Chapter 6: For What it's Worth

Warnings: Very mild language and violence

Pairings: Dean/Castiel

Spoilers: Up to season 7, episode 15

Well hello again! Another decently quick update for y'all. Thanks so much for your reviews; they really do mean a lot and make me want to keep writing this. Also, most of you said you like Destiel most, so I'm popping a little bit of interaction for them into this chapter. And a little bit of something else…it should be packed with plot. Finally, I realized I've been saying that spoilers are up to episode 16, which keen fans will know isn't actually out yet, haha. So disregard my mess-up. Anyways, enjoy!

Dean could tell something was up. Little of what Sam did was a mystery to him, though why he did what he did could sometimes be baffling. Dean had watched his brother be irritable, distracted, and skittish for two days now. That was dangerous in their line of work, but what really bothered Dean was what that behavior meant—something had changed. Something had changed with Lucifer.

"Dean, for the last time, I'm fine," Sam insisted as he flopped onto a motel bed.

"I'm sure. And even if that's true, how long will you be fine? Sam, if anything's changed, we all need to know. We have to be ready for anything that's coming." He said. It was hard to talk to someone as stubborn as Sam. Much to Dean's frustration, Sam was rarely willing to admit his plans to his brother.

"Sam, look. I know it took convincing, and I was never keen on it, but I agreed that you needed to jump into the cage with him, right? Whatever crazy, deadly thing is happening, you can tell me about it. You know you can trust me, so just say it."

Sam's gaze lowered to the floor, and he seemed to consider his next words. "Yeah, I know. I've made bad choices, and I know that, and I want to be able to tell you whenever something's up, because then we deal with it and I can't just get sucked in to more crap. But I just can't tell you this yet."

"Then when will you be able to? After the shit hits the fan again?" The older brother demanded.

" Soon, Dean, I promise." He whispered. "I just need to figure it out for myself."

….

"You're worried," Castiel observed from the foot of Dean's bed. The angel was getting better, but he still felt the need to state things that would be obvious to a person. Sometimes his lack of understanding was funny. Cute, even. Right now it was irritating. However, Dean was trying to be patient, as he'd promised Cas he would.

"Yeah, I am." He replied with a sigh. "The devil is haunting my brother after escaping from Hell in a way no one thought was possible. And as glad as I am that you're back Cas, I don't think it's a coincidence that you don't know how you're breathing right now."

The angel lowered his eyes guiltily. Dean assumed this meant that he had had similar concerns.

"I have no memories from when I was gone, Dean. However, I have a clear recollection of my actions just before. I made a deal with the king of Hell. I let countless creatures suffer for the fulfillment of that deal. I betrayed you and your brother. I used the souls of the lost to bring war to heaven. And of course, I proclaimed myself the new God." The angel sighed, looking as tired as Dean had ever seen him. "I don't remember where I was, Dean, but I have no illusions about it."

"You think you were in Hell," Dean realized, his voice nearly a whisper.

"I'm more or less certain about it, yes."

"But you're an angel. You only did all that so Raphael couldn't start the apocalypse back up," Dean protested.

"I am an angel, but so is Lucifer. And like him, I may have paved the way to Hell with those good intentions." Castiel was staring at the floor now, sorrowful. A long, silent moment passed before the angel turned his gaze back to Dean "I'm so sorry for what I did to you and your brother. And for what I tried to do," he said softly.

"I know Cas. You already told us, and we believe you." Dean moved from where he had been leaning against the headboard of his bed to slide next to Castiel. "You're back. That's what we care about," the hunter added, leaning around to place a gentle kiss on the angel's forehead.

His vessel's sharp blue eyes flicked up to stare at Dean with an emotion he thought was closest to confusion.

"You're always so surprised when you're forgiven, Cas," Dean said with a kind smile. His own gaze dropped down to the angel's mouth, which hung slightly open in the first attempts to reply. Dean didn't wait for him to argue, and instead leaned slowly in to kiss his angel's lips. The kiss was soft. Careful. Hesitant.

They pulled back, and Dean stared at Castiel, searching for an indication that the angel believed him. "Look, we'll figure it out, okay? You don't remember. I trust you," he said. "I just don't want this shit to go South."

Cas regarded him with confusion for a moment, then seemed to decide that Dean hadn't meant his last statement literally. "As soon as I know anything, you will too." The angel promised.

…..

The leviathans had caught them with their pants down. Again.

Apparently Dick Roman wasn't happy with them following him, and had laid out a fake ghost case as a trap. As it stood now, they were in a house that had once belonged to a human. Now the leviathan who wore the man's form was monologuing at the brothers, with Castiel unconscious—or maybe dead, Sam thought grimly—on the floor where he had been tossed.

"You wriggling, rotting, disgusting creatures," it said with a laugh. "And God thought you were somehow better than us. More worthy. Less likely to destroy the world you were put on. Cute, isn't it? Forgive us if our expectations of you were higher than they should've been. You make good snacks though."

Dean rolled his eyes, which were squinted against the blood running down his face. "Really, everything that wants to kill us insists on torturing us with this crap first."

The leviathan moved impossibly fast, slamming Dean against the wall by the neck, silencing him and fixing his face with an angry sneer.

"Dean!" Sam shouted, pushing off from the corner of the wall he had been braced against.

Dean tried to speak or fight, but each action was as useless as the gurgling in his throat. He kicked against the walls and the leviathan's legs, clawed at his hand, but was totally ineffective.

"Any last words?" The beast asked. All Den could do was choke in reply. "Ahh, poetic," it laughed. Then its head split into that huge, disgusting mouth, tongues flicking about and splattering Dean with something he hoped was just saliva.

Then it roared, and turned away.

Its face burned with the borax that Sam had thrown on it. The huge mouth roared, turning to smash Sam to the floor, drooling and screeching incoherently at him. It pulled its head back, ready to snap down, when its head rocked suddenly to the side.

The leviathan's human face was back, fuming and snarling. "What the fuck did you do!" It demanded of the brothers. They were speechless, looking at each other with shock.

"That's quite enough of that," a man's voice said calmly. Dean could feel his anger flare, mixed with a considerable amount of horror.

"An angel," the beast laughed. "Don't you see what I've done so easily to your comrade?"

"Oh, not so easily, from what I saw. But Castiel isn't my comrade, and I'm not just any angel." Lucifer replied, stepping slowly between Sam and the leviathan. "You know, I almost pity you. There are 7 billion humans in the world, and you stumbled across the only one I am interested in preserving."

"Is that right? And what do you think you can do to stop me?" The leviathan asked with another laugh.

Lucifer looked down at Sam for a moment, eyes considering. "Well, I was just planning to maim you a bit. You creatures were always so troublesome to kill." He replied. "But what would you prefer, Sammy?"

"You can kill this bastard?" Sam asked, sitting up with a wince.

Lucifer paused. "Yes, I can," he replied slowly.

"Then do it!" Sam insisted. Dean's eyes flicked between the three, trying to catch up. Lucifer was protecting Sam. He was his vessel, so that made sense. What he was stuck on was the fact that the devil was consulting his brother on his actions. And of course, the thing he was really going to have explained to him later is why Sam seemed so unsurprised.

"It will take resources that I don't have an unlimited supply of at the moment. Are you sure you want that?" The angel pressed.

"Kill it," Sam demanded.

"Alright," Lucifer sighed. "Come with me, Princess," he said, reaching out a hand and placing it on the leviathan's shoulder. They were gone a second later.

Well, I seem to enjoy pissing Dean off, don't I? Hope you guys have as much fun with this chapter as I did. It was a tiny change of pace. As always, reviews are appreciated. I shouldn't be too long with the new chapter.