Castiel laid the cold hunter down into the devils trap in the corner, taking one last long look at his face. He closed his eyes for a moment, swallowing and trying to brace himself for whatever the coming weeks would bring. He felt an almost human nausea creep up on him as he thought about what just happened, what was happening right now.

The angel forced himself to push it down and hurried back to the door, pulling the spray paint from one of his bags. The windows and walls were already well warded. Cas reached up to the ceiling to complete the two broken circles, officially closing off the only entrance.

He staggered slightly when the sigil closed, but pressed onward, heading back towards the one separate bedroom. He silently thanked Bobby for the intentional gap under the door, allowing him to lay down a thick salt line, creating a safe space away from Dean to store things. He threw his bags just inside the room, leaving them for later.

When he came back out, he removed the last few items around the cabin that might be used as a weapon, bringing them to that back bedroom as well. He was glad neither of them had a need for warmth to survive because a fire was certainly out of the question.

Cas was barely done when he heard the voice behind him, up and oriented, as if he hadn't been dead only moments before.

"Norwood, right?" Dean commented, glancing around at his surroundings. "Iowa."

Cas winced. He had held out a little hope that Dean didn't immediately place where they were. He turned and faced the hunter, his chest aching as he saw the dark energy twisting and falling around him.

"Damn Cas. You weren't kidding when you said you agreed to be locked down with me." He looked over each end every sigil and rune in detail. "You can't get through these either."

"A Knight of Hell's power is angelic enough in origin."

"So was the plan any more complicated than locking us up in a cabin? Keep me contained? Don't you think it's more likely we just go mad in here?"

"Then we go mad." Cas said simply.

Dean regarded Cas carefully. His expression settled into thoughtful amusement as he crossed his arms. "Interesting."

Cas narrowed his eyes, watching the hunter settle back on his heels.

"Well. I guess I'm game to try anything for a while." Dean said at last, spreading his hands and casting Cas a smirk. "If Cain could do it, why can't I?"

The angel just set his gaze, pausing for just a second before moving forward with purpose. He put his shoe down and scuffed through the fresh paint, releasing Dean from the small confined devils trap in the corner.

Dean gave a small sarcastic bow. "Why thank you." He walked out into the center of the main room, turning around and appraising the structure. Eyes still on the rafters, he spoke again. "So, we gonna fuck hard enough we break the walls this time too?"

Castiel's expression darkened and he glared at Dean.

The demon simply lifted his hands in mock surrender, that impish grin still in place. "Alright."

.

"Is he…?"

"He is up."

The young hunter on the phone held his breath for a moment before letting it out in a sharp sigh. "And how is he?"

Cas closed his eyes. "I don't know yet." He pulled a revolver from his bag, checking the ammo before setting it aside and grabbing the next weapon to examine. "We haven't talked much. He knows which cabin it is."

"Great."

"He seems calm for now. Said he was willing to give it a try."

"Not that he has a choice."

Cas gave a weak smile. "Yeah. Well… at the very least he wants the illusion of choice."

"Does the warding seem to slow him down at all?" Sam asked, hopeful for some good news.

"Not that I've observed." He sighed.

"Oh." Sam hesitated. "What about you, Cas? Kevin thought that it might-"

"Kevin is correct. I can definitely feel the drag of the warding on my grace."

The hunter winced. "Is it bad?"

"I am fine Sam." Cas assured. "Just tired."

"I can always tag you out, or we could take shifts if we have to."

"He can kill you Sam. He still cannot kill me."

"Most likely... Cas, if your grace is weak enough-"

"I do not think it is." The angel said firmly. "It is safer that I remain." He sighed. "Besides-"

"You want to." Sam finished softly. "Yeah, I understand that." And he would respect it. "Charlie and Kevin are already back to work. I'll be up tomorrow with the stuff. Anything else I should bring?"

"I cannot think of anything."

"Well if you do, give me a call, I'll add it on."

"Thank you Sam."

"Yeah, no problem. Listen, you keep yourself safe, alright?" He sighed again. "And good luck I guess. Talk later."

"Goodbye Sam." The angel ended the call, sitting with his phone in his hand for a moment, staring at the wall and trying to reign in his thoughts.

Dean's voice filtered through the bedroom door. "You didn't send him my love."

Cas' blank stare hardened into one of annoyance, and he directed his ire back towards the doorway.

"How inconsiderate." the demon continued.

Cas reluctantly stood, unwilling to sit by and engage or ignore Dean from another room entirely. If they were going to be stuck here for weeks, they were going to establish expectations early. He walked back into the greater cabin, passing the cots on the upper landing and walking down the two steps into the main room.

"So what is it Samuel is bringing us?" Dean was honestly curious to know the details of the plan. He had worked out that Sam and Cas must've prepped the cabin ahead of time, in secret from him for just this type of scenario. Or at least, some scenario where he was a demon. "Any sort of entertainment I hope."

"There are plenty of books." Cas vaguely gestured to the wall.

Dean glared at him. He walked over to the shelf, dragging a volume out of the dusty row and glancing at the cover. "Yeah. The Importance of Charting Deer Migration in Winter Jerky Preparation. Riveting stuff." He dropped the book to the ground. "There better be a laptop in that shipment."

"Electronics will be included, but he has disabled internet access." Cas warned.

"For what-"

"As an additional safeguard." Cas said, his tone leaving no room for argument. Dean would have no access to the outside world. The only means of communication available was the phone currently in Cas' pocket.

"Just fan-freaking-tastic." Dean muttered, sinking down into the one leather chair.

Cas rolled his eyes, walking over to the other side of the room and grabbing a few books himself before coming to sit on the plaid couch opposite Dean.

"Of course, I can think of other entertaining things we can do." Dean said, dropping his voice to a more suggestive tone and flicking the corner of his mouth up in a grin.

Cas just leveled another flat unamused look in his direction.

Dean's smirk fell into a scowl and he bristled slightly as he let himself lean the rest of the way back. "Yeah, this is going to be just great."

Castiel chose to simply turn his attention back to his books.

.

Dean spent the afternoon lost in his own head as Cas did his best to completely ignore his existence.

When Dean was human, he supposed that sort of thing might've driven him half insane. As it was, it was certainly annoying, but it really gave him time to study the situation, take in details he would never have pulled together otherwise.

He could definitely feel the pull of the cabin. He had felt the devils trap when he first woke, but he knew if he actively fought it hard enough, he could have stepped out of it eventually. This warding was different. He could see no cracks, no weaknesses. It was going to hold.

He could also feel his own new shortcomings. He could no longer blink and teleport, even within these walls. He could feel that his strength was tightly reigned in. Perhaps he was a little stronger than he had been as a human, but nowhere near the superhuman power he possessed as a demon the first time.

Still, otherwise he felt no difference. As soon as Castiel had slipped from the room to call and update his brother, Dean had taken it upon himself to break his own arm in a sort of crude experiment. It had healed just moments after, so he knew his demonic healing at least remained intact.

He reminded himself that he was not the only being caught at the mercy of the warding surrounding them.

Dean spent over an hour simply watching Cas.

The first thing he noticed was that he could not see the shadow of Cas' wings. He couldn't dismiss the possibility it was his own senses that were weakened, but he could still see the vague glow of the angel's true form through the seams of his vessel. He anticipated Cas' connection with his grace was stretched much thinner than he was letting on.

Cas kept moving too, adjusting his posture and pose. Something Dean hadn't observed Cas doing without conscious intent since he was human.

In fact, Cas seemed to be doing a lot of things he hadn't done since he was human.

Dean was pretty sure Cas was actually breathing, not just for appearances. And the longer the day wore on, the more weary Cas seemed.

It wasn't long before Dean could have sworn he heard Cas' stomach growl, though the angel did not appear to notice.

"You should eat something." Dean said suddenly.

"I do not require food." Cas said simply, without looking up from the book in his hand.

The demon was quiet for a second. "I know." He said, despite having his doubts. "But these sigils are suppressing your grace at least a little, right?"

Cas looked up, expression still kept carefully blank.

"So maybe you can taste it." Dean pressed.

The angel studied him, trying to discern if there was some sort of hidden agenda being brought into play.

"Come on, at least see if you have that going for you."

"Dean…"

"I know you've got my bag in there. I've always got some snacks in the back. Just give it a try." He leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs. "I won't shut up about it until you do." He warned.

Cas grunted, snapping his book shut. "Fine." He relented, not willing to put up a fight about something so trivial. He got to his feet and walked into the other room, emerging again with a rice crispy treat. He sat back down, pulling it open and taking a bite in front of Dean.

"Well?"

Cas studied it for a moment, chewing it thoughtfully. His stern expression had softened somewhat as he considered the flavor.

"Does it taste good?"

Castiel sighed. "You are correct. It tastes similar to what it did during my time as a human."

"You're less angel than you thought." Dean said slowly.

Cas' expression cooled again and his eyes sparked a glowing blue. "Not as human as you'd like."

Dean couldn't help the grin from returning. "Mmhmm." He said simply, but he acknowledged that Cas had seemingly no problem keeping up that display of power. He surely wasn't all human.

Still. He wasn't surprised when Cas stood and walked to the sink to fill a glass with water. Neither of them commented on it.

The cabin once more fell into an uncomfortable silence. Dean finally reluctantly stood and picked a book of his own off the shelf.

It was another few hours before Dean saw the tome slip from Cas' hands.

By then Cas had shifted to sitting sideways on the couch, his feet up next to him on the cushions, his back against a couple pillows, trying to get comfortable in his newly limited form. He startled slightly when he felt the weight slip from under his fingers and he looked up to find the demon staring directly at him, eyes pitch black.

"You need to sleep now." It was a simple statement, a quiet observation dawning on Dean the same instant he said it.

Cas froze, a frown etched into his expression. His breath caught in his chest as he felt the truth in those words, and the implications caught up to him.

He needed to sleep now.

Suddenly some of the safety he had felt bled away. He looked over Dean for some clue that maybe he too was weakened to the point of needing rest, but he seemed just the same as he always was.

No, of course not. Only he was going to be put in that position of vulnerability.

Dean raised his eyebrows, watching the angel piece himself back together and carefully replace the indifference in his expression. "So… what're you gonna do about that?"

Cas just put the book down without comment, rising to his feet. He turned and walked towards the back room again. "I will see you in the morning." He said simply, crossing the salt threshold and quickly closing the door behind him.

Dean frowned, not expecting the sudden departure. He stared after the closed door, feeling some stirring of emotion that he wasn't sure quite how to place.

Castiel, on his end, felt his heart rate increase as he stepped away from the door and towards the one proper bed the cabin had. He took his time moving the items off its surface, clearing a space where he could lay down. He stood beside it for a solid few minutes, simply deciding how he was most comfortable approaching this new problem.

He had known going into this that the runes and sigils would weaken his grace. He expected a decrease in strength, perhaps a slowing of his ability to heal. But this?

The ability to taste food? The undeniable need for rest?

He was less than pleased with these new revelations.

Cas hesitantly slipped out of his bulky coat, laying it over the chair. He considered how uncomfortable he might be sleeping in his formal layers and finally resigned himself to going through Dean's bag. He pulled out the t-shirt and sweatpants the hunter had tucked away in the bottom and slipped them out.

He held them for a moment, fingers digging into the soft fabric, a wave of sadness washing over him. They still smelled like Dean, and he found himself hit with another wave of mourning.

Things had been on a worsening path for a while, but there was still a routine. This would be the first time in months he did not spend the night with Dean in his arms. The first time in months he did not soothe Dean's nightmares. The first time in months he was truly alone.

He shook himself from these thoughts, quickly focusing on the task at hand. He changed into the new clothing, pulling back the blankets and slipping onto the old mattress. He would try to process these feelings tomorrow. For now, he would give in to rest.

.

Dean was bored.

He stood, starting to pace the cabin. He wasn't a fan of the silence, wasn't pleased with the noted absence of his computer.

The hunter stopped in front of the salted door, briefly listening through the thin wood and catching the steady sound of the angel's breathing.

He really is sleeping. Dean wasn't sure what to make of that. He frowned, thinking back to watching Cas eat earlier. Cas had brushed it off, but Dean wasn't so sure it was as trivial as he made it seem. He wasn't really sure what to make of that either.

The demon listened to a pounding rain pick up, rolling off the wooden roof with a strange muffled echo. He wished for the distraction of a fire in the hearth, feeling somewhat out of place in the early January Iowa weather without one.

Dean was just scanning over the room again when he saw the device lodged and sticking out from between the couch cushions. Cas' phone.

It must've fallen from his pocket while he was fidgeting and trying to get comfortable.

Dean stared at it for a moment before making up his mind. He bridged the gap, picking it up and quickly dialing the number he knew by heart.

"Cas." Sam greeted. "You think of something else?"

"Sammy." Dean drawled, a new smile settling on his face.

"Dean." Sam replied, his voice hardening immediately into something more resembling a threat. It was undercut somewhat by the discomfort and mild fear. "Where is Cas." He demanded more than asked.

"He is resting." The demon answered.

"What does that mean."

Dean hesitated, actually taking a moment to organize his thoughts.

"Dean?"

"The warding is really taking it out of him." After a few moments of continued silence he pressed on. "Cas is asleep right now."

Sam processed this. "Asleep asleep?"

Dean frowned, feeling that unnameable feeling wash through him again. "Something else… I think he needs to eat."

"What?" For a moment Sam forgot who Dean was at the moment. He responded as if it were a normal conversation with his brother.

"He's covering, but he's hungry."

"Huh."

Dean settled back down into the leather seat. "I have a proposal."

Sam immediately tensed, snapping back to acknowledge the circumstances at play here. "What."

"Locked up in this cabin we're going to go insane without something to do. We can't just sit around watching movies for however long it takes you to figure out how to rip this thing off my arm."

"Dean, you aren't in a position to be making requests."

"Samuel, at least listen to what I have to ask before throwing it out." Dean growled, his eyes turning black as the annoyance threatened to ignite in the mark. He took a deep breath, managing to shove it down for the moment.

Sam remained silent, simply waiting for him to continue on his own.

"Let me teach Cas how to cook."

"What?" Sam hadn't been expecting that.

"He can eat, has to eat. It's the one fucking thing I can do in this prison you've so graciously put me in. Let us have this."

"No." Sam said, firmly.

"Sam-"

"What are you going to cook with, huh? Because there's no way we're giving you access to a set of knives."

Dean hadn't thought of that. With how thoroughly they cleaned this cabin of anything that could remotely be considered a weapon, of course that would be their sticking point. "Just one. Give it to Cas. He can keep it in the bedroom, take it out only when we're using it."

"No."

"I won't even touch the damn thing. The chopping is his problem, fine whatever." He waited, growing more agitated by the second at the lack of response, but he fought to keep his voice even. He couldn't let Sam have any more evidence to fuel his doubt. "What, are you going to make Cas eat MREs and granola bars for the next however many weeks? Months?"

Sam frowned, feeling conflicting emotions. He hated talking to Dean right now. It was so clearly not his brother, and his mind kept flashing back to seeing Dean back when they were curing him. The fire on his tongue. He remembered seeing the bodies lining the beach.

"Sam I'm making a goddamn effort here, alright? I'm willing to play nice, try Cain's whole zen monk crap." He scowled. "Besides, if I wanted a weapon there are a dozen things I could still smash in here to make one."

"That isn't really helping your case."

"Sammy-"

"It's Sam."

"Fine. Sam." Dean stood again, beginning to pace. "Cas calls the shots. He doesn't like where it's going, he doesn't bring out the knife. It's not like I can get at it if he doesn't want me to."

The younger hunter clenched his fist, his mind fighting a battle with itself to arrive at a decision. It felt like an eternity before he replied, and he closed his eyes, uncertain even as he made up his mind. "Cas calls the shots." He echoed firmly.

"Atta boy. I'll text you a list." Dean grinned. "We'll see you tomorrow, baby brother."

Sam simply hung up the phone without saying anything more.

Dean felt an unexpected calm, his brain latching onto the task with a need that mirrored his recent hunt for blood.

Purpose. If he really was going to give this shit show a try, he needed something to focus on, and this was as good as any.

The list he made was extensive, and he'd like to think, impressively diverse. With nothing else to do, Dean felt a novel sense of inspiration, even eager to try his hand at a variety of foods he'd never attempted before.

He figured diversity was the key to avoiding monotony, and he knew boredom was a recipe for the mark to spiral out of control.

At the end of the list, he hesitated. There was that feeling again. He did his best to ignore it, but he added three last things to the long register on the phone anyway.

Bread, peanut butter, and jelly.

Dean looked it over again, feeling confident in his choices before sending it off.

Tomorrow was shaping up to be a better day.