A/N: Hello, lovelies. Final chapter. For this fic at least. This has been an absolute joy to write complete with ups and downs. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I have. I admit that I meant to post this back on Friday, but some real life stuff happened, and I needed to step back. Many thanks needs to go to my amazing RiaRose for helping me with the ending as I just couldn't get the last paragraph to come out the way I wanted and had envisioned it to be. With this last edit, I finally got it. At least I think I do. You'll be the judge of that. :) As always, thank you so much for taking the time and reading.
Mending Bonds
As they continued down the corridor towards the library, the green-eyed Hunter occasionally would bump into the former Angel's shoulder or hand accidentally. Each time, Cas's stomach would flutter in response. The first time he thought he was about to be violently ill again, but he quickly realized that wasn't what this was. Now, knowing full well what it was thankfully, he could barely hold back the wide, gummy smile that quirked up his badly chapped lips. He was truly happy, undeniably so. On top of the world, he would state if asked. And he never wanted this to stop.
When they rounded the last turn, his boyfriend suddenly grabbed a hold of his arm. He paused and glanced at Dean in confusion. Why had they stopped? Was something wrong? Was this when the bottom would drop out inevitably and the Empty would take him for good now?
"All right. If I don't do this now," mumbled the taller man.
Do what? What was Dean going to do? What was going on?
His boyfriend continued, though, "I'm going to be fucking distracted all night."
Cas wasn't following. In fact, he was fairly certain he was on an entirely different wavelength than his Hunter right then. He opened his mouth to speak, only to find his beautiful human gently press him up against the nearby wall. He couldn't move. He couldn't breathe. He blinked as that was the only thing he could do. And then Dean's lips were on his. His mind shut down completely, unable to process anything going on beyond the feel of Dean pressed against him—the wall—kissing him—
Oh dear.
His legs shook.
His heart thundered in his ears.
His breath stolen entirely by the man who was solely focused on his goal right then.
His hands gripped tightly the fabric between them, holding on for dear life.
His eyes stared unfocused.
His lips burned.
His—
Everlasting lush green met never-ending oceanic blue.
Fuck!
A throaty chuckle hummed between them.
And then, quick as it had appeared, Dean pulled back, causing Cas nearly to crumple to the floor as a result. The only thing that kept him upright was the Hunter's firm hand pressed into his chest.
"Yeah," smirked his Righteous Man, his eyes a vibrant emerald. "Gets better every time we do that, doesn't it?"
Unable to get any words out, the former Angel of the Lord nodded jerkily. Yes. Yes it did.
Dean's fingers then slipped in between his, slotting them together perfectly. As if they were created solely for one another. Their broken pieces—and were there so many of those unfortunately—fit just right together.
"Come on, Cas," his Hunter smiled widely. "Let's go before they start looking for us."
"Yes, Dean," he murmured, following obediently. He'd follow Dean until the very end. Always.
They entered the library a moment later, still holding hands.
"Sorry we're late." The green-eyed man flashed his trademark cocky smile to the others gathered around the long table, as if daring someone to comment, which no one of course did. "So, what are we playin'? Texas Hold 'Em? Sorry?" he asked, releasing Cas's hand. "Twister? Monopoly? What?"
Sam was the first to answer. "Actually, we were thinking Uno."
Dean snorted instantly, taking his seat in the middle across the table from his brother. "Yeah, because nothing says family night like Uno." He turned to glance at Cas, who took the empty seat beside him, and turned back once the former angel was seated.
"Well, as long as you don't play like a dick like usual," replied the youngest Winchester, "we should be fine."
"Hey, man. It's not Uno if you're not playing like one," the older brother drawled back.
Missing the warmth from Dean's hand, Cas glanced around the table, unsure of what else to do.
Sam and Dean were in the middle opposite one another. When facing the table from the War Room, the order went on the left side Balthazar, Donna, Gabriel, Sam, Jack, and Alex. Whereas opposite of them on the right, the order was Jody, Cas, Dean, Claire, and Patience. In front of all of them on the table were various board games, finger food snacks, and drinks.
The former Seraph grabbed the glass closest to him that held a clear liquid, catching his older brother's sharp gaze. He almost hesitated in grabbing it.
"If you don't like that flavor, just let me know. It should be cran-raspberry, I think," Gabe stated with a shrug. "Or maybe it was cran-grape. I forget which."
"Thank you." His brother only nodded silently before the sandy-haired man turned back to Sam.
Cas took a quick sip from his glass, recognizing it as actually being fruit punch. It wasn't half bad, he'd admit. He waited for someone to explain this game to him exactly. As time passed, though, he found his mind wandering again. It wasn't necessarily silent by any means, as the kids were quietly talking amongst themselves and his foolish brothers were driving Jody and Donna insane with their antics. But his mind wasn't doing anything but observing everyone.
He couldn't help it. He felt out of place again. Like he didn't belong with them.
Underneath the table, his hand against his leg then started to drum nervously against the soft material of his pajama bottoms as he waited. Everyone else seemed to be at ease. He, however, felt like he was an intruder at the table. Which he supposed he was.
His brothers at least could go with the flow on this. Even Jack could. He, on the other hand, found himself wanting to know every single rule to this Uno to get it right. He had gotten so many things wrong over the years. He didn't want this to be another.
When he felt the calloused hand slip back around his, his fingers stilled. A gentle squeeze a moment later helped ground him more. He could do this. He could. He just needed to focus. And breathe. Breathing was fairly important nowadays.
"All right. So, to recap for those of you who haven't played in a while, rules of Uno are simple," Dean announced, grabbing the colorful card deck from the pile of games one-handed while still holding Cas's under the table with his other hand. "Each player gets seven cards to start with."
Sam motioned towards the empty space in the table. "Here will be the Discard pile, and there will be the Draw pile next to it."
"For this round, I'll be your handsome dealer," Dean drawled, squeezing Cas's hand underneath the table one last time before he pulled his hand back.
"Wait. You're not playing?"
"Nah, Sammy," Dean chuckled. "Not this go around. Can't scare them all right away, can we?" Hazel eyes rolled as Sam snorted. The eldest Winchester turned his attention back to the players. "Now, normally, the player to my left is typically the first to go. But we're going to go with youngest for this game." Everyone glanced at Jack who blinked owlishly. Dean shuffled the cards before he divided them out face down. "Each of you will look at your cards and try to match it up with the card in the Discard pile. Got it?" He didn't wait for their answer. "Peachy. Now, the game will start with Jack, go to Sam, then Gabe, Donna, Balthazar, over to Jody, Cas, and so on until we get back to Jack."
Cas nodded slowly, picking his cards up as Dean dealt them. He frowned as he caught the colors, sorting the blue and greens together and ignoring the other colors entirely. It seemed easy enough.
"You have to match either the number, color, or symbol/action. For example, say I lay down a blue six, you have to lay down either a blue card or card with a six on it."
Pretty straightforward of a game actually. The Seraph thought he might actually have a shot at this one. He glanced at his cards again, resorting them to make it easier to recall their sequence.
"You can also play the Wild Card, which I'll point out if someone—" he glanced here at Sam "has one." He then turned back. "If you don't have a match or you don't want to put it down for some reason, then you draw a card from the Draw Pile. Now, super important rule here, folks. You have to call out 'Uno' as you play your second-to-last card. All right. Any questions?"
"Yes, I have one," Balthazar quietly asked.
Dean glanced at him hesitantly.
"When are you going to make my brother an honest man?"
The Hunter scoffed, rolling his eyes. "About the game, dipshit. Do you have any questions about that? Or are you just going to be your usual stupid self?"
"My, aren't we touchy today," the blond angel drawled back before he chuckled to himself.
Dean flipped over a card from the Draw pile a moment later, though, glaring at the blond. "I'll start us off." A yellow two card stared up at them from the Discard pile. "All right, Jack, you take it from here."
"What about the action cards?" Cas asked, wanting to make sure he understood everything about it correctly. "How will we know what they mean?"
"I'll explain those as we go," Dean answered. "But they're pretty self-explanatory for the most part. There's Reverse, Draw 2, Skip, Wild, and Wild Draw 4."
Blue eyes stared at the green-eyed Hunter dazedly. That was self-explanatory? He glanced at Gabriel, catching his older brother's badly hidden grin.
"I see," he mumbled quietly, glancing at his cards again. He had a nice rainbow of colors with a few variations of numbers. Perhaps this wouldn't go as badly as he envisioned it.
Maybe.
Fifteen minutes in, though, it was grossly apparent this was going to turn into a melee of violence if they continued.
Gabe kept putting down Skip cards on poor Donna, who was getting more and more frustrated as time went on. She had so far only been able to play one of her cards. Balthazar, on the other hand, had drawn nearly ten cards or more each time on average before he could finally lay down a card and further the game. Jody had laid down a Draw 2 on Cas almost instantly from the get-go, which caused Dean to pat his knee lightly in sympathy. Claire had surprisingly placed down no action cards, which Dean had whispered (as he had been helping Cas quite a bit with his hand when it was his turn) that either she was playing nice or waiting to screw them all over—with the wager currently on the latter. Patience and Alex had both decided early on to fold, claiming someone needed to make sure no one was cheating, as everyone was fairly suspicious of the angels—or rather the grinning archangel who looked cool as ever in the midst of chaotic disarray.
They had gone around the table at least four times before it finally happened.
Sam tilted his head slowly, a coy smile working at his lips. He then laid down the card silently and leaned back in his chair, stretching out in an almost lazily way.
"What?" Cas's older brother's mouth dropped. "Sam, what . . . no . . . you . . . moose!"
The Wild Draw 4 card Sam had laid down stared up, though.
"But—" cried the archangel, clearly stunned, as he'd had the lowest number of cards.
"It's nothing personal, Gabe," shrugged the long-haired Hunter.
"Nothing personal?" huffed back the sandy-haired man. "You just screwed me over! And not in the good way either, my beautiful moose!"
Dean snorted quietly beside Cas, turning his head and covering his mouth to hide his grin from the bickering two. His other hand was gently massaging just above the former angel's knee.
"It happens," Sam argued, shaking his head. "And you've been doing the same thing to Donna all night. So, you know, what goes around comes around."
"I am wounded, gravely, by this betrayal."
"It could be worse," piped up Balthazar as he leaned forward and glanced down at them.
"What?" Gabe scoffed, his head whipping towards the younger. "How could this be worse? I almost had that goddamn Uno!"
Steely gray eyes rolled upwards. "Yes, I'm sure."
"Oh, don't even start, you brat!" grumbled the older brother, pointing his finger at the blond.
"Moi?" Balthazar quipped, feigning innocence.
Cas's attention returned to his cards, though, desperately trying to ignore the heat of Dean's hand. He clearly was not understanding this game in the slightest. It seemed to be a game of strategy. He excelled in these types of scenarios usually, being an angel. Yet, no matter what he did, he couldn't figure this foolish game out. And it was, admittedly, pissing him off. He had yet to get an action card to 'screw someone over' as his brother eloquently put. In fact, he either had the matches or he didn't. Nothing else.
Dean must have been watching him closely again, realizing what was going through his mind. A second later, he felt the man lean closer to him, squeezing his hand lightly. He glanced towards his human with a deep frown, watching as Dean turned his head and hid his mouth behind his hand again.
"It's because you're assuming they're all being honest, Angel," mouthed the Hunter.
What?
Blue eyes darted about the table questionably. Could that be what it was? He thought back on the rules and sighed inwardly. Some of them just wanted to let the world burn—or rather let the player beside them burn. Others were in it to win and played the long game. He had been focused entirely on the short when he should have watched the—
"Hey!" Gabriel clapped his hands suddenly. "No flirting over there, Dealer!"
Green eyes rolled. "Don't you need to draw four, Gabe?"
The archangel instantly made a face and growled, snatching four cards from the deck. He muttered under his breath something as he slid the cards into his hand.
"Over to you, Donna," Dean stated with a faint smile.
She inclined her head towards him and then glanced at the blond beside her. She plucked the card from her hand and laid it down a moment later.
"What?" squawked Balthazar, his eyes widening. He then whipped his head towards Dean before he turned back to Donna. "Mother, how could you? I have been nothing but nice to you—and this is the thanks I get?" He faked sniffling and shook his head in utter astonishment. "Never have I ever been this betrayed in my life. I—"
Donna gave him a kind smile in return, though, gently patting his cheek maternally. "I know, but sometimes you drive me insane, so—sorry not sorry."
Balthazar's eyes widened before he huffed and leaned forward to glance at Gabriel, who was still sulking with his arms crossed—clearly still upset about Sam's Wild Draw 4 move on him. The blond then turned towards Dean and crossed his own arms.
"I find this game offensive."
"What?" the green-eyed Hunter scoffed. "Why?"
"Because it's pitting the angels of this group vs the humans, and we are obviously—"
"Sore losers?" Dean quipped with a smirk.
The cards then vanished with a flash of light.
"Gabriel!"
The petulant archangel brushed off everyone's outraged looks, though. "There, see, I won! The end!" He then grinned victoriously, as if everything was right with the world again. "So, what's next? Dirty Pictionary?"
"Ew! Gross, dude!" Claire grimaced before she gagged.
"We could do D&D," Sam offered.
"No!" Dean, Alex, Patience, and Balthazar all shouted.
"There's always Cards against—"
"Yeah, let's not," winced the Sioux Falls sheriff, awkwardly rubbing her neck.
Claire rolled her eyes before she glanced down at the older woman. "Why? Because you don't want your newly adopted wayward angel orphans to learn their new moms have dirty minds like theirs?"
"Oh?" Gabriel and Balthazar both turned to the sheriffs with matching grins. "Do tell."
"Nothing to say, boys," replied the shorter-haired woman, her eyes darting to Donna pointedly.
"What about a movie?" Jack suggested a moment later, as if he hadn't noticed their talk at all.
"Yeah, not really feeling it with the movies tonight, kid," quietly replied the eldest Winchester. "Maybe tomorrow. When we're all well-rested, you know?" Jack nodded instantly, clearly accepting the answer with no question.
Cas drank down more of his flavored water, as the others continued to debate their next move. He had been admittedly extremely distracted for a bit during Uno. Between Dean leaning in further, the light squeezes of his hand, the leg massages occasionally, the coy smiles . . . and then there was also the whole feuds that took place between the others that reminded him of demon vs angel battles.
At the feel of a hand suddenly against his inner thigh, the former Seraph jumped in surprise.
His head whipped to the side, catching Dean's crinkly smile beside him as the Hunter kept his eyes focused on Gabriel and Sam bickering over something. What was the man doing exactly? He quickly grabbed Dean's wrist, squeezing it firmly, which made the Hunter pause for a moment.
"Maybe we're going about this the wrong way," Sam announced, gaining everyone's attention.
"There's a right way?" Dean snorted, his fingers silently kneading Cas's muscle underneath.
"Well, games clearly are only going to set certain people into—"
"Hey! What are you looking at me for?" huffed Gabe. "You're the one who screwed me over, Sam." He shook his head disappointedly. "It's like I don't even know you anymore."
"Moving on," drawled Dean, his hand moving up Cas's leg a bit. "What's your idea, Sammy?"
"Well, what was one of our best memories together growing up?"
The eldest shrugged, pausing in his silent torture. "I don't know. Not like we had a lot of those."
"Yeah, but there had to be something we did together as a family that didn't—"
"Make you betray each other and cause me to question everything about my life," muttered the archangel beside the long-haired Hunter.
"Oh, for fuck's sake, get over it, Gabriel."
The amber eyes sharpened instantly with a raised mischievous brow. He then forced a thin smile before his eyes flicked downwards as if he knew about Dean's torture and then back to the forest green.
As if burned, Dean's hand instantly pulled back from Cas, and the Hunter sat up straighter.
The former angel nearly let out a sigh of relief, finding it much easier to breathe again. He had enjoyed the touches, the attention Dean was giving him, sure, but it was all so damn distracting. And he couldn't catch his breath during any of it, feeling lightheaded and overwhelmed by all of it.
"We could always do an angel thing this time?" Balthazar suggested quietly.
"What?"
Gabe's smile fell from his face while Cas's eyes narrowed in confusion. An Angel thing? What was that? Murdering all their brethren in the name of their absent father? Obeying no questions asked?
"Well, while we are from a regrettably rather abusive and frankly neglectful family, we did have moments where we were similar to you humans. At least from what I can recall."
"Balthy, no," murmured the older angelic brother.
"Balthy, yes," the blond coolly countered, meeting the somber amber. He then turned towards the others. "Our older brother—shocking I know considering what he projects to the rest of the world—would take Cassie and me sometimes to a place in Heaven where the night sky was unbelievable."
Cas felt Dean's eyes suddenly dart back to him and forced himself not to react. That had been long ago, and, thanks to Naomi, he could barely recall those times anymore except for brief flickers.
"More than one time, we adorable fledglings in his care found ourselves there, looking up and listening to him as he recited our history, about Creation, about all of it."
"That was a long time ago, Balthazar." Gabriel's voice was low and somber with that rare seriousness again.
"Yes, it was, but I seem to recall a certain angel—one of blue hue—who loved hearing our brother and his fabled stories about the humans."
Cas glanced down and sighed inwardly. He could vaguely remember bits and pieces of it, but there weren't whole memories anymore. They almost felt like someone else's memories, not his.
"Story time under the stars?"
"Not necessarily," replied the angel. "We could alter it of course. Add some of your human flair to it. Meld the angelic with the human." He shrugged lightly. "I'm told—or I was—that humans enjoy the beauty of it, the complexity, and the vastness of the night sky." He then motioned towards the sullen archangel. "And I happen to know an artist who would paint such beautiful canvases at one time."
With wide eyes, Sam turned towards the silent archangel beside him.
"Gabe?"
"That was a long time ago, Sam," quietly answered the archangel.
"Could you do that again, though?" Dean inquired, glancing at the sandy-haired man.
"Possibly." The archangel sighed and shook his head. "Maybe. Why?"
The Hunter nodded silently. "I've got an idea." He then patted Cas's hand. "Think it'll work?"
"Think what—oh!" He blinked in surprise, his eyes briefly glancing at Cas, before going silent.
"Dean?"
His Human waved away Cas's question, though, closing his eyes in obvious concentration.
The former Angel sighed inwardly, glancing back down. He used to be the only one who would hear Dean's prayers, the only angel the man would ever pray to—ever believe in. Now, his Hunter was praying to his brother. He knew it was foolish, but he couldn't help but feel a little pang of jealousy.
"Yeah. I think I can work with that," remarked his older brother a few moments later with a chuckle, meeting Cas's curious, albeit slightly jealous, eyes. "What do you say, little brother?"
"To?"
"Feel like joining your brothers outside for a moment while the humans discuss?"
"What?"
Gabe only smiled, though, and snapped his fingers.
When he, Balthazar, and Gabriel appeared outside the bunker momentarily afterwards, Cas frowned. The air was chilled by the light breeze blowing. He wished he'd had time to grab a robe or— He sighed heavily when a robe had been snapped onto his person shortly after. Normally, he'd have been slightly heartened by his brother's thoughtfulness, but right then all he could think of was the fact that he was outside while Dean was inside. And that plotting was underway. And that he had no idea what they were planning. So he had no way to know what the correct way to react was. Too many variables, not enough data to formulate the correct reaction.
"What are we doing out here, Gabriel?" finally asked the blue-eyed former angel with a sigh.
"You don't remember our talks, do you? When you two brats would play 'Annoy the shit out of Gabriel' day after day?"
Cas's eyes fell back to the dewy grass. Once again, he wished for his powers back—if only to escape this painful nightmare.
"That's all right, kiddo. It's not your fault if you don't."
He huffed, glancing upwards. No. It was Heaven's. It was their father's. It was Naomi's. It was Metatron's. It was everyone's, including his own. He had led to his own downfall rather spectacularly.
"Balthazar was right, though. You did enjoy those times we spent together."
Scoffing, Cas shook his head. "All the good that does me now. I barely remember any of it. And what I do recall, it's all just bits and pieces now. Hardly anything I can look back on fondly." He glanced upwards, quickly finding the Orion constellation. He could feel the familiar calm inside again.
"That was always your favorite one," his brother remarked, following his gaze upwards. "Though, I'm not sure if it was Dad or me who made it."
Blue eyes darted his way. "Yours. Father never would have lifted a finger to do something as silly as that," Cas replied bitterly.
"Ooh, I like this new Cassie," their younger brother chuckled. "So sassy."
"I was always like this, you ass. You just didn't notice."
"Oh, Cas," drawled the blond, patting his arm. "I always noticed you."
The messy-haired man turned away, though, with a long, annoyed sigh. "What did Dean ask?"
Gabe's eyes narrowed minutely before he chuckled quietly.
"It's killing you, isn't it?" his older brother asked with teasing eyes. "That your precious Dean prayed to me instead of you?"
Thoroughly disgusted now by this conversation, Castiel turned on his heel and headed back towards the bunker. He was so over this entire day. He'd just hide down in his room and wait his brothers out. They'd eventually be bored with him and leave. They always did.
"Come on, Cas. Quit being like this."
"Like what?" he demanded, whirling back. "Like, once again, everyone is plotting behind my back? Treating me like I'm going to break at any minute? Even Dean—a man who rarely shows any sort of emotion, let alone flaunting his weakness to others, least of all you two—is in on it."
"You're one to talk about plotting against one's back," Balthazar pointed out with a snort.
Cas glared back at his younger brother. The urge to punch the blond was growing rapidly again.
"Do you have any idea how I feel now? Any clue?" He scoffed when Balthazar frowned in response and glanced at Gabriel. "Of course you don't. Neither of you do." He then pointed at his older brother. "If you were in my shoes and Sam was praying to me, you'd be hurt just as much as I am."
"But it wasn't a true prayer, Cas," his brother sighed, letting his teasing fade into seriousness. "He just needed to tell me something without anyone overhearing, most of all you."
Cas threw his hands up. "Oh, yes, because that's so much better!"
"It is."
"No it's not!" It wasn't better! It wouldn't be better! It was horrible, and it hurt unimaginably.
"Hey, kiddo, stop," his brother ordered, taking a step towards him before pausing when Cas reared back suddenly. "Take a deep breath, all right?" He held his hands out when the younger gave him an annoyed look in return. "Inhale. Exhale. Come on. Do it with me now." He remained firm when Cas glared even harder back at him. "It'll calm you down. Just breathe in and out. Nice and easy."
He growled but did as his brother suggested. If only to prove that he was perfectly calm. He inhaled deeply and held it for a moment. The cold air sat heavy in his lungs for a moment. As he counted back and exhaled not long after, he felt his earlier annoyance start to wane. Only to thrash around a second later at how stupid he was truly being. He was acting like a 'whiny bitch' as Dean would say. But he just didn't know how to handle all of this currently. It was too much all the time!
"Better?"
He lifted his eyes back up to the Heavens in response, being the brat his brothers claimed he was.
"Fine, imp," Gabe muttered. "I'll tell you his idea. Happy?"
"Ecstatic," quipped the new human with dripping sarcasm, glancing back as he waited.
"He and Sam used to light fireworks off sometimes. He asked me if I could take you outside while he told them about his idea of doing the same here with all of us. I'm supposed to snap my pretty little fingers and get the pyrotechnics. Though, the bigger reason was that he thought you needed a moment out here with us as well before they joined."
"Why?"
"Because he figured out that his little game of handsy under the table was affecting you, kiddo."
Cas's head tilted.
"You needed the air," his brother remarked dryly.
Oh. Cas shook his head, glancing down at the ground. He was trying. It just was difficult for him sometimes. There were more emotions to deal with this time than last. And, unfortunately, those were extremely potent for him. But he'd reach a balance eventually. Hopefully. Maybe?
Lifting up his head, he met his brother's look. "I'll master control of my emotions again soon enough," he declared. "I just need time to adjust to all of this again."
"Yeah," slowly remarked the sandy-haired man with a light scratch to the back of his neck, "he wasn't worried about that."
Blue eyes blinked. Okay . . .
"You're human now," his brother said, gesturing vaguely as if it somehow made things clearer.
"I'm aware of that. Thank you." Deeply aware. "Tell me something I don't know." He was already tired of people pointing it out. As if he could forget that after all with all the bouncing emotions.
"All right then." His older brother forced a smile. "Your Angel blade was at attention, kiddo."
Cas's brows knit together in confusion. "No. That's impossible." Gabe rolled his eyes. "My blade's in the nightstand." In fact, he was fairly certain of it. He had placed it there when Dean had insisted that he stay in the Hunter's room nightly. Something about not keeping the blade under a pillow and being stabbed in the middle of the night or something. Honestly, he hadn't really paid all that much attention once he heard Dean's 'You're staying here in our room from now on. Got it?'
Balthazar snorted before he held up a hand. "I've got this one, Gabe." He then turned towards him, gently resting a hand on Cas's arm. "Blood engorged your—"
The former blue-eyed angel's stomach dropped into Hell instantly. His brother's words faded away as he stared back in horror.
What?! Wide blues darted to Gabe, and Cas noticed his older brother's wince.
This had to be a-a mistake. He couldn't have—
The young Seraph—now human—glanced down at his groin, frowning slightly. In hindsight, he had noticed earlier during Uno that things had felt differently down there at one point. However, he had just assumed it was normal due to a heavy sodium and water intake. He saw no tell-tale signs of an erection any longer, so the cold thankfully had done its job. Oh dear.
"It happens to the best of us, kiddo," lightly stated his older brother before he clapped a hand onto his shoulder. "And, for the record, Dean-o should never have riled you up like that around them. Especially not in front of the kids and Mom. But I don't think he thought you'd react that much to him."
Cas scoffed. Probably true, considering how Dean was more of a doer than a— He cleared his throat harshly, stopping that thought instantly in its track. He did not need to think about that. He caught his brothers' wide grins and frowned. Damn angels.
"Hey, you used to be one, brat," his older brother pointed out. Gabe then leaned closer to him. "And you'll always be one too, little bro," he stated quietly, ruffling the raven locks affectionately.
"Speaking of which," Balthazar spoke up, gaining their attention. "I had an idea actually."
"Yeah, I thought I saw a little smoke coming out of your ears," Gabriel teased.
The steely greys rolled hard. "Hilarious."
"All right. What's your idea?"
"Well, since I was in the Empty during the Fall, and Gabriel was hiding out with porn stars—"
"Uh," Gabriel said, holding up a finger, "not exactly what I was—"
"Not the point either," Balthazar cut in sharply. "We both have our wings."
Azure eyes darted to the grass instantly. Oh.
"And it's likely been years since you flew, hasn't it, Cassie?"
"Yes."
He watched the dew roll down a single blade silently. Most days he didn't even miss the heavy appendages that stuck out from his vessel's back, safely tucked elsewhere. The damn things always had hurt so badly after rescuing Dean from Hell and everything that followed. Years of mistreatment tended to do that, not to mention, neglect. He didn't even know when the last time was when he had properly groomed them. He supposed he never had while he had been in Jimmy's vessel.
It was a shame, too. His wings used to be so beautiful. He had been so proud of them.
"What do you say to a quick flight?"
"What?" Cas's head snapped up. Were they serious?
"Well, I would assume you miss it sometimes, right?"
"I do," he admitted. He missed it especially at night.
"I thought so." The steely greys darted to Gabriel. "So, shall we then? Before the humans show up and all decide they want one as well?"
He glanced towards the bunker guiltily. He was human now. In fact, he had even gained a soul.
"Cassie?"
It had been so long since he had last flown, though. He was used to driving around or walking now. Hell, he had even subjected himself once to flying the human way—in a tin can full of filth and human despair, not to mention the germs. And how they were all packed in on top of one another with no room to breathe whatsoever.
"No."
The word fell heavily from his lips. No he couldn't. It had been too long. The years had left behind a deep cavern inside that forced him to accept his grounding on Earth. He had to accept this long ago and adapt in order to survive, and he had. He had done it so much better than all his brothers and sisters before him. The thought of flying again—it scared him now unfortunately. What if his brothers let go of him accidentally in midflight? Unlike sure, but what if? What if he was too heavy and they couldn't pick him up off the ground? Oh, he couldn't even bare that scenario. And what if the flight itself was fine but the moment he landed again, he found himself vomiting horribly because he now had motion sickness? Vomiting was, after all, his least favorite human activity.
"I appreciate the offer, however," Cas stated, meeting his brothers' surprised looks as he continued. He was, no doubt, letting them down with this. What angel didn't enjoy flying, feeling the wind against them, the freeness of it all? "But I have to decline."
Balthazar looked like he was about to argue when Gabriel spoke up.
"All right then. If you decide to change your mind, you know how to reach us, kiddo."
Cas nodded. That he did. He watched his older brother then snap his fingers with several boxes appearing before them in a flash of light. Another snap of his brother's fingers, and everyone from inside the Bunker suddenly appeared outside.
Dean instantly huffed his outrage. "You know we could have walked over here, right, asshole?"
The archangel rolled his eyes. "Yes, but, like I always say, Dean-o, if you've got it, why not flaunt it?" He winked at the green-eyed Hunter before he raised a brow at the hazel-eyed younger Winchester who was watching him closely. "Something you want to say there, Sam?"
The long-haired man scoffed, though, and headed to one of the boxes of fireworks instead. He handed out the various items to the gathered group who quickly circled around him.
As everyone else was busy with that, Cas sighed inwardly, glancing upwards at the twinkling stars overhead. He was standing apart from everyone else, not wanting to join in quite yet.
"You okay?" Dean quietly asked, joining him a few seconds later with two long sticks of some firework in hand. The others had spread out now, waiting for the main show to start.
"I apologize about—" The Hunter shook his head, though, waving away his apology again.
"Hey, man, nothing for you to apologize over." Dean's voice was hushed so only he and Cas could hear his words. "I was the idiot who got you all worked up after all."
"Dean."
"Cas," he replied, matching the former angel's low, gravelly voice. They smiled at each other before they turned back and watched the sky again silently. It was a solid minute before Dean bumped his shoulder against him. "Hey, Cas?" The corner of his lip quivered slightly as he waited, as if he could barely contain his excitement about something.
"Yes, Dean?"
Was something wrong? Had he screwed this up somehow already? Should he have laughed or—
"It must have hurt when you fell from Heaven."
Cas blinked, glancing at the green-eyed human. "It did, Dean. Excruciatingly." He had thought the man had known this, but he'd explain again. For Dean. "Metatron had ripped out my Grace—"
The Hunter instantly covered his face and groaned. "I was flirtin' with you, dude."
"Oh." He winced inwardly. In hindsight, he should have realized that, he supposed. "I see."
The man snorted, though, and chuckled quietly. "Yeah." His eyes sparkled with the deep green Cas loved the most. "Not my best line, I admit, and probably should have used another, considering, but I had to try." His Hunter turned to glance at Sam and Jack who stood not far off.
He followed his gaze and watched them as well, thinking on what to say next to continue their moment of brevity. These times were rare in their lives unfortunately, and he wanted more of them. Many more of them. In fact, he craved seeing the lightness in his Righteous Man's eyes. It had been so long since then.
"Dean?"
"Yeah, Cas?" Green eyes reluctantly turned back to him.
"It must have hurt when I raised you from perdition," he stated, a shy smile on his lips.
"Christ, Cas," Dean groaned with deep chuckles, slapping his leg. "You suck at this, man."
"Correction," Sam remarked, walking up to them finally. "You both suck at this." He gave them a warm smile, though, before hazel eyes darted to the eldest Winchester. "Got your lighter?"
Cas noticed Dean's immediate flinch beside him before the man nodded jerkily.
"Yeah." He slowly pulled out a lighter from his jacket a second later. "Ready to see how humans paint the sky, Cas?"
The former angel nodded, unable to get the words out of his throat for some reason.
He watched the brothers both light the thin cords at the ends and hold their sticks of pyrotechnics out. A few moments later, he saw the first jet of light streak upwards with Dean's jet of light following Sam's close behind. When the streaks of light exploded in the sky, he tilted his head. More jets of light raced upwards and exploded, coloring the Heavens in all the hues of the rainbow magnificently.
He could hear laughter and sounds of happiness all around him. His eyes remained upwards, though, focused entirely on the beauty of their fireworks. He then noticed Gabriel's colorful displays join in the mix as his brother altered a few nebulas in the distance, making them show more than usual.
"Cas?"
The voice was low, hesitant even, as if afraid he'd run or worse.
"It's beautiful," whispered the former angel. He had never seen anything like it.
"Yeah." Dean gave a quiet laugh next to him. "Yeah, it is." He slowly wrapped an arm around Cas's waist, pulling the dark-haired man against him before he gently rested their heads together tenderly. "When Sammy and I were, uh, killed that time by Roy and Walt," he shrugged listlessly "I relived this memory of July 4th," he admitted quietly. "Only it was just Sammy and me then, course."
Yes. He could remember a bit about that time actually. He had used Baby's radio to speak to Dean, since Zachariah had blocked him from entering Heaven. "You met Joshua for me," Cas recalled, nodding. "And he informed you that Chuck . . ." His voice trailed off, and his eyes fell. That felt like a lifetime ago when he'd had such high beliefs in his father's goodness. Now, he knew the bitter truth.
"Yeah," Dean murmured, picking up where he had stopped. "When we found out your dad's pretty much the biggest dick since Tony Stark's dad."
"What?"
"Never mind, man." His Hunter sighed heavily, letting them stand in silence for a bit.
"Thank you, Dean." When he caught the questioning green, he smiled warmly. "For letting me experience a bit of your Heaven down here."
The Hunter snorted quietly and shook his head. "Yeah. It's nothing, Cas."
"On the contrary, it's quite something," argued the former angel, meeting the bright eyes. "There was a time when you'd have kept this to yourself, refused to let me in and see it."
"Yeah, I like to think I've grown a bit over the years."
Now it was Cas's turn to chuckle.
"Hey," Dean groused, lightly smacking the former angel in the chest. "What's that for, jerk? I have! I mean, I used to not believe in a damn thing but me and my brother. Then I met you and your damn blue eyes and messy hair that just screamed 'I got fucked' to anyone who would listen."
The electric blues rolled hard. "And I used to believe my father was full of goodness and love and mercy, deserving my unwavering loyalty. Then I met you and your damn green eyes and your maddening freckles and your spiked hair that screamed 'I will be your downfall' over and over to me."
Their grins were wide as they stared at one another.
"We've come a long way from the barn."
"You can say that again," drawled Sam, returning with a lit sparkler waving in front of him as he chuckled quietly. The trio glanced towards Gabe when the youngest archangel joined them a moment later. He too had a sparkler that he was waving wildly around in a seemingly childlike manner.
"Course you know why that is, right?" The mischievous archangel didn't wait before he carried on. "Because instead of jamming the Demon Blade in my brother, now you want to jam your—"
"Gabe!"
"Jeez. Tough crowd." The sandy-haired man snorted with a wide grin. "But, for the record, you're only upset with me because it's true."
"Whatever you say, asshole."
Cas's gaze lifted upwards then, observing the booming pyrotechnics that decorated the smoky sky from the others. As it had been for eleven years now, he and Dean silently watched side by side as the fireworks slowly grew into a swelling crescendo.
Eleven years ago, the Righteous Man had been yanked out of Hell by a fierce Angel of the Lord on behalf of his merciful Father's orders. Gripped tight and raised from Perdition, Soul and Grace seared together to form a bond that had defied any and all explanation. And this sweet Angel of Thursday, naïve as he was, quickly found himself plucked out of Heaven in response by his superiors, forcefully grounded onto the forbidden Paradise, where his Father's greatest creations lived. He too found that same salvation, absolute and earth-shattering. Profound, one might say. Soon, the Angel, overcome with humanity's greatest strength, willingly threw down his blade, his Grace, and all his mighty power. He fell for his Righteous Man—choosing humanity—and he would never look back. Not once. Not ever. For finally, this broken angel, lost for so long, had found his happiness, and he found it in humanity.
A/N: I know. I know. I have some pretty large loose threads that just haven't been wrapped up particularly well quite yet. Have no fear, I'm working on the next installment already that will tie them up. It's going to be a Sam-centered fic-because, well, SAM! I honestly don't write him enough in my fics, and he's so interesting to the dynamics. So, enjoy the below teaser for the next in the series entitled Moose-Napped.
"Are you just going to sit there, Sam, and contemplate life? Or are you going to get dressed and join me out here?" remarked his kidnapper dryly. The person had to be in a nearby room. They didn't sound threatening, but he wasn't stupid.
He tossed aside the covers and sighed.
"So, what are you? Angel? Demon? Vampire? Werewolf? Something in between?" he called back, quickly reaching for his clothes before deciding to change into the second set instead. It was slightly too cool for shorts and a t-shirt in here. He kept his eyes trained on the door just in case his kidnapper decided to surprise him again.
"That's the million-dollar question, isn't it? What am I?" A gentle, kind laugh filtered in quietly. "But what I am is of no importance really in the scope of things. The actual question you should be asking yourself here, Sam, is what I want with you."