Cas.
It's the first time she's ever prayed to him. In all the years since she'd fallen and they'd been separated, she'd never once called out to him… but now she is.
Castiel drops out of the sky several yards outside their nest and keeps long strides to stay alongside his brothers. They walk briskly with purpose towards the impending conversation. It's important. His mind should be on how they need to sway Michael but he can't help listening for Anna now.
There, once again… Cas.
"Get rid of that," Gabriel mutters when they're almost to the tree.
Castiel looks up from frowning at the ground. "What?"
"It's garish and juvenile," Balthazar says, flicking him on the neck to indicate Dean's mark that he'd all but forgotten.
"More than that… showing off a love bite from the human you're screwing ain't exactly the best idea right now." Shoulders tense, Gabriel seems devoid of his easy humor as he stops outside the entrance.
Castiel reaches up and touches over the mark, reluctantly. "Of course."
He needs to focus. Anna could wait. One last pass over the spot where Dean had sucked on his neck and his skin was clean of all indications of their joining. He already misses it.
Gabriel nods and puffs out a breath. "Alright kiddos, let's do this." He walks in, squaring his shoulders.
Balthazar stops next to him just before following to casually say, "Don't look so glum, Cassie. Your hunter boyfriend can give you another."
Inside, Michael looks up when they enter one after another.
"Uriel," he says while staring at them and a second later the angel drops before them, having been lying above at his resting spot.
"What have you to tell me?" Michael addresses Gabriel, sensing immediately the difference in their demeanors.
"We got problems."
Cas
Castiel's distracted all through Gabriel running down what they'd learned about the prophecy, carefully omitting their source so that Michael would assume Dean provided the information. Anna is calling to him again. Is she in trouble? She must be. He needs to know. Why now? Why-
"Convenient that the human you are infatuated with is suddenly the subject of a centuries old prophecy," Uriel sneers at him but he's not even aware of it. Anna is asking him to come now. Please come to her. Please.
Balthazar bumps his arm and Castiel frowns at him. That's when he notices they're all quiet and staring at him. Gabriel's eyebrows are raised high and his eyes are wide in annoyance. After a beat, he quickly fills the silence.
"Look, Dean Winchester became a part of the prophecy the moment his daddy stopped their first try. Lucy was almost top-side-"
"Something we have no evidence ever happened," Uriel crosses his arms.
Angels were arrogant. None had ever accepted that the demons had been so close to freeing Lucifer without their knowledge. And that a simple human had been able to prevent it…
Castiel tilts his head, forehead scrunching, and steps forward. "His family has given up much for that one act from John Winchester. You should show them some respect, not your scorn."
"Nice one." Gabriel throws up his hands as Uriel's wings puff up and his arms unfold.
"Humans who believe they are capable of combating with a demon deserve their end… and my scorn."
Uriel made no secret of his distaste for Hunters and it was nothing he hadn't heard a hundred times but just now, it made Castiel want to lash out at him.
They're glaring from too close, neither giving ground when Gabriel flings out his wings to draw attention back to him. "Michael, we need to act."
Michael turns to him, dispassionately. "So far I've heard nothing to indicate you've been successful in finding the demon Alastair. All you have is tenuous connections."
"We will not know until Crowley has…" Castiel trails off seeing Balthazar frantically waving his arms.
"Crowley?!" Uriel growls.
"You have been taking counsel with a demon?" Michael seems outwardly composed but his jaw tightens.
Castiel furrows his brow in weariness and starts slowly. "He had information." Quickly rewriting to leave out Dean he adds, "He is to tell me a location once Azazel has returned."
"And do we now make deals with the damned like naïve humans? Gabriel? Balthazar?" Michael turns to each of them with menace in his tone.
"You should have killed him the moment you saw him," Uriel practically spits it at them, shaking his head in disgust.
Gabriel sighs. "It was a skeezy means to an end."
"You lied to me," Michael accuses, without inflection.
"Technically…" Balthazar pops up his index finger to retort but at Michael's dark look, he laughs nervously and shrugs instead.
Turning back to Gabriel he glares. "You had me believe Castiel's human had information about Alastair's whereabouts. Instead you are letting a demon mislead you with talk of ancient prophecies."
This was going all wrong. He'd allowed himself to get distracted and now Michael wasn't even listening to them. Working with a human was offensive. Working with a demon was an abomination.
"Brother, please. We know-"
"You know nothing, Castiel!" Michaels voice echoes off the walls and he remains very still staring at his brother, so usually calm and in control.
Gabriel waits a tense minute, evaluating Michael before continuing. "You want us just to ignore Lucifer getting out?"
Michael lifts his chin, clearly uninterested in talking about it any further. Gabriel straightens a little and says, "Yeah well, this isn't your call to make, Bro. This is bigger than us. We go up top for answers on this one."
Uriel scoffs. "You dare to challenge-"
"Oh I dare, Big Guy. Don't let the roguish good looks fool ya. I could knock you on your ass on my worst day. Maybe you guys forgot that... but today I'm reminding you."
Uriel's face twists in something close to loathing.
Michael only stares at him, as if waiting for him to take the words back. After a moment he coolly bites out a response. "This isn't one of your trickster games, Gabriel. Are you sure you want to do this?"
Without pausing a second, he answers, "Yep. This is me standing up for something. Try to contain your pride."
Michael nods stiffly. "Very well. Since our brother seems to have shaken himself out of his lethargy, Gabriel and I will seek counsel. Uriel will remain here acting in command. Report to him in the meantime."
Uriel puffs up again with aggression. "If Crowley tells you a location for that swine Alastair, you are to tell me immediately. This has taken too long. I will deal with this where you are obviously inept."
Castiel nods even as he knows he won't let Uriel have this kill. Dean has lost too much and it is too important to him. They exit their nest with Uriel deciding to patrol in hopes of finding a demon to interrogate. There's no way of knowing how long it will take for his brothers to gather the other garrison leaders and elders to arrive at a decision. Regardless if they decide to help or not, Castiel knew he would not leave Dean's side. With or without their assistance, he would follow Dean into Hell itself.
Gabriel gives him a last look then Balthazar, before lifting upward.
CASTIEL!
He jumps and stares anxiously as Michael says a few parting words to Uriel. Moments later, they finally take off as well.
Balthazar immediately turns to him. "Okay, what is it?"
"Anna. It's Anna. She's praying- screaming for me to come."
Balthazar only pauses for a brief second to take that in, then he looks up at the direction their brother's had just flown. Turning back to him, he simply says, "Go."
"But…" Castiel darts his eyes at the skies in panic. "I can't. If Uriel returns-"
"I got it. Go, Cassie." Balthazar says, shoving him away. "And tell my darling little sister hello for me," he smiles sadly but Castiel barely sees it.
Blood rushing in his ears, he flies hard, pushing through the sky on that familiar route he'd flown so many times before. She'd been calling for over an hour but now she's quiet. She hadn't prayed again since he took to the air.
Castiel touches down several yards away from her house in the shadows. He doesn't break stride, walking up towards her small house. Her human is outside. Robert. Robert is holding his head in his hands but quickly looks up when Castiel approaches.
"She said you might not come, but to wait anyway."
"What's happened?" he spares the man a glace before looking up at the house, wearily.
"Just go. Please, before it's too late." Robert holds his head once more, breath catching on a sob.
Castiel folds his wings and crosses the threshold with dread. He doesn't take in the pictures of flowers, the vases, the touches of her everywhere... instead he takes the stairs two at a time and waits. He hears noise in a room to his left and follows it.
When he sees her, it's as if for the first time in years. Her hair is damp with sweat and eyes sunken. She's very still but her labored breathing indicates she lives, even if he couldn't hear her stuttering heart.
He steps softly to the foot of the bed and looks over her body. She looks so… small. Soft. Vulnerable. This was once a warrior of Heaven. His sister.
Frowning, he cocks his head. "You said humans get sick."
She opens her eyes and smiles softly at him. "Cas."
"This is no ordinary sickness." He says it like an accusation.
"I'm dying." She coughs harshly for a moment then slumps into the bed again.
"No. I will not let you."
"That's cheating." Anna smiles but it's tired.
Castiel reaches out towards her anyway but she shakes her head weakly.
"I didn't pray to you for that. I wanted to say goodbye."
"No!" he says low and fierce.
"It's my choice, Castiel. I know it's selfish but I wanted to see you again. Tell you-"
"Your choices are foolish, Anna! They've led you here where you are dying and frail like any other human."
"You would spend my last moments arguing?" she raises an eyebrow and smirks despite the evident pain.
If she goes this way, as a human… Castiel doubts he would ever be able to find her. Amidst all those souls in Heaven, she would be truly, finally lost to him.
After a moment of quiet, he steps forward. She reaches out so he slowly gives her his hand. "Respect my wishes."
She's telling him not to heal her. Not to make her better when it would only take a thought. Why would she be this cruel?
With several moments of numb panic and his mind racing, Castiel thinks to ask, "Do you know where you fell? Perhaps we could- I could attempt to retrieve your…"
Anna pulls a glowing necklace out from under her shirt. A blue vial, majestic in its brilliance.
"Your grace…"
"I never lost it."
"But now you can-"
"No."
Castiel works not to tighten his hold and crush her hand in frustrated anger.
"You will not let me help you. You will not be restored to an angel once more… this is needless. Unnecessary. I don't understand this."
"I know you don't. That's ok. A human can't choose not to die, Castiel." She softens and cups his cheek. "Cas…"
He wants to scream at her that she's not a human, but he swallows the rage. Anna didn't call him because she needed him. She called him to say goodbye.
Castiel feels his face wet and heart sink watching each breath stutter. Each heartbeat thud a little slower and longer apart.
"Balthazar said to tell you hello," he remembers suddenly. It sounds slightly ridiculous to say at a moment like this but he won't have another chance to tell her.
The lines at the corners of her mouth deepen as she grins with her eyes closed. "Tell him hi back."
He watches her as the smile fades and her face smoothes. Reluctantly he says, "I should get your hu- Robert."
"We've already said our goodbyes and our I love yous. Now I needed to tell you 'I love you' and…" She weakly holds up the vial between two fingers. "I wanted you to have it. That way you'll always have a piece of me."
"Anna." He voice breaks with pain. "Please."
"Cas…" she bows for a second in pain then once it subsides, settles closer to him. "Will you tell me a story? One of our stories. Remember when we pissed off Naomi…" she grimaces, "you took that stupid horn?"
He laughs even as he sniffs. "No you took the horn; I only assisted with a distraction."
"Oh, that's right," she hums. "Tell me the rest. I can't seem to remember…"
Castiel begins in slow measured voice, only pausing a few moments when his voice breaks as he feels her soul depart. He watches it ascend but continues speaking until it's finished and the story ends with them together, laughing.
Dean passed out as soon as he got back. Two hour drive from a cemetery in the middle of nowhere and he'd been dead tired. Fucking demons and their need for creepy atmosphere. Why can't those things ever go down at a Starbucks?
He checked his messages, nothing from his dad or Bobby and fell into bed.
It couldn't have been more than an hour or two when he's blinking into the dark and waiting for his eyes to adjust. He should be used to waking up with angels in his room after his last couple of days, but Dean's still jarred to look over his shoulder and see Cas sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Cas?" he blinks. Early darkness softening through the blinds makes it sometime after 5 maybe 6 am at the latest.
Cas doesn't answer. Just keeps staring ahead until he gets a bad feeling. What's gone wrong now?
Rubbing his eyes and sitting up against the headboard, Dean asks, "Hey. You ok, man?" He waits but Cas still doesn't say anything for several moments… long enough for Dean to wake up fully and run at least a handful of awful possibilities through his head.
Dean touches his shoulder tentatively and Cas eventually mumbles something he can't catch.
"Huh?"
"She died."
"Who, Cas?" Then he immediately realizes who. The only 'she' Cas ever spoke of. "What happened?"
"Humans die," he says simply.
Dean knows he isn't good with consoling words so he doesn't even try. Just pulls Cas backwards until he falls easily onto his side and he goes without a fight. Dean holds him and he slumps boneless in his arms. It's like they're spooning, something he would usually find mushy and uncomfortable but instead he just wants to help. Make Cas feel like he's not alone, because he absolutely knows that's what he's feeling right now.
He isn't fighting through feathers so Cas must have enough presence of mind to have them tucked away into wherever they go when he can't feel them. Dean strokes his free hand down his neck and side, rubbing his cheek at his shoulder and holding him tight.
After what feels like an hour of slack angel in his arms, Cas turns suddenly and knocks him back. His mouth presses hard and forceful against Dean's until he's gasping breath.
Dean turns his head away. "Hey, c'mon, Cas. You're not-"
"Please." Cas pulls back, eyes red-rimmed and wrecked with so much emotion that he always keeps back. It's hard to take. He kisses him again, bruising in a demanding way, then only stops long enough to gravelly whisper, "Don't say no."
He drops down to kiss him once more before keeping his lips on Dean's jaw line to wait tensely for an answer.
Dean hesitates only a second. "Yeah... Yeah, whatever you need."
If Cas needed something else to focus on, it was some way he could help, he wouldn't turn him away.
All his weight lands on Dean at once, pressing him down into the mattress. Grabbing Dean's wrists, he holds him down while rubbing along him, kissing him deep and demanding. Just when Dean's starting to moan into his mouth, Cas pulls back to shove him over onto his stomach. It's not soft or full of awe.
Yanking down his boxers to his knees, Cas dives forward to lick him without asking.
"Christ," Dean huffs into mattress, gasping.
Cas doesn't pause, just licks wetly and shoves two fingers in stretching him painfully before he was ready. He won't tell him to stop. Instead, Dean bites down hard on his lip when Cas is too quickly pressing the head of his cock in and heaving forward.
"Ahhh," Dean drops his head down to bite the nearby pillow.
It's rough. Too rough. Fingers dig into his hips pulling him back towards Cas in jerky movements. Dean white-knuckles the side of the bed, taking it. His dick is half hard, but he's not paying attention to it. This is for Cas. And even though it hurts, he can take it.
Dean braces on his forearms as Cas continues to steadily ram into him over and over without mercy or patience. When Dean lets out a grunt in pain before he can stop the sound, his rhythm falters.
Cas is still for a only a moment before taking a deep-breath. Releasing his fingers from where they had been clawing at Dean's hip, he slowly rubs up Dean's spine. Cas shifts so he's lying along his back, kissing his shoulder. Reaching down, his hands knead gently at his hips before moving one lower to stroke him. The other comes back up to push through Dean's short hair as he mouths his neck, producing shivers.
"Sorry," he rasps, kissing him softly along his shoulder and neck. "I'm sorry."
"I said whatever you need," Dean pants, rubs his head back against his hand. Wanting anything Cas could give right now. Wanting to be something he could lose himself in and forget the pain for a few minutes.
The pace picks up again but this time it starts to feel good. It's still hard but not as brutal. Cas drops his face against Dean's neck and rubs his scruffy cheek there, making him shudder in pleasure. He's stiff and thrusting into Cas' hand, feeling the warm stirrings build quick.
Cas makes sure he cums first before he clutches Dean tightly from behind and cries out into his sweaty skin.
When their breathing steadies, Cas withdraws and finds a towel, helping Dean get cleaned up and wipe the mess off the bed. Afterward, he lies on his back next to him and all Dean can do is watch all the emotion drain out of his face, leaving it blank again.
Staring upward, Cas quietly asks, "Did I hurt you?"
"Nah. I'm kinda sore but no biggie."
His face scrunches as he frowns up at the ceiling. "I should not have come."
"I'm glad you did."
Cas looks at him with confusion, like he doesn't trust that. "I should leave."
"No, you should stay," Dean says, matter-of-fact.
"Why? After that…"
"Cas, I'm fine. You're not. C'mon, stay. Just… just for a little while?"
Cas continues watching him with uncertainty.
"I mean, if you want," Dean adds, weakly, after a second.
The angel doesn't answer, just closes his eyes and stays facing him. Dean slowly lifts his arm to awkwardly cup his face, then bring him closer so their foreheads touch. They stay like that for a long while. Eventually, Cas starts shaking with small tremors and Dean does his best to soothe him. At one point, Dean opens his eyes and catches a glimpse of blue light winking below the rim of Cas' shirt.
He drags his hand from Cas' scratchy cheek to inbetween them. Just as he's almost touching it, Cas grasps his hand in a painful grip to stop him. He opens his eyes and they look at each other so close it makes his eyes cross. Slowly, he releases him but Dean doesn't reach for it again.
"What is it?"
"Anna," Cas' voice broke on her name. "What's left of her anyway."
Dean looks at it, not understanding, but sensing Cas wouldn't be able to talk much more about it.
"It's beautiful."
Cas smiles sadly and after a beat he takes Dean's hand and brings it forward, giving permission.
It's warm as he gently rolls it between his callused fingers. The blue light seems to brighten for just a moment from the contact. It swirls behind the glass, memorizing.
Cas turns his head away all of the sudden and tears leak out the corner of his eyes. Feeling unsure but knowing he needed to touch him, comfort him, Dean gathers him into his arms like he's a child instead of a warrior of God. Cas encircles him with an arm as well, clutching too hard while he shakes with quiet sobs. Dean rubs his hands constantly up and down his back, helplessly. He would just keep touching him over and over if he could do nothing else.
"Thank you, Dean. I didn't… I didn't know where else to go," Cas mumbles into his shoulder.
Lips twitching up at that, Dean strokes his hair and pulls him even closer. "Well, you can always come to me."
Yeah, it's sappy… but for Cas, he can endure a few chick flick moments.
A kick to his foot has Dean groggily shifting deeper into the pillow. Reaching out across the bed, he realizes he's alone in the twisted sheets of his motel bed. Still kinda dis-oriented, he pushes to a half-sitting position and blinks. He must have fallen asleep at some point because daylight's blaring through the open blinds all cheery and annoying.
"You gonna sleep all day, Boy?"
Turning so fast he could have whiplash, Dean's heart gets trapped in his throat when looks up to see none other than John Winchester smiling down at him.
"Dad?!"
Author's Note: Hello my darlings. Just a few reminders... My tumblr is zombeeblackcat. Come say Hi! Also this story is posted at AO3 as well under my pen name Zombiecat. There will most likely be about four more chapters to this story, give or take a chapter. Hope you are enjoying and I adore you all.