Here is the next chapter! Yay. I'm actually really proud of this one, I think it's one of the better-written ones. Hopefully, you'll all agree :-)
Oh, and thanks to everyone who commented last chapter!
Balthazar said nothing else about it, and Dean knew that if he asked in front of Castiel, their plans would get shut down.
God, he was a damn idiot. It was the stupidest idea of stupid ideas in the entire world to go and do whatever the hell Gabriel and Balthazar had planned, but he was too curious to say no. Besides, although Cas was great, he had to admit that the guy did seem to have a bit of a stick up his butt when it came to doing stuff that was fun.
Even if Dean did have a small sort-of crush (that he was trying his hardest to pretend didn't exist) on the guy.
So, his own curiosity kept him quiet and pretending that nothing was out of the ordinary. He had the feeling that whatever it was, it was going to be kind of awesome.
Now, Dean was a pretty smart guy, contrary to popular belief, so he also knew it was probably going to be dangerous, sexual, or ridiculously stupid. Maybe even all three.
He shouldn't have stayed quiet, but he did.
And when the time came that Cas was laying in his own bed, Dean pretending to be asleep on the couch, the door swung slowly open.
Balthazar peaked his head through, eyes slowly scanning the room to see if Cas was still up. Dean immediately sat up on the couch, giving his muscles a nice stretch as the previously mentioned man tentatively took a few steps inside, trying not to make any noise that would rouse Castiel. Dean stared in amusement for a little while before he finally stood up and walked across the floor to Balthazar.
"Hey there James Bond." He said, quietly. Balthazar still flinched.
"Be quiet," He mumbled, "Cassie tends to be a light sleeper when he sleeps alone. With another body in the bed, such as myself or Anna when we were children, he is an absolute rock. But by himself? The wind could blow and he'd be up and running."
"Alright, got it. Now, how are we going to get me-" Before Dean could say the word, yet again, he found himself in the arms of another man. He let out a growl of frustration while Balthazar grinned, taking the last few steps to the door and taking flight.
When they (FINALLY, Goddamnit, it seemed to take forever when Balthazar was flying him down) touched the ground, Dean was tempted to drop to his knees and kiss it. At last, glorious dirt. How he had missed solid ground from Cas's nest.
Of course, now that he thought of it, having a house up high in the tree wasn't all that different from having an apartment on the top floor, so he had no room to speak. His and Sammy's was on the seventh floor of a ten-floor building.
"So, what's on the agenda?" He asked Gabriel, leaning around and trying to get clues from whatever he was carrying on him. The only thing Dean could see was a small bag with money in it and a grin stretched across his face.
"Oh no, you're not getting any clues until we get there, human. You're going to be entirely surprised." Gabriel promised, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
It was then that Dean noticed that they were standing beside a wagon. It had enough room for the three of them and some assorted bags that were currently shrouded in darkness and mystery. Attached to the place a horse would usually be on a wagon like this, was a very large squirrel. Dean's mouth dropped open, mind trying to process what it was currently seeing. Rodents of an unusual size crossed his mind.
"Gabriel." He said, slowly. "Are you nuts?"
He tried to ignore the accidental pun, because laughing would make him seem pretty crazy, too.
"A little, probably." He said, shrugging. He grabbed one of the bags and shook it a little, and the squirrel sharply turned it's head towards them. "I also have nuts."
He reached into the bag and took one out, tossing it in the squirrel's general direction. It lunged forward and grabbed it out of the air, causing the entire cart to jostle and Dean to almost fall on his ass. A grin stretched across his face. Whatever this was, he could tell it was going to be great.
"We figured we'd need a set of faster legs since yours aren't really up to par." Balthazar said, and for once Dean didn't mind the teasing. Because holy shit, there was a squirrel on the front of their cart! That was fucking awesome! Sam would probably be ranting on about how "fascinating" their culture and shit was by now, but Dean tuned that small bit of information out. He really missed his brother.
If he started thinking about Sam and how much he missed him, he would get into a gloomy mood. And nobody needed that when he could be appreciating the wonderful opportunities his life had given him.
Like, for example, the opportunity to travel by small forest rodent.
"Sit down." Balthazar insisted, grabbing Dean's shoulder. Both of them sat down together, and Balthazar picked up a small piece of rope that was attached to the cart's sides. Dean could still barely see anything in the dark, so it came as a huge surprise when a hand started groping around at his side.
"Hey, hey!" He hissed, muscles jumping.
"Calm down, I need to tie this around us. Squirrel travel is the fastest way anywhere, but it's also the bumpiest and the most likely to kill you." Balthazar hissed. "And to top it off, Gabriel is driving."
Dean mumbled something unintelligible and allowed the "belt" to be fastened, immediately dropping his hands to grasp onto it once it was. He was better safe than sorry, and would like to be alive to meet Sam's girlfriend, Jess.
"Alright, is everyone ready to ride the Awesome Express?" Gabriel asked. Dean was too far away to see in the dark, but he would have bet anything that he was making stupid train whistle-blowing motions with his hand.
(And, of course, he was).
"Give us all you've got." Balthazar challenged.
Dean very soon learned that squirrel riding was akin to descending to the fiery pits of hell. The squirrel's legs propelled them over objects and stretches of land faster than Dean would have originally thought possible, his body tensing and staying tensed for the entire ride. The wind hit his face and he felt oddly weightless as he gripped the side of the cart for dear life, praying that he wouldn't die like this.
He wanted to go out with a heart attack or an old western gun fight. Not like this. Anything but riding a squirrel.
It seemed like forever until the squirrel finally came to a halt, and Dean felt really dizzy, and a hell of a lot like a milkshake. Shaken, that is, not stirred.
He stumbled off the cart to see Gabriel, peacefully hand-feeding the damned beast with nuts. He shook his head to clear it, blinking hard. God, why did everything seem so much brighter now? He could see Gabriel from here, Balthazar was glowing from his right side-
Wait. Glowing?
Lightning bugs lit up all around them. They glowed bright and beautiful, illuminating the air and making everything a little more tranquil than it had been in the daylight. Dean hardly had proper time to appreciate them before his eyes drifted towards the pond, in all of it's glory.
At least seven frogs sat on the ponds, each confined to their own Lilly pads. He watched as they floated serenely along, one of them letting out a long 'croooooak!' before snatching one of the fireflies out of the air, eating it in one swift gulp.
"You guys are taking me out here to see... frogs?" Dean questioned, scratching his head. Gabriel and Balthazar grinned at each other, eyes glistening with mischief.
"Not exactly." Balthazar announced, grinning wickedly. Dean knew that if he ever were to get on Balthazar's bad side, he should be terrified of whatever would lay in store for him. "We're taking you out here to ride them."
Dean's mouth fell open in shock.
"What the hell do you mean, to ride them? How is that possible?" Dean questioned, blinking. Half of him didn't believe them at all, and just figured that they were trying to fuck with him to be dicks.
Gabriel reached out and caught a lightning bug, tying a string around it so that it was essentially on a leash. He then proceeded to hide it's glow with a small thing of cloth, that the squirrel had also carried. Balthazar shoved a piece of it into Dean's hands, and he considered making a run for it now, while his pride and entire body was intact.
"Do what he's doing." Balthazar encouraged, reaching out and grabbing a bug. Dean did the same, taking note that it was warm in his hand and in comparison to him, about the size of the average cat, considering his own tiny size.
Dean looped the bug up to it, happy that it didn't seem too perturbed by it's binding.
"Do try not to kill it, these things are good for the ecosystem." Balthazar said, pulling on his own now leashed bug. He grabbed it and covered up the lighting part with his hands, stifling the glow. Dean followed his lead, noting how warm it felt against his skin.
"Are you ready for a wild ride? Do be careful not to get thrown off. Fae have gotten hurt that way." Balthazar said, but there was still a smile in his voice, so Dean wasn't too concerned.
Suddenly, from behind him, there was a loud, "WooooHOOOOOOOO!"
He turned to see Gabriel tugging the lightning bug leash this way and that, barely managing to avoid the frog's tongue each time. The frog hopped up and Gabriel almost went flying off, laughing in joy as if he were a bull rider who had just gotten onto the beast. The frog jumped again, towards dry land, and Dean couldn't wait to get his turn.
He followed Balthazar's lead, grabbing a second 'leash' and heading towards a frog. He kept the lightning bug out of the frog's sight, adrenaline starting to pump through his system. Following Balthazar yet again, he let the lightning bug go, taking the second leash and quickly looping it underneath the frog's throat so that he had something to hold onto while the frog bucked.
One hand held the impromptu reins and one had the lightning bug's leash, his body tensing.
He could feel the shift in the air as the frog noticed the bug. Muscles tensed under him and his heart pounded against his chest. As soon as he saw a flicker of pink, he yanked the lightning bug back, barely saving it from getting eaten. The frog let out a long, frustrated croak, and lept into the air.
Dean was almost jostled off, his legs slipping on the frog's slick back. He let out a loud, triumphant laugh, letting his frog see the lightning bug again. In a few short leaps, he was caught up with Gabriel and Balthazar, all three of them enjoying themselves.
The scenery was breathtaking, for the most part. The trees were large and it seemed like the space between them was endless, the frogs taking no heed to the fact that they were now a long hop's away from the pond. They rode on, frogs almost bucking them at every turn, seemingly oblivious to what was on their backs.
At least, for awhile.
Because, what you see, is that Balthazar and Gabriel didn't mention that sometimes the frogs caught onto what was going on, and then frantically began trying to buck the rider off. And Dean's frog was apparently, one of the smarter ones.
Slowly, the frog's eyes looked back, eyes settling on the strap around it's belly. It didn't lunge at the firefly, simply sitting and watching it with disinterest. Dean felt a very small ball of confusion begin to grow in his chest, accompanied by the rise of nerves and adrenaline.
"Guys?" He asked, uncertainly. Balthazar stopped, turning back. His face filled with shock and fear, and Dean felt paranoia begin to set in.
"GET OFF OF THE FROG!" Balthazar shouted, looking panicked.
Alas, his warning came too late. The frog bucked up and came back down, giving Dean no time to pause. Before Balthazar and Gabriel could do anything, their own frogs got the memo and began to buck.
Balthazar and Gabriel got off safely, using their wings to simply fly off into the air. But Dean, however, was stuck on for the long haul.
Or at least, he thought he was.
But his frog bucked one last time, and there was a sickening snap. The makeshift reins that had kept Dean on the frog broke, and the frog bucked him straight into the abyss of the night.
Dean was in the air. He glanced down to find the frog, looking up at him with hunger in it's eyes. It's mouth opened and Dean began to fall, gravity doing it's work.
This is it, Dean thought, an odd sort of horror coming over him, I'm going to die, like this.
His thoughts flickered to Sam. There would be no body, they would have nothing to find. He would be declared missing and his brother would wonder for months, maybe even years if Dean were still alive. He would search for Dean, he knew he would, and where would Dean be? Oh, right, killed by a fucking frog. This was the stupidest way to die that he had ever heard of.
He closed his eyes, preparing for the inevitable fall.
Castiel awoke in a haze. His mouth was dry and his body was a little sore. It was clear that he was not going to get back to bed until he got up and got a glass of water.
He swung out of bed with a groan, stretching his back and arms as he prepared for his walk. The house was fairly dark aside from the glowing stones, and he walked to the kitchen mainly by memory. He was lucky he didn't bump into anything, like he usually would when it was this dark.
He really needed to repaint those glow stones. The house should be bright again.
He walked into the room and turned the nozzle he had, waiting for the water to flow up out of the tree. He turned it off and pat the wood affectionately, as if thanking it for it's nourishment. Quickly, he downed the glass of water, letting out a long sigh when he was done. The cool liquid sliding down his throat felt nice.
Maybe I should check on Dean, he thought, walking out into the living room. He may be having trouble sleeping; my couch doesn't make the most comfortable bed.
He walked out, peering behind the wooden back to search for his friend. To his surprise, the place was empty.
Castiel immediately felt his eyebrows pull together. Maybe Dean was just in the bathroom? But if he was, the door would be closed. And he could clearly see from here that it was hanging open, the hinges moving in the slight breeze.
Wait, breeze?
Turning to look at his front door, he could see that it had been left open. He never left the door open.
Suddenly, he realized something. Why Balthazar and Gabriel had been so secretive on the way back, whispering towards each other and giving him sly glances. Balthazar had even whispered something to Dean that he hadn't quite been able to make out, smiling like a fool and looking between Dean and Gabriel.
If what he suspected was right, he was going to drag those two straight to hell.
Something was holding him up.
Dean was confused for a couple of seconds. The pain of being swallowed or slamming into the ground never came. He almost thought, for a minute, that he might have actually just died before he felt anything, but that theory was scrapped when he realized that he was being held up by a pair of strong arms.
He opened his eyes to look into the angry and relieved eyes of Castiel.
"What the hell do you think you were doing?" He demanded, flying a safe distance away before lightly landing on the ground. Balthazar and Gabriel sheepishly followed them, looking down at the ground and refusing to meet Castiel's glare. "You could have killed him."
Dean relaxed a little, feeling the adrenaline start to seep from his body. Cas wasn't angry at him, (or, at least, not yet) and he was still alive. All in all, this was a time where he should begin to count his blessings.
"We're sorry, Cassie." Balthazar started, stepping forward. He was rubbing his arm, seemingly a guilty habit he had picked up somewhere. Gabriel was still refusing to acknowledge that they had been caught, staring up at the stars.
"'Sorry' is not good enough. I'll have you know that Dean will not be with you two tomorrow, or any time for the rest of his stay. You know that frog riding is reckless, even for a fae that knows how and is able to fly away in a time of danger. Not to mention illegal. If one of the sentries caught you, Dean will not be permitted to go home as scheduled. Did you even think to explain that to him before you handed him the reins?" He demanded, voice scathing.
"That was illegal?" Dean questioned, his eyebrows shooting up. Okay, so maybe it wasn't the best idea to actually get on a frog. Or listen to Balthazar and Gabriel in general.
"Come on, Cas, we were just trying to let him appreciate the finer things in life. You know that we would never do anything we hadn't thought through! We just... Didn't think this one through enough. We... tried?" Gabriel put in, hopefully. "We gave him reins."
"I don't care." Castiel said, flatly. Dean realized then that he was still in Cas's arms, being held up against his chest. Apart from being vaguely embarrassing, he sort of liked it.
Whoa, he needed to get his brain back on track. Cas was seething mad, he didn't need to let his thoughts go down that path at this moment in time.
"Sorry Cassie." Balthazar said again.
There was a small rumbling, and the squirrel walked over, nuzzling Gabriel. Somehow, the sight of him made Cas even angrier.
"And you brought Mr. Nutters into this?" Castiel demanded. Dean literally could not hold in a small chuckle at Cas saying Mr. Nutters in his angry voice, and received a glare in return. "Don't you dare. You don't get to laugh, you almost died. I'm angry at you, too."
Dean deflated, dropping his eyes to the ground. There was a long, drawn-out silence before Castiel finally said, "I'm flying Dean home now. You two take the squirrel. I will see you at Dean's trial, and no sooner."
"But Cas-" Gabriel and Balthazar said in unison, but they never got their complaints out. Cas's wings flapped powerfully through the air, carrying Dean up and away from the two of them.
Dean closed his eyes and tried not to hyperventilate, knowing that this was the only way to get home and that he was stupid for putting himself in danger in the first place.
Cas couldn't explain the weird pull in his chest when he saw Dean so vulnerable. He just knew that he had to save him, or else he wouldn't be able to live with himself. It was akin to what he would imagine he would feel if Balthazar or Gabriel were in that position.
Had Dean really become that important to him in that short of a time frame? How could he become so attached to a human, no less a human that would be leaving in a few days' time?
He took off into the air, without another word. Gabriel and Balthazar could find their own way back; he wasn't going to deal with their bullshit.
The flight didn't take long.
He landed safely in his house and walked over to the couch, dumping Dean onto it. "I do hope you've learned your lesson about doing reckless things without informing me."
"Yeah, I think that sunk in right about the time I almost got eaten, thanks." Dean said. Then, an odd shift in atmosphere. "Thanks, by the way. For, uh, saving me. That was kind of awesome."
Dean's voice had sounded sincere. Castiel blinked, owlishly. Dean had something in his eyes, some kind of shining gratitude, that stirred warmth in Castiel. Suddenly, Cas couldn't imagine what would have happened if he hadn't swooped in on time. Couldn't imagine Dean not being here.
"You're welcome." Cas said. The praise and the look in Dean's eyes made a blush rise to his cheeks. What the hell? That had never happened before.
"Goodnight, Cas." Dean said.
"Goodnight, Dean. We'll talk about this further in the morning." He promised, still unable to shake off the weird feeling.
Cas went to bed confused.
The next day, Dean woke up with a headache. He figured it was a mixture of adrenaline and stress, and it probably didn't help that he'd been woken up at the butt crack of dawn, because there was no way he'd gotten any more than four hours of sleep.
Cas had shaken him awake, insisting that breakfast would be ready soon.
Dean rubbed his eyes and let out a loud yawn, stretching one arm and then the other across his chest in an attempt to loosen up. Memories of the night before came back slowly and half-blurry, and he couldn't help but wonder if any of it had actually happened. Then again, he couldn't have dreamed up sheer terror, nor Castiel's voice saying 'Mr. Nutters' with such force.
He didn't think he was ever going to be over that one.
He stumbled up and went to use the restroom, wondering briefly how the hell plumbing worked in a tree, but then deciding that it wasn't worth it to wonder about and walking briskly into the kitchen.
"Did you wash your hands?" Castiel demanded. Dean made a face.
"Dude, yes. Some guys don't, but it's gross not to." Dean commented. Although he wasn't really sure if the weird root soap helped much. Then again, these people weren't exactly uncivilized. If their soap wasn't working, they probably would have figured it all out by now.
"Good," He said, hoisting a gallon bag full of flour onto the counter, "Because you're going to teach me how to make a pie."
Dean blanched. He was expecting Castiel to yell at him and maybe get a little bit growly, not demand baking lessons. That was an odd turn of events.
Dean did, however, proceed to show him how. He dumped some flour into a bowl, dusting his hands off.
"Do you have a measuring cup?" He asked, uncertain as to whether or not he had used the correct amount and hoping that Castiel would have something for him to check.
"No, I measure by intuition alone. Are your senses not that honed?" Castiel said. Dean knew sarcasm when he saw it, so he held out his hand for a measuring cup. He was rewarded moments later with the touch of metal against his palm.
"Thank you." He said, using it to check and make sure. He was a little off, and it probably wouldn't have made a difference, but he was happy to have himself reassured. After all, he didn't memorize a pie recipe only to fuck it up. No sirree, he was going to get that shit right.
It was as he was putting the last of the excess flour back into the bag that an idea occurred to him.
It seemed harmless enough. Cas wasn't easily angered, so it wasn't like he had anything to lose. Well, except for the possibility of the teasing falling flat, but hey, he didn't get where he was without taking a few gambles in life.
So, he turned around with finesse, and put a small dab of flour onto Castiel's nose.
Cas immediately went cross-eyed looking at it, brow furrowing as if he were trying to crack the DaVinci Code.
"I don't understand." He finally said. Dean laughed a little, shaking his head.
"You don't have to. Trust me, it's fun." Dean promised. "Here, do it back to me."
Castiel tentatively reached into the offered bag of flour and got a small dab onto his fingers, reaching up again to softly touch Dean's nose.
"I still don't understand." He said, after awhile. Dean laughed and slowly put his head down onto Cas's shoulder.
Cas froze up for a few seconds, and Dean was afraid that he may have gone too far. He didn't want to upset Cas, and touching him without reason or permission could make him upset. He was almost to the point where he would have pulled away when Cas relaxed, giving Dean's head a small nudge with his own. Dean smiled against his shoulder.
"I hope you know you're a terrible cook. The crust isn't even halfway done yet." Castiel said, flatly. Dean laughed and raised his head up again, going back to teaching Cas how to make the crust.
Finally, the time came to put it in the oven.
"Wait," Dean said, noting something was missing. To his utter dismay, "I forgot what to do about the filling."
"What?" Castiel asked. Dean stared at the empty pie crust in disdain.
"I don't know what to do about the filling. All I was thinking about was the crust. I could have gotten an almond or an apple slice or something, but I didn't, and now we have no filling." Dean said, starting to get angry with himself. God, he should have just thought this damned thing through.
"Well, I have crushed almond bits. Would those help for the filling?" Cas questioned.
Suddenly, the world didn't quite seem so hopeless anymore.
"Do you have anything sweet I could use to help? Like, maple syrup?" Dean questioned. Castiel nodded his head in confirmation, gesturing towards the cabinet. "Thank god, Cas, you're a life saver."
It was almost noon by the time everything cooked. Dean had made three pies with Cas's help, and he couldn't help but feel proud of how good they tasted.
"These are amazing. Humans have these often?" Cas questioned, biting into one. Dean laughed around his mouth full.
"Well, not exactly. I do, but most don't." Dean explained. After that small tidbit, they fell into a mostly comfortable silence.
"You know, I wasn't angry at you." Cas finally said, thoughtfully. Dean stayed quiet, silently urging him to continue. He wanted to hear what Cas had to say about it. "I was more angry at the idea of you getting hurt. I don't want you to end up dead or injured because of me. You're a good man, Dean. Your life is worth more than you give it credit for."
Dean paused. Out of all the things he would have expected to come out of Cas's mouth, that was certainly not one of them. But, if he had to be honest, he was kind of glad that it did.
"I- I really appreciate that." He said, not quite certain of what to do. He should say something sappy back or do something to show that he cared to, but it was hard to. It was hard because it felt like they had known each other for a thousand years, and it had only been days, and Dean is shit at words, especially ones as meaningful as anything he could say back to that should be.
"I know." Castiel said, in response. It was short, simple, and put his mind at ease.
They both ate their fill, savoring the rich flavor.
"You know," Castiel said, at the end of it, "A big part of our culture is our food. I wouldn't be opposed to teaching you how to cook a couple of our meals. Especially since I'm supposed to be giving you an appreciation for us."
"Dude, I would love that." Dean said, smiling like an idiot.
That was how they ended up spending the entire day holed up in Cas's kitchen, Dean watching Cas cook and spice and smile. As he watched him move around the kitchen, Dean felt a small smile creep up onto his face.
He had a crush. Oh, he was so fucked.
There was nothing he could do about it at this point. But oh, was he fucked.
*No fireflies were harmed in the making of this fanfiction.
This fanfiction is officially no longer a WIP. It's completely written out, yay! Which means that I'm going to be updating the schedule to what it will "officially" be very, very soon. So, with that being said, would you all prefer a different day to update? When would work for you guys? Please comment if you'd like for me to change the day, and what day you'd like it changed to, or if you'd want it to stay the same.