A/n: Sorry this is so late. I have a Supernatural Imagines blog on Tumblr I spent yesterday updating. My apologies.
Dean was feeling a little better now that they had a good amount of gold to melt down. He would just need to make the protection charm and turn the rest into bullets. He wished he had more but this was a good start. He did know of a rival antique shop he could steal from later after all.
Changing focus, he looked over at Cas and gave the angel a smile. Cas' eyes sparkled happily as he stepped closer to Dean as they walked up to the door of Matilda's diner. Dean reached out and gently brushed his hand up Cas' spine while opening the door for him.
"Deannie!" It always amazed Dean how a woman in her early eighties could be so fast as he was bombarded with a loving hug. Cas cocked his head to the side and happily watched the interaction as Dean hugged the woman back.
"Hey there, Miss Matilda." The hunter greeted gently as the woman finally let him go.
"Oh, you look so handsome today." She cooed to him and gently cupped his face in both hands, thumbs brushing over his freckled cheeks. The sight made Cas purr slightly as he was finally starting to understand why Dean had grown attached to this elderly couple.
The angel was one of the few people to know how truly damaged Dean was and parental love was something that the hunter craved. These two humans gave him affection willingly and Dean's spirit fed off it. This realization made Cas happy because Dean deserved to be pampered and cared for.
"Oh my, and you must be his precious Castiel." Matilda said with a happy gasp as she turned towards Castiel. She clapped her hands and giggled, taking his hands in hers, "Aren't you a handsome fella?"
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Poppisori." Cas replied as he gave her a gentle smile.
"Oh please, call me Matilda, Love." She released him to gently put a hand on his shoulder, "Dean's description did not do you justice. You're just such a sweet little angel, aren't you?" Cas' eyes widened as he looked at Dean, the hunter usually made him keep quiet about his species. Had Dean told her? Dean quickly shook his head as he stood behind her, mouthing that it was just an expression.
"Well, come along, you two." Matilda hummed as she put an arm around each of them and led them further inside, "I have your dinners all cooked up and ready for you. I know you'll just love it."
~*~z~*~
Sam felt like he was in a daze as he sat there with an armful of quivering angel. Self-loathing was starting to settle in as Gabriel snuggled against his chest. His hair was being stroked by the broken angel, like he was the one that deserved comfort. He didn't deserve anything, he could have snapped Gabriel's wrist a second ago!
He swallowed down a guilty whimpered as he dipped his head, letting it rest on Gabriel's right shoulder. The angel hummed soothingly to him, least damaged wings coming forward to wrap around them both. Sam felt his spirit settle as the soft wings brushed up against him. He smiled miserably and hid his nose against Gabriel's skin but avoided touching the angel's neck. He started to lose track of time as he simply held his angel close and tried to sooth him.
Sam had almost relaxed until he actually looked down. Red suddenly tinged his vision as he saw a large bruise marring the skin on the junction between Gabriel's neck and shoulder. He had been a hunter long enough to know a bite mark when he saw one. He had just never seen it until now because Gabriel's right side was always facing away from him.
"What's wrong, Sammy?" Gabriel hummed softly to him, nose nuzzling against Sam's throat. The angel sounded exhausted again, the emotional outbursts earlier having drained away any energy the nap gave him.
"Gabriel, what's this?" Sam growled softly as he reached up and gently traced his fingers along the bite, unable to stop the anger that was bubbling up. Gabriel winced as the bruise was still extremely sore. He shut his useless eyes against the pain of the memory of sharp teeth sinking into taxed muscle while cruel hands assaulted the intimate parts of his wings.
"O-oh, that. That's n-nothing, Sammich." Gabriel squirmed slightly in Sam's arms, suddenly feeling nervous and a bit uneasy, "J-just forget about it."
Sam lifted his head to look down at the bruise better. His blood boiled for two colliding reasons, one was that someone had been sick enough to actually bite Gabriel and the other was that that same person had the nerve to leave a claiming mark on what was clearly Sam's property. No one was allowed to leave a mark that didn't show Sam's ownership.
"You're mine." Sam growled angrily, open mouth moving to the side of Gabriel's throat and nipping at the bruised skin around the collar, "No one's allowed to claim you but me. Understand?"
"Y-yes, S-sam." Gabriel shivered as his insides twisted in conflicting emotions, he was terrified while also feeling submissively aroused for his owner.
~*~z~*~
The food at Matilda's diner was even more amazing than usual as Dean and Cas had their dinner. This was why it was so strange that Cas wasn't eating but rather stirring his mashed potatoes around with his spoon. He may not entirely require food, just needed a tiny bit because his grace reserves were low, but he now enjoyed eating with Dean.
Yet, he could not focus on the food as he stared at his gravy being stirred into the white mush. Something had been bothering him since he talked to Sam earlier that morning. He just had not paid much attention to it and had lost track of the thought once he began to spend time with Dean. But now, in the quiet of dinner, the feeling of unease was back.
"Dean, does your brother hold sexual favor towards mine?" He asked, still staring into the depths on his potatoes. It was only the sound of a spit-take and choking that caused him to look up at the hunter. He cocked his head to the side and watched Dean choke awkwardly on what was left of the mouthful of soda.
"What?! Sammy and that psycho squirt?!" Dean gasped incredulously, just gaping at Cas, "Why would you even ask that?!"
"Gabriel is not psychotic, simply eccentric." Cas corrects absentmindedly before continuing on, "I fear that I misjudged which type of connection Sam had to Gabriel."
"Good god, I really don't need to be thinking about the two of them during dinner." Dean mumbles and shudders as he cleans up his soda mess, "And what does it matter what connect they have? Not like it's the end of the world."
"Correct. But, it could be the end of Gabriel if their connection was indeed one of sexual attraction when the link started." Cas' words made Dean suddenly freeze and slowly look back up at the angel. He swallowed thickly and couldn't believe he was about to reply but he was getting worried.
"What do you mean, Cas?" Dean's pulse picked up an uncomfortable jump as he locked gazes with the angel.
"Dean, there are four types of initiation connections when it comes to a flower link. It all depends on the soul's connection to the angel when it happens." Dean was suddenly all ears as he listened intently, this flower suddenly was starting to sound like a much bigger problem than he originally thought, "The four types are: hate, neutrality, familial, and sexual. Hate and sexuality each come with dominance requirements."
"Dominance requirements?" The food Dean had eaten was suddenly not sitting very well anymore.
"Yes. If the requirements are not fulfilled soon after the arrival of the angel, usually within a few hours, then the dominant member in the link will start to degrade in terms of inhibitions and sanity."
"W-wha-?" Anxiety was creeping under Dean's skin now as he desperately swallowed down the bile creeping up his throat, he had to try again to get the words out, "What are the r-requirements?"
"Broken bones for a hate connection and intercourse for a sexual connection."
"A-and if Sam doesn't fulfill the requirement?" Dean's nervous energy was practically having him jump out of his skin by now. He didn't want to think about his little brother having sex with Cas' older brother for two reasons: one, it was weirding him out and two, it might just kill Sam inside to have sex with a rape victim so soon after the trauma had happened.
"Without fulfilling it, Sam will grow increasingly irrational and violent. Often having outbursts or urges that are either hard to control or are uncontrollable. If it gets too severe, he could very well kill Gabriel in an irrational outburst if something angers him enough." Cas blinked slowly before looking down again at his plate, his food looked like something had been murdered and the gravy was the blood splattered everywhere.
As for Dean, he felt like his heart had stopped again. He couldn't breath and he felt like he was on the verge of a panic attack. He suddenly had the need to bolt and drive back to the bunker immediately. He really wished that Cas was feeling well enough to fly them back.
"Dean, it has been nearly twenty-four hours since Gabriel arrived. If they do not couple soon, it will end badly for both of them. Sam may be showing signs of degradation already because I did not decode his emotions earlier…" As Cas mumbled out the words sorrowfully, Dean was already scrambling for his phone. He needed to call his brother and get him the hell away from Gabriel.
~*~Chapter End~*~