Back to the Future World: Part 4

"This is crazy," the ex-angel muttered under his breath, peering around a barricade with a specialized grenade gripped tightly in his hand. The two priests had created a few weapons for the rest to throw just in case, though they couldn't make that many. Cas swallowed nervously and looked up at his Dean, the hunter looking as serious as ever. They'd been through so much together already and this was just another bit of hell to add to the whole mess. He wondered if they'd ever get a peaceful few days to relax together, no worries on their plates. "You think we'll make it this time?" He asked softly, a small laugh in his throat to hide the fear he was squashing.

Dean looked down at him and nodded, "Of course, Cas. We always do." His smile was reassuring though Cas couldn't shake the feeling bubbling in him. He'd seen what those monsters could do; two men were about to go up against all of them, alone. How the hell was he supposed to believe they'd be alright? In fact, the commotion would draw the rest of the monsters closer, none of them knew which direction the things would be coming from so who was to say that they were safe hiding behind a barricade?

"Calm down, babe." Dean whispered, touching Cas' cheek gently to get his attention again, "It'll be fine, I promise."

Sam couldn't help the smile tugging at his lips, watching two people -who looked just like the ones he knew but weren't actually them- be so tender with one another was the cutest thing he'd seen. It was enough to get him curious, was this what Dean was like? Was Dean that sweet on Cas? Or could he possibly be? He glanced at Jet to see the man's face was just as tight and nervous as any of the other men in the area. "Jet?" Sam nudged him, receiving a softened look in return. "You scared?"

Jet smirked and looked back out at where his best friend was about to wander into a death trap, "Nah," he scoffed lightly, "Not for me, anyway."

Sam nodded and looked out anxiously as well. "It'll be fine…" He muttered, fingers tightening around the grenade given to him. 'Dean knows what he's doing… I think.'

Further away, Dean and Castiel maneuvered around some debris, inching closer and closer to the masses of raptoribus roaming the bridge. Castiel looked at Dean thoughtfully as he raised his gun, slipping past a broken down vehicle without a sound.

Dean exhaled slowly and followed, a machine gun forming in his hands as he readied himself. He'd set it up for unlimited ammo and constant fire; the bullets were made specifically for the monsters of the void so even if he hit Cas his partner would be fine. 'I should make a bomb like that too, come to think of it.' He thought to himself as they closed in on the first beast. Luckily it seemed to be pretty dense so they managed to get fairly close.

It was a sensitive moment, Castiel could smell the monster as it loomed ahead of him and knew that the slightest sound he made would alert it. 'Be ready.' He told himself, recalling each moment he'd ever fought one of these. They weren't too hard when there was just one, keep your eye on it and don't let it get you. But there were so many now, he wouldn't be able to watch his back for others, he'd have to count on Dean. And in turn, he'd have to take care of his partner. A calm and carefully silent exhale from his nose helped him relax his arms as he propped his pernach up, aimed right for the beast's head. 'First shot has to kill it or things will be messier still.'

Dean watched Castiel's form; slender and almost delicate as he stepped around anything that'd make a sound, gun aimed and steady. The following seconds felt like they dragged on forever as Castiel shot off the first round, the sound ringing in the air like a cannon had gone off, a light puff of smoke from his barrel and barely even a slight movement in his body. Castiel stared at the raptoribus as it slipped down to the ground, unmoving, lifeless, and suddenly not worth his attention. Both snapped their gazes up to see the glowering eyes angled their way.

"NOW!" Castiel shouted as he started firing as fast as he could, beginning to move, running from the raptoribus' immediate line of sight and to find higher ground. Dean had perched himself on top of an abandoned bus and started to fire at will, the rounds of bullets slamming into each monster and sending them to their knees just as fast as Castiel had brought down the first one.

Behind the barricade Sam tensed and stood to look at the carnage on the bridge, at Dean's planted position and the smaller figure that seemed to be moving at uncanny speeds. "Holy shit." Sam muttered at the sight that raged to life right in front of him; heavy bodies hitting the pavement with what looked like a massive amount of force, all sounds washed away with the repeating volume of Dean's gunfire, and the little bursts of light that erupted from Castiel's ever moving position. "They're actually doing it."

"They've just started," Cas leaned over to look, his anxiety lessening as he watched, "But you're right, they're doing very well. Better than I'd have thought."

"Doesn't mean it'll be so easy for us," Dean grunted as his attention was caught, the rumbling sounds in the distance getting closer and closer to them. "We've got company." He growled out as he ducked down, "Everybody quiet and keep low."

They did as they were told, watching as more of the beasts burst out of buildings and bolted down the streets. All seemed to be heading in the same direction, right for the gunfire on the bridge. None seemed to notice the small assault team waiting in the wings, luckily for them. Sam breathed out shakily as the raptoribus seemed to pass, peering around again to see if Dean was alright. The shots from his machine gun rained down on their opponents like fire, shifting to catch the strays and snapping around to destroy the new comers. Sam smiled a little, glad that Dean wasn't totally oblivious to it.

"So does instinct come with the priest package?" Jet chuckled, "I didn't know he knew how to handle a machine gun, let alone have any kind of sense in a fight."

Down on the bridge Dean felt like time had slowed down, each movement felt sluggish and he was starting to notice an anxiety. He couldn't see Castiel anymore though he'd caught a glimpse of a small gathering of raptoribus, all in a circle like they were looking at something precious. He had a feeling that his partner was in the centre of it all but he couldn't find a second to run down and check.

"Cas!" he shouted over the roar of his weapon, his heartbeat seeming to catch up with the speed of his firing. "Cas are you alright?" He couldn't hear an answer even if Cas had managed to scream, everything was too loud. All he could do was continue his onslaught and pray that Castiel was okay.

A moment passed, what felt like hours, and Dean felt a shift below him like the bridge was quaking beneath his feet. It vanished just as quickly as it had come but it happened again, and again until it was a pounding rhythm that sent small chills down his spine. Dean looked up to see that each raptoribus had stopped, all heads turned toward the massive group that had gathered, none moving. He stopped firing and looked toward the circle, wondering what could possibly make these things slow their pace like this. His limbs felt heavy when he saw the glow seeping out from between the limbs blocking its way. The light only brightened the more the seconds ticked by, Dean's heart leapt to his throat as a blast wave rolled across the bridge, his arms coming up to shield himself from it. He couldn't think of anything else to do, if harm was coming his way this was his best defense.

Dean knew immediately when his feet were no longer beneath him, the rush of air sweeping him off the top of the bus and sending him to the ground. He gasped as his breath escaped his lungs, a sharp pain shooting up his spine from his tailbone. For a second everything seemed to be in a whirlwind of light and a torrent of wind, Dean thought for a moment he was tumbling along the pavement but realized it was just his head spinning. He forced himself up again, pushing past the trembling ground and crawling onto the bus again. He stared out over the bridge, this time seeing the cause of the problem. Castiel was surrounded by a bright light as he practically mowed down the startled monsters. His movement looked more like flying, a swift glide across and over the debris around him. He was wielding his gun as a mace instead and with each clubbing motion a shockwave leveled the nearby raptoribus. Dean was in awe as he watched his partner go berserk, but mostly he was surprised at how beautiful it was. Even as Castiel slaughtered those things, blood and gore splattering all over, it looked peaceful and smooth.

"If he could do that why didn't he start with it?" Jet shouted, pointing somewhat dramatically.

"There's probably a cost." Cas furrowed his brow, "Looks like it's too high powered to just use willy nilly."

"Regardless it's working," Dean nearly laughed, watching the spectacle unfold. "He's not only massacring the ones that are already there but he's drawing the rest closer indefinitely. I can't believe I'm seeing this."

Sam nodded slowly but he had a bad feeling, he glanced over at the fallen angel who seemed to share his sentiment; if there was a cost to this it wouldn't be small.

Everything started coming to close after several minutes of non-stop destruction. Castiel looked around and upon sensing no remaining hostility, his glow flickered and faded. Dean hopped off the bus and slipped his weapon into his coat, running across the distance between them. "Cas, you tank! How did you do that?" He laughed though it didn't remain cheerful, slipping into a nervous chuckle as he reached his partner's side. "Cas?"

Castiel remained still for several moments before he staggered forward and promptly fell. Dean caught him and fumbled him a little, managing to hold Cas to his chest as he lowered to the ground with him. "Cas! Hey man, don't do this, wake up." He shook Castiel's limp form gently, "C'mon, look at me."

There was a slight twitch in Castiel's facial muscles, his eye lids shifting and slowly lifting up. "Mmm..." He groaned softly, trying to see Dean's face. "D...ean?" he mumbled, eyes unfocused and wet.

"Yeah Cas, it's me." Dean smiled down at him, relief clear in his eyes even though he knew that Cas wasn't quite with it just yet.

Castiel laughed quietly, the sound breaking into a subtle sobbing as his hand touched Dean's arm. "I missed you." he whispered, eyes closing again as his head rested back heavily in Dean's embrace.

"Missed me?" Dean nudged Castiel's head up, "Cas? What do you mean?" Even though his partner didn't answer for the moment, Dean was still relieved. Castiel was alive so it would be okay yet, even if he was unconscious.

"Dean!" Sam's voice broke Dean's concentration like the crack of a whip, he looked up to see his little brother standing over him. "Is he okay?"

"Yeah," He looked down at Castiel's face, reaching up and rubbing tears off Cas' cheek gently with his thumb, "I think so…"

"Let's get him home." The other Dean approached as well, his gaze looking torn up, like he'd just watched his Castiel collapse. "We'll take care of him back there."

Cas and Jet followed suit, both glancing around for any other monsters, just in case. "I think he's just tired," Cas smiled as he leaned over, nudging his counterpart playfully. "Though I wish I knew why he was crying."

"Yeah," Dean held him a little closer, his eyes narrowing as he continued to watch his partner's face, catching an escaped tear every now and then. "Me too…"

"So we done here?" Jet leaned over and started to help Dean up, supporting him until he could stand properly with Castiel in his arms.

"Guess so," Dean adjusted Castiel a little better, smiling sadly when he felt the tickle of soft dark hair against his neck. "I want to wait until he wakes up though, before we move on."

"I think sleep is a good idea." Sam groaned, rubbing his eyes, "We haven't yet and I'm exhausted."

"I'm with Sam," Jet yawned and followed the others toward their get-away vehicles. "Sleep sounds amazing."

Dean wasn't sure he'd be able to but he smiled and nodded anyway, curling Castiel against his chest and squeezing him. "I've got you, Cas." He whispered softly enough that no one else could have heard him.

"Hey Cas?"

That voice again. "Dean?" Castiel muttered tiredly, his eyelids feeling too heavy to move. He knew this nightmare, he would hear Dean's voice saying 'look at me' and he would always look to see a rotting face. "Baby, I saw you today." Cas smiled a little, keeping himself positive. "I saw you."

"Would you look at me?"

Castiel looked up, the tears waiting to fall as he did, that lump in his throat stopping him from swallowing properly. He sobbed quietly and reached up to touch the cold face again, "I saw you, baby."

"Cas?"

"Hm?" Cas flinched a little when he realized his eyes were still closed, forcing them open again past the heaviness. He looked up at Dean, completely awestruck at first until he remembered where he was. "What is it?"

Dean smiled brightly, "You're up, I'm glad. I thought –well we were all worried."

"Why?" Castiel slowly pushed himself up, cringing slightly at the pull in his limbs. His eyes widened when the memory struck him, "Holy shit, did it work?" He spun on Dean excitedly; blue eyes wide and a firm hand Dean's forearm as some sort of anchor.

Dean almost laughed, lowering Castiel in the bed again he forced him to relax. "Yeah, you did it Cas, I don't know what you did but you destroyed those things almost single-handedly." Dean watched Castiel as he leaned back again, eyes distant as he tried to recall it. "What did you do?"

"I…" Cas muttered as he shook his head slowly, "It's a spell I hadn't tried, I combined one of my more powerful ones with a body enhancement; on top of that I attached a weapon advance to my pistol."

"Sounds crazy… Why'd you do it? Not that it wasn't awesome or anything."

"I was…" Cas closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, "I couldn't get away and they were surrounding me. I panicked a little when you couldn't hear me."

Dean flinched and looked away, his expression looking torn and distraught, "I'm… I'm sorry Cas, you almost got killed out there because of me." His lip pulled up in a snarl, his hands tightened into fists as he pictured it. "You've been doing this forever and now suddenly you end up almost dying all the time, and it's because of me."

"Dean," Castiel surprised himself with how soft his own voice came across, "Calm down, it's not like that. The worlds wouldn't open to just me, there are greater challenges ahead and puzzles that I wouldn't be able to do on my own. If you aren't with me I can't keep going, so shut up and calm down."

Dean looked at him and for a moment it was just the two of them in that room. One smiled and the other returned it fully; maybe they'd be decent partners after all.

"Hey," The door opened and the other Cas peered inside, his messy hair in tangles and stubble threatening to turn into a full-on beard. He smiled brightly when he saw his own face staring back at him, "You're up! See? I told you he'd be up, I was only off by a day or two."

Dean chuckled and nodded, "Yeah, you were close. He's alright, I suppose we'll be heading out soon."

Cas leaned against the doorframe and nodded, eyeing his priest counterpart carefully. "He looks a lot better at least. You sure you're ready to head out? He just woke up."

"We're ready." Castiel replied as he started to climb out of the not-so comfy bed. "If I've been out for a few days it's been too long."

"You seem to end up there a lot, actually." Dean smirked, "I mean, you know how you ended up crashing in my room for a while and everything."

"Shut up, that was for entirely different reasons and you know it." Castiel shoved him, though it was more playful than hurtful for once.

"So you are leaving," The ex-angel walked over and gave them each a hug, "I was hoping you'd stay for a little fun but I guess not." He smiled as he leaned away from Dean, lifting his hand and rubbing at the slight blush on his cheeks.

"What fun?" Dean stuttered, glancing up at his partner who only rolled his eyes in return.

"Well I thought a foursome might be fun," Cas glanced over at his injured counterpart for a second before looking back at Dean's bewildered face, trailing a finger down his chest, "You know, you, your partner, my Dean and myself. I already asked and Dean said it was okay with him-"

"Yeah I got it." Dean stepped away and headed for the door pretty quick after that, "I'm good thanks."

Cas pouted and shrugged, "Can't win 'em all."

"Certainly not." The priest replied as he followed Dean out, keeping his laughter to himself.

"Sam! Jet! Get ready, we're leaving." Dean shouted across the cabin, hurrying over to his shoes at the front door. He glanced at his body double for a moment, the hunter relaxing by the kitchen table with a knowing grin on his face. "You really okay'ed that?"

"Yeah, why not? Cas is actually pretty good in orgies."

"Not even going to look at you." Dean finished lacing his boots and hurried out the door, waiting until the others joined him.

The ex-angel and his hunter stood in the doorway of their home, watching the group of four squabble a bit about Castiel's health and whether or not they should be resting longer. Cas chuckled softly and leaned against his Dean, "I'm glad that the rest of the universe's existence doesn't depend on us for once."

"Tell me about it." Dean kissed his cheek before whistling at the dimension travelling team, "Hey!"

All four turned their attention his way, Castiel having just opened the new portal and holding it that way. "What's up?"

"We just wanted to thank you," Cas smiled at them, "For everything, really. You saved us."

"No problem, just doing our job." Dean grinned and gave a quick bow of his head, not realizing it had been at the same time that Castiel had done the exact same.

Cas snickered and waved them off, "Get out of here, you guys have a lot to learn."

Before anyone had a chance to answer Castiel shoved them through the portal, giving a quick wave in return before disappearing as well.

Cas sighed and kissed his lover slowly, giggling a little when Dean lifted him up and bit down his neck. "So if they fail?" He asked calmly, as if he were asking about the weather.

"Then we're toast." Dean replied in the same tone, even sounding a little joyful.

"Feels weird for it to be on someone else's shoulders, but it gives us a chance to do other things."

"Like?"

"Like… what would you do if this was your last night alive?" Cas slid a finger along Dean's jaw, a shiver running down his spine at the look he'd been given for such a question.

"You, all night long." Dean growled low as he continued showering Cas with affectionate kisses and nips.

"Prove it."

"You got it, baby."