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He woke up alone.
This was unusual enough that his morning drowsiness was immediately replaced with confusion. Every day he’d been married to Castiel, Dean woke up with feathers in his face and strong arms wrapped tightly around his naked midsection. But not only was his bed empty, it was also cold, and that sent his confusion straight to panic. He quickly swung his legs over the side of his bed and looked around. The curtains were still drawn, so he couldn’t make out every detail of his surroundings, but he could see enough to tell him that his husband wasn’t in the room at all.
Dean worked through his brain to remember if there was an event or something that would draw his husband away, but only one probability came to him. Stomach in his throat, he rushed to Cas’s wardrobe and yanked the wooden doors open, revealing the clothes within. Dropping to his knees, he pulled out the intricate chest containing Cas’s armor, and with a steadying breath, he removed the lid.
Empty. Completely empty. He wanted to throw something but slammed the lid shut instead. He leaned back onto his heels and glared at the dark interior, still naked as the day he was born, trying to figure out his next move. Step one was obviously to get dressed, and he took care of that immediately, barely taking the time to slip on his shoes before he was out the door and making his way to where he knew Benny would be having his morning debrief with the night guard.
“Benny!” he called the moment his burly friend was in sight.
The man in question glanced up and waved his companion away, walking to meet Dean halfway. “Good morning, your highness.”
“Cut the shit, where’s Cas?”
His posture relaxed and he sighed. “Dean…”
“Where is he, and if you say he ran off to battle, I swear to god I’ll transfer you to chamber pot duty.”
Despite the situation, Benny cracked a smile. “You don’t have the authority.”
“Benny…”
“We got a bird from Commander Naomi, and since he agreed to go if—”
“Shit! They’ve been fine for a couple of months! What the hell happened?”
“Word is that a group of demons are terrorizing one of their border towns.”
That was it? That was a weekly occurrence in this part of the land. It had to be something else. “They don’t need him for that!”
“One of Abaddon’s lackies is leading them.”
“Fuck.” Everything suddenly made sense. If they could capture the demon, then they might be able to get information and would be one step closer to finding Abaddon. Getting rid of her would be a major victory. “What did the letter say?”
“I’m not sure. The letter went straight to him.”
He wanted to yell and stomp, but he was a prince and his station demanded poise, at least in the sight of others. “If you hear anything…”
“Yes, your majesty.”
He turned and forced himself to walk away so that Benny wouldn’t see just how upset he was. How was he going to complete his duties while his husband was away on some dangerous mission? He could be bleeding out in a ditch! Or worse, taken prisoner and tortured by Abaddon herself! If that happened… Dean shuddered at the thought. Cas’d be tortured for information, and eventually killed. Is that how Dean would see him next? Delivered to the palace gates, covered in blood and leaking grace from his wounds? His father tried to keep him away from some of the brutalities of war, but even he knew what happened to captured angels, especially ones with Cas’s knowledge.
God, he felt like such an idiot for not putting his foot down when Cas said he wanted to help every once in a while. If it was up to him, they could all go fuck themselves for being so shitty to Cas, but his husband wasn’t willing to completely throw away his position in the military, or the influence he held. It was stupid. Reckless. Cas was going to get himself killed one day. They should have had this conversation months ago, and now it was too late. Cas was gone without even saying goodbye.
He was barely able to get through his morning meetings before he could retire to his office for ‘paperwork.’ There were contracts to sign, petitions to read, and complaints to consider, but those would have to wait for another day. Instead of his duties, he undid the knee buckles on his breeches, kicked his feet up on his desk, and attempted to relax. He was only marginally successful.
By the time he choked down dinner and retired to his rooms, he was exhausted and ready to sleep, but he couldn’t stop himself from opening his window and staring into the darkness, looking for some kind of sign of his husband’s return. Of course, there was nothing to see and he slammed his window shut before undressing and climbing into bed. Three hours later, he was still tossing and turning. Without Cas’s bulk beside him and those gorgeous wings on top of him like a thick blanket, he felt bare and exposed. The bed, which had felt comfortable before he married Cas, was now cold and unwelcoming, far too big for just one person. He rolled over and roughly punched at his pillow, hoping to fluff the down feathers and get even an ounce more comfortable. If he could just go to sleep, maybe he’d wake up in the morning and Cas would be there, lightly snoring with adorably parted lips.
As pathetic as it sounded, this was the longest he’d been away from Cas in the months they’ve been married. An hour or two here or there for meetings and then they were pulled together like magnets, hands touching and shoulders bumping. It was embarrassing to be this distraught over spending a day—well, less than a full day—away from his husband, but… he’d be heartbroken if he lost Cas.
o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o
By the time morning rolled around, Dean was exhausted from lack of sleep and worry. Cas hadn’t come home, and when he went downstairs to check in with Benny, he was told there hadn’t been any new information about his husband’s whereabouts. He spent the day stomping around the castle, going to and from his meetings and glaring at anyone who got close enough. When he climbed into bed that night, he felt pathetic enough to grab Cas’s pillow and hug it to his chest, burying his nose in the silk just to get a hint of Cas’s scent.
The next day came with the same news. No Cas, no birds with an update, not even a fucking smoke signal. He spent the day at the barracks, hacking away at a wooden dummy with a practice sword while Charlie talked up a storm in an attempt to distract him. It didn’t work. Even after the dummy had been turned into pulp, and he started on the second one. Not even when he took up a bow and filled the target with arrows.
On day four of his husband’s mission, Dean woke up just after dawn and couldn’t go back to sleep. He pulled the curtains open, staring out at the main gate with hope in his eyes, but there was no sight of Cas’s carriage rumbling up the drive, or even a horseman with an early letter. Suddenly hot and a little clammy, he unlocked the large window and pushed it open, letting the cool air wash against his bare skin. He stayed there a moment longer, staring at the gates before he turned back to the room in defeat.
His anger was gone, replaced with sadness. He was lonely, but it felt ridiculous to admit it out loud. It hadn’t even been a week, and he was useless in the castle, all because his husband was gone. But to him, it was more than that. Not only was Cas his husband, he was his best friend. Cas was the one who made him laugh and told him when he was being an idiot. Cas was the one who he was quickly falling in love with.
With so little sleep in the last few days, he was finding it hard to work up the energy to wash up and get dressed for the day. Thankfully, he didn’t have anything on his schedule until dinner, where he would be expected to entertain Princess Jessica along with her parents. Dean briefly considered faking illness so he could lay in bed all day, but they would call for a doctor and he didn’t want to risk getting leeches put on him again, so he quickly shook the thought out of his head.
Turning his back on the window and trying his hardest to put Cas out of his mind, he walked the short distance to their washbasin and cleaned his face, hoping to invigorate himself just a little with the cold water. Even if he didn’t have meetings, he still had a stack of parchment to read and sign, and when all that was done, he had to make time for tea with his mom or she’d have his head on a—
A shout, loud and clear, echoed into his room from the courtyard, and Dean whirled to his window. A black mass was hurtling towards him, and between one blink and the next, it was through his window. He had no time to scream or do anything other than bringing his hands up to cover his face and brace for impact. He was naked and unarmed, wholly without protection of any kind, and—
The form slid to a stop and crouched low. Familiar blue eyes stared up at him from a face so covered in grime that he hadn’t even realized it was human, or more accurately, his husband.
His heart was pounding, adrenaline coursing through his blood and cutting off his air. “Cas! You can’t just fly through the window like that!”
Cas stood and took a step forward, ash floating off his clothes and landing softly on the floor. “My apologies, I just saw that the window was—"
Dean groaned, pushing his palm to his chest and feeling his frantic heartbeat. When his heart began to calm, he finally fixed his eyes on his bashful-looking husband. He appeared to be completely unharmed, with only a layer of dirt coating his tan skin and a few smears of blood on his armor. Cas was fine, and the weight that had settled over his heart began to ease. Without any more hesitation, he rushed forward and pulled the man into his arms, grunting at the weight of his armor as the angel stumbled into him. Without a care for what could be all over Cas’s armor, Dean grabbed him by the jaw and pulled him into a filthy kiss. “I can't believe you just—” he licked into his husband's mouth, pulling him in even further. “Where is your carriage? I’ve been looking for it!”
“Left it behind.” Cas murmured into Dean’s lips. “I hate that thing.”
He smelled of woodsmoke and sweat, and that only spurred him on as he attacked Cas’s tongue with his, letting out all sorts of embarrassing noises as Cas’s hands went straight to clawing at his back. “I’m so mad at you right now. My guards are going to have a heart attack.”
Cas just hummed in agreement and kissed along the curve of Dean’s jaw.
“I can’t believe you just left!”
“Commander Naomi—”
“I don’t give a shit what your aunt wanted. You can’t just leave without telling me! I had no idea how long you would be gone!”
“I didn’t know either.”
“Fuck. I missed you so much.” He went back to peppering kisses on Cas’s face, his hands trailing down his shoulders so he could grab his armor and pull him even closer. Cas’s wings wrapped around Dean, covering him from head to foot in warmth. It felt so good to be caressed by those feathers again that his throat choked with emotion.
Cas pulled away, his clear blue eyes squinting at him below pinched brows. “You’re naked.”
Dean snorted and pulled Cas’s mouth against his for another kiss. “It’s just past dawn. What do you expect?”
“I expected to find you in bed and then join you after I wash.”
“Fuck getting washed, get naked right now so I can show you how much I missed you.”
“I’m filthy,” he muttered, eyes trailing down Dean’s body. “I haven’t had time to clean up, and I flew straight here so—” Cas trailed off, staring at the door just moments before Dean heard footsteps pounding down the hall. Feathers barely covered his nakedness before Benny burst into their room, sword raised and a dozen men behind him.
At the sight of Castiel, Benny stopped short and lowered his sword.
Dean cleared his throat to cover his laugh at the sight they must make. Castiel covered in grime, and Dean’s bare feet poking out from under a curtain of feathers. “Stand down! My husband has returned from the war front,” he said in his most authoritative tone. “Please inform the king.”
Benny bowed at the waist, crossing his fist over his chest. “Yes, your majesty.”
Dean was about to send them away when Castiel spoke up. “Sir Lafitte, I need a tub brought to the room.”
Another bow. “Yes, your majesty.”
With an arched brow directed at Dean, Benny turned and left, his men following behind him and closing the door, leaving them alone once again. He was going to be in so much trouble. “See? I told you! You can’t just fly in here like that.”
A calloused hand drifted down Dean’s spine and gripped a handful of his ass. “I wanted to return to my husband as soon as possible. A carriage would have added two days to my journey.”
“Still…” he grumbled. “You probably took five years off of Benny’s life. I’m going to hear it from my dad, you know. He’ll be pissed, and it will somehow all be my fault.”
The hand cupping his ass drifted lower, teasing the crease at his thigh. “How can I make it up to you?”
Dean gulped as all his blood rushed south. “Let me join you for that bath.”
Cas’s lips tilted up in a smirk. “Help me get undressed?”
Dean couldn’t get to work fast enough.