New Chapter! I apologize very much for the strange code that happened on the previous chapter, it's fixed now if you haven't read it yet. For all of you who reviewed and notified me about that issue, thank you very much! Thanks you DeerTopus C. VonZenHousen(I hope this story will be long too, it depends on how I write out the outline I came up with, how long it takes for a certain point to be covered. But I hope for many chapters as well), Kather-Swine(Thank you X3), and Akayuki Novak(Those Winchesters, not very good about sharing is caring, eh? Then again, there may be more at hand here than just typical Winchester behavior….) for reviewing! A thanks as well to my new followers and favoriters, welcome to the crew! Let us move onto the next installment, shall we?
Dean's laughter immediately froze as his eyes had caught sight of Castiel's smile, and the pirate leaned forward. His face was only inches away from Castiel's own, and Castiel held his breath to see what Dean was up to now.
"Did my eyes deceive me or did I just see you smile Cas?"
Embarrassment flooded into Castiel as he felt the heat going to his cheeks without his control. He turned his head away from the pirate, trying to hide the redness that was spreading over his face like a disease.
"If it's alright with you, Winchester, I'd like it if you could contain your humor and return to the serious situation we have at hand."
Out of the corner of his eye he watched as Dean seemed to give a mock pout, before the pirate returned to sitting across from him. Slowly, Castiel faced Dean again, and he was glad to see that Dean still held a brightness in his eyes along with a smile that tugged at his lips. The last thing he wanted to see was the dark, guarded look that had masked the pirate's face.
For now he could be satisfied, for now he could live without delving into a past that no one else should see.
"Demons walk the earth," Dean nodded after Castiel tried to start the conversation.
He was still shaken on the inside, but he did his best to mask it in front of the former sailor. Gratitude skimmed the top of him, he was lucky that Castiel was able to pull him away from the polluted area, despite the former sailor being unaware that he had done so.
Nonetheless, Dean was thankful.
"Yeah," Dean paused as he tried to think of how to continue. Releasing a large breath, Dean shook his head. "I kind of don't know where to go with that. What else do you want to know?" He brought his head up to watch Castiel's eyes, it was easy to see that the former sailor was racking the inside of his brain to list out all of his questions.
I wouldn't be surprised if the man's making a frickin' list from most important to least important. Oh God, what if he organizes it alphabetically too?
"Can they be killed?" Dean was drawn away from his distracting thoughts as Castiel began his interrogation.
"I have yet to see if they can," Dean replied with a sour face, and he squeezed the back of his neck. He noticed how Castiel frowned at the news, his eyes calculating.
He felt a mass swirling in his gut; Dean was able to recognize it as admiration. Here was a man who just learned of dark creatures and he's already trying to find a way to win, to break free.
Although he has yet to succeed in that category, the corner of Dean's mouth twitched up as he thought of his previous game with the former sailor. Castiel seemed to notice his small smirk though, and his eyes narrowed further than usual. Possibly through the look in Dean's eyes Castiel seemed to understand what Dean was thinking about, and his lips formed a tight, straight line while his eyes remained narrowed.
"Just because I was unable to get past you doesn't mean that I'm weak," he warned with frustration evident in his eyes. Dean shrugged, but after hearing Castiel's words mischief blossomed in his eyes.
"So you admit that I won our game?" He joked with a raised eyebrow, and he watched as the fire in Castiel's eyes blazed even brighter, roaring with irritation. He kept his eyes locked onto Dean's as he responded coolly.
"If you could remain serious for just a moment, if you could take the time to break away from your usual careless attitude for just a few seconds, maybe, just maybe, it could be possible for us to get out of this mess that you've caused in the first place!"
Surprise raced through Dean as he listened to Castiel. This was all his fault?
"Pardon you, pretty boy, but I did no such thing!" Dean all but snarled at the former sailor, his own eyes alight now with annoyance.
"Stop calling me that, damnit! I don't understand why you feel the need to call me such a thing, the only reason I can think of is that it's probably because of that paper skull of yours!" Castiel shouted back.
"You say I have a paper skull and you still have yet to best me!" Dean countered.
"You chose brawn over brains you ignorant mud," Castiel replied with hanging eyelids and a voice full of contempt.
"Well if you represent brains then obviously brawn is more victorious!" Dean snarled. Both were seething with irritated rage at one another, their looks vicious and vexing.
"How the hell does an excuse for a man like yourself end up being the captain of a ship. Who the hell would want to follow you?"
"I like to think it's my perky nipples that attract the people," Dean replied without losing a beat, his eyes now split between the glow of sarcasm, and the fire of rage. His face dropped his typical smirk though as he grew serious once more.
"You know nothing about me, Castiel. You've never faced this threat before, you don't know what stands between us."
Castiel paused, holding back his arsenal of retorts once he heard the emotion in Dean's voice once he had spoken. There was no more rage, no more annoyance after his words had left his mouth.
Instead what had carried over to him was more somber, no trace of humor whatsoever. It was sad, and the look in his eyes was no longer a burning flame; now it was dim and only flickered like a candle that was about to be extinguished.
Immediately Castiel came to a conclusion, and he felt his anger seep away as confusion and surprise filled its place.
"You're afraid," his voice was low as it came out soft as a whisper. Dean drew his eyes away from Castiel and cast them down. Castiel followed his gaze and watched as the pirate fumbled with his hands.
Suddenly Dean looked up, his eyes low and dangerous. For once, Castiel himself was fearful of the pirate, he felt a shiver run up his spine as his eyes looked into Dean's own. The green eyes were almost fire itself, not a trace of the previous gaze that the fire now relieved.
"You think I'm afraid?" Dean growled, and Castiel froze at the sound of his voice. It mirrored the emotion in his eyes, low and dangerous. "I am anything but afraid, Castiel. Those things up there may look human, but they are anything but. They are vicious, cold, and void of all emotion except for the joy they get from the pain they create. Fear won't due either of us any good."
Castiel's words were silent as he stared at Dean Winchester. As soon as he finished, the pirate seemed to deflate. Energy sucked out of him and all that was left was a shell, filled with secrets that Castiel wanted, needed to know.
Why does Dean know of these creatures when it seemed the rest of the world was oblivious? What is he hiding from those he deemed most loyal, and yet teases that which he hides in front of a man whom he knows almost nothing about?
"Dean," Castiel started, his voice slow and quiet. "How do you know about these demons?"
Immediately Dean tried to dodge "I've been-"
"Dean."
"I didn't ask to share my life story with you Cas!" Dean shouted, fire and pain burning in his eyes, twisting and fighting.
Castiel felt more words being shoved up his throat, but he held them back. Closing his eyes to escape the fires that raged in a forest of green, the former sailor took a deep breath and calmed his screaming curiosity.
Doing what he usually did for the sake of clarity, Castiel began to organize his thoughts.
Stupid, stupid! Everything was all fine until you accused him. Although it did carry an interesting reaction. Obviously he has history with these demons, or that Meg one at least. At the mention of Meg Castiel gave an inward shudder.
Focus on getting out, then if we both get out of this predicament you can interrogate him. Better yet, you could finally get off this horrid vessel of black.
Castiel's ears perked up at the sound of Dean clearing in his throat, and the former sailor opened his eyes. Dean's own lost their glow of ferocity, now they seemed to shimmer with an almost apologetic, regretful sheen. He remained silent as he watched Dean rub the back of his neck again, noting that it seemed to be a subconscious habit for the pirate.
"That may have gotten a bit too intense for both of us," Dean admitted with a small smile before dropping his hands back into his lap, "we cool?"
Castiel frowned slightly, amazed at how quickly the pirate seemed to recuperate from his dangerous mood.
"I've mentioned this before and I'll mention it again Winchester, you are certainly different."
At first, Dean pursed his lips and Castiel managed to catch sight of the guarded look on the pirate, but he almost sighed in relief as a familiar mischievous glow danced in Dean's eyes again; leaving no trace of the darkness that the pirate typically withheld.
"Does that make me special?" Dean recited with a smirk, both he and Castiel instantly remembering the conversation the words they spoke with came from. "Anyways Cas, bottom line here: You're injured, and on top of that we're trapped down here while a bunch of disgusting demons are sailing this ship. Probably the only reason we're alive right now is because of Meg."
Castiel's head tipped to his right as he thought about Dean's explanation. "How were they able to apprehend the ship, Winchester?" Observantly Castiel watched as Dean frowned slightly.
"I was hoping there wouldn't be any trouble, so I only left a small handful of my crew on the ship. They were easily overpowered, not much of a surprise there."
Confusion began to settle into Castiel, who brought his head back up. "If you only had the crew members on board, and you were in the town, how'd you end up on the ship without the rest of your crew?"
A smile toyed on Dean's face, and Castiel almost thought that it seemed like a bit of color was going to the pirate's face.
"Yeah, well thanks to Balthazar we got to the port just as my ship was pulling out." Words were about to leave the pirate's mouth, but then Dean sealed his lips as he paused. Castiel couldn't help but notice how Dean seemed...flustered.
"You didn't get on the ship, perhaps, because I was still onboard; did you?" Castiel found himself perplexed at the notion. Surely Dean wouldn't have come to his aid, not when demons were onboard? Yet here the pirate was, sitting across from him with a face that seemed redder than normal.
Dean laughed, although it wasn't the usual, full laughter that the pirate usually expelled. This one seemed more forced, Castiel squinted as he stared at Dean quizzically.
"That's cute," Dean scoffed, "sorry pretty boy but I wasn't just going to let them take my ship." Dean paused before shaking his head, "although that still kind of happened. But yeah, totally not for you. Almost forgot you were on the ship!" He repeated his strange laughter once more, leaving Castiel even more confused than earlier.
"If you say so," he replied, still unsure of Dean's true intentions as to why he boarded his stolen ship. "Wouldn't it have been easier for you to get your ship back by-"
"It doesn't matter Cas," Dean quickly interrupted, and Castiel was still stumped as to why there appeared to be such redness gathering in the pirate's face. "Besides, you need to stop getting so off topic man, it's not exactly helping the situation."
Castiel snorted, he was the one getting off topic?
Dean seemed to interpret his thoughts, "Yeah, you get off topic. A lot."
Frowning, Castiel began to bring up that Dean has been off topic before as well, but the pirate quickly intervened his words. "You're doing it again."
A defensive noise escaped Castiel's mouth before he grudgingly closed it, annoyance brought on by the victorious look that was formed from Dean's face.
"Then what do you suggest we do, Winchester?" With a raised eyebrow, the former sailor awaited to see what could leave the pirate's mouth that would even remotely resemble an escape plan.
Dean looked up in thought, eyes mindlessly looking at the dark boards of his ship. He bit the bottom of his lip, considering two options that were the most obvious.
They could probably get out of the brig, maybe manage to grab a lifeboat but that was unlikely. Sadly, none of the demon pirates that belonged to Meg's crew would require sleep, so the black-eyed creatures could maintain a decent amount of personnel on deck.
The second option was the one that Dean didn't want to contemplate, though it struck various chords.
"There's a reason Meg kept us alive," Dean thought aloud. He looked away from the ceiling and back towards his injured companion. "Thoughts, pretty boy?" The narrowed eyes that he was met with brought a smile to his face, Dean couldn't help making a bit of fun despite the situation. It was a defense mechanism, a way to avoid his other side.
"I thought we already established that your little nickname is greatly unappreciated and not humorous in any aspect whatsoever."
"You're getting off-topic again, Cas," Dean continued with a broader grin, and he watched as Castiel grit his teeth in annoyance.
"Well obviously you have a history with her," Dean immediately felt the crack in the steel trap poke at its bindings, somehow the pirate was able to hold it back for now. "Of course no need to get into that topic at the moment," Castiel added in hurriedly. Still frowning, Dean nodded while he glanced around the cell.
At the moment, Dean bit the bottom of his lip again as he recited the former sailor's words in his head.
"Meg's never really been the sentimental type," he mentioned before he felt the crack poke again at its restraints. Dean couldn't help but wince, his eyes scrunching up as he shook his head. "Not many reasons as to why she'd keep us alive," growling slightly Dean rubbed his face, "Meg wouldn't do that, or the other possibilities. She's not too keen on breaking his rules, but what else is there?"
"His rules?" A rough voice pushed through his rambling and Dean glanced at Castiel.
"Head honcho," Dean explained. He watched as it clicked in the former sailor's head and Castiel paled slightly while his eyes grew to an alarming width. "You're not gonna throw up or pass out again, are you?"
"Give me a moment," Castiel replied as he tried to readjust how he sat. Watching, Dean waited until Castiel seemed a bit less panicked. Surprisingly Castiel was handling it rather well, "Didn't believe in Satan, eh?"
"I'm more into the belief of facts, things I see with my own eyes. As for Satan, I didn't believe that he would be the captain of a ship that sails around; that was a children's tale!"
Nodding, Dean sighed and got up. Treading lightly, the pirate walked up to the bars of their cell and rested his head against them.
"Here I am, the great Dean Winchester locked in his own brig," he muttered before turning around to face Castiel.
"Dean," the former sailor spoke softly as he looked up at the pirate with round eyes, "What do you propose that we do? You know more of these demons, if I got us out of here, could we take them on?"
Sadness glossed over Dean's eyes as he tried to figure out what course of action he wanted to take.
"Few things can harm a demon," he began with distant eyes, "iron and salt sting but they won't kill."
"Salt?" Castiel repeated with confusion beginning to twirl in his irises. "If the ocean's made of salt water, why are they sailing? Surely we could use that to our advantage?"
Regretfully Dean shook his head, "for some reason it doesn't affect them. It may have to do with the quantity or quality of salt, I don't know." He shrugged as he looked at Castiel. The former sailor's response was a simple frown, a trait that Castiel seemed to carry around constantly.
Sighing, Dean shook his head, "I just don't know if this is a battle we could handle. I can only see us getting out with a lifeboat and a crap ton of salt. You having that injury only hinders that further, so yeah. The odds are just never in our favor are they, Cas?"
"Seems that way," Castiel muttered, and Dean could imagine what the former sailor was referring to; it brought a small smile to the pirate's face.
Straightening up, Dean got up and walked back to where Castiel sat, dropping down next to him. Slowly he leaned back, his head hitting against the wooden boards. Silence expanded between the two, although Dean didn't find it awkward; in fact he almost found it comforting.
Closing his eyes, the pirate took a moment to listen to his ship and the ocean. Barely, he could make out the sounds of the crew members working above him.
"Well this is awesome," he muttered as he opened his eyes. Glancing over to his injured companion, Dean couldn't quite catch the former sailor's eyes. Sighing, Dean bumped his head against the wall again before making a decision.
Inhaling, the pirate fiddled with one of the buttons on his waistcoat. "Cas, I don't think you heard me the first time, but I'm sorry about all of this," using his hands to gesture about the entirety of the situation, "I didn't mean to drag you into this, it's my mess and you shouldn't have to be in the crossfire. So yeah, sorry man."
Releasing his fingers off of his buttons, Dean glanced over to the recipient of the apology. "Cas?" He asked tentatively, and then he leaned forward to catch the former sailor's eye.
It wasn't a gaze that he ended up meeting though, instead it was the sight of a sleeping Castiel; whose eyelids hid the blue eyes that Dean had been hoping to meet.
Huffing, Dean slumped back and leaned his head against the wall. "Seriously, again? Man you're timing is either terrible or perfect, I'm not quite sure." But his voice and face softened as he spoke again to a sleeping Castiel.
"I'm sorry, and I'm going to make sure you get out; I promise."
The only response Dean received about his promise was the former sailor's breathing, and he smiled at the sleeping figure before closing his own eyes.
Castiel cracked his right eye open slowly, relaxing once he saw that Dean's eyes were closed. He sat there for awhile in the silence, watching the calming rise and fall of the Winchester's chest as the pirate slipped into a quiet slumber.
"I don't get you, Dean Winchester." Castiel whispered with one last look at the pirate before he decided to close his own eyes. Unable to resist the exhaustion that had settled inside of him, he found himself drifting off into a darkness that he was well acquainted with.
Hope you enjoyed! Sorry that these updates have been coming out a bit slower than normal, but I'm starting to get a bit busy out there in the real world. I may have to adjust how much I update come school time, but don't worry! Many, many chapters will follow! Please review, follow, or favorite if you enjoyed :D