Unexpected Destinies Chapter 30
Title: Unexpected Destinies
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: up to and including Exile on Main St., AU from the end of season 5
Warnings: AU, slash
Word Count: 2,263
Summary: Dean still thinks Castiel's idea is a really bad one.
PAST
"So, now what?" Dean questioned, looking between the two angels.
Well, archangels, technically. It was odd, but Dean had gotten so used to thinking of Cas as his angel that he still thought of him as that despite Castiel's promotion. It was probably easier to continue to do so if Michael was going to be about, it was a way to keep everything straight in his head. Not that he was ever likely to mistake the douchebag for his lover, but still.
"Do you have somewhere to stay?" Castiel asked his brother.
"Where do you spend your time?" Michael replied.
"That depends on what I am doing, but generally I am either in Heaven or with Dean. And no, I am not leaving you alone with him."
"Hell no," Dean confirmed. "There's no way I'm letting you anywhere near me when I'm sleeping."
"You do not trust me to honor my word," Michael realized, offended.
Dean snorted. "I'm not even going to deign that with an answer."
"You trust Castiel."
"Because he earned it, he proved that I can trust him, you haven't."
"I have never lied to you."
"No, you just tried to manipulate me into doing something I didn't want to, which proved you have absolutely no regard for human interests, not to mention everything you let Zachariah do in your name."
"Just accept his decision, Michael," Castiel recommended. "Pushing him will win you no favors."
"Fine."
"We need to get you a cell phone."
"A what?"
"I'll see to it," Dean offered, earning himself a quick touch to his shoulder from his lover.
"What is a cell phone?"
"It is a communications device," Castiel explained. "It will allow you and Dean to contact each other."
"Dean does not need any such device to contact me."
"What?" Dean questioned.
"You are my vessel," Michael stated. "All you need to do is think of or concentrate on me and say my name and I shall be aware of it."
"Even with the sigils Cas gave me?"
"Yes."
"The bond between a vessel and his or her angel is a powerful connection," Castiel explained. "And the power of the sigils lies, as most angelic powers, in consent. They will hide you from all angels in existence, including the one with whom you have an angel-vessel bond, unless you do not want them to."
"So this would reveal my location to him?" Dean inquired.
"Yes, it would."
"Okay, that's good to know, but that doesn't help us if I simply want to convey some information without revealing my location. Nor does it let Michael contact me, unless this bond works both ways?"
Dean really didn't like the idea of being connected to Michael in any way whatsoever, but realized that fighting this particular issue was a useless battle. He was an angelic vessel- Michael's vessel- that was a fact and it was senseless to fight that. No, what he could do something about was keeping said angel out of his body. Just because he physically was a vessel didn't mean that he had to allow himself to fulfill that destiny. In fact, he had quite a distaste for letting any destiny come to pass as he hated the very idea of such a predetermined path for anyone, let alone himself.
"No, it does not," Michael informed him.
"Well, in that case, a cell phone it is. I'll get you one, program my number into it and show you how to use it."
Michael gave a curt nod to show he'd heard and Dean figured that was all he was going to get. He really didn't know what the archangel was even doing here since he clearly disliked humans in general and him in particular. Or, more likely, needing to interact with him as his own person instead of simply possessing him and doing whatever he wished with his meatsuit.
"You guys can talk to each at will, right?" Dean checked.
"Yes, we can," Castiel confirmed. "Which brings us back to my initial question, do you have somewhere to stay, Michael?"
"Yes, though I would like to come home at some point."
Dean had to still the impulse to let Michael have another burst of the Jewel of Abel at that response. The need to help protect his lover and his work was so great and was something he generally never felt he'd be able to do. This exact scenario had been something he'd feared since Castiel had first said that most of the angels in Heaven had been kept in the dark about Michael, Raphael and Zachariah's endgame and were against it. It was easy to say something like that, but a lot harder to follow through on it. Now that their old general was back, would the angels still follow Cas and stick with all of the reforms his lover had implemented or would they abandon him in favor of kissing up to the old boss?
"Perhaps later," Castiel offered.
The reply obviously grated on Michael and Dean was beginning to think that there might be some up sides to Castiel's idea. The chance to have the old head of the archangels forced to accept conditions placed upon him by someone who had once been so far beneath him that he wasn't even sure if Michael had known who Cas was. Given the sheer number of angels, it really wouldn't surprise him, but he loved the irony nonetheless. Perhaps God did have a sense of humor after all.
"Very well," Michael said as ungracefully as before. "I shall see you later."
With that and a flutter of wings, Dean and Castiel were suddenly alone. The relief he felt was nearly overwhelming and Dean had to force himself not to relax too much in case this was just a ploy.
"Cas?"
"He is gone for now, but I would feel better if you would let me take you somewhere else."
"Let me get my things together."
Dean tried to tone down his mood as he threw his things into his duffel and let Castiel zap them to a new location, he really did, but damnit, this was Michael they were talking about here! The king douchebag himself as far as he was concerned. Were they really to believe that he'd started to see the error of his ways because Daddy had proved that he liked one of the other kiddies better then him? He didn't quite buy that. He'd be the first to admit that he didn't know Michael all that well, hell, he could count the number of times he'd met the guy on one hand, but it just didn't ring true with the archangel he'd seen on those few times.
That said, however, he'd seen how greatly God's opinion and good grace had affected Castiel, so perhaps it was the same for Michael? Dean knew well how much a father's regard could be worth, but he was a bit afraid that his own experience was coloring his opinion now and he was afraid of the possible consequences. They, Cas and himself, were really down to the wire here. Yes, they had the angels in Heaven that his lover believed to be with them, but that was it. They had no allies on Earth that they could truly trust, so they couldn't afford to make many mistakes here, even if they had more time now then they'd thought they did. It was entirely possible that Michael could be as dangerous to them as Lucifer and he really didn't want to have to fight two archangels, let alone at once.
"What was that, Cas?" Dean finally demanded, unable to hold it in anymore.
"He seemed sincere in his desire to learn why Father had punished him."
"Because he'd been a dick, that's why."
"Dean, this is Michael we are talking about, Father's hammer as it were. For him to admit that he might have been wrong is a very significant step."
"But that's just it, he hasn't admitted that he was wrong. He was just whining that Daddy doesn't like him best anymore."
"Be that as it may, this is an unprecedented opportunity, Dean."
"For what?"
"To bring him around to our point of view," Castiel replied. "Can you imagine if he were to be on our side instead of against us?"
"You really think that's possible?"
"You convinced me. We are in the right here, Dean, Father has already made that very clear, now we just need to prove it to Michael."
Dean regarded his lover, still not entirely convinced but seeing that Castiel sincerely thought that they stood a chance at succeeding in this. And the benefits to them if he was right were staggering.
"Fine, but we need to tread very carefully here."
"Agreed, though Michael can prove to be an invaluable ally, he is also not to be underestimated."
With a loud sigh, Dean dropped onto the bed of the motel room he was now in. He knew he'd have to go officially check-in, but he couldn't be bothered to right now. With a little concentration, he got the Jewel of Abel to deactivate and release his wrist. He pulled it off and threw it at the head of the bed so he'd not forget to put underneath the pillow with his gun later.
"Why can't we just get some good news without any strings attached?" Dean asked.
"I do not know," Castiel replied as he sat next to him.
Dean rubbed his face, only just realizing that he'd forgotten his dinner in the last motel. He considered asking Castiel to go back and get it but figured it wasn't worth it in case Michael was being less then honest with them.
"What happened, Cas? Do you think Michael was being honest with how he got out?"
"I cannot think how else he might have gotten out and it does make some sense."
"And it gives us some more time, so I guess we can't really complain."
Castiel reached out for him hesitantly, as if unsure of his reception and Dean leaned into him, resting his head in the crook of his angel's neck. It was the first time his lover had shown an inclination to offer touch as a comfort and he wanted to encourage that. Cas' hand ran slowly up and down his back, apparently not quite sure of what else to do.
"Cas?"
"Yes, Dean?"
"Where are we?"
"Oregon."
"Oregon?"
"Is that bad?"
"No, no, I'm just a little surprised is all."
"Were you done with your case?"
"Yeah, was just gonna look for a new one, which I can do just as easily here as there."
"We may need to focus on the situation with Michael instead."
"Trust me, you want me handling with a regular case before dealing with your brother again or the results will not be pretty."
"You are stressed."
"Yeah, no kidding."
Just by chance, Castiel's fingers hit a knot and his probing touch, most likely as he tried to figure out what it was, was enough to make him moan. "Do that again."
"This is not supposed to be there," Castiel stated as he complied.
"No, it's a knot, 's caused by stress."
"How do you get rid of it?"
The angel's intense focus on his body's comfort and anything that could cause unwelcome changes to it was a little freaky, but Dean couldn't bring himself to care. Not when it lead to offers like this.
"Well, either you get away from the stressor or you can get a massage."
"What is a massage and where do you get one?"
"Wherever you find someone willing to give one. There are places that specialize in it, but anyone can give a basic massage."
"Tell me what I must do."
Dean smiled at his lover, pulling back enough so he could pull off his shirts, dropping them carelessly on the ground. He noted how Castiel's eyes roamed over his chest and promised himself he'd indulge his lover later. But first, he'd let the angel pamper him a little, he figured he'd deserved it and if Castiel wanted to do it, then who was he to refuse?
"Turn a little, so you're facing me head on," Dean instructed and turned his back on him. "Okay, now put your hands on my shoulders, thumbs facing down. Can you feel the knot?"
"Yes and several more."
"Yeah, I'm not surprised. Now, the idea of a massage is to work those knots out with pressure, kneading the muscles."
"Will that not hurt?"
"Yeah, but it'll also be a huge relief. Trust me, it feels great."
"How much pressure do I use?"
"Start with what you did earlier and work your way up, I'll let you know when it's good."
"Just with my thumbs?"
"At the start, yes, but then if you want to keep at it and move down my back, you can use your other fingers."
Although tentative at first, Castiel quickly got the hang of it and soon Dean was reduced to a moaning mass of quivering muscles. His lover was as good at this as he'd hoped, his drive and focus more then making up for his lack of experience. By the end of it, he was more relaxed then he could remember being in a long time and he slumped bonelessly back onto the bed.
"Thanks, Cas."
"Do you feel better?"
"Yeah," Dean looked up at his lover through half-lidded eyes, before reaching out and grabbing hold of his tie. "Come 'ere."
Chapter 31
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: up to and including Exile on Main St., AU from the end of season 5
Warnings: AU, slash
Word Count: 2,263
Summary: Dean still thinks Castiel's idea is a really bad one.
PAST
"So, now what?" Dean questioned, looking between the two angels.
Well, archangels, technically. It was odd, but Dean had gotten so used to thinking of Cas as his angel that he still thought of him as that despite Castiel's promotion. It was probably easier to continue to do so if Michael was going to be about, it was a way to keep everything straight in his head. Not that he was ever likely to mistake the douchebag for his lover, but still.
"Do you have somewhere to stay?" Castiel asked his brother.
"Where do you spend your time?" Michael replied.
"That depends on what I am doing, but generally I am either in Heaven or with Dean. And no, I am not leaving you alone with him."
"Hell no," Dean confirmed. "There's no way I'm letting you anywhere near me when I'm sleeping."
"You do not trust me to honor my word," Michael realized, offended.
Dean snorted. "I'm not even going to deign that with an answer."
"You trust Castiel."
"Because he earned it, he proved that I can trust him, you haven't."
"I have never lied to you."
"No, you just tried to manipulate me into doing something I didn't want to, which proved you have absolutely no regard for human interests, not to mention everything you let Zachariah do in your name."
"Just accept his decision, Michael," Castiel recommended. "Pushing him will win you no favors."
"Fine."
"We need to get you a cell phone."
"A what?"
"I'll see to it," Dean offered, earning himself a quick touch to his shoulder from his lover.
"What is a cell phone?"
"It is a communications device," Castiel explained. "It will allow you and Dean to contact each other."
"Dean does not need any such device to contact me."
"What?" Dean questioned.
"You are my vessel," Michael stated. "All you need to do is think of or concentrate on me and say my name and I shall be aware of it."
"Even with the sigils Cas gave me?"
"Yes."
"The bond between a vessel and his or her angel is a powerful connection," Castiel explained. "And the power of the sigils lies, as most angelic powers, in consent. They will hide you from all angels in existence, including the one with whom you have an angel-vessel bond, unless you do not want them to."
"So this would reveal my location to him?" Dean inquired.
"Yes, it would."
"Okay, that's good to know, but that doesn't help us if I simply want to convey some information without revealing my location. Nor does it let Michael contact me, unless this bond works both ways?"
Dean really didn't like the idea of being connected to Michael in any way whatsoever, but realized that fighting this particular issue was a useless battle. He was an angelic vessel- Michael's vessel- that was a fact and it was senseless to fight that. No, what he could do something about was keeping said angel out of his body. Just because he physically was a vessel didn't mean that he had to allow himself to fulfill that destiny. In fact, he had quite a distaste for letting any destiny come to pass as he hated the very idea of such a predetermined path for anyone, let alone himself.
"No, it does not," Michael informed him.
"Well, in that case, a cell phone it is. I'll get you one, program my number into it and show you how to use it."
Michael gave a curt nod to show he'd heard and Dean figured that was all he was going to get. He really didn't know what the archangel was even doing here since he clearly disliked humans in general and him in particular. Or, more likely, needing to interact with him as his own person instead of simply possessing him and doing whatever he wished with his meatsuit.
"You guys can talk to each at will, right?" Dean checked.
"Yes, we can," Castiel confirmed. "Which brings us back to my initial question, do you have somewhere to stay, Michael?"
"Yes, though I would like to come home at some point."
Dean had to still the impulse to let Michael have another burst of the Jewel of Abel at that response. The need to help protect his lover and his work was so great and was something he generally never felt he'd be able to do. This exact scenario had been something he'd feared since Castiel had first said that most of the angels in Heaven had been kept in the dark about Michael, Raphael and Zachariah's endgame and were against it. It was easy to say something like that, but a lot harder to follow through on it. Now that their old general was back, would the angels still follow Cas and stick with all of the reforms his lover had implemented or would they abandon him in favor of kissing up to the old boss?
"Perhaps later," Castiel offered.
The reply obviously grated on Michael and Dean was beginning to think that there might be some up sides to Castiel's idea. The chance to have the old head of the archangels forced to accept conditions placed upon him by someone who had once been so far beneath him that he wasn't even sure if Michael had known who Cas was. Given the sheer number of angels, it really wouldn't surprise him, but he loved the irony nonetheless. Perhaps God did have a sense of humor after all.
"Very well," Michael said as ungracefully as before. "I shall see you later."
With that and a flutter of wings, Dean and Castiel were suddenly alone. The relief he felt was nearly overwhelming and Dean had to force himself not to relax too much in case this was just a ploy.
"Cas?"
"He is gone for now, but I would feel better if you would let me take you somewhere else."
"Let me get my things together."
Dean tried to tone down his mood as he threw his things into his duffel and let Castiel zap them to a new location, he really did, but damnit, this was Michael they were talking about here! The king douchebag himself as far as he was concerned. Were they really to believe that he'd started to see the error of his ways because Daddy had proved that he liked one of the other kiddies better then him? He didn't quite buy that. He'd be the first to admit that he didn't know Michael all that well, hell, he could count the number of times he'd met the guy on one hand, but it just didn't ring true with the archangel he'd seen on those few times.
That said, however, he'd seen how greatly God's opinion and good grace had affected Castiel, so perhaps it was the same for Michael? Dean knew well how much a father's regard could be worth, but he was a bit afraid that his own experience was coloring his opinion now and he was afraid of the possible consequences. They, Cas and himself, were really down to the wire here. Yes, they had the angels in Heaven that his lover believed to be with them, but that was it. They had no allies on Earth that they could truly trust, so they couldn't afford to make many mistakes here, even if they had more time now then they'd thought they did. It was entirely possible that Michael could be as dangerous to them as Lucifer and he really didn't want to have to fight two archangels, let alone at once.
"What was that, Cas?" Dean finally demanded, unable to hold it in anymore.
"He seemed sincere in his desire to learn why Father had punished him."
"Because he'd been a dick, that's why."
"Dean, this is Michael we are talking about, Father's hammer as it were. For him to admit that he might have been wrong is a very significant step."
"But that's just it, he hasn't admitted that he was wrong. He was just whining that Daddy doesn't like him best anymore."
"Be that as it may, this is an unprecedented opportunity, Dean."
"For what?"
"To bring him around to our point of view," Castiel replied. "Can you imagine if he were to be on our side instead of against us?"
"You really think that's possible?"
"You convinced me. We are in the right here, Dean, Father has already made that very clear, now we just need to prove it to Michael."
Dean regarded his lover, still not entirely convinced but seeing that Castiel sincerely thought that they stood a chance at succeeding in this. And the benefits to them if he was right were staggering.
"Fine, but we need to tread very carefully here."
"Agreed, though Michael can prove to be an invaluable ally, he is also not to be underestimated."
With a loud sigh, Dean dropped onto the bed of the motel room he was now in. He knew he'd have to go officially check-in, but he couldn't be bothered to right now. With a little concentration, he got the Jewel of Abel to deactivate and release his wrist. He pulled it off and threw it at the head of the bed so he'd not forget to put underneath the pillow with his gun later.
"Why can't we just get some good news without any strings attached?" Dean asked.
"I do not know," Castiel replied as he sat next to him.
Dean rubbed his face, only just realizing that he'd forgotten his dinner in the last motel. He considered asking Castiel to go back and get it but figured it wasn't worth it in case Michael was being less then honest with them.
"What happened, Cas? Do you think Michael was being honest with how he got out?"
"I cannot think how else he might have gotten out and it does make some sense."
"And it gives us some more time, so I guess we can't really complain."
Castiel reached out for him hesitantly, as if unsure of his reception and Dean leaned into him, resting his head in the crook of his angel's neck. It was the first time his lover had shown an inclination to offer touch as a comfort and he wanted to encourage that. Cas' hand ran slowly up and down his back, apparently not quite sure of what else to do.
"Cas?"
"Yes, Dean?"
"Where are we?"
"Oregon."
"Oregon?"
"Is that bad?"
"No, no, I'm just a little surprised is all."
"Were you done with your case?"
"Yeah, was just gonna look for a new one, which I can do just as easily here as there."
"We may need to focus on the situation with Michael instead."
"Trust me, you want me handling with a regular case before dealing with your brother again or the results will not be pretty."
"You are stressed."
"Yeah, no kidding."
Just by chance, Castiel's fingers hit a knot and his probing touch, most likely as he tried to figure out what it was, was enough to make him moan. "Do that again."
"This is not supposed to be there," Castiel stated as he complied.
"No, it's a knot, 's caused by stress."
"How do you get rid of it?"
The angel's intense focus on his body's comfort and anything that could cause unwelcome changes to it was a little freaky, but Dean couldn't bring himself to care. Not when it lead to offers like this.
"Well, either you get away from the stressor or you can get a massage."
"What is a massage and where do you get one?"
"Wherever you find someone willing to give one. There are places that specialize in it, but anyone can give a basic massage."
"Tell me what I must do."
Dean smiled at his lover, pulling back enough so he could pull off his shirts, dropping them carelessly on the ground. He noted how Castiel's eyes roamed over his chest and promised himself he'd indulge his lover later. But first, he'd let the angel pamper him a little, he figured he'd deserved it and if Castiel wanted to do it, then who was he to refuse?
"Turn a little, so you're facing me head on," Dean instructed and turned his back on him. "Okay, now put your hands on my shoulders, thumbs facing down. Can you feel the knot?"
"Yes and several more."
"Yeah, I'm not surprised. Now, the idea of a massage is to work those knots out with pressure, kneading the muscles."
"Will that not hurt?"
"Yeah, but it'll also be a huge relief. Trust me, it feels great."
"How much pressure do I use?"
"Start with what you did earlier and work your way up, I'll let you know when it's good."
"Just with my thumbs?"
"At the start, yes, but then if you want to keep at it and move down my back, you can use your other fingers."
Although tentative at first, Castiel quickly got the hang of it and soon Dean was reduced to a moaning mass of quivering muscles. His lover was as good at this as he'd hoped, his drive and focus more then making up for his lack of experience. By the end of it, he was more relaxed then he could remember being in a long time and he slumped bonelessly back onto the bed.
"Thanks, Cas."
"Do you feel better?"
"Yeah," Dean looked up at his lover through half-lidded eyes, before reaching out and grabbing hold of his tie. "Come 'ere."
Chapter 31