of joke. He looked a bit pale, eyes a little dark, his hands belaying the finest tremor. He was hiding it well, but what he had just done to Dean had cost more than a little oomph.
"Seriously, I can go to the store and get some bleach if you think it'll help- but I don't smell a damn thing."
"Lucky." He tossed himself back onto one of the beds, pulling a bag of skittles from a pocket and tearing the package open with his teeth, pouring a colorful waterfall of candy into his mouth.
"Don't you two need to get back home?" He looked at Sam a little helplessly. "Don't you have work or something?"
"Dean, you sort of lost a few days in there, doesn't that worry you?" Sam sounded as immovable as he looked, a monolith of worry in the center of the room.
"Not as much as it should, I mean, come on. I've lost plenty of days before, Sammy." He tried to joke, to lighten the tight feeling in his chest. It honestly freaked him out on a fairly exclusive level that he had been previously unacquainted with, but there was no way that he was going to let it show. "Remember that time we hopped the border and spent like a week in Tijuana?" He grinned, because it was expected of him. "Because I sure don't, not more than bits and pieces at least."
"This is a bit different than going off on a bender for a few days," said Sam Winchester- the voice of reason.
"Well, I'll figure it out." He went over to his duffle, pulling out a shirt and swapping it for the jacket. He started to dig for Kaleb's journals, sure that he had left them on the top of the pile, and knowing that if he could give Sam something else to focus on that he could get the man off his back long enough to think.
But there wasn't much more than a sawed off shotgun, toothbrush and change of clothes in the old canvas bag. With a frown he just dumped it out on the floor, the few contents falling with an apologetic noise onto the carpet. He sat back on his heels and just looked blankly at the mess he had made.
"Sammy, how'd you find me here?"
"Recognized the car Bobby leant you." He was watching Dean carefully. "I told the guy at the front desk that you were passing through on your way to a family reunion in Columbus and that I was your cousin, recognized your car and wanted to surprise you. He told me which room you were in, said you'd paid for a week and hadn't been out more than once or twice since you checked in." He took a step closer. "What are you looking for, Dean?"
"He didn't mention me having any visitors or anything?" Dean was biting at the inside of his lip hard enough that he tasted blood. He had only paid for one night; he knew he had only paid for one night, not one week and he was sure he hadn't left only 'once or twice'.
"No, he didn't mention any visitors. Dean, what-"
"The journals are gone."
"Journals?" Sam said the word like it was new to him and took a little step back as Dean stood.
"The ones you sent me out here for. Kaleb's journals, the ones his daughter gave me. I put them in my bag and they're gone." He ran a hand through his hair and was almost positive he felt a little stickiness that he would be blaming wholly on Gabriel. "Son of a bitch. Stay here a second." He left the room, tromping around to the check-in office, his shoelaces slapping wetly through the mud that had accumulated in the gravel parking lot. Apparently it had rained in those days that had been stolen from Dean.
He pulled open the door with its leaded glass window and paused when he saw Cas hurrying after him, hair a mess and clothes wrinkled.
"I told you to say in the room."
"I assumed you were speaking to Sam." Cas hesitated, hand on the doorframe very close to Dean's shoulder.
Dean just rolled his eyes, not wanting to argue about it right now. He turned and smiled brightly at the willowy thin man behind the counter, the same that had been there the afternoon he had checked in.
"Hey."
"Good morning." He smiled at Dean in a nondescript way, just pleasant and bland. "Your cousin find you alright?"
"Oh, yeah. It was great to see him- but a bit of a surprise." He leaned on the counter, all friendly smiles. "I haven't been to one of these family things in a few years, the kid was maybe five foot tall last time I saw him. Almost didn't recognize him." And they both chuckled, because Sam's height was enough to surprise most people.
"I drove out from Washington," and he really hoped this lie didn't contradict whatever story Sam had told the man. "Long drive and we've been dead tired." He nodded to Cas who was still standing in the doorway looking a bit lost, and had no idea how the pre-established lies tied in the other man, so he left it ambiguous. "I think we've been out cold since Sunday." And he laughed again. "Almost slept though gigantor knocking on the door. Got me wondering if anyone else recognized my car and stopped by to say hi and I just managed to sleep through it."
The man just looked at Dean steadily. "Nope." He was doing his best to keep up that customer service smile, but it was obvious that he thought the man leaning on his counter was a few tacos short of a Happy Meal. "No one else's been asking about you… Should I be expecting anyone?"
"God, I hope not. My family's a bit strange- there's reasons I don't go more often than every few years." He grinned again. "Thanks, man." Dean turned and left, tugging Cas after him.
"What was that about Dean?" Cas whispered conspiratorially once they were back outside.
Dean took a sharp breath through his nose. "The guy at the desk told Sam I'd only left a few times since checking in."
"I don't understand the significance."
"I didn't leave."
"Then the man was mistaken." Cas said simply with a nod, as if this was beyond obvious.
"He also said no one's been in."
"I fail to see where this line of reasoning is taking us."
"Where the hell did the journals go, Cas?"
The Angel looked at him with a small frown. "I don't have a satisfactory answer to that."
"Yeah, neither do I."
They all went to a little diner for lunch and Sam paid, mostly because Dean insisted on both accounts. Honestly, he would rather see Sam leave, go back to the safety of his quiet life teaching snot nosed kids, but something bad was happening and Dean was willing to admit that he was definitely in over his head. It was times like these that you took whatever help you could get. Even if said help came in the form of an overly worried younger brother and a sugar coated Angel who didn't know when to shut his yap.
Everyone ordered from the little one-sided menus. Sam got a salad, Gabriel ordered two milkshakes (seriously though, who eats two milkshakes for lunch?), and Cas got a burger with a side of fries. Dean ordered some biscuits and gravy, pancakes, bacon and a side of ribs, much to the amusement of the waitress.
"You sure you don't want some pie to go with that, hon?" She asked, tucking a stray bit of hair behind an ear and smiling in a knowing way.
"There's pie?" He looked up from his laminated menu with a grin that he didn't have to force.
"You know there is." She laughed softly. "You ate almost half'a one yesterday." She clicked her pen and collected the menus from everyone else. "I'll bring you a slice of apple." As she walked back to the kitchen Dean felt the uncomfortable weight of both his brother's and Gabriel's gaze.
"You were here yesterday?" Sam leaned forward whispering like it was some kind of secret that they dare not share with the booth behind them.
"Dude, I've never been in here before."
"She recognized you."
"It must have been some other devilishly handsome bastard. I've just got one of those faces." He played with the salt shaker.
"Or you were possessed." Gabriel pulled out two little pink packets of sugar and ripped them open, spilling them into the palm of one hand. "Possessed men love pie."
"That remains an unverifiable assumption." Cas said with a frown. "There is no way to tell if they prefer pie over any other type of pastry."
Dean sat back, looking between his tablemates and was forced to wonder at what point his life had taken such a strange turn. He watched quietly while the Angels argued, Gabriel licking sugar from his cupped hand between sentences, Cas leaning forward with that overly intense expression that he wore so well and Sam- poor Sam was just trying to make eye contact with Dean, to say something without words. Dean met his gaze just long enough to see the agitation, that 'we really need to talk about this' look on his face.
So Dean grinned and started playing with his straw wrapper. His phone buzzed against his leg and he frowned and pulled it out. It read '1 new text from Sam' and Dean looked up at his brother in disbelief. Were they really going to do this, like little kids passing notes? Sam still had that vaguely pleading look on his face, so Dean sighed softly and flipped open his phone.
-are you sure you dont remember anything?
Dean kept his phone on his lap, tucked under the edge of the table, but it was an unnecessary precaution, and the Angels were too busy bickering to notice what he was doing.
-told u. called u an went to sleep. woke up when u got here
Sam glanced down at his hand and phone hidden beneath the table and came the furious little clicks of him texting back.
-could you have been possessed?
And that was the real question, the one that Sam had not been willing to ask out loud. Dean bore his teeth for a moment and glanced back across the table, giving his brother a shrug and a look that held just an ounce of the sea of worry and doubt that had been building in Dean.
Sam knew him well enough to translate and he sighed softly, pushing his hair back from his face.
Their food came, which interrupted the argument that had somehow morphed into something about how Gabriel was perfectly justified in turning a woman into salt and Cassy could just shut his face- and Cas' rebuttal of: there is no law that disobedience should be punished by transformation.
Gabe sucked down about half of his chocolate shake before pointing with a dripping straw. "She was bitter, prideful and she was asking for it. I gave her fair warning, not my fault she didn't listen."
"Pride." Cas glared at the fries that he was dragging through a small lake of catsup. "I hardly feel that you are in a position to lecture anyone on the sin of pride."
Sam's hand settled on Gabriel's leg beneath the table- drawing out a little squeak in place of a rebuttal.
"Just drink your ice-cream." Sam advised, and the hunter shared an appeasing smile with his boyfriend and the boyfriend did as he was told.
It was almost enough to make Dean lose his appetite- the two of them canoodling just on the other side of the table. But only almost- the biscuits and gravy tasted like eight kinds of heaven and he was not about to stop eating. They finished their meal in relative silence, Dean and Cas a bit too hungry to waste time with words. Besides, there was no topic amongst present company that could really be considered appropriate for public.
By the time Dean was scraping up the last flaky bits of golden pie crust, his stomach painfully full of food, he found a few words that might not draw any strange looks from anyone close enough to over hear them.
"So, who's Michael?" He thought it was an innocent enough question, he even thought he knew the answer… maybe. Back in the motel, Gabe had mentioned an older brother- which either meant the fallen Angel Anduriel whom he had blasted into a myriad of pieces back at Bobby's- or some guy named Michael.
Dean had anticipated a simple reply- what he did not expect was the strangely violent noise from Cas as the man scooted away from him, as far as the booth would allow. His blue eyes went wide and his lips were pulled into a thin angry line.
Gabriel pulled the tip of his chewed up straw from between his teeth, sending the barest concerned glance at his younger brother before giving Dean a tight smile. "That's the thousand dollar question, isn't it?" His smile turned into something a bit more complicated and he looked back to Cas. "You wanna' tell him about Mikey?"
Cas made another odd noise, like something wounded, putting the back of a hand to his mouth and shaking his head quickly.
"What was that? Cat got your tongue?" Gabe leaned back, slouching and watching his brother shying away. "Yeah, I was sort of starting to suspect he had something to do with you being down here." His shallow smirk didn't reach his eyes. "Was he the one who kicked you out of the house, Cassy? Can you tell me that much without vomiting blood?"
"Raphael." Castiel whispered from behind his hand, that one word coming out muffled and a little choked.
"Ah- well now it's all coming together, isn't it?" He idly stole one of Sam's croutons, crunching loudly.
"Is it?" Dean felt tight, not able to look away from where Cas sat huddled beside him.
"For those of us in the TV audience who have been following along at home, yes, it is." He lifted his emptied milkshake glass from the table and looked into the bottom of it wistfully. "So, Cassy… what exactly what the contingency for your redemption and homecoming?" He wore a sharp grin as he waited for the answer.
Cas glanced at Dean, just for a microsecond, not more than a flick of his eyes, nothing that anyone else would have noticed if they weren't watching for it. He kept quiet and Gabriel started laughing.
"What's going on?" Sam leaned down, whispering his question just loud enough to be heard over the giggling.
"I could tell you, but I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise." Gabriel's tone was almost mocking.
"Gabe-" Sam's tone (just for comparison) was almost threatening.
Dean managed to look away from Cas, glowering at Gabriel where he sat with his self-satisfied expression. "Who's Michael?" And if Dean reached out under the table to find Cas' hand to hold after the Angel made another one of his brittle sounds- well, it didn't need to mean anything at all.
Gabriel rolled his eyes as if feeling put upon for having to answer. "Third oldest brother- King of the empty castle- he's sort of leading the army against the forces of darkness and a total jackass." He wouldn't meet anyone's eyes, choosing to give his full attention to his empty glass like it had been the one to ask the question. "Biggest reason why I blew that popsicle stand in the first place."
"And what's he got to do with Cas?" Dean was holding a little too tightly to the hand in his, but he was feeling protective and this was slightly stealthier than hugging the Angel to his chest and yelling at everyone else to leave them alone.
"Your guess is as good as mine, cowboy."
"I actually have a feeling your guess might be a bit better this time."
"He-" Cas whispered hoarsely, "your father-" he pulled his hand away from Dean's grasp, pressing them both to his mouth and doubling over far enough that he almost smacked his head on the table, all the while making sharp, strangled sounds.
Despite the fact that Dean really wanted to hear the rest of that particular story, he could see a trickle of blood seeping between Cas' pale fingers. "Son of a bitch." He swore at no one in particular and grabbed a handful of napkins, prying the Angel's hands away and doing his best to wipe up the blood that was attractively trickling from his nose and mouth. "For the love of god, stop talking, Cas."
Cas looked up and his pupils had been reduced to fine pinpoints, giving far too much room for that unnatural blue. He opened his mouth and his teeth were slick with blood as he tried to form more damn words.
In something close to a panic, Dean covered the Angel's mouth. "Sam, go pay the tab and let's get out of here." He was already sliding out of the booth, pulling Cas with him and doing his best to get outside before anyone noticed what sort of state he was in.