Work Text:
“Raphael.”
“Castiel.” The greeting was certainly not even the least warm. Castiel tried not to let it hurt. After all, he and Raphael were currently at war, despite what they had been in the past and Castiel, at least, hoped to be again in the future. If Raphael had his way, it would never happen again, but Castiel thought he had a way to convince Raphael that he was wrong. “I see the truce banner. What could we have to discuss? You disagree with me, and I can’t think of anything that would convince either of us that we’re wrong.”
“I can think of one thing.” Castiel straightened himself, wings very carefully held neutrally. “I come bearing news.”
“Good news or bad?” Raphael asked.
“It depends. For me, good news. For you, it may be mixed.” Castiel paused to brace himself. This had to be handled extremely delicately. “As you know, I went to the Cage.”
“A foolish waste of time, if you brought the Winchester brats out but not…” Castiel’s flinch must have been more obvious than he thought as Raphael didn’t finish the thought, peering at Castiel curiously. “What is it?”
“You will possibly regret your choice of words when I’ve finished my report.” From Raphael’s wings, Castiel could see the skepticism. Fair enough. If he hadn’t been there, if he hadn’t seen it for himself, he would be skeptical, too. Raphael had never had any interest in the Winchesters. “Adam chose to remain behind, when he realized I had no intention of freeing Michael. The two have… bonded.”
“All the more reason to raise our brothers and get the plan back on the rails,” Raphael retorted once his shock had passed. Castiel was buoyed, however, by the look of grief in his wings. Raphael missed their shared mate as much as Castiel did. “Sam, then? You rescued Sam?”
“I did, and in doing so, I got a good look at his unguarded soul. You must know that even Lucifer could not change or forge the sort of bonding that Michael has with Adam.” This was it. The critical moment. “The bond of a True Vessel is in the flesh and blood, not in the soul. The soul is irrelevant. Lucifer could only affect Sam’s soul directly by bonding himself to it, and Sam would never have fallen enough to allow that bond to form.”
“So he and Lucifer are not bonded, and Sam was willing to come.” The impatience in Raphael’s wings annoyed Castiel. “What is your point, Castiel? Because we have a war to fight.”
“My point is that I could see the intertwined twin bond in Sam’s soul,” Castiel said, wanting to say it much more harshly than he allowed it to come out. As Raphael’s impatience grew, he clarified, “Mine. Raphael, Sam’s soul is bonded to me.”
The impatience drained away completely, replaced with shock and regret. “Intertwined with mine, you mean. Sam Winchester is the latest incarnation of the soul we have loved over so many lifetimes.”
“The soul that we not only allowed, but practically forced, to condemn itself to the Cage and our brothers’ so-called mercy,” Castiel said, this time letting some of the heat out. “The soul whose sacrifice you deemed unworthy and irrelevant. The soul you called…”
“You were right. I do regret my words,” Raphael whispered. “You did find the one thing that could end the war. Where is Sam now?”
“With Dean. His soul is now bound to his brother’s, just as it is to ours, although differently. Before we go to him…”
“Naturally.” Raphael spread his wings, and a message went out over Angel Radio.
SAM WINCHESTER IS SAVED