Fic: The Earth and Heaven to You (Part 7)

[dauntperplexity]

 

Part 7

Dean was able to save the baby and stop the Demons from raising whoever they were trying to raise. I don’t know. But after that almost disaster in Illinois, Dean became famous. It was almost overnight.

He traveled around the country saving people and hunting things. Werewolves, vampires, ghosts, low-level Demons. Anything and everything that wasn’t fighting on the side of good.

He was so famous, in fact, that in the state of Kansas, they built a museum near the House of the Hunters. They sold everything from shirts, to hats, to shot glasses. It was madness.

I don’t know if it was smart on his part to actually buy a house in the middle of all of it. But he did. A two-story house for him, his brother, and the two elder Hunters. But that meant everyone knew where he lived. Everyone meaning the fans.

There were girls there all the time just wanting to catch a glimpse of him. More times than not, Dean found himself there. He considered it his second home since he couldn’t always drive back to Vermont to visit Missouri and Rufus.

His second home is when and where Dean and Castiel’s paths crossed again.

LRLRLRLRLRLRLR

“Dean!” Sam yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

Dean yanked his door opened and ran to stand at the top of the steps. He was in the middle of his nap when he heard his brother yelling for him. His hair stood up in every which direction and he didn’t even have time to put on a shirt. “What?”

“We’re going out for food.”

“And?” He was irritated that his brother had pulled him out of a really good dream. It involved a certain blue-eyed man with messy brown hair. It shouldn’t have bothered him so much, because Castiel was in his dreams every time he closed his eyes. But this dream was so realistic. And Dean was mad that he was pulled out of it a lot sooner than he wanted.

“Do you want to come with us?”

“I’m okay.”

“All right. You want us to get you anything?”

“I’m good.”

“Okay. Watch out for the crazy fans, all right? They might be hiding in the bushes like before,” Sam said, as he headed toward the front door.

“Can you kick them out of the area before you leave?”

“I’ll make Bobby do it. He’s scarier.”

“Whatever gets the job done, Sammy.”

Sam was going to roll his eyes, but instead he just walked out of the house, leaving Dean by himself.

Dean went straight to the kitchen. He was awake and with his brother talking about food, his stomach began to grumble. He pulled open the fridge and was glad to see leftover bacon and some bread. He took out both and shoved the bacon in the microwave and the bread in the toaster.

The toaster popped and he was ready to reach for the toast but he heard his cell phone ring. He sprinted up the stairs to answer it. He made it in time.

“Hello?” he answered, out of breath. “Hey, mom.” He pulled his phone away from his ear when his mom started to scold him. “No. I was going to call you, I swear.”

“I was sleeping I seriously woke up ten minutes ago… Mom, I’m fine. Obviously not, you’re talking to me right now.”

He let out a long sigh. He started to walk down the stairs, remembering that he had food waiting for him. “Mom, you worry too much. No, I didn’t mean that… No, I wasn’t being sarcastic.”

“Well the next time there is a hunt for me on that side of the country, I’ll visit you. Well, you two can always come down and visit me. Mom, don’t you dare sell my baby pictures to the tabloids. No. No, not fair.”

He groaned. “My mom is blackmailing me.” He had to smile when he heard his mom laughing. He waited for her to say something. “Yes, mom. I love you too. Tell dad I said what’s up and I love him too.”

He went to the toaster and pulled out the bread. He took a large bite out of it. “Yes, mom. I’ll call you,” he said with his mouth full. “No, there is not food in my mouth right now.” He rolled his eyes that his mom was still lecturing him from halfway across the country. He swallowed the bread quickly. “Okay. Okay. I have to go. Bye, mom. Love you.”

He hung up the phone and put it on the counter. He gathered all of the food that he heated up and put it all on a plate. He sat at the dining room table alone and started eating.

When he was down to his last strip of bacon, he heard a knock on the door. He basically inhaled the last strip before heading toward the front door.

He had a hand on the door and was about to answer it when he realized that he was clad only in his boxers. He looked around searching for something else to thrown on and found a discarded pair of basketball shorts and a sweatshirt. He threw them both on and answered the door.

“Hey, we’re closed,” Dean said, pulling open the door. He wished that he could’ve stopped the words from falling from his mouth when he saw who was standing on the other side. The man who had been haunting his thoughts and dreams ever since they had parted ways in Illinois.

“I’ll come back later then.”

“Um, wait… Cas?”

Castiel let out a short laugh. He turned back around to face Dean. “What did I tell you about calling me that?”

“It was a lot easier than your real name. And, well, you also said that we’d never see each other again.”

“That is also true.” Castiel stuck his hands into his pockets nervously. “So, you going to invite me in, or are you just going to make me just stand out here?”

“Right,” Dean said. “Come inside.” He stepped out of the way and let the other man enter his place. He closed the door behind him and watched as Castiel walked through the house. “What are you doing here?”

Castiel ended up in the kitchen and looked around. “The guy who saved me from getting jumped in an alley suddenly becomes one of the most famous people in the world. I need to sell my story as his first rescue. I’d make millions.”

“Really.” Dean followed Castiel a few feet behind him as the other man explored.

“No,” Castiel said, turning around quickly that Dean stumbled. “I wanted to see that you are doing all right.”

“I’m fine, actually. Awesome.”

“Good. Well, then. You’re good. Alive. So I guess I should—”

“Stay,” Dean said quickly and loudly before Castiel could suggest leaving. “A little while. Please? It gets a little hectic around this time of day with all of the fans.”

Castiel looked out through a window and chuckled. “This place is empty.”

“It won’t be. Please stay.”

“Why?”

“To keep me sane,” Dean whispered.

“You could always leave,” Castiel suggested.

“I could do that.” And he did leave more times than not. The fans were good for his self-esteem, but they were crazy. He glanced at Castiel who was still trying to find his way around the house. “Will you join me?”

Castiel stood frozen for a few moments staring into Dean’s eyes. He wasn’t sure what he had just heard. He had to look away, finding it a lot more uncomfortable than Dean apparently did. “Why not?” he said. “I have nothing better to do.”

“Okay,” Dean answered with a giant smile on his face. “Well, let me go change into something that is more presentable for the public.”

“I can wait.”

“Awesome. I’ll be just a minute.” He ran up the stairs, skipping two at a time to get to his room as fast as possible.

He didn’t want to say that he was vain, but he wanted to impress the other man. His need to impress caused him to try on three different shirts with six different jackets. He laughed at how his crush on the man downstairs made him act like a preteen girl on her first date ever.

He settled on a gray v-neck shirt, blue and white plaid overshirt, and his brown leather jacket. The same jacket he let Castiel wear when they first met. He messed up his hair, just enough, and checked his teeth in the mirror and was out the door a moment later.

He ran down the stairs. And saw that Castiel was flipping through a magazine that Dean’s face was on the cover of.

Castiel shut the magazine and put it. “About ti—never mind.”

“What?” Dean asked.

“Nothing,” Castiel whispered. He could not stop staring at how good Dean looked. He recognized the jacket. He wanted to say how handsome Dean looked, but he forced everything that he was feeling down. The last thing he wanted was for his own personal feelings to get in the way of a job. “You ready to go?”

“One more thing.” He ran into the kitchen and came back out holding his cell phone in his hand. “Now we can go.” He opened the front door and followed Castiel out.

They got to the driveway and went to the Impala. “This yours?” he asked.

“She’s my baby,” he said, patting the hood twice. He looked onto the road and saw a motorcycle parked near the curb. “Yours?” he asked, pointing to the bike.

“It gets me from point A to point B.”

“Could never get on one of those.”

“It helps me to feel like I’m flying.”

“Exactly,” Dean replied.

“You don’t like flying?” Castiel asked.

“Yeah,” Dean said, sheepish. “I don’t know why though. I’ve never been on a plane. The highest I’ve ever been was in a hotel room on the fourteenth floor. So I have no idea where this fear comes from.”

“You’ll probably get over it.”

“I don’t know.” He had no idea why he hated flying so much, so he knew that trying to overcome that fear would be just as mysterious.

“It’s a legitimate fear.”

“Whatever,” Dean said quickly. He didn’t want to talk any more about his fear. “Why don’t we get out of here?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Dean unlocked Castiel’s door with the key and then waited for him to get in. When Castiel was seated, he unlocked his own door. He started the car and they were off. “So, where do you want to go?”

“Anywhere. This is about keeping you sane, not me,” Castiel replied.

“Have you eaten anything?”

“No,” Castiel replied. “But you have.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I stalk you,” he replied with his eyebrows raised. “I’m joking,” he said when he realized that Dean was taking him seriously. “Your house smelled like bacon when I walked into the kitchen. And you left your plate on the table.”

“So you’re a detective?”

“I like to be aware of my surroundings.”

“That’s a good tendency to have.” The two of them fell into a silence. Dean stopped the Impala at a red light. “So, tell me about yourself.”

“What?” Castiel asked. He pretended like he didn’t hear what he said, but he heard Dean perfectly well. He was content with the silence.

“I want to know about you.”

“My life is nothing compared to yours.”

“Don’t say that.” He did not like that Castiel was putting himself down.

“I’m serious, Dean,” he replied. “We may as well just sit in silence.”

“Well, I can fix that.” He reached over and turned on the radio. AC/DC played in the background of the car ride. He continued on the drive when the light turned green. “So. Now we’re not in silence. And I still want to know about you.”

“You wouldn’t like what you hear about me.”

“It can’t be that bad.”

Castiel looked out the window, but he could still feel Dean’s eyes on him. “It is.” He knew that if Dean knew the truth about him, then he’d be pushed out of the moving car.

Dean pulled the car into the parking lot of a diner. He then shut off the car. He turned to face Castiel and lean in close. “You’ll tell me eventually.”

“You are so sure about yourself.”

“And you must really want to keep your past a secret.”

Castiel looked down at his hands in his lap. “I do.”

Dean felt bad about pressing him. He knew that he had to change the subject soon. “Well, you look like you know a lot of stuff.”

Castiel looked back up at Dean with a confused look. “What do you mean?”

“Your eyes. They aren’t the same age as your body.” Dean paused for a second and laughed. “Wow… that sounded stupid. But they are like the eyes of a wise man. Like you’ve seen a lot in your time. But I might be talking out of my ass because you look only a couple of years older than me. Like you should be in college or something. Who knows, though? Maybe you’ve lived through a lot.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry. I’m spieling. Stop me.”

Castiel broke eye contact with Dean and looked down at his hands in his lap. “You were able to gather all of that from my eyes,” he stated rather than asked.

“I just talk sometimes. Most of the time, it doesn’t make any sense.”

“It’s all right,” Castiel said, quelling Dean’s nervousness and fear. “It’s entertaining.” He smiled.

Dean noticed it. “Hey, you’re smiling. That’s awesome.”

“I feel like I haven’t had anything to smile about in a long time.”

“Well, that sucks.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be such a downer.”

“No. Don’t worry. That just means that every small gesture I do is magnified ten fold.” He opened his door and prepared to step out. “Let’s get you something to eat. If the food here doesn’t make you smile, then the world has failed and the Demons have won.”

Castiel opened his door and stepped out. Dean waited for him to walk to the entrance, then followed behind him.

They were seated at a booth in the corner at Dean’s request. Castiel had no idea what to order, so he left the food decision making up to Dean. Dean ordered himself a double bacon cheeseburger, while he ordered Castiel a mushroom Swiss burger with lettuce buns. He then ordered a slice of apple pie and a slice of cherry pie.

While they were waiting for the food, they took the chance to get to know each other. Actually, it was more of Castiel taking the chance to know Dean. Dean was ready to tell the other man dozens of stories about his childhood, and how much of a troublemaker he was. It made Castiel laugh.

When the food came, the conversation died down a little. Dean found himself way too into his burger. Castiel ate his burger, surprised that he liked it so much. What he enjoyed more was watching Dean inhale is burger. As soon as it was gone, he went straight to the fries.

Without a burger in his hand and mouth, the conversation between the two of them started back up again. “Why are you in Kansas?” he asked, throwing way too much salt on his French fries.

“Just passing through,” Castiel said, finishing up the rest of his burger.

“And you figured you’d stop by the museum? And my house?” Dean raised an eyebrow and smirked.

“I wanted to see what the big deal was with you.”

“And what do you think?”

“You’re a guy who saves people.”

“I’m a hero.” He said do with his chest puffed out and a big smile on his face.

“Sure. But this fame doesn’t seem to suit you.”

“I’m not doing this for fame.”

“So what are you doing this for?”

“Family.”

“You don’t have a family?”

Dean shook his head quickly. “I do,” he corrected. “But I just found out that there’s an entire part of my family that I’ve been missing this entire time.”

“So you’re saving lives for them?”

“Not for them. For the people who need it. But it helps me get closer to meeting my mother.”

The two of them fell quiet, the only sound around them were the other people in the diner. “You’re right though,” Castiel whispered, not wanting to break the silence abruptly.

“About?” Dean asked.

Castiel grabbed his fork and dug into the pie. He shoved the small piece into his mouth. “You’re a hero.”

The statement made Dean laugh out loud. He pulled the fork out of Castiel’s hand. “Do you want to get out of here?” he whispered.

“What?”

“We can get the pie packed up. I want to show you something.”

“Okay,” Castiel replied.

Dean waved over the waiter and got the pies packed up and left a tip for the waitress since they wouldn’t allow him to pay for the food. He opened the door and followed Castiel out. He walked over to the Impala and the two of them drove off.

The car ride was quiet, except for the music. Castiel looked out the window, watching everything pass by as the car drove on. He wanted to ask Dean where they were going, but he didn’t. He trusted Dean. And even if Dean was taking him into the middle of the woods to kill him, at least he felt like he deserved it.

Twenty minutes later, Dean pulled the car onto an open area overlooking the city. He shut off the car, then stepped out, leaving the lights on. He walked to the front of the car and sat against the hood of it.

Castiel slowly followed him. He made is way to Dean’s side as quietly as he could. He sat down giving Dean some space. He stared at the man while he stared out into the distance. “Where are we?” he asked. He wasn’t sure that Dean was going to answer him.

“I don’t know the name exactly. But it’s an outlook I found one night when I couldn’t sleep.” He shoved his hands into his pocket and shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s probably a place where teenagers to go make out or something.”

“Are you trying to tell me something, Dean?” Castiel smirked.

Dean slowly turned his head to face the other man. He smiled. “We aren’t teenagers.”

“That’s a little disappointing.”

“I just want to show you the view.”

“Innuendo?”

“No,” Dean laughed. “The lights. And how quiet, but not quiet this place is.”

“You like it up here.”

“I can just come up here and… not do anything. I could think, but I don’t like doing too much of that. I could play music, but the world is nice when it’s quiet. I could sleep, which I do sometimes. But I just like to look out at everything.” He broke his gaze with Castiel and looked back out at the view.

“Just look?” Castiel whispered. While Dean was looking at the lights, Castiel was looking at Dean.

“It makes me feel small.”

“Small?”

“But I’m okay with it. Just being one thing in this world. Trying to make a difference.”

“You do.”

“I didn’t think I would. Not always. Before I realized I was a Hunter, I know that my mom was scared that I was going to end up in jail or something.”

“Were you that bad of a person?”

Dean shook his head. “I did good things. But I went around them the wrong way, you know. Stop someone from picking on someone by kicking his ass. Was a shoulder for some girls to cry on when they said they were broken up but their boyfriend or ex-boyfriend didn’t get it. Let some girls say that they slept with me to boost their reputation.”

“And that would have landed you in jail?”

“I think my parents were more afraid of the decisions I made on impulse, which were most of them.”

“But your instincts were usually correct, weren’t they?”

“I don’t know about correct. But it solved a problem. But now look at me,” he sighed. “I’m a hero. I have a museum. My money doesn’t work anywhere.”

“Hundreds if not thousands of screaming fans.”

“Don’t remind me.”

“Come on, Dean.”

“It’s flattering. Embarrassing, but flattering. I mean, do you know what it’s like for me to sign someone’s cleavage.”

“And I had my Sharpie ready and everything.”

“Cas,” Dean laughed. He pushed him on his arm. “But it sucks, you know. I don’t know if I’ll ever have an honest relationship with anyone.”

“How do you figure that?”

“Girls want me just because I’m Dean the Hunter.”

“Oh yeah?” Castiel didn’t want to sound so disappointed that Dean was interested in women. What did he expect? Dean was a handsome man. It would have been too good to be true if Dean swung his way.

“But it’s okay. I mean, I figured that I wouldn’t lose my virginity to a girl anyway.”

Somehow Castiel found himself choking on his spit. Dean leaned over and patted him on the back a couple of times to get his breathing right. “What?”

“What?” Dean repeated.

“You’re a virgin?”

“Yes. You sound unreasonably surprised.”

“To say the least.”

“Because I’m so hot, right?” Castiel rolled his eyes, which made Dean laugh. “I’m not into just having sex just because I’m a guy and I think about it every six seconds or whatever the statistic is. I want it to be special. With someone I like.”

“Haven’t found the person yet?”

“I may have,” Dean replied. Looking at Castiel, he really thinks that he could have. He didn’t realize how much he wanted to see the other man until he showed up at his door. “I may have,” he repeated. Much softer the second time.

“Well, good for you.”

“Thanks.”

“I hope that person deserves you.”

“Cas,” Dean whispered. He scooted closer to the other man. With a finger, he turned Castiel’s face to make the other man look at him. He scooted a little closer, putting their bodies as close as they could. He stared into Castiel’s eyes.

Slowly, he inched his way to Castiel. Then he kissed the other man, tentatively. He kept kissing Castiel, waiting for him to respond. And he did. Dean reached up, taking Castiel’s head in his hand. He pushed his tongue into Castiel’s mouth when his lips parted.

Castiel moaned into Dean’s mouth. It had been centuries since he had been kissed that way. The last person to do that was Balthazar.

Castiel’s eyes shot opened his eyes and when he realized what he was doing. He pushed Dean away. “No, Dean. I can’t,” he whispered.

“Why not?”

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Because you are way too good for me,” he replied.

Dean grabbed Castiel by his upper arms and shook him. “Don’t say that,” he said. “Don’t say that about yourself.”

“I’m serious, Dean. If you knew the truth about me.”

“I don’t care.”

“Dean. Trust me. I’m not what you think I am.” He had made his decision; he didn’t want to hurt Dean. He cared about him too much to betray him the way that Lucifer wanted him to.

“Do you want to know what I think about you?” He didn’t wait to hear what Castiel had to say before he continued talking. “I know that you have a good heart. You do what you’re told. You’ve been in love before, but you were hurt and that’s what you’re afraid of. You’ve never had someone ask you how you’re doing. You—”

“Stop,” Castiel whispered. He did not want to hear any more of what Dean had to say about him. He thought that he was doing so well in keeping his emotions hidden, but apparently not. “I’m trying to save you.”

“From what?”

“Pain.”

“Cas.” He brought both of his hands up and cupped Castiel’s face. “Cas. I know that nothing I say will make you feel any less guilty.”

“Maybe.”

“But you wanted the kiss too. Or else you wouldn’t have responded.”

“Dean, I…” his voice trailed off.

“I get it,” Dean whispered. “I’m sorry.” He clapped his legs on his thighs. He let out a sigh then ran a hand up and down his face. “Let me take you back to your bike.” He stood up and walked to the passenger’s side of the car to open the door for Castiel.

Castiel pushed the front seat forward. “Dean.”

“What are you doing?” Dean asked when he saw what Castiel had done.

Castiel climbed into the backseat. He peeked his head out of the car and grabbed the front of Dean’s shirt. He pulled the other man into the backseat with him. He reached over Dean to shut the door. “I’m not very good with words and emotions and all of that,” he whispered. “But if I was, I’d say that I like you, but there is just a lot on my plate right now.”

“Well, good thing we’re living in the moment.”

“Dean—”

Before Castiel could say anything else, Dean surged forward and crashed their lips together. Castiel, grabbing the front of Dean’s shirt. Dean leaned forward, causing Castiel to lie down and sprawl across the seat.

Dean pulled back, needing to breathe. His timing was perfect because looking at the man under him, he saw that Castiel needed the same. “Sorry,” Dean said, breathless. “For interrupting you.”

“It’s all right,” Castiel said, just as breathless.

Dean tried to lift himself off of Castiel, but the grip on his shirt tightened, keeping him in place. “So we’re okay?”

“More than.”

“I’m going to kiss you again,” Dean said.

Castiel let go of Dean’s shirt and dropped his hand to his side. “If you’re asking permission, you have it.”

“Okay.” Dean bent down and kissed Castiel again. He trailed his hands down Castiel’s sides, slipping them under his shirt. He wanted to feel the other man’s skin under his fingertips. He felt Castiel shiver as he ran his fingers over his ribs. He moved his lips down to suck on Castiel’s neck.

Castiel moved and squirmed, trying to get away from the sensations, but he knew that he was trapped. He wasn’t complaining, though. He let himself submit to whatever Dean was doing. “Dean,” he moaned as the younger man slid a hand into his pants. With a shaky hand, he reached up and grabbed Dean’s arm.

“Crap. I’m sorry. I didn’t. I…”

“No, it’s okay.”

“It’s just that every since I’ve met you, you’ve been on my mind. Which is ridiculous because you were trying everything to just get rid of me. Then—”

Castiel reached up and put a hand over Dean’s mouth. “You’re spieling again,” he whispered. With his eyebrow raised, he lifted his hand up.

“Thank you for stopping me.”

“Dean, are you sure?”

“What do you mean?”

“Not even ten minutes ago, you were talking about how you wanted your first time to be special and with someone you really liked.”

“What makes you think it isn’t you?”

“This is the second time you’ve seen me in your entire life.”

“More like hundredth if you count my dreams.” He felt his cheeks warm after he said those words. “Cas, since the first day I met you, I’ve been hoping that I’d see you again. And I know that it sounds chick-flick-y and cheesy—”

“Me too,” Castiel whispered. “The thing about hoping to see you again.”

“But this,” he said, trailing his eyes up and down Castiel’s body underneath him. “I can stop right now if this is too uncomfortable for you. I know that you have a lot of secrets and have been through a lot. So if this brings back bad memories and stuff, then—”

Castiel shook his head quickly. “No. I’m okay. It’s the first time in a really, really long time that I’ve actually wanted it.”

“Yeah,” he replied. “Yeah. Okay. But I…”

Castiel reached up and cupped Dean’s cheek. Even in the dark, he could stare deep into them. “Dean,” he whispered. “You take this as slow as you want to.”

“But what about—”

“Whatever you want to do, it’ll be okay. I’ll walk you through it if you need me to.”

“As long as you want it too.”

“I do,” Castiel whispered. “I do.”

Dean sat back as far as he could in the backseat of the car. He took off his jacket. Then he peeled off his overshirt. He let out a loud sigh as he pulled off his last shirt. He leaned over Castiel again, lifting up Castiel’s shirt. He bend down and place a kiss right over Castiel’s heart.

More than an hour later, Dean stood right outside of the Impala, straightening out his clothes. “We should head back soon,” he said as he buttoned his pants.

“Can’t we stay a little longer?” Castiel asked, hopeful. But he didn’t want to return to reality, because as soon as he did, he knew that he’d have to report back to Lucifer, which meant betraying Dean.

“I wish,” Dean replied. “But Bobby and Pastor Jim might be wondering where I’ve disappeared off to. No reception up here.”

“It would probably be best if we got you back.”

“You sound like a babysitter.”

“I hope not. Because what we just did was definitely not in the job description.” Castiel stepped out of the car, naked as the day he was born.

“Really?

“I never figured you for the modest type, Dean,” Castiel said with a laugh. “And besides, you’ve already seen everything.”

“You’re going to get in trouble.”

“For what? Indecent exposure? By who?”

“Just get your damn clothes on,” Dean laughed. He reached into the car and grabbed Castiel’s clothes that were in the front seat. He tossed them to him.

Castiel dressed quickly. “Let’s go,” he said, buttoning the last few buttons on his shirt.

Dean pulled the car keys out of his pocket and headed to the driver’s seat. He started his slow drive back into town. He got back to his house a half hour later.

Dean parked the Impala and got out of the car. He stood on his side of it and waited for Castiel to do the same. With a head tilt, he signaled for Castiel to walk down the driveway. They walked to Castiel’s bike. Dean grabbed Castiel’s helmet off of the seat and handed it to the other man. “Thanks for spending the day with me.”

“It was nice.”

“Yeah. Yeah, it was,” Dean said, his cheeks reddening. “I’ll see you around?”

Castiel shrugged his shoulders. “So what are you going to do now?”

“It’s a full moon tonight. I think that I’m going to go visit my dad.”

“You should,” Castiel said.

Dean stepped forward and pressed his lips to Castiel’s. “Stop by again. Soon. Please?”

“To save your sanity?”

“Always,” Dean smiled.

“I’ll see if I can make some time to see you again,” Castiel replied. He put his helmet on and jumped onto his bike. He drove off with a wave.

He made it to the area where Lucifer had set him up and climbed off his bike. He needed to walk around for a bit. Castiel wandered down the sidewalk, contemplating his options. The more that he got to know Dean, the more he started to care about him. And the more he wanted to go back on the deal he made with Lucifer. Dean was too nice of a person and he couldn’t hurt him. He wouldn’t.

To the world, he was Dean the Hunter. Hero. Hottie. To him, he was Dean. The person who saved him without a reason. Just because he thought that he was in trouble.

He was slowly falling in love with Dean. And he knew it was going to get him into a lot of trouble. His ability to fall heart first into messes in what got him into trouble in the first place.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he wasn’t paying any attention to his surroundings. He ran into something and was about to apologize when he realized that the person he ran into was Lucifer.

Lucifer grabbed Castiel by the upper arm and dragged him down an alley. “So, what did you find?”

“Nothing,” he replied, tearing his arm out of Lucifer’s grasp.

“At all?”

“He’s perfect. A little bit of a troublemaker, but nothing that you could use against him.”

“Really?”

“He’s dislocated his shoulder more times than any human ever should in their lifetime. He tore is ACL when he was fourteen. He’s had a lot of concussions. Broken bones. I think he’s allergic to cats. You could try implement that in your genius plan.”

Lucifer sauntered over to Castiel who backed up with every step he took. He continued until Castiel had nowhere else to go. He backed him up into a corner. “What is his weakness, Castiel?”

“I don’t know.”

“His family?”

“He cares about his family, yes, but his brother is stronger than him. And whatever family raised him is now protected by the Hunters and Angels. So good luck trying to use them.”

“Find something I can use against him.”

“You can forget it. I’m done. Throw me back on the rack, but I won’t let you hurt him.” He stepped around Lucifer and tried to leave the alley.

Lucifer grabbed Castiel by the wrist and threw him into a wall. “Why not?” he yelled.

Castiel bit his lip to keep himself from screaming from the pain. But he didn’t want to show Lucifer weakness. “He’s a good person. He just wants to be with his family. That’s all he wants.”

“That can’t be all he wants.”

“If he has rock music and a slice of cherry pie, then yeah it is.”

“He told you all this?”

“Yes,” he said through gritted teeth. “But it doesn’t matter because you can’t use it against him.”

“Really now.” He had a plan brewing in his head.

“Yes,” Castiel repeated.

“Well now. I just found his weakness.”

“Yeah, and what is that?”

“I think the young hunter likes you.”

“Why would you say that?” Castiel asked.

Lucifer walked over to Castiel and inhaled deeply. “Because you smell like him,” he hissed. He was disgusted. “He cares about you. And you care about him too.”

“You’re delusional.”

“Am I? Not many beings would rather go on the rack than hold up their part of the deal. You don’t want me to hurt him.”

“I’m sorry that I’m not as twisted as you are that I enjoy the pain of other people. Just throw me on the damn rack.”

“That would be too easy, Castiel.”

“Lucifer, please,” he whispered. He begged. He pleaded.

Lucifer took Castiel’s chin in his hand. He placed a soft kiss on his forehead. “Don’t beg, Castiel.”

“I’m not begging. I’m asking you, as my brother. I’m not asking you to stop your plan. You can go on with it. Just do it without Dean.”

“But brother, he is the main event.”

“Lucifer.”

“Is he worth it, Castiel?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Is he worth it? Because remember the last time you thought someone was worth it.”

“It’s different.”

“Right, because Balthazar didn’t know the truth and he left you, not knowing that your grace and your wings were left in my hands. What would happen if Dean knew the truth?”

“Lucifer, no.”

“We’re going for a ride. Now, quiet.” Lucifer waved his hand and tape covered Castiel’s mouth and chains bound him from his chest down to his legs. “I have a war to win.”

Castiel tried to squirm out of the chains, but he knew it was futile. Lucifer carried him to where Dean was in the universe. He knew that even though the world was probably going to end tomorrow, his world was going to end in a few minutes.

Part 8