Part XII
Minutes to Midnight

He didn't know why he said those things.

In the heat of his moment, as his fingers did a poor job of staunching the flow of blood from his nose and his face screamed in pain, Dean had wanted to throw a few punches of his own to even the score. Henriksen had intervene so Dean had resolved to do the next best thing - verbal blows. Michael had shown his weak spot (namely in the form of Castiel) and Dean had taken his shots. At the time it had pleased him how volatile Michael reacted.

Now however...

In the reflection of the closed elevator doors, Dean could see the purple rings forming around his eyes and the dark red of broken vessels along the bridge of his nose. He had straightened it himself in the bathroom and cleaned up the best he could, but there was no hiding the damage of Michael's sucker punch. Dean should have made a report out of it, get the bastard suspended at least, but in the end, as his nose throbbed in unison with his heart, Dean felt he deserved every bit of pain he was feeling.

At the beginning of the case Dean had been informed that he needed to get close to a suspect in order to bring down the infamous Lucifer. That was fine and dandy. It wasn't his first under cover assignment. He was good at earning people's trust. It was amazing how far good looks could get a guy, and yeah, he had taken extra privileges during his assignments if it suited him. His advances were never unwelcome and he damn well noticed the way Castiel had looked at him from day one.

It should have been nothing but net from the free throw line.

In a typical case, at least one that was considered typical in Dean Winchester's book, the people he was assigned to get close to in order to weasel out information or evidence, they were the love 'em and leave 'em type. Other times they were floozies, junkies, or an otherwise equal match the low-life they were banging. Either way, Dean did his thing, won the person over, got what he needed, and then he was off on his next case without a second thought.

But Castiel...

Dean was surprised by Castiel. He couldn't figure out how this awkward lab-rat ended up involved with Lucifer. There had been theories that Castiel was the one that had made evidence disappear, or to slip notes to witnesses with threats for them to keep their silence. The bureau wanted something, anything, to pin on Castiel. The plan was to use that game piece to put pressure on Castiel until he spilled on Lucifer.

Virgil's quick flip of Castiel's apartment had turned up fruitless, and even Dean's casual visits had left him empty handed. After the whole fiasco, Dean kind of felt bad about it when he noticed how poorly Castiel was cooping. The guy hadn't only lost sleep over it, but he'd been steadily losing weight as well. So Dean had tried to make amends by bringing the guy food, hanging out with him to make him feel safe, and also trying to make him get some sleep.

Meanwhile he was hard pressed to ignore Castiel's interest in him.

So yeah, maybe Castiel was a little desperate, but it was a desire for a change in his life and not particularly for sex (although Dean was quite willing to provide the latter). If the guy was desperate, then it was for considering starting anew with Dean. It had to be the worst available option. Dean was terrible at relationships. He had gotten married when he was young only because he had knocked up a girl and his father had drilled it into his head that he better be there for that kid. Dean had made an honest effort to do just that, but it had been hell - absolute hell. Eventually Dean had cracked and had retaliated by sleeping with just about anything with a pulse. Of course, even though he was being a cheating bastard, Lisa had decided to be a bitch and refuse to sign divorce papers because of the kid. So even though Dean didn't wear a ring, and he lived not only in a different house, but a different state, legally he was still a married man.

Like he said, he was a bad choice for Castiel.

Yet, despite all that, Dean had sorta grown fond of the guy. Alright, more than just a little, because he had been battling the green-eyed monster of jealousy ever since Lucifer had stepped back into the picture. Dean rarely felt possessive over people, but damn he had been ready to ravage Castiel on that battered couch while Lucifer slept in the room down the hall just to feel like he had a claim on Castiel. It was more than a bit psychotic on his part.

But Castiel was no criminal.

He was the equivalent of the guy in the wrong place at the right time, and the more Dean learned by being around him, the more he began to feel guilty about the unavoidable fact that he was going to eventually have to turn him over to his superiors. Damnit. Castiel was just this average guy with killer blue eyes and this hair that constantly made him look like he had just rolled out of bed. He was shy, incredibly awkward in both actions and words, and he really was that quiet nerd that sat in the far corner of the library with his nose stuck in a book.

More adorable than a god damn kitten too.

Speaking of which, Dean's cheeks had never hurt so much from smiling, but it happened whenever he remembered the frustrated scowls on Castiel's face in response to becoming caretaker to a young kitten.

Dean didn't blame Lucifer for wanting to keep Castiel. It was strangely easy to imagine Castiel being something of a ray of light, a breath of fresh air, a speck of honesty – something to cherish after a day of slogging through the filth and corruption of the world. Dean glanced down at the mostly empty file in his hand, feeling like world's biggest scum bag.

Least to say, Castiel hadn't been the only one losing sleep over the last few days.

The elevator doors slid open, allowing a desk clerk (a slender brunette with a shy smile Dean had tossed a smile or two in the past) inside and Dean was forced to finally press the third floor button as she pressed the two next to it. She glanced at him, no doubt hoping to earn a smile from him as their hands almost touched, but Dean didn't have it in him to play the role of Charming today. Slowly she retreated to the back of the elevator while Dean stared at the line dividing the closed doors as his thoughts continued their downward spiral.

The second floor came and went, and Dean had a spare few seconds alone to steel himself before he stepped out onto the third floor. His expression gave away nothing as he walked the hall and stopped next to Zachariah's office. His tapped his knuckles against the glass wall to capture the man's attention before earning the wave-in of permission to enter.

"Dean!" The false enthusiasm always bothered him. "Dean. What happened to your face? Never mind that. What do you have for me - please tell me it's something good."

That was a matter of interpretation. Dean glanced once again at the file in his hand before wordlessly extending it toward his boss. Zachariah eagerly plucked it from his grasp. He made a face, part amusement part question, at Dean upon seeing the lack of paperwork inside.

Dean gestured uselessly with his hand, "The guy's pretty clean."

"Clean? Like, squeaky clean or suspiciously clean?"

Zachariah gave him a piercing look before settling behind his desk, retrieving a pair of cheater specs to set on his nose before pursuing Dean's latest report. Dean shrugged and slid both hands into his back pockets. "Not sure, but given years of experience, he really doesn't strike me as a criminal."

"Ehh," His boss drawled his disagreement as he flipped to the back page. "I find it highly unlikely that a concubine of Lucifer's isn't either dirty or has a skeleton in the closet."

His jaw tightened, but he said nothing to refute Zachariah's words.

"I'm disappointed, Dean." The file closed, the glasses were removed. "You promised me results by the end of the week."

As much as Dean wished that didn't prick at his sense of pride, it did. He shrugged it aside, "To be fair, the week's not over."

"Mm," Zachariah laced his fingers together and briefly regarded Dean over his dry knuckles. "That's true. So bring him in."

Dean faltered, his expression shuttered, "Sir? On what charges?"

"Harboring a fugitive."

There had to be four elements of proof to make that arrest, and Dean was sure they only had one, and by circumstantial reasoning Castiel was guilty of a second one. The other two, well, no doubt a bit of hem and haw could be thrown around to make it stick. Given that it was a working case against Lucifer, Dean was certain a judge would rule in their favor. Usually those were factors Dean counted in his favor. This time he wished justice was more blind.

"Well?"

Dean blinked out of his daze, "Sir?"

"What are you waiting for?"

After checking his wrist watch, and determining that Castiel should be at work by now, Dean turned to leave. His hand was on the door when Zachariah called his attention back with a clearing of throat. With his countenance carefully wiped blank, Dean pivoted just enough to meet his boss's gaze.

"I haven't received a report from your partner."

Dean didn't have an explanation for that. Virgil had called in the day after the break-in, Dean had advised him to lay low so that Castiel had time to forget his face, but after that - nothing. Virgil either took the advice to heart and disappeared off the map, or he had run into some serious trouble. Dean was a little worried, but he knew the man could very well take care of himself. "I told him to lay low to keep Castiel from spooking on us."

"I still need his report."

"I'll get a message to him." Even if it was just a voicemail.

Zachariah nodded before turning his attention to his computer monitor, effectively dismissing Dean. A push of shoulder and the agent left, moving back down the hallway to wait at the gleaming elevator doors. He sort of wished he could wait until that evening to catch Castiel. Parading him out in cuffs in front of his co-workers was not something Dean wanted to put Castiel through. Hell, he wished he could take it all back, but it was too late.

The wheels were already in motion.

Things to Know
1.) Wow, the response from you guys has blown me away. Thank you so much, it means a lot to me. As a show of my thanks to those who enjoy the story, here is a next-day update.
2.) I totally used Virgil.
3.) Dean's a freakin' married man. He did mention Ben's name forever ago.
4.) In response to Ginny, and any of those sharing that opinion, I just want to clarify that it was not my intention to bash Dean. I adore Dean, and I adore his very male persona of burying all his emotions and putting up a tough front and refusing to show any sign of weakness. Michael is not a fan of him, obviously, and my chapters are colored with the opinion of who is the main focus. So last chapter was filtered through Michael's point of view. I hope this chapter shows that no, I'm not angling Dean to be the bad guy. In my opinion there isn't a bad guy in this story. Just people. Wonderful, emotional, flawed people that make certain choices for certain reasons. We all make mistakes.

Next Chapter - Castiel should have knocked on wood because he thought his life couldn't get any worse. To start off, he's late for work..