On a Wing and a Prayer, Part 2

[otp_destiel]

Title: On a Wing and a Prayer
Pairings: Dean/Castiel
Rating: NC-17
Spoilers: let's just say all of season 5 though the fic goes AU before the end of 99 Problems (the bit where Dean drives away at the end never happened, he really just went to get bandages from the Impala)
Warnings: AU, slash, dom!Cas, sub!Dean, first time, wing!fic, bare backing, oral
Word Count: 34,652
Note: This fic was written for the deancasbigbang 2011.
Summary: When Gabriel shows up to join Team Free Will and offers them a potential solution to the Apocalypse, none of them could have imagined what was going to happen or how it would changes things forever.

Beta: aerilex

Artist: fargone1789
Art Masterlist: BEWARE, the art will spoil the fic if viewed first!

It hadn't even been a full two weeks since Gabriel had joined them and already Dean was regretting his thought from the first day that Sam and Gabriel constantly sniping at each other was something he could easily deal with.

"Gabriel!" Sam's voice thundered clear through the wall of the motel room and into the bathroom where Dean was drying himself of after what had been a nice relaxing shower. Well, at least it had been until he'd turned off the water and heard the two of them going at it yet again.

So no, scratch that, he was bitterly regretting that thought as this had to be cosmic karma of some kind, it just couldn't be anything else. Those two just didn't seem to want to let up and, combined with the mounting frustration of their inability to track down either Pestilence or Death so far, the general tension level was escalating rapidly. And that only led to more arguing between the wonder duo as he'd taken to calling them in his head. All of which only started the same, vicious cycle all over again and he was seriously beginning to wonder how long all of this could last before something gave way. The worst thing was that he couldn't yet predict whether that something would be Gabriel who'd go too far in pranking Sam, whether it would be Sam who'd throw down a 'him or me' ultimatum, or whether it would be himself or Castiel who'd snap and do something to the both of them. Regardless of how it went down, something was going to give soon if this kept up.

Dean closed his eyes and clenched his fists at the thought. Already any and all relaxation he'd gained from his shower was gone and his muscles were all tensed up once more as his posture became hunched in some longstanding and fruitless effort to protect himself from a stressor he couldn't really fight. Was it really too much to ask for a little peace and quiet? Yeah, he got that Sam was pissed at Gabriel for all of the times that the archangel had killed him during their second encounter, he would be too if their roles had been reversed and he'd been the one forced to watch his little brother die over and over and over again. Yet, despite that, there was a small part of him that wished desperately that Sam had listened to what Gabriel had been trying to teach him so his brother hadn't gone so completely off the rails while he'd been cooling his heels in Hell. It could have saved them a lot of misery if only Sam had learned that lesson. Not that he had much room to talk, but still, the principle of it all held.

Regardless, that whole incident was in the past and, ultimately, there had been no lasting harm from it so Dean just didn't get why Sam couldn't let it go or, at the very least, bury it enough to actually work with the archangel. There was no one that said that Sam and Gabriel had to be buddy buddy with each other, though he'd be the first to admit that the archangel was surprisingly fun to be around when Gabriel wasn't actively trying to be a dick. It was nice to finally have someone else around who appreciated so many of the things that he did. There was the candy, the booze and the women, not to mention the fact that they both had a similar sense of humor and both quite enjoyed watching Doctor Sexy, M.D. when it was on, which could be always given the fact that Gabriel was an archangel and not one to be above using his powers for his own entertainment when the desire or mood struck him to do so.

Hell, they'd even teamed up on Sam or Castiel together and those memories didn't fail to make him smile as they always did. His mirth soon vanished though as his thoughts turned towards his friend. Although Castiel had never been around a lot except for during that stretch where he and Sam had temporarily gone their own ways, now he seemed to fly off the moment that he wasn't needed anymore. It kinda hurt as he couldn't help but wonder if he'd done something wrong or if Castiel just didn't like him as much anymore. The first few days after Gabriel's arrival had seen both angels spending nearly all of their time with the two of them and it seemed that he'd come to like and expect that though he hadn't realized it until his friend had started vanishing off to God only knows where (though he wasn't sure that expression could still be used in quite that way given what he now knew about the real God) as soon as he could. He'd tried to ask Castiel what was wrong but his concerns had been brushed off as if they were trivial and that he was blowing things out of proportion.

Logically, Dean totally agreed with his angel on the issue. It just didn't make any sense why he felt so lost and abandoned by it all, but that didn't seem to have any effect on his emotions who seemed to long to have his friend near. Perhaps it wasn't so much that he wanted Castiel near as the fact that he wanted another angel close? Could it be yet another one of those freaky ass things that had been happening to him as of late? But that didn't seem to make any sense because if it was just an angel or Grace that he wanted near him, then Gabriel should have more than sufficed, what with him being an archangel and all to Castiel's status as just a normal angel.

So what the hell was it that was bothering him so much about Castiel's frequent and long absences? Was it that he couldn't help but wonder if his friend was still out there looking for his Father? After the way that God had treated Castiel he'd really rather that his angel didn't waste any more time looking for the Douche, but he knew from personal experience how hard it could be to finally accept the truth; about how his father was a deadbeat whom he'd loved and depended on only to be abandoned and betrayed. And it wasn't like he'd witnessed Castiel dealing with this blow. No, after hearing of it his friend had vanished and the next time he'd seen him, Castiel had been wasted from a binge drinking spree of Biblical proportions. So most of him wanted to see his angel at the point where Castiel could look back on that and understand it for what it truly was. On the other hand, if his friend considered finding his Father to be one of their best chances of ending this Apocalypse once and for all in a way that didn't result in some twisted angelic version of Paradise on Earth, then who was he to discourage them from exploring every possibility?

Given the obstacles that they still faced before they could even think of implementing Gabriel's plan, Dean knew he should be thankful that Castiel wanted to keep exploring alternative options even if he was sure that this particular one was a dead-end. And great, now that he'd thought of the plan he couldn't help but worry about it some more. It just seemed so out there and difficult to accomplish, not that he'd let the latter stand in his way, but he couldn't forget about it either. Even if they could get the remaining two horseman rings with no trouble (if only!), then they'd still be faced with the issue of not only tracking Lucifer down, but keeping him in one place long enough for them to open the doorway to his cage once more, not to mention the fact that they'd then still have to figure out a way of actually getting the devil back into his box. After all, Lucifer wasn't just going to waltz right back into it like a good little angel. No, they were going to have to force him back down into it and that alone created so many difficulties that he could only half believe that they were going to give it a try anyway.

Well, if they could get their hands onto the other two horseman rings first, that was. When Gabriel had first explained why they needed all four rings, Dean had been a bit annoyed but more than willing to track them down and knock both Pestilence and Death out of commission. The latter in particular he'd take great pleasure in rendering powerless as that would be some form of payback for what his rising had cost them.

For the deaths of Ellen and Jo.

Dean swallowed at the memory of just how bad Jo's injuries had been and then he welcomed the other thoughts of Pestilence and Death that rose to the top of his mind, hoping to distract himself with tactics. Although Pestilence would have been a pain to go after on their own as no human could even get near the guy without starting to contract all kinds of funky diseases, with both an angel and an archangel on their side it should be a snap to procure his ring. Well, provided that they could track down and find the guy first that was. Like Death, Pestilence seemed to be laying low and with the whole swine flu panic that seemed to be gripping the country just now, they were getting in all kinds of crazy reports, most of which turned out to be nothing more than paranoia induced frenzies. Trying to find the horseman in that mess was proving to be surprisingly difficult.

Despite those difficulties, it wasn't Pestilence that Dean had a problem with. Although he'd prefer to get his hands on the horseman before Pestilence had the chance to cause some catastrophic damage (the release of the Croatoan virus being his biggest concern and for good reason too given what he'd seen in Zachariah's version of the future), that wasn't really the horseman that he was worried about, not by a long shot. No that particular honor was reserved especially for Death and would have been even without all of the inside information that Gabriel seemed to have on the guy that Sam had been unable to find in any other sources.

Like, say, how apparently neither Death nor God knew which one of them was older than the other. That Death viewed humans as no more than insignificant little bacterium created by God on a whim and kept as pets might be that fascinated their owners. Or that there were rumors in the pagan underworld that Death would one day reap the Christian god Himself. The latter had clearly upset Gabriel and the archangel had tried to deny that it could ever happen but the fact that he'd shared it with them at all was very telling as far as Dean was concerned, together with the rest of it, it made him extremely worried about the horseman to say the least. Although War hadn't been all that much of a hassle to deal with once they realized what was going on, Famine had been another matter altogether and the type of scenario that he never wanted to repeat again in his life if he could prevent it.

And then there was the whole issue of the seals to be considered. Although they could reopen the cage with the use of the horseman rings and, potentially, stuff Lucifer back inside, there was no way for them to reset the seals that had been broken. Once a seal was gone, that was it and there was no turning back. Nor could they simply create more seals to take the place of those that had been broken either. Apparently only God and Michael knew how to create seals and all of them knew perfectly well that neither of them would be telling them how to do that. So that left them with the seals that remained of the initial six hundred that had been created when Michael had first put Lucifer in the cage at the end of the Rebellion. Round about seventy-five had been broken according to Gabriel's best estimates as the demons had gotten overzealous and hadn't understood that originally the last seal had been set just like the first one had been. Which, obviously, still left them with a more than sufficient number of seals to lock the cage down. The problem was now that the original first and last seal had been broken, it didn't matter which of the other seals were broken from now on. As long as sixty-six of them were destroyed, the cage would once again be opened and Lucifer could slip free once more.

So, yeah, altogether Dean was quite lacking in excitement when he considered their grand plan to end the Apocalypse in a way other than the intended manner. Oh he was incredibly glad that there was another way to end it and something that didn't end with millions of dead and either Heaven or Hell on Earth, but was it so wrong of him to have hoped for something a little less daunting and a little more feasible?

How the hell were they supposed to get hold of Death's ring? Dean pondered the dilemma for the umpteenth time as he pulled on his boxers and then his jeans. So far they'd come up with a list of possibilities but none of them looked particularly promising. Not even Gabriel or Castiel would be able to just waltz up to this particular horseman and take the damn thing from Death against his will. The mere thought of what Death might do to either of the angels if Gabriel or Castiel tried was enough to make him feel sick. Aside from specific angels like Lucifer, Zachariah or Raphael, just the thought of an angel dying felt completely wrong. They were supposed to be immortal beings who lived forever or until God decided to change things.

"- just be thankful that I-" Gabriel's raised voice declared from the adjoining room.

"Thankful? Thankful! You keep saying that I should be thankful to you and yet you never mention why," Sam spat. "Since joining us you've been nothing but a nuisance to me, pulling all kinds of stupid, childish pranks and distracting me from my work."

"Oh so you think these are childish, eh? Well then, perhaps I should take things up a notch or two, see how you like them then."

"And there you go again, completely avoiding the question. Why do you think that I should be thankful, Gabriel?"

"Because I normally do far worse than all of these harmless little tricks to people like you."

"People like me?" Sam repeated, incredulous. "And what the hell is that supposed to mean exactly?"

"What do you think it means?"

"If you're not going to answer the question, you should just say so."

"Fine, I had thought to be civil and not rock the boat too much, but if you really want to know, then fine," Gabriel retorted. "When I say 'people like you' I'm referring to those of your fellow men whom I normally select as my targets."

"Your targets? Wait, you mean the people you kill just for kicks. That's hardly- hey!"

Dean winced at the sudden change in his brother's tone and he realized that Sam had figured out what Gabriel was trying to say. It was something that he'd reluctantly figured out a few days ago when, after his brother'd had a go at him for using his laptop to visit porn sites (which he hadn't) and thereby allowing malware to get onto it which then crashed the computer, Sam's laptop had started freezing and crashing on the supposedly safe and wholesome sites his little brother liked to visit. Once he'd noticed the connection between those two incidents all of the others had become obvious. From the very first hunt where they'd tried to figure out what was happening to the trickster's victims, he'd been forced to admit that he kinda admired what Gabriel was doing. The tricks he'd played had always been on people deserving of some punishment (but not death, never death!) and they had always been incredibly poetic on a level that had definitely appealed to him.

It probably had to do with why he got along with the archangel so well now. Gabriel represented that ninety percent of his personality that Sam had said had been banned in Blue Earth when the Whore had started tightening her grip on the populace.

"And the penny's finally dropped," Gabriel sneered. "It definitely took you long enough given that you were supposed to be the smart one. I think people definitely have the wrong end of the stick there."

Okay things were going to start getting nasty if he didn't intervene and quick. Dean pulled on the sleeveless undershirt he'd selected and opened the bathroom door. "Knock it off you two. Are you both completely unable to just put things aside and work together here?"

"I was working!" Sam protested. "Right up until Gabriel here turned my laptop to stone."

To stone? Dean looked over at the table and sure enough, there stood what appeared to be a statue of his brother's laptop, accurate right down to the fine detail. Well that was a new one and he had to fight to keep the smile off his face. If Sam even caught a hint of his amusement at this he was fairly sure that his brother would explode and he had no desire to deal with that just now.

"Yeah, working after you put something in my candy," Gabriel shot back.

"Seriously?" Dean questioned throwing his arms up. "This is wha-"

The yelp that escaped from Dean when Gabriel was suddenly by his side, grabbing his left arm and twisting him around so that the archangel could clearly see his shoulder and the scar that Castiel had left upon it was totally a manly yelp. Something smooth and deep, not at all squeaky and high like girls let out when they were startled by a bee or wasp or something equally harmless like that. It really was.

"Dude!" Dean protested but he could clearly see that he wasn't making any kind of impact whatsoever.

Instead all of Gabriel's attention was focused solely on the scar on his shoulder that Castiel had left when the angel had resurrected him. Since the handprint had never lost its original red coloring like most scars did over time, he tended to wear T-shirts with sleeves to cover it up as he hated it when people- or even just Sam- stared at it and that was exactly what he would have done today if it weren't for the incessant bickering of the two idiots standing by him. At first when Gabriel had grabbed him he hadn't thought much of it, but the more that the archangel stared at the scar the more uncomfortable things became and he didn't just mean that in a 'humans don't do this kind of crap' thing way, but rather a 'my scar is actually starting to feel odd' thing kind of way.

"Gabriel?" Dean questioned, trying to squirm free but finding it impossible with the grip the archangel had on him. "Come on, let me go."

"Why didn't you tell me about this?" Gabriel demanded, finally looking up at his eyes though the archangel still failed to release him.

"Tell you about what? Dude, it's just a scar."

"You don't know."

"What are you talking about? What don't I know?"

"Is Dean alright?" Sam demanded, worry think in his voice. "Is there something wrong with him?"

"No, not wrong, just completely unexpected. Castiel!"

Dean jumped at the unexpected shout and he was about to tell Gabriel that doing so didn't work particularly well with his friend when he felt the telltale shift in the air and then Castiel was suddenly there. Oh, so clearly it made a difference who called for his angel. He really tried not to let that hurt him as much as it did, really he tried, unfortunately that just didn't work. Had he done something wrong? He couldn't immediately think of anything that he'd done which could have caused this type of cold shoulder behavior from Castiel, but he knew that he was crap when it came to this kind of emotional stuff. Not to mention that he had a phenomenal habit of sticking his foot in it without even intending to do so. He'd just have to suck it up and ask his friend or, better yet, ask Sam if he knew what was going on here. He bet that the sasquatch would know.

It hurt more than it had any right to and yet, at the same time, he couldn't help but feel a bit of... of happiness at the fact that his angel was here now, regardless of the how or why of it.

Whoa, now just wait a minute there. Dean did a mental double take as he realized what he'd just called Castiel: his angel. His angel. Since when had he been doing that and, more importantly, why was he doing it? It wasn't like he felt any kind of proprietariness towards his friend or thought that Castiel belonged to him. The angel was his own, well, angel and didn't belong to anyone, not anymore. So why had he thought of Castiel as his? Yes, the angel was his friend, but that was it and the feelings associated with the wording had been anything but that, he knew that for sure even if he didn't quite know what they had been.

"Care to explain this, Castiel?" Gabriel demanded, using his grip on Dean's arm to turn him so that Castiel could clearly see the scar on his shoulder.

"Hey!" Dean protested.

"It was an accident," Castiel replied defensively, seeming to hunch up on himself.

"An accident?" Gabriel repeated, voice far more serious than Dean had ever heard it.

Okay, something wasn't right here and Dean had the feeling that he wouldn't like what was coming. There weren't many things that could make Gabriel so serious and none of them pleasant to say the very least. But first things first.

"Let go of me," Dean ordered, trying to pull his arm free and failing. "Hey, Gabe!" He reached out to give the archangel a shove but instead of moving Gabriel, he only managed to push himself backwards which was kind of embarrassing but did serve to capture the archangel's attention. "My arm, let it go. Now."

Gabriel just blinked at Dean for a moment before seeming to get what he was asking and releasing his arm. Immediately he stepped back, rubbing his arm where the archangel had grabbed him. So help him he'd better not have any bruises later or he was gonna trap the bastard in Holy fire for a while. The intense look Gabriel gave him made him fear for a moment that the archangel was reading his mind and he took another step back. It wasn’t until Gabriel’s eyes darted to the right before returning to him that he noticed exactly where his retreat had taken him. He now stood quite close to Castiel and actually had to stop himself from moving closer still. He knew that Castiel was no match for Gabriel and it had never been in his nature to cower or even simply to hide behind someone, but it made him feel safe to be so close to the angel and damn Gabriel for making him feel so self-conscious about it.

The fact that he hadn’t noticed it until the archangel had turned assessing eyes their way did made Dean wonder about how instinctive the action had been. Or about how often he might be doing it without ever being aware of it.

"What was an accident?" Sam demanded, coming to stand by his other side and he couldn’t help but wonder at the sight that they made, the three of them standing here seemingly so united as a solid front when really they were anything but, all but coming apart at the seams instead with all of the blows that they’d been taking recently. "You mean the scar? I just thought that was a result of Cas having touched Dean without a vessel."

"No, I'm not talking about the brand, at least not directly," Gabriel replied. "I'm talking about the bond of which the brand is a physical manifestation."

"Bond? What bond?" Dean asked before turning to his friend. "What's he talking about, Cas?"

"It was an accident," Castiel repeated, for once refusing to meet his eyes. "I didn't mean for it to happen."

"How do you possibly create a bond by accident?" Gabriel questioned. "I don't even think that's possible."

"Yes it is because that's precisely what happened," Castiel stated, voice hardening. "I'd only intended to comfort him."

"Uh, guys, what bond?" Dean pressed.

"The one tying your soul to Cassie's Grace," Gabriel answered.

"Wait, what?!"

"What do you mean tying?" Sam demanded stepping forwards so he could glare at Castiel. "What the hell did you do to Dean?"

"It was an accident," Castiel said once more. "I'd never have done this on purpose, not without Dean's full, conscious consent. That's why I've been clamping down on the connection, dampening the bond as much as I can."

"But not as much as you thought," Gabriel mussed thoughtfully.

"Alright, everybody stop," Dean ordered, desperately trying to make sense of it all while doing his best to ignore the sinking feeling in his gut as the hurt he felt at the knowledge that Castiel of all people had done something like this to him. "What are you guys talking about?" he then turned towards the angel he'd thought of as his friend. "What did you do to me?"

The way Castiel flinched at the accusation almost made Dean feel bad but he'd been jerked around too much lately by angels who thought that they knew what was best for him and felt like they had the right to control him for his anger to fade entirely. And that wasn't even talking about the hurt he felt. Not that he ever would, talk about it that was.

"Don't go placing all of the blame for this onto Castiel," Gabriel said. "You've got a hand in this as well as these types of bonds don't just form on their own and neither can they be forced onto someone. So however it was initiated, you accepted it, Deano."

"No I didn't! How could I have? I didn't even know about it until just now!"

"It happened on our way out of Perdition," Castiel explained. "You were still just a soul and I believe you reacted instinctively without knowing what you were doing or what it was."

"That's not giving consent," Sam protested. "That's borderline forcing it onto him. Undo it!"

"Impossible," Gabriel declared.

"What do you mean, impossible?"

"Exactly what I said. Once a bond of this nature is initiated and both sides accept it, it cannot be broken. The most that you can do is what Cassie said he did and clamp down on it, thereby effectively shutting down the connection or as close to shutting it down as is possible."

"So, basically, you surprised Dean with something permanent that he didn't understand while he was at his most vulnerable. Have I got that right, Castiel?" Sam snarled.

"I didn't mean to initiate a bond," Castiel replied. "I was only seeking to comfort him."

"What does that even mean? Comfort him how? Comfort him why? You were in the process of pulling him from Hell, surely that was comfort enough?"

Castiel's eyes briefly darted up to meet his but the eye contact wasn't long enough for Dean to detect anything other than fear in their blue, blue depths. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about that. On the one hand it indicated that Castiel was well aware of how seriously he'd fucked up here, but on the other hand it was wreaking havoc with his ability to stay angry at his angel. No, the, at the angel, not his, never his. And dammit, he wasn't ready just yet to give up his anger and hurt about this, not by a long shot. They were talking about something permanent here, something that he hadn't consciously consented to or at least not so far as he could remember.

"He was just coming out of four decades in Hell, Sam," Castiel began carefully. "At first he was afraid that he'd done something wrong and that this was all part of a ploy of Alastair's to punish him."

Dean flinched at the words, well able to picture it even if he didn't actually remember anything related to his rescue. Alastair had played enough of those tricks on him, especially at the beginning of his time on the rack for him to know exactly what he'd have felt when Castiel came to get him. He suddenly felt ice flood his veins as he wondered if the angel had deliberately wiped all memories of the rescue from his mind in an attempt to hide what he'd done. It made him sick to his stomach to even think about it and the agony of the potential betrayal was all but crippling. He didn't think that he could survive another one like that, not after what had happened with Sam and Ruby. As it was he already felt it damn near miraculous that he could trust anyone at all and now he couldn't help but fear that this too would come back to bite him in the ass. If it did then he was through with trusting people, it was just never worth the pain when they almost inevitably- or so it seemed to him just now- betrayed him no matter how good it might feel beforehand.

"But then, after that, when he finally realized that it was real, then your brother started to fight me," Castiel continued. "It was at that point that I first became aware of the fact that Dean felt like he deserved to be there in Perdition and that he wasn't worthy of being saved."

"Hey!" Dean finally managed to protest. "Shut up, Cas!"

But it seemed like it was already too late given the look that Sam was giving him, not to mention the assessing gaze of Gabriel's that bore into the very core of him.

"That's why you sought to comfort him?" Sam inquired softly.

"Yes."

"What exactly did you do, Bro?" Gabriel asked. "Comfort doesn't normally lead to a bonding."

"I just reached out with my Grace to soothe him."

"That's all?"

"Yes."

"There's got to be something more to it than that, doesn't there?" Sam questioned. "I mean surely that can't be all that it takes."

"Apparently not," Gabriel replied thoughtfully. "But this does explain a lot of things."

"Like what?" Dean demanded, desperate for something that made some sense.

He had absolutely no idea how he felt about this whole bond thing now that it seemed like Castiel really hadn't set out to initiate it. Dean knew that he should have known it was probably something like this instead of jumping straight to the worst possible conclusion. This was Cas they were talking about after all, the one person who had stood by him through thick and thin and who had even died so that he could have a shot at saving Sam and preventing Lucifer's release from the cage. It was just that after how his own brother had betrayed him for a demon, he had even more trust issues than he'd already had before and he'd always been prone to expecting the worst anyway.

Still, Dean felt bad about accusing Castiel of something like this when all that his friend had done was to try and comfort him. It was more fate than Castiel's fault that it had resulted in this bond. After all, how often did things like this happen to them anyway? He'd long since lost count and now simply chalked it up to the Winchester family curse.

"Like how you're able to sense us coming," Gabriel began. "Or why you were able to kill the Whore of Babylon."

"What does any of that have to do with this bond?" Sam asked.

"The bond ties your brother's soul to Castiel's very Grace. No human comes away from that without some consequences, even if the connection is being actively suppressed."

The relief that flooded through Dean at those words was indescribable and made him sway on his feet enough that Castiel took a quick step closer to steady him with a hesitant hand.

"Dean? Are you alright?" Castiel questioned worriedly. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's okay, I'm fine," Dean replied, wishing to help reassure them. "I'm just glad to know why I could do those things. I thought it all had something to do with Michael and me being his vessel."

"I knew it!" Sam exclaimed. "You were thinking about him in Blue Earth, weren't you? You seriously considered finding him and saying yes."

The sudden, sharp in draw of breath from Gabriel and the way the hand on his arm tightened told Dean that neither angel had realized just how close he'd come to giving in. Then Castiel's hand tightened even further, almost to the point of bruising and he was spun around to face an infuriated angel.

"No!" Castiel growled, face darkening further as his friend's second hand came up to grip his other arm and to give him a few good shakes. "No, you will not give yourself to Michael. Not now, not after everything that we've done and sacrificed."

The whole thing caught him so completely off-guard that it took Dean a few seconds to react to any of it but the first thing he did was to focus in on the physical aspect of it all.

"Ow, stop it, Cas, let go of me," Dean hissed. "You're hurting me!"

Despite all of the anger, hurt, betrayal and shock that Dean could see in his friend's suddenly expressive eyes, Castiel reacted instantly, releasing him and then brushing two fingers across his forehead and he could feel all of the lingering pain vanish as if it had never been. If he'd hoped for a reprieve in the emotional intensity of the moment as well as the physical, then he was sorely disappointed as the angel hadn't backed up any and was still right there in his face, clearly caught between rage and terror based on his facial expression and it made his throat go dry to see it. Yeah, he'd known that saying yes to Michael would have pissed his friend off, but he'd never imagined that Castiel would take it this hard. He hadn't realized that he meant enough to the angel for that kind of rage and terror and that sudden knowledge filled him with a warmth that he hadn't felt in a very long time, in far too long, actually. If he were honest with himself he knew it was something that he'd missed and desperately craved more of, to the point that a part of him just wanted to bury his face in Castiel's shoulder and simply be held by his angel. And just where the hell had that desire come from anyway? Castiel was a guy and he most definitely wasn't some chick!

Then Castiel's hand was back on him, but at his shoulder this time, slotting perfectly into place over the scar that the angel had left there and Dean couldn't help but gasp at the sudden burst of foreign emotions that provoked deep within him.

"Mine," Castiel proclaimed, voice still the same dark growl as before. "You are mine, Dean Winchester, do you understand that? Not Michael's or Raphael's or even Zachariah's, but mine!"

Dean couldn't even find it in him to feel ashamed of the whimper that escaped him, his whole being far too focused on the powerful and magnificent creature before him. The powerful and magnificent creature that was claiming him as his without so much as a by your leave and he just couldn't find it in himself to care, his whole existence narrowed down to the dark eyes and wings, the possessive hand at his shoulder- at the brand as Gabriel had called it- and the sudden rush of emotions deep within him or the claim that he felt right down to what he was sure was his soul.

"Way to go and introduce him to the bond slowly, Bro," Gabriel's sarcastic voice finally cut through the haze of emotions and sheer surrealness of what was happening and Dean latched onto it as a lifeline, suddenly both elated and absolutely terrified of what was happening.

Then Sam was there, his face furious. "What on Earth do you think you're doing? Let him go, Cas!"

The demand seemed to calm Castiel as the anger and fear became less visible and then Dean was looking at his friend again with wide, shocked eyes, completely unable to believe what had just happened. Although he'd seen Castiel go all bad ass on demons plenty of times before, this was one of the first times that side of his friend had been turned on him. He was instantly and eerily reminded of his second meeting with his angel, the one in the dream that looked like Bobby's kitchen where Castiel had threatened to throw him back into Hell. On some level he knew that he should be pissed but instead he felt strangely exhilarated. To have that amount of focus and attention directed solely on him was exciting in a way, well at least it was now that he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Castiel would never use his superior strength against him or really hurt him. Even just now, while his angel was completely pissed off at him, all it had taken was a few words from him and his friend had stopped and healed him.

"Let him go, Cas," Sam repeated, reaching up to touch one of the angel's hands where it still gripped his arm. "Are you alright, Dean?"

Instead of answering directly, Dean made an affirmative noise in the back of his throat, not trusting himself enough to speak just yet. Besides, he wasn't sure what he felt at the moment. It was all happening too quickly and it was simply too much. The one thing he was sure of was that, against all odds and reason, Castiel's extreme and immediate reaction to what he'd been considering touched him deeply and in a not unpleasant manner. To know that his angel cared about him that much was nothing short of amazing.

Plus then there was the fact that the emotions he could now feel deep within him weren't at all the intrusion or the nuisance that he'd have expected them to be. Instead Dean found them to be almost a comfort in a way, as if they, it, whatever it was, filled that hole he'd felt inside of him since being rescued from Hell, or perhaps even longer if he really thought about it. He'd never really wanted to, think about it that was, but on some level he'd always felt that there was something missing but he'd never really given it any thought, preferring instead to just ignore it until it went away as it always ultimately did.

To have that hole filled so suddenly and unexpectedly threw Dean for a loop and he wasn't at all sure what to do next. Yes, on the one hand he was incredibly pleased that he no longer felt the gaping emptiness within that had seemed to grow more and more as of late until it had felt like there was nothing of himself left anymore, to the point where even Famine himself hadn't been able to influence him. But on the other hand this bond that Castiel and Gabriel were talking about absolutely terrified him. He hadn't consented to it and he was almost afraid to ask what it was, exactly, that this bond entailed. Clearly it could affect him even when Castiel was clamping down on it, so what would it do when it was at full strength?

Would there be anything of himself left? Or would the bond eclipse who and what he was?

"Cas!" Sam barked, trying to pull the angel's hand free and failing. "Let. Him. Go."

Since they were still staring at each other, Dean could see the flicker of reluctance in Castiel's eyes and the part of him that wanted to be free of what was happening to him protested but the other part of him cheered, wanting to maintain the contact, and the connection, for as long as possible. Castiel's wings as well seemed to mirror his friend's hesitance as they fluttered back and forth helplessly while the feathers seem to be ruffled as if they'd been stroked the wrong way.

And why the hell was he thinking of anyone stroking Castiel's feathers? Though Dean did have to admit that the idea did sound appealing now that he thought about it. They looked to be incredibly soft and their ruffled appearance gave him the urge to right them as much as he'd often had to resist the temptation to smoothen out Castiel's perpetual bed head or to straighten his tie, not that he'd ever given into either of those impulses except for that time when they had to impersonate FBI agents together. It had been for a valid reason then.

Eventually though Castiel seemed to reach a decision and Dean both cried out and cheered as his angel stepped back. Elation won out at first, his fear of what was happening and of what had been done to him winning out, but the moment the connection broke, though, the sense of loss that washed over him was immense. The desire to grab Castiel's hand and put it back on his scar was great but he resisted it, still just as terrified as he was fascinated and enthralled by it all.

The emotions were hitting Dean hard and fast now and he absolutely hated it. Normally he would simply have grabbed it all and shoved it as far back in his mind as he could so that he could lock it all up and then ignore it all until he forgot about it. The thing preventing him from doing that now was how absolutely wonderful that initial moment of connection had been, the short span of time where he'd just felt it all before his mind had come out of the shock it had gone into and kicked into gear. Before that it had simply been unadulterated pleasure and bliss with absolutely no negative emotions. It was part of what terrified him so much afterwards as he could so easily imagine what it would be like to simply give in and embrace it all and all without fully understanding what it was, exactly, that he'd be giving into.

The only reason why he wasn't reacting aggressively was because this was Castiel and he'd already reacted poorly as far as his friend was concerned once today and Dean wasn't going to make the same mistake twice in a day. Especially if being wrong meant that all of this might not be as bad as it seemed at the moment. He was just a little worried that part of why he abstained from his normal reaction was due to the fact that he really wanted this in a way that he'd never wanted anything else before and that just terrified him even more.

"What was that all about?" Sam demanded, stepping between the two of them and Dean wanted nothing more than to shove his brother aside. "What possessed you to do that?"

"Your brother," Castiel replied.

"Calm down, gigantor," Gabriel said stepping closer.

"Calm down?" Sam exclaimed. "Calm down? He attacked Dean!"

"Attack? Whoa, let's not exaggerate here," Dean interjected, finally finding his voice though he was only able to tear his eyes away from his angel with great difficulty.

"Dean, he-"

"Like you didn't want to do the same thing."

"That's different!"

"Why?"

"You're my brother!"

"And Castiel is Dean's bondmate," Gabriel stated.

"Not by choice," Sam sniped.

"What does that even mean?" Dean asked though he half dreaded the answer. "What does all of this mean?"

"It means that your soul is tied to his Grace," Gabriel replied.

"Yeah, I know, you said that earlier. But what does it mean? Well, besides the fact that it's given me some quirky abilities."

"No, not besides, I want to know why it's given you those," Sam said. "If normal people can't do those things then that implies that this bond has somehow altered you to achieve this effect."

"Altered?"

That one word was nearly enough to realize his greatest fears, that he'd somehow come back wrong from Hell. The knowledge was like a blow but Dean took it and forced himself to keep paying attention. He wanted some answers here and he sure as hell wasn't going to miss them when they were given.

"Only slightly," Gabriel began. "Since the bond is unfinished, the tie between soul and Grace is small and singular. This means that the effects are similarly limited. Yes, Dean does essentially have some of Castiel's Grace in him now and therefore is no longer one hundred percent human, but in most cases no one would ever even be able to tell. Any tests would come back negative as this Grace bit is so small as to be negligible."

Grace bit. The words sounded odd, even in his own head, and Dean didn't know what to make of them. The fact that it was a speck of Grace that he had inside of him and that it made him part angel actually wasn't all the bad. It wasn't like he'd become part monster or anything. Besides, the fact that it was Castiel's Grace made it even more palatable. It was his friend and not some douche bag like Zachariah or any of the other angels that he'd met outside of Castiel and, now, Gabriel. So that was okay too and he had to admit that he kinda liked having a part of Castiel so close.

The downside was that things weren't quite what Gabriel had just said that they were. "I wouldn't really call being able to kill the Witch of Babylon, detect your appearances and all of that negligible effects."

"These are unusual circumstances," Gabriel replied. "Not to mention that you are not just a random human. I also believe that your being able to detect our appearances has more to do with the fact that as Castiel weakened his ability to clamp down on the bond decreased. Thus you gained that ability when the connection between the two of you increased in potential and strength."

"But I can still do it now."

"Yes and Castiel knows that you can so he probably didn't see the need to dial back on that, right Bro?"

"I had not made this decision consciously, but I do see now that I could do more to block the bond," Castiel responded. "Would you like me to do so, Dean?"

"It's probably a good ability for Dean to have given the circumstances," Sam stated, glancing his way. "Unless it's really bothering you, Dean?"

"No, not really, besides you make a good point. Does the same hold true for my sudden ability to see Cas' wings?"

"You can see my wings?" Castiel demanded, stepping forwards.

The reaction caused Dean to startle, the sheer emotion behind those words as unbelievable as the hopeful expression on his angel's face. He was used to Castiel being so calm and collected, at least on the outside, that he always had to guess what his friend was really thinking or feeling. It was so rare to see any true emotion that he almost didn't know what to do with this Castiel.

Dean was sure that his angel got his answer by the fact that he couldn't pull his eyes from the two black wings that had suddenly come alive. Whereas before they'd been folded and kept relatively close to Castiel's back, now they came up and unfurled, just like they'd done that first time they'd met topside in the abandoned barn he and Bobby had converted into a veritable fortress against the supernatural. It was breathtakingly magnificent, there was simply no other way to describe it and the majesty of it all rendered him completely unable to respond verbally, far too focused on the gorgeous wings.

And seriously? Him using words like breathtaking and gorgeous? Perhaps the bond was making him sappy and chick like as well. The sobering quality of the last thought meant that Dean was paying enough attention to things other than the wings (and before he would have been like: Things? What things?) to hear what was being said.

"Wings?" Sam questioned, sounding distinctly put out and, to his practiced ear, jealous. "You can see the wings of angels now?"

Crap, was his brother really going to pick now of all times to have a 'how come you never believed and got an angel while I always believed and didn't' conversation? Not that Sam would ever admit to that being the real underlying reason, but Dean knew that it sometimes came down to just that and it annoyed him. Sam should have realized by now that angels weren't really all that they were cracked up to be, with one solid exception and all the signs of a clear second candidate.

"No, I'd be much surprised if it were anyone's wings other than Castiel's," Gabriel said. "You can't see my wings, correct, Dean?"

It took an effort, but Dean was able to tear his eyes from the beautiful wings before him to glance at the archangel. As Gabriel had suspected, all he saw was the vessel that the archangel used. There were no wings at his back or spread out across the room. In fact there was absolutely nothing about him to indicate that he wasn't a normal human at the moment. Well except for the fact that he was on what well might have been his hundredth candy bar of the day.

"No, you look like you always have," Dean answered.

"Why is that?" Sam inquired, much calmer now and for that Dean was thankful.

He should have known, though, that the opportunity to learn more about one of his brother's favorite topics was guaranteed to cool Sam back down to more reasonable levels of anger and frustration.

"Because Castiel is Dean's bondmate and thus the one from whom Dean got his little bit of Grace," Gabriel explained. "If the bond were to be consummated, then it is possible that your brother would gain the ability to view the wings of other angels."

"Wait, now just hold up there moment," Dean said, voice rising. "Consummated?"

Dean was sure that he'd misheard that word or that it had to mean something else to angels (Castiel was still a virgin after all and he was millions of years old!) than it did for humans. Or at least he desperately hoped so right up until he caught the lecherous grin Gabriel sent his way. Then his mind went blank.

"Yep, consummated," Gabriel replied easily. "Now, between two angels that isn't nearly as much fun as when it's between a human and an angel as it normally happens when we are in our true form and then you can't really have sex. What we do then is actually better termed communion and we come together and hence our Graces mingle to allow for the bond to grow and deepen."

"Why?" Sam demanded and he absently noted that there was almost a desperate quality to his brother's voice. "I mean aren't you guys already all connected? Via angel radio or whatnot."

"Angel radio? I'll take it that's one of Deano's, right? Anyway that connects us all, this bond brings two of us together and allows us to communicate with just our bondmate instead of the entire host."

"Oh. Does that happen with humans and angels?"

"Not every time, but almost always. There have only been a few bonds between humans and angels and the humans aren't always affected in the same way so we can't be sure of what might or might not happen to Dean."

"Do not speak as if Dean has agreed to this, Brother," Castiel interrupted fiercely. "He has not, nor is he likely to and therefore nothing else will happen."

Okay, that was good, that was very good. Dean used the words and the conviction with which Castiel said them to help calm himself. He'd pretty much been having a silent freak-out at Gabriel's implication that he'd kinda lost sight of who they were talking about here. So regardless of what might normally happen this was Castiel they were talking about and a bond that had been accidentally, not deliberately, formed. That latter fact changed everything. There would be absolutely no consummating of this bond or any other. And, no, he absolutely didn't feel a spark of regret at that knowledge. He was only thankful that his angel was in a male vessel as otherwise his base instincts might have gotten in the way and made things very messy indeed.

"Relax, Bro," Gabriel soothed. "This is Dean we're talking about, of course he'll want to consummate the bond, after all he just loves sex, right Deano?"

"Sex?" Sam squeaked. "But you were just telling us about how consummating the bond was like communion and all of that!"

"I was talking about two Graces coming together being like communion. When it comes to humans, your soul is only free in that fashion during sex, well at least before the consummation of the bond, afterwards the human's soul is always open to the angel to which it belongs."

"Sex?" Dean said, feeling like a faded echo of his brother for a moment. "But he- Cas- is... We're both male!"

"No, angels are technically genderless," Gabriel replied.

"He's still in a male vessel!"

Almost involuntarily, Dean's eyes flickered briefly to Castiel only to find his friend watching him like a hawk, as usual, and, also as usual, it was extremely difficult to make out what his friend was thinking or feeling. Unable to hold that steady gaze, he glanced back at the archangel only to find Gabriel frowning at him.

"Yeah, so?" Gabriel questioned before realization dawned. "Wait a minute, don't tell me you're one of those humans who has a gender issue hang-up now are you?"

Dean sputtered. "Dude! Most people have that issue."

"True, but I'd never thought that you would be one of them."

"What? Why?"

"'Cause I'd have thought that you'd be able to see past all of that nonsense."

"That nonsense is practically hardwired into every major religion on the planet," Sam pointed out. "Including all forms of Christianity."

"I have told you that most of the Bible is wrong," Castiel stated quietly. "This is one of the many instances in which it is. Our Father doesn't care about such issues as gender when it comes to relationships, simply about love. If the emotion is pure then nothing as trivial as gender can matter."

Oh shit! Dean would be the first to admit that he was crap at anything pertaining to real relationships, but even to him that sounded surprisingly like Castiel was saying that... He shut off that line of thought immediately.

"Anyway, as I was saying," Gabriel continued. "I'd have thought that you'd be able to see that, ultimately, sex is sex, Dean. And that it doesn't matter if your partner is male or female or anything as insignificant as that."

"Yeah, well, you thought wrong."

"Obviously. I have to say, Deano, that I'm disappointed in yo-"

"Gabriel, that is enough," Castiel snapped, inserting himself between them.

For the second time that day, Dean found himself almost happy to stand behind his friend. Just what was going on with him lately?

"There is no need to take this issue any further when it is clear that Dean doesn't want to," Castiel finished.

"Actually there is," Gabriel replied.

"Why?"

"Because I'm suddenly thinking that the second prophecy wasn't talking about Michael, but rather about you, Bro."

Dean sighed, really glad on the one hand that someone had at least made an effort to change the topic for him, but also because of course things had to circle right back around to prophecy. God but he hated them. He'd yet to see a single prophecy turn out well and he most definitely wasn't expecting to see that change any time soon. Which meant that this couldn't end well.

"What second prophecy?" Sam asked.

"The second one about Lucifer's defeat."

That captured Dean's attention right away. "Second one? What second one and why haven't we heard about it before?"

"I have not heard of this before either," Castiel added.

"No, you wouldn't have," Gabriel replied. "Only a select few of the upper angels know about it. But when the prophecy about the Apocalypse and the Righteous Man was first revealed to us through Revelation, there were two possible ways it could go. The first is exactly what you know about, how Lucifer will be killed by Michael in the Righteous Man and his death will bring Paradise to Earth and Heaven alike."

"And the second?" Sam inquired.

"The second speaks of how the Righteous Man and his angel will strip the serpent of most of his powers, reducing him to the level of the lowliest of angels and thereby teach him the true meaning of penitence and give the Earth a second lease on life."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Dean demanded.

"It means precisely what it says, that Lucifer basically gets neutered or effectively rendered harmless as far as his big plans are concerned and that the Apocalypse doesn't end bloody and with Paradise on Earth. However, since both Michael and Raphael were determined to reach Paradise as soon as possible they decided to ignore the second part as they had no intention of not achieving their goal. In their arrogance they felt that this was a perfectly valid way of treating prophecy, by tailoring it to suit their needs."

"But it wasn't talking about Michael, was it?" Sam realized excitedly. "It was talking about Castiel. He's the angel of the Righteous Man more than Michael ever could be."

"With this bond, that is exactly what I'm thinking," Gabriel agreed. "And that's even without considering the fact that the only way that one can possibly strip an archangel of most of his powers is to use a bonded pair."

"I have not heard of this," Castiel stated.

"No, of course not, it's something we archangels have kept secret, just in case anyone ever decided to try it. Basically it's a ritual involving the strongest of magicks but at its core you need bondmates and no one, not even an archangel, is powerful enough to perform this ritual on their own."

"Doesn't that mean we can't perform this then?" Sam questioned. "I mean if a pair of bonded angels is only just powerful enough to perform this ritual, than surely a bonding with a human won't manage it."

"You'd be surprised at the power of the human soul, and that's not even considering your brother's soul."

"What about my soul?" Dean demanded though he really didn't want an answer to that.

He knew well how tarnished it was but somehow having Gabriel of all people talk ill of it was too much for him. Like the archangel had any right to talk after all. At least he hadn't abandoned his family!

"It's brighter than any soul that I've ever seen before," Castiel said so earnestly it almost hurt.

"Exactly and trust me, I've seen my fair share of souls and among those the ones of saints and martyrs," Gabriel added. "Even they don't compare to what you've got tucked into the meat suit of yours, Deano. In fact that hot piece of meat you've got is hardly even able to contain it, it shines so brightly."

"What?" Dean questioned dumbly, completely unable to believe any of that.

"Dean's soul is brighter than that of saints or anyone else's you've ever seen?" Sam asked, voice rife with disbelief. "Very funny, Gabriel."

With a growl Castiel was suddenly in Sam's face making his brother step back with a startled sound. "Do not talk about your brother like that!"

Dean watched it with wide eyes and jumped as Gabriel suddenly appeared beside him.

"Impressive isn't he?" Gabriel whispered.

"I never said he wasn't," Dean replied, refusing to look at the archangel.

"And it doesn't do anything to you to watch him act like that in your defense? To know that he's completely devoted to you and that he wants you?"

"Dude!"

With another momentary lapse of judgment, Dean moved to shove Gabriel away hard but only sent himself backwards just like had happened before. He scowled at the archangel's laugh and shook his head when both his brother and his friend glanced at him.

"Anyhow," Gabriel said with a clap of his hands. "Deano's soul is more than capable of generating the necessary power when combined with Cassie's Grace for this ritual. I know where to find all of the herbs for the magick and I can perform the angelic portion of the incantation. All we're missing is a demon."

"A demon?" Sam repeated. "A demon is needed for this? What on Earth for?"

Gabriel shrugged. "As a safeguard perhaps? Who knows what Father was thinking at the time, I only know that in addition to the bondmates and the magick, one angel and one demon are needed in order for this ritual to work. Perhaps it's to balance things out or to ensure that this ritual isn't abused."

"If only your Father had thought to add those types of safeguards into all of his plans then we might not be here to begin with," Dean sniped.

"Dean."

He blinked before he looked at both Castiel and Sam wondering if they'd rehearsed that or if he'd simply given them sufficient opportunities to do that for them to have synchronized their reactions. "Well it's true."

"You've definitely chosen a fiery one here, Bro," Gabriel said with a smile. "I approve."

Dean turned to scowl at the archangel, not needing or wanting his approval. Especially now as it smacked far too much of Gabriel giving Castiel his blessing regarding his choice of bride.

"Now, I don't suppose you boys know of a suitable demon?" Gabriel asked as if nothing had happened and really, what could a scowl from him do to an archangel when Gabriel was so much more powerful than him that the archangel could squash him like a bug?

"Crowley," Dean said.

Sam turned to scowl at him. "We can't trust him! Look what happened to Ellen and Jo the last time we did something he suggested."

"Dude! Don't you dare lecture me about trusting demons, I'm not the one who's prone to that," Dean snapped, aware that he was probably being too harsh but needing to vent and his brother was the most convenient target for that at the moment. "And I wasn't suggesting that we should trust him, but with Cas fully restored and with Gabriel here we really don't have to. Both of them could send him right back to Hell if necessary, or worse."

"Dean is right," Castiel agreed. "Crowley is our best bet. At least with him we wouldn't need to worry about... softening up a demon first as he'll willingly help us perform the ritual."

"Cas, remind me when this is over to have a little chat with you about the use of modern expressions."

"Did I use it incorrectly?"

"No it's just- Look, I'll explain it later, okay?"

"Yes."

It was such a typical exchange for them that it made Dean's heart lurch a little to know that it might all be over between them like that. Or at least that their happy balance and unusual friendship might fast be approaching a point of no return after which it would never be the same again. Like so often in his life, he just wanted to dig in his heels and resist, but he was pretty sure that it would be ineffectual at best. Yet he wasn't quite able to work up his usual frustration and rage at how helpless he was to do anything about that. It seemed that he wasn't entirely against the idea of where things might be heading from here and that threw him for a loop. Did he actually want to consummate this bond? Or was that just the desire to never be alone again making him think that?

Part 3