9.23
The first time Dean sees Cas after his transformation, his eyes go green.
There are a million new, unfamiliar instincts telling him to fight the angel standing in front of him, to preserve himself and destroy what little amount of grace that’s keeping Cas on his feet. It’d be easy, really. Dean is strong right now, newly transformed, and Cas is the weakest he’s ever been… No. This is Cas, he reminds himself, and forces whatever this newer, darker version of himself is to take a seat.
"Dean?"
The word cuts into his thoughts and he feels his fists uncurl at his sides, his muscles involuntarily relaxing at the sound of Cas’s voice. He looks up and feels shame roll in his stomach. Cas is obviously exhausted, standing with his shoulders slouched and looking at Dean with heavy, bloodshot eyes. He takes a step forward and blinks slowly, looking at Dean as if he’s not sure that he’s actually there or not.
"It’s me," Dean says slowly, and God help him if his voice doesn’t crack like something straight out of a Julia Roberts movie.
Cas smiles, it’s brief and barely-there—no more than a slight flash of his usual grin—but it’s there, and Dean feels it settle somewhere dangerously close to his heart. “Good,” Cas says, and the smile is gone.
"Yeah," Dean nods, trying a smile of his own. It feels weird, too out of place, and he drops it.
"Are you okay?" Cas asks, and he takes a slight step forward; still cautious.
Dean doesn’t blame him.
"Peachy, Cas," he flashes his eyebrows. "You know, just unwinding after a long day of being the thing that I’ve hated and hunted for literally my entire life. Livin’ the dream, man."
Cas’s face softens at this, his head tilting to the side and his smile returning, more there this time. He still looks exhausted as he takes a couple more steps forward, Dean thinks, but he doesn’t look quite so shattered. He takes a deep breath and nods as he looks at Dean, like he’d managed to drop a weight somewhere on his way there, and Dean realizes that he’d been waiting for some sign that Dean was actually himself this entire time.
"Dean," Cas says again, and this time he places a hand on Dean’s shoulder.
Dean flinches slightly as pain flares up in his right arm; a sharp stabbing emanating from the mark like whatever he is now is trying to keep Cas from coming anywhere near him. Kill, some part of him says, but he doesn’t recognize the thought as his own so he shoves it down; finding that it’s easier to ignore when he’s looking at Cas.
"It hurts, doesn’t it?" Cas asks. "Being near me."
Dean nods, clenching his eyes shut, “Half of me has wanted to bludgeon you with a lamp since you stepped in the room.”
Cas’s smile returns, which is odd, Dean thinks, given that he’d just admitted to wanting to kill him for the past ten minutes.
"And what has the other half wanted to do?" Cas asks, and the hand that was on Dean’s shoulder moves to rest on his cheek.
Standing this close, Dean can see Cas’s face more clearly; all the lines creasing his forehead and the broken blood vessels in his eyes; the dark circles and smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. Dean has seen the look too many times before to ignore what it means. Cas has beengrieving. He’s been grieving Dean.
"You would kiss a demon?" Dean asks, and wow, he really hopes that this is what Cas is talking about.
Cas shakes his head and rubs his thumb over Dean’s cheek, pulling Dean down until their foreheads bump and rest against one another. “I would kiss you,” he whispers, and a second later, he’s doing just that.
It’s a gentle kiss, slow and soft and a just a little bit earth-shattering. Dean can feel himself getting lost in it, swept up in the careful slide of Cas’s tongue against his own and the soft humming coming from Cas’s throat.
When they pull apart, Dean buries his face in the side of Cas’s neck and sags against him, bone-weary and feeling safe for the first time in months.
Cas just holds him, arms around his waist and palms pressed against his back. He presses his lips to the side of Dean’s head and whispers something that sounds a lot like, "You’re alive," into his hair, letting out a long sigh as Dean hums and holds on tighter.
"You really think I’m gonna make it through this without going dark side?"
"If anyone could, it would be you, Dean," Cas says, pulling away just far enough to kiss Dean’s forehead.
It’s not a yes, Dean knows, hell, it’s not even a maybe, but right now—with Cas’s arms wrapped around his waist and the darker half of himself locked safely away somewhere in the back of his mind—he thinks that it just might be enough.
The first time Dean sees Cas after his transformation, his eyes go green.
There are a million new, unfamiliar instincts telling him to fight the angel standing in front of him, to preserve himself and destroy what little amount of grace that’s keeping Cas on his feet. It’d be easy, really. Dean is strong right now, newly transformed, and Cas is the weakest he’s ever been… No. This is Cas, he reminds himself, and forces whatever this newer, darker version of himself is to take a seat.
"Dean?"
The word cuts into his thoughts and he feels his fists uncurl at his sides, his muscles involuntarily relaxing at the sound of Cas’s voice. He looks up and feels shame roll in his stomach. Cas is obviously exhausted, standing with his shoulders slouched and looking at Dean with heavy, bloodshot eyes. He takes a step forward and blinks slowly, looking at Dean as if he’s not sure that he’s actually there or not.
"It’s me," Dean says slowly, and God help him if his voice doesn’t crack like something straight out of a Julia Roberts movie.
Cas smiles, it’s brief and barely-there—no more than a slight flash of his usual grin—but it’s there, and Dean feels it settle somewhere dangerously close to his heart. “Good,” Cas says, and the smile is gone.
"Yeah," Dean nods, trying a smile of his own. It feels weird, too out of place, and he drops it.
"Are you okay?" Cas asks, and he takes a slight step forward; still cautious.
Dean doesn’t blame him.
"Peachy, Cas," he flashes his eyebrows. "You know, just unwinding after a long day of being the thing that I’ve hated and hunted for literally my entire life. Livin’ the dream, man."
Cas’s face softens at this, his head tilting to the side and his smile returning, more there this time. He still looks exhausted as he takes a couple more steps forward, Dean thinks, but he doesn’t look quite so shattered. He takes a deep breath and nods as he looks at Dean, like he’d managed to drop a weight somewhere on his way there, and Dean realizes that he’d been waiting for some sign that Dean was actually himself this entire time.
"Dean," Cas says again, and this time he places a hand on Dean’s shoulder.
Dean flinches slightly as pain flares up in his right arm; a sharp stabbing emanating from the mark like whatever he is now is trying to keep Cas from coming anywhere near him. Kill, some part of him says, but he doesn’t recognize the thought as his own so he shoves it down; finding that it’s easier to ignore when he’s looking at Cas.
"It hurts, doesn’t it?" Cas asks. "Being near me."
Dean nods, clenching his eyes shut, “Half of me has wanted to bludgeon you with a lamp since you stepped in the room.”
Cas’s smile returns, which is odd, Dean thinks, given that he’d just admitted to wanting to kill him for the past ten minutes.
"And what has the other half wanted to do?" Cas asks, and the hand that was on Dean’s shoulder moves to rest on his cheek.
Standing this close, Dean can see Cas’s face more clearly; all the lines creasing his forehead and the broken blood vessels in his eyes; the dark circles and smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. Dean has seen the look too many times before to ignore what it means. Cas has beengrieving. He’s been grieving Dean.
"You would kiss a demon?" Dean asks, and wow, he really hopes that this is what Cas is talking about.
Cas shakes his head and rubs his thumb over Dean’s cheek, pulling Dean down until their foreheads bump and rest against one another. “I would kiss you,” he whispers, and a second later, he’s doing just that.
It’s a gentle kiss, slow and soft and a just a little bit earth-shattering. Dean can feel himself getting lost in it, swept up in the careful slide of Cas’s tongue against his own and the soft humming coming from Cas’s throat.
When they pull apart, Dean buries his face in the side of Cas’s neck and sags against him, bone-weary and feeling safe for the first time in months.
Cas just holds him, arms around his waist and palms pressed against his back. He presses his lips to the side of Dean’s head and whispers something that sounds a lot like, "You’re alive," into his hair, letting out a long sigh as Dean hums and holds on tighter.
"You really think I’m gonna make it through this without going dark side?"
"If anyone could, it would be you, Dean," Cas says, pulling away just far enough to kiss Dean’s forehead.
It’s not a yes, Dean knows, hell, it’s not even a maybe, but right now—with Cas’s arms wrapped around his waist and the darker half of himself locked safely away somewhere in the back of his mind—he thinks that it just might be enough.