HP/SPN: Touched by an Angel (Harry/Castiel)
Title: Touched by an Angel (XXX)
Author: nilitara
Fandom: HP, SPN
Rating: PG
Charaters: Harry, Castiel
Summary: As Castiel's tears fall, everything changes.
For: crossovers100
Prompt: 029. Birth.
Disclaimer: The characters are the property of their respective creator. I own nothing.
Note: Thanks to dixid who read through the story and corrected my mistakes. If some are still there, they are mine. I'm going to go through the entry for chapter 1 to 28 and paste the corrected version of the story in the next few days.
Touched by an Angel - Main entry
029. Birth.
Castiel had been fighting alongside his charges for hours now, the way he had always planned to do. From the very beginning, he had promised himself he would stay at Sam and Dean’s side when the fight came to them. Then Harry had appeared, choosing to stay to help before and during the battle, and Castiel knew there was no way he would ever break his promise after that, not with Harry in the middle of danger.
He had lost sight of the wizard in the middle of the battle, which was hardly surprising considering everything that was going on. It would have been too difficult to concentrate solely on one person and still be able to fight and protect everyone. No, he hadn’t been capable of it and had not even realized it until he heard something.
A cry. It was a cry in his head and knew it could only be Harry, Harry who was unconsciously using the powers of the pendant as a channel to communicate mentally with the angel. Suddenly, it was as if his heart had stopped beating. He had to find Harry, had to find him before it was too late because he knew that kind of desperation only happened when someone was touched mortally.
He looked around frantically until his eyes rested on the lying form of the wizard and, then, he ran toward him, not caring about the battle anymore. It was slowly dying down anyway, the side of light seemingly headed toward à victory. Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to care. He only had eyes for Harry.
He skidded to a halt in front of Harry and let himself fall upon his knees, looking at him from his place.
“Harry,” he whispered and he heard his own voice breaking in a way it had never done before.
He could see the injury. It was bad, really bad. He could see the blood running slowly out of Harry’s body, taking away his life force irremediably. The wizard that had seemed miles away from him before came back, his eyes burning into Castiel’s as if trying to read him and whatever he saw made tears come into the green orbs.
“Harry,” Castiel repeated, not sure about what to say.
Harry was dying. That much was clear and it shouldn’t be so sad, Castiel reflected. Harry would soon be in Heaven, with his Lord so he should be happy for him, even though it was normal for him to feel a pang in his heart. But what he was feeling at the moment was not just a touch of sadness. No, it was the worst pain he had ever felt.
Grief.
Was that grief? Was that what Harry had felt these nights when he had cried himself into sleep after his friend’s death? If so, he had a newfound respect for Harry, knowing the desperation he must have been feeling. He could also understand why some people were driven to take their own life. He didn’t know how it was possible to live with so much pain inside.
A sob erupted from the depth of his throat and Harry looked more sharply at him, yet Castiel was unable to really see it, not with the tears clouding his vision. He had cried once over Harry before, when he’d had to leave Privet Drive, knowing he would never see his charge again but it had been silent tears for a short time. He had known that Harry would live on and that he had to let him be happy.
This time, though, it was hardly the same. Harry would not have a life after this. He was going to die and Castiel was absolutely helpless in the face of it. There were no peaceful tears sliding down his cheeks, it was a storm that was caught in his throat, threatening to erupt and he knew it would not take long before he wouldn’t be able to control it anymore.
“Castiel,” Harry whispered, as if it took way too much strength to talk normally - and maybe it did.
He lifted his hand, raising it to the angel’s cheek, stroking it slowly. It was not a big gesture, but he wanted to bring what little comfort he could to the one who had held him during what felt like his whole life. It was breaking his heart to see the pain etched into Castiel’s face, especially knowing what was going to happen to him because he knew, deep inside, what was going on.
Yet, the little move, as minuscule as it was, was enough to break the dam and Castiel finally released the tears, sobbing. The droplets flowed helplessly on his cheeks, unbidden, and his chest was heaving. He had never felt this before, had never felt that kind of pain and how could people feel so strongly all the time and not go crazy? How could they live with these kinds of feelings?
He was so helpless, so useless. He needed to do something, needed to anything to make himself feel useful. He may not be able to save Harry, no, but there was still something he could do to make his passing more peaceful. Approaching slowly from his face, he once again did the one act he was punished for the very first time around and pressed his lips slowly to Harry’s.
He would make Harry see Heaven once again so the transition to the other side could be done with this image in mind. He just wanted Harry to be able to feel this peace at the moment and he didn’t care about the consequences for himself. No punishment could ever feel worse than the pain he was feeling in that particular moment anyway.
As he slowly drew back from Harry’s lip, his tears dropped onto the wizard’s face, onto his lips and, automatically, Harry’s tongue slipped out to lich them, tasting the salty substance and he felt something.
Something strange.
He didn’t know what it was but he could feel a warmth spreading inside his body, a warmth he had never really felt before and he heard Castiel’s shocked gasp at his side as his own breathing seemed less demanding suddenly. He could feel his strength return to him, his head clear, the wounds he could now feel disappearing and he didn’t understand. He didn’t understand but he knew that he was going to live, that he had been given yet another chance.
It was a rebirth for him but, as he looked at Castiel and the fading glow that surrounded him, he couldn’t help wondering at what price?