And Trickster Makes Three, Part 5
Title: And Trickster Makes Three
Pairings: Dean/Castiel, Gabriel/Dean, Gabriel/Dean/Castiel & Gabriel/Castiel
Rating: NC-17
Spoilers: set early season 5, particularly "The Curious Case of Dean Winchester" & "Changing Channels", plus a minor little spoiler for some information we learn about angels in "Exile on Main Street".
Warnings: slash, AU, switch!Castiel, sub!Dean, bare backing, orgasm denial, Grace!sex, oral, het, dom!Gabriel, threesome, reference to previous gender bending, wing!fic, double penetration
Word Count: 51,385
Note: This fic was written for the deancasbigbang 2014. It is the third in the Trinity Trilogy and cannot be read on its own without reading the first two fics in the trilogy.
Summary: After Avalon, Dean is plagued by doubts about his role in his new relationship with Castiel and as he struggles to come to terms with it, he also has to deal with Sam asking questions and the little fact that there is an Apocalypse going on. So when Gabriel shows up, it does not make things any easier, but rather far more complex, especially when Dean starts to subconsciously remember his last meeting with the archangel.
Beta: aerilex
Artist: chemart - Art Masterlist
Dean slammed the screen of the laptop down in frustration and he had to resist the temptation to throw it at the wall. Sam would strangle him if he did that.
"How about a break?"
The only reason that Dean didn't jump a mile at Gabriel's voice was because he'd heard his archangel arrive a split second before Gabe had spoken. "Yeah, sure, think you can tell Lucy and Mike that we need just a couple of days for some R and R?" Dean snapped. "It's not like they don't want us desperate or anything at all."
"Wow, snarky much?" Gabriel demanded, eyebrows raised.
Dean deflated. "Sorry, it's just that we don't seem to be getting anywhere in tracking down the other three horsemen."
"I know, but trust me when I say that when they show up, we'll know."
"I'd really rather it didn't get to that point."
"Me too, but that's just not always possible. They're horsemen and Death in particular is quite powerful," Gabriel stated before patting the bed beside him. "Now come over here and relax a little, it'll do you good and clear your mind."
"Sam's in the shower," Dean pointed out.
"I know and much as I'd like to scar him for life, that's not what I had in mind, Deano, now come here."
Sensing that his lover wasn't going to let this one go and not really in the mood for more pointless research, Dean got up and walked over to his bed. And just how did Gabe and Cas always know which one was his anyway? Did he even want to know? With a little tug on his sleeve, his archangel had him off balance and he fell into an ungainly sprawl on the bed with a small yelp that he'd never own up to. His shirts had also all vanished.
"I thought this wasn't going to be like that," Dean said bemused as his lover shifted him around on the bed according to Gabe's liking.
"It's not," Gabriel confirmed as he pushed himself up and then Dean felt Gabe settling himself on his ass.
Dean got it just before his archangel's hands ran up his spine to his neck and shoulders. "Dude, I didn't know you could give massages."
"What? You think humanity could come up with something like this and that I wouldn't want a part of it?"
"Well, when you put it like that."
Gabriel laughed. "Better. Now, just relax and bear with me at the beginning because with knots the size of bicycle wheels it won't start feeling good right away."
Bicycle wheels. Dean scowled but let himself just sink into the bed, his arms dangling over the edge while his head rested on the right rear corner of the mattress, facing the bathroom door. As his lover had said, at first it didn't feel all that good, but neither did it hurt, something which he strongly suspected that it would (at least on some level) if his masseuse were human.
It wasn't long before it started to feel good and Dean had never been shy of showing that he enjoyed something and now was absolutely no different even if he suspected that his lover could sense his enjoyment of it without his vocalization of it. As Gabriel pushed his thumbs down on a particularly hard knot and worked it loose, he moaned, long and hard. God damn but that felt good!
"Uh, guys, seriously?" Sam's outraged voice came from the bathroom. "I'm right in here!"
"Oh don't worry, Sammy," Gabriel replied gleefully. "This isn't naked sexy fun times, but rather nearly fully clothed non-sexy fun times."
If he could have, Dean would have laughed at that as he could just picture his little brother's bitch face to the archangel's words. Sam wouldn't be at all sure whether to believe Gabriel or not. However, just as Dean opened his mouth, his lover found another knot and he groaned instead.
"It doesn't sound like it!" Sam protested loudly.
"Prude," Gabriel muttered. "Is he always like that?"
Dean laughed. "You have no idea," then louder. "S'okay, Sammy, no one's fully naked. Yet."
Though he knew that his brother wouldn't appreciate the latter, Dean couldn't help himself. Winding Sam up was practically a duty of his, not to mention a guilty pleasure. Besides, he was pretty sure that it was true too, not that he was sure he could get it up as he was just that relaxed already.
"You'd better not be, or I'm trying my hand at that banishing sigil," Sam threatened before the bathroom door opened.
"See, no one's fully naked," Dean said, melting further into the bed with a moan as his archangel worked a particularly bad knot loose.
"Yet," Gabriel reminded him helpfully as his lover's hands moved lower, though they were still above the small of his back.
"Yet," Dean agreed readily.
The silence from Sam was unexpected, but just as Dean was trying to decide whether it was worth opening his eyes to check on his little brother there was a snort from the sasquatch.
"You've reduced him to a boneless mess," Sam laughed.
"He was far too tense," Gabriel explained.
"Yes but now he's worse than with the magic fingers. I doubt he could so much as lift a finger to protect himself."
"Go away, Sam," Dean ordered, not at all liking the way his little brother's thoughts were going, though he was sure his lover would protect him from anything that Sam might try if necessary.
"Yeah, go away, Sam," Gabriel echoed.
"Well forgive me for remembering that there's still an Apocalypse going on," Sam stated though the tone of his brother's voice was anything but harsh or reprimanding. "And you're laying down on the job, Dean."
"No I'm not," Dean protested, still not bothering to open his eyes. "I'm... puddling."
"Puddling?" Sam repeated, voice rife with amusement.
"Mmm."
"That's not even a word, Dean."
"It is now."
"Oh and just how is 'puddling' different from laying down on the job?"
"It just is."
"Oh, he's very coherent," Sam stated and Dean got the distinct impression that his brother was no longer addressing him.
"Of course he isn't, he's getting a Gabriel special massage."
"Which does what? Turn him into putty?"
"Mmm, but such nice and firm putty," Gabriel replied, voice dropping suggestively.
"Gabriel!" Sam retorted, appalled. "I'm standing right here!"
"Voyeurism doesn't bother me."
Dean laughed, both at his lover's amusement and his brother's little sound of disgust. "Behave, Gabe."
"Moi? Behave?"
"That's it, Dean?" Sam asked. "Behave?"
"What can I say? With me, flattery will get you quite far."
Gabriel laughed outright before his lover leaned down over his utterly relaxed body, drawing another protest from Sam. "What do you say we go somewhere a little nicer and leave your brother to wallow in his almost Catholic reservedness?"
"Yes, please get another room before anymore clothing vanishes!" Sam agreed.
Dean snorted and was about to reply when he felt the distinctive sensation of angelic flight. When he opened his eyes, it was to a room so opulent and gigantic that he'd never seen the likes in person before.
"Uh, where are we?" Dean asked curiously, noting the sheer luxury of the enormous bed, multitude of couches and thick, thick carpeting.
"The presidential suite of Las Vegas' best hotel," Gabriel replied proudly. "And trust me, we'll make good use of this bed later, but first, the bathroom."
With that, Dean was scooped up like a bride and carried into an equally opulent bathroom bigger than most of the rooms that he and Sam normally got. It gleamed white and silver with sparkling mirrors and overflowing bouquets of flowers set on the various countertops and ledges. What captured and held his attention, though, was the massive jacuzzi tub sunken into the middle of the room. Before he could even ask, it was filled with steaming water and a veritable sea of scented bath foam. Plus a single bright yellow rubber duck. He chose to ignore that for now as it might make him start to question the sanity of his lover.
"Dude, put me down," Dean protested halfheartedly, not even sure he could stand at the moment.
"Just relax," Gabriel replied, vanishing their clothing before stepping into the tub.
What should have been a precarious balancing act was done flawlessly and Dean sighed as he was lowered into the hot water before the jacuzzi turned on and he was surrounded by swirling bubbles and something that made the magic fingers seem like nothing in comparison. He moaned as he sank back against his lover, letting Gabriel take his weight once his archangel was seated. Gabe's hands swept over his body, checking for any remaining knots, but Dean was pretty sure that they were all gone already as he felt like he'd just dissolve and wash away if it wasn't for his skin.
All worries and dark thoughts long gone, Dean just closed his eyes once more and let himself drift. Gabe's fingers were now just dancing randomly over him, his limbs were being massaged by the jacuzzi jets and he didn't need to worry about slipping under the water and drowning if he got too relaxed.
"What did you do to him?"
The question was the first clue that Dean had that Castiel had joined them and was in the room. The genuine curiosity in his lover's voice told him that Cas had noticed his unusual state of puddling. Therefore he hoped that his angel wouldn't mind his lack of physical greeting or general reaction to Castiel's arrival, though the possessive caress his soul received upon its customary fluttering towards their bond proved him right.
"I gave him a thorough deep tissue massage," Gabriel laughed.
"A massage?" Castiel asked and Dean could all but see his lover's little frown without even opening his eyes.
"Mm, I'll show you next time."
For a moment there was no sound, then the rustling of clothing before the water around Dean rippled, lapping up against him lightly. He opened one eye slightly to find that Castiel had joined him and Gabriel in the tub and was leaning over to give Gabriel a kiss. Then it was his turn and Dean let his eyes fall shut again, just savoring the feel of having both of his lovers with him as Castiel's Grace slid along his soul beside Gabriel's, intertwining with each other and him.
Dean opened his eye slightly a little while later when his archangel started to all but purr against him, muscles easing though he was shifted so as not to slip below the water. What he saw was Castiel sitting down beside Gabriel, a soft smile on his face as Castiel's hands carded through their archangel's feathers, though in a very distinct way.
"Grooming?" Dean asked.
"Yes," Castiel replied, eyes alight with a mixture of love, satisfaction and just a hint of mischief.
Dean got why a moment later as his first male lover did something different with his fingers and Gabriel literally melted against him. He didn't slip and sink beneath the water though and he knew that Castiel had to be using his Grace to do that as neither he nor Gabriel were in a state to be responsible for it anymore. Then he was Gracehandled so that he was securely nestled between his two lovers. He hummed in satisfaction and his eyes closed once more as he easily slipped into a doze surrounded by warmth, Grace and three of his lovers' four wings.
Wings and feathers, black and brown, it was the last thing he saw as he slipped into sleep.
When Dean woke, he did so very slowly, feeling gloriously relaxed and boneless. In fact he didn't think that he so much as lay on the sinfully soft mattress and sheets as he was poured onto them. There was the whisper of movement behind him. He could tell from his bond with Cas that his lover was close, so it didn't alarm him. Instead he nuzzled his face into the pillow and shifted slightly, not intending to wake up any further just yet.
It was because of how drowsy he still was that it took Dean a few moments to realize that when he'd moved, that he'd not felt the shifting of a sheet against his skin. He huffed in amusement as he realized that was because he wasn't lying under one. Trust his lovers to want to be able to see him naked even as he slept. Angels were such voyeurs.
A lust soaked moan drew Dean a little closer to wakefulness and he finally blinked open his eyes. It took him a second or two to recognize the room as the presidential suite that Gabe had flown them too, but that explained the decadent mattress and sheets. Rolling to one side, he came to wakefulness in an instant as soon as he processed what it was that he saw.
There, sitting perched on the edge of one of the room's many plush couches was Gabriel, fully naked, head thrown back with pleasure and with his legs splayed. Kneeling on the thick carpet between them, also fully naked but for his tie, was Cas. His first lover was in the middle of deep throating Gabe and the sight instantly made Dean hard. All it took was just one look to fully understand all of Castiel's comments about what he looked like when on his knees before his angel. The sight of Cas on his knees like that, mouth full of cock and legs spread with his angel's own erection being thrust into thin air was enough to make him want to reach down and take himself in hand. Then Gabe was pulling back and he could see each glorious, slick inch of his archangel's cock emerge from Cas' mouth until just the flared head remained. Then Gabriel thrust forward again, pushing it all back in and making his balls bounce lightly as they hit Castiel's chin.
Dean moaned at the sight, making his archangel glance up at him with blown eyes. "Oh, don't worry, big boy, I haven't forgotten about you. You just need to wait your turn."
The words made Dean's hips twitch and led him to dig his fingers into the sheet lying discarded beside him to keep from reaching down and taking hold of himself. He didn't need to be told that he'd be punished for it later if he did and he knew he'd already be on the brink just from watching Gabe take Cas like this. They must have been at it for a little while already as his archangel had taken full control, with one hand on Castiel's tie and the other in their lover's dark hair. Gabriel was also thrusting quite quickly now, one wing coming up to flatten over one of Castiel's which immediately lowered in submission, while the other was flexed at an angle so the primary feathers could tease Cas' weeping cock.
Dean's eyes dropped to half-mast at the memory of what it felt like to have those feathers running over his own cock and he bit his lip to keep from crying out. He'd much rather listen to the little noises escaping Cas and Gabe just now accompanied by the wet sound of skin on skin whenever his archangel bottomed out in Castiel. In addition to the physical stimulation it all provided, sending arousal and lust spiraling through him, it also soothed that last vestige of himself that clung to his old idea of normal and proper. Seeing Cas so unabashedly take on his role with Gabriel and enjoy it so much really drove home how normal this all was for his angels. Well that and he didn't think any less of Castiel for what he was seeing his lover do now. No instead it was all just scorchingly hot.
Gabriel must have done something with his Grace then because, as Dean watched, Cas' toes curled and his lover's hips strained downwards. Then his angel was coming just as Gabe thrust himself all of the way into Castiel's mouth and came himself. It was strange to watch them do so while separate, but arousing as hell and he could suddenly understand why Cas had been okay with what Gabe had done that first time.
Unfortunately his need remained unsated and only grew as he watched Gabe slip out of Cas and Castiel slumped against his dom's thigh. Either Gabriel sensed his need or it was just part and parcel with being the dom to two subs, but when Dean looked up at his archangel once more, Gabe's eyes were focused knowingly on him.
"Something wrong, big boy?" Gabriel asked nonchalantly as he dropped a hand to card through Castiel's hair.
It was as his archangel's eyes roamed blatantly over his body that Dean realized just how he looked. He was propped up on his elbows, leaning partially to one side, looking at his lovers over his own nude body with his cock hard and heavy between his partially splayed legs. The little whine that escaped him somehow managed to darken Gabriel's already blown eyes and, impossibly, he saw his archangel's cock twitch and begin to harden once more.
Then Gabriel was picking a sated Cas up in his arms before stalking towards the bed with a hungry and rather predatory gaze on his face. Dean could only thank the sex drive of dom angels as he didn't think that he could have waited for a different or human lover to recover.
Gabriel placed Castiel on the other side of the bed and Cas reached out to him with a wing which Dean carded his fingers into. Then he turned his attention to his archangel though as Gabriel climbed onto the bed and lay down next to him. That surprised him as he'd expected his lover to dive straight in so to speak.
"Gabe?" Dean asked with a frown.
In reply, Gabriel reached out and traced Cas' mark on his shoulder before looking him in the eye. "May I bond with you like Castiel has done?"
Dean's eyes opened wide as he realized what his archangel was asking of him. Automatically he reached for his current bond and felt anticipation from Castiel. Looking at his angel, he saw more awareness in Cas' blue eyes than there had been before. If Gabriel was treating this as he'd done the start of their relationship, then he was the first one being asked.
"Cas? Do you want to?" Dean asked silently.
"I am an angel, mine own, this is normal for me, the question is would you be happy with two mates permanently?"
Would he? Dean gave it some quick thought. He'd not regretted a single moment since letting Gabriel into his and Cas' bed. Plus he felt more complete and satisfied if he were honest with himself, not to mention that viewing what he'd just seen had done wonders for any lingering doubts about his ability to cope with his own submissiveness.
"Yes," Dean replied, looking Gabriel right in the eye.
The grin that overcame his lover's face was huge, but Dean quickly lost sight of it when Gabe leaned down to kiss him to within an inch of his life. He would have moaned if he could have when Gabriel rolled on top of him and their cocks brushed up against each other. Then there was the tickle of Grace at his entrance and he gave shout just as his lips were released when he was suddenly stretched and lubed.
"Dude, warning!" Dean protested.
"What?" Gabriel asked, nipping at his ear as his archangel pulled one of his legs up and away. "Wasn't the foreplay enough for you?"
Oh God, he had a giddy and excited archangel about to fuck him, Dean realized. He was so doomed.
Yet he didn't regret his decision for an instant. Not even when Gabriel, balls deep within him, released the full force of his Grace onto Dean's soul. It was intense, brighter than the sun and infinitely larger and... and more than Castiel and for the first time, he got a tiny little inkling of exactly what his first angel had meant when Cas had called archangels 'Heaven's most fearsome weapons.' Gabe was like a nuke that had gone off right beside him and which would consume him whole, but he didn't care. Not even when his right shoulder was gripped and he could feel his skin burning though there was absolutely no pain.
The feel of Gabriel's Grace searing his soul was something else altogether and Dean had brief flash of Hell and Castiel's true form as his angel had first grabbed hold of him down there. Then he realized that Gabe's attentions were fixed on the part of his soul that Cas had been unable to touch and he reached back eagerly towards his archangel, stunned and ecstatic that it wasn't specially reserved for Michael.
As the bond slowly started to form, Dean felt the remainder of his loneliness just melt away. It felt fantastic, liberating, unbelievable.
Overwhelming.
When Dean briefly surfaced later he knew more time than normal had passed as he was fully ensconced between his two angels. And at the back of his mind two bonds buzzed and hummed actively, one radiating smug satisfaction and accomplishment while the other thrummed a quiet contentment and completeness. Halfheartedly, he took a swipe at the new bond that had a definite sugar high kid element to it.
Gabriel chuckled contentedly against the back of his neck and Dean felt Castiel's lips twitch along his hairline. There was the brush of fingers on his right shoulder, tracing something, before they vanished, only to return and follow the same path a few moments later. Lazily, he half opened one eye to find that, yes, Gabe was focused on his newest handprint scar, alternating between it and its twin on Castiel's left shoulder.
"I'm trying to sleep here," Dean mock complained.
"Go on, we'll follow you in," Gabriel replied. "Ever think of the crazy positions you can get up to without the constraints of reality?"
Oh God. And people called him insatiable!
"A Supernatural convention! More books!" Dean muttered darkly to himself as he pulled his shirt off and glanced at the rose colored room he and Sam had found after leaving Becky and Chuck earlier. "I don't freaking believe it, son of bitch!"
"Do you think we could get Cas to nip this thing in the bud before it begins?" Sam asked.
"Cas? You forget how into this whole prophecy thing he was? No, if you want someone to do something about this, you'd be better off asking Gabe."
"Is that a good idea you think?"
"Depends on what you want to come of your little idea."
"Not a pile of dead bodies, that's for sure."
"Oh, I was rather thinking you'd end up with something a little more creative than that. A little trip into a novel for Chuck or some of the fans, or something like that."
"That first one might have some me- Is that a second handprint?" Sam demanded suddenly, voice torn between disbelief and outrage.
"Huh?" Dean asked, pausing in putting on his new, clean t-shirt to look at his little brother. Sam was staring at his right shoulder, eyes wide and the question suddenly clicked in Dean's mind. "Oh, that, yes."
"What... but, why?"
"It's Gabriel's," Dean explained simply. "The first was Cas'."
"Gabriel's?" Sam repeated dumbly before his face darkened. "Why the hell did he do that?"
Dean frowned. "Dude, what's crawled up your ass and died?"
"He branded you, Dean. Physically marked you as in staking his ownership over you. How can you be okay with that?"
"Oh, I see. It's not that at all, Sammy. It's a physical mark of the bond that we now share. It's a side effect, really, no big deal."
"No big deal? Dean, they look like brands."
"Yeah, well they don't feel like them. Besides, Gabe did warn me before he established the bond."
"Yeah, about that," Sam began.
Dean rolled his eyes and finished putting on his t-shirt before he turned to face his little brother properly. "Is this going to turn into another long talk?"
"Yes, got to keep you in practice now that you've started having them," Sam snarked.
"Bitch."
"Jerk."
One good look at his brother's face told Dean all that he needed to know about his odds of success of getting Sam to drop the matter and he sighed. How did he keep getting himself into these situations anyway? He wasn't entirely sure, but he did know one thing for certain. This was not going to become a habit, no matter how much his little brother might want it to.
"You were fine with it when it was Cas," Dean pointed out.
"That's because he's Cas, Cas is different," Sam replied. "I trust Cas."
"You trust Cas?" Dean repeated incredulous. "Dude, I'm not some damsel in distress that needs looking after!"
"Dean-"
"Is this about me being bi? Or about the power play? What, you think because of that I'm suddenly no longer able to look after myself?"
"No! Of course not."
"Then what?"
"Gabriel's an archangel, Dean. Sure, he's not as powerful as Michael or Lucifer, but he's still incredibly powerful. Hell, the difference doesn't even matter as far as we're concerned."
"Neither does the difference between their power and Cas' if you want to look at it that way," Dean argued. "But that never mattered before."
"Oh, believe me, it did in the beginning," Sam stated. "I never really mentioned it all that much as Ruby had me so turned around as far as we were concerned, but I definitely worried about Cas and his powers in the beginning."
"You did?"
"After I realized that angels weren't quite what I'd thought they were? Hell yes!"
"Okay, so you were wrong about Cas, why the sudden worry with Gabe?" Dean asked.
"Because he was the Trickster! Have you forgotten all that he's done? The tricks? The pranks? Killing you about a hundred times?"
"Sixty-two."
"What?"
"It was actually sixty-two times, I asked him."
"You asked him?" Sam demanded, incredulous.
Dean shrugged. "What? I was curious. Besides, I've told you before, I don't remember any of that. It's just a big blank. And apparently I didn't die, not even once."
"What?"
"Gabriel said he didn't want to kill me, so he just put me in some kind of dream state and made a fake me to interact with you. Almost like what he did with all of the others in TV land."
Sam just stared at him in shock for a moment and Dean wondered if he'd broken his brother. Not sure what else to do, he grabbed his over shirt and pulled that on as well before picking up the steaming cup of coffee he'd found next to his bed when he'd entered the room. He'd initially been unsure which of his angels had left it for him, but the fact that it was still at the perfect temperature told him that it was Gabriel. Cas would definitely do it for him if asked, but his first lover wouldn't yet think of something like that on his own.
"He didn't want to kill you?" Sam finally asked.
"Yep," Dean replied easily, waggling his eyebrows. "Apparently he was already hooked from before. Besides, it seems that really killing me would have caused all kinds of problems."
"Problems? Oh, poor him."
"Yeah, it would have meant fighting to keep my soul from going downstairs early and that would have drawn all kinds of demonic and angelic attention down on him."
"I'd... never thought of that," Sam admitted.
"Me neither."
"Still, he did make me think that you'd died sixty-two times."
"To make you come to terms with what was to come and keep you from going off the deep end," Dean paused. "I can't say that I don't wish that he'd succeeded."
As he'd known that it would, those words hits his brother like a fist and for that Dean was sorry, but it didn't change the fact that they were true. If Sam hadn't taken his death as badly as his brother had... well things would be quite different now.
Finally Sam snorted. "Not like you've got much room to talk. You sold your soul to a demon."
"Yeah, I know. We're just one messed up, dysfunctional family."
Sam's resulting laugh was strained, but Dean did notice that his brother finally picked up the cup of coffee left for him. He just hoped that Gabe hadn't done anything untoward to it. Meanwhile he finished his own coffee and turned to riffling through his duffel for all of his dirty clothes. Much as he'd love to put it off a little longer, it was high time that they did some laundry.
"Hey, wait a minute," Sam said about five minutes later. "What do you mean that Gabriel was already hooked from before? Did something happen in Springfield while I wasn't around? You said he made two hot chicks appear to distract you. Was there something else?"
Dean groaned at his inability to keep his own trap shut. "No, look, it doesn't really matter."
"Dean."
"Alright, fine! Do you remember that chupacabra hunt years ago with Dad in Tennessee?"
"Chupacabra hunt? With Dad?"
"Yeah, the one where the two of you were arguing so bad that you didn't even notice that it was sneaking up on you?"
Sam, at least, had the good grace to look ashamed. "Yeah, of course I remember. You took off and left us there. It shocked us as I couldn't remember you ever doing that before."
"You guys deserved it. Besides, I'd just taken care of the other one and my ribs hurt."
"What does any of this have to do with Gabriel?"
"Apparently he was there, watching us."
"What?" Sam demanded, shocked. "Why?"
Dean shrugged. "Morbid curiosity, I guess. We're the two chosen vessels after all."
"Okay, so he saw us and, what, thought you looked good?"
Dean shrugged. "Precisely. Anyway he followed me back to town and then turned himself into a woman before entering the bar I'd chosen."
Sam groaned. "Oh, you didn't!"
"What? She was smoking hot and wearing this little red number like-"
"No! I don't want to know," Sam protested vehemently.
"You're such a prude, Sammy."
"No, you're just a dog. So, you slept with him without knowing. That doesn't anger you?"
"Anger me? No, it was a fantastic night and besides, he kinda prepared me for Cas in a way."
His little brother blinked at Dean as Sam tried to figure that out before shaking his shaggy head. "You know what? I don't even care so long as you're all fine with it. Just tell me one thing, are you sure that bonding with him was a good idea?"
"Yes," Dean stated immediately and empathically. "And if you're unsure about whether to trust Gabriel, remember that Cas knows more about all of this bonding than either of us and he didn't object."
"Okay."
"And..."
"And?"
"I'm not sure how to say it," Dean admitted. "But having these bonds, it's amazing. It feels like I've found something that's always been missing."
Sam laughed. "Now you sound like a bad romance novel."
"I don't mean like that," Dean snapped scowling. "I mean on a soul level."
"A soul level? You can feel your soul? Right now, even while in your meat suit?"
"Yes, it's... odd."
"Odd?"
"I don't know how else to describe it," Dean shrugged. "I've felt it ever since Hell."
"Oh. And that's where you feel like you're whole now?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure it's from the bonds and not the healing that Cas mentioned?"
"Yeah. That's different, I can feel that too now that I know to look for it. Besides, there's one perk that you'll really like."
"Really? What?"
"Between the two bonds, Cas and Gabe have apparently totally blocked Michael out. He couldn't even take me now if he could find a way around the permission."
"Wow," Sam said, rubbing his hand over his mouth. "And that wasn't the case with just Cas?"
"No, there was a part of my soul that he couldn't touch. We assumed it was because it was reserved specifically for Michael, but that's where Gabe's bond anchored itself."
"Huh. And does a human have to have the full relationship that you have with Cas and Gabe for that to happen?"
"Huh?"
"Could I get Lucifer blocked without a full on double angelic relationship? Could I just go for the bonds?"
"Oh. No."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes," Dean replied confidently. "These bonds aren't just something small that can be done willy-nilly. They're... profound."
"Profound? Have you been reading a dictionary, Dean?"
"Shut up. And fine, all-encompassing, serious, soul altering in a way. Intimate in a way that renders the rest of the relationship to be bearable. Besides, it's a lifelong commitment for an angel and that means something totally different for them than it does for us."
The expression on his brother's face now stopped Dean and he realized that he wasn't doing any favors for Sam's initial concerns about his changing and deepening relationship with Gabriel. Great.
"Finish sorting your clothes, I'm starving and want lunch," Dean stated.
"You're always starving. I think we need to have you checked for a tape worm."
"Dude, gross!" Dean exclaimed, pulling a face at the mere thought.
"Given what you eat, it's not outside the realm of possibility."
Outwardly Dean ignored his brother but mentally he made a note to ask Cas or Gabe to check him for tape worms. Not that he thought either of them would have missed it if he had one.
"You sure this was supposed to be a haunting?" Dean asked as they entered yet another room in the abandoned hotel and the EMF meter still didn't light up or beep.
"That's what it seemed like from the news article," Sam replied, checking each corner with his shotgun. "Several sightings of a ghostly figure along with reports of weird lights coming through the windows even though this place has been abandoned since some local woman torched the place knowing her husband was inside with his mistress."
"That's taking the whole woman scorned thing a bit too far, don't you think?" Dean commented as they stepped back into the hall to check the opposite room.
"That or it's another perfect example of why people shouldn't cheat on each other."
"Dude, she torched the hotel. Cheating husband or not, there had to be at least another hundred people inside other than the bastard and his mistress."
"A hundred and thirty-eight according to the police report. Seven of whom didn't make it, including the mistress."
Dean was just about to ask after the husband when he staggered sideways as, abruptly and brutally, his bonds with Castiel and Gabriel were slammed shut and bolted down. Or at least that's what it felt like as he couldn't reconnect with his lovers no matter how hard he instinctively tried to, hating the unexpected solitude that he now felt. It was infinitely worse than when Gabriel had inadvertently done the same with his bond to Cas.
"Dean?" Sam demanded worriedly as Dean caught himself on the wall.
Fear shot through him as he realized what it meant and Dean looked up at his brother. "Run!" he shouted.
Obviously some of his rapidly rising fear must have leaked through into his voice as his brother leapt for the door as if shocked. He wasn't far behind but apparently just far enough as flames burst to life between them, blocking his way and he was only just able to keep himself from running right into them and barbequing himself extra crispy.
"Dean!" Sam cried out, whirling around to face him before his brother's eyes looked past Dean and widened in shock. "Lucifer."
Automatically, Dean spun around and raised his shotgun to face the threat even though he knew that there wasn't anything that he could do to prevent the devil from doing whatever it was that Lucifer wanted to with him. They'd thought that this was a routine hunt so the Holy oil and angel blades were still outside in his baby. The figure that stood before him was not at all what he would have expected for the prince of all evil, but then again it was a vessel and one he infinitely preferred to that of his baby brother.
"Hello, Sam, Dean," Lucifer greeted, voice deceptively calm and unthreatening. "I think we all know that those shotguns won't do anything to me, so why don't you lower them before someone gets hurt?"
Though it didn't immediately sound like one, Dean knew that it was a threat and he reluctantly complied, not wanting to risk either of their lives or limbs for something that he already knew would be utterly futile. He'd witnessed firsthand how easily Cas could shrug off a shotgun blast and his lover was merely a seraph.
"You're not getting my brother," Dean told Lucifer as he moved so as to place himself squarely between the two of them.
"Dean!" Sam hissed warningly.
Lucifer, however, seemed merely amused at his actions. "Yes, I will," the devil responded easily. "But not here and not now. Later, in Detroit, but then you already know that."
The reminder of his little trip to the future made Dean's fingers twitch and he desperately longed to raise his shotgun once more and use it. But that was utterly pointless and would only serve to get himself killed or injured, though he was starting to suspect the latter. This was twice now that Lucifer had possessed the perfect opportunity to kill him and yet each time the devil hadn't taken it. The big question was why. Did it amuse him to keep Dean alive? Was it like playing with fire for certain humans? Or did Lucifer actually want to face his brother? Did the devil really think that he could take Michael?
"Great, so lower the flames and we'll be on our merry way," Dean retorted. "Oh, and if you tell us when this little appointment in Detroit is supposed to happen, we'll make sure to pencil it into our calendar. Even put a little red pitchfork next to it."
"Dean, shut up!" Sam urged, shifting restlessly enough that Dean could hear it though he didn't turn around to look.
"I said that I wasn't here for Sam," Lucifer said smoothly, locking eyes with Dean who felt his stomach clench and drop.
Oh, no, Lucifer couldn't mean-
"You, on the other hand, are exactly the human that I wanted to see."
Fuck.
"No! Lucifer, don't!" Sam cried out.
Instead of responding, Dean tried to get away, ducking under the devil's raised arm even as he battered desperately at his bonds, hoping against hope to break through the block. The next thing he knew, he was bodily picked up and flung against the nearest wall with a loud thump that knocked the breath out of him.
"Dean!"
"Should have shot you," Dean growled as he looked up to find Lucifer standing right before him, suddenly looking a whole lot more menacing than the devil had just a few moments earlier.
"It would have accomplished nothing," Lucifer stated.
"Would have made me feel better."
Unexpectedly that drew a small smile from the devil which threw Dean for a loop. Lucifer wasn't supposed to have a sense of humor.
"Why not? I am an angel after all."
"Dude, stay out of my head!"
"Make me."
That one floored Dean for a moment and before he could think of a witty comeback, Lucifer had raised his arm and brushed two fingers across his forehead and everything (Sammy, the hotel, his consciousness) vanished.
Part 6
Pairings: Dean/Castiel, Gabriel/Dean, Gabriel/Dean/Castiel & Gabriel/Castiel
Rating: NC-17
Spoilers: set early season 5, particularly "The Curious Case of Dean Winchester" & "Changing Channels", plus a minor little spoiler for some information we learn about angels in "Exile on Main Street".
Warnings: slash, AU, switch!Castiel, sub!Dean, bare backing, orgasm denial, Grace!sex, oral, het, dom!Gabriel, threesome, reference to previous gender bending, wing!fic, double penetration
Word Count: 51,385
Note: This fic was written for the deancasbigbang 2014. It is the third in the Trinity Trilogy and cannot be read on its own without reading the first two fics in the trilogy.
Summary: After Avalon, Dean is plagued by doubts about his role in his new relationship with Castiel and as he struggles to come to terms with it, he also has to deal with Sam asking questions and the little fact that there is an Apocalypse going on. So when Gabriel shows up, it does not make things any easier, but rather far more complex, especially when Dean starts to subconsciously remember his last meeting with the archangel.
Beta: aerilex
Artist: chemart - Art Masterlist
Dean slammed the screen of the laptop down in frustration and he had to resist the temptation to throw it at the wall. Sam would strangle him if he did that.
"How about a break?"
The only reason that Dean didn't jump a mile at Gabriel's voice was because he'd heard his archangel arrive a split second before Gabe had spoken. "Yeah, sure, think you can tell Lucy and Mike that we need just a couple of days for some R and R?" Dean snapped. "It's not like they don't want us desperate or anything at all."
"Wow, snarky much?" Gabriel demanded, eyebrows raised.
Dean deflated. "Sorry, it's just that we don't seem to be getting anywhere in tracking down the other three horsemen."
"I know, but trust me when I say that when they show up, we'll know."
"I'd really rather it didn't get to that point."
"Me too, but that's just not always possible. They're horsemen and Death in particular is quite powerful," Gabriel stated before patting the bed beside him. "Now come over here and relax a little, it'll do you good and clear your mind."
"Sam's in the shower," Dean pointed out.
"I know and much as I'd like to scar him for life, that's not what I had in mind, Deano, now come here."
Sensing that his lover wasn't going to let this one go and not really in the mood for more pointless research, Dean got up and walked over to his bed. And just how did Gabe and Cas always know which one was his anyway? Did he even want to know? With a little tug on his sleeve, his archangel had him off balance and he fell into an ungainly sprawl on the bed with a small yelp that he'd never own up to. His shirts had also all vanished.
"I thought this wasn't going to be like that," Dean said bemused as his lover shifted him around on the bed according to Gabe's liking.
"It's not," Gabriel confirmed as he pushed himself up and then Dean felt Gabe settling himself on his ass.
Dean got it just before his archangel's hands ran up his spine to his neck and shoulders. "Dude, I didn't know you could give massages."
"What? You think humanity could come up with something like this and that I wouldn't want a part of it?"
"Well, when you put it like that."
Gabriel laughed. "Better. Now, just relax and bear with me at the beginning because with knots the size of bicycle wheels it won't start feeling good right away."
Bicycle wheels. Dean scowled but let himself just sink into the bed, his arms dangling over the edge while his head rested on the right rear corner of the mattress, facing the bathroom door. As his lover had said, at first it didn't feel all that good, but neither did it hurt, something which he strongly suspected that it would (at least on some level) if his masseuse were human.
It wasn't long before it started to feel good and Dean had never been shy of showing that he enjoyed something and now was absolutely no different even if he suspected that his lover could sense his enjoyment of it without his vocalization of it. As Gabriel pushed his thumbs down on a particularly hard knot and worked it loose, he moaned, long and hard. God damn but that felt good!
"Uh, guys, seriously?" Sam's outraged voice came from the bathroom. "I'm right in here!"
"Oh don't worry, Sammy," Gabriel replied gleefully. "This isn't naked sexy fun times, but rather nearly fully clothed non-sexy fun times."
If he could have, Dean would have laughed at that as he could just picture his little brother's bitch face to the archangel's words. Sam wouldn't be at all sure whether to believe Gabriel or not. However, just as Dean opened his mouth, his lover found another knot and he groaned instead.
"It doesn't sound like it!" Sam protested loudly.
"Prude," Gabriel muttered. "Is he always like that?"
Dean laughed. "You have no idea," then louder. "S'okay, Sammy, no one's fully naked. Yet."
Though he knew that his brother wouldn't appreciate the latter, Dean couldn't help himself. Winding Sam up was practically a duty of his, not to mention a guilty pleasure. Besides, he was pretty sure that it was true too, not that he was sure he could get it up as he was just that relaxed already.
"You'd better not be, or I'm trying my hand at that banishing sigil," Sam threatened before the bathroom door opened.
"See, no one's fully naked," Dean said, melting further into the bed with a moan as his archangel worked a particularly bad knot loose.
"Yet," Gabriel reminded him helpfully as his lover's hands moved lower, though they were still above the small of his back.
"Yet," Dean agreed readily.
The silence from Sam was unexpected, but just as Dean was trying to decide whether it was worth opening his eyes to check on his little brother there was a snort from the sasquatch.
"You've reduced him to a boneless mess," Sam laughed.
"He was far too tense," Gabriel explained.
"Yes but now he's worse than with the magic fingers. I doubt he could so much as lift a finger to protect himself."
"Go away, Sam," Dean ordered, not at all liking the way his little brother's thoughts were going, though he was sure his lover would protect him from anything that Sam might try if necessary.
"Yeah, go away, Sam," Gabriel echoed.
"Well forgive me for remembering that there's still an Apocalypse going on," Sam stated though the tone of his brother's voice was anything but harsh or reprimanding. "And you're laying down on the job, Dean."
"No I'm not," Dean protested, still not bothering to open his eyes. "I'm... puddling."
"Puddling?" Sam repeated, voice rife with amusement.
"Mmm."
"That's not even a word, Dean."
"It is now."
"Oh and just how is 'puddling' different from laying down on the job?"
"It just is."
"Oh, he's very coherent," Sam stated and Dean got the distinct impression that his brother was no longer addressing him.
"Of course he isn't, he's getting a Gabriel special massage."
"Which does what? Turn him into putty?"
"Mmm, but such nice and firm putty," Gabriel replied, voice dropping suggestively.
"Gabriel!" Sam retorted, appalled. "I'm standing right here!"
"Voyeurism doesn't bother me."
Dean laughed, both at his lover's amusement and his brother's little sound of disgust. "Behave, Gabe."
"Moi? Behave?"
"That's it, Dean?" Sam asked. "Behave?"
"What can I say? With me, flattery will get you quite far."
Gabriel laughed outright before his lover leaned down over his utterly relaxed body, drawing another protest from Sam. "What do you say we go somewhere a little nicer and leave your brother to wallow in his almost Catholic reservedness?"
"Yes, please get another room before anymore clothing vanishes!" Sam agreed.
Dean snorted and was about to reply when he felt the distinctive sensation of angelic flight. When he opened his eyes, it was to a room so opulent and gigantic that he'd never seen the likes in person before.
"Uh, where are we?" Dean asked curiously, noting the sheer luxury of the enormous bed, multitude of couches and thick, thick carpeting.
"The presidential suite of Las Vegas' best hotel," Gabriel replied proudly. "And trust me, we'll make good use of this bed later, but first, the bathroom."
With that, Dean was scooped up like a bride and carried into an equally opulent bathroom bigger than most of the rooms that he and Sam normally got. It gleamed white and silver with sparkling mirrors and overflowing bouquets of flowers set on the various countertops and ledges. What captured and held his attention, though, was the massive jacuzzi tub sunken into the middle of the room. Before he could even ask, it was filled with steaming water and a veritable sea of scented bath foam. Plus a single bright yellow rubber duck. He chose to ignore that for now as it might make him start to question the sanity of his lover.
"Dude, put me down," Dean protested halfheartedly, not even sure he could stand at the moment.
"Just relax," Gabriel replied, vanishing their clothing before stepping into the tub.
What should have been a precarious balancing act was done flawlessly and Dean sighed as he was lowered into the hot water before the jacuzzi turned on and he was surrounded by swirling bubbles and something that made the magic fingers seem like nothing in comparison. He moaned as he sank back against his lover, letting Gabriel take his weight once his archangel was seated. Gabe's hands swept over his body, checking for any remaining knots, but Dean was pretty sure that they were all gone already as he felt like he'd just dissolve and wash away if it wasn't for his skin.
All worries and dark thoughts long gone, Dean just closed his eyes once more and let himself drift. Gabe's fingers were now just dancing randomly over him, his limbs were being massaged by the jacuzzi jets and he didn't need to worry about slipping under the water and drowning if he got too relaxed.
"What did you do to him?"
The question was the first clue that Dean had that Castiel had joined them and was in the room. The genuine curiosity in his lover's voice told him that Cas had noticed his unusual state of puddling. Therefore he hoped that his angel wouldn't mind his lack of physical greeting or general reaction to Castiel's arrival, though the possessive caress his soul received upon its customary fluttering towards their bond proved him right.
"I gave him a thorough deep tissue massage," Gabriel laughed.
"A massage?" Castiel asked and Dean could all but see his lover's little frown without even opening his eyes.
"Mm, I'll show you next time."
For a moment there was no sound, then the rustling of clothing before the water around Dean rippled, lapping up against him lightly. He opened one eye slightly to find that Castiel had joined him and Gabriel in the tub and was leaning over to give Gabriel a kiss. Then it was his turn and Dean let his eyes fall shut again, just savoring the feel of having both of his lovers with him as Castiel's Grace slid along his soul beside Gabriel's, intertwining with each other and him.
Dean opened his eye slightly a little while later when his archangel started to all but purr against him, muscles easing though he was shifted so as not to slip below the water. What he saw was Castiel sitting down beside Gabriel, a soft smile on his face as Castiel's hands carded through their archangel's feathers, though in a very distinct way.
"Grooming?" Dean asked.
"Yes," Castiel replied, eyes alight with a mixture of love, satisfaction and just a hint of mischief.
Dean got why a moment later as his first male lover did something different with his fingers and Gabriel literally melted against him. He didn't slip and sink beneath the water though and he knew that Castiel had to be using his Grace to do that as neither he nor Gabriel were in a state to be responsible for it anymore. Then he was Gracehandled so that he was securely nestled between his two lovers. He hummed in satisfaction and his eyes closed once more as he easily slipped into a doze surrounded by warmth, Grace and three of his lovers' four wings.
Wings and feathers, black and brown, it was the last thing he saw as he slipped into sleep.
When Dean woke, he did so very slowly, feeling gloriously relaxed and boneless. In fact he didn't think that he so much as lay on the sinfully soft mattress and sheets as he was poured onto them. There was the whisper of movement behind him. He could tell from his bond with Cas that his lover was close, so it didn't alarm him. Instead he nuzzled his face into the pillow and shifted slightly, not intending to wake up any further just yet.
It was because of how drowsy he still was that it took Dean a few moments to realize that when he'd moved, that he'd not felt the shifting of a sheet against his skin. He huffed in amusement as he realized that was because he wasn't lying under one. Trust his lovers to want to be able to see him naked even as he slept. Angels were such voyeurs.
A lust soaked moan drew Dean a little closer to wakefulness and he finally blinked open his eyes. It took him a second or two to recognize the room as the presidential suite that Gabe had flown them too, but that explained the decadent mattress and sheets. Rolling to one side, he came to wakefulness in an instant as soon as he processed what it was that he saw.
There, sitting perched on the edge of one of the room's many plush couches was Gabriel, fully naked, head thrown back with pleasure and with his legs splayed. Kneeling on the thick carpet between them, also fully naked but for his tie, was Cas. His first lover was in the middle of deep throating Gabe and the sight instantly made Dean hard. All it took was just one look to fully understand all of Castiel's comments about what he looked like when on his knees before his angel. The sight of Cas on his knees like that, mouth full of cock and legs spread with his angel's own erection being thrust into thin air was enough to make him want to reach down and take himself in hand. Then Gabe was pulling back and he could see each glorious, slick inch of his archangel's cock emerge from Cas' mouth until just the flared head remained. Then Gabriel thrust forward again, pushing it all back in and making his balls bounce lightly as they hit Castiel's chin.
Dean moaned at the sight, making his archangel glance up at him with blown eyes. "Oh, don't worry, big boy, I haven't forgotten about you. You just need to wait your turn."
The words made Dean's hips twitch and led him to dig his fingers into the sheet lying discarded beside him to keep from reaching down and taking hold of himself. He didn't need to be told that he'd be punished for it later if he did and he knew he'd already be on the brink just from watching Gabe take Cas like this. They must have been at it for a little while already as his archangel had taken full control, with one hand on Castiel's tie and the other in their lover's dark hair. Gabriel was also thrusting quite quickly now, one wing coming up to flatten over one of Castiel's which immediately lowered in submission, while the other was flexed at an angle so the primary feathers could tease Cas' weeping cock.
Dean's eyes dropped to half-mast at the memory of what it felt like to have those feathers running over his own cock and he bit his lip to keep from crying out. He'd much rather listen to the little noises escaping Cas and Gabe just now accompanied by the wet sound of skin on skin whenever his archangel bottomed out in Castiel. In addition to the physical stimulation it all provided, sending arousal and lust spiraling through him, it also soothed that last vestige of himself that clung to his old idea of normal and proper. Seeing Cas so unabashedly take on his role with Gabriel and enjoy it so much really drove home how normal this all was for his angels. Well that and he didn't think any less of Castiel for what he was seeing his lover do now. No instead it was all just scorchingly hot.
Gabriel must have done something with his Grace then because, as Dean watched, Cas' toes curled and his lover's hips strained downwards. Then his angel was coming just as Gabe thrust himself all of the way into Castiel's mouth and came himself. It was strange to watch them do so while separate, but arousing as hell and he could suddenly understand why Cas had been okay with what Gabe had done that first time.
Unfortunately his need remained unsated and only grew as he watched Gabe slip out of Cas and Castiel slumped against his dom's thigh. Either Gabriel sensed his need or it was just part and parcel with being the dom to two subs, but when Dean looked up at his archangel once more, Gabe's eyes were focused knowingly on him.
"Something wrong, big boy?" Gabriel asked nonchalantly as he dropped a hand to card through Castiel's hair.
It was as his archangel's eyes roamed blatantly over his body that Dean realized just how he looked. He was propped up on his elbows, leaning partially to one side, looking at his lovers over his own nude body with his cock hard and heavy between his partially splayed legs. The little whine that escaped him somehow managed to darken Gabriel's already blown eyes and, impossibly, he saw his archangel's cock twitch and begin to harden once more.
Then Gabriel was picking a sated Cas up in his arms before stalking towards the bed with a hungry and rather predatory gaze on his face. Dean could only thank the sex drive of dom angels as he didn't think that he could have waited for a different or human lover to recover.
Gabriel placed Castiel on the other side of the bed and Cas reached out to him with a wing which Dean carded his fingers into. Then he turned his attention to his archangel though as Gabriel climbed onto the bed and lay down next to him. That surprised him as he'd expected his lover to dive straight in so to speak.
"Gabe?" Dean asked with a frown.
In reply, Gabriel reached out and traced Cas' mark on his shoulder before looking him in the eye. "May I bond with you like Castiel has done?"
Dean's eyes opened wide as he realized what his archangel was asking of him. Automatically he reached for his current bond and felt anticipation from Castiel. Looking at his angel, he saw more awareness in Cas' blue eyes than there had been before. If Gabriel was treating this as he'd done the start of their relationship, then he was the first one being asked.
"Cas? Do you want to?" Dean asked silently.
"I am an angel, mine own, this is normal for me, the question is would you be happy with two mates permanently?"
Would he? Dean gave it some quick thought. He'd not regretted a single moment since letting Gabriel into his and Cas' bed. Plus he felt more complete and satisfied if he were honest with himself, not to mention that viewing what he'd just seen had done wonders for any lingering doubts about his ability to cope with his own submissiveness.
"Yes," Dean replied, looking Gabriel right in the eye.
The grin that overcame his lover's face was huge, but Dean quickly lost sight of it when Gabe leaned down to kiss him to within an inch of his life. He would have moaned if he could have when Gabriel rolled on top of him and their cocks brushed up against each other. Then there was the tickle of Grace at his entrance and he gave shout just as his lips were released when he was suddenly stretched and lubed.
"Dude, warning!" Dean protested.
"What?" Gabriel asked, nipping at his ear as his archangel pulled one of his legs up and away. "Wasn't the foreplay enough for you?"
Oh God, he had a giddy and excited archangel about to fuck him, Dean realized. He was so doomed.
Yet he didn't regret his decision for an instant. Not even when Gabriel, balls deep within him, released the full force of his Grace onto Dean's soul. It was intense, brighter than the sun and infinitely larger and... and more than Castiel and for the first time, he got a tiny little inkling of exactly what his first angel had meant when Cas had called archangels 'Heaven's most fearsome weapons.' Gabe was like a nuke that had gone off right beside him and which would consume him whole, but he didn't care. Not even when his right shoulder was gripped and he could feel his skin burning though there was absolutely no pain.
The feel of Gabriel's Grace searing his soul was something else altogether and Dean had brief flash of Hell and Castiel's true form as his angel had first grabbed hold of him down there. Then he realized that Gabe's attentions were fixed on the part of his soul that Cas had been unable to touch and he reached back eagerly towards his archangel, stunned and ecstatic that it wasn't specially reserved for Michael.
As the bond slowly started to form, Dean felt the remainder of his loneliness just melt away. It felt fantastic, liberating, unbelievable.
Overwhelming.
When Dean briefly surfaced later he knew more time than normal had passed as he was fully ensconced between his two angels. And at the back of his mind two bonds buzzed and hummed actively, one radiating smug satisfaction and accomplishment while the other thrummed a quiet contentment and completeness. Halfheartedly, he took a swipe at the new bond that had a definite sugar high kid element to it.
Gabriel chuckled contentedly against the back of his neck and Dean felt Castiel's lips twitch along his hairline. There was the brush of fingers on his right shoulder, tracing something, before they vanished, only to return and follow the same path a few moments later. Lazily, he half opened one eye to find that, yes, Gabe was focused on his newest handprint scar, alternating between it and its twin on Castiel's left shoulder.
"I'm trying to sleep here," Dean mock complained.
"Go on, we'll follow you in," Gabriel replied. "Ever think of the crazy positions you can get up to without the constraints of reality?"
Oh God. And people called him insatiable!
"A Supernatural convention! More books!" Dean muttered darkly to himself as he pulled his shirt off and glanced at the rose colored room he and Sam had found after leaving Becky and Chuck earlier. "I don't freaking believe it, son of bitch!"
"Do you think we could get Cas to nip this thing in the bud before it begins?" Sam asked.
"Cas? You forget how into this whole prophecy thing he was? No, if you want someone to do something about this, you'd be better off asking Gabe."
"Is that a good idea you think?"
"Depends on what you want to come of your little idea."
"Not a pile of dead bodies, that's for sure."
"Oh, I was rather thinking you'd end up with something a little more creative than that. A little trip into a novel for Chuck or some of the fans, or something like that."
"That first one might have some me- Is that a second handprint?" Sam demanded suddenly, voice torn between disbelief and outrage.
"Huh?" Dean asked, pausing in putting on his new, clean t-shirt to look at his little brother. Sam was staring at his right shoulder, eyes wide and the question suddenly clicked in Dean's mind. "Oh, that, yes."
"What... but, why?"
"It's Gabriel's," Dean explained simply. "The first was Cas'."
"Gabriel's?" Sam repeated dumbly before his face darkened. "Why the hell did he do that?"
Dean frowned. "Dude, what's crawled up your ass and died?"
"He branded you, Dean. Physically marked you as in staking his ownership over you. How can you be okay with that?"
"Oh, I see. It's not that at all, Sammy. It's a physical mark of the bond that we now share. It's a side effect, really, no big deal."
"No big deal? Dean, they look like brands."
"Yeah, well they don't feel like them. Besides, Gabe did warn me before he established the bond."
"Yeah, about that," Sam began.
Dean rolled his eyes and finished putting on his t-shirt before he turned to face his little brother properly. "Is this going to turn into another long talk?"
"Yes, got to keep you in practice now that you've started having them," Sam snarked.
"Bitch."
"Jerk."
One good look at his brother's face told Dean all that he needed to know about his odds of success of getting Sam to drop the matter and he sighed. How did he keep getting himself into these situations anyway? He wasn't entirely sure, but he did know one thing for certain. This was not going to become a habit, no matter how much his little brother might want it to.
"You were fine with it when it was Cas," Dean pointed out.
"That's because he's Cas, Cas is different," Sam replied. "I trust Cas."
"You trust Cas?" Dean repeated incredulous. "Dude, I'm not some damsel in distress that needs looking after!"
"Dean-"
"Is this about me being bi? Or about the power play? What, you think because of that I'm suddenly no longer able to look after myself?"
"No! Of course not."
"Then what?"
"Gabriel's an archangel, Dean. Sure, he's not as powerful as Michael or Lucifer, but he's still incredibly powerful. Hell, the difference doesn't even matter as far as we're concerned."
"Neither does the difference between their power and Cas' if you want to look at it that way," Dean argued. "But that never mattered before."
"Oh, believe me, it did in the beginning," Sam stated. "I never really mentioned it all that much as Ruby had me so turned around as far as we were concerned, but I definitely worried about Cas and his powers in the beginning."
"You did?"
"After I realized that angels weren't quite what I'd thought they were? Hell yes!"
"Okay, so you were wrong about Cas, why the sudden worry with Gabe?" Dean asked.
"Because he was the Trickster! Have you forgotten all that he's done? The tricks? The pranks? Killing you about a hundred times?"
"Sixty-two."
"What?"
"It was actually sixty-two times, I asked him."
"You asked him?" Sam demanded, incredulous.
Dean shrugged. "What? I was curious. Besides, I've told you before, I don't remember any of that. It's just a big blank. And apparently I didn't die, not even once."
"What?"
"Gabriel said he didn't want to kill me, so he just put me in some kind of dream state and made a fake me to interact with you. Almost like what he did with all of the others in TV land."
Sam just stared at him in shock for a moment and Dean wondered if he'd broken his brother. Not sure what else to do, he grabbed his over shirt and pulled that on as well before picking up the steaming cup of coffee he'd found next to his bed when he'd entered the room. He'd initially been unsure which of his angels had left it for him, but the fact that it was still at the perfect temperature told him that it was Gabriel. Cas would definitely do it for him if asked, but his first lover wouldn't yet think of something like that on his own.
"He didn't want to kill you?" Sam finally asked.
"Yep," Dean replied easily, waggling his eyebrows. "Apparently he was already hooked from before. Besides, it seems that really killing me would have caused all kinds of problems."
"Problems? Oh, poor him."
"Yeah, it would have meant fighting to keep my soul from going downstairs early and that would have drawn all kinds of demonic and angelic attention down on him."
"I'd... never thought of that," Sam admitted.
"Me neither."
"Still, he did make me think that you'd died sixty-two times."
"To make you come to terms with what was to come and keep you from going off the deep end," Dean paused. "I can't say that I don't wish that he'd succeeded."
As he'd known that it would, those words hits his brother like a fist and for that Dean was sorry, but it didn't change the fact that they were true. If Sam hadn't taken his death as badly as his brother had... well things would be quite different now.
Finally Sam snorted. "Not like you've got much room to talk. You sold your soul to a demon."
"Yeah, I know. We're just one messed up, dysfunctional family."
Sam's resulting laugh was strained, but Dean did notice that his brother finally picked up the cup of coffee left for him. He just hoped that Gabe hadn't done anything untoward to it. Meanwhile he finished his own coffee and turned to riffling through his duffel for all of his dirty clothes. Much as he'd love to put it off a little longer, it was high time that they did some laundry.
"Hey, wait a minute," Sam said about five minutes later. "What do you mean that Gabriel was already hooked from before? Did something happen in Springfield while I wasn't around? You said he made two hot chicks appear to distract you. Was there something else?"
Dean groaned at his inability to keep his own trap shut. "No, look, it doesn't really matter."
"Dean."
"Alright, fine! Do you remember that chupacabra hunt years ago with Dad in Tennessee?"
"Chupacabra hunt? With Dad?"
"Yeah, the one where the two of you were arguing so bad that you didn't even notice that it was sneaking up on you?"
Sam, at least, had the good grace to look ashamed. "Yeah, of course I remember. You took off and left us there. It shocked us as I couldn't remember you ever doing that before."
"You guys deserved it. Besides, I'd just taken care of the other one and my ribs hurt."
"What does any of this have to do with Gabriel?"
"Apparently he was there, watching us."
"What?" Sam demanded, shocked. "Why?"
Dean shrugged. "Morbid curiosity, I guess. We're the two chosen vessels after all."
"Okay, so he saw us and, what, thought you looked good?"
Dean shrugged. "Precisely. Anyway he followed me back to town and then turned himself into a woman before entering the bar I'd chosen."
Sam groaned. "Oh, you didn't!"
"What? She was smoking hot and wearing this little red number like-"
"No! I don't want to know," Sam protested vehemently.
"You're such a prude, Sammy."
"No, you're just a dog. So, you slept with him without knowing. That doesn't anger you?"
"Anger me? No, it was a fantastic night and besides, he kinda prepared me for Cas in a way."
His little brother blinked at Dean as Sam tried to figure that out before shaking his shaggy head. "You know what? I don't even care so long as you're all fine with it. Just tell me one thing, are you sure that bonding with him was a good idea?"
"Yes," Dean stated immediately and empathically. "And if you're unsure about whether to trust Gabriel, remember that Cas knows more about all of this bonding than either of us and he didn't object."
"Okay."
"And..."
"And?"
"I'm not sure how to say it," Dean admitted. "But having these bonds, it's amazing. It feels like I've found something that's always been missing."
Sam laughed. "Now you sound like a bad romance novel."
"I don't mean like that," Dean snapped scowling. "I mean on a soul level."
"A soul level? You can feel your soul? Right now, even while in your meat suit?"
"Yes, it's... odd."
"Odd?"
"I don't know how else to describe it," Dean shrugged. "I've felt it ever since Hell."
"Oh. And that's where you feel like you're whole now?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure it's from the bonds and not the healing that Cas mentioned?"
"Yeah. That's different, I can feel that too now that I know to look for it. Besides, there's one perk that you'll really like."
"Really? What?"
"Between the two bonds, Cas and Gabe have apparently totally blocked Michael out. He couldn't even take me now if he could find a way around the permission."
"Wow," Sam said, rubbing his hand over his mouth. "And that wasn't the case with just Cas?"
"No, there was a part of my soul that he couldn't touch. We assumed it was because it was reserved specifically for Michael, but that's where Gabe's bond anchored itself."
"Huh. And does a human have to have the full relationship that you have with Cas and Gabe for that to happen?"
"Huh?"
"Could I get Lucifer blocked without a full on double angelic relationship? Could I just go for the bonds?"
"Oh. No."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes," Dean replied confidently. "These bonds aren't just something small that can be done willy-nilly. They're... profound."
"Profound? Have you been reading a dictionary, Dean?"
"Shut up. And fine, all-encompassing, serious, soul altering in a way. Intimate in a way that renders the rest of the relationship to be bearable. Besides, it's a lifelong commitment for an angel and that means something totally different for them than it does for us."
The expression on his brother's face now stopped Dean and he realized that he wasn't doing any favors for Sam's initial concerns about his changing and deepening relationship with Gabriel. Great.
"Finish sorting your clothes, I'm starving and want lunch," Dean stated.
"You're always starving. I think we need to have you checked for a tape worm."
"Dude, gross!" Dean exclaimed, pulling a face at the mere thought.
"Given what you eat, it's not outside the realm of possibility."
Outwardly Dean ignored his brother but mentally he made a note to ask Cas or Gabe to check him for tape worms. Not that he thought either of them would have missed it if he had one.
"You sure this was supposed to be a haunting?" Dean asked as they entered yet another room in the abandoned hotel and the EMF meter still didn't light up or beep.
"That's what it seemed like from the news article," Sam replied, checking each corner with his shotgun. "Several sightings of a ghostly figure along with reports of weird lights coming through the windows even though this place has been abandoned since some local woman torched the place knowing her husband was inside with his mistress."
"That's taking the whole woman scorned thing a bit too far, don't you think?" Dean commented as they stepped back into the hall to check the opposite room.
"That or it's another perfect example of why people shouldn't cheat on each other."
"Dude, she torched the hotel. Cheating husband or not, there had to be at least another hundred people inside other than the bastard and his mistress."
"A hundred and thirty-eight according to the police report. Seven of whom didn't make it, including the mistress."
Dean was just about to ask after the husband when he staggered sideways as, abruptly and brutally, his bonds with Castiel and Gabriel were slammed shut and bolted down. Or at least that's what it felt like as he couldn't reconnect with his lovers no matter how hard he instinctively tried to, hating the unexpected solitude that he now felt. It was infinitely worse than when Gabriel had inadvertently done the same with his bond to Cas.
"Dean?" Sam demanded worriedly as Dean caught himself on the wall.
Fear shot through him as he realized what it meant and Dean looked up at his brother. "Run!" he shouted.
Obviously some of his rapidly rising fear must have leaked through into his voice as his brother leapt for the door as if shocked. He wasn't far behind but apparently just far enough as flames burst to life between them, blocking his way and he was only just able to keep himself from running right into them and barbequing himself extra crispy.
"Dean!" Sam cried out, whirling around to face him before his brother's eyes looked past Dean and widened in shock. "Lucifer."
Automatically, Dean spun around and raised his shotgun to face the threat even though he knew that there wasn't anything that he could do to prevent the devil from doing whatever it was that Lucifer wanted to with him. They'd thought that this was a routine hunt so the Holy oil and angel blades were still outside in his baby. The figure that stood before him was not at all what he would have expected for the prince of all evil, but then again it was a vessel and one he infinitely preferred to that of his baby brother.
"Hello, Sam, Dean," Lucifer greeted, voice deceptively calm and unthreatening. "I think we all know that those shotguns won't do anything to me, so why don't you lower them before someone gets hurt?"
Though it didn't immediately sound like one, Dean knew that it was a threat and he reluctantly complied, not wanting to risk either of their lives or limbs for something that he already knew would be utterly futile. He'd witnessed firsthand how easily Cas could shrug off a shotgun blast and his lover was merely a seraph.
"You're not getting my brother," Dean told Lucifer as he moved so as to place himself squarely between the two of them.
"Dean!" Sam hissed warningly.
Lucifer, however, seemed merely amused at his actions. "Yes, I will," the devil responded easily. "But not here and not now. Later, in Detroit, but then you already know that."
The reminder of his little trip to the future made Dean's fingers twitch and he desperately longed to raise his shotgun once more and use it. But that was utterly pointless and would only serve to get himself killed or injured, though he was starting to suspect the latter. This was twice now that Lucifer had possessed the perfect opportunity to kill him and yet each time the devil hadn't taken it. The big question was why. Did it amuse him to keep Dean alive? Was it like playing with fire for certain humans? Or did Lucifer actually want to face his brother? Did the devil really think that he could take Michael?
"Great, so lower the flames and we'll be on our merry way," Dean retorted. "Oh, and if you tell us when this little appointment in Detroit is supposed to happen, we'll make sure to pencil it into our calendar. Even put a little red pitchfork next to it."
"Dean, shut up!" Sam urged, shifting restlessly enough that Dean could hear it though he didn't turn around to look.
"I said that I wasn't here for Sam," Lucifer said smoothly, locking eyes with Dean who felt his stomach clench and drop.
Oh, no, Lucifer couldn't mean-
"You, on the other hand, are exactly the human that I wanted to see."
Fuck.
"No! Lucifer, don't!" Sam cried out.
Instead of responding, Dean tried to get away, ducking under the devil's raised arm even as he battered desperately at his bonds, hoping against hope to break through the block. The next thing he knew, he was bodily picked up and flung against the nearest wall with a loud thump that knocked the breath out of him.
"Dean!"
"Should have shot you," Dean growled as he looked up to find Lucifer standing right before him, suddenly looking a whole lot more menacing than the devil had just a few moments earlier.
"It would have accomplished nothing," Lucifer stated.
"Would have made me feel better."
Unexpectedly that drew a small smile from the devil which threw Dean for a loop. Lucifer wasn't supposed to have a sense of humor.
"Why not? I am an angel after all."
"Dude, stay out of my head!"
"Make me."
That one floored Dean for a moment and before he could think of a witty comeback, Lucifer had raised his arm and brushed two fingers across his forehead and everything (Sammy, the hotel, his consciousness) vanished.
Part 6