Title: Sanctuary
Author: goldenfish_jz
Fandom: Supernatural
Pairing & Characters: Dean/Castiel, Joshua, Chuck.
Rating & warnings: NC-17, wing!kink, bottom!dean, half-fallen!cass, AU 2014!verse
Spoilers: Not particularly spoiler-y but it's set in the 2014!verse from episode 04x5 'The End'
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my feverish mind.
Author's note: I was writting other Dean/Castiel fic when this idea struck me like a bus and I had to stop everything else to put it down in words, it's 5:30 am and I finally finished it. Hope it is as good as my sleep deprived mind thinks it is.
Castiel woke up suddenly, his eyes snapping open with a distinct sound. He squinted them, searching in the dark room for anything out of ordinary but there's nothing wrong. There are no strange sounds either but something is definitely off. He can fell it in whatever was left of his Grace.
His Grace. That's what woke him in the first place. It was softly pulsing within him, like it hasn't for a long while. Someone was calling him, gently and warmly just like the rays of the rising sun. He shifted and sat on the small bed, delighted with the soft pulse he thought he'd never feel again. As he prepared to get up and follow that gentle call he looked down at Dean's sleeping face.
He was frowning. Castiel remembers when Dean smiled in his sleep. That was before Detroit, long ago, in other life. His heart clenched and he silently wished he could find Lucifer's base and punch his brother out of Dean's just to make the hunter smile in his sleep again.
He finds few people while crossing the camp, following the light tug in his remaining Grace. His heart was beating hard and he couldn't help but run his hand over it, feeling the organ drumming in the rhythm of his Grace. Such a wonderful feeling, soft and warm, he found himself smiling when he reached the far end of the resistance HQ.
A fleeting suspicion passed trough his mind: what if someone was just luring him out of the camp to imprison and/or kill him? But his “angelic skills” couldn't be that rusty, it was a friendly call, he was sure of it. He climbed the grades and left the camp silently, feeling the tug in his Grace get firmer as he got closer to the one calling him.
There were no demons nor croats in his way and he could feel it was the angelic presence of his still anonymous sibling keeping them away. He walked until the camp couldn't be seen anymore and he was starting to get that uncomfortable suspicion again when he saw a small forest he was sure wasn't supposed to be there. A small forest lightly glowing with Enochian sigils and charms.
Castiel's heart sped up. It's been so long since the last time he'd seen Enochian writings...
He entered the forest and felt immediately better - safe and happy. It felt like home. The trees and flowers and the impeccable soft green grass no man could maintain, all was imbued with a familiar aura.
“Joshua” he called, almost afraid of being too hopeful.
A shadow blocked the light and Castiel turned to face the gardener, who had a sad smile on his face.
“I was afraid you wouldn't come” he said, the green filtered light playing shadow tricks in his wings. Castiel was suddenly glad he was still able to see his brother's wings. “You've been out of reach for so long...”
“I've been here since Lucifer's rising, brother” Castiel said, slowly covering the short distance between them. “But you, all of you, have wandered far from me. What's happening? I can barely feel you anymore...”
Joshua put his calloused hands on Castiel's shoulders and regarded him with an odd mix of desperation and pride.
“ You are so brave, I wish I was half as courageous as you...” he sighed and shut his eyes as if holding tears back. “If things were fair, you'd have more wings than all of us together, but no, you are stuck here fighting as a human for what's right.”
Castiel kept silent, watching his older brother, watching the six wings in his back glowing dark and green, feeling his little Grace answering to Joshua's power.
“Things are dark for us now, Castiel.” he continued. “Since Lucifer's rising many of our brothers and sisters fell after him. When Dean Winchester denied Michael, many lost hope and changed sides. Michael searched for another vessel but couldn't find a proper one, so he ceased his existence an...”
“What?” Castiel interrupted Joshua his eyes wide and terrified. “What do you mean? Michael's dead?”
“Not really, but the consequence is the same” Joshua explained, running a gentle hand through Castiel's hair, as if he was a child. “When he realised he wouldn't be able to fight he decided to end his existence, he decided to go to our Father and be reunited with him.”
“Father?”
“I'm afraid so. After this many others quit fighting and followed him. There are few of us now, that's why you can't feel us anymore” Joshua smiled even more sadly. “It's a matter of time until every one of us is either fallen or ceased.”
“But what's the point of it?” Castiel felt the desperation growing inside his guts, twisting around his Grace and numbing the tips of his fingers.
“After all this time, even our siblings can lose their faith. I'm sorry for those who followed Lucifer, but I'm sure those who went with Michael will be soon rewarded” there is a brief silence between them and Joshua's smile turns from sad to hopeful during it. “I think Father will wake up soon...”
Castiel felt his own lips tugging into a hopeful smile. “He said it?”
“No, but I feel it. The seventh day will be over sooner than later. And that's why I'm here.”
The younger angel tilted his head in a long forgotten expression of confusion. The gardener giggled a bit and cupped his face lovingly.
“As I said, I wish I was as brave as you, but I'm not. I'm leaving. I want to be by our Father's side when he wakes.”
Castiel gasped and gripped Joshua's shirt with shaking hands.
“You'll cease your existence? Please no! Stay here, fight by my side again!”
Joshua gently removed Castiel's hands from his clothing and kept them on his own powerful fists. “No, brother, I'm not ceasing my existence. I'll go to our Father, I still know were He is.”
“I wish I could go with you” Castiel murmured, lowering his eyes because that was just a half-true. He wanted to meet his Father, but he wanted to be by Dean's side even more.
“This is your place to be, Castiel” Joshua said, gently lifting Castiel's head so their eyes could meet. “That's why I came here. Our Grace comes from our Father and flows through us all, as you know. But soon all our brothers will be gone, in one way or another, and you'll be completely out of Grace since you can't reach our Father from here.”
Castiel let the words sink, he had already considered this possibility but hearing it from Joshua made it feel too real. Too dangerous. He wasn't an angel anymore, but wasn't a human either; yet as soon as the little Grace he still had vanished, he'd be completely mortal. He slowly sank to his knees, shaking like he had ran a marathon with an empty stomach. Joshua knelt by his side, gently wrapping his arms around the younger being.
“I came to say good bye, brother” he said, patting Castiel's back. “But also to give you a present” the blue eyes lifted to meet his face, terrified cyan holes that still held a glint of hope. “I admire you, Castiel, and I can't leave you completely alone to fight this war that should be of all of us. I'll give you this Garden. Everything here, every tree and plant and even the air around this woods carry my Grace. It won't last forever and it won't refill yours, but whenever you're here you'll be healed of any injury and disease, and there will always be food and water and safety here for you. You and Dean Winchester.”
Castiel's body shook with restrained sobs and he hid his face in Joshua's shoulder, letting the tears fall from his face. The older angel held him tightly and whispered a blessing in Enochian into Castiel's messy hair.
“I must go now, brother. Please close your eyes, because I'm afraid my true presence may harm you already.”
Castiel nodded and closed his eyes, but didn't get away from Joshua's fraternal embrace. He felt a warm light touching his face and Joshua's frame began to fade, turning less solid until he was left alone in the Garden. He cried until his tears were all shed and it was past midday when he left his sanctuary.
He found nobody in his way back, the remnants of Joshua's power still keeping the enemies at bay. When he reached the camp he was feeling oddly light and hopeful, even if sorrowful for his fallen brothers and sisters.
“Where the hell were you?” the voice cut through Castiel's mind and he blinked in confusion at the panic in Chuck's voice as the prophet approached him. “Dean is about to have a nervous breakdown!” Castiel regarded the man and simply smiled a bit. “You are different... seems like the Castiel I first met.”
“I have good news, Chuck” he said.
“These are always welcome” the prophet said but didn't push the topic further. “Dean is in the barn, gnawing his elbow off, you should go to him.”
The angelic human nodded and left, quickly reaching the barn. As soon as he put both feet inside Dean was glued to his side, green eyes glowing with fury and relief.
“Where have you been?” the hunter's hands are all over him, searching for injuries, mostly bites.
“I've just met Joshua” Castiel said and Dean pulled away, brows furrowed with worry. “He gave me good news. Our Father will wake up soon” he smiled at Dean and slowly the hunter smiled back, the information sinking in and an impressive amount of hope growing inside his chest.
“Good news, indeed.”
“He also gave me a present. I want to share it with you, come meet me as soon as your shift here ends.”
Dean kissed him lightly and whispered into his neck 'thought I had lost you'. Castiel returned the kiss and leave to apply to his daily chores as one of the resistance main figures.
The day passes with no incidents and when the night comes Dean meets Castiel in their shared lodge. As they get ready to leave Castiel loads his gun with nimble fingers.
“This morning Joshua's Grace kept the demons and croats away, but I'm not sure it's still working. We must go armed.”
Dean nodded and watched as Castiel finished loading and locking his gun. That was already a natural act to him, and that hurt Dean. To see that Castiel was now just another human soldier, when he was supposed to be in God's winged legions and not digging in the dirt as if he'd never knew something better.
They find a small group of demons in their way but luckily Castiel is able to exorcise them before the sounds of the fight brought other demons or croats. When the Garden showed up in the horizon Dean frowned. “I'm sure there wasn't any forest here.”
Castiel smiled a bit as they got closer and he gently touched the first tree, awakening the charms and making the Enochian words glow faintly.
“What does it says?” Dean asks, touching the brilliant symbols lightly.
“It's a sanctuary spell” Castiel explains. “It says only us can enter this place, wich is under the protection of the Gardener.”
“I take this is Joshua.” Castiel nods and takes Dean inside the Garden.
“Do you realise, this is the Garden, doesn't you?” he asks, and Dean raises an eyebrow “The Garden of Eden, this is our Paradise. Or the closest thing we'll have for a long while.”
Dean says nothing for the moment, looking around dazzled with the beauty of the place. It's been so long he'd seen some place like this. The world was pretty much destroyed and it was almost impossible to find forests still fully alive. And that place was practically glowing with life and energy and since Dean stepped in the green carpet he felt light and hopeful. He turned to Castiel and found his beloved smiling at him.
“Cass, you're glowing” he snorted a bit cupping Castiel's face.
“This place wakes my Grace. Here, I'm almost a full angel again.” Dean was surprised to find no regret nor sadness in Castiel's voice. He realised the raven haired man didn't mourn the loss of his status and that made him fell even better.
“May I kiss you, Castiel Angel of the Lord?”
Castiel answered by invading his personal space and covering his lips with a soft kiss. Dean moaned a bit and Castiel used that golden opportunity to sneak his tongue inside the hunter's mouth. They kissed a long and tender kiss exchanging soft caresses and little moans. They parted slowly, searching for air and when they kissed again it was frantic and hard as if every second apart could hurt them.
“Cass, please...” Dean moaned into the angel's mouth and Castiel swallowed the sound hungrily feeling the sweet desperation in his lover's voice.
Castiel maneuvered them slowly, getting rid of both his and Dean's clothes meanwhile. When the hunter's bare back hit the soft grass he moaned, it felt so silk and fresh against his fevered skin he wished he could lie there with Castiel forever. The angel kept kissing him while his hands danced across Dean's figure, shifting between all the right spots, playing the strong body like a well tuned instrument.
Dean was trashing under Castiel, eyes shut to enhance all the feelings coursing through his body, from the warm pressure of the angel's hands to the soft tickle of the grass. When he opened his eyes he gasped in awe.
“Your wings are black...”
Castiel looked down at Dean with a shining expression. He turned his head a bit and moved his left wing as if confirming it was really attached to his body.
“I've never seen your wings before” Dean said, mesmerized by the way the moonlight caught in the ebony feathers. “Just their shades...”
There was an undisguised awe in Dean's voice and his lust blown eyes were shining even brighter. His fingers were digging into Castiel's hips but he felt like he could burst if he didn't touch those powerful wings soon. Obviously Castiel noticed his eagerness and put his wings down, covering them and brushing the edges against Dean's sides. The hunter shivered and threw a pleading look to Castiel, who nodded and brought them even closer.
Dean lost no time in patting or caressing them, he immediately dug his fingers in, feeling the silky feathers slide between his fingers and the warmth seep through his palms. He moaned and shivered, his already hard cock getting impossibly harder. Much to his surprise Castiel moaned along with him, shivering and bucking his hips against Dean's thighs, his cock sliding along Dean's.
The wings added so much power to Castiel's figure that Dean felt like he did the first time they met; when Castiel took a knife to his chest as if it meant nothing. That day Dean felt like a small, fragile creature facing a being far stronger. He can fell a similar feeling building up now. The main difference was that now he wanted nothing more than surrender to that powerful presence, to submit to that strong and bright being.
“Need you, Cass” he moaned, thrusting his hips uselessly. “Over me and inside and all around. Please!”
Castiel burrowed his face in Dean's neck and breathed him in, gathering his lust-messed ideas and controlling his breath. He kissed Dean gently while shifting between the hunter's legs. He was a bit out of practice but with a little effort he managed to conjure a bottle of lube. Dean whistled in awe and watched as Castiel uncapped it poured the thick liquid over his fingers. He knew the limits of Dean's body and they were both so needy he didn't want to waste more time than the necessary so he pressed two fingers between Dean's ass checks in one swift move.
Dean squirmed as the burn took him by surprise, he didn't expected Castiel to be so straight forward. He liked when Castiel surprised him in bed. The angel used every dirty trick he knew about his lover to get Dean ready as soon as possible. Dean was shivering and pushing back onto Castiel's fingers when the winged man get satisfied with the preparation and moved to get the play into a higher level.
He slicked his aching member and aligned himself with Dean's fluttering entrance. He heard a distinctive moan of 'please' before bottoming in with one single thrust. Dean arched off the ground, legs and arms closing around Castiel as if holding a life line. They moaned in unison and that sounded particularly beautiful that night. The legs around Castiel's hips started to pull him and the angel took the clue and started to move. Slowly and steadily, reaching even deeper spots inside Dean's willing body.
“You feel perfect around me” he breathed in the hunter's shoulder, licking the red lines of the hand shaped scar there. “I wish I could live inside you” he said causing Dean to whimper. Even if he didn't considered Castiel an angel anymore, hearing him saying such things was still a huge turn on.
As their rhythm grew harder and faster Dean clung to Castiel's wings more and more, using the strong appendages to get leverage and push his hips against his lover's. Despite the fresh air their bodies were glistening with sweat making their movements slicker and more fluid. They were like a machine working, legs and arms flexing in sync, hips pistoning and half broken moans leaving their rough throats.
Castiel managed to press a hand between their bodies and took Dean's attention-starved cock in his fist. He pumped the hard flesh in a rhythm that was opposed to the one his hips were forcing onto Dean's. The hunter trashed shamelessly as the double stimulation made the heat coiling in his belly explode. When he came he saw every color dancing behind his closed eyelids, but somehow the silhouette of Castiel's wings remained printed in his retinas even with the carnival of tones.
He collapsed on the fresh grass after spending every last drop of his pleasure, his arms falling limply finally letting go of Castiel's wings. The angel shifted them so they could provide an extra impulse and after a few powerful thrusts he came too. Dean whimpered when the warm liquid hit his abused inner walls, but he couldn't help but love it; having the physical proof of Castiel's pleasure clinging to his insides.
Castiel pulled out of him with a grunt and fell to his side in the ground, lazily wrapping an arm over his chest. Dean snuggled closer, shifting and moving until his head was resting on Castiel's shoulder, their legs entwined and the angel's wings closed around them. He slept shortly after getting into that particularly comfortable position.
With his Grace stronger , Castiel wasn't feeling half as tired as he should so he kept stroking Dean's back lovingly and humming a high spirited hymn. He look down at the sleeping hunter and opened his wings a bit to allow the moonlight to touch his face. His heart melted a bit and he smiled widely when he noticed that Dean was smiling in his sleep.