Dean and Cas looked at each other, and jumped off the bed, Dean going toward the stairs. "Wait- Dean!" Cas cried, and Dean grabbed him by his slender wrist. "Come on! We have to go!"
They ran down the twisting stairs, hearing, in the distance, the faint shouts and screams of Crowley and Gabriel. Cas was a little confused as to who the shouts were coming from, but shrugged it off momentarily.
"Dean!" Cas repeated, a little louder this time, "You didn't kill the dragon?!" Dean turned back, a horrified and dumbstruck expression upon his face. "Was I supposed to?!"
They were cut off by a loud, almost earsplitting roar, which shook the tower to the point of dust falling from the ceiling.
"Come on!" Dean said, shielding a protective arm around Castiel as they hurried down, and he fitted the helmet he had previously been wearing over Cas' head to further protect him.
They passed a stray skeleton strewn along the stairs, and Cas shuddered, before Dean grabbed the sword that accompanied it. It was surprisingly sharp, which must have meant that the guy who it had belonged to before hadn't had much time to use it before getting smoked.
Real encouraging, Dean thought to himself, and kept a tight grip on Cas' wrist as they ran.
They finally made it to the ground, where Gabriel and Crowley were running toward them. "Move your asses, fuck-buddies! We've got a necromancer dragon hot on our trail, and he doesn't look like he wants a conversation!" Gabe said, and stopped for a second. "Huh- so this is him, eh? Not bad, not bad."
Cas rubbed his forehead, and Dean looked around. "Alright. Let's get a move on."
They started to run back the way they came, when a huge blast of sizzling fire fried their path and stopped them in their tracks. "Shit," Dean breathed, and Cas gulped underneath his helmet, only able to see through the narrow slits of it.
"Run!" Gabe called, and they all ran together a different way, to get out of the castle, but just then, the most terrifying, intimidating looking dragon stepped out right in front of them.
It almost seemed to grin, its nostrils emitting smoke from his fiery breath. "Lucifer," Cas whispered, and Dean turned back to the dragon.
"Hi there," he gulped, and Lucifer chuckled at him. "The hell are you doing?" Crowley hissed, and Dean cleared his throat. "Nice day out here, isn't it?!" Lucifer seemed to scoff, and he slammed a foot down right in front of them, getting closer as if to strike.
Dean quickly drew his sword in fear.
"Y-you want him?!" Dean shouted up, swallowing his fear, "You'll have to go through me!" The charcoal black dragon let out a deep chuckle. "You think I want the prince? Oh no- I'm here to prevent you from taking him, coward."
Dean scowled. "Great." Lucifer stepped closer, and Dean could see the fire collecting in the back of its throat as it opened its mouth.
"SHIT!" he shouted again, and covered Cas as they dodged out of the way. Gabriel and Crowley dodged the other way, and the dragon's fire blew past them. The cat let out a little yelp as he put out a tiny flame crawling up his tail.
Dean snapped back up, and in a flash of spur-of-the-moment stupidity, he suddenly charged toward Lucifer, giving a battle cry. Without a moment to think about what he was about to do, he speared his sword into the dragon, swinging himself up onto its huge back. The other three immediately went to help.
Lucifer threw back his head, and roared, and Dean had to grip the sword for dear life as he swung around on its back. He tried to climb the scales, as Gabriel and Crowley fended off on the ground.
Castiel looked around frantically, and caught sight of another, longer sword that could help. He quickly ran to it, grabbed it, and hurtled it up toward the dragon. "DEAN!" he called, and the young man climbing the violently bucking dragon turned just in time.
He grabbed the sword in midair, and brought it down into Lucifer's back, making the dragon roar again. It stumbled a little, thick red oozing out, and Dean stuttered at what he realized he was doing, slaying a friggin' dragon.
He swung around, then let go of the sword, crashing down to the ground, where he picked up the old sword that he had pulled out of the scales, holding it in offense position toward the swaying dragon.
He slashed, two, three times, and Lucifer looked as if he was going to collapse. In a mild state of shock and possible psychosis, Dean stared down at his hands, wondering how the hell he just did that. Then he looked up again.
"That's what you get for messing with my Prince, you dick!" he called up. Lucifer looked down, and growled, opening his mouth.
From the other side of the dragon, the three's eyes widened, seeing what the dragon was about to do, but they could do nothing as they watched helplessly. Lucifer let out an angry billow of smoke and flame, whipping his sharp, giant tail with a sickening crack, and knocked Dean clean off his feet into the stone wall.
The only sounds that could be heard as the moment moved in seemingly slow-motion, were the smack of Dean hitting the wall, and Castiel's faint cry of, "NO!"
Cas tried to run over to Dean, but Crowley and Gabriel held him back, as the dragon looked as if it were going to try again, but it swayed a little more, falling and slipping backward into the mote. With a hiss and excessive puffs of steam, Lucifer was gone.
The two let the Prince go, and Cas ripped off the helmet he was wearing, letting it clatter to the ground as he ran and knelt by Dean, who could barely even cough as he lay, scratched and bloodied. It was a miracle his face had avoided the blow of fire, but the ends of his hair and his clothing were singed, charred smoke rising from them.
His left eye was puffy and bruised, and blood trickled over his lower lip as Dean sputtered weakly. Cas' eyes were wide and desperate, his hands hovering over Dean, unsure of where to place them. "Dean... Dean, no..." Castiel whispered, finally deciding on lacing their fingers together.
"Agh..." the young man murmured, and choked a little, blood flowing a little easier now.
"Dean," Cas repeated, hot tears springing to his eyes. A dreadful sense of sick worry was accumulating in his stomach, and he held Dean's hand. "Dean, you're okay. You're going to be okay."
Dean lay back a little, looking up at Cas through his horribly injured face. The Prince looked so beautiful...
"Cas," he said, his voice cracking and just above a whisper, "You're free... you're free from the tower now..." Cas swallowed, shaking his head feverishly.
"Dean, I don't want to be free if I can't be with you..." Dean huffed a little, and let out a small smile, his white teeth stained in the lines with blood. "Fucking fate, huh?" he asked, attempting a coarse laugh, "Just when you thought you've won... god damn fate has to screw it all up." Cas closed his eyes, and Dean opened his mouth, pausing.
"I love you, Castiel," he said, and squeezed the Prince's hand, as if to assure him.
Cas let a tear roll down his cheek. "I love you too, Dean. But... but this isn't the last time you'll hear that, because we're going to get married, and we'll be together for the rest of our lives, and we'll tell each other every day, and... and..." he faltered as he looked down at him.
From a few steps behind, Crowley and Gabe were tearing up as well, Crowley dragging his paw across his wet eyes. Dean gave one last little smile, and used the last of his strength to move up and kiss Cas, despite the shooting pain through his broken body.
Cas kissed back, tears rolling down his face as he cried. Dean gazed, one last time, up at Cas. He felt... angry. That he had come this far, and gone through so much... only to get to Cas, feel his happiness, and then, just... die. Like his family. It wasn't fair.
But there was no use cursing the inevitable. Dean knew what it had come to now, and at least he had died saving his prince.
"Hey, now... don't cry," he whispered, "The tears are blurring your beautiful blue eyes, man," he smiled, and ran the pad of his thumb along Cas' cheeks, wiping the tears away.
Cas sobbed as he held Dean close in his arms, and a second later, Cas could no longer feel Dean's breath on his shoulder, and he could no longer feel the beat of his heart beneath him. His sobs became hysteric, and he shook Dean carefully. "Dean?! Dean! Wake up... you'll... you'll be alright...please... Dean..."
The cat went up, giving a sniffle, and took Cas' arm, guiding him back a little.
Now, Crowley was not one for conforming to societal authority, or for feelings of sentiment at all, but he was sad too, as they had grown quite close to Dean, and he decided to respect the Prince's title as he comforted him. "I think he's gone, your Highness."
Cas let out a little cry, and he wiped his eyes, staring at Dean's limp body, the man that he loved so much. His head was spinning- this couldn't be happening... not after everything.
Gabriel was quiet through all of this. He was looking at Dean, one single decision brewing in his mind.
The other two just assumed he was too shocked to speak, so they didn't talk. Gabriel took a deep breath, thinking about his grace. He had hardly any left... but he had just enough to do what he was about to do.
"Coming through," he mumbled quietly, and pushed between the others, coming to Dean. He then lifted his front hooves, and placed them on the man's chest. Gabriel's eyes shone a bright colour of turquoise, and he heard Crowley faintly say, "But you'll lose all of it!"
Gabe knew. He knew he would lose his enchantment if he used up the last of his grace. But he couldn't just let his friend die like this, after everything these two meatheads had going together.
He felt the power coursing through him, and reveled in the last time he would ever feel that. The power then seeped into Dean, making him glow lightly with a golden tinge. Gabriel felt his knees shake, and after a second, he stumbled back, fully weakened and almost to the point of passing out.
The three watched as Dean was surrounded by the golden glow, making him invisible through the sheen for a moment, then they heard a sharp gasp as the glow disappeared.
Their eyes widened as Dean sat up, clothed in his previous attire, only these good as new, his hair restored to its normal colour and his face a bright, smiling beam. Cas breathed out. "Dean!"
Dean was a little dumbfounded, and for a second, he looked over to Gabriel. His coat was no longer a brilliant gold, and his wings were gone- he had faded to a chestnut brown. The horse gave him a little nod with a smirk, and Dean knew suddenly, what had happened.
His mouth opened a little, and though he was too overwhelmed at present to find the words to thank the former Pegasus, Gabriel knew. Dean turned back to Cas, and locked their lips, connecting again as Cas breathed against Dean's mouth.
"That was the scariest moment of my life," Cas muttered softly. "Your life?" Dean laughed, "I'm the one who died!" Cas blushed a little, and they kissed again.
Gabriel sighed contentedly, and turned to Crowley. "You were crying." "Was not!" "Crybaby." "I beg your pardon-" "It was pathetic, really." "Oh, like you weren't at least affected." "I was too busy contemplating my transition in becoming a non-celestial being, like you boring things." Crowley rolled his eyes.
"C-Cas," Dean said, unsteadily as he shook himself off and assumed Cas' former position kneeling, "Will you marry me?"
Cas gave an ecstatic laugh, and thrust his arms around Dean. "Yes," he whispered, "Of course." And Dean hugged him back.
Despite the warmth of rescuing Cas, they all had to face the reality of the tough return they would have to make. They began to contemplate their journey back- the ground was split in different places, showing lava through them, and when they made it to the bridge again, they saw Crowley swallow.
"Um... did we miss an elevator or something on the way in that we could possibly use now?" "Do you think one just magically rose from the ashes while we were fighting?" Gabriel snarked.
Cas peered over the edge. "We have to hurry. This place is only kept together by the life force of the necromancer. Now that Lucifer is dead, Dragon's Keep will fall."
They all quickly took to walking across the bridge, and as if on cue, the whole place shook, earthquakes rumbling through as the lava began to bubble in warning. The bridge swung precariously, and Gabriel turned back worriedly. "Keep moving."
They went across, swiftly almost making it with surprising ease, but just as the last two were crossing to land, the other side of the bridge broke.
Cas gasped. "RUN!" he shouted, and Crowley ran in front of him. The cat jumped to safety, but as Cas was about to make it, the ground beneath him slipped.
The Prince flailed a little, but just in time, Dean's hand grabbed onto his. "Hold on!" he yelled loudly over the sound of cracking earth. Cas' hand began to slip, the Prince glancing at Dean in panic, but Dean clenched his jaw, gripping him with all his might. "No. I'm not losing you, not after all this." And he hoisted Castiel back up.
"Whew!" Gabriel said, "Hurry up!"
They ran until they made it to safety, Dragon's Keep now a mess of broken ground and running lava behind them. Castiel's breath steadied out, and the four collapsed, staring up at the sky, now blue, since they had escaped the smoke.
Cas began to smile, feeling beyond happy as he realized again that he was out.
"Wow," Crowley muttered. "Yeah," Dean breathed. "That was..." Cas murmured. "Fun!" Gabe finished with a grin, and they all looked at him weirdly.
"I know a way back to the castle," Castiel said breathlessly, "An easier way, where we can avoid the swamps and the Enchanted Orchard. I was taken the way you most likely travelled on your way to me, but I heard them discussing the alternate route back."
Dean smirked. "That's real good, seeing as the map is ash now." Cas looked back at him, and out of the sheer miracle of the moment, Dean leaned in and kissed him again, beyond happy that Cas was with them now.
After a few more minutes of simply catching their breath, and silently reflecting on the sheer impossibilities and miracles that had taken place within the last fifteen minutes, they started their trek back.
"So," Gabe said conversationally to the Prince, "We've heard a lot about you from your lovesick BF over here-" Cas blushed, and looked over to an equally blushing Dean, "-So why don't you tell us more about yourself?"
Cas nodded as they walked. "Well, I was born into royalty, to my two parents, King Zachariah and Queen Naomi..."
They talked in depth along their way, and Dean learned so much about Cas from it, until the day reached late afternoon, and it was time to start settling in for a much needed rest.
Both of the young men had something on their minds. Dean wanted to tell Cas about what happened to his parents, and why he had met him at such a racy place as the Poison Apple in the first place, and Castiel wanted to tell Dean about his curse.
But... they were both scared. Cas was ashamed of his secrets... and in a way, so was Dean.
They all sat around a campfire, the comforting light crackling as the embers floated up to the orange sky. Cas began to worry about nightfall.