AN- Chapter warning- Dubious consent(?), language, Sam's bitch face, No Beta. Read at your own risk. :P
This was a requested chapter. Someone wanted me to expand on the characters. There will be a later chapter with Crowley in it as well. You're welcome
"So….", Bobby's whiskey coarsened voice drew Sam's attention away from the book he hadn't been reading for a while now to find the older hunter nearly standing on top of him. Sam grimaced upon noticing that his mind was too unsettled to take in any real information and apparently take note of his immediate surroundings if he was letting other people sneak up on him. Admittedly, it was Bobby, a seasoned pro of a hunter but still. "….are we ever going to talk about it or just ignore it and pretend that everything is just coming up roses for us like usual?".
"What?", Sam deflected like a pro, glancing up at Bobby quickly before dropping his furtive gaze again to glue his eyes to the page that had been open to him for the better part of an hour.
"Don't play dumb with me, boy. You know damn well what I'm talking about.", Bobby growled. Sam winced at the older man's patented 'don't piss on my leg and tell me it's water' look. He seemed determined to drag this out to the bitter end so Sam caved, knowing a losing battle when he saw. Sam closed the heavy tome with page dust and a long sigh.
"Yeah, I know. Something's up with Dean and total shocker, he's not talking about it.", Sam stated the obvious because he felt like someone needed to at least say it aloud once, make it real.
"Well, no shit there, Sherlock.", Bobby grunted, "We already know that your stubborn ass of a brother is not the 'sharing is caring' type. I meant more what are we planning to do about it? About Castiel?".
"Seriously, Bobby? Do you know how to take out God cause I sure as hell don't. I don't even know where to begin researching something like that.", Sam gestured tiredly to the stacks upon stacks of untidy books all around them.
"Well damn it, we got to do something, start spit balling ideas somewhere cause Dean needs our help even if he's too much of a stubborn jackass to ask for it.", Bobby snapped.
"And who says he does? Bobby, maybe Dean's got this under control….", Sam ended up trailing off under the weight of Bobby's disbelieving look.
"Your fool brother has stepped in it deep and the worse part is that he probably didn't even try swerving to avoid this particular pile of shit. You know it and I know it.", Bobby said, "Don't get me wrong, boy. I'm thrilled that you're up walking and talking like the rest of us, but you just don't from vertical to horizontal like that not after what you been through, fresh as a daisy fine after being whammied with a severe case of Hell and laid out for a week. In our experience, that just don't happen. Stuff like that don't go away all neat and tidy, and I'm willing to bet the scrap yard that your fine fool of a brother made a deal expect it wasn't with any ole demon this time.".
"I'm not so sure. Castiel has never been a pushover.", Sam protested weakly, looking down at the book again, like it was suddenly going to start giving him some answers. What the hell was he even reading anymore? It was all beginning to blur together.
"Expect when it comes to your brother. C'mon, the guy made an angel fall for fuck's sake. I don't care who you are. That's pretty damn impressive for a guy with only a GED and a give-em-hell attitude. If anyone could have any sort of sway with the new god 2.0, Dean would.", Bobby rolled his eyes.
"So what? He wished me well and it happened? I'm not seeing a downside to this.", Sam grumbled, burying his head into his hands in a pointless attempt at escape.
"Or maybe you just don't want to.", Bobby said pointedly, making Sam look up to sharply glare at old hunter.
"Bobby, it's not like Castiel is going to take Dean's soul. He's god. He doesn't need it.", Sam argued, trying to stay rational in this conversation that was quickly turning into a heated debate. He mused that he was playing devil advocate in an argument about god. It might have been funny if it had been someone else.
"So he says until something bigger and badder comes along or god with the big 'G' gets off his lazy ass to prove our former angel wrong and press the restart button.", Bobby snorted in near open contempt, "Makes me wonder what Dean traded to fix your grapefruit."
"Even if he made a trade, and I'm not saying he did, what the hell are we going to do about it?", Sam sighed, flopping back against the chair, making the decrepit furniture squeak threats and warnings. "You didn't bring this up with me without something in mind. So, what is it?".
Bobby gave the younger Winchester a ruthful shit eating grin that looked more like a grimace in response. Sam winced openly in return. Bobby only looked like that when one of his ideas was particular bad, even by their nut ball 'we're saving the world with a bullet, a prayer, and a bottle of rotgut' standards. "Oh, it's beauty of a train wreck, I'll give you that much and I can promise you that you're not going to like it one bit. Holy hell, I don't even like it but I've been thinking that we go big. And when I say big, I mean BIG.".
"Oh joy. I can't wait to hear it.", Sam said dryly. "Well, don't keep me in suspense. Tell me all about the new and horribly interesting way we are going to die."
"I've been thinking….", Bobby paused to take a breath, "….been thinking about Death.".
"Ok, that's normal. It happens. We did just survive the Apocalypse.", Sam shrugged to be met with an irate look.
"No, idjit. I mean calling the guy up and getting him to help us.", Bobby snapped, "I may have found a spell that chains Death to do the caster's bidding or at least something like that. My ancient Sumerian's a little rusty."
Sam started back blankly for a long moment as that load of information sunk into his brain. "That's the best you could come up with? Put Death on a leash and hope that he doesn't bite us in the ass. Death? As in one of the Four Horsemen, Death, because that will end so well for us. Seriously, Bobby?", Sam said in stunned disbelief, staring the old hunter down with wide eyes.
"Desperate times.", Bobby shrugged a little too nonchalantly for Sam's liking.
"Sounds like business as usual.", Dean said as he came into the room covering in engine oil and drinking a beer, startling the other two hunters who had been too deeply involved in their conversation to keep their voices pitched low. "What are we talking about?".
It only took Dean a moment to access the situation, well versed with Sam's sour bitch face of guiltiness and though the older hunter's face gave nothing away, Bobby's antsy body language of shifting from foot to foot did. "Awesome. So I'm the topic of conversation. You wanna tell me to my face what you're saying about me behind my back?", Dean glared in open challenge, setting his beer aside for now.
"Well excuse us for giving a damn about you. It's not like you're willing to help yourself or bother asking us for it, jackass.", Bobby snapped, engaging first.
"Maybe because I don't want your help. I'm fine.", Dean shot back without hesitation, his words making Sam wanting to pull his own hair out by the roots. He was beginning to really hate the word 'fine'.
"The Winchester definition of fine leaves a whole lot to be desired.", Bobby snapped, echoing Sam's sentiments, "Fine for you is down right shitty to other people.".
"Other people don't have god breathing down their neck either. so yeah, all things considered, I think I doing pretty damn well. By the way, thanks for asking me flat out.", Dean said, spreading his glare out between the two, though the expression was coming off more tired and pained by their actions than truly angry with them. Sam didn't know what broke his heart more, that Dean could look like that to begin with or that Dean simply couldn't find the energy anymore to get mad.
"Well since we're all being so honest like with each other, why don't you just tell us already about the deal you made with Cas.", Bobby pressed, sensing weakness.
"Who's says I made a deal?", Dean asked the ceiling, rocking back on his heels to deflect, just as much a pro as Sam.
"Because I'm not an idjit. Sam's head didn't heal itself. What did you do?". Bobby moved in closer, crowding Dean both physically and mentally.
"Nothing.", Dean spat out a little too quickly for anyone to believe.
"Which means something. What did Castiel ask for in return, Dean? I have a right to know.", Sam rose from his seat to back Bobby and lend his own towering presence to the argument. He could sense Dean was close to crumbling as well. His brother could face down demons, angel, and gods and be a stone, but family was another matter entirely.
"Just let it go. It's not important.", Dean edged away from them, his scowl deepening as he watched Sam circle around him so that the hunters were on either side of him and there would be no sudden escape trips to the fridge for another beer or a sudden sprint to the bathroom.
"Damn it, Dean! You can't keep doing this self sacrificing bullshit every time something happens to me!", Sam growled out in exasperation, fighting the impulse to grab Dean by his shoulders and shake some sense into him.
Instead of his words having the freeing effect he wanted, Sam watched in bemused horror as Dean found strength in them. "I hate to break it to you but it is my job…..", Dean stated firmly, the soul deep words coming off of his lips like gospel from the book of John Winchester.
Dean's rant was cut short by a gentle hand placed on his shoulder, the hunter looking over in surprise at his adopted father figure, Bobby closer than he had thought. The aged, worn look of loss on Bobby's face enough to make Dean's next words curl up and die on his tongue. "No, it's not, son. John screwed you up something fierce and I'm sorry I didn't notice it in time to fix it when I could, but Sam's a grown man and a damn good hunter who can take care of himself just fine. You can't keep trading away pieces of yourself that you can't get back for him or anyone else. You'll have nothing left of yourself at the rate you're going.", Bobby told him in grave, sober tones of experience, but there was a whole lot of love there too, a fierce quiet love of a damaged man who raised two equally if not more damaged little boys the best he could.
Dean's head whipped around to the other side when he felt another hand placed upon his shoulder to meet Sam's own gaze head on. Sam's expressions were beautiful complex things, this particular one filled to the brim of his face open love mixed with pity, underlying anger, worry, and an unspoken understanding only brothers could have for one another.
It was too much for Dean to handle, old walls of self hatred clicking into place as he drew away both physically and mentally from his kin, letting their touch fall away from him. "Yeah well, screw you both. It's my choice and I got god on my side. Who do you got in your corner?", Dean sniped, his tone sounding petty even to him.
It was Sam who decided to answer first this time. "Death."
"Come again? I missed something.", Dean looked back and forth between the two in confusion.
"Bobby may have found the existence of an incantation that will allow us to chain Death. He thinks we can use the Grim Reaper to stop Cas.", Sam explained.
"Stop as in kill?", Dean hazarded a guess he didn't want to make.
"As advertised with any luck.", Bobby nodded.
"I think- no fuck that, I know- that's a bad idea! You should cut back on the rotgut because it's making your head all funny, Bobby.", Dean said without hesitation, panic beginning to made his heart race. If Castiel found out about this, he knew things would not end well for any of them. "And Sam, I thought you were smarter than that. I didn't get you all healed up just so that you could throw it all away on something so obviously suicidal."
"Or maybe you just don't want to stop Cas.", Sam shot back. He knew it hit, Dean giving it all away whether he knew it or not.
"Of course I do. Dude is off the rails. I just think we need to come up with another plan. You know, one that doesn't involve Death. Just saying.", Dean scrambled in his defense, not wanting to face certain aspects of his life just yet. He wasn't sure who was wrong or right here anymore. All Dean was sure off was that he wanted his family safe and not trying to end themselves in new and interesting ways by pissing off god on a personal level.
"Like what dean?", Sam challenged, crossing his arms over his chest as he glared down at his brother.
"I don't know. You're the bookworm. Figure it out.", Dean snapped, unimpressed. He thought Sam should have known better by now than try and intimate him. It's hard to take anyone seriously in certain crucial moments after you've potty trained and basically raised them since birth.
"What if this is the only way?", Bobby threw in his two cents, reminding the brothers that they were not having this argument without him.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.", Dean shrugged, making the other hunters groan in frustration.
"More like burn it down to its foundation. This ain't something we're undertaking lightly here. It either works or we'll be worse than dead.", Bobby growled.
"Which is why we're not. Death plays for keeps so I don't think we should go and try to piss the guy off. Remember the Devil? Lucifer tried to put him on a leash too. Death turned right around and screwed him over by just giving us the last ring. You don't want to be on that kind of someone's bad side.", Dean snapped, remembering his uncomfortable one on one with Death in that little Chicago pizzeria. "And speaking of bad sides, what the hell do you plan on doing if this plan of yours goes all belly up? I hate to break it to you but Cas isn't exactly taking notes about forgiveness from the New Testament. If he finds out about this…"
"If I find out about what?" said familiar voice made of gravel and smoke behind them, making everyone human in the room freeze and eyes widen to painful expansion.
"Balls.", Bobby sighed, breaking the fragile silence with his normal delicate manner.
"Nothing, Cas.", Dean went for casual and charming, the hunter faking a smile at the god who was openly considering them all.
"Lies." Castiel sighed as if he expected nothing less. With a glance, he had Sam and Bobby gasping as them fell to their knees under the weight of god peering into their heads.
"Stop! You promised!", Dean yelled, getting into Castiel's face though he kept his clenched fists glued to his sides. The hunter knew from prior experience that striking the god's resilient, stone like flesh would not only be futile but also extreme painful, probably resulting in a broken hand. Dean felt he had to do something though, having known what it was like to have something too big climb its way into your melon for a lookie. It wasn't pleasant to say none the least.
"Be thankful for my mercy. I promised nothing of the sort. I have simply refrained from reading your mind out of courtesy. I made no such allusions toward the others.", Castiel stated blandly, making Sam and Bobby groan in pain under his mental probing. Though it was probably causing them more suffering by doing so, Dean couldn't help but feel proud of his family for resisting, even if it were a token gesture. He knew the moment they were let go, the hunters collapsing onto the dirty floors like puppets with cut strings.
"Amazing. Impressive really. Reckless but impressive. I should have expected nothing less but it was always doomed to fail.", Castiel mused, his expression almost appearing amused around its flat edges. It made all the humans in the room shudder as one. An amused and thoughtful god was not a safe god to be around for any extended period of time if one cared for the current location of their inwards or the enduring state of their sanity.
"No one, not even Death, can help you now. He might have been able to do so at one point early on, but not now. I have not only taken in all of Purgatory but all of Raphael's garrison and followers, entire pantheons of gods, and even a few stray elementals. I am more than I have ever been.", Castiel told them with an utter calm that was terrifying on the most base level of their beings, like shadows creeping out of the dark in time to the dying of the light. Instinct flat out begged the hunters to bury themselves deep and hide. They were crouching down without even releasing that they were doing so, the impulse to live was so strong. Upon noticing, Dean made himself straighten his spine, every nerve shrieking at him about this decision.
"Glad we cleared the air on that one then.", Dean managed to say calmly in stiff tones as he motioned toward where Sam and Bobby were stooped. "You wanna pull back a bit and let us mortals breath? You've made your point. We get it."
"Apparently I have not, considering that you are still conspiring against me…..", Castiel's surreally blue eyes narrowed, causing Dean to break out in a cold sweat. The hunter flinched when he heard Bobby and Sam gasp again, god taking another look inside of them as if to confirm something. "…..No, not you though. Samuel and Robert…..You….You were trying to dissuade them from taking any action against me, protect them from themselves, from my wrath. That was very wise."
Something inside Dean twisted and snarled at the way Castiel smiled at him, like a pet owner whose dog had just done something unexpected but endearing. Dean fought against himself to keep from reacting, looking for appropriate words that would save them all instead. "Yeah, I was and they weren't going to do it if you had just stayed out of it and let me.", Dean said carefully, slowly in a measured voice, "You need to at least give me a chance. You need to let them make their choice, not interfere during the process and then complain about the outcome.".
"Your heart was racing and your entire being was upset. Your soul called me here.", Castiel pointed out.
Crap, crap, crappity crap, Dean swore in his head, wanting to scream in frustration. That damn handprint, his very own personal connection to god. Of course it would monitor everything about him, like a trace permanently imbedded into his own skin, betraying him. Of course, this was all his fault. If he had just let it go and kept on walking after getting his beer. "I didn't mean to.", Dean licked his too dry lips, swallowing back his lump of growing guilt hard. His brother and the only father he had now were suffering because of him, the two hunters being pressed to the filthy floorboards from the weight of god sitting in their heads. "Be all benevolent and let them go."
"Why should I?", Castiel looked bored, sounded bored. That didn't bode will for anyone. Throwing caution to the wind, Dean got close, closer than he should have ever wanted to dare, until he was toe to toe with Castiel looking the god dead in the eye and somehow managing not to flinch in the wake of such raw universal power.
A Winchester did what they had to do for family though, no matter who or what they were up against. "Because, if you do anything to them, I will never forgive you and if you don't believe my words, look as deep as you want because it's the truth. Maybe the only one I have left.", Dean vowed. Sweating bullets but refusing to break eye contact with blue suns that swirled with energies that made sparks, Dean leaned in to place his lips to Castiel's own too cool ones, the flesh of them still unexplainable chapped.
"For me. Let them go. Forgive them. I'll take their punishment, whatever it is.", Dean prayed softly into Castiel's flesh, his tongue darting out to moisten the god's cracked flesh. "Please."
Castiel could have been made of stone for all the signs of life he was giving. Dean wasn't even sure if he was bothering to fake breathing. He found himself imitating the god though, the hunter holding himself completely still, right down to his heartbeat.
"I like it when you pray, Dean.", Castiel sighed, coming back to life. "I like it very much. You do it so well with every part of your being. It makes your soul sing.". Stowing his embarrassment, Dean focused more on not passing out from sheer relief as he heard Bobby and Sam be released, the other hunters groaning in respite as they climbed back to their feet. From the way Castiel was looking at him though, all barely contained fire, light and desire, Dean knew that their moment of respite was coming to an end fast.
"Um, guys? I think you need to leave. Like as in, right now.", Dean told them, not bothering to confirm if they did so or not, his eyes only for Castiel, the god's skin set all aglow with his intentions toward the human before him. "Go find a shady spot for a while."
Dean was grateful that for once his family didn't question or argue with him, his clothing at that moment deciding to cease existing. "Show me how devout you are. Pray unto me some more. With all your heart. With all your soul. With all that is you.", Castiel all but purred as his hands found their way onto Dean's tanned skin, caressing it as Dean was pulled flush to the god. He found that he could really smile at Castiel, the expression genuine in every sense of the word now that his family was safe, that he had saved them. This wasn't so hard. He had done far worse in the past. He could do this.
"Bless us, Oh Lord, and these thy gifts which we are about to receive…"