Ice of Oblivion Chapter 7
Title: Ice of Oblivion Chapter 7/24
Author: zoomzoomzoomzoo
Fandom/Genre: SPN AU Romance, Drama, Action
Pairing (s): Dean/Castiel
Rating: T
Word Count: ~82,000
Warnings: Underage, Mild Sexual Situation, Violence
Summary: AU. In a time of great tragedy in the lands of Mamot, the human race and the angel race are forced to form an unbreakable union that will bind them together for twenty seven lifetimes in order to stop the uprising of the demon race. In bargain they offer Castiel, one of the most powerful angels in the entire world to marry Dean Winchester, the young crown prince of the human world. The typically detached Castiel winds up falling in love with the Prince. The only problem is his brothers don’t expect Dean to live through the war. Will Castiel stay and support the man he loves despite the heartbreak that might accompany his passing or will he fall back in line with his brothers, becoming numb to all human emotions once more?
Chapter 7
Castiel’s time spent with Luke was interesting at the least and eye-opening at the very most.
Luke taught Castiel how to play Spades, Hearts and -Dean’s favorite- Poker. Castiel never really got the grips of the game and ended up losing several times to Luke further damaging the superior ego that he had when it concerned Dean’s new friend. But as the evening wore on Castiel did develop affection for the child.
He was easy to speak to, smart and intelligent, he cracked jokes that Castiel could actually understand and he was truly loyal to the King’s rule. He could see how the boy was a good match for Dean too; they had similar natures and have apparently been best friends for two years now and did not plan on stopping, Dean had even managed to convince his father to let him finish training Luke so that he could be the “perfect” personal guard. Although Luke assured them that the majority of their time together was not spent training; mostly they played cards and wrestled like children.
After allowing the boy to get some rest, Castiel told the John and all of his advisors that he was here to stay for another couple of months, assuring them that if they needed anything he was here to help. Apparently, at the time Castiel was completely useless.
Before he dismissed himself, John had given him one of his tender looks. It rarely happened, but whenever John was out and about and happened to come across Castiel with Dean he would give Castiel this look. It almost seemed like he was saying ‘thank you’, but for what? Castiel was never sure.
“Just spend some time with Dean while you’re here,” John said. “He’ll like that.”
Castiel, for the first time since he met the man, smiled at him and then left.
The next day he went to Dean’s room at the dawn of the sun’s rise and found his bed empty. It wasn’t too shocking- Luke had in fact informed him of how early Dean usually rose in the morning- and so Castiel went on a full-on Dean Hunt.
First he went to the kitchens, where he met the two heads of the kitchen staff Audrey and Lulu. They started to bow at his feet when they saw him but Castiel waved them up in embarrassment; humans thought so low of themselves, it was kind of sad. They were his Father’s creation after all.
When he asked them about Dean they both looked a little bashful and at the same time happy at the mention of their crown prince. Castiel could not help but feel a little proud at how respected the eleven year old Dean was already amongst his future subjects; he would make a good King one day.
“Oh, Prince Dean? He was just here making the meal plans with us for the next week.”
“Meal plans?” Castiel’s eyebrows wrinkled; that wasn’t Dean’s job, he was the prince after all they should have someone else worrying about such things. “That’s a queen’s job.”
“We have no queen, sir.”
Castiel scowled and clenched his fists behind his back. “Then someone else should have volunteered.”
“The Prince volunteered after our last Head Kitchen Maid died of fever, sir. We wouldn’t have him do this if he didn’t want to.”
Castiel felt like throttling Dean; didn’t he think that he already had enough to do. Now he was taking on job that really had nothing to do with him. He was supposed to eat the meals that were presented in front of him; not plan them.
“Do you-“
“Would you like to see it, sir?” Lulu interrupted with a smile.
Audrey hit her on the arm and pulled her back. “Do you know who you’re speaking to?”
Lulu’s eyes widened and she took a couple of steps back with her eyes downcast. “I’m sorry, sir.”
Once again, these humans were looking at themselves as if they were lowly, worthless bags of flesh. And once again, Castiel felt the smallest hint of guilt. “I wouldn’t mind having a look at what Dean did; he needs proper guidance sometimes, don’t you think?”
Their eyes danced with amusement, but they didn’t laugh. Audrey bumbled over to the top of the stove area and removed a small piece of paper that was already covered in flour. She shyly handed it to the slightly disgruntled angel before stepping away just as quickly.
Castiel scanned the page and noted that it was actually neatly done, if he saw it without knowing that Dean had a hand in it he would have thought a Head Kitchen maid had done it. Chicken Broth and a very light salad, followed by a very small service of chicken and wine (or juice) and then a serving of fresh fish with dinner rolls and corn; that was just for tonight. It was so unlike Dean…
“Did you see the corner?”
Castiel suppressed a smile, maybe this was more like Dean after all. Bake a cupcake for Sammy; he’s been wanting one for days! Thank you! Castiel handed the paper back to his the women and wrapped his fingers behind his back.
“Do you have any idea where he went?”
Lulu smiled and nodded. “Yes, he went to an early morning meeting with the advisors.”
“You better hurry; they don’t tend to last long, sir.”
Castiel nodded and with a quick thank you, he left the room on his way to the Great Hall. The walk was quick and on walking into the Great Hall, Castiel realized that once again Dean was nowhere to be found. There was only one advisor left, Bobby Singer, and it seemed the rest had poured out of the room after what appeared to be a very quick meeting.
When Bobby saw Castiel, he didn’t smile, like most people probably would after seeing one of the most famous angels on the face of Mamot. He looked at Castiel critically and a little annoyed.
“Hello, Mr. Singer,” Castiel said.
“Castiel…” Bobby said with the smallest of nods.
Deciding not to make any small talk like he almost did with the kitchen maids, Castiel got right to the point. “Do you know where Dean went? I’ve been looking for him for a while.”
Bobby got an angry grimace on his face and with a small sneer he answered, “He went off with that useless father of his.”
Castiel pouted and cocked his head to the side; over the years that he’s observed Bobby and the other advisors private treatment and scolding of John and all of his methods of being King. But he’d never heard someone speak so openly about their disdain for someone above their station. This Bobby Singer was a strange one.
“Do you think it’s wise to talk about your King that way?”
Bobby’s jaw tightened and he shook his head hastily. “Your damn right I do. That man hasn’t so much as lifted a finger in his job; the only time that bastard even puts out a little effort is when we go hunting. Selfish idgit.”
Castiel frowned; poor John, what was wrong with him? “I’m sure he’s doing something, after all he bothered to show up at the break of dawn just to attend this meeting.”
“Nah,” Bobby started with an exasperated sigh. “Your boy Dean had to drag his hung-over ass all the way here.”
Castiel wanted to ask more questions and dwell on John’s obvious troubles and displeasures with his life. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it; he didn’t know why he couldn’t. Maybe he felt like he was too busy, or maybe he knew that John was pass helping and the only way he could even begin to make it better was if he spent time with Dean and helped him into his next transition of life. John knows that he can’t do it, not anymore. It was all up to Castiel.
“So, did Dean help him back up into his room?”
Bobby hadn’t heard him, or maybe he had heard but he didn’t feel like listening to what the angel had to say so he ignored it. Either way, he kept on mumbling deprecating things about his King and apparent friend without end.
“Damn bastard, leaving all of his work to us. Doesn’t he know we have lives outside of this godforsaken place? It ain’t my fault that the only life he has outside of this damn hall is at the bottom of a bottle or in the barrel of a gun.” Bobby-finally noticing that he was going off on a tangent- looked at Castiel and nodded toward the door. “He should be up in his dad’s room, if not I don’t know.”
Castiel nodded and went off again. He knew that there was probably an easier way to do this. After all, he was an angel. And seeing as he is an angel, there had to be tons of other things he could be doing right now that would be much more useful and entertaining than looking for an eleven year old prepubescent boy…
Within minutes, Castiel was a few feet away from John Winchesters quarters and being stopped by two outstretched arms belonging to two human guards.
“We’re sorry sir, you can’t come inside. The King is resting.”
Castiel felt ready to burst! If John was sleeping than the chances of Dean sticking around to watch was… well there was no chance. Sighing, Castiel massaged his temple and asked, “Do you know where the Crown Prince is?”
One of the guards tapped his chin, looking confused. After a couple of seconds, the guard raised his finger and released a short ‘ah’. “He’s in his room.”
Castiel nodded; though he’d just been there, there was still a possibility that Dean had gone back maybe for a late nap before he had to finish whatever other endless duties he had to take care of. Castiel snaked away from the two and ran to Dean’s room. Instead of Dean, Castiel saw the youngest Winchester brother sitting with his back on Dean’s door and a book on his lap. There were two attentive but completely still guards on both sides of him and the boy seemed to be dozing.
“Sam!”
Sam spiked up with his hand on top of his head while his book slipped off of his lap. “Wha-“ Sam’s eyes scanned the area with rapid firing eyes, so rapid that Castiel would think Sam was a becoming a hunter himself: agile, observant and vigilant.
“Castiel… what are you doing up so early.”
In his half-sleeping state Sam must have forgotten that angels don’t sleep like humans do so Castiel did not call him on it. He only smiled and helped Sam onto his feet; he was definitely heavier, not that Castiel noticed what with his differential threshold being so large. In order to notice differences in most things, especially weight he had to pay extra close attention.
“Thanks…” Sam mumbled as he reached down for his book; picking it up, he scanned the hallway with a bit of apprehension on his face. “Hey, where’d Dean go?”
Castiel glanced down and wrinkled his eyebrows, how did Sam know what Castiel was looking for already? Interesting…
“I’ve actually come to ask you the same question. Have you seen him at all this morning?”
Sam nodded. “He woke me up for classes and got me breakfast before going off on his meeting.” Sam yawned loud and ferocious like a lion and then he passed a glance at the door he’d just been sleeping on. “I thought I’d take a nap before he got back, he got back like… umm… before… and he woke me up once.”
“Why were you still sleeping then?
Sam pouted and with a sharp roll of his eyes, he spoke, “Dean probably left when he thought I was awake… he usually stays longer to see me off, but… well, he’s so busy.”
Seeing the mismatch of irritation and dejection on Sam Winchester’s face, Castiel frowned. Taking pity on the brother of his betrothed, Castiel reached his hand out to him and nodded toward the halls. “Well, I can walk you to class if you don’t mind, Sam.”
Sam grinned, but instead of taking Castiel’s hand he shook his head and pushed it away with his palm. “No thank you I can get there just fine… besides, I like it when Dean takes me.”
Castiel nodded, feeling only slightly annoyed that Sam didn’t take his hand. When Sam was preparing to walk away, though, Castiel suddenly remembered why he was there in the first place and stopped him. “Do you have any idea where Dean may be right now?”
Sam shrugged one of the saddest shrugs that Castiel had ever seen and turned away. His books were pressed tight against his own chest and his head was sunk lower than the heaviest of rocks in the lightest of oceans but even without those indications, Castiel would have been able to see Sam’s clenched shoulder and knew that he was upset.
And to be honest, Castiel was starting to feel just as gloomy as Sam was. He came to Inim to see Dean after two years of barely having the time to drop a line. And now for the first time, Dean barely has the time for him. He didn’t like that very much. Every other time he’d come here to Inim, Dean made time for him and typically only spread his attention to Sam or his father. Now he had all of these new distractions ranging from duties that belonged to his father and the one’s that originally belonged to his mother. He barely had time for Sam anymore…
“Cas!”
Castiel turned to his right to see Dean bounding toward him from the same hallway Sam had gone down. Containing his relief at seeing that Dean hadn’t forgotten about him was easy, but the constant tugging on his lips was so irritating that he let it out anyways.
“Dean, I’ve been looking for you.”
Dean was beaming when he approached Castiel and his relief was almost as obvious as Castiel’s. “I was looking for you too…” Dean said happily. “I was wondering whether or not you wanted to come help me with some stuff.”
“Of course, Dean.” Castiel said without thinking.
Dean exhaled and walked toward Castiel, laced their arms together and started walking toward the same hallway he’d come out of. “I have so much stuff to do!”
Castiel nodded. He was more than happy to help Dean, besides he was an angel. He was inhumanely strong and he could technically fly - although that was irrelevant because his flying was much too quick for human eyes to keep up.
“I should have finished all of this last night, but I was so tired that I just had to go to sleep,” Dean complained wantonly as they walked back toward a small room that Castiel very rarely noticed but was still being guarded by about two angels at once.
As they passed, Castiel nodded at them both and Dean smiled and waved, greeting them by name. They walked into the small room and what Castiel saw actually made his eyes water.
The room was practically empty, aside from a very hefty and long desk that sat in the very middle of the room. It was black and was slowly chipping away at all angles and ends but it had to be sturdy in order to support the thousands of papers that were stacked seemingly endlessly on top of it.
What in God’s name did they want Dean to do with all of those?
“They’re mission statements,” Dean said matter-of-factly. “People from all over Inim reporting demon outbreaks and sightings in our lands.”
“So?”
Dean chuckled lightly. “So, we’re going to have to sort them by severity and quantity of demons reported. Do you get it?”
Castiel nodded and they went to work. Castiel could say for sure that what he was doing was the most mind-numbing, dreary, tiresome job that any one person could get stuck with and Castiel typically liked everything boring. His brothers teased him all the time about his boring habits of over reading and over researching. But this, what he was doing today and what Dean apparently does every day, it was too much to handle.
Castiel found himself losing focus quickly and whatever concentration he had left starting shifting to other things that were in no way as important as demon infestations but were far more interesting then sorting through paper work about them.
Dean, on the other hand, waded through the endless papers as if it was all second nature for him. He whistled and hummed, scribbled and scrabbled, shivered and, best of all, smiled. Sometimes when Castiel found himself losing focus he just stared at Dean while he was doing his work, mesmerized by the young man and the ease that he handled so many newfound responsibilities.
After a couple of hours, Luke came in to join them and spent the whole hour or so that he was there griping, just as Castiel was doing in his head. Dean just smiled at him and cracked jokes to lighten the mood and it surprisingly helped. Dean and Luke traded good natured barbs for hours and the rest of the time seemed to go by quickly.
When they were finished, Dean seemed to be a bit on edge. As they cleaned up he continued stopping and biting his nails as if he was thinking about something. When they got everything packed up and ready to give to the advisors, Dean nearly dropped his stack when he finally realized what it was he was forgetting.
He launched himself out of the room so quickly that Castiel and Luke ended up staring at the spot he was in wondering whether or not he ran or simply disappeared before they followed him out of the room.
They chased after him - although it was more of following then chasing because as Crown Prince, Dean was not allowed to run, just walk really fast - until they made it outside to the field where Sam and a group of small children were gathering their toys and starting to go home.
“Sam,” Dean shouted, jogging closer to his little brother.
The look that Sam gave Dean was a scary, especially coming from a younger brother. Luke and Castiel kept a small distance from the brothers; but both watched with two different expressions, Luke was a bit annoyed and Castiel was confused.
“Where were you?” Sam tone was accusatory and Dean immediately recoiled and frowned, ashamed.
“I was - I was real busy.”
Sam pursed his lips as he wrapped his art equipment up in a sheet with fat tears in his eyes that refused to fall. Dean remained quiet with the guiltiest expression on his face; Castiel didn’t want him to feel guilty, it wasn’t his fault that he was so busy. He was the crown prince after all.
“You promised you would paint me with me and my friends today,” Sam said, stressing the word promised.
“I know I did. I just…” Dean trailed off.
“You always do this,” Sam snapped.
“I know.”
“You always make promises but you never follow through,”
“I know.”
Sam was starting to look angrier and angrier, especially with Dean’s lack of explanation.
“So, what? Do you have any excuses like always?”
Dean looked at Luke and Castiel really quickly before looking back at Sam and shaking his head. “No.”
Sam rolled his eyes and stomped past Dean with his art supplies underneath his arm.
“I’m so sorry…” Dean murmured at Sam’s retreating form.
Castiel approached Dean cautiously; he knew how much Sam meant to Dean. “Dean-“
Dean interrupted him. “I’ve got to go - umm - do something.”
~*~*~*~
Castiel did not see Dean until dinner that night; he still looked depressed and Sam still looked slightly annoyed. John was missing but a lot of the children and advisors showed up. They spent the majority of their time in silence. The only time Castiel saw Dean pep up was when one of the cooks brought out Sam’s cupcake, but the boy denied it almost immediately and Dean was down again.
It pained Castiel to see Dean so upset. He never saw him so low before and unfortunately, it was having an effect on Castiel too. That warm light that Dean always seemed to emit was stifling and tilting in all directions. It was making him difficult to be around. He knew that it was likely that they would make up soon, but he could not, with good conscious, allow something like that to happen again. They could not go on fighting that way. They were brothers and Castiel knew all about brothers. There were times when his brothers fought. Once Uriel and Zachariah didn’t speak for one hundred and twenty seven years because of a particularly rowdy fight and then of course, the biggest fight of all between Michael and Lucifer was the reason Castiel was even at the Winchester’s Castle.
He knew how these things could escalate; he refused to allow the brother’s to resent one another.
He sought out Sam when night came and found the young boy in the library reading a large book. The boy noticed him immediately after he came in and rolled his eyes.
“Hi Castiel.”
“Hello Sam, I would like to speak to you,” Castiel said. Sam looked at him, still very annoyed. “May I?”
Sam shrugged.
Castiel nodded. “I wish to address your conversation with Dean this afternoon.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Yes, but I do.”
Sam shook his head and his eyes fell back into his book.
“I completely understand how you feel Sam.”
Sam’s ear’s perked and he looked at Castiel slowly, calculating.
“You just want your brother’s attention.”
Sam scoffed and shook his head. “No I don’t,” He huffed.
“Sam, I’ve watched the two of you for years now,” Castiel said, ignoring the small boy. “I know how much Dean cares about you, he made a mistake today. He lost track of time -”
Sam’s stressed face almost burst as he flung his tiny body out of his seat. “But, you don’t see. Dean’s always losing track of time, you’re just not here to see it!”
Castiel tightened his lips and glanced down to the floor. “I know, Sam. I know…”
Sam rolled his eyes and plopped back down in his chair. “You sound just like him.”
Castiel smiled and walking closer to Sam, placed his hand on his shoulder. “Sam, I know you’re used to having your brother all to yourself. But, Dean is older than you and he’s going to be someone really important when he gets older.”
“I know…”
“Good,” Castiel said, satisfied. He was about to leave then, his job done but was stopped by a small squeaky voice.
“But, Dean’s my big brother. He was my big brother before he was Prince,” Sam said regretfully. “It hurts me when he’s always busy all the time; he’s always with dad or with Luke or with you. He never has time for me.”
Castiel frowned. He understood that; he really had not seen Dean spending time with Sam since he got there and Sam always knew where his brother was. It was sad and for the first time since that night six years ago, Castiel felt horrible for the small child in front of him.
“Well, Dean’s alone now.”
Sam looked at Castiel, shocked and Castiel almost cringed when he realized that that probably was not a frequent occurrence. “Really?”
The smiles that lit up the boys faces when they saw each other was definitely worth the time that Castiel spent away from Dean.
Next
Author: zoomzoomzoomzoo
Fandom/Genre: SPN AU Romance, Drama, Action
Pairing (s): Dean/Castiel
Rating: T
Word Count: ~82,000
Warnings: Underage, Mild Sexual Situation, Violence
Summary: AU. In a time of great tragedy in the lands of Mamot, the human race and the angel race are forced to form an unbreakable union that will bind them together for twenty seven lifetimes in order to stop the uprising of the demon race. In bargain they offer Castiel, one of the most powerful angels in the entire world to marry Dean Winchester, the young crown prince of the human world. The typically detached Castiel winds up falling in love with the Prince. The only problem is his brothers don’t expect Dean to live through the war. Will Castiel stay and support the man he loves despite the heartbreak that might accompany his passing or will he fall back in line with his brothers, becoming numb to all human emotions once more?
Chapter 7
Castiel’s time spent with Luke was interesting at the least and eye-opening at the very most.
Luke taught Castiel how to play Spades, Hearts and -Dean’s favorite- Poker. Castiel never really got the grips of the game and ended up losing several times to Luke further damaging the superior ego that he had when it concerned Dean’s new friend. But as the evening wore on Castiel did develop affection for the child.
He was easy to speak to, smart and intelligent, he cracked jokes that Castiel could actually understand and he was truly loyal to the King’s rule. He could see how the boy was a good match for Dean too; they had similar natures and have apparently been best friends for two years now and did not plan on stopping, Dean had even managed to convince his father to let him finish training Luke so that he could be the “perfect” personal guard. Although Luke assured them that the majority of their time together was not spent training; mostly they played cards and wrestled like children.
After allowing the boy to get some rest, Castiel told the John and all of his advisors that he was here to stay for another couple of months, assuring them that if they needed anything he was here to help. Apparently, at the time Castiel was completely useless.
Before he dismissed himself, John had given him one of his tender looks. It rarely happened, but whenever John was out and about and happened to come across Castiel with Dean he would give Castiel this look. It almost seemed like he was saying ‘thank you’, but for what? Castiel was never sure.
“Just spend some time with Dean while you’re here,” John said. “He’ll like that.”
Castiel, for the first time since he met the man, smiled at him and then left.
The next day he went to Dean’s room at the dawn of the sun’s rise and found his bed empty. It wasn’t too shocking- Luke had in fact informed him of how early Dean usually rose in the morning- and so Castiel went on a full-on Dean Hunt.
First he went to the kitchens, where he met the two heads of the kitchen staff Audrey and Lulu. They started to bow at his feet when they saw him but Castiel waved them up in embarrassment; humans thought so low of themselves, it was kind of sad. They were his Father’s creation after all.
When he asked them about Dean they both looked a little bashful and at the same time happy at the mention of their crown prince. Castiel could not help but feel a little proud at how respected the eleven year old Dean was already amongst his future subjects; he would make a good King one day.
“Oh, Prince Dean? He was just here making the meal plans with us for the next week.”
“Meal plans?” Castiel’s eyebrows wrinkled; that wasn’t Dean’s job, he was the prince after all they should have someone else worrying about such things. “That’s a queen’s job.”
“We have no queen, sir.”
Castiel scowled and clenched his fists behind his back. “Then someone else should have volunteered.”
“The Prince volunteered after our last Head Kitchen Maid died of fever, sir. We wouldn’t have him do this if he didn’t want to.”
Castiel felt like throttling Dean; didn’t he think that he already had enough to do. Now he was taking on job that really had nothing to do with him. He was supposed to eat the meals that were presented in front of him; not plan them.
“Do you-“
“Would you like to see it, sir?” Lulu interrupted with a smile.
Audrey hit her on the arm and pulled her back. “Do you know who you’re speaking to?”
Lulu’s eyes widened and she took a couple of steps back with her eyes downcast. “I’m sorry, sir.”
Once again, these humans were looking at themselves as if they were lowly, worthless bags of flesh. And once again, Castiel felt the smallest hint of guilt. “I wouldn’t mind having a look at what Dean did; he needs proper guidance sometimes, don’t you think?”
Their eyes danced with amusement, but they didn’t laugh. Audrey bumbled over to the top of the stove area and removed a small piece of paper that was already covered in flour. She shyly handed it to the slightly disgruntled angel before stepping away just as quickly.
Castiel scanned the page and noted that it was actually neatly done, if he saw it without knowing that Dean had a hand in it he would have thought a Head Kitchen maid had done it. Chicken Broth and a very light salad, followed by a very small service of chicken and wine (or juice) and then a serving of fresh fish with dinner rolls and corn; that was just for tonight. It was so unlike Dean…
“Did you see the corner?”
Castiel suppressed a smile, maybe this was more like Dean after all. Bake a cupcake for Sammy; he’s been wanting one for days! Thank you! Castiel handed the paper back to his the women and wrapped his fingers behind his back.
“Do you have any idea where he went?”
Lulu smiled and nodded. “Yes, he went to an early morning meeting with the advisors.”
“You better hurry; they don’t tend to last long, sir.”
Castiel nodded and with a quick thank you, he left the room on his way to the Great Hall. The walk was quick and on walking into the Great Hall, Castiel realized that once again Dean was nowhere to be found. There was only one advisor left, Bobby Singer, and it seemed the rest had poured out of the room after what appeared to be a very quick meeting.
When Bobby saw Castiel, he didn’t smile, like most people probably would after seeing one of the most famous angels on the face of Mamot. He looked at Castiel critically and a little annoyed.
“Hello, Mr. Singer,” Castiel said.
“Castiel…” Bobby said with the smallest of nods.
Deciding not to make any small talk like he almost did with the kitchen maids, Castiel got right to the point. “Do you know where Dean went? I’ve been looking for him for a while.”
Bobby got an angry grimace on his face and with a small sneer he answered, “He went off with that useless father of his.”
Castiel pouted and cocked his head to the side; over the years that he’s observed Bobby and the other advisors private treatment and scolding of John and all of his methods of being King. But he’d never heard someone speak so openly about their disdain for someone above their station. This Bobby Singer was a strange one.
“Do you think it’s wise to talk about your King that way?”
Bobby’s jaw tightened and he shook his head hastily. “Your damn right I do. That man hasn’t so much as lifted a finger in his job; the only time that bastard even puts out a little effort is when we go hunting. Selfish idgit.”
Castiel frowned; poor John, what was wrong with him? “I’m sure he’s doing something, after all he bothered to show up at the break of dawn just to attend this meeting.”
“Nah,” Bobby started with an exasperated sigh. “Your boy Dean had to drag his hung-over ass all the way here.”
Castiel wanted to ask more questions and dwell on John’s obvious troubles and displeasures with his life. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it; he didn’t know why he couldn’t. Maybe he felt like he was too busy, or maybe he knew that John was pass helping and the only way he could even begin to make it better was if he spent time with Dean and helped him into his next transition of life. John knows that he can’t do it, not anymore. It was all up to Castiel.
“So, did Dean help him back up into his room?”
Bobby hadn’t heard him, or maybe he had heard but he didn’t feel like listening to what the angel had to say so he ignored it. Either way, he kept on mumbling deprecating things about his King and apparent friend without end.
“Damn bastard, leaving all of his work to us. Doesn’t he know we have lives outside of this godforsaken place? It ain’t my fault that the only life he has outside of this damn hall is at the bottom of a bottle or in the barrel of a gun.” Bobby-finally noticing that he was going off on a tangent- looked at Castiel and nodded toward the door. “He should be up in his dad’s room, if not I don’t know.”
Castiel nodded and went off again. He knew that there was probably an easier way to do this. After all, he was an angel. And seeing as he is an angel, there had to be tons of other things he could be doing right now that would be much more useful and entertaining than looking for an eleven year old prepubescent boy…
Within minutes, Castiel was a few feet away from John Winchesters quarters and being stopped by two outstretched arms belonging to two human guards.
“We’re sorry sir, you can’t come inside. The King is resting.”
Castiel felt ready to burst! If John was sleeping than the chances of Dean sticking around to watch was… well there was no chance. Sighing, Castiel massaged his temple and asked, “Do you know where the Crown Prince is?”
One of the guards tapped his chin, looking confused. After a couple of seconds, the guard raised his finger and released a short ‘ah’. “He’s in his room.”
Castiel nodded; though he’d just been there, there was still a possibility that Dean had gone back maybe for a late nap before he had to finish whatever other endless duties he had to take care of. Castiel snaked away from the two and ran to Dean’s room. Instead of Dean, Castiel saw the youngest Winchester brother sitting with his back on Dean’s door and a book on his lap. There were two attentive but completely still guards on both sides of him and the boy seemed to be dozing.
“Sam!”
Sam spiked up with his hand on top of his head while his book slipped off of his lap. “Wha-“ Sam’s eyes scanned the area with rapid firing eyes, so rapid that Castiel would think Sam was a becoming a hunter himself: agile, observant and vigilant.
“Castiel… what are you doing up so early.”
In his half-sleeping state Sam must have forgotten that angels don’t sleep like humans do so Castiel did not call him on it. He only smiled and helped Sam onto his feet; he was definitely heavier, not that Castiel noticed what with his differential threshold being so large. In order to notice differences in most things, especially weight he had to pay extra close attention.
“Thanks…” Sam mumbled as he reached down for his book; picking it up, he scanned the hallway with a bit of apprehension on his face. “Hey, where’d Dean go?”
Castiel glanced down and wrinkled his eyebrows, how did Sam know what Castiel was looking for already? Interesting…
“I’ve actually come to ask you the same question. Have you seen him at all this morning?”
Sam nodded. “He woke me up for classes and got me breakfast before going off on his meeting.” Sam yawned loud and ferocious like a lion and then he passed a glance at the door he’d just been sleeping on. “I thought I’d take a nap before he got back, he got back like… umm… before… and he woke me up once.”
“Why were you still sleeping then?
Sam pouted and with a sharp roll of his eyes, he spoke, “Dean probably left when he thought I was awake… he usually stays longer to see me off, but… well, he’s so busy.”
Seeing the mismatch of irritation and dejection on Sam Winchester’s face, Castiel frowned. Taking pity on the brother of his betrothed, Castiel reached his hand out to him and nodded toward the halls. “Well, I can walk you to class if you don’t mind, Sam.”
Sam grinned, but instead of taking Castiel’s hand he shook his head and pushed it away with his palm. “No thank you I can get there just fine… besides, I like it when Dean takes me.”
Castiel nodded, feeling only slightly annoyed that Sam didn’t take his hand. When Sam was preparing to walk away, though, Castiel suddenly remembered why he was there in the first place and stopped him. “Do you have any idea where Dean may be right now?”
Sam shrugged one of the saddest shrugs that Castiel had ever seen and turned away. His books were pressed tight against his own chest and his head was sunk lower than the heaviest of rocks in the lightest of oceans but even without those indications, Castiel would have been able to see Sam’s clenched shoulder and knew that he was upset.
And to be honest, Castiel was starting to feel just as gloomy as Sam was. He came to Inim to see Dean after two years of barely having the time to drop a line. And now for the first time, Dean barely has the time for him. He didn’t like that very much. Every other time he’d come here to Inim, Dean made time for him and typically only spread his attention to Sam or his father. Now he had all of these new distractions ranging from duties that belonged to his father and the one’s that originally belonged to his mother. He barely had time for Sam anymore…
“Cas!”
Castiel turned to his right to see Dean bounding toward him from the same hallway Sam had gone down. Containing his relief at seeing that Dean hadn’t forgotten about him was easy, but the constant tugging on his lips was so irritating that he let it out anyways.
“Dean, I’ve been looking for you.”
Dean was beaming when he approached Castiel and his relief was almost as obvious as Castiel’s. “I was looking for you too…” Dean said happily. “I was wondering whether or not you wanted to come help me with some stuff.”
“Of course, Dean.” Castiel said without thinking.
Dean exhaled and walked toward Castiel, laced their arms together and started walking toward the same hallway he’d come out of. “I have so much stuff to do!”
Castiel nodded. He was more than happy to help Dean, besides he was an angel. He was inhumanely strong and he could technically fly - although that was irrelevant because his flying was much too quick for human eyes to keep up.
“I should have finished all of this last night, but I was so tired that I just had to go to sleep,” Dean complained wantonly as they walked back toward a small room that Castiel very rarely noticed but was still being guarded by about two angels at once.
As they passed, Castiel nodded at them both and Dean smiled and waved, greeting them by name. They walked into the small room and what Castiel saw actually made his eyes water.
The room was practically empty, aside from a very hefty and long desk that sat in the very middle of the room. It was black and was slowly chipping away at all angles and ends but it had to be sturdy in order to support the thousands of papers that were stacked seemingly endlessly on top of it.
What in God’s name did they want Dean to do with all of those?
“They’re mission statements,” Dean said matter-of-factly. “People from all over Inim reporting demon outbreaks and sightings in our lands.”
“So?”
Dean chuckled lightly. “So, we’re going to have to sort them by severity and quantity of demons reported. Do you get it?”
Castiel nodded and they went to work. Castiel could say for sure that what he was doing was the most mind-numbing, dreary, tiresome job that any one person could get stuck with and Castiel typically liked everything boring. His brothers teased him all the time about his boring habits of over reading and over researching. But this, what he was doing today and what Dean apparently does every day, it was too much to handle.
Castiel found himself losing focus quickly and whatever concentration he had left starting shifting to other things that were in no way as important as demon infestations but were far more interesting then sorting through paper work about them.
Dean, on the other hand, waded through the endless papers as if it was all second nature for him. He whistled and hummed, scribbled and scrabbled, shivered and, best of all, smiled. Sometimes when Castiel found himself losing focus he just stared at Dean while he was doing his work, mesmerized by the young man and the ease that he handled so many newfound responsibilities.
After a couple of hours, Luke came in to join them and spent the whole hour or so that he was there griping, just as Castiel was doing in his head. Dean just smiled at him and cracked jokes to lighten the mood and it surprisingly helped. Dean and Luke traded good natured barbs for hours and the rest of the time seemed to go by quickly.
When they were finished, Dean seemed to be a bit on edge. As they cleaned up he continued stopping and biting his nails as if he was thinking about something. When they got everything packed up and ready to give to the advisors, Dean nearly dropped his stack when he finally realized what it was he was forgetting.
He launched himself out of the room so quickly that Castiel and Luke ended up staring at the spot he was in wondering whether or not he ran or simply disappeared before they followed him out of the room.
They chased after him - although it was more of following then chasing because as Crown Prince, Dean was not allowed to run, just walk really fast - until they made it outside to the field where Sam and a group of small children were gathering their toys and starting to go home.
“Sam,” Dean shouted, jogging closer to his little brother.
The look that Sam gave Dean was a scary, especially coming from a younger brother. Luke and Castiel kept a small distance from the brothers; but both watched with two different expressions, Luke was a bit annoyed and Castiel was confused.
“Where were you?” Sam tone was accusatory and Dean immediately recoiled and frowned, ashamed.
“I was - I was real busy.”
Sam pursed his lips as he wrapped his art equipment up in a sheet with fat tears in his eyes that refused to fall. Dean remained quiet with the guiltiest expression on his face; Castiel didn’t want him to feel guilty, it wasn’t his fault that he was so busy. He was the crown prince after all.
“You promised you would paint me with me and my friends today,” Sam said, stressing the word promised.
“I know I did. I just…” Dean trailed off.
“You always do this,” Sam snapped.
“I know.”
“You always make promises but you never follow through,”
“I know.”
Sam was starting to look angrier and angrier, especially with Dean’s lack of explanation.
“So, what? Do you have any excuses like always?”
Dean looked at Luke and Castiel really quickly before looking back at Sam and shaking his head. “No.”
Sam rolled his eyes and stomped past Dean with his art supplies underneath his arm.
“I’m so sorry…” Dean murmured at Sam’s retreating form.
Castiel approached Dean cautiously; he knew how much Sam meant to Dean. “Dean-“
Dean interrupted him. “I’ve got to go - umm - do something.”
~*~*~*~
Castiel did not see Dean until dinner that night; he still looked depressed and Sam still looked slightly annoyed. John was missing but a lot of the children and advisors showed up. They spent the majority of their time in silence. The only time Castiel saw Dean pep up was when one of the cooks brought out Sam’s cupcake, but the boy denied it almost immediately and Dean was down again.
It pained Castiel to see Dean so upset. He never saw him so low before and unfortunately, it was having an effect on Castiel too. That warm light that Dean always seemed to emit was stifling and tilting in all directions. It was making him difficult to be around. He knew that it was likely that they would make up soon, but he could not, with good conscious, allow something like that to happen again. They could not go on fighting that way. They were brothers and Castiel knew all about brothers. There were times when his brothers fought. Once Uriel and Zachariah didn’t speak for one hundred and twenty seven years because of a particularly rowdy fight and then of course, the biggest fight of all between Michael and Lucifer was the reason Castiel was even at the Winchester’s Castle.
He knew how these things could escalate; he refused to allow the brother’s to resent one another.
He sought out Sam when night came and found the young boy in the library reading a large book. The boy noticed him immediately after he came in and rolled his eyes.
“Hi Castiel.”
“Hello Sam, I would like to speak to you,” Castiel said. Sam looked at him, still very annoyed. “May I?”
Sam shrugged.
Castiel nodded. “I wish to address your conversation with Dean this afternoon.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Yes, but I do.”
Sam shook his head and his eyes fell back into his book.
“I completely understand how you feel Sam.”
Sam’s ear’s perked and he looked at Castiel slowly, calculating.
“You just want your brother’s attention.”
Sam scoffed and shook his head. “No I don’t,” He huffed.
“Sam, I’ve watched the two of you for years now,” Castiel said, ignoring the small boy. “I know how much Dean cares about you, he made a mistake today. He lost track of time -”
Sam’s stressed face almost burst as he flung his tiny body out of his seat. “But, you don’t see. Dean’s always losing track of time, you’re just not here to see it!”
Castiel tightened his lips and glanced down to the floor. “I know, Sam. I know…”
Sam rolled his eyes and plopped back down in his chair. “You sound just like him.”
Castiel smiled and walking closer to Sam, placed his hand on his shoulder. “Sam, I know you’re used to having your brother all to yourself. But, Dean is older than you and he’s going to be someone really important when he gets older.”
“I know…”
“Good,” Castiel said, satisfied. He was about to leave then, his job done but was stopped by a small squeaky voice.
“But, Dean’s my big brother. He was my big brother before he was Prince,” Sam said regretfully. “It hurts me when he’s always busy all the time; he’s always with dad or with Luke or with you. He never has time for me.”
Castiel frowned. He understood that; he really had not seen Dean spending time with Sam since he got there and Sam always knew where his brother was. It was sad and for the first time since that night six years ago, Castiel felt horrible for the small child in front of him.
“Well, Dean’s alone now.”
Sam looked at Castiel, shocked and Castiel almost cringed when he realized that that probably was not a frequent occurrence. “Really?”
The smiles that lit up the boys faces when they saw each other was definitely worth the time that Castiel spent away from Dean.
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