Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

~o~

The memories that come at night

The nightmares long kept out of sight

Run little boy, run

Don’t let the monsters bite

He could hear it, him, footsteps calm as can be. He heard twigs snap and thought it might be one of his bones.

Run

His blood ran cold as he heard the high pitched whistle getting closer.

“Monster!”

Don’t look back

Don’t stop

Or else they will catch you

His legs screamed in pain, his lungs seemed to be on fire, his forehead wet and yet he continued running.

Running from the monster that wanted to eat him.

Don’t look back

His feet cave in and he fell gracelessly on his knees. He could still hear the villagers crying out for his blood but the black eyed monster was out of sight. He tried to move but winced at the pain.

Don’t stop

The whistle drew closer, now sounding more like hissing than anything. Was he going to die? Tears started streaming down his cheek.

My little darling, you will soon see the light.

“Hello.”

~Castiel~

The lights feel warm on his skin, he hears the thunderous applause and screams. He opens his eyes, his bowed head slowly rises, hands moving into position.

The dissonance created by man and man made noise makes his heart thump faster, as if trying to catch up with whatever beat there is. His body moves as if on auto-pilot, he can almost feel himself float.

And that is when he sees it.

He sees it with his mind rather than his eyes, that entity, that presence.

One hand continues to travel across the fretboard, the other busy toying with the strings, pulling, stroking, in show of merciless affection.

And he knows it is pleased.

It?

No, it’s not an it…

Him?

His heart falters for a moment, concentration dangerously wavering. That’s when he feels something press against his skin, something warm and soft. Guiding his hands back on track, pacifying his doubts. His focus returns, his euphoria builds up.

The hall starts smelling sweet like a freshly blooming flower. Castiel smiles.

The music ends.

You did well

His smile widens, proud and content. He opens his eyes, raises his hands and bows. And upon looking at the audience again, he sees it: bright green eyes behind a white face.

No, it’s not a face.

Mask?

‘Let me see you’ his mind whispers.

The face vanishes.

~o~

“Cassie”

Castiel feels something dig into his ribs. He blinks and sees his brother beside him, giving him a sharp look. He blinks, eyes squinting as his head tilts sideways. The crowd screams.

“I’m sorry, my brother just loves to show off his puppy head tilt. What was your question again?” Gabriel gives him another look.

The lady standing beside Gabriel smiles, and that’s when Castiel remembers that they’re doing a mini show at a convention.

“Now that we’ve seen you play right here, is this a sign that Castiel Collins is back?”

“Well…” Castiel begins, searching the sea of faces in front of him, noticing how everyone looks hungry for an answer of any kind.

“Not really. I would like to take things one step at a time after my…” There is a noticeable shift in the air, the sudden hushed whispers, and the fans’ smile that quickly turned to worried looks slightly unnerves him, but he takes a deep breath and continues, and feels the weight of Gabriel’s hand on his shoulder.

“…my recent experience. But I will never turn my back to music. And I would like to take this opportunity to announce that in the coming months, I will be in the employ of my brother at his bar, The Roadhouse,” the hall erupts with cheers once again.

“And he will not be alone this time, so stay tuned for the newest band that will fill the gaps in your hearts and in my bank account.”

“What?!” Castiel turns to his brother.

“Oooops, sorry I didn’t tell you. You were kind of asleep, Cassie.”

Castiel rolls his eyes as his brother divulges details about their upcoming activities to a very enthusiastic audience.

Minutes later, they give a final wave at the audience before they let themselves be escorted back to the green room.

“Gabe, why didn’t you tell me that you’ve found new members? I thought we’re going to do the selection together?” he frowns.

“Sorry Cassie, It’s…” He catches as his brother struggles to find an answer. Castiel notes this down, his brother Gabriel is never out of answers.

“Look, you were in a coma, and I didn’t know what to do, so I figured, hey, might as well distract myself by doing the audition.” Castiel narrows his eyes, gauging the level of truthfulness in his brother’s words.

“I swear you’ll love them. They’re siblings as well. We’ll get along for sure.”

Castiel has some doubts about this but he just nods. He still feels a bit weak and he would just like to get some rest.

‘Sleep.’ A voice in his head whispers.

Castiel gives in. He can still hear Gabriel ramble about their new band mates, but he’s no longer listening. He could smell the sweetness in the air, and he knows that somewhere, green eyes are looking at him. He smiles.

~Gabriel~

He really feels bad about dragging Cassie to this event. His brother’s barely a month out of the hospital and personally, he thinks Cassie should just have some R&R. But a meeting with his other brothers overruled this and their eldest brother Michael convinced him that going back into the limelight and playing might prove to be therapeutic for their youngest brother.

Throughout the event, he’s been watching his brother closely. A part of him is still wary about his brother’s health and personal safety, but keeping Cassie under medical house arrest is obviously not the solution. That’s why he was relieved to have seen his brother play during their set.

Bzzzz

Gabriel fishes his phone from his pocket and checks the caller ID: Rob, the bartender from Roadhouse.

“Yep.” He quips, slipping out of the room to take the call.

“Did you tell the members to come here at this hour? It’s barely five, man.” Rob sounds confused more than annoyed.

“Yes. I want you to show them the ropes. They told me they can help with the bar.”

“What? You trying to chase me out Gabe?” Gabriel lets out a bark of laughter.

“I’m not. But I’ve had it with you always bitching about not getting a decent vacation.”

“Well, that’s only because everyone loves me.”

“They love you because you give them free booze! Think about my business!”

“Gabriel Shurley, famous quote unquote guitarist, with a few million dollars to his name, worrying about money?! Gimme a break!”

“Fine, fine, just show the kids how we do business at the Roadhouse, have Charlie mix you up a Moondoor Maiden, she’s very proud of it.”

“Really? I’m not easily impressed y’know.”

“I know. I leave the kids with you.”

“How’s Cas?”

“He did good. I have to admit Michael’s right. Listen, I gotta run, seeya at the Roadhouse later.”

Gabriel walks back to the green room, sees his brother still asleep. He checks his wristwatch and decides to have a quick meeting with the organizer before slipping out. He’ll just ask one of their bodyguards to stand by the door and guard his sleeping beauty of a brother.

~Castiel~

The presence always comes in his dreams. He finds himself sitting near a river; it’s dark save for the light of a big full moon and a thousand stars. The grass is soft yet itchy beneath him, but he’s not complaining. There is an instrument before him, it looks like a guitar but the fretboard is longer, and the strings fewer. He always reaches out for it, and he always tries to play it but he just can’t seem to get it right.

When the air starts smelling of freshly blooming flowers, he knows that he’s no longer alone.

And that’s when he sees it, him. He’s not really sure if it’s a person; the image is clear to him in his dreams, but the moment he wakes up, all he remembers is a figure walking across the river, feet sending ripples on the surface of the water.

And the eyes. He will never forget those big, bright green eyes.

He will stare for a while until the figure sits in front of him, and that’s when he notices the similar instrument in the newcomer’s hand.

And then they play, starting out with their own rhythm until the notes weave together and harmonize. Castiel looks at the being in front of him, he’s been trying to etch that face in his mind but by some magic, the more he tries to focus, the more this being’s features become clouded in his mind, and he starts to lag behind.

“Focus.”  He hears in his mind.

“I just want to see you.”

The music stops, and for a moment, he fears that he’s angered his dream companion. But the other one just places the instrument on the grass, and Castiel feels those emerald eyes pierce through his dream state.

“Soon. You’ll see me soon.”

~o~

These words echo in his mind as Castiel is shaken awake by his brother. Gabriel seems upset, and he wonders if he overslept. He glances at his wristwatch and it he couldn’t be more than a quarter of an hour asleep.

“Let’s go, Cassie. I’ll drive you home, Rob is waiting for me at the Roadhouse.”

He yawns after nodding, and lazily picks up his backpack and guitar case. He follows his brother out of the room, but he’s still a bit groggy that he bumps into someone.

“Sorry!” he exclaims, and is about to apologize when a bright flash temporarily blinds him.

“What-“

“I think I got a nice paparazzi shot. How’re you Castiel? Heard the police are still looking for the guy who attacked you. Any leads?”

“Abaddon, we don’t have time for your gossip.” Gabe snarls, dragging Castiel away.

“Sure thing, but listen to this…” she walks up to the brothers,

“There’s been a string of killings out of town that has the police puzzled. Last time I checked, it’s only a city away from here. So I suggest you stop for a while and lock Castiel in the basement.” The brothers glare at her, Castiel is holding on to Gabriel’s shaking arm.

“I heard this killer has a thing for blue eyes. Rips them out and takes them home. Sound familiar?”

Castiel pales, his heartbeat rising and the world starts to spin violently around him. He staggers away from his brother and the reporter until he latches on to a nearby wall. His knees give in and he sinks to the floor, the motion upsetting him so much, he throws up.

“Get the fuck away from us!” Gabriel snarls before running to his brother.

A small crowd gathers around Castiel, most of them are volunteers and crew of the convention. He can hear people panicking, feels himself tugged from behind, his shoulders rubbed in an attempt to soothe him. Gabriel is by his side in an instant, and he feels himself being helped to his feet, but not a moment later, he hears something.

A low whistle slowly approaching, feet loudly clanking against the tiles. He feels chills run down his spine.

“Found you.” It’s more like a hiss, and the breath against the back of his ear makes him shudder.

He loses momentum once again, and this time he faints completely.

~Gabriel~

He really wanted to punch Abaddon for saying those things. But Cassie is more important; he sees his brother collapse and he just goes into panic mode. He elbows his way through the small crowd until he reaches his brother. He tries not to look at the mess on the floor, and just pays full attention to Cassie. With help from several bystanders, they get Cassie up to his feet, but no sooner than that he faints.

Thanking heaven for having a doctor for a brother, and dad for funding a hospital, Gabriel manages to hide Cassie away from the media frenzy. Raphael assures him that Cassie’s fine; in truth, his baby brother regains consciousness an hour or so after being admitted, but Raphael wants him to stay overnight for observation.

Cassie persuaded him to go check the Roadhouse, and he begrudgingly left. He didn’t come bank until past midnight as he’d taken over a stove and stress-cooked food for Cassie. He’d also told the new band members to leave for the night. He’ll just call them for their practice session, and his heart skips a little as he sees genuine concern on their faces.

Going back to the hospital, he curses Raphael for sending Cassie to an almost isolated floor. Yes, there are other patients there, but it’s still unnerves him to just hear the loud squeaks his tennis shoes are making against the tiled floors; almost as if he’s living a horror movie.

If he only knew.

He pushes open the door to Cassie’s room, confident at what the nurses told him that no one bothered his baby bro all the time he was out. But apparently, that’s not the case. Because he sees someone sitting on the bed, back against the door, a pale hand lost in Cassie’s hair.

Gabriel blinks. Okay, he may have downed a couple glasses of Rob’s special mix plus a few bottles of alcohol, but there’s no way he’s seeing an almost translucent figure getting a bit handsy with his brother. And so he decides to at least check if he’s not seeing things. He slaps himself.

And when he once again looks at Cassie’s bed, the figure is gone.

Well, not really…

~Castiel~

The nightmare is back.

It’s dark and he’s in the woods, he should know why he’s here, but that’s not what matters right now. What matters are the kids, and the monster that’s hunting them. Sweat trickles down his face and he blinks it off his eyelashes, some finds its way to the bleeding gash across his face and he winces at the added pain.

“We’ll make it. We just have to get out of the woods.” He hisses, trying to convince himself that he’s not going to die here.

Or at the very least, he couldn’t let the kids die.

“I don’t think that would work.” The cold voice hisses right in front of him, and he stops. It’s somehow funny that the monster turns out to be just a man.

How could that be? The man was right behind them wasn’t he? He sees the gleam of the thin knife, and for once he feels exhaustion take over his body, his feet ache from running, his arms scream from carrying the kids. Is he really going to die here?

Then he smells something, something sweet and familiar that soothes his mind. Slowly the nightmare dissolves and he finds himself by the river once again, green eyes looking at him at the other side.

He falls to his knees, worn out by running. Green Eyes makes his journey across the river.

“Hello.” he pants, trying to smile.

He looks down and sees something for the first time: the grass around Green Eyes is surrounded with white flowers. He extends a hand to touch them but stops, looks at those green pools for a sign, maybe permission.

“May I?” He asks, doing his infamous head tilt. No response. He chuckles.

“Of course, my apologies.”

To his surprise, Green Eyes reaches down and plucks one from the ground, offering it to Castiel. He takes it, examines it and smells it; it’s the same sweet scent.

He smiles and he feels himself fall, feels strong arms catch him, and smells more of that scent. And as everything fades to white, he could hear soft humming.

Castiel opens his eyes. He’s somewhat surprised to feel a whole lot better than when he slept, as if he’s just gotten a full day’s rest. He notices something by his pillow but then feels a presence in the room, and it turns out to be his brother, standing by the doorway, gaping.

“Gabriel? What are you doing there?”

~Gabriel~

“Feeling okay baby bro?” he tosses a paper bag on Cassie’s lap.

“Raphael will not approve of this.”

“Nah, don’t mind Rafiki, eat up.” He grins, nodding at the burger his brother’s holding.

“Wanna have Mickey scare the shit out of that Abaddon woman? I bet he can dig up a lot of dirt about her.” Cas shakes his head.

“Won’t do any good.”

They stay silent for a while, and Gabriel gets a bit anxious as he watches his brother trace a line down his face, from the side of the nose through his cheekbones.

“I don’t understand. I remember that man slicing my face. He kept on saying he’ll gouge my eye out and he’ll it eat it while I watch. Then he’ll take my other eye and eat it as well. Gabe, there should be a scar. I was bleeding, I know it.”

Gabriel tries to force a smile. Cassie almost never talks about the night he almost got murdered by a psycho, and to be honest, Gabriel wants it that way. But he knows that this time is different. He sighs.

“Well, what else do you remember?” Cassie looks out the window, the sun is almost setting.

“Not much. The kids, I remember the kids. God, I wish they’re safe…”

“Cassie, the man who brought you home said they’re his family, and given how they were clinging to him, I bet that was true. So don’t sweat about it.”

“Do you remember what they look like?”

Gabriel stops, hmmm, that’s something worth pondering. Because try as he may, he can’t seem to recall what any of the three looked like.

“So, I didn’t imagine everything huh. I really nearly died that night… But I really can’t remember…” Cassie lets out a half-hearted chuckle making Gabriel want to hug his baby brother.

“Even if it’s just those kids’ faces.” He sees Cassie reach out to the flower beside his pillow.

Gabriel stares at the flower and flinches

“What is this? Did you bring this?” Cassie looks at him with bright, expectant eyes.

“Sorry to burst your bubble kid. Y’know I’m not exactly the romantic type when it comes to my brothers. One of the nurses probably brought it here. Y’know, Castiel Collins, famous musician blah blah. Must be a fan.” He shrugs.

“It’s very pretty. And I like the smell too. This one little bud is already enough for the room.”

And that’s when Gabriel notices the smell. At first he thinks it was air freshener, but it’s the flower, and his blood runs cold. He remembers the pale figure from earlier, remembers that the flower is near where the figure was sitting.

“I like it. It makes me very happy.” Cassie smiles and Gabriel shivers.

~o~

Green eyes behind a mask... Castiel did not see him, but he’s there, still lingering... The hospital has a small garden, and a part of it happens to be under Castiel’s window. And if any of the brothers try to look, they will see him, looking up at the window, around his feet a number of flowers bloom, anointing the air with their fragrance.

“That wasn’t very wise. The other one saw you.”

The moonlight shines on another figure, Green Eyes does not budge, not even to acknowledge the new presence.

“He’s in danger, I can’t leave him like that.”

“You’re putting him in danger. As long as you get your ass as far from him as possible, he won’t be found.”

“I think it’s quite too late for that, and you know what I mean, brother.” A sigh.

“I still say that’s a ridiculous plan.”

A cloud passes in front of the moon and Green Eyes finds himself alone. His eyes are still on the window; he wants to see him again, to comfort him. But not in this state.

“I’ll see you soon.” He whispers. The moon shows itself once again and he disappears.

Chapter Text

Every song starts with a rhythm,

Theirs start with a “Hello”

Castiel wanted to be left alone when he was composing. That was why he always snuck into the forest near Gabriel’s house and camped out in the tree house Gabriel and Michael built. He arrived with bags of food and clothes, his guitar, a few pens and a pad of paper, and that was where he stayed until he finished a piece or his provisions ran out, whichever came first. And that night, he planned on doing the same; after all, he was about to form a band with his brother, and he was excited to start writing music again.

As Fate guides them to meet

At night he liked to take a little stroll around the area. He pretty much knew it by heart so he doesn’t really feel threatened to be out and about by himself. He was softly humming a tune he’d just composed when he saw a child crouched under a tree, head down, hands covering his ears.

“Hello.” He said.

The child looked up, and Castiel saw the boy’s eyes, pained and frightened like a cornered animal… and the also seemed to glow… yellow.

“Help. Please help.”

~Dean~

For the nth time, he would like to stress that this was a ridiculous plan.

He was standing, well not really standing, more like leaning against the wall waiting for almost three hours now to be called in a room and sing in front of people just to see if they have a shot at what the advertisement said was: “the biggest gig of the year.”

“I really don’t think we need to be in this…” Charlie did not let him finish, she turned to him with flaming determination in her eyes.

“Yes. Yes, we do!”

Dean looked at Sam in the hope of gaining an ally, but in the hours of waiting, he’d forgotten that it was Sam and Charlie who tag-teamed against him in the first place. Sam gave him his trademark bitchface and Dean ended up muttering to himself.

They spent another half an hour of waiting before a tired looking man called their number. Charlie grinned at him while Sam obviously tried to calm his nerves, Dean shook his head, still not believing that he’s going for an audition.

“So, Winchester, huh. You guys related?”

“Yes!” Charlie answered even before Dean could. He sent her a glare.

“So what are you, the Von Trapp Family Singers?”

The man behind the desk snickered. From what info Sam gave him, this was Gabriel Shurley, their “boss” if they would be unfortunate enough to make the cut. Dean shuddered at the thought of it, not that he hated the guy, he just thought he wouldn’t be able to work well with him.

“So, how long have you been playing?”

“Since forever.” Hearing the answer made Dean turn his face towards Sam so fast the bones in his neck popped and for a moment he wondered if he’d lost his head.

“Really? Well, let’s see about that. What are you going to play for us?”

“It’s a secret.” Charlie winked. Dean rolled his eyes.

He glanced at his siblings, wondering if they could pull this off. They were in a studio and the instruments had been prepared for them. He knew Sam’s “Since forever” line was a big load of bull, and he was wondering if the day would end in a terrible disaster: Charlie on drums, Sam on guitar, and him, he had to fucking sing.

Oh boy, this was going be a disaster.

“Nice. But I have one last question..” Gabriel Shurley looked at the paper in his hand before his gaze locked on to Dean.

“Mr. Dean Winchester, what made you come here today?” Gabriel eyes seemed to twinkle with mischief and Dean liked nothing more than to punch him in the face.

“These two idiots roped me into going.” He shrugged. He could feel the visual daggers his siblings were throwing at him.

“Well, why’d you let them do that if you didn’t want it?” the sparkle in Gabriel’s eyes grew brighter (if that was even possible).

“Cause they’re my family and I’m willing to do this for them. And for the record, I just don’t want to be the one singing, but that moose grabbed the guitar first.” He pointed at Sam making Gabriel laugh.

“Very well. Thank you for your time. Good day.”

“Dude, why’d you do that?!?” He felt the mixture of disappointment and irritation seething inside Sam’s chest. He just shrugged as they made their way out of the studio.

“You ruined our only chance!”

Dean was no longer listening. His attention was on one of the numerous TV screens on display in a shop they were passing by. It was playing the news and it showed a picture of a blue eyed man smiling. There was a caption underneath that read: “Musician Castiel Collins still in coma after vicious attempt on his life.”

“Dean… Dean.”  He heard Charlie’s voice and felt something tug at his arm.

“Let’s go home.”

~Sam~

He was still a little bit pissed about Dean’s answer during the audition earlier, but since all was said and done, the only thing he was wishing for was that they somehow made  the cut. They walked to where Dean’s hearse-shaped car was parked and once inside, he powered up his laptop.

“I guess we can scrub Plan A off our list.” He said as he opened his browser, and saw the bookmarked pages and frowns at them: they were all sites about the Shurley brothers and Castiel Collins.

“Not quite. Unless we get a formal rejection call, I say we stick with Plan A.” He looked back at Charlie who was beaming from the back seat. How his sister could stay optimistic after that bungled audition was a wonder even to him.

“Sam, they’re looking rock stars, not accountants. It’s about the personality, and I’m damn sure Dean nailed it.” She clapped Dean on the shoulder. Dean just nodded.

“See Sammy, nothing to worry about.”

Sam frowned, he wanted to disagree but instead just kept his mouth shut. He opened one of the bookmarked pages  and continued to read. So far, they’d learned the basics about the Shurley family: Wealthy father with several children, and a few of them: Michael, Lucifer, Gabriel, and Balthazar formed the band Angelus during their college days. Sam opened Castiel Collins’ Wiki page and re-read the contents. Castiel was the youngest son, but born to a different mother. He came to live with the Shurleys after his mother died and the patriarch adopted him. He was Angelus’ composer and songwriter, who at first worked behind the scenes, then started playing with the band in his second year in college.

Sam sighed, not even the internet forums gave them concrete information about Castiel’s personality, or his habits. The fan forums had various stories about him, and even if almost all were in favour of the man, Sam still believed second or third person testimony was not to be heavily relied upon. They needed to get the job in order to get know more about Castiel.

A small window popped up at the corner of his screen; it was about the murder of a woman whose eyes were taken. As expected, she had blue eyes. Sam read the police statement and closed his laptop.

Sam eyed the long silver blade Charlie is spinning in her hand.

They needed to get close to Castiel. And they needed to do it fast.

~Gabriel~

He hurried back to the Roadhouse after the audition and immediately headed to his office to use the computer. He fished out the contents of the brown envelope he’d brought from the studio and fed them through the scanner. He felt a wave of anxiety hit him as he listened to the whirring sound of the machine, and that was why he grabbed the jar of chocolates from his desk and popped some into his mouth like medicine. He felt himself grow a bit calmer. He composed an email, and sent it before taking out his cellphone to dial Lucifer’s number.

“I sent you an email Luci. I need a favor,” he blurted out before his older brother could make a wise comment about his call.

There was a period of silence as he heard the tapping of the keyboard and then silence as what he could only pray as Lucifer reading the attachments he sent.

“You’re trying to resurrect Angelus by bringing together a band whose members are all blood related? Cute.” Gabriel hissed.

“More than that. There’s something else. I want you to do a thorough background check on them.”

“Gabe, me and my detectives are quite busy at the moment so if—“

“Listen, jackass, those three, they know something about what happened to Cassie.” His temper flared and his voice became uneven.

“The audition piece they sang for today. That was the song Castiel was composing the night he was attacked.”

~Dean~

He couldn’t believe his ears when Charlie barged into his room, pulled his blanket, whacked him awake with a pillow and announced that Gabriel called them and they were in. He stared at her for a good two minutes until his still groggy mind was able to digest the good news.

“And, part two? Castiel Collins is awake.”

Dean’s eyes seemed to sparkle, and for sure Charlie had seen it because she flashed him a knowing smile before she left.

“I believe it’s time for you to work.” Charlie called out from the door.

“It’s already night.” The door closed with a soft thud.

Dean looked outside. Of course, Charlie’s home, her shift done and so he needed to work. But this was not his “normal” trade. No, he was currently working a new job. He slipped out of the shirt he was wearing and stared at his left shoulder. His hand traced the imprint of a palm there, glaring red against his skin. He heaved a sigh and chose his clothes. When he opened the door, he noticed the silver blade Charlie had stuck there, and it pierced through a small note that read, “good luck finding him.”

He smiled. It was time to hunt.

Chapter Text

“Help. Please help.”

Castiel heard the distress from the boy’s voice and he ran to him, knelt down beside the trembling boy.

“What’s you name?” For some reason, the boy looked frightened even more and he shook his head.

For a second, the boy looked like he was about to bolt and Castiel made another mistake by reaching out to the boy. It was then that the boy ran.

“Wait!”

Without thinking, he made a dash after the boy, in truth, the only thing that was running in his mind that time as to keep the boy safe, and so he ran… and ran…

“Wake up… Please wake up…”

He didn’t know how he heard it. The boy was speaking in a low voice but somehow he heard it, and it was not like he heard it with his ears, it was in his mind, as if the boy found a way into his brain. It was weird, but he wasn’t thinking about it much. The boy… he had to find the boy.

He stopped for a while, he needed to think clearly; he didn’t want to just go running around the woods at night. He waited for the voice to ring in his head, but there was nothing. Had he imagined it? Was he too worried for the boy that…

“I’m scared. We have to get away from the water, he’s coming. Please wake up.”

Water.

There was a river in the forest, and imagination or not, Castiel started running.

Castiel ran until he saw the clearing, and thankfully, the boy was there, sitting beside the form of an unconscious person. He slowed down and raised his hands when the boy noticed him.

“I’m not going to hurt you. I want to help.”  The boy looked at him.

“Is she hurt?” he recognized the other one to be female, a little older than the boy. The boy nodded.

Castiel approached the two, he noted the absence of blood around the girl or on her person and the rise and fall of her chest seemed normal, so he took them as a somewhat good sign.

“Is she your sister?” a nod.

“Okay, listen to me. I’m going to take you and your sister to the nearest hospital so the doctors can check on her. Is that clear?” the boy looked at him, as if not comprehending what he said.

That was when he first heard the whistle.

It started like a gust of wind and it made him jump a bit, but the boy was terrified started looking around him like a trapped animal until his eyes fell on the water. Castiel heard something, a sort of bubbling, gurgling noise from the river, as if the water was boiling. The little boy suddenly grabbed his sister’s arm and started tugging, Castiel got the message.

Danger.

He scooped up the girl in his arms and held the boy’s hand.

“Can you run?”

~o~

~Castiel~

After his overnight stay at the hospital, he managed to convince Raphael into letting him go, and thankfully, his older brother agreed. Now, days after his release, he’s sitting in his room, staring at the wall, and his guitar is useless on his lap as his mind can’t come up with anything. He grabs his phone and stares at his calendar. It’s only three weeks until Halloween, and they are bound to perform during the Roadhouse’s All Hallow’s Eve celebration. He grunts in frustration and pulls at his hair.

Beep

Beep

His phone announces an incoming message; it’s from Gabriel, asking him if he can make it to the Roadhouse that afternoon.

“I want you to meet our new members.”

~Dean~

Dean rolls his eyes as Charlie and Sam excitedly talk about what to do later at the Roadhouse. They received a call from Gabriel asking them to drop by for sound check. And hell, even if Dean had no idea what that was, he agreed.

“Okay guys, guys, let’s calm down a little bit. Shouldn’t we be thinking about what we will play later?” Charlie grins at him.

“Someone’s getting involved.” She gives Sam a nudge.

“Dean, we know a lot of songs…” Sam stats to explain, but Dean cuts him with a gesture.

“Yes, we do. But we don’t exactly do the playing part.”

“I, for one could legit play a guitar. Charlie is smart enough to know the basics of drumming, and she can basically fib her way through it.”

“Hey! I’m good!” Charlie complains, earning another eye roll from Dean.

“But we’re going to play. In front of people. We don’t do that, it’s kind of the other way around.”

“Stop being such a worrywart. Or are you excited to finally meet blue eyes?” Charlie jumps up and hooks an arm around Dean’s neck in an awkward choke hold manner. Dean squirms away.

“Know what? Shut it. Both of you!”

“I wasn’t saying a thing!” Sam protests.

“Shhh.. Just shut it.”

Dean walks back to his room, ignoring the giggles from his siblings. He yanks open his closet door and stares at whatever is stashed in there.

‘Gods, did we ever get anything besides plaid?’

He considers the black leather jacket for a good five minutes before deciding Sam and Charlie won’t let him live it down. In the end he chooses a random shirt and layers it with whatever he can think of. There, less douchery. He feels anxious as he stares at himself in front of the mirror; surely this has nothing to do with meeting Castiel right? This has to be about the job. At that, he regains control of his feelings, it’s all about the job.

He’s a hunter, and he has to hunt.

~Gabriel~

He opens the door to the Roadhouse and flips on some switches. He makes his way to the bar, pulls down a stool and sits there, staring at the polished faux marble table top.

“I’m sorry sir, but your brother’s not here.” He remembers what a detective told him when he checked in on his brother that morning.

“He’s been out on a case. But he did leave something for you.”

His phone rings.

“”Yellow?” the caller ID says Cassie so he amps up his tone.

“Yes baby bro. And it would be better if you have some new song so they can have a feel of how we roll.” He almost laughs at Cassie’s groan.

“Okay little fella, I got it, you have some writer-composer-whatever-the-fuck-block it is. Don’t worry, I gotchu baby bro. Just meet us here at around three. Then we’ll have the guys do a set later tonight. It’s masquerade night so we can hide their mugs for a while.”

After a little banter back and forth, the call ends. Gabriel returns to staring at his hazy reflection on the table top, mind still pondering on Luci’s intel. After thinking things over, he heads to the manager’s room and powers up the PC there. He sets his jar of candies near him and starts fishing out a variety of sweets. When the search engine pops up, he stops for a moment.

‘Are you sure you want to jump into this rabbit hole?’ a voice in his head asks, weirdly enough it sounded like Lucifer.

He digs into his pocket for the piece of paper the detective handed him earlier. He starts typing names and dates.

~Sam~

He watches his brother closely as they drive to the Roadhouse. He knows this job means so much for them, especially his brother; and he’s had his doubts about Dean handling this particular job.

“Dean,” he begins. He hears Charlie stir in the backseat; she’d put her headphones on at the start of the drive but he’s not entirely sure she’s listening to anything right now. Nevertheless, he continues.

“Dean, I still think it’s a bad idea to have you directly involved in this. I mean, Charlie and I can handle it. You…” he heaves a deep breath to prepare himself for Dean’s reaction to his next words.

“You will just complicate things. Especially with this Castiel Collins-“

“Castiel is in danger Sam. Alastair is after him. He’s been killing people with blue eyes ever since that night.”

“Have you forgotten that Alastair’s main target is you? That’s why you should just leave it to me and Charlie. At least that way we won’t be handing you and Castiel over on a silver platter if ever things get fucked up.”

“It won’t get fucked up.” He’s about to say something else when he felt a dull thud against his car seat. Charlie. Sam purses his lips and leans back into his chair. Fine, he’ll let Dean win this round.

~Charlie~

The moment she sees Sam move, she knows a confrontation is in the air. She pauses her playlist and sits up, tense. She hears the conversation, weighs Sam’s words and she has to admit; that’s the more sensible plan. But she understands Dean. They stop at a gas-n-sip for some food for them and Baby, and as soon as Dean walks away from the pump, she nudges Sam.

“Hey.” She leans over.

“Hey too.”

“I think we should give Dean’s plan a shot. Besides, three of us are working this case, we got this.” She tries to assure her brother.

“It’s dangerous, baiting both Dean and Castiel to Alastair? But if this is the only thing that will make Alastair stop, we have to take it.”

Charlie ruffles his hair and leans back as they see Dean come out of the shop. They resume driving in peace and Charlie pulls out the silver blade from beneath the seat.

~Castiel~

“No, you’re not going to rain on me.” He scowls at the clouds outside.

But as soon as he hits the shower, the thunder starts and it’s a full on rain shower. He grumbles and starts rummaging for his parka, which happens to be nowhere in his closet or in the hamper. He checks his watch and curses, realising he’s running late. He glares at the coat lying crumpled at the far side of the closet.

He grabs an umbrella and gets himself a cab. He pats his coat, over the breast pocket where he snuck in some useless lyrics he’d written earlier. He wishes he had more materials to show the new members, but maybe they could work something out. He sighs; he hasn’t dreamt about the masked man ever since that night in the hospital, and he’s wondering why.

‘You promised me.’ He whispers softly.

When he arrives at the Roadhouse, he is so worried about his dripping umbrella, that he barely notices Rob’s greeting.

“Cassie! Come join us here!” Gabe announces, waving him over a table near the stage.

Castiel walks over to them; he notices the tall guy first, who approaches his to shake his hand. Then the redhead girl bounced up to him with the Vulcan salute, grinning wide. He feels like he’s going to love them.

And then there’s the last one. He side steps to him with a hand reaching out towards the last member. He notices that he’s just a few inches taller than him, sandy blonde hair and…

Green eyes.

Their gazes lock for what feels like minutes until:

“Dean.” He hears the girl, Charlie, hiss.

Dean grips his hand and gives him a sheepish grin.

“Dean Winchester.”

For a moment, he swears he can smell the flowers once again.

~Dean~

They make it in time and after brief conversations between them, Gabriel, and Rob, they come up to the stage to play. Gabriel joins them, and upon his request, they sing one of Angelus’ songs. Dean thanks the stars Sam made him listen to all of Angelus’ albums. After their second song, the door opens and his gaze immediately shifts towards it, and the person who strolls in.

The guy walks just in time as the wind blows around his trench coat, and tousling his hair. Dean gapes at him.

Castiel.

Castiel walks to them, and Dean’s eye never leave him. He watches as Sam introduces himself and shakes his hand, watches Charlie do the same. And then the blue eyes are on him. He’s never seen them this close, and now he understands why Alastair is after him.

“Dean.” He hears Charlie hiss beside him, feels the force of her feet on his own. He winces and grabs Castiel’s hand, shaking it firmly.

“Dean Winchester.”

“Castiel Collins, nice to meet you.”

I’m here. At last, we meet.

~Castiel~

“All right, all right, cut the crap, shall we go practice? Cassie dear...” the shorter man walks right in between him and Dean, places his hands on his shoulder and slowly eases him away.

“Do you have, maybe a new song for us?”

“I may have a portion of a song.” Gabriel rolls his eyes.

“Okay, fine. You go sit in the corner and watch the big boys play. Go. Shoo.” He waves him off.

“He’s not playing?” Charlie pipes up, then  looks away.

“I---” Castiel starts to say.

“I just happened to lose a bet my brothers rigged; that’s why I played with them,” he explains, lips curling to a smile.

“We did not!” Gabriel feigns shock. They laugh.

“But, I will be joining the band, so yeah, I guess I will have to play.”

He watches them play, but his eyes are mostly on Dean. He’s impressed by the man’s voice, and slowly, inspiration hits him. He pulls out the sheet of paper from his coat and asks Rob for a pen. He starts scribbling.

~Dean~

Five songs. Five fudging songs before they got a break. This is impossible. And that bastard Gabriel just tells them they will perform a set later. A set? He doesn’t even know what that means.

“Hello Dean.”

Shit.

The rough voice surprises him, and he sees blue eyes in front of him once again. He clenches his teeth to keep his jaw from falling. Castiel is standing close to him, so freaking close that he could…

Shit.

“Yes?” He says, taking an involuntary step backwards.

“You have agreed to perform later, correct?” he nods.

“I was wondering…” Castiel raises his hand to show Dean the papers.

“Would you mind looking this over with me?”

He agrees and they walk away from the group. He pulls out chairs for both of them and Castiel lays the papers on the table. Dean reads the lyrics and smiles.

“I just, I just don’t know how to…”

Dean starts humming, trying to fit the words with his tune, and soon, they are both humming, not even looking at the paper but at each other, and as much as Dean tries, he couldn’t suppress his lip muscles as they form a smile.

~Castiel~

It’s almost surreal. The way Dean conjures a tune like that after glancing over his notes, it’s almost impossible. But it’s happening, and he keeps on reminding himself to look at anything other than Dean’s eyes. Those glorious emerald… okay focus.

Dean promises to talk it over with Charlie and Sam while Cas will take on Gabriel. They stand up and do their respective tasks, but Castiel just finds his eyes drifting towards Dean unnecessarily, and all the time, he smells the fragrant flowers from his dreams.

~Charlie~

She’s not blind. She sees how Dean and Castiel are lost in their own little world, she feels her brother’s energy surge as he hums. She starts to get fidgety. They don’t want Dean to be found by Alastair this way, but she sees Dean smile genuinely while in Castiel’s presence, and she just can’t tell her brother to stay away.

“We have to,” Sam whispers in her ear. Apparently, they share the same thoughts.

“Alastair will trace us here if he doesn’t keep himself in check.”

“I’ll talk to him Sam. Don’t worry,” she assures her older brother.

Gabriel and Rob hauls two big boxes in front of them. Gabriel tells them to pick a mask, a prop, or whatever.

“We can’t out you guys yet, so since the house is having a masquerade themed night, pick a mask, or a prop, anything,” Gabriel gestures at the boxes.

Since there are no mirrors at the floor, they drag the boxes back to the dressing room, all the while suffering through Gabriel and Rob’s banter. Once inside, they each choose a mirror, and she digs elbow deep into a carton and dumps it on a dresser. Just as she’s trying on an eye patch, she notices Dean holding a mask in his hand. Then her eyes dart towards Castiel who happens to be talking to Gabriel about something. She grabs a hat and strides over to Dean.

“Not that. He’s seen you with a mask countless times Dean. We don’t want him to know.” Dean’s face seem to fall but her brother composes himself quickly.

“Here, it’s better this way.” She pushes a pirate hat on his head and whips the eye patch off her hand hands it to Dean.

‘Yes, it’s better this way.’

~Castiel~

He decides to play with the band tonight, with Dean. Gabriel looks surprised at his determination, even he is surprised, but he puts it to missing the limelight, and adds a laugh for a good measure. Gabriel looks at him oddly, and he realizes he doesn’t care if Gabriel believes him or not. He’ll play with Dean tonight.

“Looks good on you.” He is taken aback as he sees Dean behind him, then he chortles at the hat, eye patch and false beard on him, complete with a hook. He feels pathetic about settling for a plain werewolf mask.

“Thanks. Nothing could beat your disguise though.”

He laughs as he sees the band. Charlie is wearing a blood red domino mask and a crown, Sam has a reindeer headband and Charlie went as far as painting his face and placing a reindeer nose to make him “more moose-like”, Gabriel is wearing a horse mask, and heaven knows how he will play with that. He feels that this is going to be a good night.

The Roadhouse opens, and he feels his heartbeat increase as he hears the noise on the floor. Guests in all sort of make-up and costume are scattered around the tables and stools, eating, drinking, chatting. His eyes once again flit to Dean, and this time Dean catches his gaze.

“Everyone, let’s go. It’s time to fuck up the crowd.”

Not the exact words he would use, but then Gabriel has his weird style. They all get up and file towards the door. He waits until Dean walks past him, and he reaches for the man’s shoulder.

There’s no exchange of words, just a smile and a nod.

And they are out.

~o~

 Alastair looks at the sky and smiles bitterly. There’s no moon tonight. He walks around the city with his rain soaked coat and a grin plastered on his face. For a while now, he’s lost track of his target. That’s why he’s munching on some mortals, but just this afternoon, he feels the familiar aura of his target. And better, he smells his scent, the sickening sweet smell of flowers that promises a brilliance like no other. He licks his lips in anticipation. The scent doesn’t last long, but it doesn’t matter: he’s found the scent, so he can follow it.

“Sorry.” He barely feels it when the man bumps into him, but as he looks up, he sees his eyes. Blue, he remembers: a blue moon, the flowers. The incorruptible god walking the Earth. He remembers that the man who once stood between him and his objective has blue eyes. The mortal who tried to defy a god.

His blood boils.

He hungers.

He can pick up the scent later; for now he has to feed.

~o~

~Castiel~

They’re now down to their last song. The mask is making it hard to see and breathe, but thankfully he hasn’t passed out yet. But maybe what irritates him more is that it impedes his vision of Dean. His thoughts stop for a moment.

What? He’s just met the man.

The eyes.

He tries to focus on playing. He can’t believe he’s mixing up his dream and a real person. No. That couldn’t be happening.

It was a promise

His mind enters that state once again: where everything feels light and right. That feeling when the presence, the masked man is around. He closes his eyes.

Are you there?

Can you hear me?

Those are the words he had written, but somehow he feels like they weren’t his own.

Come to me my darling

Dean’s voice. Damn.

Then the scent hits him.

He dares to open his eyes and once again searches for Dean. As if on cue, Dean looks at his direction. Even with one eye covered, the glassy shine of his emerald eyes are still breathtaking.

Do you remember

Yes, he remembers.

The night we first met

Castiel moves closer to Dean, his hands leave his guitar, Gabriel can manage alone. He reaches for the microphone.

Under the full moon

I fell in love with you

He almost whispers the lyrics. Dean looks at him, searching his face, confused at the sudden turn of events. He smirks.

Dean’s eyes do not leave him, it follows every movement he makes, watching, waiting. He feels himself drown in Dean’s emerald eyes, he smells the fragrance of the flowers as he moves closer, leaning his head down to the microphone.

I love you

His eyes are on Dean the whole time, his words full of sincerity and smiles as Dean misses a few beats. Castiel raises an eyebrow, smirks at the vocalist.

I love you

Dean finally says the last words of the song, in a voice as quiet as his. Even with the lights around the bar, he could still see the creeping blush on Dean’s face and he thinks it’s adorable. He grins.

He thinks he’s finally found his muse.

The music ends. The patrons in their seat applaud while the couples on the dance floor continue with their slow dance, completely oblivious to everyone but themselves.

All except one.

A lady in a black cocktail dress stands in front of the stage, and Castiel reels back as he sees her mask. The same mask he’s been seeing in his dreams. The lady raises her hand and offers them flowers just like the one he has in his room, in his dreams. Castiel looks at Dean and then to the masked lady, confusion spreading through his features.

Looks like he’s found the masked figure. But he’s so sure he’s a man. Hell, in every dream he had he was a man. A man with green eyes.

Just like Dean.

But there is someone in front of him now, with the mask and the flowers, and the scent starts to engulf him once again. Could he be mistaken?

Something is wrong.

The lady moves her hand and Castiel realizes that he hasn’t taken the flower from her. He looks beside him and sees Dean holding a stalk in his hand. His eyes fall back to the lady, is it okay? Is it safe? He laughs inwardly, in his dreams he’d accepted the flowers every time, but why hesitate now? Because this is real life?

Maybe because something really is wrong.

He forces a smile and takes the flower from her hand. He holds the flower beneath his nose and sniffs: the scent is too strong, it’s suffocating. He looks at the lady once again.

The mask is the same.

So is the flower.

Then it hits him.

Her eyes, they are brown.

“Long time no see.” She says as she takes off the mask.

~Gabriel~

He’s not a fool. He might be wearing a stupid horse mask, but he’s not a fool. He notices when Cassie stops playing, damn, he sees his brother walk up to the microphone and SING! Castiel Collins never sings in front of a crowd. Erase that, Castiel Collins never sings, NOT EVER. He sees the distance between him and that Winchester boy and he feels uncomfortable. For the record, he doesn’t give a rat’s ass if his brother is dating a man or a woman; hey, it’s a free country. His current issue is about these Winchester kids.

‘Keep Castiel away from them.’

Those words were written in big printed letters, aka Lucifer’s written version of yelling. It’s the very first thing Luci wrote on the note he left for him; the others are dates, names, and places.

A part of Gabriel Shurley is screaming that the Winchesters are not mad. But the facts do not lie.

He’s seen reports about death, blue eyed people getting killed, sometimes mutilated. Why the police didn’t pick up this thread is ridiculous, but maybe he’d seen it because he already knew. The killer that went after his brother.

‘Gabriel, what does your instinct tell you?’

But the evidence is there.

In every area where the Winchesters had lived, the murders happen, and they conveniently disappear either before or right after it.

Chapter Text

“Can you run?”

The whistle was unmistakeable now, almost like a hissing sound.

They ran.

That’s how the chase started. He held on to his precious cargo, the unconscious girl and the little boy who was trying to keep up with his pace. He considered what to do: return to the treehouse and wait it out? Or make a run out of the forest and straight to the police station? His mind said there couldn’t be any doubt: they needed to get out and seek help. Castiel stopped running to pick up the little boy, while his ears strained to listen to the whistling sound.

He could barely hear the whistling now. Thank God for small favors.

“He’s close” the boy whispered in his ear, voice dripping with dread.

“I barely hear him anymore, it’s okay.” He tried to assure him, but the kid breathed heavily, and he could swear he could feel the kid’s heart thumping.

“That’s how the serpent is: when you hear him clearly, it means he’s far away. When he sounds far, he’s actually close.”

Castiel’s stomach dropped; should he believe the kid? As if on cue, the boy gripped his shirt tighter. Damn, this must be the real deal. He tried to think…

There was no way they were making it up the treehouse, and if the guy, whatever, whoever was near, he couldn’t outrun them, not with him carrying the two children. He changed direction, and instead ran towards the path he and his brothers knew well. In one part of the forest, there was a small cave, Gabriel showed to him and told him that was where he and Balthazar used to hide when they were children. Castiel used it whenever he wanted to be alone or when he was sad. The children could fit inside, while an adult would have to struggle to get in. Perfect. He noticed as well that the whistling grew louder, and even if it took several times, he was able to convince himself that it was good. They were safe. For now. He stopped and placed the children on the ground.

“Climb inside. And don’t make a sound.” He ordered.

As soon as the boy was inside, he lifted up the girl and pushed her into the cave as well.

“Guard her well. Remember, not a sound.” Castiel said. The whistle continued to fade.

“Don’t leave us. Please.” The boy started crying.

“I need to get him off our track. You’ll be safe. I promise.” It was a miracle he managed to smile despite the mixture of panic and terror coursing through him.

Castiel started running again, all the while punching 911 into his phone. His mind was so caught up in wishing for the call to connect that he failed to monitor the whistling.

Which was his biggest mistake.

For the whistling had already stopped even before he felt the blow to his abdomen.

~Castiel~

“Long time no see.”

The lady behind the mask is smiling… and looking at Dean. Castiel immediately turns to the man beside him.

“Jo. What are you doing here?” Dean says, covering the microphone.

“Wow, that’s the welcome I get? You left me with the kids for a “job” and I see you here in a bar, having a good time?” she raises an eyebrow, hazel eyes glittering.

“Jo.” Dean hisses. Thankfully, no one has noticed.

“And you must be Mr. Blue Eyes. Joanna Beth Winchester. I’m his sister.”

Castiel does his head tilt out of genuine confusion. Wait? Sister? She isn’t Dean’s? He looks at Dean who gives him a half spooked, half curious stare, then looks at Jo who is smiling at him, extending a hand.

“Nice to finally meet you.”

~Dean~

He massages his temple as the band sit inside the dressing room. Everyone is silent which Jo is apparently enjoying. Sam obviously feels tense, Charlie is trying to act normal, Gabriel has gone out to give them space, and Castiel is nowhere in sight. He glares at his sister and proceeds to walk out on everyone when the door swings open even before he could touch the knob.

“I have some food.” Castiel says from the other side, holding a tray.

“Dean, you want to maybe help Mr. Blue Eyes instead of just ogling?” Jo teases. He promptly turns to her and snarls, which makes Jo giggle more.

He takes the tray from Castiel and places it on top of one of the tables. He turns around and Castiel is gone once again, only to return later with plates. Dean nods to Sam for help and the moose obliges (yes, he’s still wearing the make-up complete with nose and headband). Dean follows Cas into the kitchen.

“Hey.” Castiel stops midway into pouring water on a pitcher and Dean takes it from him in one smooth motion.

“Sorry about Jo. You okay there?”

“Yeah. Yeah,  I’m fine.”

Castiel walks past him and back to the dressing room, his pace hurried. Dean scowls and follows him.

~Castiel~

He curses himself for acting all fidgety around Dean. But he’s still trying to recover from the fact that he was bothered thinking that Dean and Jo are an item. He tries to push it out of his mind and act as normal as possible, but being in the presence of Dean Winchester is making it impossible for him to calm down. He stops a few feet from the dressing room door and hesitates, the atmosphere in there is already tense and it won’t help him in his current state, so he rushes past the dressing room and out the bar’s back door.

‘Dammit Castiel, compose yourself’

He runs his hand through his hair in agitation, he’s not used to being like this, and somehow he wants to blame Dean Winchester for everything. He sighs and looks up, expecting to see the moon, but there is none. Great, just his luck. He decides to go back to the bar. The dark back alley suddenly becomes illuminated as the clouds part above him and a silver moon slowly reveals itself. For several seconds, Castiel stares at it in awe, he’s never seen the moon this big before…

‘I’m here’

A voice in his head interrupts his thoughts, it’s not his voice, but he knows very well to whom it belongs to. The usual stink of garbage and human excrement disappears as the scent of a flower fills the air. It’s unlike the one from the bar with Jo, this, this is the real thing.

‘Where are you’

He only needs to think it and he knows it will reach his muse. The moonlight seems to shine bright enough to light the alley, and he sees the masked man approach. He walks as if surrounded by light, and white flowers bloom at his feet, effectively leaving a trail behind him. An invisible wind ruffles the cloak he is wearing and he could only see the mask, and the bright green eyes behind it.

“You’re here,”

He reaches out to touch him, his hand landing on a broad shoulder, he trails his fingers down his obviously muscled arm. He’s right; his muse is a man.

But Jo…

A pale finger touches his lips, as if he actually said it out loud. The green eyes narrow, but in a good way. Is he… smiling?

‘You did well today, the song is beautiful’ Castiel keens at the praise.

The hand on his lips retreat, but he catches it, he feels it tense in his hold of a second but subsequently relaxes. Castiel raises it up to his lips and kisses it, he sees the green eyes widen in surprise.

“I want to see you.”

His other hand touches the mask, ready to take it off.

~Sam~

He’s aware that he’s glowering beneath the moose make-up. Yes, he’s yet to remove it, he knows he has to, but recent developments are more important than him looking like a moose.

“Alastair is near. The eclipse is in a few weeks, what are you guys doing?!”

Jo looks at them, her eyes accusing them of being slackers. Jo has the right to be angry as they did leave her out of the entire plan. She’s only supposed to take over Dean’s duties until Alastair has been dealt with but apparently, that’s not the case.

“It’s a plan.” Dean barks.

Sam knows Jo. There’s a reason why Dean assigned Jo to stay behind. Charlie is a good sister, but she could be a bit soft. Jo is almost like Dean and there’s no way Jo would leave her post unless.

Jack and Claire.

The thought sends him into a state of panic and as he’s about to share his fear, Castiel opens the door and brings in a tray of aperitifs.

“I have some food.” And afterwards, Dean is out of the room.

“Jo.” He begins, not wanting to confirm his suspicion.

“Why are you here? Is anything wrong with Jack or Claire?”

“Jack’s been fidgety lately, keeps on insisting that his friend is in trouble. Even Claire can sense his agitation. And since I’ve no work tonight, I decided to pay you guys a visit.”

“It’s  the eclipse, I think he’s worried.”

“Well, who isn’t?” Charlie says.

Silence.

The gears in Sam’s mind start to turn. Apparently, they need to be quick, and apparently, their plan isn’t going to work. Either Alastair comes for Cas or the eclipse comes first. Either way there isn’t a way to surprise Alastair. The plan is falling apart. He throws a knowing look at Charlie and his sister nods.

This is never going to work, they need to find Dean…

“Dean! That jerk!”

Sam feels the power, Dean’s own power near. Charlie and Jo looks at him in surprise as they realize it as well. Dean is out in the open, using his powers for god knows what. Sam jumps out of his seat, damn moose face paint, headband and nose, he’s willing to run around town like this if it means stopping Dean.

~Dean~

It bothers him that Castiel just walks past him like that. It irritates Dean how Castiel could just stay quiet. He knows something’s bothering the blue eyed man, and he wants to help, but apparently, Castiel doesn’t need him.

But maybe, if it’s him.

He grasps the pendant dangling around his neck, giving a sharp tug to break the chain. He lifts it to his mouth and whispers inaudibly. White light envelopes the pendant, and soon his entire hand, and when the light abates, he’s holding a mask in his hand. A mask that looks like the one Jo’s wearing, except this one is his. He places it over his face, and he sheds whatever is left of his humanity, and disappears.

He appears outside, in the middle of a dark alley. He could sense Castiel, feel the man’s disturbed aura. He lets out a wave of his power, a halo of light surrounding him, and as he walks through the darkness, the moon sails the sky.

‘I’m here.’

He knows he shouldn’t be doing this, and as guilt starts to eat him, the heat of Castiel’s hand on his skin banishes every other thought from his mind and he remembers being close to Castiel as they sang.

He smiles behind the mask.

‘You did well today, the song is beautiful.’ He feels like an idiot for saying it. He should be comforting Castiel, asking him what’s wrong, not this. But Castiel smiles at him, apparently pleased at his words.

And then Castiel kisses his hand.

“I want to see you.” The deep gravelly voice sends shivers through him, and he lets logic fly out the window at that moment.

‘Not today my love.’ He whispers.

It takes him a second to realize what he just said but it doesn’t matter as Castiel opens his mouth and Dean feels drawn to it, wondering how it would feel against his skin, what it would taste like. He wraps his arm around the man’s waist and draws him close.

‘Close your eyes.’

Castiel obeys and Dean takes off his mask. It’s a risk but he’s currently not in his right mind, so to hell with it. He leans down and claims Castiel’s lips.

~Castiel~

The order would’ve sounded out of place and Castiel wouldn’t have obeyed it had it been any other person.

But this is different.

‘Close your eyes.’

His muse had told him that and he followed. He wonders what surprise is in store for him. Is this a prank? Maybe a crazy fan? But it doesn’t feel like that, it feels like…

He feels his muse pull him close, and then the pressure of something against his lips. It takes a few seconds for him mind to register the fact that he’s being kissed by someone, or something that before now has only appeared in his dreams. But it doesn’t matter, Castiel responds. He kisses back with fervor, he cradles his muse’s head with his hand and presses their faces together, his teeth nibbling and pulling, tongue playfully teasing. Still keeping his eyes closed, his lips trace its way along his muse’s chiselled jaw, his hand grapples with the hood and robe, trying to pull it as far as he could so he can taste the skin it’s been hiding. He finds purchase at the base of his muse’s neck, he smells the familiar scent of flowers and breathes in deeply before focusing his efforts there. He is rewarded by a whine, and his lips make the journey back.

In his head, he could see various scenes, it’s as if he’s watching snippets of a movie. He sees his muse, walking around a newly formed Earth, his hands crafting small glowing objects and setting it loose, they settle in the sky and twinkle there. Stars. He sees his muse with others, seven people, their faces are all blurry but they look happy. He sees his muse in front of a group of people, they are kneeling in front of him, offering fruits. He takes them and disappears.

And then something shatters the images, a loud voice in his head.

“DEAN!”

They break apart, Castiel’s eyes open involuntarily.

“Dean?” he pants.

Darkness.

The moon is gone, the scent has vanished.

He is once again alone in the alley.

~Sam~

He could feel his brother’s power surging, they need to find him soon. He tells Charlie to search the floor while he and Jo run to the delivery entrance of the bar. As they hop outside, Jo clutches his arm and gasps. Sam doesn’t need to ask what prompted this. He sees it.

Tonight is a new moon, but then there’s a big shining orb of light in the sky and he could feel Dean’s power pulsating all around him. He runs to the direction of the back alley and there he sees it. His brother in his true form with Castiel. Sam’s eyes flash silver.

‘DEAN!’ he shouts in his head. He sees Dean pull away from Castiel and disappears. Jo rushes to the human while he stomps back to the dressing room.

“What was that?!” he demands as he sees Dean sitting nonchalantly on a chair.

“Why did you have to do that?!” he struggles to control his temper, the last thing he wants is to make a scene.”

“Jo is here because Jack thinks Alastair is near. And what do you do? You blatantly announce your presence to the universe!”

“Wasn’t that the plan all along? We lure Alastair down here and we end him!” Dean stand up and bares his teeth at him.

“Yes! But he wants you dead most of all; how does sending a big neon sign above your location going to help?! Can’t you just stick with the plan?!”

Dean freezes, Sam sees the doubt in his brother’s eyes. He sighs and lets the matter go. For now.

Charlie runs to the dressing room, looking worried, she looks to her brothers for an explanation but no one’s bothering to talk. Jo comes in next sans Castiel.

“That was stupid!” Jo exclaims, glaring at Dean.

“Uh, guys, excuse me. But you’re on in five.” The DJ pokes his head in the room and Charlie just nods.

~Gabriel~

He begs off playing this time. He lingers at the bar, watching them play. His eyes are on Cassie and Dean, reading their every move. But nothing seems out of place. They are playing like usual, nothing of the shenanigans they pulled earlier. They are keeping the perfect distance from each other, not even looking the other’s way. Good. Good. He pulls out his cellphone and hits the speed dial for Lucifer.

“Any news?” he begins. He couldn’t help the impatience bleeding from his tone.

“I’m still trying to find where they live. The address they wrote on their application form is just a desolate patch of land in Kansas. Are you still keeping them?”

“Keep your friends close right? How about the siblings, any info on them?”

“Nothing much. I’ve shot you an email. It’s hard to track six people you know.”

Six?

Dean, Sam, Charlie, Jo… So far he only knows four. And the application form didn’t even mention Jo.

“Six. There’s the three you’re keeping and there are three more. I don’t have corroborating evidence, but there’s a claim that they’re seen with a blonde young lady and two kids, a boy and a girl.”

“Listen. The killer has momentarily stopped as far as we know. So it’s either you keep a close eye on Castiel or kick those three out. But better would be to do both.”

~Alastair~

He wipes his mouth with a bloody hand. At his feet lays a dead body, chest riddled with little cuts, and the eyes are missing.

‘I found you.’

While partaking in a little midnight snack, he’d felt a swelling of power in the air. He sees as the moon reveals itself from behind the clouds and he knows there’s only one person who could do it. He finishes his meal quickly, as the scent of his intended prey is overwhelming him, resurrects a deep-seeded hunger in his gut.

‘I’m coming for you.’

He traces the source of the power and feels it close, too close. He grins. But the moon soon retreats behind the cloud and even the scent vanishes. But it doesn’t matter; Alastair too is a hunter, and he remembers the path to take.

He starts whistling.

~Castiel~

At the end of their set, he quickly slips away and hides inside Gabriel’s office. He saw Dean take a step in his direction and his heart immediately raced, so did his steps. As he locks himself in, he still tries to process what happened back at the alley. That was Dean’s face he saw, was he hallucinating? If so, why Dean? Because of the eyes? While it’s true that there’s something in Dean’s personality that draws people to him, Castiel still thinks it’s not enough to warrant such a reaction from him.

“Cassie? What are you doing there? You’re not looking into my porn collection are you?” He grunts as Gabriel barges in, of course he has the key.

“I’m not. And I’m going home.”

“Aww, you’re not going to stay? We’ll be opening some top shelf stuff!” Gabriel calls.

“That’ll piss off Rob you know.”

“Who cares, I pay for the goods anyway. You sure you sure you don’t want in?”

“Knock yourself out. I’m beat.”

“So, what can you say about the new members? Any good?” His mind reels back to what happened in the alley, back to Dean’s face.

“Y-yeah.” Then he catches himself at his thoughts and internally kicks himself senseless.

“Huh?” Another mental flying kick to himself when he sees Gabriel’s reaction.

“They’re good. Don’t let them go anywhere.”

“You said it! Hey, I’ve been talking to Baldy and he wants to help launch the band, he just needs the when. I’m thinking early next year. Mind cooking up some new songs?”

Castiel considers this, his mind once again reminiscing earlier events. “Yes, yes of course.”

He drives home and soon enough feels the toll of the night’s activities on him. He must still be recuperating if he’s feeling tired now, or maybe old. He reaches his apartment door and the moment he opens it, he is welcomed by the sweet scent of the flowers.

“Thank you.” He whispers.

~Sam~

The Impala feels crowded that night, and no, it’s not because of the food Rob and Gabriel pushed on them, there’s something tense in the atmosphere that’s making it somewhat uncomfortable.

“Dean.” He starts, but trails off, he doesn’t know what to talk about. The plan? The fact that Dean just revealed himself to make out with Castiel? Alastair?

“Nothing’s changed.” Dean’s voice sounds firm, but Sam knows him, there’s an undertone there that he can’t quite place.

“You sure, cause what I saw…” Dean’s cuts him off mid sentence.

“I know the game plan Sam. Protect Cas, we watch out for Alastair, and we kill that son of a bitch, then everything’s back to normal. We live out our eternity in peace.”

“Dean, I don’t think we should use Castiel that way.” Jo says from the back seat, Sam silently thanks her for saying it like that.

“What way?”

“The I’ll-seduce-you-with-my-good-looks way.” Charlie flat out says it and Sam sees Dean’s knuckles go white around the steering wheel.

They arrive at the motel they are currently staying in. Charlie yawns and gives them a pat on the back each before going inside her room.

“Just so you know, the kids want to visit. It’s getting hard to control them with everyone here and all. Wonder if they could drop by?”

“No.” Dean’s voice is firm and cold, Jo looks at Sam.

“Sorry Jo, you know we can’t.” she nods and gives them a kiss on the cheek.

Sam follows Dean into their own room, he watches his brother plop face down on the bed. He wants to talk to him about everything, but it’s clear that Dean is dead set on being a stubborn jerk. He hates the plan of using someone as bait, but they can’t watch over every blue eyed individual in the whole country, and so they needed a beacon to lure Alastair close, and Castiel is the perfect lighthouse. But now…

“Dean…” he tries to open up a conversation again.

“You’re late Sam, You have a world to wake up.” Dean throws him a small clock, and Sam hisses at the time. His eyes glow orange and a bright yellowish light surround him, he disappears after a heartbeat and soon, dawn starts breaking.

Chapter Text

~Castiel~

This is bad.

It’s been a week, going on two, and yet he hasn’t written a single darn thing. He tried everything, including taking a five day vacation off to a private resort but still, zilch. When the middle of the third week starts rolling in, desperation inches its way into him.

The treehouse.

Of course he’d thought about it, but given his last experience in the woods, he’d rather not go near the place yet. And so he goes on another trip, this time choosing one of the family’s summer cabins as his sanctuary; at least that could substitute for the solitude given by the treehouse. Except the only thing he got out of that solitude was questions, a lot of questions.

About his muse, about Dean.

Why is he so drawn to Dean? Sam has the same green eyes, although yes, it has a different shade than Dean’s and…

Shit.

Think about the music, the band…

He tries to think of the things that inspire him to write: music is one. But no matter how long he plays his favourite music, nothing comes. Rain? Well, good luck with that, it hasn’t rained in a week. Family? Uh, yeah, but all his brain could come up are scenes of him, Gabriel, and Balthazar hiding behind open windows and pelting Raphael with eggs. Nope, not the ideal inspiration. He turns to the sky, as if asking the clouds and the sun for help, but sorry, no dice.

He wonders about the masked man, Green Eyes. He hasn’t seen him even in his dreams the past few weeks starting the night at the back alley. He wonders if his muse had left him behind. Maybe he’s angry with him for thinking about Dean. But then, even he still can’t understand why he saw Dean that night. He’s perfectly sure Dean’s human, so why?

Okay, that’s enough.

~Dean~

He hasn’t seen Cas in the last few weeks. Yes, Cas did show up at the Roadhouse several days after masquerade night, but throughout that time he barely spoke to Dean. He’s seen Cas interact with Sam, even accepted Charlie’s challenge and downed several of her Moondor Queen mix (and somehow ended up still standing). But there was none of that for him. Cas was acting cold towards him.

Was it because of the kiss?

Fuck.

“Hey, you okay?” Charlie asks, poking his cheek.

“Peachy.” He replies, resuming to wipe the already shiny table.

“Yes, yes. You’re fine, nothing on your mind, sure. Not even Cas?”

“Cas? When’d you start calling him Cas?”

“It wasn’t me, you did!” Dean looks at his sister, flabbergasted.

“No. I didn’t. What are you?”

“Yes you did Dean. I was there.”

He narrows his eyes, gaze shifting from Sam to Charlie, for sure they’re teaming up against him again.

“And when was that?” Sam rolls his eyes

“That night, you went after him when he said he’ll be going home? The night you-”

“Okay, okay, enough! Geez.” Sam shrugs, going back to mopping the floor.

“You’re quite early today, kids!” Rob calls from the door. They grin at him and he immediately goes behind the bar.

Dean watches as Charlie make way for Rob; maybe there’s a chance Rob knows where Cas is? He’d tested Gabriel the other night but the douche dodged his question about Cas. He just wants to know.

“Hey Rob, you know where Cas might be?”

“Last I heard he’s heading back. His little mountain excursion didn’t work out well so I guess we’ll be seeing more of him soon.” He winks at Dean. Charlie giggles behind him. He lets it slide.

He hears the door bang open open and close, and everyone turns to see Cas marching towards them. They all look at each other, well, everyone except Dean, his eyes are glued on Cas, wondering why there’s a fierce light in his eyes, and his stomach drops.

Well, that’s it. Cas is lost.

“Come with me.”

The words fail to resonate in his head, probably because his attention is on the vise-like grip Cas has around his wrist, and the incessant tugging.

What?

“Dean, I said come with me. Please.” The blue eyes soften and he realizes that it’s not fuelled by anger. Dean nods and they leave the bar, leaving everyone else with their jaw hanging open.

Cas leads him to his car, even opens the door by the passenger seat. Dean complies, and hell, good thing Sam’s not here or else he wouldn’t hear the end of it. They sit in silence as Cas drives, the road is familiar to Dean but he still feigns ignorance as to their destination.

“Cas, where are we going?” knowing all too well they’re headed to Cas’ apartment.

“My place. Sorry, ‘did you say Cas?” the blue eyes man spares him a momentary glance, he looks away.

“Y-yeah, uh. Castiel is a mouthful, but I understand if you-“

“I like it, I like that version. I haven’t heard that name since college. And it quickly disappeared because everyone started calling me Cassie.” He laughs.

“Cassie?”

“That’s what Gabe and Lucifer call me. The fans picked up on it and the rest is history.”

They keep silent for the rest of the drive, and Dean suddenly feels nervous as the electronic voice in the elevator announces the floors. What could Cas possibly want from him that would need them to be in Cas’ apartment.

“We’re here.”

He feels a soft pull on his arm and he realizes that Cas is still holding his wrist.

~Castiel~

“Oh, sorry, I…” he stammers, as he sees Dean’s eye on his hand still wrapped snugly around the other man’s wrist.

“Don’t worry officer, I’m not going to run.” Dean grins, raising his other hand in surrender. He squints at him and tilts his head, not really getting the humor in Dean’s words.

He leads him to his apartment and opens the door for him.

“Please excuse the mess.” He says apologetically, stepping aside to let Dean in.

“I’m sorry to have behaved like that, but I need your help. Please, sit.” He motions to the sofa as he retrieves his notes from his room.

“I was wondering if you could help me complete these. I’m at a total loss as to how to continue them.” He pushes the papers to Dean and grins sheepishly. Dean blinks several times before taking them.

“I’ll leave you to work alone if that’s what you need.”

He scampers away to the kitchen before Dean could say another word.

“Castiel, what’s happening to you? Why are you such a nervous wreck?”

He tries to busy himself in the kitchen, put the coffee machine into work, he raids the kitchen for something to serve his guest, anything other than thinking about Dean Winchester. He ends up piling all sort of stuff on the kitchen counter and staring at them, wondering what to do. He remembers he’s not really a great cook, and had lived on the food from the catering team when they are on tour and the food Gabe brought from the Roadhouse.

Shit.

“Hey Cas, do you have a---- the hell is that?” Dean stares at the small mountain of perishables in front him.

“I was uh—looking for food.”

Dean walks over the counter and begins inspecting the goods, sniffing at the insides of cans and sausages, throwing away inedible stuff Cas didn’t even know were already expired.

“How do you manage to stay alive?” Dean wrinkles his nose and chucks away a tub of badly aged porridge.

“Gabe or Rob brings me food from the Roadhouse. And before that, when Angelus was still touring, we had caterers. And of course school cafeteria and such.” He shrugs, Dean rolls his eyes.

“Okay, before we do serious work, let me show you what real food is like.”

He feels himself being pushed down a chair, after that Dean dons an apron and starts muttering to himself as he sorts the pile. He ends up watching Dean cook, listening as Dean explains the ingredients and what he wants to do with them. It feels like watching a cooking show, and Castiel enjoys watching Dean and hearing his voice. Slowly, words start forming in his head and he tries to remember it all while enjoying the sight of Dean working in his kitchen.

“Well, it’s not much…” Dean slides a plate towards him, he eyes the contents

“I never knew instant ramen, pizza sauce, and a few leftover sausages could make a mean pasta.”

“Whatever did you eat during college?”

“Cafeteria food. But they’re pretty decent you know.” Dean raises his eyebrow at him.

“Not that this, isn’t decent!” Dean cracks up laughing and he smiles.

“Share it with me?”

“Why do you have the same puppy dog eyes as my brother! Fine.” Dean groans dramatically but he goes to fetch his own plate and utensil.

~Dean~

They talk while they eat, Cas tells him about himself and his family, but Dean knows about it. How he was brought to the household after his mother died and was officially adopted as a Shurley, his relationship with his brothers, how Gabriel and Lucifer took turns in “educating” him.

“Pranks?” he raises an eyebrow.

“Yes, Gabe and Lucifer were hell bent on making me go “dark side”. They showed me the perfect hiding spot for ambushing Michael or Raphael, taught me tricks on how to play nice and pin the blame on Raphael. Lucifer taught me how to beat people up by  practicing on dummies he made which suspiciously looked like out dad and Michael.”

Cas laughs and Dean feels drawn more into his laughter than his story.

“But why Collins?” he asks, taking another helping of the pasta. He wishes there’s some pie, but you can’t have all the nice things, right?

“Oh, that’s from my mother’s side. I never really felt like I’m a Shurley. Yes, my brothers, they are good to me but I’m not really their blood you know.”

Dean almost reaches out to grab Cas’ hand but he steels himself.

“Hey, a wise old drunk once told me family don’t end in blood. Besides, it looks like you and that asshat brother of yours are doing well.”

“Asshat?” Cas laughs. Dean opens and closes his mouth, caught at his “term of endearment” for Gabriel.

“And you, you seem to be getting along well with your siblings, even Jo. But why are you separated from each other?”

~Castiel~

He wishes he didn’t ask that as he sees Dean’s face turn dark. He starts to excuse himself but Dean cuts him short, catches his hand. He stays.

“Well, it’s a really long story.” Dean lets out a dry laugh.

“We… We used to have a home, a life, but shit happened and now we’re on the road. Doesn’t matter really. We found a nice isolated place to call home, but then we still have to run the family business. Sam and me usually do the heavy lifting, but right now, I had to change shifts with Jo. But after this assignment, I guess we’ll get back to regular programming.”

“You mean, you’re leaving?” Cas blurts out and instantly regrets it. But Dean, Dean stops, lowers his head as if thinking and…

“CASSIE OPEN THE FUCK UP!”

Gabriel’s voice breaks the mood as they hear the loud pounding on the door. He runs to answer it and give his brother a glare.

“What are we missing out?” Gabriel booms, strutting his way to the living room. Sam and Charlie follows him, with Sam giving Cas a sorrowful look.

“Gabe, why are you here? And what are you doing in my room?”

By this time, Dean is out on the living room as well, watching Gabe as he does a quick inspection of the apartment. Gabriel shrugs, places a paper bag of take out on the counter and sniffs at the pasta Dean made. Castiel is still at a loss, until Charlie whispers that Gabriel insisted on coming crashing over.

“We’ll all work on the songs.” Castiel rolls his eyes.

~Sam~

He understands pretty well why Gabriel went full on protective mode. He’d seen the man throw cautious looks at them, even saw Gabriel’s car following the Impala one time. Dean didn’t bother with it as they easily lost him, but Sam is starting to suspect that Gabriel has picked up something about them. And hopefully things won’t turn ugly.

“Hey man, do you have a second?” he drags Dean away from the group.

“I think we should be careful around Gabriel, he knows something is up.”

“You think I didn’t notice?”

“All I’m saying is that you being close to Cas is complicating things!”

Dean blatantly denies it and Sam sighs in exasperation. He wishes Dean would be more honest.

~Gabriel~

He thanks his lucky stars that they came right on time. So far, nothing untoward happened to Cassie, and he’d like to preserve his brother’s purity, thank you very much. He eyes Dean Winchester, follows his movements, he doesn’t care if it was Cassie who dragged Dean here, everything is Dean’s fault.

He manages to keep everyone in the living room, within his view. He’s not going to leave his brother alone with a bunch of creepy kids with a dubious background. He pretends to be invested in writing new music, but really, he’s studying their movements. He can see Sam watch Dean, see Charlie watch him, this is a tricky game to play and it’s a good thing Cassie is unaware. Ignorance is bliss right?

“Dude, don’t you have Trickster Tuesday today? What’re you still doing here?”

“Trying to get rid of me, Winchester?” Dean raises his hand and shakes his head.

“I called in sick. Pulled some strings and got a few friends to cover up for me.”

Dean nods and goes back to the papers in front of him; is that agitation he saw in his eyes? Gods, he must be turning into a paranoid son of a bitch. He turns to look at Cas and thankfully, he’s working with Charlie. Now, Charlie he likes, she’s a good, decent kid, and makes mean mixes. Sometimes he wonders how she ended up related to a huge as fuck moose and that dirtbag Dean.

“Hey, Baldy is asking us for a band name?”

“Baldy?”

“Balthazar. He’s been pestering me for days. And for the love of me, I can’t think of anything.”

“Do you ever think at all?” Dean jeers.

“More than you, a-hole”

~Castiel~

“Cestrum Nocturnum.” he says, his voice barely a whisper.

“Cas?” Sam asks, looking at him then to Charlie.

“Hey Cas, are you high?” Gabriel laughs dryly.

“Cas? Hey buddy, you with us?”

“Yes.” He replies irritably, but softens as he realizes that it was Dean who threw the question at him.

“You were asking for a band name. There, I give you a band name. Cestrum Nocturnum.” He points at the little pot hanging above him. He managed to save the flower he found at the hospital and whether he realized it or not, the flower managed to grow and live even with minimal care.

“The Lady of the Night. Nice choice.” Charlie grins.

“Sounds like a cult to me. You sure we won’t have people wanting to burn us alive?”

“As long as you keep yourself away from the mic, I think we’re good, Gabe.” He smirks, prompting his older brother to throw crumpled paper at him which he bats away easily.

And what are these?” he asks, inspecting one ball of paper, and he lets out a bark of laughter at the contents.

“What’s your problem, Cassie?!”

“I don’t think we’ll go anywhere with these kind of lyrics, Gabe…”

“That’s what I said!” Sam quips and earns his own ball of paper.

“It’s not that bad!” Gabriel and Charlie yells in unison. He laughs.

“Cas, are you sure you’re okay?”

Castiel stops laughing, he hasn’t noticed that Dean is still beside him, his eyes then shift to the weight on his shoulder and Dean immediately withdraws his hand, hiding it behind his back.

~Dean~

“Hello Dean.”

“Uh, hi. Hey, glad you’re back on earth, spaceman.”

He makes a motion to clap his hand back on Cas’ shoulder but his hand freezes halfway and suddenly drops to his side. Cas looks at him, head tilting sideways and he’s sure those blue eyes are staring at the rapidly spreading blush on his face. He makes random hand movements gesturing to the group behind him, Cas strains his neck to see past Dean, wondering what shenanigans his brother and friends are doing.

“Want to join us? Gabe is a shitty songwriter, Want to try your hand?” He flashes his most charming smile, hoping to distract Cas.

“Sure. I might have something in mind.”

Dean grins and walks back to retrieve a guitar before settling below the window where Castiel sits. They look at each other and Dean nods, his hand deftly working on the strings.

The song finishes and they once again catch each other’s eye, gazes locking longer than anyone in the room expected. Gabriel breaks the spell by throwing pillows at them.

~Gabriel~

He watches his brother play, and beside him, he spies Sam doing the same. They share horrified gazes. His younger brother… Sam’s older brother…

He could almost hear Pumbaa and Timon’s voice sing Can You Feel the Love Tonight in his head. Ugh.

~Charlie~

Of course she’s heard the stories. Jack won’t shut up about them, and Claire keeps on insisting that she has to meet Mr. Blue Eyes. She would’ve chalked it up to pure child inquisitiveness and Jack being a total puppy like Sam, but Dean, Dean is different. She’s known her brother to have watched over mortals who interested him: out of curiosity, spite, and even lust. But this one, she’d never seen Dean look at a mortal like that.

Dreamy.

Is the only word she could come up with. She decides to scoot away from the pair when they started playing, They won’t be needing her there. She makes her way to Sam and Gabe who have this look of utter devastation on their faces, making her giggle.

“I see nothing funny.” Gabe snaps at her, she shrugs.

“I think we’re going to make an awesome band.” She claps her hands behind them and the two winces in pain.

For the rest of the night, she takes it upon herself to police both Sam and Gabriel. She knows they mean well, but they’re acting like total idiots trying to pry apart Dean and Cas who are busy either writing or humming in their own little world at the corner of the living room.

“Hey, let’s have a pizza run?” She nudges Gabe.

Gabriel shoots a worried glance at his brother, but she assures them that Sam will be there, keeping an eye on them, and Sam nods solemnly. She guides Gabriel out of the apartment and down the hall.

“You seem pretty protective of your brother.” She begins as the elevator door closes.

“Me? Nah. Whatever gave you that idea?” she chuckles.

“You remind me a lot of my brothers. Sam and Dean, they are very strict with us, especially the girls, but I’m sure you pretty much know about that side of Sam, saw you guys pretty horrified at Dean and Cas.”

“What I’m trying to get to here is that, whatever they might be having, it may be a one time thing or not, let me assure you that Dean will take care of Cas.”

The two of them step out into the lobby with her still waiting a response from Gabriel.

“Still not going to stop me from murdering his ass if he tries to hurt Cassie.”

~Castiel~

He can’t believe they wasted hours on messing around. True, he and Dean managed to make a couple of songs, but he wants more, he thinks they could make more. The men ended up in the living room as he insisted that Charlie sleep in his room. Gabriel asserts seniority and took over the couch, leaving the three of them on the floor. Sam is wedged between him and Dean, sleeping incredibly; still, he’s thinking the big guy is just pretending to sleep.

“Dean. Dean.” His voice turns out as a hoarse whisper.

“Cas? Man, you still awake?”

The two of them roll to their side, Dean rests his arms over Sam’s chest and surprisingly, the moose remains asleep.

“Yes. I need to get out of here. I have some thoughts about a couple more songs.” He sees Dean’s eye glitter in the dark.

“I’m listening. Do we go to the kitchen?”

“No, no. I know a place. Let’s go.”

He scrambles to his feet and as silent as he could, grabs a few necessities before rushing to the door. He is surprised when Dean follows him, he never even heard him rise.

“Where are we going?”

“Follow me.”

They take Dean’s car and by Cas’ directions, they go straight to the woods and the treehouse.

~Dean~

He remembers this place, remembers it all too well, and he’s surprised Cas came back here after that night. He watches as Cas sits on the wooden floor of the treehouse. Cas placing his bag over his crossed legs as a makeshift table, he takes out his pad and with the pen in his hand, starts furiously writing across paper. He moves behind him, leans close enough to read the words over Cas’ shoulder, he starts humming as Cas writes, and soon, his hand moves to cover Cas’ hand, moving it gently to write the words in his mind.

He continues humming as he lets Cas take over writing the lyrics, Cas leans against him, and he could easily fit his chin in the crook of his neck. No one’s talking, just the sound of wordless humming and the pen tip against paper, and he thinks it’s perfect. They stay like this until Cas writes the last line.

“There.” Cas says triumphantly, head turning slightly towards his.

And everything is a blur of colors and feelings. Cas pulls him close for a kiss and he almost mewling in surprise. Cas turns around to face him, firm hands clutching at his shirt to him as Cas positions him on his lap. There is no gentleness in Cas’ actions, only urgency as hands struggle to rid him of his jacket. He shrugs them off and Cas worries at his shirt, undoing the buttons on his flannel and exposing the skin beneath, losing no time in tasting it.

~Castiel~

He doesn’t want to think right now, all that matters to him is Dean. Feeling Dean’s breath against his ear, the rise and fall of his chest as he breathes, the warm hand on his. It’s all too much, it’s maddening, but it gets the words flowing. He leans against Dean’s chest, eager to feel more, and the words doesn’t stop.

And when the words run out, when he finally realizes that they’ve accomplished their task, he heaves a deep breath.

They have worked hard, now comes the reward.

He doesn’t think, he just turns around and when he sees Dean’s face that close, he loses it. He gives in.

He rarely remembers anything, just the pressure of his lips against Dean’s teeth and tongue coaxing until the other gives in. But it’s not enough. He finds the layers of Dean’s clothes irritating and he starts pushing them off him, eager to get down to his core. And when he finally pushes open Dean’s shirt and his lips touch the skin of his exposed chest, he feels bliss.

Hearing Dean pant and thrust his hips against him is maddening, but he wants to take his time. And he wants Dean to know it.  His teeth toy with a nipple at a leisurely pace, giving alternating bites and licks as his hand worries the other bud with his fingers, flicking it in time with his tongue, matching each bite with a deft press or a pinch. Soon enough Dean is a mewling mess. His other hand finds its way to the denim covered bulge in Dean’s pants and he squeezes it.

“Not fair.” Dean huffs and he feels himself falling, sees Dean on top of him, pupils dilated, brow covered in sweat. It’s a beautiful vision, but it doesn’t last long. Dean swoops down for a kiss, deep, needy, and demanding. He lets Dean explore his mouth as he laces a hand through sandy blonde hair, his other hand roaming Dean’s back, tracing nonsensical patterns over and over.

“Cas. Cas.” His name sounds like a prayer in his ears and Dean emphasizes it by thrusting against his groin, each contact making him painfully hard.

“Cas...”  he cups Dean’s cheek and forces him to meet his eyes.

The world stops.

Chapter Text

~Castiel~

His mind can barely register the heat, or the stickiness of his sweat coated skin. He’s just had the most peaceful sleep ever and he doesn’t want to come out of that bubble yet.

“Why are they embracing?” the voices drill into his consciousness, pulling him awake.

“Claire, I don’t think we should disturb them.”

He hears tapping against wood, small rapid noises circling around him. He tries to ignore it and go back to sleep. He tries to focus on Dean’s breathing, he presses his head against Dean’s chest, wanting to hear his heartbeat.

“Look, the short one’s awake!”

“Hey, hey, mister. Are you awake?”

He feels his shirt being yanked, and he groans, snuggling closer to Dean who tightens his hold around him. But to his surprise, he feels his eyelid being pulled up and he immediately jumps, effectively waking Dean up.

“He has blue eyes!”

He rubs his eyes and takes a moment before he sees a little blonde girl in front of her, grinning wildly.

“Cas, what’s the… Son of a---“

“Hello!”

Cas notices the little boy who is standing a few feet from them. Two kids? Beside him, Dean curses under his breath as he gathers  his jacket.

“Jack! Claire! What are you two doing here?!” Dean roars, rapidly buttoning up his shirt.

“We came here for trick or treat! But Charlie and Sam are worried about you because you disappeared last night.” The girl, Claire explains, plopping down in front of Cas, sizing him up.

“I do love his eyes. They’re beautiful! Is that why you like him, Dean?”

“Shut up.” Dean ruffles her hair and stand ups. He helps Cas up to his feet.

Thank heavens nothing happened last night, or rather, something nearly happened but.. oh well. Cas straightened his clothes, he realized he’s still wearing his shirt and jacket on while Dean is almost shirtless. He grins.

“What?” Dean asks grumpily.

“Nothing.” He smiles.

“Hello. I’m Jack Winchester.” The boy is tugging at his pants leg and Cas kneels down to shake his hand. The boy looks around eight or nine years old. He looks at Dean.

“Are they your niece and nephew?”

Dean groans as he picks up Claire in his arms.

“Brother and sister. They’re the youngest.” He blinks, trying to process the information.

“I’m sorry. But how old are you, Dean?”

“I’m thirty five, Sam’s thirty one, Charlie’s twenty six, Jo’s twenty one…” Dean stops for a while. Claire and Jack look at him expectantly.

“Long story. We have a weird family.”

“Charlie and Sam are looking for you. They’re quite worried.”

Oh shit.

~Dean~

He looks at the rearview mirror from time to time, Cas insisted on riding at the backseat together with the little ones. Jack and Claire are smitten by him and act like puppies prancing around the man. Dean smiles.

Sometimes Cas catches him and smiles back, he immediately focuses on the road.

He tries to forget about what happened last night, or rather what didn’t happen. All that matters is Cas is still here with him, and nothing’s changed between them.

They drop by Gabriel’s house and they call Sam. In an hour, they have their brothers screaming at them, reprimanding them for what they did, while Charlie took the kids for breakfast. He and Cas just grin, dismissing every word. It ends when Cas procures the new songs and they make a run for it before Gabriel and Sam could say more. They end up in Gabriel’s yard, laughing.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

Dean considers bringing up what happened last night, but prefers not to, he just flashes a grin at Cas and they both head back into the house.

~Charlie~

“Why are you two here?” she asks the children as they finish their plate of waffles.

“Jack said Alastair’s here.”

Charlie tenses. Alastair? But they haven’t heard anything for weeks. Sam’s been scouring police scanners and internet posts but so far there are no signs.

“Why’d you say that Alastair’s here?” Jack shudders.

“Sometimes I hear him whistling, and it grows fainter and fainter.”

‘Calm down Charlie, don’t panic.’

“Are you sure about this?”

“Jack’s telling the truth!” Claire glares at her.

“I’m not saying he’s not…”

“He’s there. Near the treehouse.” Jack continues, his voice starting to shake.

“When we came, Claire and I… I… we…”

“We felt his presence, it’s not much but he’s there.”

She could feel the blood in her veins turn ice cold.

She wanted to drive the twins straight to the bunker but Jack insists on seeing Castiel before leaving. She gives Dean and Sam quick updates when they arrive but she leaves the part about Alastair. She just mentions the two of them being bored, and that they need to discuss something in the bunker.

“Hey.” She approaches Gabriel, not sure if she’s doing the right thing.

“I think it’s better if we all head back. Will you be staying around?”

“Not sure. I rarely live here and Cas would want to get back to his apartment, so probably, no.” she heaves a sigh of relief.

“Good. That’s good. Are we meeting at the Roadhouse tonight? You know, practice some of the new songs?” she grins nervously. Gabriel considers it.

“Nah. You guys spend some time with the little ones. We’ll just re schedule.”

“Y-yeah? Sure. You guys take care, okay!”

She wants to warn them about Alastair, even drag them to the bunker if necessary, but that kind of persuasion rarely works. She can’t offer a logical explanation, and besides they’re not yet sure about Alastair being there. Hopefully, Jack was wrong.

~Sam~

They place Jack and Claire in a room at the bunker then head to the war room for a meeting. He listens as Charlie divulges what she learned from Jack that day.

“Dean, did you feel any of Alastair’s energy around the treehouse?” Dean gives a negative answer.

“So, does that mean we’re clear?”

Sam chews on his inner lip, trying to think of something. He’s not going to discount Jack’s claim: he knows what Jack is capable of, but he can’t ignore Dean’s account either. He tries to determine if Alastair was there or not. It didn’t help that Alastair’s warded, they need more proof.

“But in the meantime, let’s watch over Cas and Gabe.”

It should have been the end of the meeting, but they heard a loud scream from down the hall.

“Jack!”

~Castiel~

He lets the water run for several seconds before going under the shower, enjoying the soothing heat of the droplets on his skin. He tries to steer his mind away from what happened the night before. It was almost like a dream, feeling Dean’s weight heavy on top of him, the kisses, caresses…

But then he looks at his eyes and stop.

Because he sees Dean’s eyes and wonders…

That feeling in him, that lust, love, whatever, that is riling him up and messing with his mind, is it about Dean? Or about the man in his dreams?

He stopped then, apologized to Dean and walked out. The night is chilly but it wasn’t enough to quench the fire in him. He stood leaning against the tree, the knot in his lower region, starting to throb painfully.

Dean.

He wants to know if he’s just using Dean as a scapegoat to get something he knew he couldn’t have. He doesn’t want to hurt Dean’s feelings. He doesn’t want to use him.

But what does he really feel about Dean?

He shudders even under the hot water. He remembers how he thought about Dean last night. That even when he’d stepped away from Dean and the treehouse, his thoughts were still with Dean, with what they were doing. He remembers touching himself. He remembers thrusting against his own hand, imagining what it would feel like to have Dean’s mouth around his aching member, or maybe how he would feel sheathed deep inside Dean. Dean’s moans were still fresh in his mind, he remembers how Dean called out to pray, almost prayed. He wondered how it would feel to have Dean inside him, with him writhing beneath strong arms, thrusting wantonly against Dean. His hand gave him a little bit of comfort but it was enough, he soon reached his climax.

Shit.

He inches away from the water, afraid to be stimulated again. He has to think about a lot of things. He slips on a fresh pair of clothes and relaxes by the bed. He remembers coming back to the treehouse, ashamed at what he’d just done. He remembers Dean sitting there, looking dejected. He remembers sitting close to him, whispering words he cannot remember now. But he remembers that they kissed again, and they held each other as they slept.

Shit.

He has to stop. This is not healthy. He has to be clear about his feelings towards Dean Winchester. He gathers up the clothes from last night and something falls from the pocket of his sweater.

A white flower. The bud is closed as it’s day, but Cas knows what this is. He knows fully well that tonight this flower will bloom.

He remembers his muse.

He remembers Dean.

He feels guilty.

“Gabe?” he calls out as he runs down the stairs.

“Gabe?”

He peers into the kitchen and he stops in his tracks.

“Hello there Blue Eyes. Miss me?”

He sees Gabriel slumped on the kitchen counter, blood pooling around him, and there, beside the seemingly lifeless body of his brother, is the man he never thought he’d see again.

The man starts to whistle as he walks towards him, a shiny, albeit blood stained scalpel in his hand.

~Dean~

They all run to Jack and Claire’s room and found Claire trying to pacify her twin brother.

“Jack! Jack, it’s me!” he says.

“Castiel. He’s got Castiel.”

He knows what Jack is talking about but he asks again, a part of him wanting to be sure, while another part wanting this to be nothing but a bad dream.

“Alastair? Where?”

“The house. The house we went to. He’s there, he’s hurt the other man, and he’s planning to hurt Castiel.” Tears are streaming down the boy’s eyes and even Claire looks pale. He instructs Charlie to stay with the kids.

“Dean, I’m coming with you.” Sam calls to him.

Dean nods and he closes his eyes, when he opens them the green has turned silver and he disappears. Sam does the same, his eyes turning orange before he follows his brother.

In a flash they arrive back at Gabriel’s house, and it reeks of blood. He nods at Sam to head up while he searches the other parts of the house, silver blades at the ready. He walks into the kitchen and sees Gabriel, for a moment, he fears Gabriel’s gone but he could still feel life in him, faint. He gently touches the unconscious man and lets some of his power flow into him. It’s not enough for a full recovery, but at least Gabe’s out of danger now. But Cas?

“Not here.”

~Castiel~

He remembers now, everything that happened that night.

The man caught him off guard, delivered a nasty punch that sent him reeling then falling face flat on the ground. That was when he thought he’s going to die.

“You think you can run away from me, mortal?” he felt a clammy hand around his neck as he was roughly dragged up to his feet.

“You dare cross me?”

He couldn’t breathe, tears were starting to brim in his eyes, but he could still see the whitish glint in the man’s eyes. And the elongated pupils that so much reminded him of a serpent’s.

“I’d be happy to carve you up if that’s what you want.”

He felt every molecule of air leave his body, feel himself slipping, into death? Unconsciousness? Anything, as long as he wouldn’t see the man.

“But I’ll play with you for a while. You made me lost my meal. Twice.”

He was flung to a nearby tree, his back hitting the hardened bark and sending even more pain through his mind. He struggled to keep on his feet. His mind screamed for him to run, but his feet wouldn’t budge. He heard soft footfalls on the grass, heard the whistling again.

“I like your eyes. They’re a pretty shade of blue.”

Once again the hand clamped around his neck. He thrashed and kicked, but his strength was not enough. His eyes followed the glint of the scalpel looming dangerously close.

That was it, he was done for.

The first slice was unbearable. The slow drag of the pointed tip against his skin sent currents of pain throughout his body. He felt the skin break, the blood flow. The cut was shallow, but as it went down across his face it deepened.

He thought how it would leave a scar and that he’d have to live with it for the rest of his life.

Hahahaha, as if he could live through this night.

His attacker finished, admired this work, and he squirmed against the hold, trying to win an obviously lost battle. He closed his eyes and prepared for death.

But Death didn’t come, instead there was light.

That part was still hazy, but he felt safe with that light, he heard scuffle, yells, and soon it was dark again. And a hand was on his face. He turned his face away.

“I’m not going to hurt you.” As he remembered it now, the voice sounded familiar.

Dean.

He tried to fight back, but strong arms held him, he felt himself on his feet, being supported by the newcomer.

“The children.. T-here are-”

“Shhh... they’re fine.”

“N-no. I have- I-h...”

“Awake?”

The sneer in the other man’s voice is distinguishable. He opens his eyes and realizes that he can’t move. Tied to something. A table? A plank? He can’t move due to the restraints.

“You took something from me, little one. You’re not supposed to sink your teeth into someone else’s food.”

 “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, you might not. But it doesn’t matter. He’s mine... They’re all mine.”

He remembers, the children... and...

“I smell him on you, I know what the two of you did last night up in that little treehouse...” the silver scalpel flits across his bare chest.

“You’re taking what’s not your little boy.”

‘Dean?’

“And you will have to pay for it.”

The tip plunges into his skin and he screams.

~Dean~

“What do you mean Cas is not here?” he glares at his brother.

“He’s nowhere around the house. Alastair.”

He tries not to think of the worst, and instead focuses on how they could find Cas. Alastair is warded, Cas could be anywhere.

“Sam, take care of Gabriel for a while. He needs urgent medical assistance.”

“But you-“

“Just go!”

~Castiel~

Everything hurts. Every single part of his body is tingling with the same amount of pain: intolerable.

Well, at least his face is still intact, but he knows it won’t be long until the monster finally takes out what he needs.

His eyes.

He’s stopped screaming a while back, nothing will come, this time, he’ll surely to die.

He hears the whistling all throughout the time the monster is cutting him, it angers him, yet he can’t do anything about it. And now, as he waits for the final blow, he just wishes for death to come.

‘Cas?’

‘Cas?’

He doesn’t want to open his eyes, he just wants to die and end everything. But the voice is persistent, calling him over and over.

‘Cas, wake up.’

Giving up, he finally opens his eyes, and to his surprise finds himself back at the river bank, and Dean is in front of him, looking worried.

“Dean?” He tries to move, but his wounds won’t permit him. Dean cradles his head in his arms.

‘Cas, listen to me. I need to find you. Do you know where you are?’

“I don’t know. Dean, I-“

‘Cas, wait for me.. Can you hold on a little longer?’

He smiles, nods. But they both know it’s a lie.

‘I’ll find you okay?’

He nods, Dean smiles and kisses him.

Dean gently lowers him on the grass, and he can smell the flowers around him.

‘Not bad’ he thinks.

It’s not bad to die like this.

~Sam~

He flips over the newspaper and turns to look at the other side.  This has been the new habit for him of late, sitting aimlessly at the hospital and watching Cas. It’s the third day and he’s yet to wake up, but everything seem to be well with him. Jack and Claire are in the room as well, they are currently reading some books, sitting at the foot of Cas’ bed.

“Knock knock.”

Sam looks up and sees Gabriel at the door, the older man thanks the nurse and proceeds to wheel himself into the room. Gabriel goes to the children and hands them candies, telling them not to tell the nurses about it. Sam shakes his head, wondering how Gabriel was able to smuggle all the candies he’s been doling out.

“You sure you haven’t anything better to do than this?” Sam blinks at him.

“Huh?”

“Nah, it’s not like I’m trying to get rid of you, but I think you’ve done enough for us.” Sam relaxes. For the past few days, he’s received cold treatment from the rest of Castiel’s family, even threats from Lucifer.

“It’s okay. Cas is our friend too. Besides, Dean would want it like this.”

“Speaking of Dean, I haven’t seen him since... Are you sure he’s fine?” Sam is taken aback by the concern in Gabe’s voice.

“Yes. He’s just resting, but yes.” He smiles, Claire and Jack look at him.

“Good. But it sucks that we won’t be playing anytime soon. You kids kinda grew on me.”

~Castiel~

He wakes up on the same grassy field, it’s night time, and his wounds have healed. He still feels weak though, and he staggers to get up. His hands brush against the flowers, now brown and wilting around him.

Dean?

Dean is nowhere.

“Dean!”

 He calls and calls but still, he can’t find Dean. He tries to look around, walk around, but to no avail.

Not until he looks at the other side of the river.

“Dean!”

Dean is on the grass, asleep, or unconscious, he doesn’t know. He looks around for a way to reach him but finds none. He looks at the water, but he knows he can’t wade through it.

“Dean!” he continues shouting. He considers throwing rocks, but he doesn’t want to hit Dean and hurt him. So he calls out.

“Cas.” A hand rests on his shoulder and he turns around.

“Charlie?”

She smiles at him, she has the same glow as Dean, but he notices that there are no flowers on her feet.

“Yeah, right, only Dean can do those.” She grins, noticing him looking at the flowers.

“Dean. I need, we need to get to him.”

“Don’t worry, Jo will take care of him. We’ll bring him back, he needs to rest.” As if on cue, Jo appears beside Dean and kneels beside him.

“What happened?” Charlie’s smile falls.

“You have to go back, Cas, Gabe is waiting, everyone is waiting.”

“But Dean.”

“Dean will also be waiting for you.”

Charlie covers his eyes with the palm of her hand and when he opens his eyes, he sees a white ceiling.

“Cas?” a small girlish voice.

Cas tries to speak, but feels his throat dry.

“Sam, Cas is awake!”

Cas suffers having nurses and doctors around him, poking him with instruments, checking his vitals, everything. He waits until they are gone before he can relax.

“Hello.” He smiles at Jack and Claire.

The children immediately climb up his bed and sit on either side of him, he smiles at them.

“Thank gods the mooks are gone!” Gabriel announces in a loud voice as he comes rolling into the room.

He watches as his brother tosses candies at the children, and a bag of burger at him. Cas tilts his head.

“Stop your puppy trick. I had Rob sneak in a few favors.”

“Just don’t tell the nurses!” the children quips. Gabriel praises them.

“What happened to you?“ Castiel looks at his brother and the wheelchair, hoping it’s only temporary.

“Oh this, It’s nothing.” Gabriel says, standing up on his own and prancing around.

“My nurse happens to be a very beautiful girl so I keep up this jig.” Castiel can’t believe his ears.

Gabriel sits back in the wheelchair, obviously tired by the sudden activity. As Castiel suspected, his brother’s still healing. But he looks well on his way back, and that’s good.

“How did you?” he starts to say.

“I don’t know man, I only know I was done for. Hell, I was fucking sure I was a goner but then, there’s something...” he watches Gabriel approach the bedside table and the vase there, it’s only now that Castiel recognizes the white flowers.

“I smelled this. And the next thing I know, Raphael is looking at me with murder in his eyes while holding a defibrillator.” He laughs.

‘Dean.’

“They turn out to be the good guys.” Gabriel smiles.

 “How long have you been here?” he asks the children.

“Since you came here.” Jack smiles.

“These kiddos never left your side.”

“It’s the only thing we could do. We haven’t even thanked you for saving us.”

“Oh, so they’re?” Gabriel looks at the children then to Cas who nods.

“So that’s why they look familiar!”

“Jack, Claire, it’s time to go.” Sam announces from the door, earning  groans from the children, even Gabe.

“Sam…”

~Sam~

“How is Dean?” He knows that question will come, and as much as he hates it, he knows he has to lie.

“Doing good. He’s bitching around back at home, it’s loud, but it’s good.”

Castiel nods, a small smile forming around his lips.

‘Damn you, Dean.’

He drives the Impala back to the bunker, Jack and Claire are silent throughout the ride, but as soon as they’re home, the questions started coming.

“Why’d we have to lie to Cas? Dean isn’t doing very well!” Jack exclaims, perplexed at the lies.

“Dean doesn’t want Cas to worry about him. Cas needs to heal, he’s not like us.” Claire explains, Sam throws her a grateful look.

“But Dean… The eclipse…”

Ah yes, the eclipse. Sam doesn’t want to worry his siblings more, but they know what is to come.

“Dean will figure something out.”

That night, when Charlie came to relieve him and watch after the children, Sam takes time to visit his brother. It’s been hundreds of years since he’s been to the mountain, but now he returns. He walks inside the cave to the slab of stone where Dean lays sleeping. Jo is watching him with a solemn expression.

“Sam I don’t like this. He’s not recovering fast enough.”

He looks over his brother. The amount of energy Dean spent that day was insane. He had lent his energy to Gabriel and that would have been fine, but to heal Cas and all of his wounds, albeit not completely, surely did a number on his brother. Dean’s lucky enough to have made his way back to the bunker before passing out.

“We can’t do anything about it, it’s his choice.”

He relieves Jo, watches as his sister flies up to the sky and soon the moon rises. He turns to watch his brother.

“What kind of deal did you make with Alastair?” He knows Alastair, knows that Dean wouldn’t have made it out alive unless there’s something, and he needs to find out what.

~Castiel~

He thanks the nurse after taking his vitals. He’s informed that he’s doing good and Raphael needs him checked in for observation for another two, or three days. He nods and doesn’t complain. He feels fine but his strength isn’t completely back yet. As the night deepens, the scent of the flower starts filling the room, making him relax.

‘Dean.’ He whispers the name, hoping the other man could hear him.

He wants to see him badly, talk to him, ask him questions. Thank him for saving his life twice. But he’s not here. He wonders if something’s wrong. Sam and Charlie both insist that everything’s fine, but the look in Claire and Jack’s eyes tell him otherwise. But he can’t do anything right now but hope that Dean is doing well. He reaches for the book Jack and Claire had left him today, it looks old and the bindings have loosened. He randomly flips the pages and stops at a page that contains a perfectly drawn face of Dean. There’s a label written below it, but the first part had been scratched out and the word “Dean” scrawled beneath it. The next read: “Moon God.” His heartbeat quickens and he leafs throughout the book. He notices that the names have all been scratched out and replaced by the names Sam, Dean, Charlie, Jo, Jack, Claire. Castiel’s curiosity reaches its peak and he starts at the beginning.

Chapter Text

The world, when it was young, used to have seven beautiful moons adorning the night sky. The oldest, and said to have been most beautiful and powerful is Dean. The second oldest and the oldest among girls is Charlie, bringer of pleasant dreams. Next is another girl, Jo: huntress and goddess that controls the tide; seafarers look to her for aid in the waters as she can intercede with the Sea God and control the tides. Then there is Kevin; he reigns over arcane knowledge and learning. The youngest among the boys is Adam, said to reign control over the dark side of the moon.The youngest are twins: Jack and Claire, Jack is said to be loved for his innocence, but his powers are on par of those of Dean’s, and he is likely to aid his brother in his duties. Claire on the other hand is the most beautiful among the ladies and yet as fierce as Jo. The two of them represent youth and hope.

They are all children of the Creator, and they have another brother, the God of Sam, deity of the Sun. The siblings work together to give light, warmth, and comfort over the Earth. They are said to reside in a mountain on a deserted island. Every morning, Sam would go out and lay his cape all over the world for light. He would then sit on a golden throne and watch the world. He would sometimes come down and interact with mortals, and at the end of the day he rolls his cape back up and goes back inside the mountain.

Once done with his work, the seven moons would take his place, each one standing side by side each other, listening and watching the humans. Dean lays his cape around the world, his is made of dark velvet in contrast to Sam’s glowing one. Each of them carries baskets filled with glowing butterflies which they release, these butterflies rests on the cape and are seen as stars. There are times when they go down and dance with other creatures, or visit the festivals the mortals have dedicated to them. They bless the villages whose song and dance pleases them the most.

But then the serpent came.

It was one summer night, as the siblings were dancing in the forest, and the oldest, Dean was playing an instrument while singing and the others are dancing around him. Celestial beings come around to watch them, captivated by their beauty. Suitors lined up for them, but no one managed to sway them despite lavish gifts and promises. That’s when the great sea serpent decided to take things into his own hands. He had courted Dean, and was spurned. He did not stop though, he pursued the god every night, offering riches and even mortal souls, but Dean was horrified by this and refused him.

That’s when the Serpent started killing the moons.

He rises from the depths of the water, and shoots up to the sky to catch one in his mouth. The first casualty was Kevin, when he shielded Jack and Claire from the attack.

Dean had gone to their father for help, but even after summons, the serpent didn’t present himself at court, and the envoys they sent did not return.

And so the atrocity continued.

Next was Adam. Everyone was caught by surprise because they had known the serpent to be in hiding, but apparently it was just biding its time.

Mourning the loss of their second brother, Dean decided to keep his other siblings safe. The other moons disappeared from the sky, it was said they went into hiding as well, and no matter how the mortals prayed, they never returned. But there was always the one moon that remained, watching, waiting. And Dean never showed his face again, crafting a mask to wear for every time he sets foot on earth. A part of him cursing his features for bringing about this tragedy and mourning the loss of his brothers. But the serpent still came after him. And Dean is ready. Every time the serpent rises from the water, he fights. The people valued this the most, so much that every time the serpent comes after it they would go out with their pots and pans and make a racket so loud the serpent would back away, and the moon is kept safe.

But then the new gods arrived and the gods from the old days are forgotten. Now, no one ever knows the story of the siblings yet they are still there: Sam and Dean are still go out day after day for their duties.

But the threat of the serpent remains, and they play a rough game of chase even to this day.

Chapter Text

~Castiel~

He closes the book; everything is clear to him now. His muse, Dean, they’re the same. His heart flutters and he feels even more excited to see Dean. He turns to the flower on his bedside and then to the moon above. Given the circumstances, he’s willing to bet that it’s Jo up there.

At least now he doesn’t have to choose, it was the same person all along.

He isn’t able to avoid the media when he steps out of the hospital, and he does his best to give them polite answers before the combined forces of Michael and Lucifer shoos them away.

“You’re a lucky bastard Cassie.” Lucifer says as they enter the van.

“The police are doing their best to find the man now that we have a composite sketch. Lucifer had volunteered some of his men to watch over you.”

“That won’t be necessary Michael. I’ll be okay.” The eldest frowns, Lucifer scowls.

“This is the second time!” Lucifer exclaims, looking at his brother for support.

“At least give it a month of surveillance? Please?”

Castiel agrees reluctantly, he doesn’t want to inconvenience anyone, but he’s sure Michael and Lucifer won’t stop, and him refusing certainly wouldn’t deter Lucifer from sending his men.

He spends his time at the Roadhouse now. Charlie still drops by almost every day, even helps Rob at the bar. Sam drops by less frequently and Charlie says he’s looking after Dean, thus the absence. Jack and Claire often visits him, but he had to point out to them that appearing in his room in the middle of the night and standing at the foot of his bed watching him sleep is pretty creepy.

“Charlie, any news about Dean?”

“Hm? He’s doing well. He’s a bit slow in the healing process but he’s going somewhere.”

“I—Jack gave me a book about you, the story of your family. The man, Alastair, he’s been after Dean this whole time?”

“Yes. And I’m really sorry you got caught up in our mess. We really didn’t understand why he came after you.”

“Well, I did hide the twins from him, and he’s somewhat fixated on my eyes…” he shudders at the thought.

“And…” he stops.

“I’m really sorry. Dean, he… he wanted to keep you out of this, to protect you. We knew Alastair was going after you that’s why we came to audition, that way we’ll be able to protect you. Guess it didn’t turn out well.”

“I’m still alive.” He smiles.

“Hey, why the long faces?!” Rob booms.

“Charlie, you better mix us some of your precious Moondoor drinks to turn that frown upside down!”

~Gabriel~

He’s glad that Cassie’s back to his normal self, but he’s sure that something’s still missing.

Or probably someone.

“Yo, Sasquatch.” He waves at Sam.

“You sure Dean-o’s okay?” he reads the surprise in Sam’s face.

“Oh, come on. I don’t know how but I know your bro’s got something to do with me still ticking. So yeah, I’m pretty concerned about that smug a-hole.” Sam smiles.

“He’s well. He’s still asleep but that’s good for him. He’ll be perfectly healthy when he wakes up.”

“Good. I hope he pays us a visit when he does. Cassie’s a bit sad.”

“Yes. I’m sure Dean misses him too. He’ll be back.”

“And…” Sam waits for Gabriel to continue.

“I know it’s not my business, but, are you guys staying around?”

“I kinda, well… I asked my brother to look you guys up. I smelled something fishy when you three came, it turns out it’s just from that time Dean brought Cas to my house. I know you’re the good guys, and I know you’ve been pretty much on the road most of the time, but…”

“We do have a place to stay, in Kansas…”

“The dump? Oh, er…” he looks at Sam and grins sheepishly.

“Sorry. But y’know, in case you guys want to settle kind of permanently. My old man has some properties, around, and I think I can cover up the cost if you want a house around here so…”

“We’ll live here? Near you!?!?!” Gabriel jumps at the sudden intrusion, Jack is looking at him with sparkling eyes. Claire is grinning.

“Well’ yah…” he shrugs.

“That’s a nice idea. We’ll give it a thought.”

~Castiel~

Halloween night rolls in and he prepares the children to go trick or treating. Charlie will be going with him, and he feels underdressed beside Tauriel, and a pair of little hobbits. They go around the neighbourhood, and upon Jack’s insistence extend their perimeter a few blocks. The kids end up sleeping inside his car and Charlie happily munching on some candies. He has quite a loot for himself, as people recognize him and forces all sort of treats.

“Charlie…” Jack grumbles in the back seat.

“Charlie, the eclipse… Dean…”

“Shhhh…” Charlie says, shaking the young one awake.

Eclipse? Dean?

He tries to pry the answer from Charlie but she gives him vague responses. The matter stays with him even after he drops Charlie and the kids at the Roadhouse. He’s still thinking about it even when he comes home.

And when he does, the first thing that hit him is the smell, like flowers in full bloom. And as far as he knows, he only has one.

Dean?

“Hey.”

That voice in unmistakeable. And he sees Dean standing in his room, well, rather his muse, the masked man. Green Eyes.

“Dean?”

The mask comes off and Dean grins at him. He almost jumps at him and he feels Dean almost crumple at his weight when they hug. He releases his hold and looks at Dean.

“You’re back.”

“Better than ever.”

“You owe me.” Castiel glares at him, Dean steps back.

“What?”

“All this time, it was you and you never told me!”

“How would you react if I tell you ‘hey, I’m the guy stalking your dreams’ when we first met?” They laugh.

They spend their time talking, they don’t talk about Alastair, instead Castiel asks him about his experiences as a deity. Dean tells him everything, even shows him glimpses of his favourite events. And like the night at the treehouse, they end up cuddling in Cas’ bed.

“Cas.”

“Hm?”

“I just… nothing.”

“You’re not going to disappear after this are you?”

But Dean does. Cas wakes up by himself, and before he could panic, he notices the smell of bacon coming from the kitchen.

“Morning sunshine.” Dean announces, emptying a carton of juice in a pitcher.

“Breakfast? Where’s the coffee?” Dean laughs and runs to the coffee maker.

“Here you go, your highness.”

They spend the day together, dropping by Gabriel’s place then to the Roadhouse. A surprised Sam and Charlie greet them.

“Ready to rock tonight?”

~Dean~

He winces as Sam drags him away from the group. Charlie had distracted Cas so Sam could get to him, he glares at his brother who effectively returns the gesture.

“What gives?” Sam barks.

“What?”

“What are you playing at? The eclipse is tonight! Alastair…”

“Alastair won’t do jack shit. I’ve got this.”

“No Dean. You’re hiding something.”

“None of your business.”

“Dean, you’re not planning on taking on Alastair in your state! You’re not yet fully healed!”

“I said I got this. You go take care of our brothers and sister.”

“Dean! I don’t like the sound of this.”

“Just do as I say!”

~Castiel~

He’s never felt so happy to be on stage as he is right now. He’s played in arenas and yet he’s found utter happiness in the small stage of the Roadhouse. He watches as the band prepares, Charlie twirling the drumsticks in her hand, Sam mentally going over the chords, Gabe tapping his feet, and Dean with his eyes closed and mouth moving in silence.

The house is full tonight and everyone is very enthusiastic to have them back. This time there are no disguises, they step up the stage as themselves.

“Hey, wait…” Dean stops him

“Wear this.” He drapes his trench coat over his shoulders. He tilts his head at Dean.

“I… I think you look devastatingly handsome in this.”

Castiel smiles and slips on the coat. Before they go out, he pulls Dean into a kiss.

Charlie starts, then the three men join her, soon, Dean adds his voice.

~Dean~

Yes, this feels good. Singing something he had created with Cas is the best. His heart soars at every note, and he gives it his everything. He still feels the effect of giving away too much energy but if he’s basking under the cover of music beautiful as this, then it’s alright. Besides, Cas is beside him.

But then this is the last night.

He tries not to think of it and continues singing.

His eyes frequent Cas, aiming every word at him.

Hear me.

Love me.

His heart skips a beat as Cas steps closer, he steps back to let him share the mic.

Please let this moment be my forever.

Castiel.

His muse.

His love.

The song ends and in pure instinct, he kisses Cas.

The audience goes wild. Cas smiles at him.

Too bad this is the end.

~Castiel~

He blushes as he hears the cheers from the crowd. It slipped his mind where they were and he gave into the kiss. But there’s no regret. He shares a soft smile with Dean and they walk hand in hand back to the dressing room.

“THE FUCK WAS THAT?!?!” Gabriel screams, more in surprise than in anger.

“Dudes, you should’ve warned me before doing something like that? I’ve never thought of spying on any of my brothers making out… and in public!”

“We weren’t making out!” Castiel counters, Gabriel rolls his eyes.

“Next time, get a room.”

“Whatever.”

“Whatever. I’ll go in the kitchen and bleach my eyes. After that I’ll bring in the dinner special for everyone. We’ll have a feast.”

He watches as Gabriel walks out, but not without a pat on his shoulder. He turns around to look for Dean, but he’s not there. Not in the bathroom, the kitchen, the floor.

Where?

‘the eclipse’

The moon.

The serpent.

And then it clicks. He searches for Sam and Charlie.

“Where’s Dean?” He demands.

“You know he’s going to Alastair! Alastair! He’ll kill Dean.” Charlie looks away.

“It’s Dean’s choice. We can’t interfere.”

“What?!”

“Dean made a deal with Alastair. One last fight. If he wins, Alastair will stay away from you and us forever. If Dean loses, Alastair can have him.”

Castiel’s eyes widen. He’s part of the deal. Dean made the deal because of him.

“Let’s go.” He glares at the two of them.

“I know you want to help Dean, so let’s go.”

“You have a plan?”

“Barely.”

~Dean~

It feels good to be back in the sky, looking down at the earth and its beauty. His lips still burns from the kiss, and as much as he wanted it to be longer, they just didn’t have enough time.

Time.

Heh, looks like he’s run out of time.

The whistling that has been so loud has now started to dwindle, and he knows what that means. Beneath him, movements disturb the river’s surface.

He heaves a deep breath and places the mask over his face. He knows he’s nowhere near optimal condition to fight, but he has to.

The whistling stops.

The monster rises from the water.

He readies his blade, knowing only too well that this fight won’t last long.

He wishes he could’ve said goodbye to Cas instead of leaving him behind.

And then the screaming hits him.

It’s not really screaming, but a mixture of badly played guitars and yes, apparently someone is indeed screaming. The monster’s eye twitches, his body starts to jerk as the loud noise continues. Dean moves away from the serpent, glides through the air in search of the source.

Sam, and Gabe, and Charlie, and Cas.

~Sam~

First of all, he is a sun deity!

And yet he doesn’t complain when Cas assigns him as a human power socket slash amplifier. When Cas laid out his plan, he believed it had a shot, so he went with it; he even agreed to power up an entire city if it meant saving Dean. They managed to get Gabe in on the plan, since Gabriel has access to Angelus’ “classic” recordings, aka the monstrosity they’re playing right now. They roped him in, and bless the man for not asking too many questions. The karaoke and speakers, they swiped from the Roadhouse, Rob mercifully sacrificing himself to playing an entire set in exchange for the lost sound system.

And the plan is working.

They could see Alastair’s real form jerking in the air, the long body of the serpent rearing up and twisting in pain, assaulted by the wave of noise (Sam would never consider such screeching music).

And Castiel. He’s standing beside Charlie, who has her hand on his shoulder so he can see both Dean and Alastair, his blue eyes dark with purpose. He gives Sam a nod and he aptly makes the roaring abomination of a song louder, his mind apologizing to the citizens nearby who will be waking up thinking there’s a massacre on going. Alastair rears his head towards them, eyes red in anger. The long reptilian body twisting to face them, readying for the strike. Dean lunges forward.

Castiel raises his weapon, something they got from the Roadhouse. Apparently a gift from Balthazar for “Protection” Gabriel said, and for this once, Sam agrees.

Castiel, Angel of Thursday, Angel with a shotgun.

Make that a .50 bmg bullpup.

Castiel fires, he senses Charlie’s powers boosting it up, making the bullet deadly to an immortal.

It hits the serpent between the eyes. The body falls into the river with a phantom splash.

It’s over.

~Castiel~

He looks at Charlie and Sam, his eyes asking them the question: ‘Is it over?’ Charlie hugs him tight, he feels her shake as she starts crying.

“Thank you.” She whispers.

Sam releases his hold on the stereo and the music stops. He’s wondering how he’s not yet deaf from what they’ve heard today, but that’s the least of their worries. Sam hugs him as well, and they thank each other.

“Dude, thank you for your bad guitar playing!” Sam tells Gabriel.

“Those were Mickey and Baldy, dude!” Gabriel shots back.

“Gabe’s the one on vocals with Lucifer.” He whispers to Sam.

“So, I guess I should be going then. The people are probably calling the police right now, I have towns to put to peaceful sleep.” Charlie gives the Vulcan salute before vanishing.

“Cas?”

It’s just like in his dream.

But this time, he has Dean slowly descending from the sky until his feet touch the surface of the water. He walks towards him, white flowers blooming in his wake, and the air changing scents.

“Show off.” Sam chuckles softly beside him.

He meets Dean at the bank of the river, around their feet the white flower blooms and he feels at home with the scent. He embraces Dean.

“You have nothing to worry about now.” Castiel whispers.

“Yes. Thank you.”

“Just returning the favour.”

Their faces inch closer, another kiss looming in the air.

“Don’t ever disappear on me like that ever again.” He chides.

“Yes my love.”

Their lips almost touch.

RRAAAAAAWWWWWWRRRRRR!!!!!

They both jump away from each other as Sam activates the sound system again. They see their brothers standing side by side, disapproving looks on their faces, they grin at each other.

“Cassie! Home! Now! It’s way past your curfew!”

“Dean, you have to rest!”

~Dean~

“I want to see your face.”

Despite the coldness of the shower, those words prompt his blood to heat up. He moans in response, head tilting backwards, right against taut muscles.

“I want to see your face.”

He hears this as he feels the other pull out from him and roughly turns him around. He feels the crash of lips against his and he immediately parts his own, his teeth trying to catch a nip at the invading tongue as he snakes a hand through his lover’s hair, pulling his face closer, his kiss getting hungrier. The two of them broke apart and before he could complain, he feels himself impaled by his lover’s manhood. He yelps, his back arching, his leg wrapping around the other’s waist, his hands clinging on to the other’s frame. He’s going crazy.

“Yes. I want to see you like this.” The hoarse voice makes his prick twitch, leak at the tip and he thrusts his hips, involuntarily begging for more. His lover does not move.

“Beg me.” A whisper. He moans.

“I want to hear your voice.” His lover thrusts, but it wasn’t enough.

“Cas… Please.” He whimpers, trying to move his hips but his lover pins them with his hands. He answers with low moans, his hips thrashing.

“You really are so cute.” His lover gives in, releasing his hips and at the same time starts pounding him.

He’s in heaven right now.

Feeling weightless, he collapses into Castiel’s arms. The flowing water overhead stops and Cas pats him dry with a fluffy towel, whispering things in his ear that makes his knees even weaker. He whimpers under his touch.

He barely recollects how he got to the bed, but his mind registers the soft mattress and the hands running around his body.

“Cas.” He whines, trying to pull the other man to him but Cas catches his hands and pins them over his head.

“Let me worship you.”

He writhes in need as Cas litters every inch of his skin with butterfly kisses, those damn lips paying close attention to the more sensitive areas of his body, he curses under his breath and then utters words of endearment. He bucks his hips as his member longs for attention. And Cas doesn’t disappoint. Hot wetness envelopes his aching shaft and Cas immediately starts a rhythm, blue eyes fixed on him as Cas bobbed his head along his shaft.

~Castiel~

He loves seeing Dean lose control like this, eyes glazed and mouth open in ecstasy, body pliant under his ministrations. He watches Dean’s face contort as he services him with his mouth, he only closes his eyes when he starts tasting the precome from the engorged shaft.

He releases his hold on Dean’s member and looks at his handiwork, the shaft almost gleaming with spit and precome. It’s calling to him. Still looking at his lover, he sucks on his fingers, tongue playing on each digit and showing it to Dean. Dean gets the idea and immediately pulls him down and flips them over.

“My turn.”

The mischief in those green eyes is unmistakable, and the sensation makes his cock twitch in need. Dean kisses him again, then slips  his own fingers into their warring mouths to be licked. When a digit breaches him, he goes rigid with pleasure. Dean soothes him, hums a series of tunes that calms him down as Dean works him open, each thrust coinciding with the rhythm. He almost doesn’t realize that Dean is three fingers deep in him.

“I love you.” Dean mutters, then stops, as if surprised.

“I love you too.” He whispers.

They kiss again and Dean uses this as a distraction to line up his cock and push in. He screams into Dean’s mouth, his fingers digging into skin.

It’s a series of thrusts, curses, encouragements and words too muddled to understand before the two of them reach their climax. Dean stays on top on him for a while before pulling out and laying beside him.

“So I guess this makes us more than band mates now?” he jokes. Dean chortles.

“Band mates with benefits?” they both laugh.

“It’s over now isn’t it? Everything?” Dean hums in response.

“Does that mean you’ll be leaving?” His voice betrays his feelings. Dean looks at him and kisses him softly on the forehead.

“Alastair is dead. There’s no reason for us to run now. If you will have me, then I don’t see any reason why we should leave. Besides, Jack and Claire adore you.”

“Are you propositioning me?” He laughs as Dean’s face goes beet red.

“After the sex we’ve had, you blush when we discuss this? Unbelievable!” Cas laughs aloud and Dean pulls the pillow from beneath his head and covers his face with it.

“We’re not yet married and you’re already trying to kill me?” Castiel manages to say from beneath the pillow.

The two laugh and end up embracing, sharing a number of lazy kisses before they eventually fall asleep. Needless to say, they’ve made a new song before they fall asleep, barely realizing that the flower by the window had closed its petals as a new day rises for all of them.