Gossamer Empyrean, Part 1

[otp_destiel]

Title: Gossamer Empyrean
Pairings: Dean/Castiel
Rating: NC-17
Spoilers: Season 5, with mentions of info from "Clap Your Hands if You Believe."
Warnings: slash, AU, dom!Castiel, sub!Dean, mild het, bare backing, Grace!sex, oral, orgasm denial, bondage (tie!sex)
Word Count: 33,421
Note: This fic was written for the deancasbigbang 2013. It is the sequel to Into Temptation and the second in the Trinity Trilogy, but stands entirely on its own and can therefore be read without reading Into Temptation first or reading the planned sequel afterwards.
Summary: A hunt dealing with missing persons quickly leads to an elaborate plan in a desperate attempt to prevent what is happening and possibly save one of the kidnapped children. The only problem? Dean isn't at all enamored with the role that he has to play. He'd rather be doing something other than playing Castiel's sex slave and looking pretty.

Beta: aerilex

Artist: stefy-coool - Art Masterlist

The room was dark when Castiel arrived but his angelic sight allowed him to easily see everything within it nonetheless. This was a good thing as otherwise he might have tripped over the trashcan standing out in the middle of the room and he knew how easily Sam, but most especially Dean, woke if disturbed at night. He spared a single glance at the trashcan as he passed it and noted that it was full of paper wadded up into little balls and a smile tugged at his lips. Dean had clearly been bored at some point during the day and had found a means with which to amuse himself.

Castiel could easily picture his hunter lounging on his bed, tossing the little paper balls at the trashcan with perfect precision. He could just as easily see Sam's annoyance with the pastime, especially if the occasional stray ball had 'accidentally' hit him. A quick glance at the table where the younger Winchester brother would have sat confirmed his suspicions as he spied a little paper ball lying half in the shadow of the table cast by the weak light from some neon sign outside.

With a smile, Castiel turned forwards once more and moved to stand at the end of his charge's bed. Dean had called him earlier in the day when he'd been out of cell phone coverage and his hunter's message had been rather vague, stating only that they needed his help. The lack of annoyance in Dean's voice had told him it wasn't desperately urgent but he'd still chosen to come as soon as he'd received the voicemail.

Now Castiel was happy that he had. The night was warm and sticky, and the air conditioning unit of the motel that Sam and Dean had chosen provided very little cool air for all of the noise that it made. As a result, Dean had crawled into bed wearing nothing more than a pair of boxers and the sheet his human had used had long since been kicked down to the bottom of the bed. This left acres of naked skin for his perusal and he made the most of the opportunity, letting his eyes caress all that his fingers wanted to touch and claim. The desire was nothing new and he'd been resisting it ever since he'd first touched Dean's soul down in Perdition.

The attraction had been instantaneous and Castiel longed to act upon it. The fact that it was difficult to resist was attested to by the brand that Dean already possessed, a physical manifestation on the hunter's body and soul of his claim. The ease with which he had been able to mark Dean, the instinctive submission that had shown, only made him hunger for a complete connection all the more, but he fought it, knowing how that type of relationship was viewed by humans; how unacceptable and unpalatable parts of it were. He knew better than to think that he'd be able to resist wanting or taking it all if he engaged in a sexual relationship with the Righteous Man.

Not that Castiel ever thought that it would get that far. He had observed Dean closely (far closer than his hunter seemed comfortable with and even that was nowhere near the intensity of what his human would receive if he were to fully claim Dean as his own) and seen how the hunter only infrequently glanced at men and only then when Dean was distracted. As soon as his charge seemed to realize what he was doing, Dean would glance away so Castiel doubted that his hunter had ever even lain with a man. The thought that his charge might be completely untouched in that manner, had never been taken, made his mouth water and it was all that he could do not to reach out and touch all of the surprisingly smooth looking skin laid out before him. It was so very tempting but he resisted and instead of his fingers, it was his eyes that traced random patterns over Dean's muscled back, traveling from freckle to freckle.

It wasn't until Dean shifted restlessly and mumbled something incomprehensible that Castiel realized just how intensely he'd been staring and he reluctantly drew his eyes away. He knew from his charge's previous comments that this kind of behavior was considered 'freaky' from a human perspective, but it was entirely natural and normal for a dominant angel to watch his submissive so closely. Though he supposed the fact that humans actually slept could make a difference to that. The closest that angels came was to slip into a trance while seeking revelation, but even then he'd witnessed dominants observing their submissives as he was Dean. The fact that his hunter was aware enough of what was happening to be disturbed by it but not to waken did allow him some slim hope, but he knew it was unrealistic. Humans neither craved nor accepted the possessiveness that came with submitting to a more dominant angel and he knew well how stubbornly Dean could resist one of his kind if his hunter put his mind to it.

Therefore Castiel kept as tight a reign on his emotions and desires as he could and took his pleasure where he could. Like tonight. Dean's earlier movement had rolled the human onto his back and caused his charge's boxers to slip down on his hip a little. His eyes eagerly took in the newly revealed skin and he licked his lips at the thought of being able to touch it.



Castiel could tell the instant that Dean woke and the lack of movement told him that his presence had been detected but not his identity. When the muscles of his charge's arm that disappeared under the pillow flexed, he knew that his hunter was assuming the worst.

"You will not need that gun, Dean," Castiel stated, announcing his identity.

"Cas," Dean reproved, turning to glare at him where he sat at the foot of his charge's bed. "What are you doing here?"

"You called me."

A grumble and then Sam was suddenly sitting upright in his own bed, eyes alert as the boy looked at him and Dean.

"Castiel?" Sam inquired.

"Sam," Castiel replied.

"I called you yesterday morning," Dean stated, groping on the floor for his jeans and then rolling out of bed to pull them on as quickly as possible.

"Yes," Castiel agreed, sad to see the skin hidden from his view once more but trying not to show it. "I was out of cell phone range."

"So, what, you decided to come in the middle of the night and just sit on my bed until we woke?"

"Yes."

Clearly that had been the wrong answer as Dean paused in pulling on a shirt to share a disbelieving look with his brother before his charge finished dressing. Castiel frowned as he tried to figure out why his hunter felt the need to hide himself so thoroughly and quickly. Dean was a natural submissive, he'd felt that from the first instant that he'd touched his human's soul, so why did Dean fight it? Though perhaps in this case he'd simply misunderstood some societal norm as Sam dressed himself nearly as quickly as Dean had and he too appeared to be uncomfortable.

"Why did you try to seek my assistance?" Castiel inquired instead.

"We've hit a bit of a block in our case," Sam stated.

"A bit of a block," Dean snorted. "The research keeps indicating the impossible."

"What Dean means is that everything points towards something that we've never encountered before and haven't ever heard another hunter dealing with in the past. Which made us think that they're not real."

"What?" Castiel asked with a frown.

"Fairies."

"Faeries are real."

"Really?" Sam questioned. "You mean that there's really a fairy realm out there where they take people?"

"Yes."

"You're not serious," Dean stated, stepping out of the bathroom with his toothbrush in hand.

"Of course I am," Castiel responded, not sure why his charge found this so hard to believe.

"You mean that there are honest to G-... fairies? With wings and magic and fairy dust?"

"Not all of them have wings and if by dust you're referring to the trail of sparks their magic leaves behind, then yes, faerie dust."

"Told you, Dean," Sam said. "The research is all there."

"So is it for sunlight disintegrating vampires and fire breathing dragons, doesn't make them real."

"Actually, dragons do exist and they do, in fact, breathe fire. They have just almost been hunted to extinction," Castiel stated. "So what makes you think that you are dealing with faeries now?"

"A number of things," Sam replied, moving to the table where all of his research was. "First, all of the disappearances have happened in the same place, out at the edge of town near the forest."

"How do you know if those people vanished?"

"Because they weren't all alone," Dean explained. "Sometimes they were with others who swear that they weren't separated for more than a few minutes before their friend or sibling disappeared."

"Others were last known to be going to the forest," Sam added. "We went to have a look and found some fairy rings."

"And you were still uncertain as to what you were hunting?"

"We'd never seen a fairy ring before," Dean defended. "We had to look it up afterwards. Besides, you'd that think if fairies were real and if they did kidnap people that more hunters would know about them. Hell, we called Bobby and he thought we were pulling his leg!"

Castiel was unsure as to why Bobby Singer might think that, but he now knew better than to inquire about it as he was nearly certain that Dean meant something other than what he said with that. By this point his hunter was done with all of the things that he did in the bathroom and so was back in the main room. As this particular motel was smaller than normal, it allowed him to stand closer to Dean than his human might otherwise have allowed him to. The knowledge that Dean had visited the site of the faery portal and could therefore just as easily have been taken as the others made it impossible for him to resist the impulse.

Indeed, it was all that Castiel could do not to simply whisk his hunter out of town immediately. Regardless of how this hunt went, he was not leaving until he knew that the issue was resolved as there was just no way that he was running the risk of his human being claimed by one of the fae. He'd sooner claim Dean himself without his hunter's permission than to allow that to happen. Not that he doubted that Dean would either resist or blame him once his human discovered why the others had been taken.

"The fae do not come into our realm lightly or often," Castiel explained. "Between hunters and angels, it has not gone well for them in the past. Clearly this information has been lost to your kind over the years."

"When you say years, just what do you mean?" Sam asked. "Are we talking decades here or centuries?"

"More like millennia."

"Oh, well, that would be why it has been forgotten and thought to be nothing more than myth and legend."

"Wait, why would you guys care and fight them?" Dean questioned. "Angels don't care enough to interfere with what happens to humans."

Inwardly Castiel winced at the words, but he could not fault his hunter for them as his brothers and sisters hadn't given Dean a better impression. "We have not always had to keep away from Earth as we did recently. Back then when the fae encroached on human populations, we would often have to try to negotiate a truce with them or attempt to retrieve those victims for whom it was not yet too late."

"What do you mean, too late?" Dean demanded.

"The food," Sam realized.

"Food or drink," Castiel confirmed. "Any human who has been taken into the faerie realm and who has consumed the wrong food or drink there can never return."

"Why?" Dean asked, brow furrowing.

"It irrevocably changes a human so that not even an angel can fix them."

The shudder that went through Dean told Castiel that his hunter was starting to see how serious this situation could have been. He knew that Dean was always hungry, so his human probably would have eaten something if taken. Well, unless the fae had made the mistake of showing too much eagerness in offering Dean the food so as to alert his human to the fact that something was up. He had known other humans to eat just to keep up their strength, not realizing that in doing so they had already lost the fight that they were preparing themselves for.

"Is it also true that time moves differently there? Slower than here?" Sam questioned.

"Yes, so those who have managed to come back have done so to find that years have gone by as humans are incapable of correcting their trajectory through the portal between realms," Castiel stated.

"And you can?"

"To a certain extent. More time will still have passed here, but not nearly as much so. More in the order of weeks rather than years."

Because he was so attuned to Dean's mood, Castiel could tell how uncomfortable the talk of altered time made his hunter. No doubt it was a sharp and completely unwanted reminder of Dean's time in Perdition. He resisted the impulse he felt to reach out and soothe his hunter as he knew the gesture would be as unwelcome as it was unwanted.

"Do you think that we can still save anyone who's been taken?" Dean asked.

"How long ago has the last person vanished?" Castiel countered.

"Three days ago."

"It is possible."

"So we can still try?" Sam questioned hopefully. "You said that angels had negotiated with them in the past."

"Yes, but that was when we had the might of Heaven behind us. Now I don't and I doubt my brothers and sisters will care with the Apocalypse upon us."

"They don't know about any of that," Dean argued. "They live in their own realm, right? How much would they know about what's going on here?"

Castiel paused to think about that for a moment. "Not much most likely."

"You want Cas to bluff?" Sam demanded.

Dean shrugged. "Sure, why not? And if that doesn't work then we can still wreak havoc there, make it so that they don't find it profitable to come back."

"I don't believe you. You want to go to another realm just to fight?"

"Hey, they started it by taking people!" Dean protested before turning to Castiel suddenly. "Hey, why do they do that anyway? Why grab people at all?"

Internally Castiel winced, knowing how poorly this would go down. "To service them."

"What do you mean, service?" Sam questioned. "You mean they take them as slaves?"

It took a few seconds but Castiel saw it the moment that the full meaning of his words hit home for Dean as his hunter's eyes went wide in horror.

"Wait, you don't mean...?" Dean began.

"Yes," Castiel confirmed.

"What?" Sam asked but then his own eyes widened as Dean looked at his brother and raised an eyebrow. "Oh."

"Yeah, oh," Dean repeated, sarcastically. "Dude, that's sick and wrong."

"It explains why all of those taken have been pretty."

This time it was Sam who made the connection first and Castiel saw the younger Winchester's eyes fly to his brother's face. He had little doubt that Sam was currently thankful that nothing had gone wrong during their exploration of the area near the portal. Just the mere thought of Dean in the hands of a fae was enough to make Castiel itch for his blade. That alone would have been sufficient to motivate him to do all that he could to close this particular portal.

"The most important question is why they were taken in the first place," Castiel said, trying to calm himself by forcing his thoughts down another path.

"Huh?" Dean inquired. "You said it was to... eh, service."

"Yes, but why here and why now?"

"Can't fairies just put a portal wherever they want?" Sam asked. "Or is it hard to do?"

"It is hard, but given how long it has been since they've created one, why do so now? Either they knew that things have changed here, which would be worrying all on its own, or someone summoned them."

"Wait, you can summon faeries?" Dean demanded. "Why would anyone do that?"

"For the same reason that one would summon a crossroads demon. In order to make a deal with it."

"Of course!" Sam exclaimed, grabbing his notes and flipping through them. "There's a ton of lore on fairies granting wishes, though it seems that you need to be really careful what you ask for."

"Yes, the fae are notorious for giving humans precisely what they asked for and not what they actually meant," Castiel confirmed.

"Huh?" Dean asked.

"Being literal when it was meant figuratively or things like that," Sam explained.

"Oh, so they made the deals in bad faith."

"Yes, precisely," Castiel confirmed.

"And what do they want in return?"

"A beautiful firstborn."

"Whoa, wait, the firstborn thing's real?" Sam demanded. "I thought that bit was just made up."

"Why would you assume that?"

"Well not everyone who was taken was a firstborn."

"They were not?" Castiel questioned, confused.

He had never known a fae to take one who was not a firstborn. He didn't even think that was possible.

"No, Sandy Kendal has an older brother."

"Half-brother," Dean realized. "She's got an older half-brother. That must be it."

"What is a half-brother?" Castiel asked, surely it wasn't literally half a brother.

"Siblings who have only one parent in common. In this case I think that it's their father. Terry Kendal said that Amelie wasn't his mother."

"Could that work?" Sam asked, looking at Castiel. "If they are the firstborn from only one of the two parents?"

"It would appear so if Sandy was taken, but I have never heard of this before," Castiel admitted.

Not that it was something that Castiel had ever thought too much about in the past. Up until learning from a drunken Dean that he'd had a brother other than Sam, a brother his father had had with someone other than Mary Winchester, and who was dead, that he'd even known that humans did that. Moved on after losing a mate or having children again with those new mates.

"Fuck, Terry's never going to forgive himself," Dean stated, running a hand through his hair.

"It wasn't his fault, Dean," Sam replied. "And it could just as easily have been him that was taken as he's his father's firstborn."

"He was there, Sam, right there when she was taken. If we don't get her back, it won't matter. She was his responsibility."

The sheer emotion behind those words told Castiel that Dean had connected with the boy. Between that and the anguish that his hunter would feel himself if in that position meant that Dean felt responsible. He determined that he would do all that he could to save this Sandy Kendal as he knew just how fragile his hunter felt right now. Plus he felt that he still had a lot to make up for letting Sam out of the panic room.

"Was she the last one taken?" Castiel inquired.

"Yeah."

"Then all might not be entirely lost."

"You think?" Dean asked, perking up.

"It is possible given that time moves more slowly in Avalon. Now, who was the first victim?"

"The first one?" Sam asked.

"Damian Mitchell," Dean replied. "Why?"

"Because if this is a case of a summoning, then he will be the key to figuring out who did so," Castiel explained.

"You think his parents did this? They were devastated!"

The way Sam nodded at his brother's announcement told Castiel that Dean probably wasn't seeing what he wanted to. "It does not have to be the parents. It can be anyone who has a claim on Damian or who performed the proper ritual in order to gain that power."

"You can do that?" Sam questioned, horrified.

"Yes and with what I've observed of human children, it would not be particularly difficult to gain their consent for such a ritual."

"Damian couldn't give consent, he's underage!" Dean protested. "Only just, but still."

"With magic there are no such constraints."

"Or with angelic consent," Dean muttered darkly, giving him a hard look.

It took Castiel a moment before he realized that his hunter was referring to the time that he'd taken Claire Novak as his vessel. He would have thought that the way everything had worked out there would have shown that he'd made the right decision but he knew better than to argue it with Dean. His human was particularly sensitive to, and protective of, anything to do with children, not to mention how his hunter felt about the whole angelic vessel thing. It was almost surprising in a way that neither Dean nor Sam had ever made any comment to him about Jimmy. Maybe it was because they'd seen the man all but beg him to take him back as his vessel and the fact that they knew Jimmy was dying when he did so. Or perhaps it was because they knew him before they knew Jimmy. Regardless of why, it had never come up beyond his human's initial question of whether he was possessing someone and for that he was grateful. He wouldn't want Dean to be thinking of Jimmy every time his hunter looked at him.

"So, basically, it could be anyone," Sam said, dejected.

"It could be," Castiel agreed. "But it is unlikely to be someone too far removed from the boy for them to have used him. I would recommend that you start with those closest to him while Dean and I attempt to use diplomatic means to ensure the portal's closure and the release of any of the victims possible."

"Whoa, wait, no," Dean exclaimed. "Why do I have to come with you? I'm crap at negotiating, besides Sammy's the one who gets a hard on for such shit like fairy realms and things like that. How 'bout I stay behind and find the douchebag who sold some poor kid and you two go play nice and talk to the slave traders?"

For a brief moment Castiel thought that Sam might agree with his brother before realization dawned.

"Oh, I can't, Dean," Sam said. "I'm not firstborn, you are."

"Exactly," Castiel confirmed.

"Fuck," Dean muttered, running a hand over his face. "Do you really need me there, Cas? I mean, come on, you know me, I'm more likely to put my foot in it than anything else. Wouldn't it be better if I stayed behind and helped Sam on this end with... wait, what is Sam supposed to do anyway?"

"Ensure that if the fae were indeed summoned here that it does not happen again," Castiel explained, conveniently ignoring the first part of his hunter's question.

Dean would not like it, of that Castiel had absolutely no doubt even if a part of him was greatly looking forward to it. It was a greater part of him than he'd like given that he knew his human wouldn't like it, but it was hard to resist the impulse to like anything that would give him such free allowance to touch Dean, and not only allow it, but require it of him even.

Sam frowned. "Wait, surely if someone summoned a fairy here then he or she couldn't have given them everyone that has been taken. Can you even give an adult like that?"

"No, not without an extremely powerful spell, the effects of which I would still be able to feel. If someone summoned the fae, then they either didn't know how to properly end such an exchange or failed to do so in sufficient time, leaving the portal open."

"And what?" Dean asked. "The fae just decided to help themselves?"

"Yes."

The fact that Dean had picked up his pronunciation and wording for the fae did not escape Castiel's notice and he wondered if it was a deliberate move on his hunter's part or something done unconsciously. Either way it showed how attuned his human was to him, which only increased his longing to further their connection. Just the memory of how pliable Dean's soul had been, how easily it had submitted to his Grace as soon as he'd touched it, was nearly enough to make him act even now.

Nearly.

Castiel took solace in the fact that soon he'd be able to freely give in to at least a few of his impulses and desires. Whether that would make things easier or harder afterwards he wasn't entirely sure, though he feared that it would be the latter.

"Awesome," Dean stated, the dark look on his face telling Castiel it wasn't meant in the positive sense of the word.

"So I just need to make sure it doesn't happen again if this was a summoning," Sam checked. "I can't actually do anything to close the portal or stop the abductions?"

"Not from out here, no."

"What about from inside?" Dean asked. "Can you close it from there rather than need to negotiate with the damn fae?"

"Dean!" Sam protested.

"They took people as sex slaves, Sam. Some of them kids!"

"No, Dean, I cannot," Castiel said. "Not without permanently locking myself inside. And if we do not negotiate a truce, then Oberon might just open a new portal."

"Oberon?" Sam repeated, surprised.

"He is the king of the fae. Or he was the last time Heaven had contact with that realm, though I see no reason for that to have changed."

"What's up, Sammy?" Dean questioned.

"It's just that Oberon is the name of the fairy king in Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream"."

"And?"

"And don't you think that's a bit of a coincidence?"

"You think that he had contact with the fae?"

"It strikes me as likely."

"Cool."

"Cool?"

"Yeah, it meant that he knew about the supernatural."

"I can't believe you!" Sam exclaimed.

"What? Why?" Dean asked, as confused as Castiel was at his brother's sudden change of tone.

"You used to think that Shakespeare was a boring old dude and now that you learn that he might have been aware of the supernatural you like him."

"Yeah? So? It meant he actually did something good. Well, unless he knew about it because he summoned a faerie himself. Then that would not be cool."

There were times that Castiel wondered if Sam even knew his brother at all. Even he with far less experience when it came to Dean (or indeed humans in general) had known how his hunter would react. It seemed obvious to him why Dean would be interested in Shakespeare now where he wouldn't have been before. His human just valued different things from Sam.

"But he's Shakespeare!" Sam exclaimed.

Dean shrugged. "Yeah, so?"

"Who's Shakespeare?" Castiel inquired, earning himself a beaming smile from his hunter and a slightly horrified look from Sam.

"You don't know who Shakespeare was?" Sam demanded in disbelief.

"No."

"Why would he?" Dean shot back. "He hadn't even heard of Star Wars!"

A little afraid that the younger Winchester was going to have a fit or otherwise damage himself, Castiel decided it was safer to steer the conversation back to what they had been talking about. Even if he wasn't looking forward to Dean's reaction when his hunter learned just exactly what his role would be.

"Regardless of this Shakespeare's level of supernatural knowledge, Oberon must be convinced to close the portal and not open a new one," Castiel said.

"Will that be hard?" Sam asked, with a final look of disbelief at his brother.

"It depends on whether he was looking for a... slave and if he found one."

Castiel caught the way that Sam's eyes flickered briefly, almost involuntarily, towards his brother. He didn't need to see the panic and worry there to know what had just crossed the younger Winchester's mind. He shook his head almost unperceptively to reassure Sam that that wouldn't be a problem. Sure, he was almost one hundred percent positive that Dean would do far more than attract Oberon's eye (and indeed that was almost precisely why it was imperative that he had Dean with him in the first place), but he would make sure that was all that happened. His hunter was not up for negotiation as Dean Winchester was his.

"He should just be thankful that we can't take all of them back," Dean growled. "Or that we can't put him and all of the other fae down, because otherwise we would."

"Are you sure that you want to take him with you?" Sam asked.

Castiel smiled. "Yes. In fact it is imperative that Dean is there."

"Why?"

"Hey!" Dean protested.

"You called negotiations talking without a point when someone couldn't do anything else to that woman in Maine."

"Dean will not need to talk," Castiel informed them.

"I won't?" Dean questioned, surprised.

"No, the fae do not think very highly of humans in general and Oberon is even worse than most. He would never deign to negotiate with one, not even one accompanied by an angel of the Lord."

"Then why do you need me?"

"Oh, oh!" Sam exclaimed, eyes wide before the younger Winchester snorted, trying to hold back a laugh before giving up and doing so outright.

At least one of them could find amusement in the situation as Castiel was sure that would not be Dean's response to it.

"What?" Dean demanded. "Cas!"

"I... The negotiations would go far smoother if Oberon were to see me as someone worthy of respect," Castiel began evenly, not entirely sure how to come right out and tell his hunter that he needed him to pretend to be his slave.

His sex slave.

"Yeah, so? You're an angel."

"That does not mean the same thing to everyone."

Castiel was pleased to see that his pointed comment hit home as Dean looked down for a moment. It was a clear enough acknowledgement that his human knew that he didn't always treat him with the proper respect that he deserved.

"Okay, and?" Dean pressed.

"Come on, even you're not that dumb," Sam interjected.

"Shut up, bitch."

"Think about it, jerk. What do fairies want people for? What would Cas having you with him make them think?"

There was another moment of confusion, but Castiel could see it the instant that realization dawned. Dean's eyes went wide in a complex mixture of disbelief, shock and horror, snapping over to look at him. He nodded once at the unasked question before bracing himself for the inevitable explosion that was sure to follow.

"No," Dean stated, shaking his head. "Absolutely not!"

"Dean-" Sam began.

"No!"

"Be reasonable."

"Reasonable? Cas wants me to pretend to be his sex slave!"

"To close the portal!"

"There's got to be another way."

"Although it may be possible for me to achieve an audience with Oberon and successfully negotiate the closing of the portal alone, it is highly unlikely," Castiel replied, forcing himself to maintain a stoic face.

It wasn't him that Dean was rejecting, Castiel reminded himself, but rather the principle of it. His hunter was no one's slave and he couldn't see Dean submitting to anyone in that manner. It was why his oldest brother would never have Dean, his human was just inherently stubborn and short of John Winchester and Alastair, he knew of no one that Dean had ever given way to. And of those two, the former had drilled the obedience into a child Dean while the latter had literally carved it into his hunter. In the end, though, neither had been able to maintain their control of Dean and he doubted that anyone ever would though a part of him desperately wanted to try, though not in the same way that either John Winchester or Alastair had (and he tried not to think about either too closely as he knew that he'd just work himself up without any way to relieve his anger).

"Why?" Dean demanded through gritted teeth, jaw set in that stubborn way of his that Castiel had seen it get when confronted with Zachariah or Uriel.

"Because they view having a human as a sign of status."

"Okay, so we get someone else," Dean stated. "Bobby's an only child, that makes him a firstborn, plus he'll actually be able to help you," Dean continued, pointing a finger at Sam prior to his younger brother's forthcoming interruption. "Well, not speaking wise, but he'll notice things that might help."

Castiel winced at the mere idea of taking Bobby Singer along with him. Though his first thought should have been of the strategic value as his hunter said, all that he could do was react viscerally and not only did he not find any other human nearly as attractive or alluring as Dean, but his own angelic mating instincts automatically rebelled at the thought of treating any else as such.

"No," Castiel replied firmly. "Bobby will not do."

"Why not?" Dean demanded, crossing his arms over his chest defensively.

"He is not attractive enough. The worth of a slave in the eyes of the fae lies in their beauty."

His hunter made a short, strangled sound in the back of his throat that mildly concerned Castiel but Sam's complete and utter lack of concern as his friend laughed aloud reassured him. Dean sputtered for a few seconds more, cheeks starting to take on an interesting red hue before his human finally seemed to find his voice.

"What?" Dean demanded.

"He... Cas... He's saying that Bobby's not pretty enough," Sam struggled to reply. "But you are."

Castiel frowned at the younger Winchester's delight in the situation as well as Dean's reaction to it. He had only infrequently witnessed a human display the coloring of the face that his hunter did now, but they had never seemed pleased when it had happened. The problem was that he did not understand why his human was reacting like this. Though he knew that Dean didn't see his own worth, he'd observed his hunter in enough bars to know that Dean was very well aware of how physically attractive he was.

"Shut up, I'm not pretty!" Dean growled.

"Indeed," Castiel agreed, looking at Sam. "Your brother's beauty goes far beyond what that word implies."

"Cas!"

Dean's face was bright red now and Castiel saw that the coloring went down his hunter's neck, vanishing under the collar of his shirt. Sam had also stopped laughing and was looking at him with a curious expression, as if trying to work something out. He was a little afraid that the younger Winchester would put the pieces together and figure out his feelings for Dean, but he wasn't going to let this go that far.

"What?" Castiel inquired, feigning innocence.

"Dude, you can't say things like that!" Dean proclaimed.

"Why not?"

"Because."

That was not a reason, but his hunter's extreme unease made Castiel desist with that particular line of questioning even if he was displeased with Dean's apparent lack of confidence on the matter. He had thought this to be one area at least where his human was aware of his own exceptionality.

"It cannot be Bobby," Castiel simply reiterated instead. Then, seeing his human open his mouth to protest, he added: "Your physical attractiveness is not the only reason why it must be you."

"Oh?" Sam inquired, back to being amused at his brother's discomfort.

"The fae are also able to see a human's soul."

This time Castiel was not surprised when Dean blanched as he was already well aware of what his hunter thought of the state of his own soul. It was a fault that annoyed him more than any other.

"And despite what Dean may think," Castiel continued. "His soul shines brighter than that of any other human that I've ever seen before."

"Wait," Sam said, all humor gone now. "Brighter than any human soul that you've ever seen before?"

"Yes."

The shock on the younger Winchester's face made Castiel's own darken but it was not enough to make him lose track of Dean and so he saw how still his hunter had gone at his words. Part of it would be shock he knew, he just hoped that the rest of it was relief and not disbelief. As for Sam, well he knew that the boy didn't always have the highest opinion of Dean and that annoyed him. His hunter had sold his very soul for Sam, just how much more proof of Dean's devotion and selflessness did the younger Winchester need?

"Cas," Sam began hesitantly, clearly having seen his displeased expression. "It's not that I think ill of Dean, but that's a huge claim to make."

"Dude's not gotten out much," Dean replied, trying to shrug it all off.

That, Castiel would not allow. "True, but I have seen my fair share of souls in Heaven. Indeed, there are certain saints and martyrs who have been visited by most angels."

"And Dean's soul is still brighter?" Sam checked, glancing at his brother.

For a moment Castiel thought his friend was being deliberately obtuse until Sam looked back at him, flickering his eyes quickly to Dean and back. Ah, his friend wanted him to attempt to pound home this message through repetition. He wasn't sure that it would work, his human was a master at explaining away such things after all, but it definitely couldn't hurt.

"Undoubtedly," Castiel confirmed, looking Dean straight in the eye.

His hunter swallowed thickly even as Dean's eyes widened. Castiel could easily read the shock there. The disbelief displeased him but unfortunately it didn't surprise him. Not anymore. He would show Dean otherwise though, of that he was absolutely determined.

As usual, Castiel found it hard to draw his gaze away from Dean's eyes, especially given how open and vulnerable his human was just now. It was always difficult, given how easily he could see his hunter's soul there which was absolutely mesmerizing. Sometimes he wondered how he'd been able to pull his human out of Perdition given how all he'd wanted to do was take, claim Dean's soul. The only thing that he could think of and be thankful for was that the immediate dangers that they'd been in had overridden all else. Now, however, he'd have no such incentive and so all bets would be off. Or no, he was actually pretty sure of what he'd do just now.

"What's the other reason?" Sam asked.

"Huh?" Dean replied.

"Cas said that there were several reasons why it had to be you. What is the other reason?"

"Dean's mark," Castiel replied.

Sam didn't immediately get what he meant, but Castiel could see that Dean did as his hunter's hand immediately rose to touch the shoulder where his claim lay. The younger Winchester's eyes darted to his brother at the movement and realization dawned.

"Oh," Sam said.

"What's this got to do with anything?" Dean demanded.

"The fae will see it as a brand and hence as a sign of my ownership of you. They mark all of their slaves, so whoever I took would need one," Castiel explained.

"So taking anyone else would be difficult at best," Sam realized. "You'd have to find some way of marking them that would seem permanent enough for them."

"Exactly. An unmarked slave or an improperly claimed one is up for grabs under the right circumstances or with the right challenge."

"You're not asking for much are you," Dean muttered, shifting uneasily.

"I did not say that it would be easy. In fact if I were with anyone else, it would not be feasible."

"So there's no risk of them- of Oberon- trying to take Dean from you?" Sam questioned worriedly.

"Hey!" Dean protested. "I'm not some damsel in distress here. I can take care of myself!"

"Dean, you're like a walking wet dream to them; a perfect sex slave."

"Dude!" Dean exclaimed, going red in the face and neck once more.

The reaction fascinated Castiel and he made a mental note to ask Sam about it later. He didn't think that Dean would appreciate his inquiring about it now or later to him. Or at least that was the impression that he was currently getting from his hunter.

"Sam is correct, Dean," Castiel said. "You fit their ideal of the perfect human slave extremely well. It is why it must be you who accompanies me if this is to work. The fact that you are already irrevocably marked is not only fortuitous, but imperative. Otherwise Oberon would find a way of trying to make a play for you. And all of your hunting skills or weapons would have little effect in their realm where their magic is at its strongest."

Dean still looked ready to protest and Castiel was at a loss as to what to do. His hunter wasn't being reasonable, well either that or his human didn't trust him to take care of him and he'd rather like to think that it wasn't the latter after all that they'd been through together.

"Oh, forget your macho bullshit for once, Dean," Sam exclaimed in exasperation. "Do you want to close this portal and try and save Sandy or not?"

Of course, the best way to cut around all of Dean's inhibitions was to appeal to his hunter's need to save people. Castiel wasn't overly found of using such means to get his human to agree to this, but since he also knew that Dean would never forgive himself if they lost Sandy, he didn't protest it either.

"Fine," Dean snapped. "Let's do this."

Castiel was loathe to add more to what was already being asked of his hunter, he really was, but... "You cannot go dressed as you are."

"What? Why not?"

Once again, Sam seemed to catch on faster than his brother, or was at least allowing himself to get it. Castiel was pretty sure that if the situation were reversed that his hunter would not only have realized it already, but be teasing Sam about it mercilessly.

"'Cause you're pretending to be a slave, Dean. A sex slave. How many of those do you think are allowed to cover up so much of their skin?" Sam responded, doing a poor job of concealing his amusement.

Dean had crossed his arms again and Castiel tilted his head in consideration. He'd noticed that his hunter did that often when feeling vulnerable or weak and he wondered at the meaning of it. Was it some means of shielding himself? It made little sense as surely Dean would be better able to defend himself with his arms free, but he had seen some of his brothers and sisters make a comparable gesture with their wings in similar circumstances. Regardless, he knew that it was not going to be easy to convince Dean to wear the garments necessary to pass fae muster and convince them that his hunter was actually a relatively docile pleasure pet.



Part 2