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Castiel groaned, blood oozing from the fresh gash in his side. He'd been a moment too slow, something that was happening more and more as his grace dwindled. He recovered enough to finish off the beast just as Dean reached them, dropping his weapon and reaching for Cas as the creature's lifeless body slumped to the ground.
"Jesus, Cas! You alright?" Dean ignored his own injuries as he examined the sizeable gash in Castiel's side. Swallowing thickly, he met the angel's eyes. "We gotta get this stitched up, Cas. Without your-"
Castiel held up a hand. "I know! I know. We need to get out of here. You can clean me up at the hotel." Dean used the opportunity to maneuver himself under Castiel's arm, ignoring the angel's grumbled complaints as they hobbled toward Sam. The three of them made it to the Impala in a slow procession.
Castiel gritted his teeth against the pain of his injury and the anger he felt at his current situation. He should be healing the others, not becoming a liability himself. He slumped into the backseat with Dean's assistance, letting the other man buckle him in and holding his breath to keep from letting out a pained sound with Dean so close. He let it out in a whoosh as Dean jogged around to the driver's side and held the wadded up shirt Dean had given him to his side, feeling weak and wondering when the Winchesters would decide he was more trouble than he was worth. The thought twisted his stomach. He stared out the window with a glum expression, ignoring Dean's worried glances from the rear view mirror.
The 'H' of the hotel sign flickered, then sputtered out entirely as they pulled into a spot close to their room. Dean moved quickly, pulling the passenger door open and scooping Castiel out along with his bag which contained their makeshift med kit. "Time to patch you up, angel." His voice was gruff and businesslike, and Sam rolled his eyes at his older brother's attempt to mask his obvious concern for the angel. He wasn't interested in being around while these two idiots did their little dance around each other, so he snatched the keys from Dean before he could protest, ignoring his brother's glare and promising to return with food.
Dean heard a soft noise of pain escape Castiel, and decided not to argue. At least not while Cas still needed his help. He sighed heavily, guiding Cas toward their room as he yelled back, "You better grab beer too! And pie!" He ignored Sammy's muttered, "Yeah, yeah" in favor of helping the angel into the room.
Castiel felt unsteady on his feet as Dean flitted around him to gather the necessary supplies. "Dean, I think I need to sit down."
Dean paused in his quest for his needle and thread and swallowed down a lump in his throat. "Shit, yeah, okay. Wanted to do this in the bathroom but, here-" He led Castiel to the edge of the nearest bed and helped him sit after carefully slipping his torn trench coat off his shoulders and letting it fall to the floor. Cas looked worryingly pale.
"Stay here." The command felt unnecessary given the angel's current state, but he felt reassured just the same when Castiel gave him a curt nod. He rushed to the bathroom and wet a washcloth so he could at least try to clean the wound a little bit before stitching it up. Castiel watched as Dean knelt in front of him and gently moved his arm out of the way so he could assess the wound. Luckily, it was more shallow than he'd assumed at first glance, and he was relatively confident he could patch it up well enough with the supplies he had on hand.
Without Dean making the conscious choice to do so, his finger ghosted along the rip in Cas' shirt before he blinked and pulled his hand away quickly. "Gonna have to take that off."
He gestured to Cas' ruined shirt, avoiding the angel's gaze and fiddling with his supplies while Castiel slowly began to undo the buttons. After a sharp intake of breath belied his discomfort at the simple action, Dean grunted and moved into his space. He moved Castiel's hands out of the way with more gentleness than his gruff demeanor would suggest and continued unbuttoning the injured angel's shirt.
As he helped slip the tattered cloth off Castiel's shoulders, he noticed a flash of ink on the angel's uninjured side. "What's that?"
Castiel saw where Dean was looking and tried to hide it with his arm. In his haste to conceal the tattoo he had gotten when he'd been offered one by someone they'd helped on a case a few months back, he moved too quickly, causing a pained noise to escape his lips. Dean gave him a death glare before grabbing his wrist and pulling his arm out of the way, still mindful not to hurt the angel further. "What are you hiding, Cas?"
With a sigh, Castiel held his arm out of the way so Dean could get a good look. It was a winding path of words in a flowing script that read:
If the sun refused to shine, I would still be loving you / When mountains crumble to the sea, there will still be you and me
Dean swallowed as he let his fingers gently trace the path of the words. He recognized them immediately, and the implication of Castiel having chosen to put them on his body was not lost on the hunter. "Oh. Uhh..."
Castiel sighed and turned his face away from Dean. "I... It wasn't meant for you to see. Can we please just get this over with?" He gestured to the gash on his side, meeting Dean's dumbfounded gaze briefly before looking away again.
"Cas-"
"Dean." Castiel's voice was deep and brokered no argument. They stared at each other in another of their silent stand offs, though this one was charged in a way the others hadn't been. Dean blinked slowly, then bit his tongue, nodded, and got to work.
The next several minutes were spent in silence as Dean focused on stitching up the wound with a practiced hand. His thoughts were too much to parse at the moment, so he put his energy into making his stitches clean and even and tried not to replay the feel of the angel's skin jumping beneath his touch as he traced that beautiful script. The heat of it now as he finished up his work.
He wanted to touch the angel more. He wanted to not want to touch the angel at all, and the whole thing made him feel confused and frustrated and - to his mortification - more than a little aroused. His hands remained steady despite the turmoil Dean felt inside, and soon there was no reason left to have his hands on Cas.
Dean knelt back but didn't move out of the angel's space. Cas wouldn't look at him, but Dean couldn't look away. Some color had returned to his pale skin, and Dean let his eyes wander over the broad chest that was once Jimmy's but now belonged solely to Castiel. His stomach was clenched in discomfort or pain, and Dean found his hand once again moving without his permission. His fingers traced the taut lines of the angel's stomach, causing Castiel to finally look at him.
"Dean.." His tone was different this time, not quite a warning but heavy with confusion and apprehension. Dean's hand slipped down to rest on Castiel's leg. He looked at it as he tried to assemble his tumultuous thoughts. He could back away, remove his hands from Castiel entirely and let the tattoo thing drop and go back to the same song and dance they'd always followed. Was that what he really wanted?
"Dean?" Castiel's voice was soft, but it cut through the noise of Dean's inner battle like a fog horn. His eyes snapped up to meet the angel's, and then his hands were moving again and they were on Castiel's face, holding it steady so Dean could (carefully) crash their lips together. A quiet voice in Dean's head revolted, saying things that got lost in the buzzing that filled his ears as Castiel clumsily began to kiss him back. Castiel blinked several times when Dean finally pulled away for air. "Oh."
Dean let out a breathless chuckle. "Okay?"
Castiel leaned forward as if to entice Dean to kiss him again. "Yes."
Dean laughed, though not unkindly. He definitely wanted to kiss Castiel again, but he needed to make sure he didn't hurt the angel (or mess up his fine needle work). "Okay."
Castiel watched with wide eyes as Dean carefully removed his pants, leaving only a plain pair of white boxers beneath. He let Dean maneuver him until he was on his back with his head on a too-thin pillow - wondering if perhaps he'd lost so much grace he'd fallen asleep, and this was all just a very pleasant dream. Either way, his eyes couldn't leave Dean as the man hastily stripped down to his boxer briefs and climbed up to claim Castiel's mouth with a long, filthy kiss.
"Gonna take good care of you, angel." Dean kissed along his jaw, letting himself enjoy the sharp lines and soft scrape of the angel's perpetual 5 o'clock shadow. He nipped at the soft skin of Cas' neck, smiling as the angel let out a gasp of his name. He was going to make this so good for Cas. Never mind that he was already rock hard and shaking with an excitement he hadn't experienced in a very long time.
Dean took his time, using his mouth and hands to explore the expanse of skin he normally only caught glimpses of in times of distress. He moved Cas' arm until it was up next to his head then leaned back to admire the beautiful ink. He began to sing softly as he kissed along the curving lines of lyrics:
"And so today, my world, it smiles / Your hand in mine, we walk the miles / And thanks to you, it will be done / For you to me are the only one"
He looked up at the last line to see Cas' awed stare, grinning and feeling his cheeks grow warm as he slid down the last barrier between him and the angel. Castiel's cock was wet with pre-come, and Dean only felt a second of hesitation before steadying himself with a deep breath and taking the angel into his mouth. Whatever nerves he felt evaporated at the almost inhuman noise that came out of Cas the moment Dean's mouth touched his cock.
"Deeeean!" Dean had never done this before, but he must be a natural if the way Castiel wailed and shook beneath him was any indication. He was probably going to freak out about all of this later, but for now he let himself enjoy the smooth slide of Castiel's cock, the thick way it sat on his tongue and invaded his mouth and the undeniably sexy way his ministrations were turning this stoic warrior of Heaven into a blubbering mess.
He could feel Cas getting close, so he pulled off and began stroking the angel, who looked down and panted out an accusatory, "Why?"
Dean chuckled and indulged the greedy angel, sucking him down again and bobbing a few times before pulling off to the soundtrack of a discontented groan. Before Castiel could protest again, Dean gave him a conciliatory kitten lick and said, "Can I fuck you?"
Castiel groaned and nodded with enthusiasm. This was beyond any fleeting thought he'd let himself have about the hunter. Dean had seen his tattoo, had understood what it meant - and now he wanted to be inside Castiel. The thought had the angel quivering in anticipation as Dean rifled through his bag until he found the tiny bottle of lube he kept for the nights he had his own room and was feeling a bit adventurous. He rid himself of the last of his clothing and bit his lip as Castiel opened his legs wider so Dean could knee walk between them. His heart pounded like he was at the edge of a cliff about to dive off, but let out a shaky huff and leaned down between Cas' legs. Dean prepared the angel with his limited knowledge of the mechanics of this particular act, using his mouth to distract Cas and keep him relaxed.
After some time, he was able to pump three fingers in and out of Cas smoothly. Castiel's thighs were shaking and he kept whispering Dean's name and the word, "please", which was driving Dean crazy. He kissed the tip of Cas' leaking cock and grabbed the lube, hissing as the cold liquid touched hot skin. Dean looked up to make sure Cas was still okay, and the angel only opened his legs wider and beckoned Dean forward. With a groan, Dean complied, lining himself up and locking eyes with the angel as he began to slip inside.
"Hollly Jesus." Cas was extremely tight, and Dean was struggling to keep his cool as he felt his hips connect with the back of the angel's thighs. He wanted to make this last for Cas, for the both of them if he was being honest. There was no guarantee he'd ever get to be with Cas like this again, so he closed his eyes and tried to breathe through it as he held still and let Cas adjust. After what felt like an instant and an eternity at once, he began to move.
Castiel might have had opinions on Dean's blaspheming, but they were lost in the sensation of Dean sliding into him like the missing piece of a puzzle he'd never known wasn't whole. His mind had just begun to try and process the experience when Dean began to move inside him, and the angel surrendered to feeling for the first time in his long existence. The voice that called out Dean's name didn't sound like his own, and his body danced to a rhythm he hadn't consciously known the steps to as they gasped and clutched at each other.
Dean felt Castiel's body tighten around him and knew the angel was close. He took Cas in hand and stroked him as he picked up his pace and chased his own end. "Come on, Cas. Come with me, sweetheart."
Castiel wailed as Dean worked him through a powerful orgasm. He felt a surge of his waning grace course through his body, like a car battery being jumped. Dean began chanting his name as he came inside Castiel, and the angel nearly wept at how good it felt to see Dean come undone above him.
Dean was mindful of Castiel's injured side as he eased himself out of the angel, though he noted with distant interest that it looked much smaller and less inflamed than it had been when he'd stitched it up. He laid on Cas' other side, letting his fingers trace up and down the tattoo as his breathing slowly returned to normal.
"I like this." He kept running his fingers over it, tracing the letters and enjoying the closeness without thinking about it too hard.
"I can tell." He could hear the smile in Castiel's voice, though he didn't look up to confirm. Instead he let his head fall onto Cas' shoulder, smiling into the warm skin there as sleep took him.
Castiel held Dean as his breathing evened out and his features relaxed. The angel knew better than to think things would feel this good when Dean woke up and reality popped this little bubble they'd created, but for now he kissed the hunter's head and let himself relax.
"I'll watch over you." He whispered, smiling into the darkness.
---
Sam grabbed the bag of lukewarm burgers and fries and checked the time before grabbing the rest of their bags and making his way toward their room. He'd made it back later than intended, so he opened the door quietly on the off chance Dean had given up on him and gone to sleep. He held the bag of food in front of him as a peace offering, but nearly dropped it when he saw his brother fast asleep, curled up in Castiel's arms. Castiel, who was mojoed up enough not to need sleep, smiled at him and put a finger to his lips.
He looked at his sleeping brother. Took you long enough. He was definitely going to give Dean shit in the morning, but for now he smiled at Cas and backed out of the room. The girl at the check-in counter was surprised to see him, but smiled knowingly when he asked for a separate room - one that wasn't next to their first room. He made his way to the single bed and yawned, glad he'd hit that traffic on the way back after all.