Fic: Castopus [Sastiel Mini Bang 2014]

[kidezt]

This is written for the Mini Bang route of sastiel_bigbang's 2014 challenge.

Title: Castopus; or Twenty-Thousand Leagues Out of the Sea
Author: kidezt
Artist: disreputabled0g
Characters: Sam Winchester, Castiel, Dean Winchester, Jesse Turner, Bobby Singer, Patrick
Rating: T
Word Count: 8,934
Warnings: Innocent tentacles and painful octopus jokes.
Summary: AU from 5x06 “I Believe the Children Are Our Future”. While trying to kill the anti-Christ, Cas gets turned into a tiny octopus. After Jesse disappears, everyone involved is returned to normal... except one.

A/N: This is my first time writing a full-length fic and participating in one of these challenges as an author, so this has been a great experience for me. I'm more of an artist than an author any day, but I hope you'll enjoy reading the story. Let me know what you think, I appreciate feedback of any kind!

I'd like to give my eternal thanks to my friend and beta, shinigami_yumi, who without her influence, suggestions, and coercion this fic would have never been. I'd also like to graciously thank my other beta, story_monger, for ironing out the kinks in my fic, helping with my awkward English, and whipping it into much better shape.

Not to forget, a big thank you to my artist, disreputabled0g, who has been a great sport and created wonderful art for my fic! DO check out their art master post linked below.

Link to art: Art master post

Also posted on AO3.





When Castiel disappeared with the intention of killing the anti-Christ, a great many scenarios ran through Sam's mind, most of which weren't happy endings for anyone. So as Dean pushes the Impala as fast as she can go to Jesse's house while cursing up a blue streak, Sam checks their weapons and fervently hopes nothing drastically irreparable happens before they arrive.

After what feels like years, they finally burst through the front door, prepared for utter chaos. Instead, they are greeted by a terrified boy staring at them with wide-eyed adrenaline. When Dean asks if the boy has seen a guy in a trench coat, Jesse points a slightly trembling finger at a tiny octopus on the floor between them.

The octopus - Cas - seems to be determinedly making odd tripping motions towards what looks like a white plastic lollipop stick. It is a bewildering sight, and Sam gapes as Castiel awkwardly pushes himself onwards with his tentacles, albeit very slowly, his mantle flopping jerkily every few millimeters.

As Dean takes a step forward to better look at Castiel, Jesse starts and jerks his head to stare at Dean in renewed fear. Dean quickly raises both his hands with his palms facing outwards to convey that he means no harm. Without taking his eyes off Jesse, who is as good as a bomb with a lit fuse, he slowly lowers himself to reach Castiel, who has started moving faster.

Just as a tentacle lashes out to grab the lollipop stick, Dean's palm scoops Castiel up, effectively blocking it, and the tentacle skews uselessly to the side. Castiel flails his tentacles angrily, and he tries to scramble past the offending palm back to his target. Dean quickly uses his other hand to prevent the octopus' escape and bites back a curse as he feels a sting on his finger.

Meanwhile, Sam has gotten over his surprise and moved to close the door. Open doors attract curious neighbors, and the last thing they need right now is for the cops to show up to make things worse.

“Son of a- !” is the only warning he receives before something comes flying at him.

Only Sam's fast reflexes and training saves Castiel from turning into an octopus pancake on the floor. Castiel doesn't seem very grateful for this, because he immediately stings the hand holding him and sprays a stream of ink at Sam before leaping away. As Sam recoils from the ink now staining his hands and the front of his shirt, Castiel slams into the painting above the fireplace and plops down almost comically onto the mantle place.

Silence hangs heavily in the room as everyone stares at the motionless octopus, waiting.

When nothing happens, Sam cautiously moves closer and prods a tentacle. It twitches.

“I think he's still alive.”



Early morning light shines through the windows in the kitchen as they take turns washing off the ink at the kitchen sink, making sure one of them stays with the anti-Christ and Castiel as the other cleans himself. Dean goes first, but the hair on his hand is still quite black when he returns.

The ink on Sam's hands washes off somewhat, although his skin is still stained despite the hard scrubbing. When he tries to reduce the damage on his shirt with a damp dishcloth, however, he only succeeds in smearing the ink into a much larger patch and potentially ruining a dishcloth. He deems it a lost cause.

As he makes his way back to the living room, he pauses near the doorway and turns back in afterthought to dig around in the kitchen cabinets. After a few minutes of searching, he finds a glass jar of manageable size and lifts it out of the cabinet's bottom shelf. Setting it in the sink, he uncaps the lid and fills the jar a little more than half full with water.

Holding the jar of water carefully in his hands, Sam returns to the living room. Dean raises his eyebrows at the jar with a look that says 'Really?' but he thankfully remains silent.

Sam sets the jar on the mantle place cautiously. When neither jar nor mantle place show any signs of falling or breaking, he carefully scoops the still unmoving Castiel up. As an octopus, Castiel's body fills about a third of Sam's palm, with the edges of his tentacles hanging over the sides. Sam tries his best to lower him into the water as gently as possible. When he lets go, Castiel sinks down the rest of the way and lands soundlessly at the bottom of the jar.

“Was he your friend?”

Dean tears his eyes away from the limp octopus. “Him? No.”

Sam's eye twitches, but years of practice make it easy to hold his tongue.

“I did that. But how did I do that?”

There is only genuine curiosity in Jesse's voice. Now that Castiel is seemingly indisposed, the boy is still wary but no longer in the state of fear they found him in and therefore less likely to accidentally trigger his powers. This is good - there's a chance they can pull this off now without anyone else dying.

“You're a superhero,” Dean tells him.

Sam manages to not even twitch this time.

“I am?” Jesse's eyes fill with guarded hope.

Sam cannot help but empathize. He had been in the boy's shoes once, albeit under much different circumstances, and Jesse is so, so much younger than he was when he discovered his 'powers.' It was too far, too late for Sam, but Jesse still has his choice, and Sam will make sure he knows he does. Once Dean is done playing the superhero card anyway.

Of course, that is when his brother is sent slamming into the wall as a demon using Julia's body walks in, and everything gets a lot more complicated than it already is.



Much later, Sam and Dean enter Jesse's room to find it empty except for a note left on the bed. They search the room and the rest of the house just in case, taking care not to wake the sleeping couple, but it is soon clear that the boy is nowhere to be found. Grudgingly, Dean accepts that Jesse is no longer in the house, or probably even anywhere they can reach.

After a quick discussion (in which Dean discovers with glee that his palm is once again hair-free), they unanimously decide to check up on the victims. Those who are still alive anyway. Together, they head back to where they left Castiel to collect him before leaving.

The moment Dean enters the living room, he lets out a loud curse. It only takes a second for Sam to realize what is wrong.

The clear jar of water that was housing Castiel is missing its occupant.

Another fearful second later, Sam locates Castiel. Directly below the mantle place is a tiny octopus lying still on the floor, one tentacle stretched further than the others as if reaching for something. Sam's eyes follow the direction the tentacle is pointing to and sees... a lollipop stick?

It is disturbingly reminiscent of earlier, Sam thinks wryly in his relief.

Dean moves to gingerly scoop Castiel up again, pausing briefly when he first slides his hand underneath the octopus to prepare for any potential attacks. A few seconds pass by with Castiel remaining motionless, so he lifts the octopus up and uses his other hand to separate the tentacles from the floor when he realizes that the suction cups are making them stick.

Like Sam did before, Dean gently drops Castiel into the water-filled jar, and the cephalopod sinks down in a familiar silence.

“He must have woken up and somehow crawled out while we were looking for Jesse,” Sam says with a frown, only now noticing the wetness on the rim and sides of the jar.

“You think?” Dean retorts. He inspects his damp, slimy fingers, sniffs them, and makes a face.

“I'm going to wash this gunk off while you carry twenty thousand leagues under the sea to the car.”

“That was a giant squid, Dean.”

“What's the difference?”

Dean strides into the kitchen, effectively ending the conversation. Biting back a sigh, Sam looks back into the jar and worriedly peers at Castiel who is still lying placidly at the bottom. There is nothing he can do right now, so Sam uses both his hands to lift the jar off the mantle.

Before leaving the room, Sam takes one last look around. As his eyes do a quick sweep of the room, something on the floor catches his eye. He takes a few steps towards it and crouches down, carefully cradling the jar in one arm as he reaches for the small item on the ground with his free hand.

Castiel had been remarkably persistent about retrieving the lollipop stick Sam is now holding between his fingers. He inspects it, but it neither looks nor feels like anything other than a small, white, plastic lollipop stick. Nevertheless, it seems very important to Castiel, so he drops it in the jar, careful not to hit Castiel on the mantle, before standing back up.

A few minutes later, Dean slides into the Impala and holds out something round and metal to Sam, who is already seated on the passenger's side with the jar and Castiel resting on his lap. Sam uses the arm that is not wrapped securely around the jar to take the lid and looks questioningly at his brother.

“Just in case Castopus decides to play escape artist again,” Dean explains.

Sam raises his eyebrows incredulously. Ignoring the new nickname, he says, “It'll suffocate him.”

“Yeah? Then you're keeping an eye on him, 'cause I won't be.”

After a quick glance at Castiel, Dean starts the car, changes gears, and turns onto the road. It is already late afternoon, but there do not seem to be many people out in the neighborhood. Sam tightens his hold on the jar and jams the lid between his thigh and the seat. The water sloshes dangerously close to the rim whenever Dean brakes.

“What's with Castopus anyway?” Sam asks at last.

“He's Cas and he's an octopus. Castopus,” Dean says like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

“... Sure.”



They are barely halfway to the hospital when Dean starts complaining about the water splashing over the sides of the jar getting all over his baby.

In exasperation, Sam makes Dean pull over at a fairly secluded area and shoots a few holes into the lid. The water was getting all over Sam's lap anyway. The jar now capped and secured with the water confined safely in the jar - Sam glares at Dean when he notices his brother side-eying the little droplets splashing out of the holes occasionally, daring him to say anything else - they continue on their way.

At the hospital, the brothers are refused entry when the nurse at the reception sees Castiel, informing them that no pets are allowed under any circumstances, even if they are contained and are very, very important evidence for an ongoing investigation. Sam had not wanted to risk the unconscious octopus waking up and creeping off to god-knows-where while unsupervised again.

Consequently, Sam finds himself sitting on one of the benches near the hospital's entrance with the jar housing Castiel beside him. He watches the people walking in and out for a few minutes before getting bored and deciding to watch Castiel instead. It isn't much of an improvement, seeing as the octopus is lying so still, he could be dead. Sam firmly banishes that thought. He lifts the jar and holds it up to his eyes for a better look. As an octopus, the angel is mainly light blue in color, the shade reminding Sam of Castiel's human vessel's eyes. Orange-red markings spot the body and tentacles with most of them concentrated around the head area.

Suddenly, Castiel moves, and Sam almost loses his grip on the jar. He immediately tightens his hold and focuses on the octopus. Castiel lifts his mantle almost groggily, and a surprisingly great measure of relief floods through Sam. He'd not realized until now how much he feared that Castiel might be dead.

Slowly, Castiel raises himself up in the water and starts spinning around, all eight of his tentacles following his movement. One, two rounds, before Castiel stops to face Sam with his beady eyes. As Sam continues watching, Castiel's complexion starts turning redder and redder until it's almost crab-red. Sam frowns in alarm. Without warning, Castiel flips over, tentacles dancing through the water dramatically for a few mesmerizing seconds before going still again. Sam frowns harder.

“Cas?”

No response.

“Cas,” Sam calls with more emphasis.

Maybe Castiel can't hear him. Sam starts seriously considering sticking his hand inside the water to check if the angel is okay.

He has just lowered the jar to carefully balance it on his lap and is about to unscrew the lid when Sam hears a loud, horrified gasp from nearby. He looks up instantly in alert, body tensing and ready to move the jar in case of immediate danger. A dark-haired woman in an arm sling and looking terribly upset is making a beeline towards him. Sam moves the jar to his side, his eyes never leaving the brunette. He fervently hopes she is not another demon. The last thing he needs now is to be accused of violence and murder in broad daylight.

“I'm sorry, sir. I can't help but notice- Is that your octopus?”

What? It takes a moment for Sam's brain to process the question. Oh. Right.

“Um, yes? Sort of.”

The woman's eyes narrow.

“I hope you're thinking of moving the octopus to a proper tank, because a jar is not an acceptable alternative for housing one,” she reprimands.

“Um,” Sam says again. “I didn't- I mean, I just found him, and- ”

About ten minutes later, Sam's mind is reeling from the information dump in octopus care and biology. It turns out that the woman, whose name is Hannah, kept several pet octopuses some years back and was really passionate about them, or marine life in general. He receives a thorough lecture about Castiel’s poor condition.

At least Hannah's upset is redirected after she realizes Sam had not purchased the octopus without prior knowledge of housing one and wasn’t being deliberately neglectful. “Who'd just leave an octopus out like that, the poor thing!” she exclaims, leaving Sam feeling unreasonably guilty and silently swearing to pay a visit to the pet store once Dean returns. At one point, Hannah even offers to take Castiel off Sam, but when Sam politely turned down the offer, she makes him promise to properly care for the octopus instead, to which he acquiesces.

Dean comes out of the hospital shortly after Hannah hurriedly left, claiming she was late for her appointment. He immediately makes his way towards Sam when he spots him.

“He still dead to the world?” Dean asks, gesturing at Castiel.

“He woke up earlier but passed out again pretty soon.”

Sam recognizes the relief and subsequent worry in Dean's posture even as his brother starts grumbling about Jesse and the angel.

“How're the vics?” Sam asks.

It seems that not only had Jesse stopped causing the myths he's heard to come true, he had also reversed any damage they caused, at least, to those who are still alive. Tooth fairy guy apparently grew back all his teeth. The kids with stomach ulcers had completely healed. The guy whose face was stuck is now unstuck and is in the process of being discharged. That Jesse thought to make an effort to fix things is a great relief to Sam. Maybe, just maybe, the boy will be all right after all. Sam holds on to that hope- god knows they need something good to believe in, now more than ever.

Still, as he glances at Castiel, who has yet to wake up after the brief performance earlier, Sam wonders why Jesse would fix everything but skip the angel. Could it be because Castiel had tried to kill him? Dean voices as much beside him as they make their way back to the Impala.

As Dean starts the car, Sam asks, “Hey, Dean. Can we stop by a pet store?”



When they enter one of the pet stores they are able to find along the way, Dean is amused when Sam starts asking about appropriate housing and food for octopuses. The shop assistant, Colin, is graciously helpful once Sam explains that he is new to keeping aquatic pets and tells him the same story he told Hannah about finding the octopus. Later, Dean is very much less amused when Sam actually purchases a lidded 30-gallon tank (Hannah had emphasized getting a tightly secured tank as octopuses were apparently expert escape artists - Sam couldn't disagree) along with a water filter, protein skimmer, hydrometer-

“Synthetic sea salt? What the fuck is this? What's wrong with normal salt?!”

Sam and the shop assistant choose to ignore Dean's increasingly vocal protests as they pick up the sand, a small bag of shrimps, and rocks.

“Wait, rocks? We're buying rocks? Those huge chunks of stone you can find fucking everywhere?!”

“They're not the same thing, Dean!”

A little later, Colin recommends some reefs which is supposedly good for the aquarium, but the price he quotes for one of the anemones on display has Sam grimacing and Dean storming out of the store, this apparently being the last straw. Who knew keeping an octopus required this much care and expenses? In the end, Sam decides to buy two of their smaller and much cheaper corals.

Colin helps Sam carry his purchases back to the Impala as Sam's hands are full cradling Castiel in his arms. As they approach the car, they find Dean leaning on the front door just getting off the phone with someone. After setting the items down on the ground near the car as requested, Colin heads back into the store, giving them an amused wave. Dean eyes the bags unhappily.

“You are not keeping a tank filled with water and a pet in it in my baby.”

“Cas is not a pet,” Sam immediately counters, though he agrees silently that the back of the Impala probably isn't the best place to house an octopus. “We can't keep him in a motel room either-”

Dean's opens his mouth. Sam cuts him off quickly.

“No, Dean. Who knows how long he'll stay this way? He's an octopus now and octopuses require special care. We don't even know if he still has his powers.”

Dean's face tightens but he doesn't argue. Instead, he grudgingly helps Sam stow the items on the Impala's backseat. The jar with Castiel is left sitting on the front passenger seat.

“I just got off the phone with Bobby. We're just a few hours away, so we can drop Castopus there while we figure out how to turn him back,” Dean says, tossing the box with the filters into the car. It gives a dull thud as it hits the tank.

“Does Bobby know how?” Sam asks, carefully setting the styrofoam containing the corals on the floor in the back.

“He says he might have something that could help us.” Dean eyes the bag of shrimps in disgust. “Why're you buying all this stuff anyway? He doesn't even eat.”

“How do you know?” Sam shoots back. “We don't know for sure how much Jesse changed him. If he dies from our neglect, I'm not dealing with his friends.”

“What friends?” Dean scoffs.

“Angels are still after our asses, in case you’ve forgotten. It doesn’t matter who they can use as an excuse.”

With a grunt, Dean slams the car door shut.



They are about an hour away from Bobby's when Sam hears a scratchy sound. He looks down to see Castiel unscrewing the jar lid from the inside. Sam immediately claps a hand on top of the lid and tries to screw it back. A tentacle brandishing a white stick pokes out from one of the holes and almost jabs Sam in the hand holding the lid.

Sam recoils, lips thinning. The tentacle continues waving the stick around. In his peripheral vision, Sam can see Dean unhelpfully trying not to laugh. Another tentacle makes its way out of a different hole. The stick prods Sam in the stomach.

“Stop that!”

The stick moves away from Sam but Castiel does not withdraw his tentacles. Sam stares.

“Cas, do you- can you understand me?”

There is no response for a few seconds, and then the stick tilts down and then up once, mimicking a nod. Sam's shoulders sag thankfully in relief. That's good; that's very good. At least they will be able to communicate with each other. Somewhat.

“Are you okay?” Sam asks.

Castiel withdraws the tentacle not holding the lollipop stick. Dean gives Sam a questioning look.

“Cas?”

The stick waves dully and does the nodding motion again.

“Is that a yes or a no?” Dean asks, giving Cas a quick glance before going back to the road in front of them.

“... I think he's saying he's okay, but he's not very happy about his... current predicament.”

“You don't say.”

The stick nods emphatically before retreating back into the jar. Once more, the lid starts unscrewing from the inside. Sam doesn't try to stop it this time. He even helps uncover the jar once the lid is loose.

The octopus clambers out a little jerkily, as if still not used to the new appendages, one tentacle unsurprisingly curled around the stick from earlier. Supporting himself on the rim of the jar, Castiel slowly moves in a circle to take in the new perspective. Suddenly, Castiel's unusual actions earlier at the hospital make more sense to Sam.

Curiously, he asks, “How're you feeling?”

Castiel moves around and tilts his head up until he is facing Sam. The mantle tilts to the side a little in an odd sort of shrug. Sam flushes, already silently reprimanding himself for the question. How is Castiel supposed to give a proper answer to that in his condition?

Unexpectedly, Castiel moves away from the rim and starts climbing up the arm holding his jar. Sam freezes, fighting not to react to the cold and slimy sensation making its way up his hand.

“Cas?” Sam squeaks.

Dean is now intermittently shooting them quick glances while driving.

Ignoring Sam, Castiel continues climbing. When a cool tentacle brushes his cheek, Sam bites down on his impulse to flinch away. And then something cold touches the top of his head. Sam's hand flies up to tug tentacles off his hair none to gently.

“No,” Sam says sternly. “You're not climbing up my head.”

Snickers can be heard from the driver's seat.

“Shut up, Dean.”

Castiel settles peacefully on Sam's shoulder for the rest of the ride, clutching his plastic stick.



When they arrive at Bobby's, it is late evening and the sun is just leaving its last rays of light in the sky. Bobby is already waiting for them at the doorway on his wheelchair.

Sam is worried that Castiel will pass out again from being too long out of the water. However, the octopus shows no signs of doing so and, if anything, seems reluctant to go back into the jar.

“What's with the stick?” is the first thing Bobby asks when he sees the octopus on Sam's shoulder, eyebrows furrowing.

“No idea. Baby Kraken's been through trials for that thing, so it must be something pretty important,” Dean says, shrugging.

Castiel starts brandishing the white stick like a sword, swinging it around. Sam cautiously tilts his head away.

Comprehension immediately shows on Bobby and Dean's face.

“Does it still work?” Bobby asks.

Castiel does an octopus equivalent of a shrug, the base of his tentacles hitching up for a moment before falling back down, and shakes his head.

“Well, let me know when you find out. You boys have a story to tell me.”

With that, Bobby turns his wheelchair around and starts to wheel back in.

“Um-,” Sam starts. “Actually, there's something else we wanted to ask you.”

The older man stops and turns to look at Sam.



With the aid of the internet, Sam sets up what he hopes is a respectable-looking fish tank fit for living in. After looking for an available plug point, he clears and cleans the top of one of Bobby's low shelves (to Bobby's great annoyance) and places the empty tank on top of it. He also carefully removes the clippings above it and puts them somewhere where they will be safe and dry.

The shelf is right next to the room's large window, where moonlight filters through, so Sam makes sure to angle the tank away from direct sunlight. The website Sam is using for reference had very strongly advised against it. In fact, if the house had more available space, Sam would have chosen a better location. Bobby is already shooting Sam unimpressed looks as it is. This will just have to do.

They tried earlier to get information out of Castiel, and because of Castiel's inability to speak in his condition, he had been given a pen and some paper. The mutually agreed result ten minutes later was that it takes too much time and effort for Castiel to convey anything more than short, spindly words at a time. If Castiel tries writing faster, the letters become hilariously incomprehensible. Castiel's slime also kept dampening the paper, smearing some of the ink. Dean had made a face at that.

In the end, they settled on a combination of keywords Castiel managed to write and mimed octopus gestures. Through that method, they managed to gather that Jesse has truly gone into hiding, hidden even from angels, and that Castiel has retained some of his Grace, although the octopus had somehow managed to look utterly miserable after writing “WINGS” and shaking his head.

That piece of information sparked another outburst from Dean.

“Why the fuck did we even spend all that money on it?! It doesn't- It doesn't even need water, for fuck's sake!”

“Just because he may not need water doesn't mean we can't try to make him feel more comfortable. Besides, it's not even our money we're spending.”

“He, it, whatever, man. It's an immortal octopus! Immortal, you hear me? He doesn't need food. Or space. Or water. Or fucking sea salt!”

Castiel, if possible, looked even more dejected, curling up on himself and sliding off the wooden table. He tentacle-crawled his way into the next room.

“Now you've hurt his feelings,” Sam said, looking pointedly at Dean.

Bobby rolled his eyes and snapped at them to get back to work, you idjits, cutting off whatever Dean had wanted to say to that.

So while Sam continues putting together the aquarium, Bobby and Dean pore through books on animal transformations and reversal spells.



The next morning, Sam walks into the study room to find Castiel in the aquarium moving the smaller rocks around. The two small corals he had bought the day before shimmer beautifully in the water. Irrationally, Sam thinks he should get more reefs for the tank. It looks miserably sparse.

“Cas? What are you doing?”

Yesterday, when Sam finally finished setting up the tank, he had gone looking for Castiel, but he was nowhere to be found. Dean had joined the hunt momentarily before giving up and heading to bed. The octopus had left his stick on the table, though, so Sam compromised by setting it neatly on the gravel by the rocks in the tank and keeping the lid open. It seems Castiel had found his own way in there through the night. He had even closed the lid.

At Sam's voice, Castiel spins his head around to look at the human for a second before he turns his focus back on the rock he was shoving. It is a little larger than the octopus, so with the help of his tentacles, Castiel lifts and flips it on top of a larger one. He repeats this with a few more smaller rocks.

'Is he... redecorating?'

Sam can't help but feel slightly hurt. He knows his sense of aesthetics isn't the best, but he isn't that bad, is he?

Once Castiel seems satisfied, he starts digging around the gravel near one of the corals and pulls out his stick. He then proceeds to place it carefully in the space between two rocks. That done, he does a little twirl and looks at Sam again, tilting his head up. Castiel looks... proud?

In his bewilderment, Sam stands there staring for several seconds until something hot nudges him in the arm. He startles and turns to see Dean holding out a mug of coffee and giving him a weird look. Mouth twitching into a tight smile, Sam takes the coffee and thanks Dean. When he looks at Castiel again, the octopus has retreated into the makeshift cavern made from rocks in the tank. Beside him, Dean snorts and takes a swig of his own coffee.

“Finish that up. We're heading to the store. Gotta buy some spell essentials for tentacles hiding there in Rock City.”

Not waiting for a reply, Dean leaves the room.

Sighing, Sam takes a sip from his mug and follows his brother. Two steps into the kitchen, he hears a sound like a drawer opening and closing followed by a familiar, wet plop from behind him. He rushes back into the room again in trepidation, Dean trailing right after.

Instead of the motionless octopus Sam expects to see on the floor, Castiel is already making his way to the desk in front of the unlit fireplace.

“Everything all right in there?” Bobby calls from the kitchen.

“Yeah. Cas decides he doesn't want his new home anymore,” Dean says.

Sam gives Dean a quelling look.

They watch in fascination as Castiel treks over the rug under the desk. The suctions do not seem to be working properly on the material, causing the octopus's tentacles to slide off them instead of sticking more often than not.

“Do you need any help?” Sam offers.

Castiel ignores him. If anything, he seems even more determined to make it to the desk that is now just a foot away.

Dean, who is already tired of watching, reenters the kitchen for some of the eggs Bobby's frying on the stove.

The moment he arrives at the desk, Castiel starts climbing, leaving a trail of slime on the surface. About three quarters through the climb, the top most tentacle completely slips. As it moves to retain its hold, more suctions seem to fail and Castiel scrambles to stay on to no avail.

Before he can do more than dive mantle first towards the ground, Sam quickly catches him from below and gently sets him down on a clear spot on the desk. Castiel flails his tentacles as he realigns himself upright, a few of them curling around Sam's fingers briefly, before Castiel continuing on his epic journey. It pleasantly occurs to Sam that the angel may be thanking him.

Not too soon, Castiel plunges into the same jar he was in for most of yesterday. Sam had left it on the desk and forgotten about it. As Castiel sits docilely at the bottom staring at Sam, the latter frowns in confusion. Castiel continues staring.

“Are you saying... you want to follow us out?”

A nod.

Huh. Well, then.



Surprisingly, Dean does not put up much protest when he sees Sam hauling the jar with Castiel in it out the door. Figures; he's not the one doing the carrying. Sam picks the lid up from where he left it at the bottom of the passenger seat and screws the jar shut, Castiel not putting up a fight although his tentacles twitch in what could be annoyance.

A shopping trip later, they are making their way back to the parking lot where the Impala is parked when two middle-aged women stop Sam. It takes one of them chattering excitedly to her friend for Sam to recognize that they are Korean even if he does not understand a word they're saying.

When they continue conversing amongst themselves, Dean speaks up, smiling gamely. “Uh... Can we help you ladies?”

The one wearing a red blouse starts and faces them again, smiling apologetically.

“Oh! Yes, sorry! We wanted to ask. Can we buy your octopus?”

“He's not for sale,” Sam says immediately, hugging the jar closer to his body.

“Are you sure?” The woman with the red blouse looks pleadingly at him. “We can give you good price! It's very healthy octopus.”

Her friend nods in agreement and says something in Korean, to which she nods enthusiastically back.

From the corner of his eye, Sam sees Castiel slowly moving away from them as best as he can in the jar, pressing himself flat against the glass closest to Sam.

Dean claps Sam on the shoulder.

“Meet you in the car,” Dean tells him before swaggering away, the plastic bag with their goods swinging in his hand. From his expression, Sam can tell his brother's trying not to laugh. As it is, his shoulders are shaking slightly. Jerk.

“Are you sure you're not selling him?” red blouse asks again.

They continue on in this manner for the next few minutes. Sam is running out of different ways to decline politely and his patience is thinning. The women are being very persistent about buying Castiel.

When they next confide with each other in Korean, the jar in Sam's hands suddenly jerks violently. Tiny water droplets splash out of the holes on the lid. Sam quickly tightens his hold on the jar in shock. He looks down to see Castiel an alarming shade of red, swimming and waving his tentacles violently enough to froth the water and send it splashing out.

'What the hell?'

Excusing himself quickly and not checking to see the women's reactions, he hightails to the car while tightly hugging the jar. Once he enters the car, Castiel calms down considerably, although he continues twitching agitatedly. Dean, who has been watching the exchange from the car, looks at Castiel in befuddlement and then at Sam, who just shrugs.

“Something they said.”

It doesn't stop Dean from snickering all the way back to Bobby's as he recounts the scene and Sam's expressions throughout his conversation with the Korean ladies.



Back at Bobby's, Sam immediately turns on his laptop after setting the jar with Castiel down beside him on the desk. Once it is loaded, he opens a browser, types in “Korean octopus”, and clicks on the search button.

Sam regrets it instantly.

In a show of masochism, he curiously but hesitatingly clicks on a video titled “Korean Live Octopus” and realizes five seconds too late it is about eating the aforementioned octopus while it is still alive. He and Castiel watch the rest of the video in morbid fascination, the latter going disturbingly still when the guy pops the octopus into his mouth and chews it like its nothing. The tentacles sticking out of his mouth are still wriggling!

The video ends after what feels like forever. Castiel continues miming a statue.

A heavy book slamming on the desk snaps Sam out of his staring contest with his laptop. He looks up at Dean.

“It's show time. Haul your ass off that chair and let's get started.”



Two days, five different spells, and a sad lack of results later, Dean retires into the backyard to let out his frustration on the cars. Bobby goes to get a beer from the fridge. They had considered calling for divine help at one point but they very quickly and mutually agreed against it.

Meanwhile, Sam has taken to watching Castiel while perching on a wooden chair. The octopus is back in his tank, and like the first time Sam saw him in there, is rearranging the rocks in it.

The night after searching up on Korean octopuses, Sam had decided to look up for more information about cephalopods. Apparently, octopuses are fond of making new homes with rocks and piling smaller stones at their entrances. Sam wonders if Castiel realizes he's doing it or whether it's a subconscious urge. He dare not ask directly although he does take a tiny bit of comfort in knowing that Castiel probably did not hate his arrangement of the tank interior like he had believed.

As Sam watches Castiel dig into the gravel a little too happily, a thought occurs to him.

“You knew the spells wouldn't work, didn't you?”

Castiel's mantle twitches several times.

“Are you laughing?”

In the water, Castiel lifts himself up with his tentacles, unsettling the gravel below him, all the while looking innocently at Sam.

“You were totally laughing,” Sam says in awe, not even minding that Castiel had wasted their time performing useless spells. He starts laughing himself. Castiel twirls around a little in the water.

After settling down, Sam's expression becomes serious.

“If spells don't work, what does?”

The octopus physically droops. He languidly raises two of his tentacles and crosses them into an “X” before slowly rotating it.

“Dean's not going to be happy,” Sam says glumly.



The next day, Bobby kicks them out on a job.

“You idjits can't do squat about the anti-Christ right now. So go make yourselves useful while I hunt for clues!”

Castiel, predictably, wants to follow. He's even bringing his “angel blade” along with him. Sam dutifully cleans the jar and fills it with fresh water.

It wasn't a difficult case. All signs are pointing to an evil spirit, but they interview the relevant people all the same just in case they miss something. Castiel is left in the Impala for most of it, much to the octopus's displeasure.

After a restless fit, Sam concedes to take Castiel around for a walk at the park while Dean interviews a potential lead in a restaurant nearby. They had agreed to meet up inside once Dean is done.

An octopus perching on a man's shoulder is admittedly a peculiar sight, and an especially obvious one in broad daylight. There are not that many park goers at this time of the day, thankfully, although quite a few still give Sam odd looks when they notice the octopus. Several children at the swings blatantly point and exclaim excitedly, one even tugging on his mother's arm and telling her he wants one. All the while, Sam hopes he will not encounter another Hannah. Explaining this is going to be much more difficult than an octopus in a jar.

One woman aims her phone at Sam to take a picture. He walks faster.

Belatedly, Sam remembers something he's read about octopuses not being exposed to direct sunlight and asks Castiel about it. When Castiel shrugs unconcernedly, Sam decides to stop worrying, although he sticks to the shaded areas anyway.

Two rounds around the park later, Dean rings. Sam answers the phone gratefully.

When he enters the restaurant, he spies Dean sitting at the bar nursing a bottle of beer. The place looks fancier than their usual diners, with its warm ambiance and shiny surfaces. He slides into the seat next to Dean, shrugging off his jacket once Castiel hops onto the counter. The bartender gives the octopus a weird look.

“Anything for you, sir?”

“No, thank you,” Sam tells him.

The bartender shuffles off, still giving Castiel the stink-eye.

“Drinking on the job?” Sam asks Dean.

Dean rolls his eyes. “I got it after the guy left.”

“So how'd it go?”

“Nothing we didn't already know. I've ordered food.”

Not too long later, a hamburger and a plate of something fried arrives at the table. Dean's face turns gleeful and he quickly plucks a ring of fried calamari from the plate, eatting it without ceremony. He is about to pop another into his mouth when he notices Sam glaring at him from his right. Castiel's slitted eyes are also eerily focused on him.

"What? It's not octopus!"

Glare. Stare.

Dean rolls his eyes and continues eating. He finishes the whole plate by himself.

For the next few days, Castiel pointedly turns his back to Dean whenever he's in the vicinity.

The rest of the case goes by without a hitch.



They're not making any headway in locating Jesse, but Bobby finds another reversal spell that they tried hopefully. Even Castiel, who is getting increasingly anxious to change back, had been excited at the chance that it might work.

Ultimately, they are no closer to fixing Castiel, and the angel's condition does not change. Sam tries to think of it as a good thing. At least Castiel still understands them and is not becoming less or more of an octopus with unknown consequences.

Without much else they can do, Sam has taken to watching Castiel whenever he's not researching. He drags the wooden chair closer to the aquarium and perches on its back as he observes Castiel carrying out his activities. Sometimes, it takes a while for Sam to find Castiel as he perfectly camouflages with the water or whatever he's sticking onto at that time.

Yesterday, after the latest failed attempt, Sam had gone out on a whim to purchase a saltwater reef. Armed with more experience and knowledge than on his previous trip to the pet store (he had spent some time looking them up on the internet), he'd brought an empty cooler with him. It was the green Coleman Dean uses to store his beer, so the older brother was predictably miffed when he saw Sam pulling the reef out of it upon his return.

It was worth Castiel's happy flail when Sam sets it inside the tank, though.

Today, the octopus has gone back to brooding in his rock enclosure.

“You’ll be fine, Cas. I’ll make sure of it,” Sam swears.

Sam does not realize Castiel heard him until the latter slowly materializes from his hiding place. Small tentacles move gently towards Sam and press on the glass. A solemn moment passes between them.

It is a promise Sam vows not to break.



A few days later, Sam and Dean drive off to a nearby town for another job, Castiel following as usual. At the morgue, they encounter an eighty-year-old corpse of a twenty-five-year-old man, who apparently died naturally due to old age. Dean immediately calls Bobby to confirm the case and off they go to start digging.

It doesn't take long. They hit the jackpot with one Cliff Whitlow. A traveling card player with years for stakes, who'd have thought?

Of course, Bobby decides to join them and confronts the witch without telling them. As a result, Dean is now stuck as a cranky senior citizen after losing his hand to Patrick to regain Bobby's lost years. Castiel, who had followed Sam out on a dinner run, gives the two old men a bemused look from his customary perch on Sam's shoulder.

The brothers attempt to sneak into Patrick's apartment, which fails spectacularly - the chips the witch uses in his games turns out to be just piles of useless crappy plywood - and leaves Sam itching in inappropriate places. However, the next day, Patrick's lady companion, Lia, approaches them with a proposition. With a solution now within their reach, they start scheming.

Later that night, Sam finds Patrick in a bar playing against another guy. He reaches the table in time to hear Hesh thanking the witch gratefully for his acquired years. Once Hesh leaves, Sam speaks up.

“That was nice of you.”

“I'm a nice guy. What can I do for you?”

As Patrick shuffles his card, Sam asks him a question he has been chewing on for a while. Just because he's on a mission doesn't mean he can't take a chance when he sees it.

“Can you fix my friend?”

Patrick stops and looks squarely at Castiel. After a moment, he looks away and goes back to his shuffling.

“I deal years, I don't do full body transformations.”

“If I win him enough years, can he change back to the way he was?”

“It doesn't work that way. Whatever changed him has power beyond my abilities. Sorry, Sam.”

Sam can't help but feel disappointed. It doesn't help that Patrick sounded genuinely sorry about not being able to help. Beside him, the ends of Castiel's tentacles caress Sam's cheek in a way that he thinks is supposed to be comforting. Well, it was worth a shot. He is here for a more crucial reason anyway.

Gathering himself, he takes a seat across the table from the witch. He hopes the plan will work. If not, he will take matters into his own hands anyway, despite Bobby and Dean's lack of confidence in his poker skills.

“Deal.”



He wins. Dean lives to see another day.



Another week, another job. When they arrive back at Bobby's, it is already well into the night and all Sam wants to do is to take a shower and go to bed. Sam sets Castiel's jar beside the aquarium on the shelf tiredly, removes the lid, and turns to head upstairs. He starts in surprise when he feels something cold suddenly attach itself onto his arm. Castiel had leapt from the jar to his arm before he had walked too far.

Sam looks between the octopus and the tank, asking a silent question. When Castiel shakes his head, Sam shrugs and trudges up the staircase. Dean is in the kitchen discussing something with Bobby, so Sam leaves him be.

In the bathroom, Sam plugs the sink and runs the tap until it's almost full before turning it off. He gently pulls Castiel away from his arm and sets the octopus inside. He is about to pull off his pants when he glances back self-consciously at the octopus dunking merrily in the sink. Inwardly, he knows that it won't bother Castiel in the least, but he still makes an effort to keep his back to the angel until he steps into the bathtub and turns on the shower.

When the warm water cascades down his body, Sam sighs in contentment and tilts his head up to sluice his face. Blindly, he reaches for the shampoo bottle and starts cleaning himself. He has just finished washing the soap off his body when he spies a tentacle at the corner of the bathtub just before it slides down the sides.

Sam instinctively stoops to catch the octopus, but slips on the soapy water beneath, and they both fall with a dramatic crash, Sam's head hitting the faucet on the way down. As Sam lies in the bathtub blinking away the spots, water still raining down on him from the shower, the shampoo bottle he was using earlier slips off its corner on the bathtub and strikes Sam on the side of his forehead.

Something clambers up his shoulder and gently strokes the newly aching spot on his forehead. Distantly, Sam recognizes them as tentacles.

'Oh, right. Cas. He's okay.'

Footsteps thunder up the stairs in a rush, and Dean comes charging into the bathroom seconds later, calling out for Sam.

Sam wanted to say 'I'm fine,' but what comes out instead is a slurred “Ehmruh.”

There is a moment of aching silence before Sam hears footsteps again. The shower turns off and Dean's face comes into view. From where he is lying, Sam can see his brother's expression go from incredulous to confused, and then finally, to dangerous glee. That expression rings alarm bells - it never bodes well for Sam.

“And you didn't invite me to the tentacle orgy. How could you, Sammy?”

“Whuh?”

Dean leans down to help Sam sit up, the latter wincing slightly as he does. The back of his head is still throbbing from its collision with the faucet and the bathtub floor. Castiel has attached himself to Sam's chest and is eying Dean who still has that silly grin on his face.

It is with slow-dawning horror that Sam realizes his groin is covered in thin, black streaks. Tentacles brush the bottom of his chin, calling for attention, and Sam looks down to see Castiel pointing at his right hand. Inspecting it, he sees the same dark streaks staining his fingers and puts two and two together. He must have accidentally squeezed Castiel too hard when he fell, causing him to squirt the octopus's black ink all over.

From Dean's expression, his older brother is not going to let him live this down any time soon.



Shortly after the embarrassing incident, Sam plants face first into the pillow of his bed. Castiel pats the back of his head consolingly. The octopus declined when Sam asked him if he'd like to return to his tank earlier, so here he is now, lying on the pillow next to Sam's head. Much to Dean's increasing amusement, Sam is sure.

He grumbles a little more before adjusting himself into a more comfortable position. Castiel is still, for some reason, stroking his hair. It is oddly comforting, and lulled by the feeling and his tiredness, Sam falls asleep.



The next morning when Sam comes down the stairs, he shoots Dean the most potent glare he can muster and cuts his brother off before he can go so far as to open his mouth.

“Don't say it.”

“You-”

“No, Dean.”

Sam walks past Dean and heads straight for the aquarium. When Sam opens the lid, Castiel dutifully dives into the water from his shoulder, does a lap, and starts shoving at rocks again. Sam smiles at the display before shutting the lid.

He turns to head into the kitchen when he hears a loud sound of glass shattering right next to him. The next thing he knows, something big and heavy crashes into him, sending him to the ground. The weight crushing him groans and fumbles for a few seconds before vanishing completely.

Alarmed and confused, Sam promptly moves to stand up and stumbles. There is a huge puddle of water and shattered glass surrounding him. Some of the smaller shards are even on his clothes.

Bobby rolls into the room and stops when he sees the mess.

“What the hell?!”



It takes half the morning for Sam and Dean to clean up the shattered tank's mess, the latter complaining about the complete waste of expenses all the while. Sam doesn't have the heart to argue. He wouldn't dare admit it out loud, but he is more than a little disappointed that Castiel just up and left without saying anything.

Back in the cleaned-up study room, Sam notices a note on the desk that wasn't there before. He picks it up and reads.

'Sorry. I forgot to change you back and
remembered when I was in a Japanese
restaurant earlier today.

P/S. - I'm glad you didn't get eaten.

-Jesse'

Sam's face doesn't know which expression to take.

As he hands the note over to Dean, he wonders if Castiel saw it before leaving. There isn't much time to dwell on that, however. Bobby is already telling them about a case in Wellington, Ohio. Apparently, a rampaging bear followed a guy into his home, crashed through the front door, and killed him in his second-floor bedroom.

Maybe Sam will ask the angel about the note the next time he sees him.



Epilogue

Encounters with the Trickster - no, Gabriel. The Gabriel; who masquerades as a pagan god, apparently - always leave Sam feeling like shit. In hindsight, knowing their luck with these things, they should have figured it out earlier than they did.

They're outside the warehouse and about to leave the place for good when Castiel speaks up.

“Sam.”

Sam looks back at Castiel, the Impala's door half open. The angel approaches Sam, looking a little lost. Dean gives them both a glance before getting into the car.

There is an awkward pause in which Sam shifts to face Castiel.

“I want to apologize for disappearing the other day. It was overwhelming, and I fled,” Castiel finally says.

“It's fine, Cas.”

“It was wrong of me.” Castiel's voice is stronger now. “You've been nothing but a good caretaker while I was in my weakened state. Thank you, Sam.”

“You're welcome,” Sam says automatically. Inwardly, Sam is trying to wrap his mind around the fact that Castiel just thanked him.

They spend the next few seconds standing awkwardly, not looking at each other.

Suddenly remembering something, Sam quickly reaches into the car to open the glove compartment and take out a piece of paper. He hands it over to Castiel, who looks at the written note curiously.

“We found it at Bobby's after you left. It doesn't matter now, but I thought you might want to see it anyway.”

Castiel lifts his head and looks directly into Sam's eyes.

“Thank you,” Castiel says again, grateful.

At that point, Dean hollers from inside the car.

“You guys done with your chick flick moment yet? I'd like to blow this joint some time today.”

“Yeah. Sorry, Dean.”

With that, they climb into the Impala, Castiel sliding into the backseat. It feels like something sliding into place.

As Dean drives off, popping a Metallica tape into the cassette player, Sam leans back in the Impala's seat and smiles. They still haven't figured out how to stop the Apocalypse, but somehow, he doesn't feel so shitty anymore.