Oh, yeah, everything is unbeta'd. All my mistakes are my own. Also, didn't do quite as many re-reads and edits so there will probably be more mistakes than usual.
Disclaimer: Kripke owns all Supernatural characters. I'm only borrowing them.
Pairing: Dean/Castiel - very graphic. This is my first attempt at something like this because this muse wouldn't leave me alone. Please let me know what you think, constructively.
Overall Warnings: Rated M for swearing, graphic sexual content with S and M undertones, implied forced sexual torture and other adult subject matter.
This chapter is mainly Swearing and other adult subject matter.
Chapter 17 – The Bonded
"Damn it, Dean," Sam snapped irritably. "You need to eat something."
"Not. Hungry," Dean gritted out for what he swore was the last time. He stood in the middle of the kitchen with Ginormous standing in between him and the door. He knew he should have just left in the Impala and went to town. Then he wouldn't have to listen to this crap. But, no, he had to try and grab a ginger ale before he left which allowed him to be cornered now.
"You haven't eaten anything in over a day and a half," Sam recited authoritatively, like Dean wouldn't know when the last time he ate was.
Dean never appreciated being talked to like he was some stupid, young child. Of course, Sam couldn't stop there. No, he had to have a serious case of mouth diarrhea.
Sam continued condescendingly, "You've been sick several times since you got back from that stupid bar. And you were down in the health department to begin with. There's no way you need to work on the car right now. It's fine and we aren't going anywhere until we figure all this out anyway."
"What are you? My mother?" Dean snarked hotly. "My doctor? Think again, Gigantor. I'll do what I want. You should just be thankful that I'm not going on a hunt right now which is what I wanted to do to begin with." Dean shifted to move around the huge impediment currently in his way which was Sam but Sam shifted in response, clearly telling Dean that neither one of them was moving.
"Move, Sam," Dean warned menacingly.
"Make me," Sam taunted firmly.
"So what? I can't work on the car but we can have a knock-down-drag-out fight," Dean questioned logically. "Oh, that's logical. Nice, Sammy. Really. Very well thought out . . . but, hey, when have I ever turned down a fight? Let's go."
Sam glowered at Dean while Dean set his can down on the cabinet, intent on getting this over with before he had to throw up again. He knew that he would have to get Sam down quick but seriously doubted his ability, not to mention his strength, at the moment because everything that Sam had just stated was abundantly true and then some. He also hadn't slept since that horrible morning he'd walked back to Bobby's.
"Will you two knock it off and pull your heads out of your asses? Or do you want me to do it for you?" Bobby growled with irritated frustration. "You're like a couple of teenagers hyped up on testosterone. Why don't you both go get laid or something?"
What little color Dean had managed to keep in his face drained abruptly at that suggestion and he turned back to the cabinet then quickly opened his drink and took a huge swallow, hoping to avoid another bout of worshiping the porcelain god. He'd been doing that way too much lately, especially since he'd never been religious to begin with. He kept his back to the others in the room while he tried to calm his trembling body. He didn't know how much more of this he could take of any of this, especially being under Sam's overly large microscope.
"Damn it, boy," Bobby grumbled with apologetic ire. "Why don't you just call the damn girl and tell her you're sorry, or whatever? It's better than you pining away like this."
Dean choked on his drink and spewed into the sink while Sam exclaimed in surprise, "What the hell, Bobby? Where in the world did that come from? That has nothing to do with him being sick."
"No, it doesn't but he it has plenty to do with his surly, sulky attitude," Bobby pointed out dryly.
"Don't we have bigger fish to fry right now?" Dean challenged emotionlessly as he turned to face them with his game face back on, firmly in place. He verified irritably, "Still no word on the demon?"
"Nada," Bobby confirmed while Sam seconded, "Zilch."
Dean humphed in disgust while he leaned back against the cabinet, frantically searching his mind for a subject that would keep the attention off of him, and his health. He never wanted either one of them to know exactly how close Bobby was to the truth. He knew that he needed to do something productive because the lying in bed and waiting for his body to fight off whatever the hell virus it had caught was only aggravating things.
Dean shrugged at a loss for another subject and made another bid to get out of the kitchen now that Bobby was here to distract Sam. He pushed off of the cabinet and got as far as the table when Sam called out warningly, "Just where in the hell do you think you are going now, Dean?"
Dean growled under his breath and cautioned menacingly, "Do something with him, Bobby, or I just might go out and find a hunt. Alone."
"Dean," Bobby started patiently.
"Dean, if you don't behave, I'm going to call Gabriel," Sam threatened confidently.
Dean turned slowly to stare in shocked dread at his younger brother. He swallowed the bile that rose in his throat over the thought of angels, any angels. He bluffed cautiously, "What the . . . you won't dare."
"Try me," Sam warned firmly.
Dean glowered irately then gritted out harshly, "Why, damn it?"
"Because he could actually stop you from doing something supremely stupid without bodily harm being dealt," Sam stated confidently, knowing by the searing heat coming from Dean's glare that he'd won by playing the angel card.
"You are assuming they actually still give a damn, which they don't," Dean argued tightly. He opened his mouth to continue when he heard him. His stomach dropped to the floor and his headache spiked.
"Aw, come on, Deano. Of course, I care," Gabriel argued winsomely.
Dean closed his eyes and clenched his jaw while painful, pulsing emotions ran through him at the sound of wings and the feel of an angel's grace. It was amazing how sensitive he was to those two things now. How much they meant to him. How much he never, ever wanted to hear them again.
Fighting the insistent nausea that threatened to overwhelm him, he tried to swallow it back again but it was a losing battle. The angel reminded him so much of his brothers. First, Balthazar then Castiel then Castiel's order . . . Dean charged out of the room and flew to the bathroom to worship once again.
Gabriel arched an eyebrow at the others as they all heard the sound of Dean hurling then wondered vaguely, "Was it something I said?"
"No," Sam sighed heavily and slumped against the refrigerator. "He's been doing that for over a day now. Hasn't been able to keep anything down, either."
"He actually hasn't eaten enough to figure that out yet," Bobby corrected gruffly.
They all heard the toilet flush and the faucet run then watched as Dean appeared in the doorway, still holding his ginger ale surprisingly enough. Dean eyed them all warily but really just wanted to slip away somewhere and pass out. He needed to sleep. He needed to sleep badly but he needed a dreamless sleep and he really didn't see that in his cards anytime soon.
Dean focused on the main person/angel that he wanted gone so he growled obnoxiously, "What the hell do you want? If it's to let me know, don't. I already know. You can tell him I wish him luck, lots of luck, and hope he gets out sometime within the next century, although I doubt it. Those two pricks . . .," he trailed off with a very ugly expression on his face.
He swallowed again then finished confidently, "But . . . if anyone could do it, he can. Tell him that. "
He paused briefly before he added sternly, "Also tell him that when he does get out, I don't ever want to see him or any of you or your God squad or even your God again. If you dicks EVER need anything from me again, don't even bother knocking. I'm done."
Gabriel's countenance grew more troubled as Dean talked until it was a thundercloud foretelling of a bitch of a storm. Unfortunately, Gabriel needed answers and he needed them now, especially with the timetable he had. He demanded softly, turmoil underlying the calm voice, "How did you know?"
"I saw it," Dean snapped back hoarsely.
Gabriel's eyes widened in surprise a second then narrowed again. "Saw it how?"
Dean huffed evasively, "What does it matter? Just get the hell out of here. We don't need you, or your kind, here. Going to freakin' barricade it against you dicks as soon as you leave."
"How, Dean?" Gabriel demanded with the forcefulness of the archangel he was.
"I dreamed it, okay?" Dean relented resentfully, just to get the thing to leave.
"You dreamed . . .," Gabriel repeated vaguely as he assimilated then he face palmed his forehead. "Of course. That makes sense."
"What makes sense? How does any of this make sense? And where is Castiel?" Sam wondered in a completely confused voice, butting into the conversation.
"In the box," Dean hissed irately, still highly pissed that Castiel was being so severely punished, in spite of everything. He absolutely didn't want Castiel anywhere near him anymore but he also would never wish the box on anyone, except for the two pricks that were already in there.
"What box?" Sam demanded in confusion.
"Lucifer's box," Bobby guessed slowly with dread. Dean's telling flinch confirmed that Bobby had guessed correctly. "Well, hell," Bobby commented sadly.
"Oh, God," Sam commiserated with horror.
"Exactly," Gabriel observed dryly with reservations. "He's in there until he can make Mikey and Lucy get along."
"So, forever then," Sam snarked sarcastically.
"Whatever," Dean dismissed vaguely, unwillingly and unable to put up with this potential sobfest any longer. "I'll be outside."
"Hold up, Deano," Gabriel cautioned warily.
"No," Dean denied roughly as he started to turn away but he was distracted when he heard an unfamiliar ringtone sound.
"Reach out and touch faith," rang out throughout the silent room while everyone looked at each other. Drums kicked in with electric guitar beating out a hard rock rhythm. The next words sounded quickly, "Your own. Personal. Jesus."
Bobby growled rhetorically, "Well, it sure as hell ain't mine."
"Probably Sammy's," Dean snarked instantly. The big brother inside of him had been unable to resist. "He's into all kinds of questionable crappy music, especially that emo crap."
"Think again, Deano," Gabriel warned with undisguised amusement.
Dean paused immediately and narrowed his eyes at the angel while his hand subconsciously went into his pocket which contained his cellphone. He pulled it out, hearing the tune increase in volume. "Reach out and touch faith."
He stared at Gabriel with dead eyes after he read the name, Cass. Not letting Gabriel out of his stare, he opened the line and put it to his ear. He swallowed again before answering hoarsely, "Hello?"
"Dean," Castiel greeted with relief. "Thank Father."
Dean's eyes narrowed instantly while he still maintained contact with Gabriel, using the snarky, obnoxious angel as invaluable incentive not to break down. That raspy voice of his angel caused a cascade of conflicting emotions within him but, as always, he focused on his anger of Cass's obvious betrayal because anger is what always helped him keep everything together.
He frowned while he argued hotly, "That's absolutely the last one I would thank. But, hey, you always were a Daddy's boy, a good little soldier. Now, what the hell do you want?"
There was a moment of silence on the phone before Castiel observed grimly, "You are angry."
"A little," Dean understated drastically. "What the hell did you expect after such a dick move?"
"Dean," he started regretfully.
"Save it," Dean ordered abruptly, unwilling to have this conversation right now. "Are they listening in, too? Is this you? Or is it them just torturing you?"
After a brief pause, Castiel surmised correctly, "Gabriel told you."
"He didn't have to," Dean argued harshly. "I saw it. I warned you. I . . . Are they there? Now?"
"No," Castiel answered sharply. "This is . . . my . . . phone call."
Dean rocked back slightly mentally and physically before he ran a hand over his weary face. He sighed heavily then acknowledged reluctantly, "Okay. So what do you want?"
Castiel sighed heavily and steeled himself for the pain he was about to cause both of them. He started out hesitantly then gained in strength and determination. He related, "Look, I know I was wrong to trust Balthazar with something this important but I cannot see you to make you understand and I am almost out of minutes. Gabriel will explain to you what you need to do to . . . fix this and move on. To . . ."
Castiel trailed off then stopped abruptly, unable to go on. He couldn't do this, not to Dean. But if he didn't, Dean would suffer as much if not more. He gritted out stubbornly, "Do what Gabriel tells you. It is the only way. I . . . I am sorry, Dean."
Dean's only reaction to the line cutting out was a single blink. He put his phone away, maintaining Gabriel's stare. All the while he wondered if he could believe or trust anything ever again. He mentally drew himself up for what he suspected would be a very trying conversation and announced antagonistically, "Alright. I'm here. What the hell do you want to talk about?"
Gabriel could see through the surface to tell the truth of what was happening within Dean. Dean might have a great game face but Dean's eyes would always give him away, if someone looked hard enough. Plus, he felt waves of anger and pain flowing off of the human before him. They broke over him, plummeting him where he stood, just like stormy waves crashing up against the rocks on a broken shoreline.
"Not here," Gabriel returned solemnly, knowing he couldn't joke his way through this. This was way too important for Dean not to believe him. He snapped his fingers and teleported them both away from Bobby and Sam's watchful eyes.
- SPN - SPN - SPN -
Dean blinked at the darkened, dilapidate building. Light peeked through several holes in between the wooden boards that didn't quite butt up against each other. His eyes searched the interior and he quickly realized where he was.
Unfortunately, he felt pain slice thorough his abdomen at his recognition. Bile threatened and the combination of the two made him bend over for a moment so that his pride could hold him back together. He straightened back up, ignoring the sweat beading on his forehead, and stared hard at the damn tormenting angel bastard.
Gabriel cocked his head to the side at the unexpected reaction and seriously wondered what the hell was going on with this particular human. He saw Dean pull it back together and wondered vaguely, "Too much?" He paused for an answer but only received a glare in response. He shrugged then explained without even realizing it, "I figured it might give you some peace. There are so few places that mean anything to you."
"Why?" Dean bit out harshly, unable to finish the question.
"Why, what?" Gabriel wondered curiously. "Why bother?" Dean gave a hesitant nod. Gabriel shrugged uncertainly then rambled aloud, "I didn't think you wanted the others to know about you and Cassie and we do need to talk about some of that so we needed privacy." Dean continued to stare patiently so Gabriel finished, "This seemed to be the best place to talk about him." Dean blinked slowly in acknowledgement of his reasons but his face gave nothing away.
Gabriel studied the stone-faced man before him and had to ask, "What exactly did Balthazar tell you?"
"What does it matter?" Dean dismissed heatedly. "The end result is still the same."
"Unfortunately, no, it's not," Gabriel insisted stubbornly. "Now what the hell did that pansy-ass featherbrain tell you?"
Dean drew back slightly with a reluctant smirk on his face. "What did you call him? Isn't that like the pot calling the kettle black?"
"Not really," Gabriel argued firmly. "I am, at least, funny."
"In your dreams, Cable Guy," Dean snarked lightly.
Gabriel opened his mouth to retort but caught on to what Dean was doing. He counseled sagely, "You cannot avoid this, Dean. And we are running out of time."
"Look, I don't give a damn about your timelines, your plots, your plans or any of your other angelic crap," Dean warned firmly. "I just want to be left the hell alone."
"And this is how you make that happen," Gabriel bit back harshly, causing Dean to pause and take notice.
They both stared at each other for a long moment then Dean finally relented hoarsely, "He told me that Cass ordered him to get me drunk and laid. Basically, wanted us to have a good time together while we were waiting to hear . . ."
Gabriel considered the words and implications as he worked it through aloud but was unable to hold in the automatic snark, "Crude, but effective. So what happened? Couldn't get it up?"
Dean stared at the angel a moment in shock before he snapped irately at the implication, "Oh, I got it up. I can get it up anytime I want. Want a see?"
"Oh, good Father, no," Gabriel denied sarcastically. "Might put someone's eye out. So if you were willing and . . ."
"Who the hell said I was willing?" Dean snarled angrily. "How in the hell did you figure that? My best friend was under the gun and possibly had a death sentence. Getting laid was the furthest thing from my mind, asshat. Obviously, you angels, his own brothers, couldn't care less."
"Oh, we care, alright," Gabriel snarled back righteously. "Why else would I be spending my valuable time with an obnoxious ingrate like you?"
"Well, why don't you let me get out of your hair? Permanently," Dean bit out and started to walk away but quickly found Gabriel in his path.
"Not so fast, numb nuts," Gabriel warned, quickly losing patience. "We aren't done here. So you didn't get laid that night?" Dean's anger flushed face lost its color and he swallowed thickly which immediately caused Gabriel to reassess, "You did get laid? No, wait. Damn it, what the hell happened?"
"No," Dean hissed irately, also out of patience. "I didn't want to get laid but that pansy-assed dick wouldn't let me out of it. The son of a bitch watched to make sure that I did. Damn, freakin' creeper. No wonder Cass has so many kinks."
"Whoa, TMI, Romeo," Gabriel complained with undisguised disgust. "So. Did. Not. Need. To. Know. That. Wait, Balty watched . . . but you . . . and she . . ."
"She didn't have any complaints," Dean huffed out, automatically defensive.
"I'm sure," Gabriel agreed condescendingly. "So, she did, but you didn't . . . and that's the problem."
"Excuse me?" Dean growled unbelievingly.
Gabriel sighed heavily, reluctant to go through this but it wasn't like Castiel could clean this up himself. He stared at Dean sympathetically, which instinctively got Dean's back up. He ordered bitingly, "Out with it, Chuckles. The day isn't getting any younger."
Gabriel expelled another breath and ran a hand through his wavy hair absently as he agreed, "Yeah, yeah. You're right. You're right. Have a seat."
They sat opposite each other on the work tables. Gabriel had his legs crossed with his chin resting on his hand as he mentally debated the best way to do this. Dean swung his hanging legs back and forth, like an impatient kid. Gabriel smirked slightly at that fitting analogy while he started, "Look. I know the past few months . . ."
"Try years," Dean interrupted harshly.
"Have been difficult for you," Gabriel continued as though Dean had never interrupted. "But, in light of all that, maybe you can understand."
"Understand what?"
"You've called us junkless, Ken dolls, because you believe that we don't have sex," Gabriel pointed out reasonably.
"No, I called Uriel and . . .," Dean trailed off with a mental head shake. "I totally believe you or Balthazar would have sex, if it was offered."
Gabriel smirked knowingly at the unmentioned name as he reminded Dean, "And Castiel?" Dean glared menacingly, even as he felt his body flush with heated excitement, his channel tighten and his very flaccid dick twitch at the name alone. Gabriel nodded solemnly but reassured tauntingly, "I know it started with the demon venom but he apparently liked it, a lot."
"What can I say? I'm good," Dean admitted cockily.
"So he tells me," Gabriel grumbled out with a grimace.
"What?"
"So, he liked it a lot. Too much, actually," Gabriel amended sadly.
Dean narrowed his eyes and tried to ignore the encroaching dread. "What do you mean?"
"There was always something about you, you know," Gabriel reminisced vaguely. "I, and others, can kind of see it but, to him, you are something else, something very special."
"Get to the freakin' point, Gabriel," Dean ordered through tightly clenched teeth, unable to handle the rioting emotions within him arising from Gabriel's words.
"That last time you were together," Gabriel rehashed solemnly. "You really shouldn't have let him top."
"What the hell?" Dean snapped angrily as he jumped down from the table quickly, only to sag against it as he felt his legs almost buckle.
"It's the only way this happened," Gabriel explained reluctantly. "The only way it could have happened."
"Only way what happened?"
"You two are bonded together," Gabriel stated bluntly.
"Yeah, he mentioned that a couple of times since I've known him. Whatever the hell that is," Dean dismissed. "But it was already there so . . ."
"Not the bond that he made when he pulled you out of Hell," Gabriel dismissed easily. "You two formed a 'mating' bond that last time."
"What do you mean? What the hell is a 'mating' . . . oh, no. Tell me . . ."
"I mean, you and Cassie are . . . together. Forever."
"Together?" Dean verified as he repeated the word like it was something he didn't understand. Gabriel nodded so Dean clarified fearfully, "You mean, like together together?" Gabriel nodded again then he waited for the stubborn human to acknowledge what the words meant.
Dean stared at him blankly while his mind frantically worked through this new information. "You mean . . . wait . . . are you saying . . . did . . . did he . . . Las Vegas me?"
Gabriel let out a bark of laughter at the allegory and nodded. "Complete with the hangover, if you'll remember." Then Gabriel added with a decent Elvis accent, "Thank you. Thank you very much."
Dean stared at him nonplussed. After a very long moment, he finally croaked out hoarsely, "So . . . I'm . . . he . . . we're . . . married?"
"Ah, the blushing bride finally gets it," Gabriel congratulated sarcastically. "Or got it. Repeatedly. Or was it only the one time? Knowing your enormous sexual insecurities, I bet you only let him top that one time. You really need to work on that. Most angels aren't subs, you know, especially to humans."
Dean growled menacingly but Gabriel stopped him abruptly as he added seriously, "It's a little more than that, though, Dean."
"Keep talking," Dean prodded demandingly, wanting to get all the information before he went on an angel killing spree.
"An angelic mating bond isn't just some words said that you can later deny when you don't like that person anymore. Our bonds involve more, so much more. So much, in fact, that it can kill a mate if one tries to retract it," Gabriel tried to explain.
"How much more?" Dean asked hoarsely as dread seeped deeper into his being.
"Father made us before humans and animals so he was still working some things out. For this type of bond to be created, there has to be an exchange of each creature's internal essence."
"Meaning?"
"To start out, a saliva exchange or kissing. Sexual secretions, semen, in this case. Blood, I noticed that bite on the back of your shoulder by your neck, and, last, but most important, grace. You have to let his grace inside you and he has to bind a part of it with your soul, which you both did," Gabriel finished knowingly. "That's how you were able to see what happened to him, through that bond."
Dean thought for a moment then questioned slowly, "Correct me if I'm wrong but shouldn't there have been a question asked somewhere in there at some time during that whole process?"
Gabriel smirked sadly and acknowledged facetiously, "What? Why? You weren't willing, Deanie boy?"
Dean only glared at him so Gabriel relented with a huff, "Yes. You are supposed to be asked. Since you were not, you are bonded against your will which makes things slightly different. I assume Castiel ignored this because he was out of his mind or something. Anyhow, he wants to correct it now and, since you asked that, I assume you want the whole thing annulled as well."
"I'm not changing the channel," Dean hinted impatiently.
"The bond can be destroyed if one of the mates forsakes the other."
"Forsakes?" Dean questioned, not understanding.
Gabriel rolled his eyes slightly then explained succinctly, "Cheats, Dean. If a mate has intercourse with different partner, choosing another to take their mate's place, the bond will be broken."
"And that's what Cass told Balthazar to do with me? He wanted me to do that so that the bond could be broken? Why? Why make it if . . . what aren't you telling me, damn it?" Dean growled with demanding frustration.
Gabriel remained silent but then Dean finally guessed as he remembered the past few days, "It's painful, isn't it? But, it's not my pain I'm feeling, is it? It's his. It's Cass's. It physically hurts him."
"I am afraid so," Gabriel admitted reluctantly.
"How painful?"
"Very."
"Why is it only painful for him? Why not me?" Dean pointed out then he surmised suddenly, "It's because I have an out since I didn't agree to it. That's it, isn't it? But, with Cass in the box, when they start in on him . . ."
"You will feel, whatever he cannot block," Gabriel finished for him.
"What he can't block," Dean repeated vaguely. "That's why I don't feel him all the time. He's blocking it. How?"
Gabriel rolled his eyes at that pointless detour in the conversation and evaded firmly, "From a few millennia of being an angel. So not the point now, Dean."
"You mentioned a timeline," Dean remembered suddenly as bits of the conversation were finally fitting into place for him. "There is a time limit on breaking it, isn't there?"
"Only for you, Deano. If you break it within the next hour, you will be free from the bond in a very pain free," Gabriel assured him.
"And if I don't during that time, but try later," Dean questioned clinically, wanting to know all the damn facts upfront for a change.
"Then you will feel as much pain as Cassie, if not more, since you are human," Gabriel related solemnly. "It could kill you. Both of you."
"So Cass wanted me to break it back then with Balthazar to keep me from feeling his death and now he doesn't want me to feel his torture," Dean surmised quickly.
"Eureka! He can be taught," Gabriel snarked, unable to stop being him. He clapped his hands and demanded impatiently. "So where to now, Deano? Bunny ranch? Hong Kong? South Beach? Tijuana?"
Dean eyed the tense archangel in front of him, seeing through the snappy, cocky exterior into the despondent big brother that was about to cause one of his little brothers pain. He narrowed his thoughts then smirked and answered hopefully, "Busty Asian Beauties dot com?"
Gabriel frowned slightly and advised solemnly, "Has to be a real person, Dean, or it will just cause needless pain."
Dean nodded at the new information but he didn't know anyone off hand that he could easily use for this. He thought back to his last one night stand and couldn't stomach the thought of looking her in the eyes after all that had happened. He shrugged and suggested vaguely, "The nearest bar? Strip club?"
Gabriel smirked and admitted, "I like the way you think, Deano. I really do." With a snap of his fingers, they were gone.
Please read and review. This fic was only supposed to be a short drabble. Who knew? Thank you for all the reviews and encouragement! Unfortunately, Castiel is still stuck in the box and my muse doesn't know how to get him out for a reunion. :-(