I Am No Angel Chapter 11 Part 1
Title: I Am No Angel
Author: Miss Meh
Pairing: Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel, Adam/Michael
Rating: NC-17 for swearing and explicit sex
Warnings: AU, copious amounts of fluff and sexual innuendo, fusion with Beauty and the Beast
Spoilers: None
Word Count: 8,754
Status: WIP
Summary: His wings always seemed to be the problem, Castiel figured. But when he and his family move to Sioux Falls and he meets a Beast locked away in a castle, could his wings be the solution?
A/N: Ugh… I fail at life. I am so sorry, everybody. I seriously meant to have this posted MONTHS AGO, but between real life kicking my ass and an epic case of writer’s block that wasn’t so epic… well, like I said, I’m sorry. Anyways, since I have now apologized profusely, I feel up to giving you more bad news. This isn’t the last chapter. You see, I have the whole thing planned out in my head. Really, I know exactly what is going to happen in each scene. The problem is that this chapter just kept getting longer and longer and longer. And I wanted to post all of it together. I was being really stubborn about it too. Unfortunately though, while my writer’s block has diminished somewhat, I am still not getting anything written because I don’t have all that much spare time. Oh and the last 1500 words I wrote got eaten by my computer, so that was a bit of a setback. L Anyways, I’ll stop making excuses and get to the point. This is only the first half of the last chapter and as you can see, it is about twice as long as most of my chapters. I decided to post it, due to the fact that if I keep putting it off with the excuse that I want to post all of it together, it’ll probably never get posted. *sigh* I hope that at least in some way makes up for not only the horribly long wait, but also for the fact that it isn’t finished like I promised it would be.
To localicious: I’m sorry I asked for your opinion and then didn’t wait for you to give it. You see, I’m going out of town tomorrow and won’t be able to post. Somehow the thought of waiting those extra days after I’d pretty much made up my mind was just horrible. Thanks again for the great review by the way. :D
Chapter Eleven: ‘Cause everytime we touch, I get this feeling
And everytime we kiss, I swear I can fly
Can’t you feel my heart beat fast? I want this to last.
Need you by my side
--“Everytime We Touch (Yanou’s Candlelight Mix)” CASCADA
Things in the castle had changed again after Dean and Castiel had their little meltdown. It wasn’t what Sam would consider normal, but from what he’d heard of Castiel’s behavior lately, he concluded that it was better than the alternative. As far as Sam could tell, both his brother and Castiel were pretty much back to their usual selves, but something was still off. While Sam didn’t know Castiel well enough to determine whether or not he was acting strange, he could see slight abnormalities in Dean’s behavior. His brother was calmer than he had been before the bond. He hadn’t been doing as much defensive posturing and he wasn’t as angry. At first, Sam had been worried that Dean was still suffering from the ill-effects of the bonding, but after watching his brother closely for a while, he had realized that it was really quite the opposite. Dean had actually matured by being bonded to Castiel.
It took Sam a few days more for him to come to terms with that insight and then when he finally had, yet another one had to come along and blindsided him. Dean was whipped. Sam laughed out loud at the thought. Sure, his brother was a great deal more mature thanks to the bond, but Sam had noticed this look that Castiel would give Dean whenever the angel seemed to think he was being inappropriate. Just one of those looks and Dean would shut his mouth and discontinue whatever activities had caused it. Oh, Sam was going to enjoy teasing Dean about this one-after the wedding though, when his mockery wouldn’t have the power to pull Dean’s commitment issues to the forefront.
It was actually really strange that Dean’s relationship phobia hadn’t come into play yet. Hell, Sam was still coming to terms with the fact that Dean-his brother, the infamous ladies’ man, the guy who had once told Sam that he wasn’t ever going to settle down with one girl, yeah, that Dean-was getting married. Sam hadn’t thought all that much about either he or his brothers getting married prior to the curse. After it had happened, they had been confined to the castle and Sam had had other things on his mind. During the rare moments in which he had thought about it, he had always assumed that Adam would be the first of them to get married.
Sam chuckled when he thought back on that assumption and realized just why he had made it in the first place. He and Dean had pretty much acted as the equivalent of a chastity belt for Adam’s virginity. His poor little brother had never stood a chance with the two of them looking out for him, and while he had almost felt bad about it at the time-he knew what it was like to be a hormonal teenager, after all-his guilt hadn’t been strong enough to keep him from being a major cockblock whenever he had the chance. Because of this, Sam knew that anyone who wanted to get close enough to Adam for any kind of sex to occur would have to marry him.
Sam sighed. He knew that tactic wasn’t going to work anymore. For all that Adam probably thought he was being discreet, Sam knew that his little brother had been sneaking down to Michael’s room every night rather than staying in his own bedroom next to Sam and Gabriel. Sam knew that it was their fault and that Adam was probably just going to the other man’s room to sleep, but he could also see that his brother and Michael were getting closer to each other and that thought both scared and angered him. Adam wasn’t old enough to be a man. While he was sure that Adam and Michael hadn’t actually had sex yet-apparently, overprotective older brothers just knew these things; Dean had only needed to take one look at Sam the morning after his first time before asking him how much a girl had to be paid before she was willing to go lesbian-but Sam was sure that it was coming. He found himself mourning the impending loss of his brother’s innocence.
Sam’s thoughts were suddenly drawn back to Dean’s wedding when he saw two huge stone statues of his brother and Castiel being wheeled slowly and carefully into the castle. He couldn’t help but blink in shock and almost went over to the window to get a better look before he realized that he would probably be seeing the statues up close and personal later. Sam shook his head. Dean had made the mistake of saying that he didn’t give a fuck how he and his angel got married as long as neither one of them was forced to parade up the aisle in a dress. Somehow, that had lead to Anna declaring herself in charge of the wedding planning and the rest, as they say, was history. Dean had actually complained about it, saying that it was weird for someone he had slept with to be planning his wedding. Sam had told him that he should either suck it up or plan the damn thing himself. Needless to say, Dean had shut up and stopped complaining to Sam.
Sam was rudely jerked out of his musings a moment later. He huffed in surprise as he suddenly found himself with a lapful of Gabriel. Sam looked at his boyfriend for what turned into a very long minute and was unable to resist the temptation to lean forward and give him a kiss. A throat cleared and Sam looked up to see Dean and Adam glaring at them from across the dining table.
Before Castiel, Dean would have been the one to speak first, but as things stood, Adam was the newly appointed hot head in the family. “I get the fact that you two are sex addicts but do you think you could put a hold on doing shit like that while I’m trying to eat?”
Sam saw the look on Gabriel’s face and knew that he wasn’t going to like whatever came out of his lover’s mouth. He cringed when Gabriel started speaking. “All right, we’ll knock it off,” Gabriel sighed in resignation. Sam did a double take. Wait, what?
He watched Gabriel with a wary eye for the rest of the meal, but the man was being unusually well-behaved. Everyone was able to eat in peace for a change and while it was nice, Sam couldn’t help but be apprehensive. As it turned out, his suspicions were well-founded.
The moment Adam put down his fork, Gabriel sidled back onto Sam’s lap, completely ignoring the fact that his boyfriend was still eating. “Hey, baby,” Gabriel said lasciviously, adding in a dramatic waggle of his eyebrows for good measure. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you all covered in my wax. What d’you say we go find a candlestick and I’ll light you up from the inside?”
Everybody gaped at them and Sam couldn’t keep a flush from rising to his cheeks. I knew this was coming, he groaned internally. He spent a few seconds trying to imagine ways in which he could have prevented this, but then he remembered that he wasn’t actually the target this time.
Sam looked over at his little brother. Adam was staring at them like everyone else, his mouth opening and closing in shock and his face turning a shade probably redder than Sam’s own. Sam could almost see Adam’s brain attempting to process what he had just heard and failing. He finally seemed to get his wits back, but he didn’t speak. Instead, Adam stood, grabbed Michael’s hand, and stormed out of the room.
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Adam was pissed. As if it wasn’t bad enough that his brothers were such assholes, Sam had to go and get a boyfriend that was way worse than even Sam and Dean combined. Sure, sometimes his brothers were bastards, but Gabriel took everything to a whole new level. As Adam fumed, it occurred to him that Gabriel hadn’t been this bad before he got together with Sam and he found himself wondering whether their relationship had allowed him to reveal his true nature or if Sam just had a way of turning people into jerks. This thought made Adam pause. The idea had merit. After all, look at what a lifetime with Sam had done to Adam and Dean.
A sharp tug on his hand reminded Adam that he was still latched on to Michael and had been dragging the man out of the castle with him. He flushed with embarrassment and dropped Michael’s hand as though it had burned him. Adam could feel Michael watching him but he didn’t turn to look. He wasn’t sure why he had brought Michael with him in the first place and though the other man was surely waiting for an explanation, how was Adam supposed to face him when he had none to give? At the time, it had felt natural-Oh, I’m leaving. Obviously Michael is coming with me.-but now he just felt awkward. He and Michael’s relationship had been progressing, but the man was moving so slow, Adam thought he would probably be old and grey before he made a move. It was as though Michael thought he was going to scare Adam away if he touched him in any way that couldn’t be construed as perfectly innocent. Like Adam didn’t wake up every morning with Michael’s erection pressed against his ass.
As if Adam would object to anything Michael wanted to do to him. He suppressed a snort. Yeah, right. He would probably beg for it if that was what Michael wanted from him.
The feeling of a hand slipping into his own brought Adam back out of his thoughts. “Where are we going, Adam?” Michael asked.
Adam’s palms started sweating-as they always did when he was nervous-and he had to resist the urge to pull his hand from Michael’s to wipe it on his pants. He could feel the heat coloring his cheeks again and rather than turning to look at Michael, he started walking. “Stables,” he grunted. Michael didn’t answer, but quickened his steps a bit to match Adam’s stride. Adam squeezed Michael’s hand in a gesture of gratitude and, though he would deny it if asked, his heart fluttered when the other man’s hand tightened around his in return.
When they arrived at the stables, Adam let go of Michael’s hand momentarily so that he could throw open the doors and then he dragged Michael over to one of the stalls. Though he still wasn’t in the best of moods, Adam couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face when the large black horse stuck her head out to greet them. “Michael, this is Impala.” He lifted one hand to rub the horse’s nose gently as he introduced them. “Impala, this is Michael.” Adam looked over at Michael who listened with rapt attention as he explained, “I always come visit her whenever I’m upset. Even when I was a teacup and I couldn’t groom her anymore…” Adam’s grin softened into a smile full of affection as he turned back to Impala. “Even then, she was always there to listen.” He fought the urge to throw in some kind of sarcastic comment, anything to cover up the loneliness that Adam was sure Michael could hear behind his words.
Michael and Adam stood quietly for a moment, both of them lost in their own thoughts. Then, Michael reached one hand forward to lay it on the horse’s nose. Impala whickered and shied away from him, causing Adam to let out a snort of amusement. He grinned at Michael. “Impala’s really picky about who touches her. She’s gotta know that you know how to take care of her before you get that honor.” He patted her neck affectionately and then looked at Michael speculatively. “I’ll let you in on a little secret though,” Adam continued with a small smile. “She’s got a weakness for Winchester boys. If you do a really good job at sucking up, I might be willing to put in a good word,” he teased.
The smile Michael gave him in return blindsided him. In the time that they had spent together since the battle, Adam had never seen Michael’s lips do anything more than twitch in amusement. But now, he was smiling-lips pulled back, teeth gleaming, eyes crinkling-and Adam couldn’t help thinking that Michael was beautiful. Adam was used to making rash decisions and this time was no different. All he wanted at that moment was to touch the man in front of him. Acting quickly so that he wouldn’t have a chance to talk himself out of it, he pulled Michael in front of him and wrapped one arm securely around his waist. Extending his other arm, Adam reached out to cup the back of Michael’s hand in his palm, threading his slim fingers through the other man’s larger ones and bringing their joined hands up to rest on Impala’s flank. “She really likes it when you scratch her here,” Adam whispered as Michael’s eyes caught his and held them.
Adam leaned forward in another burst of impulsive action and touched Michael’s lips with his own, allowing himself a moment of internal triumph and glee when Michael’s mouth started moving almost immediately against his. Adam’s eyes closed instinctively as he lost himself in the feeling of being kissed by Michael. The kiss remained almost innocent for a while, just their lips moving together slowly, but then Michael’s free hand moved up to Adam’s face, his fingers slowly caressing. Adam gasped at the sensation, his mouth opening a bit wider under Michael’s, and suddenly there was a passion in their kissing that the teenager had never felt before.
Michael took control of the kiss and for once Adam was happy to drop his mask of independence and follow someone else’s lead. Michael slipped his fingers free of Adam’s-their hands had long since fallen away from where they had been resting on Impala-and lifted his head, effectively ending the kiss. Adam whined in protest. The teenager had barely enough time to acknowledge the embarrassment he was feeling-Fuck, that noise came from me?-before Michael was spinning him around and slamming his back into the wall next to Impala’s stall. Then their lips crashed together again and what few cognizant thoughts Adam had left were buried beneath a rush of sensations that overwhelmed his mind. Adam moaned, the parting of his lips allowing Michael to explore his mouth. He felt the tip of Michael’s tongue trace across the roof of his mouth before pressing into his soft palette. Adam moved his own tongue forward to slide it over Michael’s, tentatively, as though he were for some reason asking for permission. He felt a rush of ridiculous relief less than a second later when Michael not only allowed it, but pressed back into Adam passionately, with his hips as well as his mouth this time. Adam felt Michael’s hardness press against his own and his back arched in an unconscious attempt to get closer.
Michael broke off the kiss abruptly, leaving both of them panting, and slumped forward, resting his cheek against Adam’s shoulder as he tried to catch his breath. Adam’s head fell back against the wall with a thump and he allowed himself to just rest there for a moment, reveling in the feeling of Michael’s warmth against his own. Then Michael spoke for the first time since they had left the castle. “If you ever need someone to listen who can actually talk back…”
Adam’s mind still wasn’t functioning at full capacity, so he wasn’t sure what Michael meant at first. Soon enough though his memories of what had happened before the kiss filtered back into his head and he understood what Michael was saying. You don’t have to be lonely anymore. You have me now.
Just the thought of what Michael was implying caused warmth to spread over Adam’s body. His lips twitched up into a soft smile and he leaned his head forward to kiss Michael on the cheek. Then, Adam nuzzled his nose into Michael’s hair, his mouth hovering over the other man’s ear so that Michael was sure to hear him when he whispered, “Thank you.”
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Dean Winchester was amazing in bed. In Anna’s opinion, he was the best she ever had. Many years ago-before the curse, before the angel, and most importantly, before Joshua-Anna would have jumped at the chance to repeat her four day (two hour and twenty-one minute) fling with Dean. Sure, that might have made her easy, but hell, Dean Winchester was just that good. If someone had told her all those years ago that she would one day be planning his wedding… Well, let’s just say that angels aren’t the only ones who know a thing or two about the business of smiting.
Needless to say, it was sort of… surreal that she was now in charge of planning Dean’s wedding. Even stranger was the fact that she had pretty much forced Dean and Castiel to accept her help. She hadn’t really thought about it until later that day, but she now realized that this was a form of resolution for her. Though she hadn’t been pining after Dean like a lovesick teenager, Anna had considered Dean her best for over a hundred and fifty years and really, that did something to a girl’s psyche when it came to letting go and moving on.
Planning Dean’s wedding was a necessity if she wanted to find a love of her own someday and that was all there was to it.
Wedding planning was more difficult than she had ever expected it to be. Anna couldn’t just randomly select everything and hope it all fit together properly at the end. If she did that, she was sure that the whole affair would crash and burn just as horribly as if Dean planned the thing himself. No, this wedding was going to be perfect. Anna would make sure of that.
So, she had set about making a list of what exactly she would need to get to make it happen. The task was even more daunting when it was written down. There would have to be food and drinks and some sort of musical entertainment for the reception, as well as the cake and the decorations, not to mention invitations-she would have to compile a guest list, which meant she would have to talk to each member of the extended Winchester family-and finding a priest of some sort to officiate, plus the flowers and the clothes and the damned two week deadline…
Okay, okay, stop, she told herself. Yeah, there was a lot of stuff to do, but she was up to the task. It wasn’t like Dean and Castiel were likely to notice little mistakes here and there unless she messed up in a big way. Let’s just start with something small. She looked back down at her list. Flowers… that’s a good place to start. And with a reminder to herself that she wasn’t going down there just to stare at Joshua, Anna headed off to the gardens with rejuvenated good humor.
Some time later, Anna peered over at Joshua surreptitiously as he showed her around the garden-as though she hadn’t seen it a few thousand times over the years-and they discussed which type of flowers should be used at the wedding. He was currently stooped over, holding up the bud of a red rose for her to sniff as he explained its meaning to her. “Red roses have long been associated with passion and love,” he told her softly. Anna held her breath as their eyes met and he continued. “It is a classic symbol that has been used countless times over the years.”
There was a momentary pause before Anna realized that he was waiting for her to speak. She let out the breath she had been holding as quietly as possible before saying, “Somehow I don’t think that classic is really what best describes Dean and Castiel.” Anna searched her mind for words that could describe just what the man and the half angel seemed to mean to each other. “They are… more. They fit together in ways that I’ve never seen two people…” Anna’s voice took on a hint of wistfulness as she continued. “They look into each other’s eyes and-I know it sounds clichéd-but it really is as though they’re one.”
Joshua looked at her speculatively for a moment before turning away and gesturing for her to follow. He lead her over to a rather colorful row of tulip plants and, as he crouched down in front of them, he pulled her down as well so that Anna was kneeling beside him. “These are variegated tulips. In general, tulips are used to represent a perfect love, a love that overshadows all obstacles that lay before it. This one in particular has a secondary meaning.” Joshua reached out and cupped a delicate red-streaked yellow bud with one hand. “It means beautiful eyes,” he said softly, his lips twitching up into a small smile.
Anna’s breath caught once more. She was at once both startled and yet unsurprised by Joshua’s level of insight. “Thank you, Joshua,” she breathed. “They are perfect.” And if they stared at each other for a bit longer that was strictly necessary before she went back to her strict, wedding-planning schedule, well, she wasn’t going to complain about it.
Chapter Ten | Masterpost | Chapter Eleven Part Two
Author: Miss Meh
Pairing: Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel, Adam/Michael
Rating: NC-17 for swearing and explicit sex
Warnings: AU, copious amounts of fluff and sexual innuendo, fusion with Beauty and the Beast
Spoilers: None
Word Count: 8,754
Status: WIP
Summary: His wings always seemed to be the problem, Castiel figured. But when he and his family move to Sioux Falls and he meets a Beast locked away in a castle, could his wings be the solution?
A/N: Ugh… I fail at life. I am so sorry, everybody. I seriously meant to have this posted MONTHS AGO, but between real life kicking my ass and an epic case of writer’s block that wasn’t so epic… well, like I said, I’m sorry. Anyways, since I have now apologized profusely, I feel up to giving you more bad news. This isn’t the last chapter. You see, I have the whole thing planned out in my head. Really, I know exactly what is going to happen in each scene. The problem is that this chapter just kept getting longer and longer and longer. And I wanted to post all of it together. I was being really stubborn about it too. Unfortunately though, while my writer’s block has diminished somewhat, I am still not getting anything written because I don’t have all that much spare time. Oh and the last 1500 words I wrote got eaten by my computer, so that was a bit of a setback. L Anyways, I’ll stop making excuses and get to the point. This is only the first half of the last chapter and as you can see, it is about twice as long as most of my chapters. I decided to post it, due to the fact that if I keep putting it off with the excuse that I want to post all of it together, it’ll probably never get posted. *sigh* I hope that at least in some way makes up for not only the horribly long wait, but also for the fact that it isn’t finished like I promised it would be.
To localicious: I’m sorry I asked for your opinion and then didn’t wait for you to give it. You see, I’m going out of town tomorrow and won’t be able to post. Somehow the thought of waiting those extra days after I’d pretty much made up my mind was just horrible. Thanks again for the great review by the way. :D
Chapter Eleven: ‘Cause everytime we touch, I get this feeling
And everytime we kiss, I swear I can fly
Can’t you feel my heart beat fast? I want this to last.
Need you by my side
--“Everytime We Touch (Yanou’s Candlelight Mix)” CASCADA
Things in the castle had changed again after Dean and Castiel had their little meltdown. It wasn’t what Sam would consider normal, but from what he’d heard of Castiel’s behavior lately, he concluded that it was better than the alternative. As far as Sam could tell, both his brother and Castiel were pretty much back to their usual selves, but something was still off. While Sam didn’t know Castiel well enough to determine whether or not he was acting strange, he could see slight abnormalities in Dean’s behavior. His brother was calmer than he had been before the bond. He hadn’t been doing as much defensive posturing and he wasn’t as angry. At first, Sam had been worried that Dean was still suffering from the ill-effects of the bonding, but after watching his brother closely for a while, he had realized that it was really quite the opposite. Dean had actually matured by being bonded to Castiel.
It took Sam a few days more for him to come to terms with that insight and then when he finally had, yet another one had to come along and blindsided him. Dean was whipped. Sam laughed out loud at the thought. Sure, his brother was a great deal more mature thanks to the bond, but Sam had noticed this look that Castiel would give Dean whenever the angel seemed to think he was being inappropriate. Just one of those looks and Dean would shut his mouth and discontinue whatever activities had caused it. Oh, Sam was going to enjoy teasing Dean about this one-after the wedding though, when his mockery wouldn’t have the power to pull Dean’s commitment issues to the forefront.
It was actually really strange that Dean’s relationship phobia hadn’t come into play yet. Hell, Sam was still coming to terms with the fact that Dean-his brother, the infamous ladies’ man, the guy who had once told Sam that he wasn’t ever going to settle down with one girl, yeah, that Dean-was getting married. Sam hadn’t thought all that much about either he or his brothers getting married prior to the curse. After it had happened, they had been confined to the castle and Sam had had other things on his mind. During the rare moments in which he had thought about it, he had always assumed that Adam would be the first of them to get married.
Sam chuckled when he thought back on that assumption and realized just why he had made it in the first place. He and Dean had pretty much acted as the equivalent of a chastity belt for Adam’s virginity. His poor little brother had never stood a chance with the two of them looking out for him, and while he had almost felt bad about it at the time-he knew what it was like to be a hormonal teenager, after all-his guilt hadn’t been strong enough to keep him from being a major cockblock whenever he had the chance. Because of this, Sam knew that anyone who wanted to get close enough to Adam for any kind of sex to occur would have to marry him.
Sam sighed. He knew that tactic wasn’t going to work anymore. For all that Adam probably thought he was being discreet, Sam knew that his little brother had been sneaking down to Michael’s room every night rather than staying in his own bedroom next to Sam and Gabriel. Sam knew that it was their fault and that Adam was probably just going to the other man’s room to sleep, but he could also see that his brother and Michael were getting closer to each other and that thought both scared and angered him. Adam wasn’t old enough to be a man. While he was sure that Adam and Michael hadn’t actually had sex yet-apparently, overprotective older brothers just knew these things; Dean had only needed to take one look at Sam the morning after his first time before asking him how much a girl had to be paid before she was willing to go lesbian-but Sam was sure that it was coming. He found himself mourning the impending loss of his brother’s innocence.
Sam’s thoughts were suddenly drawn back to Dean’s wedding when he saw two huge stone statues of his brother and Castiel being wheeled slowly and carefully into the castle. He couldn’t help but blink in shock and almost went over to the window to get a better look before he realized that he would probably be seeing the statues up close and personal later. Sam shook his head. Dean had made the mistake of saying that he didn’t give a fuck how he and his angel got married as long as neither one of them was forced to parade up the aisle in a dress. Somehow, that had lead to Anna declaring herself in charge of the wedding planning and the rest, as they say, was history. Dean had actually complained about it, saying that it was weird for someone he had slept with to be planning his wedding. Sam had told him that he should either suck it up or plan the damn thing himself. Needless to say, Dean had shut up and stopped complaining to Sam.
Sam was rudely jerked out of his musings a moment later. He huffed in surprise as he suddenly found himself with a lapful of Gabriel. Sam looked at his boyfriend for what turned into a very long minute and was unable to resist the temptation to lean forward and give him a kiss. A throat cleared and Sam looked up to see Dean and Adam glaring at them from across the dining table.
Before Castiel, Dean would have been the one to speak first, but as things stood, Adam was the newly appointed hot head in the family. “I get the fact that you two are sex addicts but do you think you could put a hold on doing shit like that while I’m trying to eat?”
Sam saw the look on Gabriel’s face and knew that he wasn’t going to like whatever came out of his lover’s mouth. He cringed when Gabriel started speaking. “All right, we’ll knock it off,” Gabriel sighed in resignation. Sam did a double take. Wait, what?
He watched Gabriel with a wary eye for the rest of the meal, but the man was being unusually well-behaved. Everyone was able to eat in peace for a change and while it was nice, Sam couldn’t help but be apprehensive. As it turned out, his suspicions were well-founded.
The moment Adam put down his fork, Gabriel sidled back onto Sam’s lap, completely ignoring the fact that his boyfriend was still eating. “Hey, baby,” Gabriel said lasciviously, adding in a dramatic waggle of his eyebrows for good measure. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you all covered in my wax. What d’you say we go find a candlestick and I’ll light you up from the inside?”
Everybody gaped at them and Sam couldn’t keep a flush from rising to his cheeks. I knew this was coming, he groaned internally. He spent a few seconds trying to imagine ways in which he could have prevented this, but then he remembered that he wasn’t actually the target this time.
Sam looked over at his little brother. Adam was staring at them like everyone else, his mouth opening and closing in shock and his face turning a shade probably redder than Sam’s own. Sam could almost see Adam’s brain attempting to process what he had just heard and failing. He finally seemed to get his wits back, but he didn’t speak. Instead, Adam stood, grabbed Michael’s hand, and stormed out of the room.
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Adam was pissed. As if it wasn’t bad enough that his brothers were such assholes, Sam had to go and get a boyfriend that was way worse than even Sam and Dean combined. Sure, sometimes his brothers were bastards, but Gabriel took everything to a whole new level. As Adam fumed, it occurred to him that Gabriel hadn’t been this bad before he got together with Sam and he found himself wondering whether their relationship had allowed him to reveal his true nature or if Sam just had a way of turning people into jerks. This thought made Adam pause. The idea had merit. After all, look at what a lifetime with Sam had done to Adam and Dean.
A sharp tug on his hand reminded Adam that he was still latched on to Michael and had been dragging the man out of the castle with him. He flushed with embarrassment and dropped Michael’s hand as though it had burned him. Adam could feel Michael watching him but he didn’t turn to look. He wasn’t sure why he had brought Michael with him in the first place and though the other man was surely waiting for an explanation, how was Adam supposed to face him when he had none to give? At the time, it had felt natural-Oh, I’m leaving. Obviously Michael is coming with me.-but now he just felt awkward. He and Michael’s relationship had been progressing, but the man was moving so slow, Adam thought he would probably be old and grey before he made a move. It was as though Michael thought he was going to scare Adam away if he touched him in any way that couldn’t be construed as perfectly innocent. Like Adam didn’t wake up every morning with Michael’s erection pressed against his ass.
As if Adam would object to anything Michael wanted to do to him. He suppressed a snort. Yeah, right. He would probably beg for it if that was what Michael wanted from him.
The feeling of a hand slipping into his own brought Adam back out of his thoughts. “Where are we going, Adam?” Michael asked.
Adam’s palms started sweating-as they always did when he was nervous-and he had to resist the urge to pull his hand from Michael’s to wipe it on his pants. He could feel the heat coloring his cheeks again and rather than turning to look at Michael, he started walking. “Stables,” he grunted. Michael didn’t answer, but quickened his steps a bit to match Adam’s stride. Adam squeezed Michael’s hand in a gesture of gratitude and, though he would deny it if asked, his heart fluttered when the other man’s hand tightened around his in return.
When they arrived at the stables, Adam let go of Michael’s hand momentarily so that he could throw open the doors and then he dragged Michael over to one of the stalls. Though he still wasn’t in the best of moods, Adam couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face when the large black horse stuck her head out to greet them. “Michael, this is Impala.” He lifted one hand to rub the horse’s nose gently as he introduced them. “Impala, this is Michael.” Adam looked over at Michael who listened with rapt attention as he explained, “I always come visit her whenever I’m upset. Even when I was a teacup and I couldn’t groom her anymore…” Adam’s grin softened into a smile full of affection as he turned back to Impala. “Even then, she was always there to listen.” He fought the urge to throw in some kind of sarcastic comment, anything to cover up the loneliness that Adam was sure Michael could hear behind his words.
Michael and Adam stood quietly for a moment, both of them lost in their own thoughts. Then, Michael reached one hand forward to lay it on the horse’s nose. Impala whickered and shied away from him, causing Adam to let out a snort of amusement. He grinned at Michael. “Impala’s really picky about who touches her. She’s gotta know that you know how to take care of her before you get that honor.” He patted her neck affectionately and then looked at Michael speculatively. “I’ll let you in on a little secret though,” Adam continued with a small smile. “She’s got a weakness for Winchester boys. If you do a really good job at sucking up, I might be willing to put in a good word,” he teased.
The smile Michael gave him in return blindsided him. In the time that they had spent together since the battle, Adam had never seen Michael’s lips do anything more than twitch in amusement. But now, he was smiling-lips pulled back, teeth gleaming, eyes crinkling-and Adam couldn’t help thinking that Michael was beautiful. Adam was used to making rash decisions and this time was no different. All he wanted at that moment was to touch the man in front of him. Acting quickly so that he wouldn’t have a chance to talk himself out of it, he pulled Michael in front of him and wrapped one arm securely around his waist. Extending his other arm, Adam reached out to cup the back of Michael’s hand in his palm, threading his slim fingers through the other man’s larger ones and bringing their joined hands up to rest on Impala’s flank. “She really likes it when you scratch her here,” Adam whispered as Michael’s eyes caught his and held them.
Adam leaned forward in another burst of impulsive action and touched Michael’s lips with his own, allowing himself a moment of internal triumph and glee when Michael’s mouth started moving almost immediately against his. Adam’s eyes closed instinctively as he lost himself in the feeling of being kissed by Michael. The kiss remained almost innocent for a while, just their lips moving together slowly, but then Michael’s free hand moved up to Adam’s face, his fingers slowly caressing. Adam gasped at the sensation, his mouth opening a bit wider under Michael’s, and suddenly there was a passion in their kissing that the teenager had never felt before.
Michael took control of the kiss and for once Adam was happy to drop his mask of independence and follow someone else’s lead. Michael slipped his fingers free of Adam’s-their hands had long since fallen away from where they had been resting on Impala-and lifted his head, effectively ending the kiss. Adam whined in protest. The teenager had barely enough time to acknowledge the embarrassment he was feeling-Fuck, that noise came from me?-before Michael was spinning him around and slamming his back into the wall next to Impala’s stall. Then their lips crashed together again and what few cognizant thoughts Adam had left were buried beneath a rush of sensations that overwhelmed his mind. Adam moaned, the parting of his lips allowing Michael to explore his mouth. He felt the tip of Michael’s tongue trace across the roof of his mouth before pressing into his soft palette. Adam moved his own tongue forward to slide it over Michael’s, tentatively, as though he were for some reason asking for permission. He felt a rush of ridiculous relief less than a second later when Michael not only allowed it, but pressed back into Adam passionately, with his hips as well as his mouth this time. Adam felt Michael’s hardness press against his own and his back arched in an unconscious attempt to get closer.
Michael broke off the kiss abruptly, leaving both of them panting, and slumped forward, resting his cheek against Adam’s shoulder as he tried to catch his breath. Adam’s head fell back against the wall with a thump and he allowed himself to just rest there for a moment, reveling in the feeling of Michael’s warmth against his own. Then Michael spoke for the first time since they had left the castle. “If you ever need someone to listen who can actually talk back…”
Adam’s mind still wasn’t functioning at full capacity, so he wasn’t sure what Michael meant at first. Soon enough though his memories of what had happened before the kiss filtered back into his head and he understood what Michael was saying. You don’t have to be lonely anymore. You have me now.
Just the thought of what Michael was implying caused warmth to spread over Adam’s body. His lips twitched up into a soft smile and he leaned his head forward to kiss Michael on the cheek. Then, Adam nuzzled his nose into Michael’s hair, his mouth hovering over the other man’s ear so that Michael was sure to hear him when he whispered, “Thank you.”
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Dean Winchester was amazing in bed. In Anna’s opinion, he was the best she ever had. Many years ago-before the curse, before the angel, and most importantly, before Joshua-Anna would have jumped at the chance to repeat her four day (two hour and twenty-one minute) fling with Dean. Sure, that might have made her easy, but hell, Dean Winchester was just that good. If someone had told her all those years ago that she would one day be planning his wedding… Well, let’s just say that angels aren’t the only ones who know a thing or two about the business of smiting.
Needless to say, it was sort of… surreal that she was now in charge of planning Dean’s wedding. Even stranger was the fact that she had pretty much forced Dean and Castiel to accept her help. She hadn’t really thought about it until later that day, but she now realized that this was a form of resolution for her. Though she hadn’t been pining after Dean like a lovesick teenager, Anna had considered Dean her best for over a hundred and fifty years and really, that did something to a girl’s psyche when it came to letting go and moving on.
Planning Dean’s wedding was a necessity if she wanted to find a love of her own someday and that was all there was to it.
Wedding planning was more difficult than she had ever expected it to be. Anna couldn’t just randomly select everything and hope it all fit together properly at the end. If she did that, she was sure that the whole affair would crash and burn just as horribly as if Dean planned the thing himself. No, this wedding was going to be perfect. Anna would make sure of that.
So, she had set about making a list of what exactly she would need to get to make it happen. The task was even more daunting when it was written down. There would have to be food and drinks and some sort of musical entertainment for the reception, as well as the cake and the decorations, not to mention invitations-she would have to compile a guest list, which meant she would have to talk to each member of the extended Winchester family-and finding a priest of some sort to officiate, plus the flowers and the clothes and the damned two week deadline…
Okay, okay, stop, she told herself. Yeah, there was a lot of stuff to do, but she was up to the task. It wasn’t like Dean and Castiel were likely to notice little mistakes here and there unless she messed up in a big way. Let’s just start with something small. She looked back down at her list. Flowers… that’s a good place to start. And with a reminder to herself that she wasn’t going down there just to stare at Joshua, Anna headed off to the gardens with rejuvenated good humor.
Some time later, Anna peered over at Joshua surreptitiously as he showed her around the garden-as though she hadn’t seen it a few thousand times over the years-and they discussed which type of flowers should be used at the wedding. He was currently stooped over, holding up the bud of a red rose for her to sniff as he explained its meaning to her. “Red roses have long been associated with passion and love,” he told her softly. Anna held her breath as their eyes met and he continued. “It is a classic symbol that has been used countless times over the years.”
There was a momentary pause before Anna realized that he was waiting for her to speak. She let out the breath she had been holding as quietly as possible before saying, “Somehow I don’t think that classic is really what best describes Dean and Castiel.” Anna searched her mind for words that could describe just what the man and the half angel seemed to mean to each other. “They are… more. They fit together in ways that I’ve never seen two people…” Anna’s voice took on a hint of wistfulness as she continued. “They look into each other’s eyes and-I know it sounds clichéd-but it really is as though they’re one.”
Joshua looked at her speculatively for a moment before turning away and gesturing for her to follow. He lead her over to a rather colorful row of tulip plants and, as he crouched down in front of them, he pulled her down as well so that Anna was kneeling beside him. “These are variegated tulips. In general, tulips are used to represent a perfect love, a love that overshadows all obstacles that lay before it. This one in particular has a secondary meaning.” Joshua reached out and cupped a delicate red-streaked yellow bud with one hand. “It means beautiful eyes,” he said softly, his lips twitching up into a small smile.
Anna’s breath caught once more. She was at once both startled and yet unsurprised by Joshua’s level of insight. “Thank you, Joshua,” she breathed. “They are perfect.” And if they stared at each other for a bit longer that was strictly necessary before she went back to her strict, wedding-planning schedule, well, she wasn’t going to complain about it.
Chapter Ten | Masterpost | Chapter Eleven Part Two