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Dean bent over, covering every opening in the barn with salt. He grimaced. He wasn't used to preparing to keep demons trapped in with him. Usually he wanted to keep demons out. But they needed Crowley to be ready to talk. They needed him to listen. They couldn't let him leave until he agreed to bring Sam and Adam back.
Cas was situated in the middle of the barn, spraying a fresh devil's trap on top of one that was carved into the cement and covering the floor with the ingredients he'd put together the night before. The barn was already covered, but Cas insisted that the more the better. Dean figured he'd let Cas do whatever he wanted. After all, he was the one who'd worked this spell before. He was also a little nervous of Cas after their session in the kitchen and didn't want to interrupt him.
Dean sighed and poured the salt over the last window. He turned. Cas stood in the middle of the room clutching a gnarly looking knife; the knife that was going to use on Dean.
"You got the demon knife?" He asked Cas, trying to put off the inevitable bloodletting.
"Yes. It's beside me. You got the Colt?" Cas asked.
Dean hadn't used the Colt since their disastrous meeting with Lucifer that had resulted in the deaths of Ellen and Jo. Cas had insisted they bring it since it had two bullets left.
"Yeah. Better safe than sorry, I guess. Cas, I really don't think Crowley will try to kill us." Dean said.
"He's not a demon in hiding anymore. He's the King of Hell. I'd say all bets are off on Crowley." Cas replied.
He had a point. Maybe Dean was stupid to have any kind of sentimentality toward the demon.
"Are you ready for this?" Cas asked, gesturing with the knife. He was clutching it so hard his fingers were white.
"More than I'll ever be. Go easy." He warned. He pulled up his sleeve and held his forearm out to Cas.
Cas didn't respond and grimaced as he cut into the veins in the crease of Dean's elbow. He caught Dean's eyes and they were full of sorrow. He knew Cas didn't want this. Dean shuddered as the blade cut into him. The blood began seeping out quickly. Dean held his arm over the trap and Cas's ingredients and Cas began to chant in Latin.
"This better work." Dean muttered to himself. He was sick of bleeding. He used his free hand to finger the Colt, which was in the waistband of his jeans.
Minutes, later, Cas finished chanting and unsurprisingly, the barn began to quake. Dean felt sick. He hadn't missed this at all.
"Dean, that's enough." Cas called. "Get away from the trap."
Dean stepped away. Cas immediately came over and held a makeshift tourniquet over the wound. Dean cringed. Cas clutched his arm.
"Do you feel faint? Do you want me to do the talking?" Cas whispered.
"I'm okay, Cas. I promise. I've lost more blood than that before. Way more blood." He said.
To Dean's surprise, Cas leaned in and placed a long kiss on his lips. It was far tenderer than what he had experienced in the kitchen the hour before.
"Get ready." Cas whispered, his lips lingering on Dean's. "Our life is about to get a lot less peaceful."
Dean trailed his fingers over Cas's cheek. "I love you so much." He murmured into Cas's ear.
"Winchester! Fancy seeing you here! What took you so long?" An obnoxious British accent sang. Clearly, Crowley had arrived.
Dean pulled away from Cas and stalked over to the demon. Crowley stood there, clad in a tuxedo, his hair and facial hair remarkably groomed for someone who was now in charge of Hell.
"Crowley." He growled, in way of greeting.
"My, my, Dean. You look well. Who's the new piece?" Crowley said, smirking.
Cas slunk over and stood next to him. Dean thought Crowley's eyes would explode at the sight of Castiel by how much they widened, which would make talking to him harder, but killing him much easier. Right now, Dean wasn't sure what he wanted more.
"C-c-castiel? How the hell are you alive? I thought Lucifer exploded you into tiny little bits!" Crowley exclaimed.
"I'm back." Cas said. He didn't mention that he was human.
For one second, Crowley looked terrified, and then an easy smile slid onto his face. Dean gulped. That smile was not good.
"Is that a soul I smell on you, boy? Are you human? And you're in love? With HIM?" Crowley said, his grin growing wider. "Playing on my side now, Winchester? I mean, the angel—the human, I mean—I always thought maybe. But you?"
Crowley bent over in the trap, burst out laughing. He was laughing so hard, he literally slapped his knee.
"Oh my God, well, not my God, but still, that is rich! Castiel: HUMAN! Dean Winchester: GAY! I've sure missed a lot in the last few months." He bellowed. "I knew I missed this plane!"
"That's none of your damn business, Crowley! We are not here to talk about my love life. We are here to talk about my brother!" Dean yelled.
Somehow Crowley laughing in their faces made him less afraid, more ready to kill. He glanced over at Cas, who was so tense that he looked like he might pop. He knew Crowley's reaction had readied him too.
Crowley wiped his eyes. The demon had actually been laughing so hard he had shed tears. He attempted to step forward and then stopped.
"Oh, come on, Dean. A Devil's Trap?" He said. He sniffed the air. "Salt? I thought we were buddies!"
"I don't trust you, Crowley. Now, I hear you're the guy in charge now. Big promotion! Now, Sam and Adam. Their souls are in Lucifer's cage. We are here to get them out." Dean said.
"Yes, I do believe that little Sammy and Adam are still stuck in there. Michael and Lucy are not happy with them. Not that I blame them! But I do send my thanks to dear old Sam for the 'big promotion'! He sure saved my ass!" Crowley said.
"You owe Sam, and us, everything. Your new power. The angels not killing you. It's because of us." Cas said.
"So I should let them out of the cage out of the goodness of my heart?" Crowley said. "Oh come on, Castiel! You can do better than that!"
"Can you do it?" Dean asked.
"You know, I don't go near that part of Hell because it still is Lucifer's after all, but I take a peek in every now and then. Last week, I caught a part of the show. Sam's head on a pike, pieces on the floor! Adam in chains, his heart missing. It was quite a sight! It looks like Lucy and Michael have put their differences aside now that they have Winchesters to torture." He crowed, his eyes sparkling, his grin widening.
"You bastard!" Dean screamed, his vision going red. "Crowley, can you fucking do it!?"
"Of course I can, Dean-o. It won't be easy, but after all, I am the King of Hell! I have been waiting for you to ask me. I was just going to tell you no, simply for the look on your face, but then I saw that you'd brought me a present. An exchange! Oh, how exciting. I haven't made a deal in so long." He said.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Dean said. "You want me? Take me. Just let them out!"
Cas gasped. "Dean, no!" He cried.
Crowley just laughed again. "Oh no, buddy boy, I'm not talking about you. You may have been Alastair's favorite, but I have absolutely no use for you. I'm talking about him." He pointed at Castiel.
Dean's eyes widened. Cas? He wanted Cas?
"You do realize that there has never been an opportunity like this for any demon before. Your boyfriend there, he's an angel who's newly human, ripe with a fresh soul that's just waiting to be picked!" Crowley said.
"Never! You are not taking Cas! His soul is not up for sale!" Dean snarled.
"But imagine, Dean! You could have Sammy and Adam, fresh from Hell, sitting all dewy-eyed and alive on your doorstep. The Winchesters, together as one big, miserable family again. One soul for the price of two! Normally I wouldn't make such a deal, but God, him? Deal of the century!" Crowley sang.
"No! That's not happening!" Dean yelled.
"Dean, wait." Cas said. He took a step forward. "Crowley, if I came with you, would both Sam and Adam be freed? Their souls intact? The memories of Hell stowed away where they could never get out?"
"Memories wiped. Made like new. After all, this is the deal of the century." Crowley repeated. "All it'd take is a little kiss on the lips."
"Cas, no!" Dean cried. "This is not the way!"
Dean grabbed Cas by the arm and took him to the edge of the barn. He knew Crowley would still be able to hear them, but he wanted some form of privacy with him before Cas did something astronomically stupid.
"Cas, what the hell?" He hissed. "You are not making a deal with Crowley. You realize what they'd do to you down there? It'd make my stop, Sam's stop, look like Disneyland. You're a freaking ex-angel, Cas! The demons would tear you to pieces!"
Cas pulled him in close and rested his head against Dean's forehead. He breathed deeply, as if he were breathing Dean in, trying to capture his essence. He leaned in and kissed him deeply before saying anything.
"I knew this would happen." He said finally, his eyes on the ground.
"What? Why didn't you say anything?" Dean murmured. He felt tears spring to his eyes. This explained everything now. Cas's anger, his behavior in the kitchen, his desperation.
"I may be human now, Dean, but I've still been alive for a few millennia now. Demons have always talked about this. An angel to flay in Hell. It's their ultimate fantasy, besides getting God himself down there. It was just never possible, at least not until now. I'm not stupid, I knew this is what Crowley would want." He murmured.
"Cas, no." He whispered. "I won't let you. I need you. I need you alive. I need you here with me. I could never let you..."
"Dean, this is the only way. Unless Balthazar can figure something out, I can't think of any other way for this to go down." Cas said.
"We aren't making any deals like that, Cas, you big, stupid idiot. Not like this." He said, clutching onto Castiel for dear life.
"Sam and Adam are in Hell, Dean. What Crowley just told you, it's probably the least painful torture they are receiving at Michael and Lucifer's hands. They've been down there for 40 years. You can't imagine it. Maybe this is why I was brought back, really. I was brought back to save Sam and Adam. Brought back to prevent you from doing something stupid like killing yourself before this could take place." Cas whispered.
"No." Dean murmured. "Never, Cas. Let's at least talk to Crowley. See if there is anything else."
Cas shook his head, but reached over for Dean's hand. They walked back over to Crowley, who looked more irritated than amused now.
"Enough time to kiss and say goodbye, boys? I have things to do, you know. King of Hell! Big important list of things to do!" He hollered.
"We need time." Cas said, taking charge of the situation. "Is that fair to you? Can you give us a day or two to decide? To say goodbye, if need be?"
Crowley rolled his eyes. "Fine! I'll give you two days! Now let me out of here!" He screamed. Clearly he wasn't used to be trapped anywhere these days.
"Two days." Cas said. "Then we'll summon you."
"If I don't hear from you, I'll assume that little Dean has chosen his boy toy over his flesh and blood. Two days! Now get to chanting and let me out of here!" Crowley yelled.
Cas closed his eyes and muttered a few key phrases of Latin and suddenly Crowley was gone. He opened his eyes, which looked grave and defeated. Dean was no longer full of righteous anger or even the urge to kill Crowley. He just felt numb, empty. Two days to decide whether or not he'd choose Cas, who was the love of his life, or his brothers, his family and bloodline, who were burning in the Pit.