It was around the time that Dean found the second black feather on the floor of the bat-cave that he started to get worried, by the time he had found the tenth he was scared, by the fifteenth, terrified and by the thirtieth, desperate.
Cas had tried to comfort him, saying there was nothing to be done. Why worry? Cas had held Dean close and reassured him that he was okay with his gradual fall. That he wasn't afraid of humanity. That he didn't mind... As long as Dean stayed with him.
And as Cas malted long, black feather after long, black feather Dean would continue going round the bat-cave, picking up each and every one. Placing the delicate feathers gently, lovingly, into a box he kept in his room. He would spend every hour attempting to think up a solution, a reason, and a way out. He checked on Cas regularly, asking if he was okay and how his wings were. Cas always lied.
Cas would watch him, sadly, wishing he could keep his feathers for Dean's sake. Running his fingers across his wings, praying that they'd stay in one piece. But now, as he ran his hands across his wings, there were barely any feathers left at all and gaping gaps had been left, where there used to be beautiful plumage. In most places he could touch the thin membrane and even the bone underneath. His wings drooped, weak. He thanked God daily that Dean could only see what fell, and not the broken casing that the feathers fell from. He would hide away, examining his wings, stretching them out to their full extent, carefully so as not to damage them further, thinking about why this was happening. He was scared. Scared for himself. Scared, no matter what he told Dean, at becoming human. Humanity was a rough area; he'd been there before, because of Metatron, and he wasn't keen to return.
Sam was also worried. His reasons, although different to that of his brother and the suffering angel, were just as important. His were more of a technical nature. He couldn't understand how Cas could be losing his wings. Angel's don't just 'lose' their wings. He poured over book after book, hour after hour, reading angel lore. Trying to find record of this happening before, he could never find anything but he never stopped trying.
And at night as Cas watched over Dean, finding it increasingly hard to stay awake all night, and as Sam tossed and turned in his bed, all three worried. Asleep or awake, they all worried; scared of what would happen the day Castiel's wings fell completely away.
AN: So hey, two chapters in one night for ya. I hope you liked these. I wrote them before the premiere so I know that some things that are written in the previous fic have been answered and sorted out but I thought you might want to read it anyway. As always, please leave a review and if you have any requests hmu. Love you, you idjits x [what did you all think of the premiere? I LOVED IT.]