Chapter Four

No. This couldn't be happening. It must be a different Benny, not Duke Benny Lafitte from the Southern Kingdom. Not the only ex that Castiel's ever heard about.

"Dean," the man said with a fond smile. His voice was warm and perfectly coated in that southern charm. "There you are."

The king grinned and strode forward. "It's been so long, man! What are you doing this far north?"

Castiel dropped behind Dean but kept his eyes on Benny. A shred of him ignored the 'north' comment and still thought that this could be a different Benny. Hoped it could be.

"Comin' to save you ass, of course." The two embraced, a sort of 'manly hug', and Castiel twitched at the physical contact between them. "Brought about a thousand soldiers to help out."

"You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that," Dean looked relieved, and for a second, Castiel felt a little bad about the force of his possessiveness.

For just a second, when Dean's eyes were closed, Benny's swept up and down Dean's form, appreciation clear in his eyes. Castiel no longer felt bad. He felt his wings start to expand up and out and fought to get control of them. Crowley explained that to be a defense mechanism; he'd look bigger and scarier, like a predator, and frighten away potential threats. Like this one.

He managed to keep his wings from flaring out and destroying anything, but Benny still caught sight of the raised appendages. His eyes widened, and Castiel wanted to smirk a little.

"Uh, hey there," Benny looked at Castiel with no little amount of apprehension in his eyes.

"Oh yeah," Dean smiled like nothing was wrong, like he didn't see how Benny looked at him. "Cas, this is Benny. Benny, this is Castiel, my-"

"Partner," Castiel finished for him. And because maybe he was a little too on edge to be one hundred percent rational at the moment, he chose to give Benny an angel's greeting. His head tilted just slightly, and he let his wings expand gracefully.

With a great deal of satisfaction, Benny took a step back. "Oh," he said. "Well, uh, it's nice to meet you, Castiel." He glanced at Dean with a raised eyebrow, and Dean apparently knew what that meant.

"I'll explain everything to you at dinner," Dean promised. "You settled in?"

Castiel once again tuned most of the pleasantries out, opting instead to stand very close to Dean and appear aloof. After maybe another five minutes, Dean said his goodbyes to Benny, promising to see him at dinner. Castiel just stared as the Duke took his leave.

Then Dean's eyes were on him. "Benny's not a threat, Cas." Castiel opened his mouth to retort, but Dean cut him off. "Don't tell me you weren't thinking that, I can feel your possessiveness."

Castiel opened and closed his mouth. "I was thinking that," he said quietly. "He was once your lover, do you not remember that?"

Dean's frown smoothed out and he put a hand on Castiel's waist. "He was a long time ago. He's just a friend now. Like I said, you have no competition." The Winchester tilted Castiel's head and kissed him.

Castiel relaxed and deepened the kiss, folding his wings tightly to his back. Dean really believed that Benny wasn't competition, Castiel could feel it.

"You trust me right?" Dean asked gently.

"Of course," Castiel responded automatically.

He trusted Dean. It was Benny he didn't trust.

o o o

With a promise to see him at dinner, Dean left to attend a meeting about some recent rebel attacks. Benny was somewhere, Castiel didn't really care where. The Grand Council meeting wasn't until the next day. That left him with absolutely nothing to do.

Castiel flew around the castle grounds for a while, startling some servants so hard that they dropped the bags of oats they were carrying. He knew the grounds well, though, and that soon became tedious.

He went to bother Gabe, and thankfully, the shorter man was just as eager to wander for a little bit, as Sam was in the meeting with Dean.

The two strolled through the secret passages, thankfully empty at the time. "You were here when the Duke of the Southern Kingdom was with Dean…" Castiel begun.

Gabe munched on a stolen sweet roll. "I was."

"What's he like? Honestly." Castiel wasn't really sure he wanted to know, but he needed to know.

Gabe sighed. "He's really nice. A genuinely good guy."

Well dammit. It would be nice if he was a complete douchebag. That would validate Castiel's hatred of the man. He grit his teeth and asked for the whole story.

"It was almost three years ago, I think, right around the time that he and Princess Jo called off their engagement. He was passing through and stayed for dinner or something, and then he just… stayed. Lasted seven or eight months, then that war with the barbarians broke out down south and the duke had to go."

Castiel slouched against the dusty wall. "Did they love each other?"

Gabe gave Castiel a long look, one that the angel couldn't decipher. He trusted Gabe, he knew that he would tell him the truth.

"Yeah," he said after a minute. "I think they did. But when the duke left, Dean was fine. There wasn't any mourning period or anything. He got over the situation relatively quickly." Gabe put his hand on Castiel's shoulder. "Dean loved him, but he was never in love with him. I can tell the difference."

"How?" Castiel mumbled. He wasn't feeling much better about the whole situation.

Gabe leaned back against the opposite wall. "When I was seventeen, before I really met Sam, there was a guy that worked in the stables. Bartholomew. I loved him, I really did but…" he smiled wistfully, "then I met Sam. And no matter how much I loved Bartholomew, I was head-over-heels, goo goo eyes in love with Sam. And that was stronger than anything I felt for anyone before."

Castiel couldn't help but smile. Gabe looked so content, just thinking about his love for Sam. It looked so easy for them. Castiel felt a little pang in his chest. He wanted it to be easy for him and Dean.

"How did you two actually meet anyway?" he asked, trying to derail that train of thought.

Gabe chuckled, sliding to sit on the ground. "Well, you know how Sam's kind of a health nut?" Castiel nodded, sitting with him. "And I'm the exact opposite. You'd expect me to pick the lock to Charlie's pantry, but you wouldn't expect me to find Sam in there with a tub of cocoa powder in his hands."

Castiel grinned. "That really happened?"

"Yeah. I walked right on in and we just stared at each other. I forgot to bow and everything, he's just so damn hot. I was frozen. And then he said, 'I'll make you hot chocolate if you don't tell anyone about this.' After that, we'd sneak down every night to have hot chocolate together and talk. And after two months of that, I kissed him and he said, 'Finally.'"

"That's adorable," Castiel said, and Gabe laughed.

"He complained about gaining four pounds solely from hot chocolate consumption, because apparently he used to only drink it once a week." Gabe shook his head fondly. "The sap."

"I wish it was that easy for us," Castiel mumbled his thoughts.

"Hey," Gabe leaned forward. "My point is, I can tell the difference between love and in love, and trust me when I say, Dean was not in love with the duke. He is, however, in love with you. I mean, you changed species and he barely batted an eye."

Castiel smiled. "I guess you're right. I just," he frowned, "I don't trust the guy. Dean might not have been in love with him, but Benny could have easily been in love with Dean. He's… Dean."

Gabe grinned mischievously. "Just mark your territory a little. Be polite and professional and shit, but let him know that the king's ass is yours."

Castiel laughed. Trust Gabe to always make him feel better. "Now I just have to get through dinner with them," Castiel didn't bother suppressing an eye roll. "Wish me luck."

o o o

Dinner was even more awkward than Castiel anticipated. They sat at the head table together, he on Dean's left and Benny on Dean's right. Sam must have sensed the tension and had fled to the other end of the table, engaging the councilman Victor Henricksen, head of military relations, in conversation.

After some pleasantries, Castiel found that Benny really was a nice guy, to his annoyance. He and Dean reminisced about the funny things that happened during their time together. Castiel could tell that Dean was trying to stay away from the really touchy subjects, but Benny was clueless.

"So Dean," Benny began after about thirty minutes of eating, "I brought you a bunch of men to help out, but I ain't got a clue what they're helping with."

Dean scratched the back of his head. "Yeah. You deserve an explanation." Dean explained how, when Benny left, the kingdom was doing okay and the population had grown with the newest generation. "Then we had the First Rebellion," Dean said, face serious. "The rebels used angel magic, which we now know is actually real, and we almost lost, but they withdrew completely and we ended up winning. With a price."

"Your parents," Benny murmured. "I'm so sorry, Dean."

The king nodded. "That day I got a prophecy about a Second Rebellion, and it turned out that the key to understanding it was Cas." Dean looked over to the angel and smiled affectionately. "Want to tell him?"

Castiel straightened up. "I was human for most of my life," he began. "I came to work at the castle, and through a series of events, I found my Grace. It's the life force of an angel, basically. Now, we've contacted the angel population living near the kingdom and are negotiating an alliance to stop the Second Rebellion." Benny didn't have to know about the cursed land or the lack of actual communication as of yet. He didn't need to know that Castiel nearly sacrificed his life for Dean, or that Dean went against his own law by doing magic and stealing Castiel away from the jail cell. He didn't need to know how Castiel and Dean fell in love, however hard he wanted to rub it in his face.

"You sure an alliance is the best plan?" Benny asked cautiously. "It sounds logical, but I mean, they're a different species altogether. No offense," he glanced at Castiel. "I'm only familiar with the legends."

Castiel gritted his teeth but refrained from saying anything rude. Polite and professional, that's what Gabe said. But yeah, he was going to mark his territory. "Dean and I thought it would be best," Castiel smiled sweetly. "If we can find love, then surely our species can work side by side peacefully."

Benny nodded, and a blanket of silence descended on the three.

"Right, so," Dean redirected the conversation. "At the same time as that, the rebels are actually beginning to match my army in strength. You showed up at the perfect time."

Benny grinned at him. "You'd 'a done the same for me."

"'Course I would," Dean nodded.

Castiel descended into another bout of silence, stabbing a grape aggressively with his fork.

They switched off of subjects that Castiel could relate to, but Dean tried a few times to include the angel in conversation, which he was grateful for. Dean probably sensed Castiel's tension, because part way through a conversation about one of the hunts he and Benny went on back in the day, he slid his hand over Castiel's under the table.

A bit of warmth from Dean radiated in Castiel's chest, and however wary he was, he could feel that Dean loved him.

o o o

Dean and Castiel were quiet as they walked back to Dean's quarters, Jody Mills trailing discreetly behind. Dean's fingers were warm in his, and for a moment, Castiel could pretend that they were just two ordinary men retiring for the night.

Dean graciously didn't mention anything about the dinner's conversation. Castiel didn't want to talk about any of that. He wanted to be alone with Dean for the first time in a week. A very stressful week.

Jody closed the doors behind them quietly, and Dean's lips were immediately on Castiel's. They were soft and wine-sweet, and Castiel could only wrap his wings around Dean and melt into him.

Dean's fingers tangled in Castiel's hair and he pulled back a bit. "I love you," Dean said quietly.

"I love you as well," Castiel replied. He kissed Dean again and pushed him gently towards his bedroom. With his newfound strength and the help of his wings, Castiel lifted Dean onto his bed and settled between his legs. "Let me show you how much."

Castiel kept it slow. He wanted this to last. He wanted Dean to feel him the next day whenever he moved.

The buckles on the front of Dean's tunic popped open one by one, and Dean traced the buttons on Castiel's wing-friendly shirt. "I like this," he murmured. "I like seeing your wings."

Castiel flared them high over his head, watching as Dean's eyes widened with awe. Slowly, he reached up and drew a few fingers through the midnight feathers, earning a full body shudder from his angel. "Soft." Dean reached up to claim Castiel's lips again, slipping the buttons on his shirt through the carefully crafted holes.

"Feels good," Castiel said against Dean's lips. After a moment there was finally skin contact, and Castiel sighed contently.

Dean petted through Castiel's feathers, and the angel was barely aware that he was grinding into him. The Winchester traced the seam of his wings and pressed gently against the oil gland.

Lightening shot through his wings, down his spine, and directly to his incredibly hard length. He moaned louder than necessary and bit down on Dean's pulse point.

"Ah, pants off sweetheart," Dean breathed, sliding his clean hand to palm Castiel's ass.

The angel reared up and waved his hand vaguely towards the wall, effectively sound-proofing the room. He stood on top of the bed and removed both his pants and briefs with one swoop, kicking them somewhere off the bed to be found in the morning.

Dean lay back on the bed and brought his fingers to his mouth, licking them clean of Castiel's oil. Immediately, Castiel felt a satisfied rumble burst from his throat. Dean would smell like him again. That was right.

He tugged Dean's pants off to discover that he wore no underwear, and the king smiled mischievously. "I was excited for you to come home today," he explained.

"I'm glad to be back." Castiel dropped back to the bed, gasping at the contact of Dean's heated skin.

Both lips and hips slotted together again, and Dean bucked against him. "Ugh, Cas please," he groaned.

"As you wish," Castiel purred, kissing his way down Dean's neck. He took his sweet time mapping out his skin again, finding his favorite freckle constellations and sensitive spots. Dean arched upwards when Castiel flicked his tongue over a pebbled nipple.

He licked over it, thumb grazing over the other. He switched, giving both sides equal attention. Dean began to squirm, searching for more friction.

Castiel nibbled down Dean's abdominals and pressed his fingers into the v of his hipbones, pushing him back against the bed. The Winchester whimpered, and Castiel smiled against his skin.

Teasingly, the angel nuzzled around Dean's shaft, giving him no real friction. He added a few kitten licks to the base, but pulled back quickly.

"Cas," Dean whined at the lack of contact.

The angel reached back to his already-leaking oil glands and coated his fingers. Dean inhaled deeply, and Castiel could almost feel his pupils dilate. A slick finger brushed gently over Dean's furled hole, and the man gasped.

"Yes, Cas, do it," he breathed, throwing his head back.

Castiel forced himself to go slowly, rubbing circled around Dean's skin, soaking in his moans and whimpers. His lips found Dean's hips and he licked at them, taking a hipbone to the face when just the tip of his finger breached Dean's entrance.

Dean pleaded for more, but Castiel went slowly, kissing and nipping and licking everywhere but Dean's rock-hard member.

Fingers found the tops of Castiel's wings and Dean pulled at the feathers, earning a sharper thrust from Castiel in return. It hit the magical spot inside Dean and he cried out, grinding down onto Castiel's fingers.

That seemed to spur him on, reaching back to gather more oil before adding another finger. He coated his other hand and smeared the translucent substance over Dean's length, touch tormentingly light.

He wasn't aware that Dean was so close to the edge, but suddenly his whole body was clamping up and he was coming, Castiel staring transfixed between his twitching member and his beautiful face.

There was a moment of silence, Dean trying to catch his breath while Castiel's fingers were still inside him.

"Willing to go one more round?" the angel asked.

Dean looked up to see Castiel's red length heavy with desire. "Yeah," he murmured, spreading his legs a little wider. "Need you."

Castiel swept a finger over Dean's prostate again, and the man arched up with a moan, almost oversensitive. Castiel gave him a questioning look, but Dean nodded vigorously.

That was enough for the angel. He slicked himself up, relishing the first feel of contact on his neglected member, but pulled away. He knew better things were coming.

"Pillows," he said quickly, and Dean tossed him two of the fluffy pillows above his head. Castiel pushed Dean up by his knees and fit the pillows under him, forcing his hips high into the air before he let his legs drop.

Dean was at an angle, entrance high enough that Castiel could kneel upright on the bed to be level with him. He smoothed his hands over Dean's hips before lining himself up and pushing slowly into Dean.

"Deeean," he growled. Even after being carefully worked open and relaxed after an orgasm, Dean was so very tight. His hands slid down over Dean's stomach, mapping out the skin as he waited for Dean to adjust.

Dean was panting in hard, short breaths. This angle was perfect. With the first stroke, Castiel had come to rest on his prostate and stayed there, pressing firmly against the sensitive spot. "Move," Dean choked.

Castiel complied, pulling out almost all the way before thrusting firmly back in. Dean cried out, unable to move his hips.

The angel kept his thrusts slow but strong, striking into Dean perfectly every time. The king was gripping his headboard, knuckles white against the lightening sensations shooting through his body.

Castiel kept one hand anchored on Dean's hip, using the hold to push deep into him every time. The other found his oil glands again. He wanted Dean to smell like him. He needed the scent to permeate his being after countless showers. Not many others would smell it once it was washed off, but Castiel would know. Dean was his, and no one else's.

The translucent liquid was smeared across his thighs and stomach, Castiel's sticky hand trailing up to pinch at Dean's nipples. "Fuck!" Dean cried, aching for another release.

He pulled Castiel's hand to his mouth and licked his oil off, sucking three fingers into his mouth and swallowing greedily.

That sent Castiel over the edge, his back bowing and wings expanding with the force of his orgasm. The taste of Castiel's oil and the heat of liquid inside him pushed Dean with him again, and the two trembled with pleasure.

After a moment, Dean released Castiel's fingers and the angel pulled out of him gently. He collapsed onto the mattress and shoved at the pillows under Dean's hips so he could do the same.

"Wow," the Winchester said after a moment.

"Damn right," Castiel replied. They both chuckled, too sated to remember anything but the intense feeling.

Castiel slid carefully off the bed. Dean made a sound of protest, but didn't move. Probably couldn't move. There was a clean washcloth in Dean's bathroom, and Castiel wet it before returning to clean Dean off. His scent still permeated him even after he was clean, and Castiel smiled.

"Love you," Dean murmured once Castiel pulled the comforters around both of them.

"I love you too," Castiel mumbled into Dean's neck, kissing him gently.

The assurance was good. The streak of possessiveness that appeared the same time Benny had was weird for Castiel, but as long as Dean loved him, he could keep it under control. He could keep himself under control.

A/N: Don't forget to review! (: