Back to the Future World: Part 3
Dean fidgeted with the hem of his sleeve, wondering why the shirt he'd gotten was so plaid and watching as Castiel made tea in the kitchen. He'd noticed that Cas didn't live alone; in fact he seemed downright homely at moments. "Who do you live with?" He asked nonchalantly, tapping his foot at the pair of shoes that clearly didn't belong to Castiel. They'd been given some free roaming time around the house after drying off and changing, allowed to explore as Cas readied their food.
"I mentioned it before didn't I?" Cas smiled again, it was one of the few things that made Dean's heart skip in his chest. "Dean lives here with me, he's my partner."
"Oh, cool. My partner's name is Cas too, weird coincidence."
"I don't think 'weird coincidence' is what's happening here, but see it as you wish." Cas checked the kettle to find it was still colder than room temperature, and placed it back where he'd picked it up from. "Dean is my partner, as in lover, boyfriend, soul mate, whatever you want to call it. He and I have been together for a long time and our bond runs deep. I'm not surprised to hear that your partner's name is Castiel."
Dean stared at him blankly, "You… and other me? Really?"
"What, you can't see it?"
"Weird." Jet piped into the conversation as he entered the room, his hands shoved into the deep pockets of his borrowed jeans. "I'm having a tough time picturing it, forget him."
Cas laughed softly and shrugged, "Doesn't matter, it's true. You'll probably see us kiss so do me a favour and don't freak out, he gets touchy sometimes."
"Right, I'll keep the freaking in." Jet gave a thumbs and moved to take a look around.
It was a little strange to see it, considering how Dean had come to know the tight-ass priest it was weird to see Castiel at all domesticated. Yeah okay, Cas had stayed in their home for a while but after seeing him fight, dealing with the combat experienced priest side of him, Dean had a hard time seeing him without a gun on hand. It was even stranger to think Cas was this way for another person, another him. Dean thought about it for a moment amused and imagining Cas in an apron making him dinner, at least until he spotted the multitude of guns on display in select locations of the house.
"Uh... those belong to your partner?" He asked tensely, daring to touch the very real side of a rifle. He hadn't handled firearms very often, at least nothing like what he was seeing now. Handguns? Sure. Rifles and shotguns? What reason would he have for owning one?
"Hm?" Cas looked up from the kettle he had perched over a small fire, mindlessly poking at the little flames to help them along. "Ah, some of them, yeah. We share most of them though a few we handle specially ourselves."
"Jeez," Jet whistled low as he wandered around the living room, eyes drifting over each weapon, even finding a few stashed in hide-away spaces. "You guys are definitely ready for something..."
"Not nearly enough, it seems." Cas chuckled and drummed his fingers on the top of his thigh, watching the water passively. "When those monsters showed up we didn't know what to do, lost at least half of the people we'd managed to save. And the damn things wouldn't go down. We killed a few, I think by a freak accident but hey, let's not knock a victory."
"Can you tell us what they do?" Dean sat down next to the not-human human, watching the tired man poke at the flames. He waited for a few seconds; not liking the way Castiel grimaced at the recollection. Nothing was said for a long moment, which he was somewhat grateful for because he was starting to hear something. The world around him seemed to mute itself, even slow down entirely as a voice echoed into his mind.
'The creatures you oppose are all located within the city.'
Dean blinked several times, time speeding up again and he almost freaked out on the spot except the voice was somewhat familiar. It was the celestial he'd spoken to while in heaven. It seemed so weird to hear it now, in a somewhat normal setting. He considered mentioning the news to them, but he decided against looking crazy and talking about the voices in his head. "Cas?" he nudged the dark-haired man, hoping to get back on track about the monsters.
"It's hard to say what they do," Cas finally answered. "They're large, shambling things." 'They're twice my size.' His mind filled in the blanks his mouth refused to say, the fear slipping into his memory with every image his mind withheld. "They're fast." 'Faster than I am. I can't run away.' "And strong; when they catch you, and they will catch you, you're dead." 'Skinned alive and left to wait for it. Half squeezed like a tube of paste. Everything done to your body in the meantime. Eaten afterward.' He shuddered and looked away, his stomach flip-flopping in place. "I've seen it. All of it. Before they kill you they do everything they can to destroy you, mentally, physically, everything. If you can imagine it I'm sure they've done it."
Jet made a face and tried to shrug it off though clearly it was making him feel ill. Dean furrowed his brow, trying not to imagine anything though several images came to mind. "Oh..."
"Yes," Cas looked up miserably, "So don't let them catch you."
"Noted, thanks." Dean nodded and looked at the cups that Castiel began to fill with water, the tea bags resting inside. "So I'm guessing it's pretty awful if someone, an angel, from the apocalypse thinks it's bad."
A bitter laugh escaped Castiel before he handed out the cups, placing Dean's in front of him, "Yeah. Well no matter how jaded you are it still won't let you sleep at night. I never used to sleep so I'm not used to the nightmares it comes with."
Dean and Jet both nodded quietly at that, it made sense to an extent. "Sorry to hear that. Wish I could say it gets better."
"It does," The way Castiel smiled then only confused the two sitting across from him, the warmth in his face radiating like he knew something they never could. "It gets better, you just have to see it right."
"Thanks," Jet scoffed with a roll of his eyes, "I'll be sure to pack that tidbit of knowledge away."
"See that you do." Cas winked at him playfully and turned his attention to his tea.
It was only an hour later that the front door swung open and the sound of three separate footsteps entered, "Cas?" A gruff voice called into the house, one that the ex-angel recognized all too well.
"In here, Dean." He answered, slowly pulling himself to his feet to greet his boyfriend, "You're back early, did something go wrong?"
"Not quite," The hunter replied softly, seemingly relieved to find his Cas where he was supposed to be. "Some people showed up, one of them looks like-"
"Like me," Cas finished his sentence as he peered around him, looking at the priest's stern expression. "You remind me of an angel I met once, a long time ago. Very uptight."
The priest furrowed his brow but decided not to reply directly, "I'm sure they've explained this to you already," he started to explain but his counterpart lifted a hand to stop him.
"I know, I know. The one thing I'm concerned with right now is who replies to what name? Did you want to go by Castiel and I'll just listen when someone says Cas?" Cas smiled, a charming glint in his eyes.
"Uhm... not really the time, is it?" Sam piped in, walking around the small gathering to get closer to his brother, nodding in Dean's direction to acknowledge his presence. The last thing he wanted was a 'you didn't come say hi after we were separated' spat. "Cas, you said we need to bait those things right? So let's get planning. We can't just sit and talk about the fact that there are two Dean's and two Cas'."
Both Dean's looked at one another, each giving a quick once over to see what his competition was. The hunter rolled his eyes and looked back over at his Castiel, "They have weapons and the ability to kill these things with less drastic measures than we've had to pull off, I suggest we plan this out together."
"Agreed," the shabbier Cas smiled and went to his lover's side, lacing their hands together and leaning up to kiss him tenderly. "I'm glad to see you made it home safe."
Dean's rough exterior finally broke into a smile and he returned the gesture just as sweetly, reaching up to touch his boy's face and run a hand back through his hair.
The two priests looked toward one another, Dean quickly looking away and muttering 'awkward' under his breath while Castiel inhaled past the pain in his chest and did his utmost to ignore it. "Dean," he said after a moment, "I'll need to speak with you before we do this." He cringed a little at the way he'd sounded when he asked, the slight crack in his usual unfazed attitude sounded louder in his ears than he'd ever meant it to. Dean wasn't supposed to know anything bothered him, especially these kinds of things.
His partner looked back at him, green eyes narrowing for a second, "Alright," Dean glanced over at Sam to see if maybe he'd heard it too, noting the concern written on his brother's face as a yes. "Well let's go talk."
"Do you need us?" Jet asked, glancing between the two priests eagerly like he'd been bored out of his mind and might be able to get to do something. Castiel, of course, shot him down fairly quickly.
"No, just Dean." He motioned for his Dean to follow as he stepped back out the door, his partner in tow.
"What's up Cas?" Dean folded his arms over his chest, thinking maybe he'd get an answer about the other man's strange behaviours.
"Have you discovered your weapon yet?" Castiel looked at him earnestly, "Or perhaps discovered any abilities while we've been separated?"
"No..." Dean trailed off as he watched the anxious look dart across Castiel's face, "Cas, calm down. What are we dealing with that you're actually panicking?"
"I'm not panicking, per se." He ran a hand up his forehead and into his hair, "It's... there's quite a few monsters we have to deal with, I'm sure you've heard."
"Yeah but I don't know what they do, what's the big deal?" Dean knew to an extent what the other Cas had told them but he didn't have the knowledge that his partner Castiel had, maybe there was more to them.
"They're raptoribus," Cas lifted his hand to halt Dean's next question, "No, not like the dinosaur. And extremely dangerous. Did the other Castiel tell you anything that they know?"
"Just that they're dangerous, basically. They chase you down and if they catch you you're dead." Dean shrugged, "Kinda figured it was like anything else we're gonna face. You have fought stuff like this, right?"
"I've faced nearly everything the void has to offer, Dean. Of course I've fought raptorbus before, but that doesn't make it easy. Each one is powerful, strong enough to crack you like an egg if it wanted to. They have a tendency to do things to the body once they've caught their victim."
"Like what?" Dean had heard this much, he could see in Castiel's face that he knew more.
"Like skin you alive, for one. That's one of the more painful tasks, I think. Though I've never experienced it so I can't say." Cas chewed on the inside of his cheek briefly, eyes shifted over to the other cabins spotted around land. Dean stared at him, waiting for more of an answer and Castiel knew it. "I know you think that these things must have some kind of complicated purpose, Dean, but not everything has a quirk you can count on like the demoni possessing someone. They just want you dead, that's all." Cas looked back at him, eyes dark and shadowed.
Dean looked away from Castiel's gaze; feeling like it was boring in to him. He wished he knew why Castiel managed to get under his skin so fast, how he managed to send a chill down his spine without even really trying. The silence between them started to eat away at his nerves and Dean decided to change the subject. "So... what kind of weapon do I get? One like yours?"
"It's up to you, really. But whatever you create first it'll be your primary weapon for the rest of time." Cas took a few steps closer, their bodies nearly flush together as his hands slipped beneath the back of Dean's coat. Dean swallowed thickly but didn't protest, eyes fixed on Castiel's calm expression as a ton of questions flashed across his mind. This wasn't exactly what he was expecting, not that he'd been expecting anything at all.
"Uh... Cas?" He stammered briefly, watching blue eyes as they focused behind him. Dean tried to do something to ignore the fact that his throat was stiff and tongue felt numb, wetting his lips and tilting his head backward. He could smell Cas, a subtle scent of cologne and what could only come from someone who worked his body to the bone. Dean blinked a few times when Castiel looked up at him, a little smirk on those surprisingly soft looking lips.
"You haven't noticed?" Cas remarked with a hint of a laugh in his voice. Dean felt his face light up when realized that Cas wasn't really touching him, he'd just stood there.
"What?" He looked back to see that Castiel's hands were pushed behind him, into the back of his coat but not making a single fold in the fabric.
"Your coat is similar to the gates that we pass through," Castiel explained, stepping away again and steeling his eyes once again, ignoring the ache in his chest. "It's a special space for us, to store our belongings and keep things safe. When you reach inside, imagine your weapon, what you want it to be able to do, what you need it to do, and pull it out of that space."
"This is," Dean reached back, his eyes widening as he watched his hand disappear, "probably the weirdest thing I've ever heard of."
"Get used to it." Cas chuckled and crossed his arms pointedly. "Just get on with it."
"Give me a sec, I'm thinking." Dean muttered back, focusing on his hand and his weapon of choice. A number of things went through his mind as he thought about what he wanted Castiel's head tilted a little to watch. Clearly the badass priest wasn't above looking curious once in a while. If Dean hadn't been in the middle of something important he may have paid more attention to the little quirks that Castiel portrayed, though he knew that if he did then his gun or whatever would come out looking like Cas somehow. He just knew it.
No pressure, this was just the weapon he might end up using until the end of time, something he'd be known for. What would be cool? More importantly, what could be useful? He wanted to know what Castiel thought of before choosing his, why he'd combined a Pernach pistol with a mace in the first place. Obviously because close range was just as important as long range, the weapon wasn't for looking cool it was for being used. It was his tool and would become part of him; the only question was what did he want? A sharp bludgeoning weapon made sense, but Castiel was his partner and wielded a weapon that was capable of that, Dean didn't need to mimic it. He needed something to compliment Cas' choice, what would compliment a tool like a mace? A sword came to mind, but it wouldn't be long-range.
Dean's concentration had tuned Castiel out entirely, the darker haired male had made a few attempts to hurry Dean along but nothing seemed to get through. Cas smiled a little, surprised but glad to see how seriously Dean was taking this decision. He could already tell that Dean wouldn't let the limits of reality alter his decision; he'd come up with something helpful.
Finally Dean pulled his hand out, a silver stick in his palm to show the fruit of his efforts. Castiel bristled but didn't openly judge by the immediate impression, "Uh…" Cas managed to say, his eyes moving from the stick to Dean's face, "What's… that?"
Dean smiled, watching some designs burn their way across the surface of his tool, the same ones that decorated Castiel's gun. "It's a combination weapon, like yours. Just easier to hold onto and more compact."
"Explain before I hit you with the sharp end of my gun." Castiel sad flatly, evidently unimpressed with Dean's 'stick'.
"Well I was thinking so hard of weapons for fighting, like machine guns or swords and I kept going to war movies, westerns, and Medieval times kinda stuff. I realized that I totally ruled out sci-fi and fantasy things. So this is what I came up with." He lifted the tool up and Cas watched as parts of it unhinged and slid like a puzzle, shifting and altering the shape entirely until it looked like the hilt of a sword. Castiel leaned back a little, admittedly surprised when a blade shot out of the end.
"You…" Cas muttered, shock in his voice and a growing wonder in his eyes. "What else can it do?"
"Well it can be different kinds of swords," Dean said as the hilt changed and the blade morphed its shape, "Whatever I want it to be. I figured that since this is going to be my weapon for eternity, it's going to be something I'm known for but more importantly it'll be part of me. Then it came to me; why not actually keep it connected? Like the feeling when I was making it, it knew my thoughts and changed each time I pictured something different, so I figured it'd be perfect for it to keep that connection. I can have a gun like yours," his weapon seemed to snap into place, looking almost identical to Castiel's aside from the silver colour, "Or whatever I want. Cool, huh?"
Castiel stared at the weapon then back at Dean and nearly lost his breath. The bright smile that greeted him threw him, he hadn't been ready for it and all he could remember for a split second was the smiling face he'd used to wake up to. 'That was ages ago, get ahold of yourself Castiel.' He scolded himself as he steeled his expression and nodded, "Nicely done, now we need a plan of attack."
"Machine gun." Dean grinned even wider, not fazed by Castiel's lack of enthusiasm for his ability to make cool things with his mind. "I set it up and we blast the bastards."
"Right, but we still need the bait." Cas frowned, and looked over at the cabin their counterparts were in. "We have to lure them down there and again, it'd bee too late for the humans by the time all the raptoribus were in range. Whoever we use will die."
"What if we just go after them one by one?" Dean argued as he moved into Castiel's line of sight again. "There are a bunch of those things together though not all of them. While we're running around killing them, making a lot of noise, the others will sniff us out and come to play. We'll be the bait and the trap those bastards fall into at the same time."
Castiel looked back and forth between Dean's eyes, everything he knew about raptoribus telling him to find the easiest and most distant way to kill them. But looking at Dean, hearing him and his plan, it was hard to ignore the feeling. Trust your partner. Something in him wouldn't let the thought go. "You're insane." He finally said after a long pause of staring at one another, those long gazes between them would be the death of him. "But fine. We'll tell the others, I suggest leaving a bomb or two for them to set off in case we aren't enough. If we're the bait and we can't fight them all, at least we'll be able to play the bait in plan B."
"Fine, but we won't need the bombs." Dean smirked. "Come on, let's get the others cued in on this and head out."
Cas sighed lightly and followed Dean back to the cabin, "You're still insane."
"And you like me anyway." Dean chuckled in return, not turning around and completely missing the lost stare that Castiel couldn't help but leave on him.