The next morning, Dean woke up when the sun started shining through the windows and shined on his face. He groaned and turned to his side, face away from the light. He hadn't slept much; his mind had been thinking about what happened between him and Cas the night before. Somehow, he felt bad about having sent the angel away like that. It was rude of him. But Cas had hurt him, and he didn't want to be hurt more than he already was.
Dean could hear Sam's footsteps upstairs and as he walked down the stairs. They reminded him of how a rhino walked – at least when it came to the noise. When Sam came into the living room, he shot Dean a strange look. "Dude, it's almost 9 and you're still sleeping?"
"Didn't get much sleep, Sammy," Dean replied, spread lazily across the couch on his stomach, one hand dangling over the edge of the couch and almost touching the floor. Sam shook his head and went to make them some breakfast. Dean finally stood up and started looking around for Bobby, but he was nowhere to be seen. "Where is Bobby?" he asked as he walked into the kitchen where Sam was.
Sam looked up from where he was preparing the breakfast. "I think he went to town to meet up with another hunter. He said he might be able to help us finding the weapon we're looking for, though he wasn't sure."
"Dude, we don't even know what weapon we are looking for." Dean sat down at the kitchen table. Sam came over with the breakfast and put a plate in front of them both.
"Well, maybe this hunter has heard something we haven't, who knows." He started eating his bread. "We need all the help we can get, you know."
Dean nodded and started eating as well. But he barely ate any of his breakfast; he mostly just stared at it with sleepy eyes and poked at it. Sam did not miss that. "You look like someone who's been up drinking all night, Dean."
"No I haven't, Sammy," Dean replied, annoyed. He sighed and leant back in his chair, still looking at his plate. "Cas dropped by last night." Sam looked up at his brother in surprise.
"Oh… And? Did he say anything?"
Dean gave a snort. "Yeah, he told me that showing his wings to me was an accident, and that he didn't want me to see them 'cause he'd only show them to someone he completely trusts."
Sam tried to process what Dean had just told him. "So, you think he freaked out because he doesn't trust you?" Sam asked carefully.
"Well, he kinda indirectly told me that he doesn't trust me," Dean said, almost angry. "I don't know, Sam. It's just that I thought he trusted me, cuz hell, I've trusted him, and then he just throws that shit into my face." He grumbled and started playing with the food in his plate.
"Well, maybe you just need to talk this through with him instead of pushing him away, Dean." Sam had gone into parent-mode again, which was usually rather annoying, Dean thought. But he knew that Sam had a point; pushing Castiel away didn't help anyone. Especially not himself.
"Wait," Dean said after a few moments. He frowned and looked at Sam. "How do you even know that I... pushed him away?"
Sam gave a smirk. Dean did not like that. "I know you, Dean. And you wouldn't be here, grumbling and looking all guilty if you had talked things through with him. You're grumbling and feeling guilty because you pushed him away." Dean gave another snort. Damn, sometimes Sam just knew too much about him.
"Yeah, whatever, bitch," Dean mumbled.
"Jerk," Sam replied with a grin.
Bobby returned from town after an hour. The hunter in town couldn't help them, so there were back at point zero again. They gathered around Bobby's desk to talk about the current apocalypse situation once again. Lucifer hadn't unleashed the other two horsemen yet, which was a good thing for them. But they knew he was working on it so they had to act quickly. But they still hadn't come one step closer to a weapon, nor did they know when or how Lucifer would unleash the other horsemen. They had arrived at a dead end. Again.
"So, it seems like we have no other option than to wait for new information to come," Bobby said. He sighed and leant back in his wheelchair. He looked up at Dean, who was standing with his arms crossed in the doorway. "If only you hadn't scared the angel off, we would have had some help. You idjit."
"I didn't scare him off!" Dean defended himself. "He's just being a dick, that's all." He leant back against the doorframe and pouted.
"Then at least ya have something in common," Bobby mumbled. Dean was about to protest when Castiel suddenly appeared next to them with a sound of ruffling feathers. They all let out gasps of shock and flinched, as neither of them had seen that coming.
Dean was about to give a smile when he took a closer look at the angel who had just appeared in front of him in the doorway; his side turned to Dean while looking at Sam and Bobby at the desk. The angel had a few bruises on his face, his right hand was a bit bloody, and the trench coat was slightly torn in some places. He looked like a mess.
"What the hell happened to you?" Dean said before thinking, perhaps a little more rude than intended. Castiel turned his head to look at Dean.
"Nothing of importance." There was no emotion in his face or voice. He turned his gaze back to Sam and Bobby. "I've been able to track down a weapon that has the power to kill Lucifer once and for all." That immediately got Sam and Bobby's attentions.
"What, for real?" Sam said like he almost couldn't believe it. "Where? How?"
"In Tulsa, Oklahoma. It's hidden inside a church and very protected by spells. As far as I know, an archangel had left the spear here on earth several centuries ago. I heard this from… reliable sources," Cas explained, still not bothering to look at Dean, much to Dean's frustration.
"So it's an archangel's holy spear that we need to kill Lucifer with?" Bobby asked, making sure he got it right. "Are you sure it'll work?" Castiel simply looked at him and nodded.
"How do we get past the spells? You said the spear was protected by spells, right?" Sam asked.
"I already know how to disable the spells protecting the spear, it won't be a problem," Castiel deadpanned.
"Then we better start packing and get our asses going," Bobby said and moved himself into the other room in his wheelchair. Sam looked from Castiel to Dean. Both of them seemed to shift uncomfortably, not looking at the other.
"I think that I'll just, uh, go… uh, shave," Sam lied and smiled innocently, and then he went out of the room before Castiel or Dean could protest. They both looked at the stairs that Sam had just disappeared from. Then Dean looked at Cas, who shifted uncomfortably, still not facing him.
"Cas, about last night—" Dean began but Cas cut him off quickly.
"Don't bother, Dean." Castiel's voice was a little sharp. "I know what I said upset you, and for that I am sorry. But there is nothing more to talk abo—"
"Yes there is!" Dean cut in. He was getting angry at the angel for constantly trying to avoid the subject instead of discussing it. "We need to talk this through, man." He looked at Cas and begged that he would talk this through with him instead of running. Dean licked his lips nervously before continuing. "Cas, do you…do you really not trust me?"
Cas finally looked into Dean's eyes. He could see that the hunter was begging him to answer honestly. "I do trust you, Dean." There was a flicker of relief on Dean's face.
"But… why did you say you didn't?"
"I said I didn't show my wings to someone I don't trust, Dean. I did not mean you when I said that," Cas said, looking up and hoping Dean would sense the honesty in his words.
"You sure made it sound like it," Dean mumbled.
Castiel sighed. "I know, it was my mistake. I was… not in a good mood and didn't choose my words properly. I didn't mean for you to misunderstand me, Dean. I'm sorry you got upset."
"That's okay, at least we got it figured out," Dean said with a smile. Cas smiled back at him and it made Dean's heart race faster. But he quickly chose to ignore that, and after a moment of silence, he coughed. "Okay, enough chick-flick, I better pack so we can get going."
Castiel stepped aside so Dean could pass him. But before he could disappear, Dean looked at him. "You'll show up at the church to help us, right?"
Castiel frowned and looked at Dean. "Of course, I'm the only one of us who knows how to break the protection spells."
"Good, cuz ya know, you haven't really been good at showing up to help us lately." Dean tried not to show his disappointment in his words and voice, and he let the words out quickly before turning back to pack his stuff.
"I know," Castiel simply said. He turned to leave, when Dean spoke again.
"Hey Cas?"
Castiel turned to look at Dean; head tilted to the side and frowned slightly. "Yes, Dean?"
"Next time, let me look at your wings for just a little longer, okay?" Dean grinned and hoped to God that Cas wouldn't smite him for asking. But the angel looked at him in surprise before he smiled back at him, nodded shyly and disappeared once again. Dean took that as a yes.
- tbc -
Okay, that was the third chapter. I hope it turned out well – personally I like the ending, couldn't help but to add a little sweet moment XD The mystery about Cas' wounds will probably be revealed in the next chapter, in case you're wondering what happened.
Disclaimer: Supernatural and its characters belong to the CW and Eric Kripke, not me.
