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“And if you touch my angel again, I’ll bring you back just to shove a gallon of salt down your throat,” Dean hisses. The demon he’s pinning to the wall nods in sheer terror; her last action, as Dean then slices her throat with Ruby’s knife. Her lifeless body crumples to the ground with a large thud.
“Hear that?” Dean bellows, turning around. “Nobody touches my angel or else!”
“I’m not a baby, Dean,” Cas huffs, crossing his arms. Christ, he’s so adorable with his pouty little face and bloodstained trench coat, and the way he can stab the shit out of a demon with the same hands that worship Dean’s body and guide tiny bees to flowers is just…wow.
“You’re my angel,” Dean says stubbornly. “And anyone who touches you is gonna wish they never even existed.”
Cas’ scowl deepens.
“Is this because I no longer have my grace? Am I really that helpless in your eyes?”
“What? No! Just…” Dean falters, trying to figure out how to word this without pissing Cas off because otherwise, he won’t get any angel cuddles tonight. He mentally shudders at the word ‘cuddles’. “You’re amazing, okay? You’re so gorgeous and you’ve got the biggest heart and just – I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“That’s hardly your decision or your responsibility, Dean. You don’t need to tell everybody we encounter that they had better never hurt me. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”
Shit. This is going horribly.
“No – I meant –”
Whatever Dean means, Cas never finds out. Pain suddenly erupts in the back of Dean’s head and the last thing he sees before his vision blacks out is Cas’ horrified face.
“Dean…Dean!”
Dean jolts awake, groaning when his head throbs in protest. All he can see is Sam’s worried face hovering over him.
“Sam?” he mumbles, rubbing the back of his head. “What –”
“I dunno. I just got up here from taking care of the witches downstairs and I found you out cold.”
“Shit.” Dread pools in Dean’s belly. “Where’s Cas?”
Sam freezes, mouth open to say something else. Dean jumps to his feet, ignoring how whoever’s currently drilling into his brain nearly makes him fall right back down.
“Cas?” he shouts. “Cas!”
There’s no answer. Dean struggles to fight down the nauseating fear inside him.
“CAS!”
They spend the better part of an hour combing every nook and cranny for Cas but, to Dean’s dismay, there’s absolutely no trace of Cas or any demons or witches.
“We’ll find him, Dean,” Sam says as they speed away from the demons’ hideout.
“Yeah? How?” Dean snaps. “Come on, Mr ‘I always have a plan’. How the fuck do we find Cas?”
His fingers clench around the steering wheel at the thought of Cas strung up and at the mercy of demons and witches. This is his second go at being human, sure, but the time he’s had to live as a human is a microscopic blip compared to his billions of years as an angel. And besides, he’s Dean’s angel. Dean would be a pretty shitty boyfriend if he wasn’t worried sick over Cas.
“I don’t know, Dean,” Sam says quietly.
“I mean, bad enough we had to deal with demons and witches,” Dean continues to rant. “Since when do they work together? Not like those witches were siphoning off the demons or something like we’ve seen before – no, they were pulling the whole ‘teamwork is sunshine and rainbows’ and all that bullshit. Unless Rowena’s pissed again and decided to –”
“Crowley!” Sam bursts out. Dean splutters, the interruption completely derailing his train of thought.
“What about him?”
“Demons and witches working together? It has to be Rowena,” Sam says. “And Crowley hates her. So if we tell him what’s going on –”
“– he’ll help us find Cas,” Dean finishes. “See, I knew I kept you around for a reason. But what if it’s not Rowena?”
“We’ve still got demons running around with witches, and not because of a demon deal. Chances are that Crowley might not be happy with that. And even if he doesn’t give a damn, it’s still our best shot, right? Worst comes to worst, if he doesn’t help then we can try and find Rowena and hope that she’s not involved and will help us.”
“Sam, you are a fuckin’ genius.”
“Just doing my job,” Sam says, trying and failing to hold back how obviously pleased he is. “We’ve got the supplies, right?”
“Yep. Just need to find the nearest crossroads.”
“And…you know Cas’ll be fine, right?” Sam says hesitantly. “He can take care of himself.”
“He’s Cas, Sam. The guy who keeps a freaking flower garden so he can sit with the bees and watch ‘em. The guy who can’t even function without at least two cups of coffee. The guy who needs those ridiculous fluffy socks because the bunker floor’s freezing.”
“He’s also the guy who decapitated a whole nest of vamps when you got caught on a hunt. He’s the guy who’s had to deal with people trying to kill him everywhere he goes for the last seven or eight years. He’s the guy who pulled you out of Hell. And now he’s human for the second time because he used his grace to get rid of the Mark. He’s not a helpless baby, Dean.”
“I didn’t say he was!”
“No but you sometimes treat him that way.”
“This’d better work,” Dean says shortly when Sam finishes spray-painting the last few lines of the Devil’s Trap. Sam doesn’t say anything, just steps out of the circle so that Dean can bury the ingredients and then say the incantation to summon Crowley specifically, rather than a run-of-the-mill crossroads demon.
“Moose. Squirrel. I should have known.”
In the centre of the Devil’s Trap, Crowley sticks his hands into his coat pockets, a genial smile on his face that sharply contradicts with how his dark eyes shrewdly scan every inch of his surroundings twice over.
“Well, boys, what can I do for you? I’ve a rather busy schedule today.”
“What? Torture, torture, a demon or two to kill, more torture?” Dean says sarcastically.
“I wish. No, I’m catching up on centuries of paperwork. Do you know how untidy Lilith and Azazel were? So now it’s up to me, when I’d much rather be doing kingly things like that aforementioned torture and –”
“What, you don’t have a secretary or two?” Sam says dryly.
“And trust them with information? Please, Moose. If you want something done right, you do it yourself. Anyway, what can I do for you, boys? Unless you’d much rather just break this lovely Trap of yours and send me on my way.”
“We need you to find Cas,” Dean says. Crowley raises an eyebrow just enough to look bored rather than surprised.
“You want me to find that little plucked chicken? Has your boyfriend run off, Squirrel?”
“He was kidnapped by demons! Who were working with witches! So we thought that maybe Mommy dearest had something to do with it.”
“Hmph. That would be her style,” Crowley agrees. “Well, after Abaddon’s little stunt two years ago, I’ve still been dealing with renegade demons who think that they know a thing or two about ruling Hell. I wouldn’t put it past them to forge a little alliance with Mother.”
“Can you find Cas, then?” Dean says. “If they’re going behind your back and working with Rowena then –”
“Really, Squirrel. As much as I do enjoy it, there’s no need to resort to begging. I’ll find your shiny boy toy for you –”
“You will?”
“– but I need something in return.”
“I’m not making a deal with you!”
“Sorry but that’s how this goes. You want your songbird back? I need to tap into your soul to find him. Remember Bobby Singer?”
Dean scowls, remembering how Crowley had needed to make a deal with Bobby in order to use his soul power to find Death.
“You’re not taking Dean’s soul,” Sam growls, shooting a Meaningful Look at Dean. “Or mine. We’ve made enough deals to know what a shit idea that is.”
“You can keep your souls,” Crowley scoffs. “You’ve both already been to Hell. I’m not after sloppy seconds. No, I want a promise.”
“What sort of promise?” Dean says straight away. He’d agree to be Crowley’s bitch if that’s what it takes to get Cas back.
“A promise that you won’t kill any demons you find,” Crowley says. He holds up a finger when Dean angrily opens his mouth to protest. “I know, I know. Those vengeful juices are just simmering inside your deliciously handsome body. But I’d much rather prefer to punish those demons for treason instead of letting them take the easy way out. I can throw in a punishment of your choice, if you like?”
“Peel their skin off and fill ‘em with salt,” Dean says darkly.
“Dean!” Sam reprimands, while Crowley just grins.
“I like the way you think, Squirrel. Do we have a deal?”
In response, Dean steps into the Devil’s Trap and plants a quick one on Crowley’s lips. He nearly gags at the taste of ash and sulfur, and the leer that Crowley sends his way when they separate is absolutely repulsive, but it’s worth it when Crowley rattles off a location a few moments later.
“Let’s go, Dean,” Sam says. Just as Dean’s about to walk off, Crowley clears his throat.
“If you wouldn’t mind?” the demon says, nodding down at the Devil’s Trap. As tempting as it is to just leave Crowley here, he’s the closest thing they’ve got to an ally lately and pissing him off will only mean that he won’t help next time they need a favour like this. Besides, if not for him, Dean would still have no idea where Cas is.
“Have fun with your paperwork,” he says instead, scratching a break in the paint. Crowley just shoots him a sour look and disappears, the smell of sulfur lingering in the air behind him.
Infiltrating the ramshackle house goes absolutely perfectly. Of course, that’s until they make it to the basement and find a bunch of demons standing around a dark-haired figure bound to a chair. Nauseating realisation’s already settling in Dean’s stomach so when the figure lifts their head to reveal Cas’ bloody face, one blue eye swollen shut, Dean sees red.
“Hey!” he barks, bursting into the room and ignoring Sam’s warning cry. The demons jump but quickly get their shit together and surround Cas. One even shoves his fingers in Cas’ hair and yanks, pulling the ex-angel’s head back to reveal his throat and hold a knife to the tanned skin.
Oh, that is just too far.
“Don’t kill them!” Sam reminds Dean, who’s charging. Neither of them brought any demon-killing weapons, since their aim is to exorcise and not kill, and only now does Dean appreciate the ease of being able to just slash and stab and take his enemy down for good; no matter what he does, the demons keep coming back for more.
It only takes a few minutes for the demons to utterly crush Sam and Dean. Dean grunts when his arms are wrenched behind his back painfully, and Sam’s mouth is quickly covered when he tries to start an exorcism.
“The Winchesters,” says the demon holding the knife to Cas’ throat, brown eyes gleaming. “You found us annoyingly fast. We didn’t even get to warm your boyfriend up properly for the main event.”
Dean practically hisses when the demon runs the blade along the skin of Cas’ throat, leaving a thin line of red that trickles blood. Cas swallows, Adam’s apple bobbing against the knife, but he says nothing and continues to glare defiantly with his one good eye.
“You’re gonna regret even looking at him,” Dean snarls. He wants to attempt to exorcism but, judging by how Sam’s still gagged by his captor, that would just not end well. And he doesn’t want the main bitch to hurt Cas. “You know who I am. You know that you don’t mess with me or mine.”
The demon puts on a look of exaggerated shock.
“Really? Because from where I’m standing, you’re rather helpless and yours are just ripe for the picking. I think I’ll play with your plucked angel first. Won’t that be delightful? Make over the place, get a bed in here…yeah, I think we could have a lot of fun. Put on a live show for you.”
Bile rises in Dean’s throat when the demon lets go of Cas’ hair to run his hand down Cas’ chest. Thankfully, the demon stops just short of Cas’ waistband and trails his hand back up.
“What do you say, Feathers?” the demon says. “You wanna have some fun –”
Cas has clearly had enough. In a move that leaves Dean dumbstruck, Cas wrenches his hands free of his loosened bonds and wrenches the knife away from his throat, then jumps up and flings the demon into two others standing nearby. Dean quickly takes advantage of the demons’ astonishment to elbow his captor and then turn around and kick her, while Sam easily frees himself from the burly demon holding him.
Through the chaos of trying to avoid being impaled by three demons at once, Dean can just make out Cas’ exorcism ringing through the room as he wrestles his captor, and it’s not long before the demons are shrieking in pain and tripping over themselves in their mad attempt to get away from Cas.
“I fucking warned you!” Dean crows as Cas’ deep voice rattles off the last verse of the exorcism. “Don’t mess with my angel or you’ll get it!”
With that, the demons’ heads are thrown back and they are forcefully ejected from their host bodies in streams of black smoke. Their meat suits crumple to the ground as the room is plunged into silence.
“Cas!” Dean’s by Cas’ side in a heartbeat, yanking him into a bone-crushing hug. “Christ, I was so fuckin’ worried. Don’t you dare do that to me again!”
“I assure you, it was not my intention to get taken hostage,” Cas says, wrapping his arms around Dean. Dean doesn’t know how long they stay there for, in possibly the tightest embrace they’ve ever had, but they only break apart when Sam clears his throat.
“We need to get these people out of here,” he says, gesturing to the stirring meat suits. “You guys take three at a time, okay? I’ll stay here with the others until you get back.”
Dean nods. He jumps to his feet, then hauls Cas up, and the trio pick three random people to drag out to the Impala to drop off in the nearby town first.
“I’m…sorry,” Dean says later that night, when he’s holding a breathless Cas close to him in bed. Cas frowns up at him.
“What for? You could hardly help me being kidnapped.”
“No – I mean – I’m sorry I’ve been treating you like a baby. I know you can handle yourself, Cas. I just…I worry, y’know? Especially since you’ve already died before and –”
Cas rolls on top of him and presses their lips together, effectively silencing Dean. Dean just closes his eyes, grips Cas’ hips, and kisses him back. There’s no chance of round two any time soon but it’s still nice to have Cas’ weight on top of him and Cas’ mouth on his. Hell, it’s nice to just have Cas near him in general.
“I understand, Dean,” Cas says solemnly when they separate and he’s back to snuggling into Dean’s side. “I know how you value those you love –”
Dean nearly chokes.
“– and I have only recently become human. Truthfully, I find your possessiveness rather flattering. It’s nice to know that I’m…that I’m cared for.”
Dean runs his fingers through Cas’ dark hair, growling when he remembers that the demon had done the same thing earlier that day. He’d erased every trace of that demon by kissing every inch of Cas’ torso but there’s still an ugly weight inside him at the thought of someone else touching Cas like that.
“Of course I damn well care about you,” Dean says, kissing the top of Cas’ head. “God, you think I’d do half the shit I’ve done for you if I didn’t care? I just…went too far. I need to treat you like an adult, not an incompetent kid.”
He runs his thumb over Cas’ bottom lip.
“And besides,” he grins, “seeing you take ‘em all down like that was really hot. If I wasn’t fighting for my life, I’d have been so turned on.”
Cas’ bright blue eyes take on a mischievous glimmer.
“I’m sure we can rectify that problem,” he purrs, hand slowly trailing south down Dean’s chest and belly. In response, Dean’s grin widens.
“Oh, hell yeah.”