Secret Lovers Fics!
These are the fics i wrote for the Secret Lover Exchange over at team_free_love .
This was my first exchange, and i'm pretty proud of how these turned out.
As always, thanks to everyone for your support, but a special shoutout to zekkass for her poking, prodding, and beta
For gedry : We Can't Call People Without Wings Angels (So We Call Them Friends Instead)
Prompts used: Brotherly bonding with both sets of brothers/ Sam and Dean are the angels.
Summary: A comment in the heat of the moment turns Gabriel and Castiel human, while Sam and Dean become angels. (Dean/Cas, Sam/Gabriel PG-13)
It wasn’t a witch this time, but a genie.
Dean should have been grateful, for all intent and purposes, but he wasn’t. He wasn’t grateful because his brother was doubled over on the ground on his hands and knees, eyes wide and confused in a way that Dean was pretty sure he had never seen before, and glowing.
It wasn’t just Sam’s eyes, either. It was like the every pore of his body was lit from the inside out. Sam lifted his head with those too-surreal eyes and gasped out, “You’re glowing.”
Naturally, Dean didn’t exactly have a mirror in his back pocket, but when he lifted his hands, he could see that they were the same as Sam’s, like someone had put a nightlight under his skin, and turned it up to high power.
“The hell, Sammy?” Dean managed, half expecting his geek of a brother to actually have an answer, but Sam’s gaze was fixated elsewhere, on two figures sprawled approximately twenty feet away, unmoving.
“Oh, God,” Sam whispered. “It’s Cas and Gabriel.”
Dean was already sprinting toward his friend, and the newest member of their ragtag resistance against the Apocalypse. Despite his reservations about Gabriel joining up with them, their positioning in their unconscious state caused him to falter, skidding to a stop.
The genie had blasted the four of them, sending Dean and Sam sprawling. Cas and Gabriel had held their own, being angels, but now they were slumped, boneless, Gabriel’s body positioned around Cas, protecting, seemingly without thinking. Apparently, the Archangel-turned-Trickster-turned-Archan
gel again had placed himself between the blast and his brother at the last minute, taking the brunt of the spell.
Dean had to give Gabriel props for that decision, especially with Castiel’s waning Grace. The trouble was, neither of them were moving.
“What happened?” Sam joined Dean, still brimming with that unearthly glow. “They should be up by now…Dean. What the hell happened?”
“Hell if I know, Sam,” Dean muttered, unconsciously reaching out and touching Cas’ cool, damp forehead. At the gesture, and suddenly crackle of heat burned through his fingertips, and Cas stirred, blinking open glazed, confused blue eyes.
“Dean.” Cas’ voice was rough as ever, but undeniably tired, and as much as Dean didn’t want to consider it…pained.
“Cas,” Dean offered a grin. “You look like shit…you okay?”
Sam watched them for a moment, curious, before leaning over, and brushing his fingertips over Gabriel’s forehead. Not unlike Cas, Gabriel’s eyes snapped open, alert, hazel eyes similarly glazed, unfocused, before he let out a short, but hardly eloquent, “hnngmh?”
“Man,” Dean said, unable to mask the hint of relief in his voice. “I thought you guys were toast.”
“Nah,” Gabriel cut in before Castiel could make any insinuations that angels were on any kind of bread. “Just, you know...momentarily indisposed. You do know you kids are glowing, right?”
The comment caused Cas to straighten, fixing both Dean and Sam with a sharp, calculating gaze.
“We noticed,” Sam said. “I figured it was an effect of the genie’s spell. It’ll wear off, right?”
There was silence from the two angels.
“It’s…gonna wear off,” Dean repeated, slowly. “Right? ‘Cause I’m not going around sparkling like a goddamn pansy vampire.”
“I cannot speak for Gabriel,” Cas started, tone low, and strangely dismayed. “But I have good reason to believe I am…human.”
“Ditto to that,” Gabriel said, propping himself against a wall, and stifling a yawn. “And you two are bona fide angels. Or, you’re on your way to it.”
“That’s impossible,” Sam let out a sound between a nervous laugh, and a choke. “That’s-”
“Freaking ridiculous,” Dean said. “I think you both hit your heads way too hard.”
Cas just gave Dean a look that, if he wasn’t using a wall to hold himself upright, Dean would never have guessed that he might not be entirely angel anymore. “We should return to the motel as soon as possible.”
Dean shifts, feeling like fire was crawling under his skin. “Yeah. So…taking the car?” he reached down, hauling Cas to his feet, momentarily startled at how light the angel…man…was. Like he weighed nothing at all.
Maybe Dean did have some kind of angelic mojo. It didn’t make him a dick, though. He was surprised when Cas leaned his weight against Dean, as if trusting Dean not to let him collapse.
When Dean looked over his shoulder, he saw Sam in a similar situation, with Gabriel half draped over Sam.
“Could always teleport,” Gabriel offered , looking none too displeased about his current arrangement.
Sam looked momentarily intrigued by the idea, but Dean cut him off with a Look.
“Hell, no. I don’t even know what the hell is going on, but on a good day my car is better than your constipation inducing-”
“Cas?” Gabriel looked amused. “Your transport gives ‘em constipation?”
“That is besides the point, Gabriel,” Cas replied, flatly. Dean figured there was a time and a place to question whether every angel’s transport gave constipation, because really.
“Car.” Dean announced, and he and Sam maneuvered the former angels into the back seat, before closing the doors. Sam leaned over the hood of the Impala, looking both apprehensive and expectant.
“Dean? Do you think it’s possible?” Sam swallowed. “That we’re angels?”
“No,” Dean replied, without a second thought. “We’re not created by God, and we’re not dicks. Now get in the car.” Sam gave Dean a look, sighing heavily, and slid into the passenger seat.
“Then what could have caused this?” Sam gestured to Gabriel and Cas. “An archangel and an angel get turned into humans, and suddenly we’re glowing and…you felt it, Dean, right? You didn’t need any effort to support Cas, and I was able to support Gabriel…”
“Very Superman of you, by the way,” Gabriel put in from the back seat, voice thick and tired. “I felt super safe and protected.”
“But why?” Sam crossed his arms, frowning. “I mean, we’re not exactly Hell’s best friend, but the genie wasn’t a creature from Hell. It wasn’t a witch, so it wasn’t like Dean mouthed off and-”
“Why are we assuming it’s my fault?” Dean demanded.
“Because it usually is,” Sam replied.
“Also because it is your fault,” Cas added, slumped in the back seat, head lolling from the seat to Gabriel’s shoulder, as if it were an effort to keep his head up.
Or awake, Dean’s ever so helpful mind supplied. “Alright, Cas. I’ll bite. How is this my fault?”
“Last night,” Cas shifted to sit up. “After we procured the genie’s artifact, you were irritated.”
Gabriel snorted at this, and Sam gave him a look, warningly. Gabriel, surprisingly, snapped his mouth shut.
“You accused myself and Gabriel of being emotionless beings. I believe your words were,” Cas paused, considering. “ ‘Just when I think I know you, Cas, you pull a dick move like this.’ Correct?”
“Your point?”
“I think that is the point,” Sam straightened, eyes brightening with understanding. “You want to understand Cas. And you want Cas to understand humans.”
“I’m impressed,” Gabriel said. “And a little pissed that I didn’t think of it first. A human doesn’t get how an angel feels, and an angel doesn’t get how a human feels. The genie used it as an escape clause.” He leaned back tucking his hands behind his head, and propping his feet on the back of Dean’s seat.
The look Dean gave Gabriel could have melted a glacier, and suddenly Gabriel yelped, jerking his knees to his chest. “Ow! What was that for?”
Dean was momentarily distracted by the fact that he could control Gabriel’s actions with a mere thought. After Gabriel killed him hundreds of times, trapped them in TV Land, and gave them the run around that he did, it was pretty awesome.
“Here’s my question,” Gabriel pressed on, glowering at Dean. “I mean, I get the genie tweaking the rules and all, but what’s Dean and Cas’ epic romance have to do with me and Sam?”
Sam’s eyes widened with realization, and he slouched forward in his seat.
“Uh, Sam?” Dean said. “Something you wanna share with the class?”
“I…mayhavewishedforGabrieltohavealittlelesscontrol…”
“..Come again?” Dean frowned, trying to decipher Sam’s mumbling.
“You thought I was too powerful?” Gabriel snapped. “You felt intimidated, so you wanted me to be more like you mooks? Newsflash, kids. Archangel speaking. You got scared, big deal. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m on your side!”
“I didn’t mean it like that!” Sam protested. “I just...wondered what it would be like..”
Gabriel focused on Sam, eyes dark, intense. “What what would be like?”
Sam clenched his jaw, looking out the window. “To be able to snap my fingers, and make everything…simple.” There was a moment of silence in the car, a heavy cloud of guilt.
“So the genie…” Dean said, slowly. “Gave you Gabriel’s abilities.”
“Don’t act so blase,” Gabriel says. “You’ve got Cas’. Me and the kid bro, here? We got jack squat.”
Dean glanced in the rear-view mirror, where Cas was tucked against the Impala’s interior, eyes half closed, fighting sleep.
Sam stared at his fingers, contemplating. He had no idea what he was doing, but Gabriel had done it often enough. He took a breath, closed his eyes, and raised his hand. By the time Gabriel caught on and lunged forward to stop him, Sam snapped.
In the time it took for anyone to blink, the Impala was empty of passengers. The only sign that anyone was there were two stray feathers, one on the driver’s seat, and one in the passenger’s seat.
---
Gabriel was suitably impressed when the four of them appeared unscathed in a motel room. Sam hadn’t done badly for a first time teleport- not bad at all. Gabriel felt a little disoriented, but he figured it was a small price to pay for being human.
Castiel, already weakened even before the switch, was not faring as well. In fact, he was hunched over, breathing heavily, pale.
“Least you won’t have to worry about learning how to use the bathroom for awhile, huh?” Dean grinned at Cas, and surprised
them all by resting a hand on Cas’ back, soothing, comforting. “Just breathe, you’re gonna be fine.”
Cas lifted his head, a bit pale, and nodded, shortly. “I’m fine, Dean.” He straightened up, visibly wavering.
“Damn it, Cas,” Dean muttered. “You need to rest, okay?”
“No,” the former angel replied, stubbornly. “I do not need to rest.”
Needless to say, the tension in the air could only be cut with a high-powered angel blade. Dean and Castiel were already locked in a stare-down, and while Sam would normally brush it off, the twist of Dean being an angel, and Cas being human, he was strangely interested in seeing who would win this match.
“Humans rest, Cas,” Dean said, and the reminder of Cas' position caused the other man's eyes to flare with irritation. “If I'm gonna have to force you, I will.”
“Now that's kinky,” Gabriel commented, receiving an elbow in the side from Sam. “Mmph! That hurt, you know!” Sam looked momentarily chastised, remembering his new strength, but Gabriel just grinned, good-natured.
“You will not,” Castiel narrowed his eyes, refusing to budge even when Dean stepped closer, grasping Cas' shoulders, and propelling him onto the bed. The backs of Castiel's knees hit the bed, and he tumbled back, caught off guard, fingers bunching into Dean's jacket, pulling him with him.
Gabriel let out a wolf-whistle. “You two want some privacy, there?”
“Bite me, Gabriel!” Dean snapped, struggling move off of Cas.
Castiel just watched Dean, eyes half closed, comfortable. Humans had the oddest sensations, hunger not withstanding. There was a unique warmth coupled with Dean's proximity, and heat rose to his face.
“This is pleasant,” Castiel decided, after a moment. “Dean, if you insist that I rest, you will join me.”
“I will...wait,” Dean started. “I will..what now?”
“Stay with me while I rest,” Castiel repeated. “Your powers are still forming, and my current predicament renders me vulnerable.”
“He has a point,” Gabriel said, slowly. “We've got fresh out of the oven humans, and two semi-angels who have no idea what they're in for.”
“Hey!” Dean protested. “I shut you up pretty good, and Sammy's got the whole transporting thing down.”
“There is so much more than small gimmicks,” Castiel frowned. “There are safety measures to take into account, like the ability to control your wings and form as to not harm anyone.”
“Wait,” Dean interjected. “I get the whole...angel thing, but are you saying I have a form outside my body? Like you do? And wings?”
“It is hard to say,” Castiel looked bothered. “Since you were not created by God as Gabriel and I were. I believe the sole motivation of the genie was to elaborate on Dean's desire to understand angels, and vice-versa. I have no reason to believe he has the power for anything-” Castiel suddenly let out a jaw-breaking yawn, with such a startled expression that Dean had to laugh.
“Man,” Dean grinned. “You're actually exhausted.”
“And you,” Castiel's voice was suddenly quiet. “Are not. You feel nothing, do you, Dean? No need for sleep, or food. No want or need for anything, except to simply be.”
Dean fell completely still, silent, eyes on Cas, but unfocused. Next to Gabriel, Sam shifted, amusement fading from his features.
“It's true,” Sam said, after a moment. “I never thought of it, this entire time. There's nothing.”
Dean's head lifted. “This sucks. It's Famine all over again.”
“For the love of Dad,” Gabriel said. “You're both so emo.” He crossed to the bed, settling next to Castiel, comfortably. Dean rolled to his side, seemingly uncomfortable with being in a bed with two other men.
“Everyone shut up and let Cas sleep, okay?” Dean grumbled, uneasily. Sam stood in a silent vigil, watching. He saw how Castiel gradually inched closer to Dean, or how Gabriel's hand rested on Castiel's back.
“I don't like this,” Castiel confessed, after several minutes of silence passed. “I feel weak.”
“Just..close your eyes, Cas,” Dean said. “It'll come eventually.”
“I have no ability to ease your nightmares, Dean,” Castiel was fading fast, almost unaware of what he was saying.
Sam eventually swallowed his unease, and joined the others on the cramped motel bed, pressed close and intimate against Gabriel's back. He was aware that he was privy to a conversation that should, in all respects, be private between Dean and Castiel.
“Then-” Dean faltered. “I'll figure out how to fix yours, okay?”
“Angels have nightmares too, you know,” Gabriel's voice was unusually soft, wistful. “More than you can ever imagine.
Sam slid an arm around Gabriel's waist in an awkward squeeze of comfort.
The former Archangel said nothing more, a hand resting on Sam's, grateful.
Castiel slept with his head against Dean's shoulder, arms held tightly against his side.
“Dean?” Sam whispered. “I think I get it. I mean, really get it. They were dicks because...they couldn't feel. Not like we can. Just because they look human..they aren't. They aren't human, they can't feel like we can, but at the end of the day...they chose humanity, just like we did.”
“Don't be such a girl, Sammy,” Dean replied, even as his head lowered, chin brushing the top of Cas' dark hair.
Sam just sighed, fingers trailing idly down Gabriel's back. “They chose us, didn't they?”
There was no answer from Dean, whose eyes were closed in contemplation, because angels- even quasi-angels- didn't sleep.
After several hours -minutes, days, who knew anymore- passed over the last line of defense against the Apocalypse, Castiel stirred, cocooned in a texture uniquely soft and alight with something akin to electricity.
Dean. Dean had wings, full and pure as the soul Dean denied he had. Wings that were curled around Castiel like a lifeline. He could not bring himself to open his eyes, to break the hold Dean had by drawing attention to the action. He could not bring himself to see if the same had happened to Sam, or if Gabriel was receiving such treatment.
“Pretty cool, huh, bro?” Gabriel's tone was thick and a bit slurred with pleasure, indeed wrapped in his own Sam-made wing blanket.
“Shut up, Gabriel,” Dean said, hoarsely. His voice was level, but there was a gleam in his eyes that Castiel had not seen in some time.
“We're going to win,” Sam said, softly, from behind Gabriel, muffled by his own wings. “Aren't we?”
“Bet your ass we are,” Dean replied, confident.
It was then that Castiel understood. Truly understood.
The genie had unwittingly given them a gift as opposed to a curse - the simple ability to understand each other. Dean would understand why Castiel spent his nights watching him sleep, while Cas would appreciate a night’s sleep without feeling like he was being analyzed.
All they had before the genie was a common cause - save the world, but now? Castiel doubted that Lucifer could draw Sam away from them - get him to say ‘yes’, now. Not when the rest of Team Free Will would know how to shore up Sam’s defenses.
There were other situations Castiel could think of, that now they could manage, and manage without struggling to understand the basic needs and social norms they all had, or didn’t have.
As he tucked his face into Dean’s wings and didn’t mind that his stomach was aching with memories of Heaven -or what he guessed was hunger at this point- he trusted that for once, everything would turn out fine.
“Now,” Gabriel stretched, lazily running his fingers through Sam’s wings. “Go make yourself useful and snap us up some pancakes.”
Gabriel figured they might as well get their angelic priorities in order, after all.
-End
For blueskypenguin : Why Did You Stay?
Prompt used: "Why Did You Stay?" by the Pipettes
Summary: After the Apocalypse was averted, Castiel and a newly-resurrected Gabriel should return to Heaven. They surprise themselves, as well as Sam and Dean, by staying on Earth (Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel [pre-slash] NC-17)
Contrary to popular belief, Sam never made it to Hell. He never experienced it the way Dean did. He jumped into the Pit, with Michael wearing Adam’s face, but just as suddenly he felt an abrupt jerk, as though someone had grabbed the back of his collar and yanked. He watched Lucifer continue to descend into the depths of Hell, as though he were having some sort of out of body experience. The next thing he knew, he was flat on his back on the cold, damp ground of Stull Cemetery, robbed of breath and movement, staring blankly at the sky. Dean was gone, and there were no signs in the empty graveyard that signified that the Apocalypse had been averted in this very place. He was just a single human, shivering in the deserted cemetery. He wasn’t in Hell. Lucifer was gone. He was himself. He was...he was going to be sick.
“Just lie still. You’re still pumped with enough demon blood for you to survive Hell long enough without Lucifer, but being there enhanced it.” Sam opened his mouth to speak. “Consider it your own personal poisonous snake bite. The more you move, the faster it’ll spread.”
Sam blinked, focusing. Gabriel watched him, propped against a broken tombstone, arms folded, one eyebrow raised.
“Fix me,” Sam rasped out, turning his head toward the formerly dead Archangel. “You pulled me out...fix me.”
“I like how you assume it was me,” Gabriel shrugged his shoulders, pushing off the tombstone. “Anyone could have pulled you out, you know.”
“Nobody would have wanted to,” Sam replied, pushing himself into a sitting position, head swimming. “They all wanted me to--”
“Okay, okay,” Gabriel interjected, crouching next to Sam. “Shut up before you hurt yourself. I’m trying to work here.”
“Work?”
“Fix you. Ring a bell?”
Sam shifted “I don’t feel anything.”
“It’s because I’m just that good,” Gabriel replied. Sam felt a small tug from somewhere in the core of his body, and an unconscious sense of relief and calm flooded his system. “I’d say my work here is done.” He raised his hand, fingers poised to snap. Sam jerked out a hand, enclosing Gabriel’s wrist, firmly.
“You’re leaving?” Sam blurted. “Just like that...you’re leaving?”
“Well, yeah. What more do you want? I pulled you outta Hell, safe and sound, and knocked the demon blood out of your system. What else do you want, a free access pass to Dean? And please don’t say yes to that.”
Sam just shook his head. “Just, stay, alright? A few minutes, that’s all.” He wasn’t sure which surprised him more- the look of surprise in the Archangel’s eyes, or the fact that Gabriel lowered the hand still held by Sam’s, fingers going slack.
“A few minutes,” Gabriel allowed. “Can’t have you cramping my style because you’re all needy.” Sam didn’t thank him, he just nodded. A few minutes between the Archangel and the former vessel for the Devil turned into hours, two figures sitting side by side in an abandoned cemetery where the world nearly ended. Sam didn’t have much to say, and Gabriel had nothing to ask, but it was in this silence that Sam learned to appreciate Gabriel’s more somber moments, and Gabriel learned just how satisfying of a feeling it could be to amuse Sam enough to bring out his dimples, and better yet...laugh.
“Gabriel?” Sam broke into one of their usual silences. “Why did you pull me out? Did God order it?” For a moment, he was Sam Winchester, full of hope and faith in a world ridden with monsters.
“Sorry, kid. I know Dad tugged Castiel up...and me, for whatever reason...but I pulled you out all by my very lonesome.”
“Maybe He knew you deserved a second chance,” Sam commented, idly, twirling a blade of grass between his palms.
“Could say the same for you,” Gabriel glanced at Sam, briefly. He didn’t really want to have this conversation. Not here, not now. Preferably, not ever. Sam just nodded, eyes lowering. Gabriel found it a little ironic that within a span of a day sitting in a cemetery with Sam Winchester, he knew what Sam was thinking without checking his thoughts, and when he was sliding into a self-deprecating moment. Surprisingly, it wasn’t an unsettling realization.
When those few minutes turned into hours, and hours turned into a day, neither Sam nor Gabriel cared to point out that Sam never released Gabriel’s wrist.
Gabriel never bothered to pull his hand away.
Sam never asked why Gabriel stayed, when he could just as easily snap his fingers and be somewhere warm and sunny, surrounded by beautiful and scantily clad women.
It was just as well.
Gabriel didn’t think he could answer.
Castiel should have remained in the passenger seat with Dean after Sam sacrificed himself and sealed Lucifer in Hell. Dean had a lifetime of people leaving him, and the one time he should not have had to be left alone, Castiel left.
Dean was angry, hurt, and betrayed. He struck the steering wheel and swore, cursing Heaven and God, shouting his rage at Castiel. Castiel knew this, because he watched.
Castiel never returned to Heaven, as he told Dean he was. It was his first successful blatant lie, and he would like to think Dean would be proud of the fact- if Dean were not the receiving party.
Heaven did not need a leader, and Castiel believed his brothers and sisters would find a way to reach harmony once again on their own. Free Will would, to an extent, be the concept that would heal the rift in Heaven. Castiel believed this- he needed to believe this, because Heaven would need to do without their new ‘sheriff’. Castiel was right where he belonged, by Dean Winchester’s side, whether Dean knew it or not.
“You stayed,” an all-too-familiar voice commented, lightly, though clearly unsurprised by Castiel’s decision.
“Gabriel,” Castiel greeted, calm. “You’re alive.”
“And you stayed,” Gabriel repeated, standing next to Castiel. “Of course you did.”
“You stayed as well,” Castiel pointed out. “Heaven’s doors are opened, and our brothers and sisters are reaching out, inviting us home, but you stayed as well.”
“And by ‘reaching’ and ‘inviting’,” Gabriel crinkled his nose. “You mean ‘begging’ and ‘kissing our feet.’ They haven’t changed, Castiel. They want the prestige of the angel who aided in stopping the apocalypse in their presence. If it weren’t against the rules, I’d expect a statue in your honor.”
“The same goes for you,” Castiel’s gaze tracked the Impala’s journey to Cicero, Indiana. “After all this time, the Messenger of the Lord returns. There will be a great celebration in your honor. The fighting is over, but you are still here.”
“I like it here,” Gabriel shrugged. “Besides, I had some...unfinished business to take care of.” When Castiel didn’t question, as expected, Gabriel exhaled. “I can’t believe you’re letting him go.”
“He promised Sam,” Castiel’s voice lowered. “There is no greater power in Heaven or Earth that could make Dean break a promise to him, even if it makes him unhappy.” Gabriel let out an amused huff of agreement at this.
“Not to wax poetic or anything, bro, but considering Dean’s little solo temper tantrum earlier, you ever consider that maybe Dean could have that happily ever after?”
“He will try,” Castiel looked at Gabriel, and vanished in a rush of wind and wings.
“Course he will,” Gabriel said to the empty air. “I didn’t mean he could have it with her.”
For several months Castiel watched Dean struggle through domestic life. He could hear his brethren calling for him, but Dean’s pained calls for Sam in the dark made Heaven sound muted. There were times, even, where Castiel could hear his own name being called at night- for help, in anger...
In ways Castiel knew humans called for other humans, but did not dare to dwell on.
It was six months to the day after the Apocalypse was averted, and Sam was lost to Dean, that Castiel appeared to Dean. Dean was hosting a barbecue, smiling and laughing, though Castiel could see it was forced. When Castiel was spotted, Dean swore, distracted, and flames from the barbecue leaped in response. Dean closed the lid, excused himself, and made his way over.
“Hello, Dean.”
Castiel expected the punch, which he easily side-stepped. Even if Dean could not be bothered to remember that punching him would only do more harm to himself, he did not want Dean hurt.
What he did not expect was Dean’s hands bunching into his coat, and dragging him out of sight of company.
What he did not expect was Dean’s whispered, “It’s about time, you son of a bitch,” before his mouth connected roughly with Castiel’s.
Castiel surprised Dean once again by not reacting like the naive, virginal angel of long ago, kissing back with just as much force. “I was busy.”
“Couldn’t pop in for a few minutes? Heaven that fucked up?” Dean muttered, shoving at Castiel’s trench coat, pushing it down Castiel’s arms, trapping them. “Say hi? Never had a problem with dropping in at the worst times before.”
Castiel collected himself long enough to take them away from watchful eyes, breathing in as Dean’s groan of approval ghosted over his neck, before Dean’s mouth descended hungrily onto the exposed skin. It should be strange that Dean, a certified ladies man, should react in such a matter to Castiel who, though genderless, took on a male form. They had been close, of course, comrades in a common cause, allies, even best friends- but not this. It would appear Dean had lost far too much in his life to risk losing any more.
“I was not in Heaven,” Castiel ground out, fingers working at Dean’s pants, loosening them, and yanking out the tucked in shirt. It was an unsettling look for Dean, clean cut and domesticated.
“Even better,” Dean’s movements were frantic, one hand on Castiel’s hip as if to ground him to Earth, the other pushing Castiel’s pants down. “Then where the fuck were you?”
“Watching you,” Castiel’s head tilted back with a sharp gasp, as Dean wrapped sure, calloused fingers around his cock, pumping firmly. “I never...returned to Heaven. I watched you.” He bit back a growl of disappointment as Dean’s hand stilled.
“All this time?”
Castiel was slightly surprised that this was the only question Dean asked, and the tone it was asked was calm, almost accepting.
“For several months, now.”
“You didn’t go back to Heaven.”
“No.” Castiel was seemingly rewarded by the new sensation of Dean’s bared cock lined against his own, capable hand encircling them both, pumping. It was over too soon for the both of them as they came, spilling hard and fast between Dean’s fingers, over their stomachs.
It was a moment, an hour, an eternity, before Dean spoke, lips hovering dangerously close to Castiel’s neck.
“Why did you stay?”
Castiel lifted his hand, brushing it over Dean’s shoulder, over the mark Castiel had given him. “Do you really need to ask, Dean?”
“Yeah,” Dean said, roughly. “Yeah, I do.”
“Fair enough. Do you really need an answer?”
Dean lifted his gaze, taking in Castiel’s flushed face, and familiar blue eyes, warm and affectionate, unwavering.
He couldn’t answer.
A few days later, the Impala rumbled out of Cicero, Indiana. It was a sound that Castiel secretly valued on the same scale as he once had Heaven’s choir, only the engine and blaring music suddenly seemed more like home than Heaven ever did. He supposed he could also contribute it to the two extra passengers in the car, Sam Winchester and the Archangel Gabriel. The reunion between Dean and Sam was nothing less than Castiel would have expected, and while Gabriel’s hand on Sam’s thigh was questionable, Castiel held his tongue and let Dean rag on his little brother, and promise Gabriel a lifetime in holy fire if he so much as looked at Sam cross eyed. The laugh that followed was loud, so honest and true that Castiel hoped the Heavens heard.
Perhaps then they would understand why Castiel stayed.
Last and most certainly not least, the mindblowing fic written for me by viridian_magpie
Read over at team_free_love because LJ decided the epic was too much to handle for this entry
Title: Sola Fide
Author: viridian_magpie
Recipient: jabber_moose
Rating: approaching NC-17
Genre and/or Pairing: angst, hurt/comfort, action/adventure, firsttime; Sam/Castiel, Dean/Castiel, hints of Sam/Gabriel
Spoilers: S5, mild spoilers for 6.03
Warnings: bonding/claiming, hint of forceful!Gabriel at one point
Word Count: 12,500 words
Notes/Prompts: I used your second prompt "Team Free Will foursome (Trickster!Gabriel style)- Ex: Cas, Dean and Sam need a reminder that they're stronger as a team." Plus a little of #3 "Sam/Cas, Dean/Gabriel (somehow becoming Dean/Cas, Sam/Gabriel)" (I didn't manage to include Dean/Gabriel. Sorry.)
Anyway, this fic goes AU at the end of 5.16: Castiel doesn't leave to drink a liquor store. Dean and Sam take him to a bar - it changes a few things.
This was my first exchange, and i'm pretty proud of how these turned out.
As always, thanks to everyone for your support, but a special shoutout to zekkass for her poking, prodding, and beta
For gedry : We Can't Call People Without Wings Angels (So We Call Them Friends Instead)
Prompts used: Brotherly bonding with both sets of brothers/ Sam and Dean are the angels.
Summary: A comment in the heat of the moment turns Gabriel and Castiel human, while Sam and Dean become angels. (Dean/Cas, Sam/Gabriel PG-13)
It wasn’t a witch this time, but a genie.
Dean should have been grateful, for all intent and purposes, but he wasn’t. He wasn’t grateful because his brother was doubled over on the ground on his hands and knees, eyes wide and confused in a way that Dean was pretty sure he had never seen before, and glowing.
It wasn’t just Sam’s eyes, either. It was like the every pore of his body was lit from the inside out. Sam lifted his head with those too-surreal eyes and gasped out, “You’re glowing.”
Naturally, Dean didn’t exactly have a mirror in his back pocket, but when he lifted his hands, he could see that they were the same as Sam’s, like someone had put a nightlight under his skin, and turned it up to high power.
“The hell, Sammy?” Dean managed, half expecting his geek of a brother to actually have an answer, but Sam’s gaze was fixated elsewhere, on two figures sprawled approximately twenty feet away, unmoving.
“Oh, God,” Sam whispered. “It’s Cas and Gabriel.”
Dean was already sprinting toward his friend, and the newest member of their ragtag resistance against the Apocalypse. Despite his reservations about Gabriel joining up with them, their positioning in their unconscious state caused him to falter, skidding to a stop.
The genie had blasted the four of them, sending Dean and Sam sprawling. Cas and Gabriel had held their own, being angels, but now they were slumped, boneless, Gabriel’s body positioned around Cas, protecting, seemingly without thinking. Apparently, the Archangel-turned-Trickster-turned-Archan
gel again had placed himself between the blast and his brother at the last minute, taking the brunt of the spell.
Dean had to give Gabriel props for that decision, especially with Castiel’s waning Grace. The trouble was, neither of them were moving.
“What happened?” Sam joined Dean, still brimming with that unearthly glow. “They should be up by now…Dean. What the hell happened?”
“Hell if I know, Sam,” Dean muttered, unconsciously reaching out and touching Cas’ cool, damp forehead. At the gesture, and suddenly crackle of heat burned through his fingertips, and Cas stirred, blinking open glazed, confused blue eyes.
“Dean.” Cas’ voice was rough as ever, but undeniably tired, and as much as Dean didn’t want to consider it…pained.
“Cas,” Dean offered a grin. “You look like shit…you okay?”
Sam watched them for a moment, curious, before leaning over, and brushing his fingertips over Gabriel’s forehead. Not unlike Cas, Gabriel’s eyes snapped open, alert, hazel eyes similarly glazed, unfocused, before he let out a short, but hardly eloquent, “hnngmh?”
“Man,” Dean said, unable to mask the hint of relief in his voice. “I thought you guys were toast.”
“Nah,” Gabriel cut in before Castiel could make any insinuations that angels were on any kind of bread. “Just, you know...momentarily indisposed. You do know you kids are glowing, right?”
The comment caused Cas to straighten, fixing both Dean and Sam with a sharp, calculating gaze.
“We noticed,” Sam said. “I figured it was an effect of the genie’s spell. It’ll wear off, right?”
There was silence from the two angels.
“It’s…gonna wear off,” Dean repeated, slowly. “Right? ‘Cause I’m not going around sparkling like a goddamn pansy vampire.”
“I cannot speak for Gabriel,” Cas started, tone low, and strangely dismayed. “But I have good reason to believe I am…human.”
“Ditto to that,” Gabriel said, propping himself against a wall, and stifling a yawn. “And you two are bona fide angels. Or, you’re on your way to it.”
“That’s impossible,” Sam let out a sound between a nervous laugh, and a choke. “That’s-”
“Freaking ridiculous,” Dean said. “I think you both hit your heads way too hard.”
Cas just gave Dean a look that, if he wasn’t using a wall to hold himself upright, Dean would never have guessed that he might not be entirely angel anymore. “We should return to the motel as soon as possible.”
Dean shifts, feeling like fire was crawling under his skin. “Yeah. So…taking the car?” he reached down, hauling Cas to his feet, momentarily startled at how light the angel…man…was. Like he weighed nothing at all.
Maybe Dean did have some kind of angelic mojo. It didn’t make him a dick, though. He was surprised when Cas leaned his weight against Dean, as if trusting Dean not to let him collapse.
When Dean looked over his shoulder, he saw Sam in a similar situation, with Gabriel half draped over Sam.
“Could always teleport,” Gabriel offered , looking none too displeased about his current arrangement.
Sam looked momentarily intrigued by the idea, but Dean cut him off with a Look.
“Hell, no. I don’t even know what the hell is going on, but on a good day my car is better than your constipation inducing-”
“Cas?” Gabriel looked amused. “Your transport gives ‘em constipation?”
“That is besides the point, Gabriel,” Cas replied, flatly. Dean figured there was a time and a place to question whether every angel’s transport gave constipation, because really.
“Car.” Dean announced, and he and Sam maneuvered the former angels into the back seat, before closing the doors. Sam leaned over the hood of the Impala, looking both apprehensive and expectant.
“Dean? Do you think it’s possible?” Sam swallowed. “That we’re angels?”
“No,” Dean replied, without a second thought. “We’re not created by God, and we’re not dicks. Now get in the car.” Sam gave Dean a look, sighing heavily, and slid into the passenger seat.
“Then what could have caused this?” Sam gestured to Gabriel and Cas. “An archangel and an angel get turned into humans, and suddenly we’re glowing and…you felt it, Dean, right? You didn’t need any effort to support Cas, and I was able to support Gabriel…”
“Very Superman of you, by the way,” Gabriel put in from the back seat, voice thick and tired. “I felt super safe and protected.”
“But why?” Sam crossed his arms, frowning. “I mean, we’re not exactly Hell’s best friend, but the genie wasn’t a creature from Hell. It wasn’t a witch, so it wasn’t like Dean mouthed off and-”
“Why are we assuming it’s my fault?” Dean demanded.
“Because it usually is,” Sam replied.
“Also because it is your fault,” Cas added, slumped in the back seat, head lolling from the seat to Gabriel’s shoulder, as if it were an effort to keep his head up.
Or awake, Dean’s ever so helpful mind supplied. “Alright, Cas. I’ll bite. How is this my fault?”
“Last night,” Cas shifted to sit up. “After we procured the genie’s artifact, you were irritated.”
Gabriel snorted at this, and Sam gave him a look, warningly. Gabriel, surprisingly, snapped his mouth shut.
“You accused myself and Gabriel of being emotionless beings. I believe your words were,” Cas paused, considering. “ ‘Just when I think I know you, Cas, you pull a dick move like this.’ Correct?”
“Your point?”
“I think that is the point,” Sam straightened, eyes brightening with understanding. “You want to understand Cas. And you want Cas to understand humans.”
“I’m impressed,” Gabriel said. “And a little pissed that I didn’t think of it first. A human doesn’t get how an angel feels, and an angel doesn’t get how a human feels. The genie used it as an escape clause.” He leaned back tucking his hands behind his head, and propping his feet on the back of Dean’s seat.
The look Dean gave Gabriel could have melted a glacier, and suddenly Gabriel yelped, jerking his knees to his chest. “Ow! What was that for?”
Dean was momentarily distracted by the fact that he could control Gabriel’s actions with a mere thought. After Gabriel killed him hundreds of times, trapped them in TV Land, and gave them the run around that he did, it was pretty awesome.
“Here’s my question,” Gabriel pressed on, glowering at Dean. “I mean, I get the genie tweaking the rules and all, but what’s Dean and Cas’ epic romance have to do with me and Sam?”
Sam’s eyes widened with realization, and he slouched forward in his seat.
“Uh, Sam?” Dean said. “Something you wanna share with the class?”
“I…mayhavewishedforGabrieltohavealittlelesscontrol…”
“..Come again?” Dean frowned, trying to decipher Sam’s mumbling.
“You thought I was too powerful?” Gabriel snapped. “You felt intimidated, so you wanted me to be more like you mooks? Newsflash, kids. Archangel speaking. You got scared, big deal. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m on your side!”
“I didn’t mean it like that!” Sam protested. “I just...wondered what it would be like..”
Gabriel focused on Sam, eyes dark, intense. “What what would be like?”
Sam clenched his jaw, looking out the window. “To be able to snap my fingers, and make everything…simple.” There was a moment of silence in the car, a heavy cloud of guilt.
“So the genie…” Dean said, slowly. “Gave you Gabriel’s abilities.”
“Don’t act so blase,” Gabriel says. “You’ve got Cas’. Me and the kid bro, here? We got jack squat.”
Dean glanced in the rear-view mirror, where Cas was tucked against the Impala’s interior, eyes half closed, fighting sleep.
Sam stared at his fingers, contemplating. He had no idea what he was doing, but Gabriel had done it often enough. He took a breath, closed his eyes, and raised his hand. By the time Gabriel caught on and lunged forward to stop him, Sam snapped.
In the time it took for anyone to blink, the Impala was empty of passengers. The only sign that anyone was there were two stray feathers, one on the driver’s seat, and one in the passenger’s seat.
---
Gabriel was suitably impressed when the four of them appeared unscathed in a motel room. Sam hadn’t done badly for a first time teleport- not bad at all. Gabriel felt a little disoriented, but he figured it was a small price to pay for being human.
Castiel, already weakened even before the switch, was not faring as well. In fact, he was hunched over, breathing heavily, pale.
“Least you won’t have to worry about learning how to use the bathroom for awhile, huh?” Dean grinned at Cas, and surprised
them all by resting a hand on Cas’ back, soothing, comforting. “Just breathe, you’re gonna be fine.”
Cas lifted his head, a bit pale, and nodded, shortly. “I’m fine, Dean.” He straightened up, visibly wavering.
“Damn it, Cas,” Dean muttered. “You need to rest, okay?”
“No,” the former angel replied, stubbornly. “I do not need to rest.”
Needless to say, the tension in the air could only be cut with a high-powered angel blade. Dean and Castiel were already locked in a stare-down, and while Sam would normally brush it off, the twist of Dean being an angel, and Cas being human, he was strangely interested in seeing who would win this match.
“Humans rest, Cas,” Dean said, and the reminder of Cas' position caused the other man's eyes to flare with irritation. “If I'm gonna have to force you, I will.”
“Now that's kinky,” Gabriel commented, receiving an elbow in the side from Sam. “Mmph! That hurt, you know!” Sam looked momentarily chastised, remembering his new strength, but Gabriel just grinned, good-natured.
“You will not,” Castiel narrowed his eyes, refusing to budge even when Dean stepped closer, grasping Cas' shoulders, and propelling him onto the bed. The backs of Castiel's knees hit the bed, and he tumbled back, caught off guard, fingers bunching into Dean's jacket, pulling him with him.
Gabriel let out a wolf-whistle. “You two want some privacy, there?”
“Bite me, Gabriel!” Dean snapped, struggling move off of Cas.
Castiel just watched Dean, eyes half closed, comfortable. Humans had the oddest sensations, hunger not withstanding. There was a unique warmth coupled with Dean's proximity, and heat rose to his face.
“This is pleasant,” Castiel decided, after a moment. “Dean, if you insist that I rest, you will join me.”
“I will...wait,” Dean started. “I will..what now?”
“Stay with me while I rest,” Castiel repeated. “Your powers are still forming, and my current predicament renders me vulnerable.”
“He has a point,” Gabriel said, slowly. “We've got fresh out of the oven humans, and two semi-angels who have no idea what they're in for.”
“Hey!” Dean protested. “I shut you up pretty good, and Sammy's got the whole transporting thing down.”
“There is so much more than small gimmicks,” Castiel frowned. “There are safety measures to take into account, like the ability to control your wings and form as to not harm anyone.”
“Wait,” Dean interjected. “I get the whole...angel thing, but are you saying I have a form outside my body? Like you do? And wings?”
“It is hard to say,” Castiel looked bothered. “Since you were not created by God as Gabriel and I were. I believe the sole motivation of the genie was to elaborate on Dean's desire to understand angels, and vice-versa. I have no reason to believe he has the power for anything-” Castiel suddenly let out a jaw-breaking yawn, with such a startled expression that Dean had to laugh.
“Man,” Dean grinned. “You're actually exhausted.”
“And you,” Castiel's voice was suddenly quiet. “Are not. You feel nothing, do you, Dean? No need for sleep, or food. No want or need for anything, except to simply be.”
Dean fell completely still, silent, eyes on Cas, but unfocused. Next to Gabriel, Sam shifted, amusement fading from his features.
“It's true,” Sam said, after a moment. “I never thought of it, this entire time. There's nothing.”
Dean's head lifted. “This sucks. It's Famine all over again.”
“For the love of Dad,” Gabriel said. “You're both so emo.” He crossed to the bed, settling next to Castiel, comfortably. Dean rolled to his side, seemingly uncomfortable with being in a bed with two other men.
“Everyone shut up and let Cas sleep, okay?” Dean grumbled, uneasily. Sam stood in a silent vigil, watching. He saw how Castiel gradually inched closer to Dean, or how Gabriel's hand rested on Castiel's back.
“I don't like this,” Castiel confessed, after several minutes of silence passed. “I feel weak.”
“Just..close your eyes, Cas,” Dean said. “It'll come eventually.”
“I have no ability to ease your nightmares, Dean,” Castiel was fading fast, almost unaware of what he was saying.
Sam eventually swallowed his unease, and joined the others on the cramped motel bed, pressed close and intimate against Gabriel's back. He was aware that he was privy to a conversation that should, in all respects, be private between Dean and Castiel.
“Then-” Dean faltered. “I'll figure out how to fix yours, okay?”
“Angels have nightmares too, you know,” Gabriel's voice was unusually soft, wistful. “More than you can ever imagine.
Sam slid an arm around Gabriel's waist in an awkward squeeze of comfort.
The former Archangel said nothing more, a hand resting on Sam's, grateful.
Castiel slept with his head against Dean's shoulder, arms held tightly against his side.
“Dean?” Sam whispered. “I think I get it. I mean, really get it. They were dicks because...they couldn't feel. Not like we can. Just because they look human..they aren't. They aren't human, they can't feel like we can, but at the end of the day...they chose humanity, just like we did.”
“Don't be such a girl, Sammy,” Dean replied, even as his head lowered, chin brushing the top of Cas' dark hair.
Sam just sighed, fingers trailing idly down Gabriel's back. “They chose us, didn't they?”
There was no answer from Dean, whose eyes were closed in contemplation, because angels- even quasi-angels- didn't sleep.
After several hours -minutes, days, who knew anymore- passed over the last line of defense against the Apocalypse, Castiel stirred, cocooned in a texture uniquely soft and alight with something akin to electricity.
Dean. Dean had wings, full and pure as the soul Dean denied he had. Wings that were curled around Castiel like a lifeline. He could not bring himself to open his eyes, to break the hold Dean had by drawing attention to the action. He could not bring himself to see if the same had happened to Sam, or if Gabriel was receiving such treatment.
“Pretty cool, huh, bro?” Gabriel's tone was thick and a bit slurred with pleasure, indeed wrapped in his own Sam-made wing blanket.
“Shut up, Gabriel,” Dean said, hoarsely. His voice was level, but there was a gleam in his eyes that Castiel had not seen in some time.
“We're going to win,” Sam said, softly, from behind Gabriel, muffled by his own wings. “Aren't we?”
“Bet your ass we are,” Dean replied, confident.
It was then that Castiel understood. Truly understood.
The genie had unwittingly given them a gift as opposed to a curse - the simple ability to understand each other. Dean would understand why Castiel spent his nights watching him sleep, while Cas would appreciate a night’s sleep without feeling like he was being analyzed.
All they had before the genie was a common cause - save the world, but now? Castiel doubted that Lucifer could draw Sam away from them - get him to say ‘yes’, now. Not when the rest of Team Free Will would know how to shore up Sam’s defenses.
There were other situations Castiel could think of, that now they could manage, and manage without struggling to understand the basic needs and social norms they all had, or didn’t have.
As he tucked his face into Dean’s wings and didn’t mind that his stomach was aching with memories of Heaven -or what he guessed was hunger at this point- he trusted that for once, everything would turn out fine.
“Now,” Gabriel stretched, lazily running his fingers through Sam’s wings. “Go make yourself useful and snap us up some pancakes.”
Gabriel figured they might as well get their angelic priorities in order, after all.
-End
For blueskypenguin : Why Did You Stay?
Prompt used: "Why Did You Stay?" by the Pipettes
Summary: After the Apocalypse was averted, Castiel and a newly-resurrected Gabriel should return to Heaven. They surprise themselves, as well as Sam and Dean, by staying on Earth (Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel [pre-slash] NC-17)
Contrary to popular belief, Sam never made it to Hell. He never experienced it the way Dean did. He jumped into the Pit, with Michael wearing Adam’s face, but just as suddenly he felt an abrupt jerk, as though someone had grabbed the back of his collar and yanked. He watched Lucifer continue to descend into the depths of Hell, as though he were having some sort of out of body experience. The next thing he knew, he was flat on his back on the cold, damp ground of Stull Cemetery, robbed of breath and movement, staring blankly at the sky. Dean was gone, and there were no signs in the empty graveyard that signified that the Apocalypse had been averted in this very place. He was just a single human, shivering in the deserted cemetery. He wasn’t in Hell. Lucifer was gone. He was himself. He was...he was going to be sick.
“Just lie still. You’re still pumped with enough demon blood for you to survive Hell long enough without Lucifer, but being there enhanced it.” Sam opened his mouth to speak. “Consider it your own personal poisonous snake bite. The more you move, the faster it’ll spread.”
Sam blinked, focusing. Gabriel watched him, propped against a broken tombstone, arms folded, one eyebrow raised.
“Fix me,” Sam rasped out, turning his head toward the formerly dead Archangel. “You pulled me out...fix me.”
“I like how you assume it was me,” Gabriel shrugged his shoulders, pushing off the tombstone. “Anyone could have pulled you out, you know.”
“Nobody would have wanted to,” Sam replied, pushing himself into a sitting position, head swimming. “They all wanted me to--”
“Okay, okay,” Gabriel interjected, crouching next to Sam. “Shut up before you hurt yourself. I’m trying to work here.”
“Work?”
“Fix you. Ring a bell?”
Sam shifted “I don’t feel anything.”
“It’s because I’m just that good,” Gabriel replied. Sam felt a small tug from somewhere in the core of his body, and an unconscious sense of relief and calm flooded his system. “I’d say my work here is done.” He raised his hand, fingers poised to snap. Sam jerked out a hand, enclosing Gabriel’s wrist, firmly.
“You’re leaving?” Sam blurted. “Just like that...you’re leaving?”
“Well, yeah. What more do you want? I pulled you outta Hell, safe and sound, and knocked the demon blood out of your system. What else do you want, a free access pass to Dean? And please don’t say yes to that.”
Sam just shook his head. “Just, stay, alright? A few minutes, that’s all.” He wasn’t sure which surprised him more- the look of surprise in the Archangel’s eyes, or the fact that Gabriel lowered the hand still held by Sam’s, fingers going slack.
“A few minutes,” Gabriel allowed. “Can’t have you cramping my style because you’re all needy.” Sam didn’t thank him, he just nodded. A few minutes between the Archangel and the former vessel for the Devil turned into hours, two figures sitting side by side in an abandoned cemetery where the world nearly ended. Sam didn’t have much to say, and Gabriel had nothing to ask, but it was in this silence that Sam learned to appreciate Gabriel’s more somber moments, and Gabriel learned just how satisfying of a feeling it could be to amuse Sam enough to bring out his dimples, and better yet...laugh.
“Gabriel?” Sam broke into one of their usual silences. “Why did you pull me out? Did God order it?” For a moment, he was Sam Winchester, full of hope and faith in a world ridden with monsters.
“Sorry, kid. I know Dad tugged Castiel up...and me, for whatever reason...but I pulled you out all by my very lonesome.”
“Maybe He knew you deserved a second chance,” Sam commented, idly, twirling a blade of grass between his palms.
“Could say the same for you,” Gabriel glanced at Sam, briefly. He didn’t really want to have this conversation. Not here, not now. Preferably, not ever. Sam just nodded, eyes lowering. Gabriel found it a little ironic that within a span of a day sitting in a cemetery with Sam Winchester, he knew what Sam was thinking without checking his thoughts, and when he was sliding into a self-deprecating moment. Surprisingly, it wasn’t an unsettling realization.
When those few minutes turned into hours, and hours turned into a day, neither Sam nor Gabriel cared to point out that Sam never released Gabriel’s wrist.
Gabriel never bothered to pull his hand away.
Sam never asked why Gabriel stayed, when he could just as easily snap his fingers and be somewhere warm and sunny, surrounded by beautiful and scantily clad women.
It was just as well.
Gabriel didn’t think he could answer.
Castiel should have remained in the passenger seat with Dean after Sam sacrificed himself and sealed Lucifer in Hell. Dean had a lifetime of people leaving him, and the one time he should not have had to be left alone, Castiel left.
Dean was angry, hurt, and betrayed. He struck the steering wheel and swore, cursing Heaven and God, shouting his rage at Castiel. Castiel knew this, because he watched.
Castiel never returned to Heaven, as he told Dean he was. It was his first successful blatant lie, and he would like to think Dean would be proud of the fact- if Dean were not the receiving party.
Heaven did not need a leader, and Castiel believed his brothers and sisters would find a way to reach harmony once again on their own. Free Will would, to an extent, be the concept that would heal the rift in Heaven. Castiel believed this- he needed to believe this, because Heaven would need to do without their new ‘sheriff’. Castiel was right where he belonged, by Dean Winchester’s side, whether Dean knew it or not.
“You stayed,” an all-too-familiar voice commented, lightly, though clearly unsurprised by Castiel’s decision.
“Gabriel,” Castiel greeted, calm. “You’re alive.”
“And you stayed,” Gabriel repeated, standing next to Castiel. “Of course you did.”
“You stayed as well,” Castiel pointed out. “Heaven’s doors are opened, and our brothers and sisters are reaching out, inviting us home, but you stayed as well.”
“And by ‘reaching’ and ‘inviting’,” Gabriel crinkled his nose. “You mean ‘begging’ and ‘kissing our feet.’ They haven’t changed, Castiel. They want the prestige of the angel who aided in stopping the apocalypse in their presence. If it weren’t against the rules, I’d expect a statue in your honor.”
“The same goes for you,” Castiel’s gaze tracked the Impala’s journey to Cicero, Indiana. “After all this time, the Messenger of the Lord returns. There will be a great celebration in your honor. The fighting is over, but you are still here.”
“I like it here,” Gabriel shrugged. “Besides, I had some...unfinished business to take care of.” When Castiel didn’t question, as expected, Gabriel exhaled. “I can’t believe you’re letting him go.”
“He promised Sam,” Castiel’s voice lowered. “There is no greater power in Heaven or Earth that could make Dean break a promise to him, even if it makes him unhappy.” Gabriel let out an amused huff of agreement at this.
“Not to wax poetic or anything, bro, but considering Dean’s little solo temper tantrum earlier, you ever consider that maybe Dean could have that happily ever after?”
“He will try,” Castiel looked at Gabriel, and vanished in a rush of wind and wings.
“Course he will,” Gabriel said to the empty air. “I didn’t mean he could have it with her.”
For several months Castiel watched Dean struggle through domestic life. He could hear his brethren calling for him, but Dean’s pained calls for Sam in the dark made Heaven sound muted. There were times, even, where Castiel could hear his own name being called at night- for help, in anger...
In ways Castiel knew humans called for other humans, but did not dare to dwell on.
It was six months to the day after the Apocalypse was averted, and Sam was lost to Dean, that Castiel appeared to Dean. Dean was hosting a barbecue, smiling and laughing, though Castiel could see it was forced. When Castiel was spotted, Dean swore, distracted, and flames from the barbecue leaped in response. Dean closed the lid, excused himself, and made his way over.
“Hello, Dean.”
Castiel expected the punch, which he easily side-stepped. Even if Dean could not be bothered to remember that punching him would only do more harm to himself, he did not want Dean hurt.
What he did not expect was Dean’s hands bunching into his coat, and dragging him out of sight of company.
What he did not expect was Dean’s whispered, “It’s about time, you son of a bitch,” before his mouth connected roughly with Castiel’s.
Castiel surprised Dean once again by not reacting like the naive, virginal angel of long ago, kissing back with just as much force. “I was busy.”
“Couldn’t pop in for a few minutes? Heaven that fucked up?” Dean muttered, shoving at Castiel’s trench coat, pushing it down Castiel’s arms, trapping them. “Say hi? Never had a problem with dropping in at the worst times before.”
Castiel collected himself long enough to take them away from watchful eyes, breathing in as Dean’s groan of approval ghosted over his neck, before Dean’s mouth descended hungrily onto the exposed skin. It should be strange that Dean, a certified ladies man, should react in such a matter to Castiel who, though genderless, took on a male form. They had been close, of course, comrades in a common cause, allies, even best friends- but not this. It would appear Dean had lost far too much in his life to risk losing any more.
“I was not in Heaven,” Castiel ground out, fingers working at Dean’s pants, loosening them, and yanking out the tucked in shirt. It was an unsettling look for Dean, clean cut and domesticated.
“Even better,” Dean’s movements were frantic, one hand on Castiel’s hip as if to ground him to Earth, the other pushing Castiel’s pants down. “Then where the fuck were you?”
“Watching you,” Castiel’s head tilted back with a sharp gasp, as Dean wrapped sure, calloused fingers around his cock, pumping firmly. “I never...returned to Heaven. I watched you.” He bit back a growl of disappointment as Dean’s hand stilled.
“All this time?”
Castiel was slightly surprised that this was the only question Dean asked, and the tone it was asked was calm, almost accepting.
“For several months, now.”
“You didn’t go back to Heaven.”
“No.” Castiel was seemingly rewarded by the new sensation of Dean’s bared cock lined against his own, capable hand encircling them both, pumping. It was over too soon for the both of them as they came, spilling hard and fast between Dean’s fingers, over their stomachs.
It was a moment, an hour, an eternity, before Dean spoke, lips hovering dangerously close to Castiel’s neck.
“Why did you stay?”
Castiel lifted his hand, brushing it over Dean’s shoulder, over the mark Castiel had given him. “Do you really need to ask, Dean?”
“Yeah,” Dean said, roughly. “Yeah, I do.”
“Fair enough. Do you really need an answer?”
Dean lifted his gaze, taking in Castiel’s flushed face, and familiar blue eyes, warm and affectionate, unwavering.
He couldn’t answer.
A few days later, the Impala rumbled out of Cicero, Indiana. It was a sound that Castiel secretly valued on the same scale as he once had Heaven’s choir, only the engine and blaring music suddenly seemed more like home than Heaven ever did. He supposed he could also contribute it to the two extra passengers in the car, Sam Winchester and the Archangel Gabriel. The reunion between Dean and Sam was nothing less than Castiel would have expected, and while Gabriel’s hand on Sam’s thigh was questionable, Castiel held his tongue and let Dean rag on his little brother, and promise Gabriel a lifetime in holy fire if he so much as looked at Sam cross eyed. The laugh that followed was loud, so honest and true that Castiel hoped the Heavens heard.
Perhaps then they would understand why Castiel stayed.
Last and most certainly not least, the mindblowing fic written for me by viridian_magpie
Read over at team_free_love because LJ decided the epic was too much to handle for this entry
Title: Sola Fide
Author: viridian_magpie
Recipient: jabber_moose
Rating: approaching NC-17
Genre and/or Pairing: angst, hurt/comfort, action/adventure, firsttime; Sam/Castiel, Dean/Castiel, hints of Sam/Gabriel
Spoilers: S5, mild spoilers for 6.03
Warnings: bonding/claiming, hint of forceful!Gabriel at one point
Word Count: 12,500 words
Notes/Prompts: I used your second prompt "Team Free Will foursome (Trickster!Gabriel style)- Ex: Cas, Dean and Sam need a reminder that they're stronger as a team." Plus a little of #3 "Sam/Cas, Dean/Gabriel (somehow becoming Dean/Cas, Sam/Gabriel)" (I didn't manage to include Dean/Gabriel. Sorry.)
Anyway, this fic goes AU at the end of 5.16: Castiel doesn't leave to drink a liquor store. Dean and Sam take him to a bar - it changes a few things.