Chapter 30
WARNING: slight angst and fluff.
...~)M*L(~...
You shout and no one seems to hear
And if the band you're in starts playing
different tunes
I'll see you on the dark side of the moon
~Brain Damage by Pink Floyd
There's someone lookin' out for me
I came out of the darkness
With a bullet in my hand
I got one more shot at livin'
I'm lucky that I can
Cause I got a little roughed up
Yeah I really got fucked up
I came out of the darkness
With a bullet in my hand
~Bullet In My Hand by Redlight King
He sighed deeply allowing the air in his lungs to calm his anger, the light through windshield cooperated to simply further his irritation as it hit the side of his face. A warm and familiar touch on his shoulder briefly distracted his eyes from the road turning his head slightly to find a pair of blue eyes staring at him in a form of comfort, understating and concern. He gave his brother an apologetic smile as they arrived at their destination entering the park area in front of the house noticing a few unfamiliar vehicles around, he turned to Lucifer in question yet the blond simply shrugged in confusion as well.
They were able to hear voices from the inside of the house as Michael searched for his key; a pair of long arms wrapped around his torso as he entered and he proceeded to return gesture as he recognized the red-haired girl.
"You're finally here." she smiled with exhausted eyes, she let go of Michael turning to Lucifer for a comforting embrace.
"I apologise I was unable to come last night, go rest, Anna, you seem weary." he took a string of her hair from her face arranging it behind her ear.
"I wanted to stay with Castiel." her tone saddened at his name.
"He will be alright, please rest, I shall take care of him." Anna nodded with a small smile turning to leave the room. Michael turned his attention to the others in the room, two blonde girls half awake on the sofa, a dark haired boy holding a steaming cup coffee in his hands and another boy with a very interesting mullet asleep, his head thrown back as he snored. Chuck noticed Michael and politely greeted him with a nod and a sympathetic smile which he returned, the other three teens were unaware of Michael and Lucifer's presence.
"Michael, Lucifer." both men turned to see Raphael descending the stairs.
"Raphael, good morning. " the younger brother nodded respectfully at both men, "Where is Castiel?"
"Third room on the left, he woke up a moment ago with Gabriel and Dean. They refused to leave his side despite my requests."
"Has there been an improvement on his state?" Raphael shook his head sighing.
"No, he has not spoken a word, he slept mostly and woke up screaming." Michael ran a hand down his face feeling conflicted inside, anger, worry, ache, exhaustion and protectiveness.
"I shall see him in a moment, I need to speak to you in the office." Michael glanced at both his brothers.
"There are some things we found this morning where it happened, I left them on the desk." Raphael spoke as he followed Michael and Lucifer toward the hall leading to the office which had been their father's.
"Call Zachariah, perhaps he is able to recuperate those images." Michael stood leaning against his desk in (his) office, he pinched gently the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes, his mind working on thousands of ideas to arrange their situation. Lucifer stood in front of his older brother with arms crossed, Raphael stood next to Michael both with intents of helping.
"What do we do with this? Call the guy or give it to Zach?" Lucifer held a personal agenda in his hands, they had found it in the morning after the incident; the paparazzi had panicked seeing the young boy drop on the ground unconscious, the remains of his costume along with the agenda had been found a few yards away from Castiel yet no other signs of the man.
"Jesse Bishop." Lucifer read out loud from the cover of the agenda. "There are several numbers here." he turned the journal towards Michael allowing him to see.
"We will have to try all of them. Has Zachariah answered yet?" Michael turned towards Raphael who sighed and shook his head.
"I left him a message." he paused in thought, "How did they even find out about them?" Raphael furrowed his brows in thought, he knew he had been careful that no one followed them.
"Someone must have told." Michael clenched his jaw fixing his glare to the wall, "That is not of import now. Keep them inside, I shall call their school to cancel their attendance until the situation is solved."
"I don't think the Winchesters will agree to that, or Azriel and Bae-Yung's parents." Lucifer sat on the desk, Michael eyed him as if scolding the younger sibling but he smiled.
"I shall speak to the Winchesters, they knew our parents, I doubt they will refuse. As for Azriel and Bae-Yung's parents, I shall see what I can do. I do not want anyone involved."
"I think we should tell them." Raphael nearly whispered fearing Michael's reaction.
"No! They do not need to know, if either one of you tells, I promise you will regret having done so." he glared at both of his brothers.
"Michael, Castiel needs you. All this is stressing you and taking your time." Raphael spoke again with a sigh massaging his temples. "Please allows us to handle this and look after them, they'll be safer with you. I already messed it up and would not forgive myself if it happens again."
"Do not blame yourself, brother, if anyone is to blame is the paparazzi." he paused in thought, "Please handle the situation with care, keep me informed of any news. I have trust in you." he glanced at Lucifer and Raphael as both nodded.
. . .~)M*C(~. . .
Dean stepped out of the house with a smile on his face, he turned his head to find Castiel yet he found him no where in sight, the certainty that the boy could not possibly had returned crossed his mind since Castiel had been anxious and the only entrance to the house through the back was the back door which led to the kitchen. He dropped the items he held in his hand to look for Castiel amongst the dark bushes, his vision was limited and decided to return inside the house to ask for help; the hunting began, some of the guests volunteered to help while others ran from the panic leaving the house immediately.
Becky had burst into tears at the news of Castiel missing, Chuck had escorted her into a room to calm her, she had eventually fallen asleep in his arms. Jo had partnered with Dean, Ash, Sam and Gabriel to search inside the house with no luck of finding the boy, his anger simply became intense as the seconds, minutes and eventually hour passed making him nearly fight with Gabriel hadn't it been for Ash and Sam who stopped them.
Meg, along with Azazel and Alistair had been searching further away from the house carrying torches in their hands to see through the thick bushes. Alistair and Meg stopped pacing once they saw a figure lying on the ground, a shield next to the body, Azazel nearly ran into his brother but stopped once he saw what their attention had been focused on. The three froze at the sound of a low growl a few feet from where they stood, Alistair stood before his brother and his cousin bringing a pocket knife to his hand, the creature advanced slowly growling, snarling to show its sharp fangs as a form of intimidation to its prey; Meg and Azazel backed away slowly as the coyote gave a step after another closer towards Castiel and Alistair, without losing more time, the creature advanced throwing itself on the older teen's body, a yelp and a thud was heard before he stood up covered in blood from the dead animal. Meg ran inside the house to inform the others where Castiel was; Dean stopped his ranting once he heard Meg approach yelling they'd found Castiel and followed the girl with Raphael after him. Alistair retrieved the knife from the coyote's body, Azazel knelt before Castiel checking for his pulse with much luck; Dean collapsed on top of the boy he loved yet composed himself from the panic checking for wounds on his body, they found none.
"Cass, Cass, Castiel." said Dean arranging the boy's head on his lap, he wrapped his arms around the younger teen's torso as he called his name. Azazel, Meg and Alistair returned to the house attempting to calm the commotion from the guests and family members, half the guests had left the event when panic surged leaving behind the ones who truly cared, the closest to the Novaks and Winchesters.
... ~)D*C(~...
"Castiel, how are you feeling?" Michael ran a hand through the boy's silky hair, Castiel blinked proceeding to wrap his arms tightly as if for dear life to Michael, the only father figure he knew would protect him yet he spoke nothing. Dean sat on a corner of the bed having hardly slept, eaten or left the boy's side, Gabriel had left the room at Michael's request that he took some rest. "I am sorry I could not be here." Michael whispered holding his brother tightly, "Please speak to me, Castiel." he buried his nose in the boy's hair, Castiel turned his gaze towards his brother and burst into tears like a small child curling his body on the bed as Michael held him.
"Dean, do you mind stepping outside for a moment, please?" Michael whispered, the boy nodded as he left his former position heading towards the door.
"Hey, it's okay. I'm here," Michael soothed his brother's back as the boy trembled in tears. His heart ached at the sight of the youngest of his family in such state, truly, he did not consider them his siblings rather his own children, even Raphael seldom. He remained holding Castiel until the boy had no tears left in him falling asleep soon after; Michael lay next to Castiel knowing the boy would wake up from a nightmare. He remembered when Charmeine would hold him in her arms as a child during cold nights, he would cry for her waking from an unpleasant dream, 'It was a nightmare, sweetie, dreams are not real.' she would whisper kissing his forehead; he missed her voice, her embrace, her warmth, her care and her sweet lullabies he memorised to sing to Anna and twins.
"Petit enfant dans les bras de ta mere, petit enfant de deux d'aux en si tendre et nouveau, petit enfant." he whispered to himself as he closed his eyes seeing the beautiful smile his mother had given him, it was the last he ever saw of her.
. . .~)D*J(~. . .
He closed the door quietly and leant against letting out a sigh, his eyes burnt from the lack of sleep, his body felt weak and he suddenly noticed the hunger that had been overridden by the ache and guilt inside. Dean ran a hand down his face standing straight, his limbs carried him down the stairs to the living room where he found his friends asleep, except for Chuck who was reading a book.
"Dean." the blue eyed boy half smiled at his friend who made an effort to return it. "How is he?" he sat up as Dean arranged himself between Jo and Becky.
"Not any better, he's awake though." he sighed, Chuck nodded understanding not to ask further how Dean felt. Jo stirred as she felt the warmth of a body next to her, her eyes opened to find her best friend lolling in between her and Becky with eyes closed. A yawn erupted from her infecting Dean and Chuck.
"You haven't eaten, have you?" was the best question she thought of knowing Dean.
"No." he responded not opening her eyes.
"I'll get you something, I'm hungry too." she stood up heading to the kitchen.
"You don't have to, Jo. 'M fine."
"Bullshit, Dean, you look like crap."
"Well thanks." he chuckled getting up from his seat.
"I'll come with you." he followed Jo as she walked towards the kitchen. There was freshly brewed coffee, blueberry bagels which they both devoured with apricot preserve. The silence was rather comfortable as they ate, Jo did not question the boy about anything which Dean was thankful for.
They returned to the living room finding Chuck still reading, Becky and Ash were asleep opposite of each other. Jo sat on her former seat with Dean following; he slumped in his seat closing his eyes to relieve the itch, the tensed silence lulled him to sleep slowly and he rested his head on Jo's shoulder, she pulled him to his lap as he became oblivious of consciousness.
...~)S*G(~...
"This one? Come on, it's your favourite, try it." Sam held a chocolate bar towards Gabriel, the older boy half smiled and shook his head curling his body on the bed.
"They don't let me see him, he needs me, I can feel it." he whispered turning to face the wall if tears fell Sam would not see them.
"He'll be okay, maybe they let you when he wakes up." Sam sighed not knowing what else to do for Gabriel to smile; like Dean, he would not eat or sleep though he managed to nap for an hour when Sam held him after Michael arrived. The day had passed by rather slowly and uneventful
"You don't have to be here with me, Sam, I'm sure Dean needs you more."
"He pushes me away, he'd rather deal with it alone. Besides, I want to be here with you." he shrugged with a small smile, there was a flutter in his stomach and he took a deep breath to rid of it not entirely comprehending its nature.
"Thank you." Gabriel curled his body closer to himself, Sam hesitated with his hand above the older boy's head before trusting his instinct running his fingers through the caramel coloured hair. Gabriel closed his eyes as the sensation lulled him to sleep.
...~)B*Y*C(~...
He never imagined that two words would change his family yet he took the risk, the outcome had been in his favour yet strained ties with the rest of his family though his parents assured him, 'Your happiness is all that matter to us.' He thanked his god silently as he let the tears fall curling his body on the bed listening to his mother yell through the phone at her own family.
"I'm gay." he lowered his head expecting the shame from his family, the rejection of his father and mother yet it never happened, the room was silent for a long moment before he felt arms around him, he looked up to see his mother placing a kiss on the top of his head and a pat on the shoulder from his father.
Bae-Yung attended public school, his father was a college professor and his mother taught kindergarten. He lived through each day with enthusiasm despite the teasing, the unkind glances thrown at him, the harsh and cruel words from the few close-minded people in the school. One of his gym class mates, Stetson, had tried to humiliate him while changing in the locker room, Bae-Yung had passed by him on his way to the showers brushing just barely the guy's arm; Stetson had accused him of trying to seduce him, most of the guys were in favour of Bae-Yung but Stetson's friends stood up for him, in result of the incident, one of the guys had tried to fight Bae-Yung trying to punch him only to be humiliated when he had outside middle blocked it and back fisting him, the guy fell backwards hitting his head on the metal lockers. The rest of the guys in the room left in silent as others praised him.
His father had gifted him a, expensive sketchbook for his eighteenth birthday having saved money specially for that reason; it was one of the few treasures he had until this day, Bae-Yung carefully chose how to fill each page with worthy artwork. He worked as a barista at a café for a while and often worked at the snack bar in one of the private schools. "Hello, handsome." he looked up from his sketchbook to find a pair of amber eyes smiling at him. He would later be grateful to the annoying teen.
"Hey, alright?" he was interrupted from his thoughts feeling a warm hand on his forearm.
"Yeah, I'm fine." he nodded with a reassuring smile at Balthazar, "Just thinking. I was nervous about you meeting my parents but they gave you their blessing." he smiled at the memory.
"I am thankful for that." Balthazar grinned, "I may have looked calm but I must admit, I was a disaster."
"Well, you managed through it. Must be your charm." Bae-Yung smirked causing a slight blush from the blond boy.
"Maybe, maybe your parents are just that awesome." he smiled sincerely.
"True." he kissed his boyfriend's cheek, Balthazar smiled at him taking his hand in his.
"You drive too slow, let me." Balthazar complained from the back seat where he sat not letting go of his boyfriend's hand. Michael persuaded his uncle to allow the boys to stay with their cousins after explaining the situation and Bae-Yung's parents had agreed he stay with them on the condition he still attended school.
Azriel had managed to escape the media from disrupting his peace, though he rarely took interest in family matter, he visited his older brother at the hospital after he received the news. They had been close but not close enough, their relationship fell apart after their families were destroyed, they'd become bitter and angry with the world causing them to neglect their own children. There had been a slight change in Azriel's character which went unnoticed by Balthazar but not Crowley yet he did not mention it to anyone.
"It is the speed limit, love, I suggest you be quiet before I throw you out of my car. Michael said to be extra careful for if you don't remember." Crowley glanced at his brother through the rear-view mirror. Balthazar sighed and rested his head on Bae-Yung's shoulder. He closed his eyes feeling exhausted wanting nothing more than a hot bath and sleep while his boyfriend held him, he was anxious hoping his father would not be home at the moment though he knew it was unlike since it was his "day off" which was spent organising paperwork in his office.
Crowley parked in the garage carefully shutting the door after he got out, Balthazar took a deep breath giving a gentle squeeze to his boyfriend's hand assuring everything would be alright.
"I could wait in the car, I don't mind, really." he shrugged with a smile.
"No, please come with me, you have to meet him eventually." Balthazar returned the smile a little nervous. Bae-Yung nodded following Balthazar out of the car towards the house.
His eyes scanned around the room admiring the unique pieces placed carefully in such elegance, it was dark and cold unlike his own house, unlike the Novaks' or the Winchesters' where he'd been twice with Balthazar. He turned to see Balthazar give him a small smile as they crossed the living room, they froze once they saw a tall man in a black suit stepping out of a room with papers in his hands. Balthazar tensed gripping his boyfriend's hand tightly.
"What is wrong with you, child?" Azriel tilted his head slightly staring at his son who seemed ghastly, Balthazar blinked and forced himself to speak. Crowley glanced at his brother, Bae-Yung and his father, a small smile tugged on his lips before he walked to his room upstairs.
"Nothing, father, I'm quite alright." he composed his tone to sound confident.
"I see. Who is your friend?" he eyed Bae-Yung from head to toe.
"This is Ian, my boyfriend." he felt the other boy squeeze his hand, Azriel narrowed his eyes slightly at Balthazar, his mind flashing back to the previous weeks when he wondered why the boy had suddenly seemed lighter in his moods, obedient and actually taking interest in school work which made Azriel pleased even if he did not tell Balthazar.
"Since when?"
"About two months now." there was a moment of silence, Azriel seemed pensive while both boys stood shifting in their positions feeling anxious.
"I wondered why you suddenly seemed composed. He's a keeper." he pointed at Bae-Yung. "What is your name, son?" he stepped closer to the boy holding his hand out.
"Ian Bae-Yung, sir, it is a pleasure to meet you." he shook Azriel's hand giving a brief bow in respect.
"It is a pleasure to meet you too, Ian. What is your age?"
"I turned eighteen years old in June." Azriel's eyes widened for a moment.
"You seem younger than my son." he glanced at Balthazar who frowned.
"Yes, I get that very often, I'll take it as a compliment." he smiled slightly.
"Very well. I have work to do, if you don't mind, it was nice to meet you. I trust you will teach my son to be more like you."
"I shall try my best, sir." Bae-Yung smiled with a nod. Azriel paused for a moment eyeing both teens, he brought up his hand pointing at both back and forth.
"Use protection." with that, he turned to leave the room, Balthazar opened his mouth and closed it eventually forming a 'yes, sir.' as Bae-Yung blushed looking at his shoes, Balthazar swore he heard his father chuckle but he shook his head fighting the blush from his face.
"Um, okay, I'll go pack." Balthazar said scratching the back of his neck.
"Yeah, I'll, I'll help you." they walked upstairs turning towards the hall leading to the rooms. Crowley stood leaning against the wall with a smirk on his face.
"I should have told you our father may be strict but not homophobic." he said smugly.
"How do you know?" Balthazar tilted his head, Bae-Yung noticed the same characteristic from Azriel and smiled.
"He met Aziraphale." Balthazar's eyes widened at his brother.
"Your secret lover is your best friend? How did I miss this?!"
"You live with your head in the clouds, darling." he winked at his brother and left to his room. Balthazar furrowed his brows in thought and confusion, Bae-Yung laughed earning a glare from his boyfriend.
...~)D*C(~...
"Dean, Dean. Wake up." he fluttered his eyes open as he felt a gentle hand shake him, he looked up to see Jo's eyes fixed on him, he then remembered falling asleep on her lap. "Castiel is awake, he was asking for you." she whispered, Dean sat up as fast as he could running out the door. Jo smiled as she watched him nearly run into every object in his path.
"Cass..." he whispered kneeling beside the bed where Castiel lay. Michael sat on the window seat watching, Gabriel sat on the other side of his brother holding his hand.
"Dean.." he said softly in a much exhausted voice, he reached his free hand to cup Dean's cheek, the older boy closed his eyes feeling the warmth of the palm transfer to his skin in a soothing manner. Michael stood up glancing at Gabriel who simply nodded releasing his twin's hand and followed Michael out the door shutting it gently after them.
The red horizon watched through the open window as the young boy lay gently next to his love, the warmth left in its weak rays penetrating the glass fell upon their bodies as they lay in silence in each other's arms soon finding a comforting sleep being lulled by the sweet scent of tears, linen, cinnamon and lavender.
...~)α*β(~...
I want to say, I realise Sam seems to be moving too fast for someone who suddenly lost the love of his life BUT I shall explain in future chapters why he is acting the way he is.
Also, I gave you a little bit of background on Bae-Yung so he would not be just another character, I want the reader to actually like him, he's a good guy (: