Unexpected Destinies Chapter 149
Title: Unexpected Destinies
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: up to and including Exile on Main St., AU from the end of season 5
Warnings: AU, slash
Word Count: 3,034
Summary: Dean receives a call from Bobby to say that the last cleansing spell has been performed.
PRESENT
Normally the call would have come in during the middle of the night and woken Dean, but luckily for him it wasn't a normal day. Some of the demons had been acting up in eastern Asia and they'd gone to help the locals sort them out and check that it wasn't something more. It hadn't been but by the time they were done it was already so late it was technically early and he'd made a derogatory comment about the French as he'd been dealing with a demon who'd chosen the single most obnoxious Frenchman that it could find as his host and he'd had to put up with it for far too long.
Castiel had pretended affront and claimed that he had to show him how wrong he was about the French though Dean suspected that was nothing but a ruse to take him out for breakfast in Paris because the stupid French didn't realize that it was the middle of the night and that they should all be in bed like good little Frenchmen. No, they had to insist that it was actually morning and breakfast time.
They did have amazing croissants, though, Dean was forced to admit as he took his first bite. No, he took that back, they were downright Heavenly croissants. Smug satisfaction rippled about the bond from Castiel and he flicked a crumb at his husband.
"Wait until you try the pain au chocolat," Castiel replied evenly, pronouncing it all correctly and authentically.
Dean cursed him in fluid Italian.
"That is not anatomically possible."
The ringing of his phone saved Dean from responding, which was good as he was far too surprised that it worked here to come up with anything.
"Morning, Bobby," Dean greeted.
"You sound far too cheerful to be natural at this time of night."
"Well I can assure you it is, Cas is right here if you want that verified."
"No, that's okay," Bobby replied before he paused. "Is that people I hear talking?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I really didn't wake you, did I?"
"Nope," Dean replied, a little unsure before the penny dropped. "You wanted to pay me back for that phone call last week, didn't you?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Bobby replied gruffly but it didn't fool him.
"Oh you really did. You should be grateful, Bobby, I could have called you as soon as Michael brought me the news, instead I waited for a more reasonable time."
"Reasonable time he says," Bobby muttered. "Where the hell are you anyway? That doesn't sound like a bar."
"Paris, France," Dean replied gleefully, taking a bite of his croissant.
"France?!"
"Yeah, you know, the country in Europe with the awesome food?"
"I know where France is, ya idjit. What are you doing there?"
"Having breakfast."
"Having breakfast?"
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"'Cause Cas wanted to prove a point and I was hungry as we fought demons in China all of last evening and into the early hours of today."
"You fought demons in China?"
Oops, Dean could detect an edge of something not quite sane in Bobby's voice and he realized that he might have overdone it a little. "Yeah, we've kinda gone global this past year, Bobby."
"You, gone global?"
"Angel Air beats airplanes any day of the week, especially with archangels at the helm."
"That's in the cockpit, not at the helm, idjit," Bobby admonished. "And what do you mean exactly when you say gone global? Where else have you been?"
"Well, let's see now, there's been Mexico, Australia, the Vatican, Belgium, eh..."
"French Guiana," Castiel added.
"Yeah, French Guiana."
"All of that on top of South Africa?" Bobby demanded.
"Yep. Hey, hang on a minute, how'd you know about South Africa?" Dean asked. "No, wait, let me guess. Becky."
"She mentioned something about it and you and Raphael getting injured there."
Dean winced at the memory, though he smiled when his husband's wings reached out to touch him. "Yeah, there was an incident there."
"Sounded more than just a mere incident from what she said, though I got the impression she's prone to exaggeration."
"Oh, trust me, she definitely is. In this case, however, not so much unfortunately."
"That bad, huh?"
"You have no idea, Bobby, you have no idea. Think of the worst that you've seen of angel fights and then multiple it by ten to get some vague idea of what it's like when archangels go at it."
"Christ."
"Don't blaspheme."
The words were out of Dean's mouth before he even realized what it was that he was going to say and by the time that he did it was already too late. There were a few moments of stunned silence, not only from him but from both Bobby and Castiel as well. He'd managed to catch everyone off-guard at once, himself included. A quick glance up at his husband showed a surprised but pleased look on Castiel's face and he returned the smile automatically before taking a sip of his coffee to help him clear the dryness he suddenly felt in his throat.
"Well, that wasn't something I'd ever expected to hear coming out of your mouth," Bobby finally stated.
"Yeah, me neither," Dean admitted, rubbing his face.
"It's a good thing that I know where it's coming from or I'd have to test you the next time I saw you."
"Ha ha, very funny Bobby."
"You did just hear yourself, didn't you, boy?"
"What can I say? You hang around with three archangels, sooner or later something's gonna rub off on you."
"A hell of a thing for you to pick up though."
Dean laughed. "It was a gradual process, trust me. It started with me not saying any of that crap anymore."
"What? You, Dean Winchester, don't swear anymore?"
"Hey!" Dean protested, glaring as Castiel laughed at the disbelief in the older hunter's voice. "And I didn't say that I don't swear anymore, just that I don't blaspheme."
"Same difference with you, boy."
"Bite me, Bobby. Now was there a point to this call or shall I just hang up on you now?"
"You got somewhere to be?"
"Actually there's this amazing croissant here just waiting for me to eat it and then there's a Heavenly pain au chocolat and coffee better than anything that you've probably ever tasted, though it's not as good as that Colombian stuff Cas gets for me straight from the source."
"Laying it on a little thick, aren't ya?"
"No such thing when it comes to the French and their pastries. Mm."
"You're gonna be the size of walrus if you're not careful."
"That's what I told Cas but he pointed out that we've got this perfect workout regimen. See, what we do is-"
"No!" Bobby interrupted. "Don't you dare! I don't want any details, Becky already mentioned far more than I ever wanted to know about your sex life!"
Unfortunately for Dean he'd just been taking another sip of his coffee and now choked on it. "Becky did what?"
"Said some stuff I don't think I'm ever going to be able to unhear, no matter how hard I try."
"Like what?"
"Like wings and wing oil."
Dean blinked for a moment before he threw his head back and laughed. His husband's wings and all of the little extras they brought to sex had been so totally incorporated into their relationship that he honestly no longer thought of any of it as being weird or different. So to hear Bobby talking about it as being something so foreign and alien as to be considered kinky or fall under 'too much information' was hilarious.
"Dude, seriously?" Dean questioned. "You think that's bad?"
"No! Dean, I am warning you, boy, don't you dare mention anything else."
"Aw, but Bobby, there was this one thing that I was just dying to tell you about. It-"
"I'll tell your brother and grandfather about that incident at my house when you were twelve."
The threat was enough to make Dean's mouth snap shut with an audible click and his face flushed as he thought about that particular incident. He'd done his utmost best to not ever think about it in the hopes that it would simply fade away as if it had never been, but all it took was one little reminder and the scene flashed before his eyes once more in full Technicolor detail. Castiel's head titled as his husband looked at him inquiringly but he shook his head firmly. They were not going to talk about it. Ever.
"You wouldn't dare," Dean tried.
"Try me."
"I swear, Bobby."
"Hey, if you don't say anything then neither will I, it's that simple."
"You drive a hard bargain, Singer."
"An old man's gotta keep his sanity somehow around you two Winchesters."
"So you admit that you're old?"
"Not as old as you. You're what? Nearing seventy-five now?"
"And yet I'll never look a day over thirty-one. Ever."
There was a pause before Bobby spoke again, all levity gone from his voice. "What did you do now, ya idjit?"
"Whoa, relax, Bobby! It's not my doing, it's Cas'," Dean said and got a disgruntled look from his angel for it. "Turns out he likes me just the way I am."
"He's freezing your aging?"
"Yep."
"You sound happy with that."
"Are you kidding me? No aging means no worries about slowing down or any of that crap that happens as your body comes down from its peak. I know you know what I'm talking about here, old man."
"You better watch yourself, boy. And it may sound like fun now, but what about when you can't stay in one place because people will start to notice that something's not right?"
"Like we ever stick around anywhere long enough for that to happen. Besides, Cas is an angel, remember? He can make it look like I'm aging even when I'm not."
"Castiel's more than a mere angel these days, I hear."
"Huh, what?" Dean asked before he recalled that they hadn't ever told them about his bond mate's promotion. "Oh for! Just how much did Becky tell you guys?"
"Far too much in some areas and not nearly enough in others."
"That's not the way I'm hearing it."
"We can discuss the exact details later," Bobby stated. "Now the reason that I called is because we're done with the cleansing spells."
"What? You are?"
"Yeah, we performed the last one last night and have been doing every last check we can think of since then. You brother's passed all of them even if the most powerful ones still bother him a little."
"That's to be expected," Castiel said, raising his voice enough that it would carry over the phone and Dean shifted so it would work more easily.
"You heard that, Bobby?" Dean demanded.
"Yeah. That because of how long ago Azazel first gave Sam demon blood?"
"Yes," Castiel confirmed. "That and I believe that Sam has an inherent darkness within him that makes him more susceptible to it than most humans and thus it'll cling more readily to him that it would to others without an extreme effort on his part."
"But he'll be okay, right?" Dean inquired.
"Yes, your brother will be fine. This will also not interfere with Raziel's spell."
"Excellent," Bobby stated. "So, when do you want to start?"
"The sooner the better," Dean replied. "I need to check the lunar calendar as it was important and we'll also need to contact Mike and Raph to make sure that they have everything, not to mention that those of us who are human need at least some sleep. So how about we come by this afternoon, would that work?"
"That won't be a problem. Samuel's already got a room set up for you and there's a spot out front for your damn car."
Dean laughed. "Thanks, Bobby. See you soon."
"Just get back here in one piece, ya idjit."
/
Despite the fact that Dean had packed up and moved nearly as often as some people changed their socks, there was something very hard about packing his duffle now. He couldn't quite put his finger on it but it clung to him from the moment he'd first pulled his duffle out and started putting clothes into it. And the worst thing was that he wasn't even moving out, just packing some things for a trip of about a week. It also wasn't until now that he'd realized just how much junk he'd accumulated since Castiel had been injured and he'd gotten the apartment. It seemed that now that he had a place to store it, he'd been picking up things here and there that he otherwise never would have.
Dean paused as he looked at their kalsika. Part of him was tempted to take it along with him, but the rest of him knew that if he did someone else was bound to touch it and the thought elicited an instantaneous negative reaction within him. The kalsika was theirs- his and Cas'- and it wasn't for anyone else to touch. Therefore it would have to remain here as there was absolutely no way that it would go unnoticed if he took it with him, not with how it still glowed with the multicolored light it had gained during its initiation.
With a soft flutter of wings, Castiel arrived back in their bedroom. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah, I think so," Dean replied, closing his duffle.
It had been a long time since he'd had so much trouble deciding what to pack but Dean knew the actual problem wasn't that he was indecisive so much as he was trying to put off the inevitable. This wasn't just a quick visit with Sam and his mother's family, but rather an extended stay that was one hundred percent guaranteed to be fraught with both tension and ugly arguments, not to mention a less than pleasant spell that they'd need to perform. He'd read over Raziel's writing again and it made it quite clear that the magic would hurt the one that it was performed on and while he and Sam were currently estranged to put it gently, he still felt that instinctive and gut deep reaction to protect his little brother from harm. Even that of the self-inflicted variety.
"You don't have to remain there if you do not wish to," Castiel said, stepping close. "One of us would be more than happy to bring you back and forth each time."
"Thanks, Cas, but I really shouldn't do that. It's time to bite the bullet." Castiel tilted his head at the expression, feathers rippling and Dean had to smile. "It means that it's time to face the music."
Dean could have gone on, listing a whole host of other, similar expressions but his husband shut him up in the most effective and pleasant way possible; by kissing him. There was fond exasperation coming through the bond and he pelted back his own amusement and the fact that he found his angel's confusion and inability to work out the expressions adorable. And it was official, Castiel had turned him into a chick, otherwise he'd never have used that word to describe anything about a partner.
"I assume that you want me to take the Impala with us," Castiel said when he pulled back.
"Yeah, of course. That way I've got an out if need to get out of there for a short while and think."
"You could always call me."
"Trust me, in those cases you probably wouldn't want me to."
"I'd be able to lift your mood far faster than a drive could."
Dean laughed. "Of that I have absolutely no doubt. You'd also shut my ability to think coherently down pretty damn fast as well though and while that's awesome, it would probably defeat the purpose in at least some of those cases."
"Thinking is overrated."
He would have laughed again except that his husband kissed him once more and Dean moaned instead. "We're never going to get anywhere at this rate," he warned.
Normally Dean wouldn't care, but today was the last night before the new moon and Raziel's spell had to be started at the end of the lunar cycle during the waning crescent. So if they didn't do the first part tonight, then they'd have to wait most of another month and that was simply something they couldn't afford to do at the moment, much as he wished to finish what his bond mate was starting here.
"I know," Castiel replied, pulling back though he sent a pulse of love through the bond.
Dean returned it, feeling far better, before he nodded. "Alright, let's go."
"Do you have everything you require?"
"Yeah, I've already put some of the books in the car, so it's just me and the duffle from in here."
His husband reached up and brushed two fingers to his forehead and then Dean was standing outside beside his baby. Before them was what he assumed to be the Campbell family compound though he'd never seen it from the outside before. Immediately some dogs started to bark somewhere round back and he had the brief thought that they'd probably just circumvented about half of his grandfather's protections though he made a mental note to have his own look around and make sure that everything was up to snuff. No way was he letting anything happen because he got complacent now, not that he didn't trust Bobby to have done so already, but he knew far more now than either of the older hunters did when it came to their current enemies.
"You coming in with me, Cas, or do you gotta be somewhere?" Dean asked.
"I can come in for a short while if you think it best."
"You don't?"
"I do not believe your grandfather and cousin will be at ease in my presence after what happened with Raphael's last visit."
The memory made Dean smile though he had to concede the point. "Okay, fine, I'll see you later then."
"Just call when you're ready to start the spell."
A.N.: I have to admit, it was really weird seeing 'present' at the top of this chapter when I posted it and I nearly went back to fix my mistake before remembering that, no, we really have caught up. It feels like the end of an era somehow :(
Chapter 150
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: up to and including Exile on Main St., AU from the end of season 5
Warnings: AU, slash
Word Count: 3,034
Summary: Dean receives a call from Bobby to say that the last cleansing spell has been performed.
PRESENT
Normally the call would have come in during the middle of the night and woken Dean, but luckily for him it wasn't a normal day. Some of the demons had been acting up in eastern Asia and they'd gone to help the locals sort them out and check that it wasn't something more. It hadn't been but by the time they were done it was already so late it was technically early and he'd made a derogatory comment about the French as he'd been dealing with a demon who'd chosen the single most obnoxious Frenchman that it could find as his host and he'd had to put up with it for far too long.
Castiel had pretended affront and claimed that he had to show him how wrong he was about the French though Dean suspected that was nothing but a ruse to take him out for breakfast in Paris because the stupid French didn't realize that it was the middle of the night and that they should all be in bed like good little Frenchmen. No, they had to insist that it was actually morning and breakfast time.
They did have amazing croissants, though, Dean was forced to admit as he took his first bite. No, he took that back, they were downright Heavenly croissants. Smug satisfaction rippled about the bond from Castiel and he flicked a crumb at his husband.
"Wait until you try the pain au chocolat," Castiel replied evenly, pronouncing it all correctly and authentically.
Dean cursed him in fluid Italian.
"That is not anatomically possible."
The ringing of his phone saved Dean from responding, which was good as he was far too surprised that it worked here to come up with anything.
"Morning, Bobby," Dean greeted.
"You sound far too cheerful to be natural at this time of night."
"Well I can assure you it is, Cas is right here if you want that verified."
"No, that's okay," Bobby replied before he paused. "Is that people I hear talking?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I really didn't wake you, did I?"
"Nope," Dean replied, a little unsure before the penny dropped. "You wanted to pay me back for that phone call last week, didn't you?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Bobby replied gruffly but it didn't fool him.
"Oh you really did. You should be grateful, Bobby, I could have called you as soon as Michael brought me the news, instead I waited for a more reasonable time."
"Reasonable time he says," Bobby muttered. "Where the hell are you anyway? That doesn't sound like a bar."
"Paris, France," Dean replied gleefully, taking a bite of his croissant.
"France?!"
"Yeah, you know, the country in Europe with the awesome food?"
"I know where France is, ya idjit. What are you doing there?"
"Having breakfast."
"Having breakfast?"
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"'Cause Cas wanted to prove a point and I was hungry as we fought demons in China all of last evening and into the early hours of today."
"You fought demons in China?"
Oops, Dean could detect an edge of something not quite sane in Bobby's voice and he realized that he might have overdone it a little. "Yeah, we've kinda gone global this past year, Bobby."
"You, gone global?"
"Angel Air beats airplanes any day of the week, especially with archangels at the helm."
"That's in the cockpit, not at the helm, idjit," Bobby admonished. "And what do you mean exactly when you say gone global? Where else have you been?"
"Well, let's see now, there's been Mexico, Australia, the Vatican, Belgium, eh..."
"French Guiana," Castiel added.
"Yeah, French Guiana."
"All of that on top of South Africa?" Bobby demanded.
"Yep. Hey, hang on a minute, how'd you know about South Africa?" Dean asked. "No, wait, let me guess. Becky."
"She mentioned something about it and you and Raphael getting injured there."
Dean winced at the memory, though he smiled when his husband's wings reached out to touch him. "Yeah, there was an incident there."
"Sounded more than just a mere incident from what she said, though I got the impression she's prone to exaggeration."
"Oh, trust me, she definitely is. In this case, however, not so much unfortunately."
"That bad, huh?"
"You have no idea, Bobby, you have no idea. Think of the worst that you've seen of angel fights and then multiple it by ten to get some vague idea of what it's like when archangels go at it."
"Christ."
"Don't blaspheme."
The words were out of Dean's mouth before he even realized what it was that he was going to say and by the time that he did it was already too late. There were a few moments of stunned silence, not only from him but from both Bobby and Castiel as well. He'd managed to catch everyone off-guard at once, himself included. A quick glance up at his husband showed a surprised but pleased look on Castiel's face and he returned the smile automatically before taking a sip of his coffee to help him clear the dryness he suddenly felt in his throat.
"Well, that wasn't something I'd ever expected to hear coming out of your mouth," Bobby finally stated.
"Yeah, me neither," Dean admitted, rubbing his face.
"It's a good thing that I know where it's coming from or I'd have to test you the next time I saw you."
"Ha ha, very funny Bobby."
"You did just hear yourself, didn't you, boy?"
"What can I say? You hang around with three archangels, sooner or later something's gonna rub off on you."
"A hell of a thing for you to pick up though."
Dean laughed. "It was a gradual process, trust me. It started with me not saying any of that crap anymore."
"What? You, Dean Winchester, don't swear anymore?"
"Hey!" Dean protested, glaring as Castiel laughed at the disbelief in the older hunter's voice. "And I didn't say that I don't swear anymore, just that I don't blaspheme."
"Same difference with you, boy."
"Bite me, Bobby. Now was there a point to this call or shall I just hang up on you now?"
"You got somewhere to be?"
"Actually there's this amazing croissant here just waiting for me to eat it and then there's a Heavenly pain au chocolat and coffee better than anything that you've probably ever tasted, though it's not as good as that Colombian stuff Cas gets for me straight from the source."
"Laying it on a little thick, aren't ya?"
"No such thing when it comes to the French and their pastries. Mm."
"You're gonna be the size of walrus if you're not careful."
"That's what I told Cas but he pointed out that we've got this perfect workout regimen. See, what we do is-"
"No!" Bobby interrupted. "Don't you dare! I don't want any details, Becky already mentioned far more than I ever wanted to know about your sex life!"
Unfortunately for Dean he'd just been taking another sip of his coffee and now choked on it. "Becky did what?"
"Said some stuff I don't think I'm ever going to be able to unhear, no matter how hard I try."
"Like what?"
"Like wings and wing oil."
Dean blinked for a moment before he threw his head back and laughed. His husband's wings and all of the little extras they brought to sex had been so totally incorporated into their relationship that he honestly no longer thought of any of it as being weird or different. So to hear Bobby talking about it as being something so foreign and alien as to be considered kinky or fall under 'too much information' was hilarious.
"Dude, seriously?" Dean questioned. "You think that's bad?"
"No! Dean, I am warning you, boy, don't you dare mention anything else."
"Aw, but Bobby, there was this one thing that I was just dying to tell you about. It-"
"I'll tell your brother and grandfather about that incident at my house when you were twelve."
The threat was enough to make Dean's mouth snap shut with an audible click and his face flushed as he thought about that particular incident. He'd done his utmost best to not ever think about it in the hopes that it would simply fade away as if it had never been, but all it took was one little reminder and the scene flashed before his eyes once more in full Technicolor detail. Castiel's head titled as his husband looked at him inquiringly but he shook his head firmly. They were not going to talk about it. Ever.
"You wouldn't dare," Dean tried.
"Try me."
"I swear, Bobby."
"Hey, if you don't say anything then neither will I, it's that simple."
"You drive a hard bargain, Singer."
"An old man's gotta keep his sanity somehow around you two Winchesters."
"So you admit that you're old?"
"Not as old as you. You're what? Nearing seventy-five now?"
"And yet I'll never look a day over thirty-one. Ever."
There was a pause before Bobby spoke again, all levity gone from his voice. "What did you do now, ya idjit?"
"Whoa, relax, Bobby! It's not my doing, it's Cas'," Dean said and got a disgruntled look from his angel for it. "Turns out he likes me just the way I am."
"He's freezing your aging?"
"Yep."
"You sound happy with that."
"Are you kidding me? No aging means no worries about slowing down or any of that crap that happens as your body comes down from its peak. I know you know what I'm talking about here, old man."
"You better watch yourself, boy. And it may sound like fun now, but what about when you can't stay in one place because people will start to notice that something's not right?"
"Like we ever stick around anywhere long enough for that to happen. Besides, Cas is an angel, remember? He can make it look like I'm aging even when I'm not."
"Castiel's more than a mere angel these days, I hear."
"Huh, what?" Dean asked before he recalled that they hadn't ever told them about his bond mate's promotion. "Oh for! Just how much did Becky tell you guys?"
"Far too much in some areas and not nearly enough in others."
"That's not the way I'm hearing it."
"We can discuss the exact details later," Bobby stated. "Now the reason that I called is because we're done with the cleansing spells."
"What? You are?"
"Yeah, we performed the last one last night and have been doing every last check we can think of since then. You brother's passed all of them even if the most powerful ones still bother him a little."
"That's to be expected," Castiel said, raising his voice enough that it would carry over the phone and Dean shifted so it would work more easily.
"You heard that, Bobby?" Dean demanded.
"Yeah. That because of how long ago Azazel first gave Sam demon blood?"
"Yes," Castiel confirmed. "That and I believe that Sam has an inherent darkness within him that makes him more susceptible to it than most humans and thus it'll cling more readily to him that it would to others without an extreme effort on his part."
"But he'll be okay, right?" Dean inquired.
"Yes, your brother will be fine. This will also not interfere with Raziel's spell."
"Excellent," Bobby stated. "So, when do you want to start?"
"The sooner the better," Dean replied. "I need to check the lunar calendar as it was important and we'll also need to contact Mike and Raph to make sure that they have everything, not to mention that those of us who are human need at least some sleep. So how about we come by this afternoon, would that work?"
"That won't be a problem. Samuel's already got a room set up for you and there's a spot out front for your damn car."
Dean laughed. "Thanks, Bobby. See you soon."
"Just get back here in one piece, ya idjit."
/
Despite the fact that Dean had packed up and moved nearly as often as some people changed their socks, there was something very hard about packing his duffle now. He couldn't quite put his finger on it but it clung to him from the moment he'd first pulled his duffle out and started putting clothes into it. And the worst thing was that he wasn't even moving out, just packing some things for a trip of about a week. It also wasn't until now that he'd realized just how much junk he'd accumulated since Castiel had been injured and he'd gotten the apartment. It seemed that now that he had a place to store it, he'd been picking up things here and there that he otherwise never would have.
Dean paused as he looked at their kalsika. Part of him was tempted to take it along with him, but the rest of him knew that if he did someone else was bound to touch it and the thought elicited an instantaneous negative reaction within him. The kalsika was theirs- his and Cas'- and it wasn't for anyone else to touch. Therefore it would have to remain here as there was absolutely no way that it would go unnoticed if he took it with him, not with how it still glowed with the multicolored light it had gained during its initiation.
With a soft flutter of wings, Castiel arrived back in their bedroom. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah, I think so," Dean replied, closing his duffle.
It had been a long time since he'd had so much trouble deciding what to pack but Dean knew the actual problem wasn't that he was indecisive so much as he was trying to put off the inevitable. This wasn't just a quick visit with Sam and his mother's family, but rather an extended stay that was one hundred percent guaranteed to be fraught with both tension and ugly arguments, not to mention a less than pleasant spell that they'd need to perform. He'd read over Raziel's writing again and it made it quite clear that the magic would hurt the one that it was performed on and while he and Sam were currently estranged to put it gently, he still felt that instinctive and gut deep reaction to protect his little brother from harm. Even that of the self-inflicted variety.
"You don't have to remain there if you do not wish to," Castiel said, stepping close. "One of us would be more than happy to bring you back and forth each time."
"Thanks, Cas, but I really shouldn't do that. It's time to bite the bullet." Castiel tilted his head at the expression, feathers rippling and Dean had to smile. "It means that it's time to face the music."
Dean could have gone on, listing a whole host of other, similar expressions but his husband shut him up in the most effective and pleasant way possible; by kissing him. There was fond exasperation coming through the bond and he pelted back his own amusement and the fact that he found his angel's confusion and inability to work out the expressions adorable. And it was official, Castiel had turned him into a chick, otherwise he'd never have used that word to describe anything about a partner.
"I assume that you want me to take the Impala with us," Castiel said when he pulled back.
"Yeah, of course. That way I've got an out if need to get out of there for a short while and think."
"You could always call me."
"Trust me, in those cases you probably wouldn't want me to."
"I'd be able to lift your mood far faster than a drive could."
Dean laughed. "Of that I have absolutely no doubt. You'd also shut my ability to think coherently down pretty damn fast as well though and while that's awesome, it would probably defeat the purpose in at least some of those cases."
"Thinking is overrated."
He would have laughed again except that his husband kissed him once more and Dean moaned instead. "We're never going to get anywhere at this rate," he warned.
Normally Dean wouldn't care, but today was the last night before the new moon and Raziel's spell had to be started at the end of the lunar cycle during the waning crescent. So if they didn't do the first part tonight, then they'd have to wait most of another month and that was simply something they couldn't afford to do at the moment, much as he wished to finish what his bond mate was starting here.
"I know," Castiel replied, pulling back though he sent a pulse of love through the bond.
Dean returned it, feeling far better, before he nodded. "Alright, let's go."
"Do you have everything you require?"
"Yeah, I've already put some of the books in the car, so it's just me and the duffle from in here."
His husband reached up and brushed two fingers to his forehead and then Dean was standing outside beside his baby. Before them was what he assumed to be the Campbell family compound though he'd never seen it from the outside before. Immediately some dogs started to bark somewhere round back and he had the brief thought that they'd probably just circumvented about half of his grandfather's protections though he made a mental note to have his own look around and make sure that everything was up to snuff. No way was he letting anything happen because he got complacent now, not that he didn't trust Bobby to have done so already, but he knew far more now than either of the older hunters did when it came to their current enemies.
"You coming in with me, Cas, or do you gotta be somewhere?" Dean asked.
"I can come in for a short while if you think it best."
"You don't?"
"I do not believe your grandfather and cousin will be at ease in my presence after what happened with Raphael's last visit."
The memory made Dean smile though he had to concede the point. "Okay, fine, I'll see you later then."
"Just call when you're ready to start the spell."
A.N.: I have to admit, it was really weird seeing 'present' at the top of this chapter when I posted it and I nearly went back to fix my mistake before remembering that, no, we really have caught up. It feels like the end of an era somehow :(
Chapter 150