Dreams
Dean eased Cas's truck into the motel parking lot that Sam was at. "Cas." He said. He reached over to wake him up. "Wake up."
Cas's eyes opened up. "Huh?" he moaned and looked around. It took him a minute to register where he was.
"We're at the motel." Dean spoke in a soft tone to him. He looked over the angel who was still pressed up against the window. His blue eyes blinked and unfocused, Dean started to wonder if he was still in recovery.
"Oh okay." Cas spoke, his voice was rougher than usual and his voice was already pretty rough to begin with. The angel blinked a few times and let out a small yawn that Dean couldn't help but think was cute.
"Are you okay Cas?"
He rubbed his eyes and ran his hand through his already messy hair. "Ugh I think so."
"Okay you let me know if something changes." The two of them got out of the truck.
Cas stretched a few times. "I am fine Dean do not worry."
Dean stretched he felt stiff after the long ride in the truck. "I felt every bump, rock and everything else in that truck. How can you stand to drive that thing?"
He shrugged. "I don't pay attention to it."
He rolled his eyes. "Next time you steal a vehicle, steal one that has better shock absorption."
The two of them walked to the room that Sam was staying at. Dean cast a glance at his Impala. He ran his hand across its hood. "Oh baby I missed you." He said to his car.
"You and your car want a moment?" Cas asked and smirked at him.
"Yeah I think I do." And he rested his hands on the car's hood.
"Dean I'm getting jealous." Cas said with a smirk as he rested his hand on Dean's shoulder.
"Sorry." Dean said. He moved away from his car and walked up to the door of the motel room. He knocked and shortly Sam answered.
"Guys," Sam said letting the two of them in. "Mom is out on recon," Sam pointed to some papers on the table. "This is where Dr. Smith is hiding. It's a huge place; mom is worried about there being other witches."
Dean nodded. "Sooner we get this done the better." He looked over at Cas who was staring at the papers his eyes looked tired. He felt worry go through him, maybe he should have left Cas at home. "I'd rather the curse not flare up again. Going through that once was enough."
Cas looked over at him. "It wasn't fun for me either." He grumbled then looked at the papers and pushed some aside. "So in this town she didn't open up a clinic unlike the others?"
Sam shook his head. "That's why we are worried, mom is thinking is," Sam pointed at a picture of a large building. "That this is a base for her and maybe,"
"She's got a coven? Or a group of witches hang out there." Dean said
Sam nodded. "Mom is checking out to see if Alex is there alone. If she is then we can take care of her, if it's a couple of witches we can handle it but it's an army then well…" Sam's phone rang and he put it on speaker. "Mom we got you on speaker, Dean and Cas just got here."
"I checked the place out. There are about four people here. They seem to be witches… I think this is a hide out for them." Mary said
"Odds don't sound bad." Dean said with a shrug
"I figure they probably got some spells up to use as traps. Are we going to make our move tonight?"
"If it's a hideout it's probably best to do it sooner rather than later, more witches can come later." Said Sam he looked up at his brother.
Dean shrugged. "Hey man sooner the better. I'd rather not worry about going to sleep and never waking up again," He pointed at Cas. "Since he can't go in my head again and wake me up."
"I am sorry, Dean." Cas said. Dean noted his defeated tone in his voice.
Sam looked at Dean and glared at him. "You want to do it we can." He looked over at Cas. "Are you okay?"
Cas gave a nod. "I assure you both I am fine. I feel the same as Dean does I would rest better knowing that this witch is gone."
Dean didn't exactly believe him but he wasn't going to push it. "Let's go."
The three of them got in the Impala and drove to the building's location. Mary was waiting for them at the mouth of the road.
"No one has been in or out since I called." She said.
"How should we do this?" Sam asked
Dean went to the back of the car and started to get the witch hunting items. He pulled out a few guns and loaded them with witch killing bullets. Sam and Mary were talking about the plan and Dean tuned them out concentrating on his work. He sensed a presence and looked up to see Cas beside him. "Listen Cas you," He started when Sam asked.
"Cas you want to wait out here for us?"
Cas's blue eyes narrowed and Dean could sense his irritation. "No!" He snapped and he turned to face Sam. "I do not want to wait out here. I want to help," He pointed at Dean. "I want to help him. I'm not some baby that needs to be coddled by you guys!"
Dean flinched at Cas's tone. The angel was pretty worked up and Dean could understand why. Cas felt helpless, he felt that he had to prove to him that he had worth even though Dean had assured him that he wasn't. "Listen Cas," Dean started. The angel turned to look at him and Dean's heart melted. The urge to protect him washed over him. "You're weakened okay!" A flash of anger boiled over him. Why was Cas so stubborn that he had to put himself at risk? "Damn it Cas, you don't have to come with us! Stay here and guard the entrance we can handle it!"
"Dean!" Mary scolded
Dean ignored his mother and kept eye contact with Cas.
Said angel was glaring daggers at him. "You do not command me Dean Winchester!" He leaned in his anger rolled off of him. "Get that in your head now! You do not own me!" And with that he turned so fast his coat flipped with a snap and stormed off from them.
"Cas wait!" Sam called after him.
Mary grabbed her youngest son's shoulder. "Let him cool off." She looked at Dean. "What the hell Dean?"
Dean shook his head. He was so confused right now. He didn't want Cas to go off on his own; he knew the angel was still weak. "I just I don't…" He felt his hands tremble. "Shit!" He yelled and slammed the trunk to his car. He paced around. Why did he do that? Why did he yell at him, and order him around? He clenched his fists. After all that in the truck on the way there he had thought the two of them would be okay. He felt someone touch his shoulder and looked up to see his mom.
"Listen Dean, I know you probably don't want relationship advice from me but couples fight sometimes." She looked towards the building. "We got a job to do right now, okay?"
Dean nodded. "Yeah sorry." He shook his head he was still worried about Cas. Maybe this was the real reason hunters never had relationships. The job came first it always had to come first.
The three of them headed towards the building. Dean kept an eye out for Cas but never saw him. Sam and Mary headed around back and Dean stuck to the front. Following along the wall he was on the search of the open window that his mom had spotted. Then he spotted a person in a tan coat. He knew who it was. "Hello Cas," He said in a gruff tone in an attempt to copy how Cas greeted him.
The angel looked over at him. "Hello Dean." Dean noted the other man still looked angry.
"Cas I didn't mean to piss you off," he started but the other man held his hand up.
"This isn't the time or place to talk."
Dean nodded. He agreed they could talk later. He spotted the open window. He climbed on nearby crates and went through the window. His feet hit the concrete floor with a soft thud. He moved away and looked around as Cas worked his way in too. The building looked pretty much empty other than some crates. Dean figured it must have been some old warehouse or storage building. "You take the right I'll take the left."
Cas nodded his angel blade dropped into his hand and he headed on without him.
Dean didn't like him being off on his own but he had to remind himself that Cas was an angel. He had spent the many years in battles and was more than capable of taking out a witch. Hopefully they didn't attack first and if they did they had weak magic.
Dean headed on ahead and heard talking. He paused by the wall.
"Yes well the spell needs work." He recognized it as Alex's voice
"You're bringing hunters on us though." A young woman said. "I already escaped the British Men of Letters, now you gone and pissed off the Winchesters." Dean could hear the woman walk around the room. "This is a safe space Alex! We are here for safety!"
Alex scoffed. "Well maybe instead of safety we should be fighting! We shouldn't be hiding in old buildings like rats! We are stronger than humans and that's all the hunters and the Men of Letters are is humans!"
"Alex this has gone on for too long. You're playing a risky game, one of which I can't tolerate you playing anymore. No wonder the Grand Coven kicked you out. You're insane. We have low numbers we can't possibly wage a war against anyone." Then Dean heard the woman start to cough then let out a scream.
He looked around the wall to see Alex had her hand out towards this woman who was holding her own neck.
"Insane? Ambition is insane then?" She closed her hand and the other woman fell to the floor with a thud. "I'll show you all the world will be in my hands."
Dean leveled his gun and stepped forward. "Oh man, I thought there was something off with you."
She looked at him and raised an eye brow. "Dean Winchester? You're still alive; you should have been dead or in a coma by now."
"Yeah well I got better."
She tilted her head and sniffed the air. "Rowena, she came to your aid." She shook her head. "That damn woman never liked her." She held up her hand which caused Dean to feel a surge of pain.
"Agh!" He screamed and he dropped his gun
"Shame you came, witch killing bullets or not you can't face me as long as you're under my curse." She waved her fingers
Dean felt more pain go through him.
"I heard you guys were a force to be reckoned with. Heard so much of the mighty Winchesters, you have friends in high places." She walked around the room. "The king of hell got Rowena on your pay roll, an angel and who comes to take me on, one man, and one weak little man." She leaned forward and grabbed his face he tried to pull away. "My curse feeds off of you; it feeds me and my monster." She grinned. "Your nightmares and dreams give me energy." She titled her head. "Such a pretty little face you have. I think I'll keep you around as a sex slave."
He tried to get away. "Well ugh no thanks lady I'm taken."
She smiled. "Oh I know your little angel." She wiggled her eyebrows. "It's always the good looking ones who are gay. Maybe you spend some time with me and forget about him." She shrugged. "Course I can use a spell and make you think I'm him if that turns you on."
"Bit me lady!"
"Oh I can." She pulled something out of her pocket. "I've grown tired of this game maybe after this you'll come my way." She placed the bag in his pocket and spoke a few words.
Dean cried out in pain as pure agony went through his body. She let him go and he hit the floor. He kept screaming he couldn't stop.
"Bet it feels terrible." She sat on a crate. She smiled. "Once you decided you're done being in pain and ready to submit I'll remove it."
He reached for the hex bag but everything hurt. He tried to mentally block the pain he's throat tightened. It started to get hard to breath. Suddenly someone pulled him into their arms.
"What did you do?" Demanded Cas
Dean reached up and grabbed his shirt and nodded to the hex bag in his pocket.
"Just a little hex bag, hope you don't mind me playing with your play thing." Alex said with a sick laugh. "We can always share him. Hell you can join in your kind of hot too, never done it with an angel before."
Cas reached into Dean's pocket and got the hex bag. He found Dean's lighter and set it on fire.
The hex wore off on Dean causing him to fall into Cas's arms. Dean looked up at him and the angel looked down at him, he's blue eyes was a mixture of emotions and Dean could see the love clearly in them. "Thanks Cas." He's throat was sore from the screaming.
He pulled him close to him and rested his chin on his head. "You'll be okay Dean."
The witch smirked. "Aww look at you two. If it wasn't for me you two would still just be staring at each other from across the room."
"Shut up bitch." Cas said he raised his hand
"Cas don't your grace." Dean cried with worry. Then he heard gun shots. Dean jumped he heard Cas reassure him. He moved his head away from Cas's chest to see Sam standing there with a smoking gun. "Sammy."
Sam walked closer. He looked at the witch. "She's dead." He put his gun away and ran over to them. "What happened?"
"Hex bag." Dean said. He felt a brief flash of embarrassment as he realized he was buried in Cas's chest. Didn't help any that Sam looked at the two of them and smiled. "Stop it Sam."
"What? You two are cute together." Sam said with a shrug.
Dena rolled his eyes and looked up at Cas. "Dude you can't go around zapping witches with angel juice when you're weak." He scolded
Cas frowned. "I was protecting you Dean. I wasn't going to let her hurt you anymore."
"What if it hurt you did you think of that?" Dean asked. He untangled himself from Cas and stood up. Legs were a little shaky but he was okay for the most part.
Cas got up as well. "Dean I… sorry I didn't think about the aftermath." He looked at him his blue eyes were filled with sadness. "I just wanted to keep you safe." He reached out and laid his hands on Dean's head.
Dean felt the tingle of his grace going through. "Cas," He started
"There you're healed. I know that hex wasn't pleasant." He frowned as a small trickle of blood came out of his nose. "Oh,"
Dean handed him a handkerchief he kept on his person. "Here."
"Thanks." He covered his nose
"You really need to rest." Sam said shaking his head. "Your family remember you can't keep pushing yourself so hard."
Dean nodded. "Yeah I would heal eventually."
Their mother walked in the room. "Place is clear. I called Mick they are going to put someone on this place to see if anymore witches pop up."
"That chick," Dean started and he pointed at the woman that Alex had killed. "Said she was on the run from the British Men of Letters."
Mary nodded. "Good at least we found a witch safe house. Doubt any of them will come here again though after what we did." She walked up to Dean and gave him a hug. "I'm glad you're okay now." She looked at Cas. "You take care of him okay."
The angel smiled. "Of course Mary." He said and she hugged him too
"I'm going to head out. Ketch is waiting on me to help with a case." She bid them good bye as she left.
Dean looked at the other two and rubbed his hands together. "Since I'm no longer cursed we should hit a bar and celebrate!" He cheered
The three of them went to a bar in town. Dean was relieved to no longer be cursed. He was looking forward to going to bed tonight and it had been a long time since he felt that way. A bartender brought him another beer and flashed him a smile. He looked over at Cas who was giving her the stink eye and he almost laughed as she walked off.
"Little Cas has a jealous streak." He teased as he opened his beer
Cas rolled his eyes. "I just don't like that she keeps looking at you like a piece of meat."
"She's just looking for a tip." He took a big swig of his beer as did Cas. He tried not to laugh when the angel frowned at the beer. He knew Cas couldn't really taste it just the molecules that made it up. "So," He started
The angel sighed and frowned. Dean knew the angel didn't care for bars. Neither did Sam which was way after one beer he took off back to the motel.
"Let's get out of here okay." Dean said.
Cas got up from the stool so fast Dean tried not to laugh.
He paid the bartender and finished his beer.
The two of them headed to Cas's truck. The angel started it up and headed back to the motel. Dean looked out the window the scenery rolled by and he was surprised to see they were pulling over to a clearing. A smile played across his face when the truck came to a stop. He didn't get to say anything as Cas jumped out of the truck. He followed him and saw him sitting on the bed of the truck. "You okay Cas?" he asked as he joined him.
Cas was staring up at the stars. "I always liked looking up at the stars as a human. I never really looked at them before." He looked at Dean.
"Dude,"
"I never really thought of how my actions could hurt others before I meet you and Sam." He laid his hand on Dean's. "I never understood love until you Dean."
"Why are you talking like you're about to go die?" Dean asked
Cas shook his head. "Our line of work is very dangerous… I could go out and the angels may decide to get their revenge against me." He tighten his hold on his hand and said. "I want you to know that even if we fight, even when you get old, even if you were to forget me, even if we disagree I will still love you." He kissed his hand. "It's going to take a lot to get me to stop loving you. I will love you till the end of time itself and even after my death."
Dean felt his heart swell. The knowledge that someone would love him till the end. "Cas I," He was cut off by Cas who pressed his lips to his. The kiss was long and deep it was the longest kiss they had shared as a couple. Cas broke away and Dean grabbed his coat and pulled him to him. He pressed all his feelings into the kiss. Dean was never good at expressing his emotions then maybe he could convey them in a kiss. He felt Cas's lips part and welcomed in his tongue. Dean thought he could kiss him forever and probably could if he didn't need to breathe. He patted his chest which caused him to pull away. Dean gasped for air and looked at Cas whose hair was trashed after he had run his hands through it. "Damn that was one hell of a kiss." He took in some air and tried not to blush.
"I am glad you enjoyed it." He smiled playfully. He ran his fingers through Dean's hair. "I seen on TV that people like kissing under the stars."
Dean chuckled. "Dude what's with you and the chick flicks?"
"You enjoyed it so I wasn't wrong." He pulled him into a tight embrace.
Dean held him and they stayed like that for a while. He's heart sunk in his chest he was pretty sure he knew what was coming next.
"Dean I," Cas started. He rested his face in his hair as if breathing in his scent before he spoke again. "I need to go and find Kelly." He let him go and Dean pulled away.
He felt the sting of tears. "I know, I know but what if I come with you?"
Cas shook his head. "Dean you and Sam would be better off taking care of hunts. I'm pretty much chasing a ghost." He sighed. "It's not special more like grunt work, and you can call me and help when you get a solid led."
"Then why go? You can stay with us and work on hunts while we… wait."
"Exactly wait, I can't just sit around and wait for Kelly to manifest. It's my fault. I let Lucifer in my body and if it wasn't for that he wouldn't have been walking the Earth and getting her pregnant."
Dean shrugged. "Not like you knocked her up you know."
Cas laughed. "I feel like I can get through to Kelly." He looked up at the sky. "My brothers and sisters would rather kill her, and the demons want to use the baby for their own means. I feel bad for her she's just an innocent woman."
Dean shook his head. He was annoyed that Cas would leave him to hunt down Kelly but what could he do. He knew he wouldn't listen to him. "Okay Cas just, keep me in the loop okay."
"I will call you every day if it makes you happy, baby."
"Ugh don't call me baby that's my car's name." He said with a frown.
"What do you want me to call you? I thought pet names was how humans show to others that they are a couple."
"That's how teenagers do it." Dean reached into his pocket. He had been saving this for the right time to give it to Cas. He held out his hand. "Here,"
Cas looked down at his hand and titled his head. "A bracelet?"
"Yeah I used to wear this thing all the time and well… I didn't have time to go to the jewelry store so ugh…"
He took it and smiled. "I like it." He rolled it in his hands. "Especially because it belonged to you."
"You're going to be taking my clothes next aren't you." Dean teased. He reached out and helped Cas put on the bracelet. "Now you got a little piece of me to keep around." He kissed Cas's hand and Cas smiled.
"Thank you Dean I will cherish this." He said as he looked at the bracelet.
Dean couldn't help but smile at the fondness that crept across his face. He leaned over and captured the angel's lips with another kiss and hung in there as long as he could. When they broke away he saw the sorrow in Cas's deep blue eyes.
"I should get you back to the motel."
The two of them much to Dean's dismay got back in the truck. Dean tried to keep it together on the way back. Cas pulled into the parking lot.
"I know you will be glad to be back with your baby." Cas said as he looked at Dean's car. "Next time I'll see if I can steal me an Impala."
Dean snickered. "Get your own Impala huh?"
"I will miss you." He held up the hand with the bracelet on it. "This will help somewhat but I will still miss you."
"I'll miss you too Cas." The two share a brief kiss. Dean knows it's not enough. He wants more but he can't have it at least not now, Cas had a job to do. He climbs out of the truck and makes his way to the motel. He looks back and gives a wave and Cas drives off to parts unknown.
The heaviness weighs on him as he walks into the motel room. Sam looked up at him from a book he was reading.
"Figured we can leave in the morning, I'm sure you're tired." Sam said
Dean was past tired. He let out a heavy sigh.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes… no." He shook his head.
"Cas?"
He nodded. "Yeah he ugh," He felt a tear slid down. Geez this was hard enough when they were friends. "He went on to look for Kelly."
Sam nodded. "It's going to be okay Dean he'll come back."
"I hope so." He walked over to his bed and took off his boots. "So you're really okay with this?"
Sam laughed. "Of course Dean, if you're happy than that's what's important."
He raised an eye brow. "Did Cas ever talk to you about it?"
"Yeah… ugh actually I've known that he liked you for a while… I had my suspicions that it wasn't as one sided as he thought. He didn't see it that way though."
Dean made a noise of agreement. "Just remember Sam," He climbed in the bed. "We all live in the same bunker."
Sam rolled his eyes. "I know, want me to turn out the light?"
He yawned. "I'm good." He rolled over. He thought fondly of that kiss from earlier, he couldn't wait until Cas came back. Then he would take him on a date and then make Sam uncomfortable with the amounts of affection he planned on raining on the angel. He held his pillow tightly and stifled a yawn. At least it was all over now. He wasn't cursed and they could get back to their lives. He smiled he was glad he finally was with Cas. He's bed felt empty without the angel but he knew someday soon he would be back, and with the image of the blue eyed man on his mind Dean Winchester fell asleep, into a deep sleep that he had been unable to achieve in years. Dean Winchester had achieved happiness.
The End