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Dean bit the inside of his lip.
Cas was still unresponsive. Sam and Rowena were talking in the hallway while Dean sat on the chair in front of Cas' bed.
They'd been hunting for this witch for some time now, so how could've they been so careless?
They had her too, so how could Dean let that happen? He looked away for one second and now his best friend was on the verge of being a vegetable forever.
Cas had been hit with some kind of spell that was keeping him 'locked' inside his vessel.
This was fucking stupid, he told him to be careful, and once again Cas didn't listen. He was mad at Cas, at himself, at the world. Just once they couldn't have a fucking win.
He let go of Cas' hand when he heard Sammy's stepfoots behind him.
“So?” He was gonna be damned before losing his best friend to some B-grade wanna-be witch.
Rowena and Sam both entered the room gloomily. She sighed and finally broke the silence, “There is a way”
“We'll take it,” Dean stood up from his chair.
“Hear her out first Dean”
Rowena shot Sam a quick smile. “Well, it's actually quite simple, you boys just have to be very, very careful” she exhaled, “you know, like you usually are…” she muttered.
On a normal day Dean would probably fuss about that last bit, but now he couldn't care less. There was a way to get Cas better, and that's really all that mattered.
“The spell managed to seal the poor angel inside his vessel. Unfortunately, the magic that is keeping him bolted is deep in him by now, and removing it is not as easy as just performing a ritual.
This kind of magic is very strong, to keep an angel locked up is a lot of work, especially for an amateur witch, so the curse holds on tight to whatever it can find.”
“Meaning?” Dean was impatient.
“This spell grabbed something from our angel's mind and it's refusing to let go and it's going to keep latching onto everything that surrounds it. If it keeps on like that, there's not gonna be much Castiel left in the soup of curse we're gonna have”
Dean swallowed—Rowena certainly knew how to paint a picture.
“And how do we do that?”
“Well african dream root!” Rowena smirked, “How else do you boys get into people's subconsciouses?”
She sighed, seeing as Dean probably made his mind about this already regardless of what she may say, “You have to find the place that the curse has latched itself onto and recite an incantation to weaken it, that way I can finally get rid of it here”
Dean was ready to flee when she stopped him.
“But! There's just one little thing”, Rowena looked him dead in the eye, “if you happen to find Castiel in there, whatever you do, you can't tell him anything that's happening”
“What?”
“You heard me. If Castiel finds out about this spell, consider him done. His mind will start to thrash around trying to fight it, and he will not succeed.” She poked a finger on Dean's chest.
“Got it”
“I'm serious, this is very serious magic we're dealing with. You cannot disturb him if you want this to go right, are we clear?”
“Yes ma'am”
“Good” she clasped her hands together, “Samuel? Be a dear and bring me my bag”
God, dream rot was awful. He would never get used to the taste.
As he walked he entered a peaceful, flowery garden that stretched as far as his vision went. Huh. Who would have thought Cas was big on imagination?
All he had to do now is try to get back to Sam and no matter what, not run up to Cas. They had been looking for what seemed like hours—probably not a lot topside though—and decided to split up for some time. It had been a while already, and he would've been able to find Sammy already if it wasn't for this goddamn maze—
The familiar tan color of a trench coat billowed just a little farther ahead.
Fuck. At least Cas hasn't seen Dean yet, maybe he could still make a run for it-
Castiel, like on cue, suddenly turned around. “Dean?”
Okay, double fuck. He'd have to improvise now.
Cas came up to Dean, “What are you doing here?”
Dean said the first that came to mind, which also happened to be the most stupid one, “Uh- You're dreaming, this is all a figment of your imagination.”
Really? That was the route he was taking? Dean mentally crossed his fingers for it to work, he couldn't afford Cas going all self-destruct mode.
“I don't dream”
“Yes you do, you're dreaming right now” He'd had to commit to the bit now, go all in.
“I am?” Cas tilted his head.
“Yeah” Dean huffed, not really sure where to take this now. Maybe he could keep Cas busy long enough so Sam can find the place where the curse was spreading.
“What do I do now?” Castiel asked, dumbfoundedly. Only Cas of all people would ask that.
Right, Cas hadn't had a dream in like, ever. Maybe that time when he was human, but Cas didn't really tell him anything, and Dean doubts that if he did get a chance to dream about something, it wasn't anything pleasant.
“Whatever you want buddy, we're in your court now” Dean smiled.
Cas' took a deep breath. “Whatever I want?”
“Anything you want”
Oh, right. Dean didn't even consider the possibility of wanting to spend his dream with some… companionship (why is he a prude now all of the sudden?), and he couldn't just poof out of there. This was gonna be awkward.
It's not like he can blame him though, Cas gets laid like every once in a gazillion years (not that Dean keeps count).
Hell, Cas even entered his mind while he was having a sex dream—which featured two girls dressed as a demon and an angel (how unoriginal of him).
Dean wondered how that'd be, would Cas wanna dream about a human or some demon chick? That—or any other variation of it—seemed like his type lately anyways. Maybe an angel?
As Dean's spiral went on, Cas was still pondering, until he looked Dean straight in the eye and nervously said:
“Kiss me”
“W-what?” Dean chuckled, forgetting that he's supposed to be acting like Cas' mind minion now.
Castiel furrowed his brow. “Kiss me?”
Saying this was unexpected would be an understatement. Dean found himself reeling a bit, not sure what the hell was happening. Castiel wanted to kiss. Castiel, angel of the Lord, wanted a kiss.
Cas stepped closer, waiting.
Oh, right.
Dean awkwardly stepped forward, until he could faintly feel Cas' rapid breaths on his face. He wasn't really sure where to put his hands—or how to even begin to kiss his best friend—but after a brief second he settled on laying them on the side of Cas' arms.
This is all a part of an act, he chanted over and over again in his head. He just needed to comply long enough to buy Sammy some time to get Cas in tip-top shape again.
He tilted his head a little and—oh he was actually doing this, okay—pressed a soft kiss to Cas' lips.
Castiel breath hitched, his hands coming up to grip Dean's arms and pressed his lips harder against each other's.
It was actually kind of nice, sweet even. How did he manage to get to this situation he didn't know anymore.
Cas pulled away first, letting out a big exhale and turning his head away. He looked far too debauched for a measly chaste kiss.
“Again” Cas demanded.
Cas' wishes were Dean's commands, so he was left with no other choice than to dive right back in, but was stopped by a hand on his chest.
“Wait, um-” Cas looked up again and his face was bright red, a blotchy blush decorating it “tell me you love me first”
Dean's head went blank. A cute little make-out session? He could do that. The big L word? He wasn't so sure.
Dean heaved a big breath, not sure anymore what would come out of his mouth, but “I love you Cas” was not one of his predictions.
Dean himself was more surprised by how easily his own reply came out than Cas.
Castiel sighed, his eyes doing that thing where they get all cute and puppy-like, but he looked sad.
“Do you really mean it?” It seemed like Dean saying he loved Cas was actually doing more damage than good.
“Of course I mean it” Dean was a little too quick to respond. He didn't know if he was trying to convince Cas this was real or himself that this was all still part of the act.
Castiel gripped Dean's arms tighter, “But I hurt you and your brother”, he turned his head to the side, with a pained expression, “Multiple times”
“That's not true, I mean it is, but you've also saved our asses more times than I could count”—Dean chuckled awkwardly—“I've hurt you before”.
He entwined Cas' hands on his own, but did little to ease Cas' sadness.
“I really wish things were different” Cas sighed, Dean's word passing right over his head. What else could he expect though? Cas still thought he was talking to a self-created version of Dean.
Anyway, he didn't want to watch this anymore, didn't wanna continue seeing Cas looking so hurt, so pained. Logically, he did the first thing he thought would make Cas happy.
He placed a gentle kiss on his lips. And the another one for good measure, and then another one on his cheek, on his other cheek so it didn't feel left out, on his lips again-
And then he kind of lost track.
Dean shivered at the feeling of Cas' fingers treading through his hair. He didn't want to take it farther than long pecks, scared Cas may not really want that, but the angel slowly opened up his mouth more and more and Dean couldn't do anything but comply.
Dean's hands somehow managed to get under the trench coat and suit jacket, feeling Cas' warmth.
Suddenly, he was being yanked away.
His first instinct was to take the biggest breath he could. His vision was fuzzy and he was barely there yet when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Sammy. He was sitting in the bunker’s library.
“Sam, Sam! Are you okay?” he gripped the sides of the chair.
“Dean! It's okay- I'm fine”
“Did you get that thing out?”
“Yeah, I found it, it's gone,” Sam smiled, a little out of breath.
Dean let out a deep breath. “Good”, he ran a hand over his face, “that's good”