Work Text:
Well, This is Frogged Up
written by NicNack4U
Before he and Sam said their goodbyes to Jack, Dean asked him one question. Just one. A very important question. "Can you bring Cas back?"
He tried to keep from begging the kid, though he was privately sure Jack heard the tone in his voice anyway. Or maybe he was reading his thoughts. Or felt was he was feeling or whatever.
He almost bristled at the knowing smile the kid sent him. Then, Jack said, "Please hold on for just a few minutes, Dean."
And Jack was suddenly gone with a audible "pop!" of God-magic. Dean stood there for a moment, stunned. The sputtering and cursing came next.
"Oh, great! Wha - What the Hell, kid?! You - you seriously just gonna friggin' bail on us now?! Seriously, Jack?! And without bringing Cas back ho-?!"
Sam interrupted his furious tirade, holding his arms and hands out. "Whoa! Dude, chill, Dean. I'm sure Jack is just making another deal with the Empty to bring Cas back."
He nodded towards the bunker. "Come on. Let's go wait for them inside."
"Sure hope you're right, Sam," Dean sighed half in aggravation, half-apprehension.
And, as it turned out, Sam was indeed right. Dean rolled his eyes at his brother's smug smile and ignored him in favor of pausing the western he and Sam were watching in the Deancave. Next, he walked up to Cas and Jack, who were standing at the entrance to the room.
Dean smiled proudly at Jack as he cupped a hand to his kid's left cheek. "Thanks, Jack. You did good, kid." He pulled the Nephilim-turned-God into a hug.
When he let go, he turned to Castiel, suddenly feeling shy as he smiled down at his feet. He was also pretty sure he was blushing. It felt like his face, ears and the back of his neck were burning up.
And Dean didn't know it, but Castiel was looking upon him with the same wide-eyed, gummy smile he wore when he finally spoke his truth to his best friend. Only, there were no tears, this time.
Sam sensed that there was deeper romantically-charged tension than ever before. There had to be something Dean wasn't telling him. He didn't tell Sam just how exactly the Empty got both Billie and Cas, after all. He'd find out eventually, he was sure. So, he silently motioned with his head for Jack to follow him out of the room.
Dean watched them leave, feeling Cas's eyes still on him. He blew out a huge puff of relief after his brother and the kid left. Then, he cringed under Cas's look of understanding.
"Dean, it's okay. You don't have to say anything. I told you, for me, it's not in the having; it's the just being. It's in just saying it. I'm completely fine with continuing on as we were before."
"Yeah, well, I'm not!" Dean burst out hotly. He cringed and groaned, running a frustrated over his face and through his hair. He then sighed at Cas's look of shock, of hurt. "I'm sorry, Cas, I didn't mean that the way it sounded. I just.... It just - just. Look."
He gestured as he spoke. "Look, Cas, I'm just not ready for that, yet. I'm not ready to openly discuss this... this thing between us. our - our... f-fe-feelings for each other. Just, please, give me some time, okay? I got a few decades worth of crap to sort through up here -"
Dean gestured to his head. "- first, before anything further than your confession can happen between us."
Cas's look of understanding and love never wavered, never faltered. He nodded, still smiling that soft smile Dean loved. "Of course, Dean. I understand. Mental health's very important, after all. I'm proud of you for finally putting yourself first, Dean. You deserve to finally find peace and happiness. Adam asked us, 'Since when do we get what we deserve?' And my answer to that now is: Now. We get what we deserve now. And every time after."
Dean blinked hard at the tears welling up. He cleared his throat, put on his usual smile, and clapped Cas on the shoulder. "Damn right, buddy. Now, and every time after."
They then called Sam and Jack back into the Deancave, where they all watched Dean's western movie together as a family. Five minutes before the film ended, Eileen showed back up in the bunker. Sam all but jumped and ran to her when they all heard her voice coming from the main room.
"It's okay, let's let them reunite and catch up," Dean waved a dismissive hand towards the Deancave's door, then turned back to the TV screen, pushing the "Play" button again. "This is almost over, anyway."
Cas snuggled up to Dean's side, resting his head on the older Winchester's shoulder. Jack glanced over to them, secretly smiling softly at Dean's fingers carding soothingly through Cas's hair, messing it up further than it already naturally was.
Once the movie ended, they went to sit in the library together, and were surprised to see that Sam and Eileen were already there, looking at something on Sam's laptop.
"Thought you two lovebirds were in Sammy's room," Dean teased them. He smirked at the face Sam pulled.
"Shut up, jerk."
Dean shrugged. "I'm just teasing, Sam. Relax. Not like I'm gonna tweet about you two to the entire world or anything."
Sam sighed loudly, then returned his attention to his computer. "Anyway, I found us a new hunt." He sent Dean an amused laugh. "Looks like witches."
Dean's eyes rolled to almost the back of his head as he groaned in annoyance. "Ughhh!! I hate witches, you know that, Sam!"
Sam nodded smugly. Eileen playfully smacked him on the shoulder, then looked at Dean, shrugging apologetically. "I'm sorry, Dean. I tried to tell him that he and I can take this case, but he wanted to be an annoying little brother today, I guess."
Dean beamed at them both. "See? This is why I like you, Eileen."
Sam laughed along sarcastically at his family as they laughed at Dean's joke. It was then time to gather the necessary items they needed to stop a witch. After that, they were off. Dean, Cas and Jack in the Impala, while Sam rode with Eileen in her vehicle.
They found the witch in a small town in Florida. They actually found her completely by accident as they searched for her. She was posing as a waitress in a small family-owned 1920's art deco-themed diner. It was all shiny and golden on the inside, with a rich-red carpet.
There were civilians currently eating, so they obviously couldn't confront her there.
"We follow her home, then," Dean whispered.
"Yeah, but we don't know when she gets off work," Sam whispered back, translating the conversation for Eileen with ASL.
"Eleven. Tonight is her last night of work for this week," Castiel whispered. He tilted his head at the look Dean was giving him. "What?"
"Man, I am so glad you're still an angel. That mind-reading shit comes in handy, I'm tellin' ya."
Cas sat back, smug. "Thank you, Dean. I'll remember that the next time you snap at me for reading your mind. Or when I watch you sleep. Or when I enter your dreams. Or- "
"Okay!" Dean waved a hand, motioning him to stop. He smiled. "I get it, Cas."
Sam, Eileen and Jack laughed to each other knowingly, rolling their eyes in affection.
Later that night, they followed the witch to her house and watched her from the Impala. Dean rolled his eyes in boredom as they watched her hair-dry her shoulder-length locks. "When are we gonna get her," Dean whined.
"When she actually does something to get her for, dumbass," Sam sniped back.
They both then, in true bickering-siblings style, stuck their tongues out at each other and mocked each other.
"Knock it off, you two," Cas growled. Dean tried to shrug off the pleasant shudder he felt at the angel's tone. Oh, yes, Sir. Yes, Daddy, he perversely thought, turning it into a flirty prayer.
He winked at Cas's sharp intake of breath and warning glare. Unfortunately, before the flirting could go any further, they were interrupted by the slam of the front door of the house crashing open and an angry yell.
"Winchesters and their friends. Of course. Well, just try to stop me. You may have stopped many others before me, especially that idiotic Rowena, but just try to see if you can stop me!"
Before they could retaliate, the witch pointed her finger at Dean and spoke in Latin.
"Vos may have fere vicit hoc modo tendo videre, si potest vincere nisi verus amor est scriptor osculum!"
She watched in satisfaction as the others looked on in horror as Dean was being painfully transformed. They couldn't see what the witch did to him yet. They only heard his pain-filled screams. Finally, the heavy green mist of witch-magic disappeared and in Dean's place was a slimy green frog.
"Fuck you, you miserable, unfunny bitch!" Dean yelled. Then blinked in shock. "W-wait. I can still talk? I can still talk?! What the FUCK?! A-and I wanna eat flies?! And I'm all - all slimy!"
"Whoa, whoa, hey, Dean," Sam tried to calm down his freaked-out brother. Honestly, he was freaked-out too, but was trying to stay calm for his family. "It's okay, we can get her, then change you back."
Dean hopped up and down in agitation. "But, you heard her, Sam! You know Latin as well as I do, plus you're also a witch! And I'm not ready for this yet! I'm not ready for Cas and I to confront our feelings for each other, and we all know that!"
They ignored the witch cackling away in favor of comforting Dean. He was more important, at the moment.
"Dean," Cas spoke softly. "I know you're not ready for this yet. I know you're not ready for us yet, but you know what we have to do to turn you back into a human."
Dean looked at Cas with so many mixed emotions. Fear, worry, anger, sadness, joy and love. So much love. Then, he sighed in defeat and sent up a flirty look to his angel. "Fine. Well, pucker up, then, Sunshine."
Cas chuckled then met Dean halfway, locking his lips to Dean's own in their first kiss to each other. Sam, Jack and Eileen cheered them on. They cheered harder once Cas sat back and Dean began to transform once more. This time, back into his human form.
"Yay! I'm me again!" Dean cheered. His family gathered him up into grateful hugs. Once that was done. Dean smirked at the witch, then at Sam.
"Well, your turn, Harry Potter."
Sam chuckled at Dean, then turned a serious glare onto the witch and recited Latin of his own:
"Tumultus huius pythonissam vires suae non accedere, ut eam!"
The witch screamed and cried as her powers were being locked away from her.
Dean smirked. "Oh, no worries, Bellatrix. You still have your powers, you just can't use them anymore. Spells? Useless to you now. And so are all the witchiest books in the world."
They all got back into the Impala and Dean drove them off back home to the bunker, the witch's screams and cries fading into the distance the farther they got away from her.
When they got back home, they celebrated with pizza, beer and Cas's choice of movie.
There would be time later for Dean and Cas to talk things over, for Dean to pull his head out his ass and finally kiss his angel again (his words). But that would all come later, after Sam and Eileen had gone to bed and Jack had flown back up to Heaven.
THE END.