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Castiel adjusted his tunic, trying to hide the nerves. This mission was unlike any he’d been asked to undertake before, and the plan he’d come up with was not exactly one that played to his strengths. Deception didn’t come naturally to him. Playing helpless definitely didn’t come naturally to him. He was fearless, and this tactic required him to be fearful. He was straightforward, believing in saying what needed saying, but he wasn’t going to say anything of import on this mission.
The primary objective: information. Castiel needed to know how things were organized. A pack of brigands should not have been able to take down Prince Lucifer, no matter how arrogant and overconfident his older brother had been. Therefore, Castiel would have to work out what made these bandits so much more capable – whether it was sheer numbers, or one or two particularly skilled fighters. Perhaps it was a tactical advantage from the terrain that they knew how to exploit. Figuring out how it had happened was the first step to making sure it didn’t happen to him.
He also wanted whatever information he could get on the location and status of Prince Samuel. Lucifer had come after the bandits to rescue his fiancé. When Lucifer was brought back dead, their respective fathers had met and agreed to simply transfer the marriage to the remaining eligible son – Prince Castiel, the youngest brother. Then Chuck had decreed that in order to prove himself worthy of taking Lucifer’s place, Castiel would have to retrieve Sam. Officially, the job was given to Sir Emmanuel as Castiel’s champion, but Chuck knew the truth – that Emmanuel was the alter ego Castiel used to enter tournaments and fight without the attention or favoritism that could come from a prince entering.
Once he had the information, he could come up with a proper retrieval plan. Hopefully, he would manage to do it without having to come back in full armor with followers behind him – finding knights to take on brigands wouldn’t be easy. There was no glory in defeating them, and they weren’t easy prey if they had taken down a prince. Some might be willing to join up to avenge the death of the prince, but not enough for the kind of force Castiel was afraid he might have to use.
But first, Castiel would need to get taken in by the bandits. To that end, he had borrowed clothes from a stablehand, carved himself a simple staff that could double as a walking stick and a weapon, and set out alone and on foot with only a small amount of money which he expected to be forced to relinquish. If there was a fight, he would allow himself to lose.
The woman who dropped out of the tree in front of him certainly looked threatening enough, her blonde hair held in a tight braid and her face streaked with mud. Castiel glanced behind him, where another mud-streaked woman had appeared from hiding. “Traveler. Haven’t you heard these woods are dangerous?” she drawled.
“Aren’t all woods dangerous? Wild animals, losing your way… but when your cousin has taken ill, you do what you must,” Castiel explained. He clutched his staff a little tighter, hoping he wouldn’t need it, but also that they would mistake his nerves from lying for nerves from being accosted by two women who looked like they were quite comfortable in a fight.
The dark-haired woman stepped forward, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. Castiel raised an eyebrow. “Come on, traveler, let’s get you something to eat, huh? It’s gonna storm in an hour or so, and you won’t make it through the woods before then. We’ll give you a place to stay through the storm and overnight if the storm doesn’t let up until after dark.”
“Assuming the boss says we can, of course.” The blonde shot a warning glance at her companion. “You know the rules, Meg.”
“I never said it’d be comfortable or fun, Jess,” Meg countered, shooting a wink at Castiel. “You convince the boss you’re not here to cause trouble, you get to be warm and safe and dry and all that important stuff. If not, well, the prison cave’s at least not gonna flood and you’re not gonna get lost.”
The two women took him to the camp, insisting on blindfolding him first. That was all right. Castiel had practiced for this, learning to know his way without sight. Nearly right as they approached the camp, Castiel encountered an unexpected complication, as a horse Castiel recognized came over to him and started nosing at him. Meg and her companion gave each other wary looks. This was not something Castiel had been prepared for. Thankfully, he was able to come up with an explanation quickly, along with the apple from his pocket that he gave to Lucifer’s beautiful stallion. “Horses usually love me, because if I have food that’s good for them, they know I’m a soft heart and will let them have it.”
“If you say so.” Meg crossed her arms, decidedly unimpressed. “Come on, let’s go see the boss, huh?”
Castiel wasn’t prepared for the hard glare of the man they led him to. He’d seen it before, from the green eyes behind a helmet of the warrior across the blade from him in battle. He would have to hope that the inability to look into the man’s eyes was taken as something normal. Jess’s giggles beside him were mostly smothered, but she patted his arm sympathetically. “Can’t tell whether you’re scared or horny or both, but don’t worry, Dean gets that a lot. Come on.” She stepped closer to Dean, dragging Castiel along with her. “We found him wandering alone in the woods and brought him straight here. The black stallion took a liking to him, but no other incident.”
“Oh, he did, did he.” Dean bent over, trying to catch Castiel’s eyes, but Castiel resisted. “Well, you two go on, find shelter before the floodgates open up.”
“If the boss says we can keep him, send him my way,” Meg drawled. She winked again at Castiel and sauntered off. Jess and Dean exchanged an eyeroll before Jess followed Meg away.
Dean gave Castiel a rough push toward a ladder hanging from a tree. “Climb. Get your story prepared, because my brother’s no idiot.”
Castiel nearly stumbled off the ladder. Dean’s brother? Dean’s only brother was the man Castiel had come here to rescue. Wait, weren’t there rumors about a bastard? If Dean had found him… but that didn’t explain why Dean had abandoned his father and his kingdom to stand guard among bandits. Unless Dean was here to do the same thing Castiel was…?
There was no denying that the man waiting at the top of the ladder was Prince Samuel. Even with the beard and the ponytail, dressed as a woodsman, the eyes took Castiel straight back to the portrait King John had brought to his father and Lucifer, the one Castiel had been ordered to study well when Lucifer’s death was reported.
Prince Samuel came to stand in front of him, and once again, Castiel leaned into the part of fear to avoid looking too close or staring too long. “Who are you and where were you going?”
“I’m called Steve.” He could feel Dean’s stare, but couldn’t do anything about it if Dean had recognized him. “I was on my way to visit my cousin, who’s ill. Your people brought me here. I’m not any threat to you.”
“Huh. I’m glad my people found you, it’s not going to be safe to travel until morning.” Sam looked over to Dean. “Find him somewhere dry and make sure he gets a hot meal.”
“You sure about this, Sammy?” There was a hard edge to Dean’s voice that had Castiel’s stomach plummeting. Had Dean recognized him?
“Dean.” Samuel crossed his arms over his chest. “I know you want to look out for me, and I appreciate that, but I really don’t think Steve here is going to hurt me. When you came out here, you agreed that this is my organization and I’m in charge. This is my call, and I’m choosing to trust Steve for the night. Argue again, and he’s staying right here with me.”
Dean put up his hands as Castiel blushed hard. “Wasn’t arguing, Sam. Come on, ‘Steve’, let’s get out of here before my brother changes his mind.”
Dean took Castiel to another treehouse. “Go up there, stay there until I come back. Sammy may have fallen for that bullshit, but I’m not going to.”
“You’re questioning your brother’s orders?” Castiel looked up, hoping the shock he was faking actually came out. Of course Dean was questioning Sam’s orders. Whether as Emmanuel or Castiel, he couldn’t say, but it was obvious that Dean had recognized him.
“I’m doing exactly what he said to do. You’ll stay dry in the treehouse and I’m going to get us both some food, so you’ll get a hot meal.” Dean shot a smirk as he turned to go. “Never said I couldn’t have some fun with you.”
Castiel couldn’t argue with that. He climbed the ladder to the treehouse and settled in to wait for Dean to return, taking note of anything he could use to defend himself in the room. It was well-made, with oil cloth curtains that could be tied down over the windows cut into the walls. No furniture, but there were several blankets piled up in a corner, and a few boxes scattered around. A peek in one of the boxes revealed some stored food. Another box revealed some random clothes. Castiel shrugged and abandoned the search, sitting on one of the boxes instead. Just in time, as Dean arrived.
“Here. Not much, but it’s hot food.” Dean shoved a turkey leg and a bowl of baked vegetables into Castiel’s hand. “There we go. Sam’s orders fulfilled. Now I have questions for you, Emmanuel.”
“I don’t suppose I can convince you that there’s been a mistaken identity here?” Castiel took a bite of turnip and sighed at the look on Dean’s face. “No, I didn’t think so. Let me see if I can guess what you want to ask.” He finished off the turnip chunk as Dean’s glare shifted slightly to some curiosity. “You think I’m here to rescue Prince Samuel, and want to know who’s behind the attempt.”
“Yeah. His asshat fiancé is dead, so you’re not here on Lucifer’s behalf, but I don’t know which king sent you out. Chuck’s out of marriageable kids, but John needs this alliance bad enough that he just might agree to a cousin or niece or whatever Chuck can come up with, or Chuck might have let you serve John directly on this one. Who sent you?”
“You’re wrong about one thing, your highness.” Dean’s eyebrows shot up. “Yes, I know who you are too, Prince Dean. As I’m aware the man who ordered you to feed me is the man I’m here to rescue. I have many questions of my own, but I’m happy to wait my turn.” Castiel ripped a piece of meat from the turkey leg. “King Chuck does have one son remaining eligible for marriage, and he and King John have already agreed to switch the betrothal to him.”
Dean frowned, sitting down and leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. “Lucifer’s dead, Michael and Gabriel are already married, Raphael’s taken vows with the Church.”
“The youngest son. Prince Castiel.” From the look on Dean’s face, Castiel was assuming he had forgotten about that one. He hoped the amusement was smothered well enough to avoid suspicion. “He tends to be overlooked, as he spends most of his time in his tower with his studies, but he is available for marriage if I bring Sam back.”
“‘If’? What do you mean, ‘if’?” Dean asked, a hard edge in his voice. “Isn’t that what you’re here for?”
“I’m here to rescue an unwilling captive of outlaws,” Castiel corrected. “Actually, I’m here to gather information to plan the rescue of the unwilling captive. Based on what I’ve seen, however, the premise of my mission appears to be faulty. Your brother doesn’t seem to be forced to be here against his will.”
“No shit.” Dean sat back, and Castiel took the opportunity to eat a bit more of the vegetables. “So what’s your plan then? Go home and say ‘nah, he’s good, forget it’?”
Castiel shook his head. “I haven’t seen enough to decide on a plan. If you would allow it, I’d like to talk to Sam before I make any decisions. Assuming, of course, you don’t decide to kill me or keep me captive here, or allow me to stay of my own free will.”
Dean rolled his eyes. “Look, man. Sammy’s got a rule. We don’t kill good guys, and you’re a good guy. Not your fault you got caught in Dad’s lies and sent out here. No promises on the captivity, that’s Sam’s call, but only way you die here is if you pull something stupid. Can’t imagine he’d hold you captive this time, not unless he recognized you too and didn’t say anything to me.” Castiel let himself relax at that. He hadn’t seriously been worried about death, but it was nice to hear. “So you’re here on behalf of the prince? Castiel?”
“Precisely.” Castiel took another bite of turkey. “If I return with Prince Sam, then Castiel will marry your brother and our kingdoms’ alliance will proceed as planned. If I do not return with Prince Sam, Castiel will be deemed unworthy and, most likely, King Chuck will attempt to find another way. Difficult, with you already betrothed, but perhaps some sort of promise of a future marriage alliance between your heir and one of Michael or Gabriel’s daughters.”
Castiel did his best not to laugh as a mixture of fear, guilt, and shock played across Dean’s face at the reminder of his betrothal and mention of future children. “This prince gonna take it out on you if you don’t show up with Sam?” Dean asked, shaking everything else off to settle on a frown. “I mean, I know you’d never say it because you’re a knight and knights don’t say that kind of thing about the princes of the kingdom they’re sworn to serve, but Lucifer was a psychotic asshat, Michael’s only better because his dad keeps him focused on running the kingdom at his side, Raphael’s a judgmental prick, and Gabriel may be the best of them but he’s capricious and can be incredibly cruel.”
As much as Castiel loved his brothers, he absolutely could not deny the truth of Dean’s words. “Castiel is a misfit. He’s kept isolated in his tower because his father feels he lacks the ruthlessness and ambition necessary to be a good prince, and has what the king considers dangerous ideas for how a kingdom should be run.”
“By which you mean ideas that the king disagrees with and it’s easier to lock the prince away than to try to get him in line or expose the fact that there’s family discord to enemies,” Dean interrupted, a note of sarcasm in his voice that surprised Castiel. “Wonder what that’s like.”
Castiel’s head tilted, studying Dean. He’d never heard anything about Sam or Dean not agreeing with their father, but as Dean had said, that was the kind of thing kings tried to keep quiet. Given Sam’s lack of captivity here, Castiel was guessing it was Sam, if not both. Ironically, the truth he had planned to tell Dean here was now starting to feel a bit like a lie. “Exactly. Castiel doesn’t mind a bit, really. Against his father and four older brothers, there was little chance he could make a difference, and alone with his books he at least can pretend that his influence might do some good in future generations. If I come back empty-handed and his betrothal is called off due to his unworthiness, I doubt he’d be upset.”
“So you’d… really be willing to just leave Sam here, if that’s what he wants?” The suspicion in Dean’s voice, that was expected. The hope? Not so much. “Because I can tell you, Sam came out here all on his own, won the respect of the others, and stepped in as their leader at the request of the guy who used to be in charge here who was starting to feel like he was too old to be in charge of this kind of thing.”
“As I said. I’d like to talk to Sam before making that call, but if that is true, then I would never force him to do anything.” Castiel paused, as something occurred to him. “Of course, talking to him will be difficult without revealing my deception to him. Of course, if I leave and return as myself, I suspect my reception will be far more hostile.”
“Yeah, Meg and Jess would never have let you see them, they’d have taken you down and brought you in as a captive, not a visitor. Nothing personal, just…”
“A reasonable precaution when a knight who is likely to want vengeance for a slain prince approaches your camp,” Castiel finished for Dean. Coming as Prince Castiel, of course, would be even worse. He’d be lucky not to be killed on sight. “Do you have a suggestion for how to talk to Sam?”
“Yeah.” Dean leaned forward. “Go over there, tell him the truth, and make sure to get the fact that you won’t force him to do anything he doesn’t wanna do in there as early as possible. He’ll understand the lies, but the quicker you get them out of the way, the quicker he’ll trust you with the truth.”
At Dean’s insistence, Castiel finished his meal first. That gave Dean time to go over and tell Sam to expect a visitor. Whatever else Dean was telling him, well, Castiel would just have to find out when he got there if it was relevant.
Sam was still dressed as a woodsman, but his bearing had changed from the man Castiel met earlier. He looked every inch a prince in disguise. He crossed his arms, looking Castiel from head to toe. “I see what you mean, Dean. It is rather obvious now that I’m looking for it. Sir Emmanuel, welcome to my camp. Care to explain the lies?”
“I was sent here to retrieve you…” Castiel started, barely managing not to stammer.
Sam took a step closer. “Not a great start there.”
Dean had warned him to get it out as early as possible, but Castiel was rather annoyed that he wasn’t even allowed ten words before Sam was angry. “Based on your father’s lies that you had been kidnapped, and were in need of rescue,” he spat. He saw Dean’s pointed glare at Sam and let himself relax as Sam let his arms drop back to his sides. “I believe now that my information was faulty, and I have no intention of abducting you myself. I just want to understand.”
After a moment of intense staring, Sam turned to Dean. “I got this. Go on, I know you have other places you’d rather wait out the storm.” There was an entire silent conversation that made Castiel’s heart ache, remembering how Michael and Lucifer used to do the same thing before Lucifer became the horrible person he became, how he’d always wished to have that with one of his brothers but was never able to. Then Dean smirked, shot Castiel a pointed glare that he could read clearly as a threat if any harm came to Sam, and left. “So. What do you want to hear?”
“I can guess why you ran away. My brother’s reputation was awful, and you wouldn’t be the first to run away from the thought of being forced into marriage with him,” Castiel said. “I don’t understand Dean’s choice.”
“Your brother?” Sam tilted his head, peering intently at Castiel. “You can’t be Raphael, I’d recognize Michael… oh. Oh, wow. Castiel? Out of the tower?”
So Sam, at least, remembered he existed. Whether that was good or bad remained to be seen. “Yes. My father is aware of the deception of Sir Emmanuel and encourages it, as long as his allegiance remains solely to the throne. It allows me to compete in tournaments and support myself without fear of favoritism from the judges. It means he doesn’t need to give me lands to, in his words, ‘mismanage’ or nearly as much direct allowance.”
“Lucky. My father would never have allowed that kind of thing.” Sam grinned, but there was a rueful edge to it. “Maybe if I’d been the fifth son, but with only two of us… he needed to keep me close in case Dean’s betrothal didn’t result in an heir.”
“True. Father considered forcing me to join the Church, as Raphael did, but was talked out of it by his bishop. One royal monk is enough for them, it seems.” Castiel shrugged. “I wouldn’t have minded, but I prefer my current life. I’m more of a warrior than a scholar, no matter what my reputation says.”
“Heh.” Sam walked over to a chest and opened it, getting out a bottle of wine and two mugs. “Sorry for not having appropriate glasses, but it’s not really practical. Me and Dean, everyone here knows who we are, but they also know we’re just as happy drinking beer or ale with everyone else. Hosting a prince, though… or a knight…”
Castiel rolled his eyes. “Unless you plan to inform everyone of my deception, treating me as anything but the stablehand you offered shelter to will draw suspicion. I’m quite accustomed to beer or ale.”
“Yeah, but it’s an excuse for me.” Sam flashed a grin as he uncorked the bottle and poured two mugs. “One of the things I miss about back home. So. You were wondering why Dean stayed.” Sam handed one of the mugs to Castiel, who nodded. “Dean didn’t run away with me. He led the first expedition to find me, and once he realized I was here, he tried to talk me into going home. Promised to protect me from Lucifer. After Lucifer’s raid, he came back to tell me I was free and could come home. I still refused, because out here, Dad’s not trying to control or punish me. Do you know why he agreed to my betrothal to Lucifer in the first place, despite the obvious problem of succession and Lucifer being, what, fifteen years older than me?” Castiel shook his head. He’d assumed Lucifer was chosen on the basis of Michael and Gabriel already being married and Lucifer being the older son, but apparently there was more to the story. “Your father wanted it to be you all along – less concern if you didn’t reproduce, being the fifth son, and you’re much closer to my age. Dad insisted on Lucifer, because he figured Lucifer would teach me my place.”
“Wait.” Castiel refused to believe he’d heard that right. “Your father wanted you to be trapped in a marriage that was likely to be abusive?”
“As soon as Dean heard that, he went back just long enough to tell Dad to forget rescuing me, that he was joining me in my exile, and he wasn’t coming back unless it was to take the throne.” Sam shook his head. “I tried to convince him to go back to make sure the throne was worth going back to, but one thing Dad beat into him just a little too hard after Mom died was that I was Dean’s responsibility and it was his job to take care of me. If you can get him to believe that he can best take care of me through politics instead of being with me out here, that would be great.” Sam fell into silence, staring into his wine. “I take it that you’re my fiancé now?”
“Only until I return without you. If I can’t convince them that this is truly your own free will, that you were not abducted and you stay freely, I’ll be declared unworthy of fulfilling Lucifer’s contract with your father and someone else will be given a chance.” Sam looked rather stricken by that. “At which point I’ll retreat to my tower and my books, hide as Sir Emmanuel to participate in tournaments, and be no worse off than I was before.”
It didn’t ease Sam’s distress at all. “Would it help if I went home? We could get married and then I’d run again. Or would that make it worse?”
Castiel took the time to think that over. The alliance would be cemented, and if Castiel was so horrible as to lose his husband, well, no one would really be surprised – but on the other hand, Chuck would probably declare war on the outlaws here. “I think it would make it worse. Not on me – no one really cares – but for your people. Why do you stay here with them?”
“Because they’re good people. We’re not exactly a normal village, being made up of people who were kicked out of their homes for one reason or another – or, like me, chose to leave because home was unbearable – but we’re pretty much self-sufficient. The peddler wagons love coming through our woods, because they know they’ll get armed escort from the nearest villages as soon as our scouts see them and the woods will be as safe for them as anyone else. The tolls we collect aren’t burdensome to travelers, and give us the coin we need to buy whatever we need from the peddlers above what they pay for our services. Some of our people are criminals, yes, but if they want to be part of the band, they follow our rules. They took me in, accepted my leadership when Bobby was ready to step down, and I’m going to do everything I can to protect them.” Sam ducked his head. “Which may mean leaving to marry you and staying gone.”
“Or leaving to marry me and then returning and if anyone thinks to look for you I can tell them you’re off on one of the expeditions I use to cover for Castiel being missing if someone’s looking for him while I’m busy as Emmanuel,” Castiel said slowly. It wouldn’t be perfect – it still required Sam to marry him – but it would be plausible. “The briefing I got from my father said you’d been to university and didn’t quite get to finish before your father pulled you out to come home and marry Lucifer, so that could explain the first few months, anyway. And then you’d be established as a scholar, so it would make sense for me to send you to gather knowledge or books.”
Sam blinked a couple times. “And you… you’d be willing to do that? For a guy you just met who turned out to be completely different from what you expected, for a bunch of outlaws?”
Castiel squinted at Sam, trying to understand the disbelief. The marriage was hardly Castiel’s idea, it was expected of them, and why would Sam be surprised that Castiel was willing to extend his cover story to include Sam? “For my fiancé and his people? Without hesitation.”
“I… wow.” Sam sat staring a couple minutes more, and then shook himself. “Okay, so, you take me to your dad, tell him… what?”
“Enough of the truth. You weren’t kidnapped, you fled Lucifer because of his reputation, and the people here fought Lucifer to keep him from forcing you to return. When I came out to retrieve my fiancé, you agreed to return, provided I agreed to forgo vengeance for my brother.” Castiel smirked. It wasn’t like he’d planned much in the way of vengeance. “I can’t say that Father will go along with it, but it’s the best I can think of.”
Sam nodded. “I can’t think of anything better. And then what? Public consummation, you announce I’m going back to finish my degree at university, and I come back here and we hope no one notices?”
“We don’t have to do the public consummation if you don’t want to,” Castiel said, suppressing the shudder. “Father insisted on it with Lucifer because… well… he figured Lucifer wouldn’t treat you too horribly on your wedding night if there were witnesses. I can be trusted without needing witnesses.”
Sam either couldn’t or didn’t suppress his shudder at that thought. “I really don’t care, but, uh, you should probably know I’m not a virgin. Out here, we don’t exactly…”
“Then we should opt for a private consummation so people won’t notice you talking me through things,” Castiel interrupted. He could not care less about Sam’s sexual history, so long as there were no diseases involved. Or… “Are there children involved?”
“Not… exactly?” Sam flushed. “There was a woman who came out here, shortly before Lucifer’s attack. She said she was carrying Lucifer’s child, and the birth was… it was messy. She died. With both parents dead, he’s my… ward, for lack of an official term for it.”
That was a complication, but one Castiel was prepared to roll with. “We can make that official – as Lucifer’s fiancé, it would make sense for you to be the official guardian, and as Lucifer’s brother, I would be a likely choice as well. Michael wouldn’t want the child, and while Gabriel might, Kali would never allow it. Raphael is right out.”
“Or… he’s illegitimate, he’d never really be welcome in the official royal family, so we could leave him here,” Sam said gently.
“There are ways around that – if you and Lucifer had a contract with this woman for a child, for instance.” At the look on Sam’s face, Castiel realized how this sounded. He and Sam had just agreed that this marriage was a sham and that Sam would be returning to the woods as soon as could be arranged without suspicion. “Of course, if you don’t want to make it official with us, that’s understandable. You can always bring the child forward later, if things change and you do want him recognized as a prince. I didn’t mean to make it sound like I was trying to take your child from you.”
“What? No, that’s…” Sam reached out, taking Castiel’s hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. “I just meant that Kelly suspected she wouldn’t be around to make decisions, and made me swear that Jack wouldn’t know anything about Lucifer if I could help it until he was old enough to understand why she would run away. If it were just about the kid, taking him with us wouldn’t be bad. Illegitimate or not, being raised as a prince’s son has its advantages.”
“And disadvantages.” Castiel briefly considered pulling his hand back, but decided against it. “Of course, if you promised Kelly, Jack will absolutely remain here. No other children?”
“No… I’m not opposed to the idea, and I know there are several women here who would jump at the chance, but until I felt safe from Lucifer I didn’t want to risk it. And now with you…”
It was Castiel’s turn to give Sam’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “I understand completely, Sam. I have no objection to you having children if you would like to, whether that’s for yourself or to please a friend. Don’t hold back on my account.”
Sam shook his head. “We’ll see where things stand after we’ve been married for a while I guess, but for now, too much risk of them being used against us.”
Fair enough, then. Castiel tried to think what else needed to be discussed. They had the plan for the wedding, the plan for Sam’s return to his people, there were minimal complications. “How do we explain this to your people, then? I assume Dean will want to accompany you to your wedding.”
Sam huffed a soft laugh. “Yeah, no kidding. After the storm, I’ll reintroduce you as Sir Emmanuel, explain where I’m going and why. Jessica can lead the camp while I’m gone, and I’ll make sure they know not to send a rescue party for me unless they hear something from Dean or Missouri.”
Dean, Castiel could understand. “Missouri?”
“One of my people. Forced out of her village as a young woman for witchcraft. She has visions, some psychic powers, she’ll know if your father pulls shenanigans and I end up trapped and needing rescue.” Castiel nodded. That made sense. It wouldn’t be necessary – if Sam ended up trapped, Sir Emmanuel would rescue him – but it was a sensible precaution. “Anything else? I feel like I should warn you – Dean’s probably not gonna be thrilled about this plan. Ignore him. He’ll get over it.”
“I don’t have anything else, then,” Castiel said after a moment’s thought.
Sam nodded and flashed a tentative smile. “In that case… no pressure or anything, but if you want, we could get a head start on that consummation thing. Less pressure here, where there’s no one paying any attention.”
Castiel blinked a few times, trying to figure out what Sam was thinking. Sure, Sam had admitted to not being a virgin, but this? He could understand if this were a normal engagement, with a proper courtship period and intention to live together after the wedding, but this was not that. Why would Sam have any interest in intercourse with Castiel? They could likely get away with not consummating at all, if they weren’t doing a public ceremony, so he didn’t understand. “Why?”
“Like I said. We don’t have to.” Sam looked away, hiding… disappointment? Now Castiel was even more confused. Why would Sam be disappointed? “I just thought… we’re gonna be married, so it’s not like… never mind. It was probably a stupid idea anyway. If you haven’t by now, you wouldn’t…”
Castiel tilted his head, squinting at Sam. “I have no objection to the idea, I’m just confused. A marriage for alliance with the intent of living apart doesn’t exactly strike me as the kind where sex would be involved at all, unless someone decides to insist on a public consummation or you don’t want to lie about the private one. I wasn’t expecting you to…”
“Oh.” Sam looked back. “You’re… I… you’ve impressed me with your integrity, your sense of honor, how different you are from your brothers or any other prince I’ve ever met. I love my life out here, and I’m not really looking to leave, but living with you doesn’t sound half bad. I like you, and I thought it might be fun. That’s all.”
A surprise to be sure, but certainly a welcome one. Castiel couldn’t remember the last person who had genuinely liked him without thinking they could use him for something, whether as the prince or the knight. “In that case, I see no reason not to. Your brother won’t accuse me of anything?”
“Are you kidding?” Sam rolled his eyes, but he had a fond look on his face. “It drives Dean crazy that I don’t get laid nearly as often as I could. He calls me ridiculous for turning people down. He knows I can handle myself, that storm or not I wouldn’t hesitate to sound the alarm if for some reason I didn’t feel like I could fight you off, so any sex happening tonight is consensual. Which, I really do mean it – I’d like to have sex with you tonight, but if you don’t, then say no. Whatever your reasoning is, it doesn’t matter. I’ll get over the disappointment just fine.”
“I think I would like to,” Castiel said slowly. He couldn’t blame Sam for the skeptical look. “I had honestly never considered the idea of sex outside of when Father got around to arranging my marriage, and I was expecting to bring home a brainwashed and traumatized fiancé. Sex was not on the table until you’d had a chance to recover. With the situation as it is, I have no reason not to, and a good reason in favor. Let’s do it.”
He reached for Sam, placing a soft hand on his face. Sam duck his head enough to catch Castiel’s lips in a kiss. “You’re sure about this?” he whispered.
“I’m sure. I’ll let you know if I change my mind, but I don’t expect that to happen,” Castiel promised.