Unexpected Destinies Chapter 73
Title: Unexpected Destinies
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: up to and including Exile on Main St., AU from the end of season 5
Warnings: AU, slash
Word Count: 2,692
Summary: Michael and Dean argue about what they should do about Roy.
PAST
Michael had only caught the memory that had flashed unbidden across his vessel's mind at the sound of the familiar voice, but the sheer betrayal that radiated from Dean, both now and in his recollection of the previous encounter, were more then enough to tell him that the hunter had once trusted this man. Trusted him and been betrayed by him. And not just any betrayal either, but one that had led to his vessel's death and, consequently, the experience of Heaven that had so warped Dean's opinion of his home.
The rage had ignited within Michael immediately and the desire to smite the worthless human for his crimes followed swiftly after. His Grace had already stirred within him in preparation to do precisely that when Dean had cried out, clearly sensing his intention and disapproving of it. The urge to ignore his vessel was great. He could easily shove Dean back into his mind so that he didn't see any of it, but even as the thought occurred to him, he knew it was wrong and would be a blatant betrayal of the trust Dean had in him.
"Michael, please, don't do this."
With an effort, Michael reigned himself in though it was more difficult to do then he'd like to admit. Not only did he feel far more strongly about Dean then he ever had for a previous vessel, but he'd already been struggling to suppress volatile emotions even before this human had shown up. It had started the moment he'd arrived in Dean's motel room and he'd been able to detect his younger brother's scent all over his vessel. Although he had known that the hunter was Castiel's mate, this had been the first time that Dean had smelled like it and his own reaction to it had caught him off-guard. He'd never have expected to feel the surge of possessiveness or the need to restake his own claim on his vessel. The unexpected emotions had been why he'd not immediately noticed that Dean had awakened and assumed that he was in danger upon detecting his presence.
He had quickly tried to suppress the reactions, knowing them to be illogical, but it had been harder to do then Michael had thought it would be. He had known his brother and his vessel were mated long before Dean had said yes to him, allowing him inside, and it had not bothered him before once he'd seen that their bond was genuine and extremely strong. It even pulsed in the manner of angelic mate bonds but which those bonds between previous human-angel pairs had always lacked. Therefore he wasn't sure why it bothered him now as he'd never had any desire to interfere with a mated pair, let alone one that his Father seemed to approve of.
"Thanks," Dean said, no doubt sensing the shift in his intentions.
"He stood by as you were slaughtered!" Michael thundered, anger still thrumming strong through his Grace.
"Yes, believe me, I know and I'd love to watch you smite him, but if we do that, then we're no better than him."
"It would not be the same. He attacked you in cold blood, this would be justice."
"An eye for an eye?" Dean questioned. "We've got a saying about that here on Earth. An eye for an eye and the whole world goes blind. Besides, they were just doing what they thought was right. Sam did break the final seal and since they didn't know about everything else, it looked like he'd opened the door to the end of the world for just for kicks."
The sudden guilt that hit Michael was as unexpected as all of the other emotions he'd been experiencing today had been and he didn't like any of it. Despite that, he refused to shy away from the reality of the fact that what had happened had been partially his fault. He and Raphael had set in motion and helped along the sequence of events that had led the man and his partner to be in that motel room. And, what was worse, if he'd known that Dean was in Heaven at the time, he would have been pleased as he'd have seen it as the perfect opportunity to make his vessel see how foolish, childish and futile his continued resistance was.
"Besides," Dean continued. "He doesn't remember any of it."
"What?"
"Cas and I ran into Roy and Walt not too long and Cas wiped their memories of anything related to this whole mess."
"You asked him to do this," Michael stated, having come to know his little brother well enough to know that Castiel would not have acted in such a restrained manner of his own accord. Not with what the man had done to Castiel's mate.
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"Because it was the right thing to do. We can't exactly afford to lose any hunters just now and despite all else, Roy is a damn good hunter. Shit's hitting the fan, Mike, and we're seeing all kinds of things that just shouldn't be possible."
Michael didn't think that was entirely sufficient a reason to let the traitor live, but he could easily tell that Dean felt strongly about this and he doubted that he'd be able to change his vessel's mind in the short amount of time they had before the other hunter was beside them. And perhaps this wasn't one of those things about which he should be altering Dean's opinion. Dean was the Righteous Man after all and the only reason he himself was here, within his vessel, was because the Rite of Contressa demanded that his justice be tempered by Dean's righteousness. Perhaps this was one of the lessons his Father wanted him to learn.
"Very well, how would you have me handle this?"
"Say exactly what I tell you to and whatever happens, don't stiffen up again!"
/
Even as Dean watched Roy walk away, he couldn't quite believe that they'd just pulled that off. Sure, his former friend probably thought he was more then a little weird right now, but it hadn't been anything too bad and definitely nothing that Roy wouldn't probably just write off as him having lost it slightly after everything that he'd gone through and the fact that he was now alone (well as far as anyone else knew). He just hoped like hell that the man didn't run into Bobby or Sam and his new gang and started talking about seeing him on the road again. That would just throw a wrench into things. He was more then happy for everyone to think that he was still in Cicero with Lisa.
Which reminded him, he hadn't gotten a call from Bobby in a while so either the old man had given up on him or he was starting to take a hint. Dean wasn't quite sure which of the two options he preferred really. On the one hand it hurt and was annoying to have to pretend that everything was just fine whenever Bobby called, to pretend that he didn't know about how badly they'd betrayed him. But on the other hand it also hurt to think that he'd been given up on entirely. Is this what would have happened if Lisa hadn't kicked him out? A slow dissolution of all of his old ties and connections? And was that seriously what they thought he'd really wanted after everything they had gone through together?
"What's wrong, Little One?" Michael inquired.
His first impulse was to snap at the archangel and say that it was none of his business, but Dean managed to contain it at the last instant. Michael had just done him a huge favor after all and didn't deserve that kind of treatment from him.
"It's nothing, just some old shit that doesn't want to die off quietly."
He was pretty sure that the archangel could tell that it was a bit more then that, but Michael humored him for now, settling himself back into the slouch Dean had talked him into earlier. He nearly laughed as he realized that, given enough time, it would become almost as mechanical to the archangel as his stiff, perfect posture was. Michael wasn't really relaxing into it so much as deliberately placing his meatsuit into a new and fixed position. Freaking angels.
Slowly the tension from their little confrontation faded and Dean was able to focus on their surroundings once more. The number of kids on the playground had increased and it was with a start that he realized that it must be a weekend. He'd totally lost track of the days lately, not that it really mattered for him as the Apocalypse continued on regardless of what day of the week it was. He was already incredibly lucky that he'd been able to take some time off the past few days. If the chances of it jeopardizing the Rite hadn't been so high, he'd have gone after a new hunt instead of sticking in one place and continuing his research in-between bouts of relaxation in preparation for what they were going to do today.
"They are very violent," Michael observed as they saw one of the toddlers hitting another toddler only to get kicked in return.
"They're kids," Dean replied. "They don't exactly have a sense of what's right or wrong just yet. Heck, they're completely unable to even imagine what it's like to be anyone but themselves at that age."
"This comes later?"
"For most people, yeah."
It only took Dean one whiff of the Heavenly aroma that suddenly drifted their way when the wind changed for him to instantly recognize it for what it was. Pie. And damn good pie too if he were any judge.
"Dude, turn around and look behind us."
Michael obliged him with a certain amount of bemusement and indulgence, but Dean didn't exactly care about that right now. All he needed to know was whether the ambrosial aroma was coming from a house or- Score! It was a shop, a bakery shop in point of fact, which meant that the pies were all but homemade, the best there were in his expert opinion.
"We need to get over there," Dean stated.
"Why?"
"Why? Why? Because they've got pie, of course."
"We have no need of sustenance, Little One."
"Pie is not sustenance!" Dean exclaimed offended. "Pie is pie."
"That does not make sense. You cannot define a word using that very word."
"Not funny, Mikey. Pie can, and is, defined that way. Pie is special, pie is sacred and pie deserves to be treated differently. With respect."
The bemusement and indulgence were growing stronger, but Dean just didn't care. Not if it got him pie.
"Regardless of its apparent near holy status, the fact remains that we do not require the consumption of it."
"Oh, come on," Dean wheedled, not quite begging but he would if he had to, the smell alone was driving him nuts. "Just a few slices? It's not like we're doing anything other then just waiting here for Cas and Raphael anyway."
Michael sighed and Dean's lips twitched at the sign of just how much he'd already rubbed off on the archangel. Now if only he could just influence him a little more, to try a few other human things...
"You are not going to let this matter lie, are you?" Michael inquired.
"Nope. Dude, it's pie! Pie is worth making time for, let alone enjoying when you have nothing better to do than sit around and wait."
If it were still possible, Dean would have jumped (and probably yelped though he'd deny that forevermore) at the abrupt fullness in his stomach that followed the sudden swirl of Grace within him.
"The hell?"
"There, you have your pie."
Dean could only open and close his mouth, speechless as he processed exactly what had just happened. No way. Michael hadn't just done what he thought the archangel had done. Had he? No, he wouldn't have. And yet.
"Dude, did you just mojo pie into my stomach?"
"No, I minced it first, I know your food needs to be broken down before entering your stomach, Little One."
He was speechless again, that was twice in less then a minute, Michael should feel proud of himself, Dean thought absently, because this hardly ever happened to him once, let alone twice in such rapid succession. He whimpered instead.
"What is wrong?"
"What's wrong? What's wrong? Dude, you-" Dean began, cutting himself off, choking on his disbelief and sense of having been cheated out of a precious gift. "I can't believe you. Honestly, that was- just- argh!"
Then there was a flutter of wings and Castiel suddenly stood beside the bench, eyes instantly seeking out theirs and something flashed through them as his lover realized that Michael was once again inside of him. It seemed to ease a moment later when his angel saw that they were okay.
"Castiel, Brother!" Michael sounded relieved to see the other angel. "Please tell me, why is Dean upset with me for having filled his stomach with pie after he requested it?"
Castiel blinked once, twice, as he clearly tried to figure out what had happened, but then his lover's lips twitched upwards as a chuckle escaped him and, safely ensconced within Michael's Grace, Dean scowled. Traitor, he thought. He was definitely going to remember this incident and make his angel pay for it just as soon as Michael was safely back within Deirdre.
"I believe Dean wished for you to consume the pie in the manner of humans instead of just filling him with it," Castiel informed his brother.
Okay, now that just sounded wrong, though Dean did have to give his lover points for trying. Just not enough points to let him off the hook entirely. Not for laughing at him when he'd been cheated of his precious and much deserved pie.
"Why would he want that?"
"Because it is the taste of the pie which he enjoys so much, not the actual nourishment he gains from it."
"Oh."
Dean could feel the obvious confusion of his angelic hitchhiker at this explanation and decided to take pity on him. Michael had tried after all, even if he'd done it completely wrong. He figured that he could meet him halfway. Concentrating, he pulled up the memory of the last homemade pie he'd had, ironically enough it had been during the middle of the whole zombie fiasco at Bobby's, and pushed it at the archangel. Michael accepted it and let himself sink into it and yeah, that would never grow any less weird.
When the archangel surfaced from it a few minutes later, Dean could detect understanding and just a dash of wonder coming from Michael.
"I see now, I am sorry, it was not my intention to rob you of your pleasure."
"S'okay, I get it. You tried."
"Would you like to have some pie properly now?"
"Uh," Dean hated to say no to pie, especially such awesome homemade pie as this, but he was full- absolutely, positively full- with it already. He really couldn't say that Michael hadn't tried to give him what he thought he'd wanted. "Thanks, but I don't think I could fit another bite." The words had hardly left his mouth before there was another swirl of Grace and his stomach was empty once more. "Dude!"
"Since you are letting me use your body, I believe you should get to enjoy the advantages of my presence, no?"
Dean's eyes were wide as he realized what the archangel had just done and why. "Mike, you're awesome!"
The oddest sense of pleasure and joy reached him for a fraction of a second before it was gone and Dean's attention shifted to the heavenly pie suddenly before him.
"Do not blaspheme," Michael scolded fondly.
"Just you wait until you've tried this! Then we'll see what you have to say about it."
"Is he always like this with this type of dessert?" Michael questioned, looking up at his brother.
"Yes," Castiel replied with an indulgent smile.
A.N.: If this makes it up, I'll be well impressed! I've been fighting with vanishing comments and posts for the past few hours and am totally not sure whether this'll work. Damn those hackers for messing with LJ, what the hell do they gain from it anyway?
Chapter 74
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: up to and including Exile on Main St., AU from the end of season 5
Warnings: AU, slash
Word Count: 2,692
Summary: Michael and Dean argue about what they should do about Roy.
PAST
Michael had only caught the memory that had flashed unbidden across his vessel's mind at the sound of the familiar voice, but the sheer betrayal that radiated from Dean, both now and in his recollection of the previous encounter, were more then enough to tell him that the hunter had once trusted this man. Trusted him and been betrayed by him. And not just any betrayal either, but one that had led to his vessel's death and, consequently, the experience of Heaven that had so warped Dean's opinion of his home.
The rage had ignited within Michael immediately and the desire to smite the worthless human for his crimes followed swiftly after. His Grace had already stirred within him in preparation to do precisely that when Dean had cried out, clearly sensing his intention and disapproving of it. The urge to ignore his vessel was great. He could easily shove Dean back into his mind so that he didn't see any of it, but even as the thought occurred to him, he knew it was wrong and would be a blatant betrayal of the trust Dean had in him.
"Michael, please, don't do this."
With an effort, Michael reigned himself in though it was more difficult to do then he'd like to admit. Not only did he feel far more strongly about Dean then he ever had for a previous vessel, but he'd already been struggling to suppress volatile emotions even before this human had shown up. It had started the moment he'd arrived in Dean's motel room and he'd been able to detect his younger brother's scent all over his vessel. Although he had known that the hunter was Castiel's mate, this had been the first time that Dean had smelled like it and his own reaction to it had caught him off-guard. He'd never have expected to feel the surge of possessiveness or the need to restake his own claim on his vessel. The unexpected emotions had been why he'd not immediately noticed that Dean had awakened and assumed that he was in danger upon detecting his presence.
He had quickly tried to suppress the reactions, knowing them to be illogical, but it had been harder to do then Michael had thought it would be. He had known his brother and his vessel were mated long before Dean had said yes to him, allowing him inside, and it had not bothered him before once he'd seen that their bond was genuine and extremely strong. It even pulsed in the manner of angelic mate bonds but which those bonds between previous human-angel pairs had always lacked. Therefore he wasn't sure why it bothered him now as he'd never had any desire to interfere with a mated pair, let alone one that his Father seemed to approve of.
"Thanks," Dean said, no doubt sensing the shift in his intentions.
"He stood by as you were slaughtered!" Michael thundered, anger still thrumming strong through his Grace.
"Yes, believe me, I know and I'd love to watch you smite him, but if we do that, then we're no better than him."
"It would not be the same. He attacked you in cold blood, this would be justice."
"An eye for an eye?" Dean questioned. "We've got a saying about that here on Earth. An eye for an eye and the whole world goes blind. Besides, they were just doing what they thought was right. Sam did break the final seal and since they didn't know about everything else, it looked like he'd opened the door to the end of the world for just for kicks."
The sudden guilt that hit Michael was as unexpected as all of the other emotions he'd been experiencing today had been and he didn't like any of it. Despite that, he refused to shy away from the reality of the fact that what had happened had been partially his fault. He and Raphael had set in motion and helped along the sequence of events that had led the man and his partner to be in that motel room. And, what was worse, if he'd known that Dean was in Heaven at the time, he would have been pleased as he'd have seen it as the perfect opportunity to make his vessel see how foolish, childish and futile his continued resistance was.
"Besides," Dean continued. "He doesn't remember any of it."
"What?"
"Cas and I ran into Roy and Walt not too long and Cas wiped their memories of anything related to this whole mess."
"You asked him to do this," Michael stated, having come to know his little brother well enough to know that Castiel would not have acted in such a restrained manner of his own accord. Not with what the man had done to Castiel's mate.
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"Because it was the right thing to do. We can't exactly afford to lose any hunters just now and despite all else, Roy is a damn good hunter. Shit's hitting the fan, Mike, and we're seeing all kinds of things that just shouldn't be possible."
Michael didn't think that was entirely sufficient a reason to let the traitor live, but he could easily tell that Dean felt strongly about this and he doubted that he'd be able to change his vessel's mind in the short amount of time they had before the other hunter was beside them. And perhaps this wasn't one of those things about which he should be altering Dean's opinion. Dean was the Righteous Man after all and the only reason he himself was here, within his vessel, was because the Rite of Contressa demanded that his justice be tempered by Dean's righteousness. Perhaps this was one of the lessons his Father wanted him to learn.
"Very well, how would you have me handle this?"
"Say exactly what I tell you to and whatever happens, don't stiffen up again!"
/
Even as Dean watched Roy walk away, he couldn't quite believe that they'd just pulled that off. Sure, his former friend probably thought he was more then a little weird right now, but it hadn't been anything too bad and definitely nothing that Roy wouldn't probably just write off as him having lost it slightly after everything that he'd gone through and the fact that he was now alone (well as far as anyone else knew). He just hoped like hell that the man didn't run into Bobby or Sam and his new gang and started talking about seeing him on the road again. That would just throw a wrench into things. He was more then happy for everyone to think that he was still in Cicero with Lisa.
Which reminded him, he hadn't gotten a call from Bobby in a while so either the old man had given up on him or he was starting to take a hint. Dean wasn't quite sure which of the two options he preferred really. On the one hand it hurt and was annoying to have to pretend that everything was just fine whenever Bobby called, to pretend that he didn't know about how badly they'd betrayed him. But on the other hand it also hurt to think that he'd been given up on entirely. Is this what would have happened if Lisa hadn't kicked him out? A slow dissolution of all of his old ties and connections? And was that seriously what they thought he'd really wanted after everything they had gone through together?
"What's wrong, Little One?" Michael inquired.
His first impulse was to snap at the archangel and say that it was none of his business, but Dean managed to contain it at the last instant. Michael had just done him a huge favor after all and didn't deserve that kind of treatment from him.
"It's nothing, just some old shit that doesn't want to die off quietly."
He was pretty sure that the archangel could tell that it was a bit more then that, but Michael humored him for now, settling himself back into the slouch Dean had talked him into earlier. He nearly laughed as he realized that, given enough time, it would become almost as mechanical to the archangel as his stiff, perfect posture was. Michael wasn't really relaxing into it so much as deliberately placing his meatsuit into a new and fixed position. Freaking angels.
Slowly the tension from their little confrontation faded and Dean was able to focus on their surroundings once more. The number of kids on the playground had increased and it was with a start that he realized that it must be a weekend. He'd totally lost track of the days lately, not that it really mattered for him as the Apocalypse continued on regardless of what day of the week it was. He was already incredibly lucky that he'd been able to take some time off the past few days. If the chances of it jeopardizing the Rite hadn't been so high, he'd have gone after a new hunt instead of sticking in one place and continuing his research in-between bouts of relaxation in preparation for what they were going to do today.
"They are very violent," Michael observed as they saw one of the toddlers hitting another toddler only to get kicked in return.
"They're kids," Dean replied. "They don't exactly have a sense of what's right or wrong just yet. Heck, they're completely unable to even imagine what it's like to be anyone but themselves at that age."
"This comes later?"
"For most people, yeah."
It only took Dean one whiff of the Heavenly aroma that suddenly drifted their way when the wind changed for him to instantly recognize it for what it was. Pie. And damn good pie too if he were any judge.
"Dude, turn around and look behind us."
Michael obliged him with a certain amount of bemusement and indulgence, but Dean didn't exactly care about that right now. All he needed to know was whether the ambrosial aroma was coming from a house or- Score! It was a shop, a bakery shop in point of fact, which meant that the pies were all but homemade, the best there were in his expert opinion.
"We need to get over there," Dean stated.
"Why?"
"Why? Why? Because they've got pie, of course."
"We have no need of sustenance, Little One."
"Pie is not sustenance!" Dean exclaimed offended. "Pie is pie."
"That does not make sense. You cannot define a word using that very word."
"Not funny, Mikey. Pie can, and is, defined that way. Pie is special, pie is sacred and pie deserves to be treated differently. With respect."
The bemusement and indulgence were growing stronger, but Dean just didn't care. Not if it got him pie.
"Regardless of its apparent near holy status, the fact remains that we do not require the consumption of it."
"Oh, come on," Dean wheedled, not quite begging but he would if he had to, the smell alone was driving him nuts. "Just a few slices? It's not like we're doing anything other then just waiting here for Cas and Raphael anyway."
Michael sighed and Dean's lips twitched at the sign of just how much he'd already rubbed off on the archangel. Now if only he could just influence him a little more, to try a few other human things...
"You are not going to let this matter lie, are you?" Michael inquired.
"Nope. Dude, it's pie! Pie is worth making time for, let alone enjoying when you have nothing better to do than sit around and wait."
If it were still possible, Dean would have jumped (and probably yelped though he'd deny that forevermore) at the abrupt fullness in his stomach that followed the sudden swirl of Grace within him.
"The hell?"
"There, you have your pie."
Dean could only open and close his mouth, speechless as he processed exactly what had just happened. No way. Michael hadn't just done what he thought the archangel had done. Had he? No, he wouldn't have. And yet.
"Dude, did you just mojo pie into my stomach?"
"No, I minced it first, I know your food needs to be broken down before entering your stomach, Little One."
He was speechless again, that was twice in less then a minute, Michael should feel proud of himself, Dean thought absently, because this hardly ever happened to him once, let alone twice in such rapid succession. He whimpered instead.
"What is wrong?"
"What's wrong? What's wrong? Dude, you-" Dean began, cutting himself off, choking on his disbelief and sense of having been cheated out of a precious gift. "I can't believe you. Honestly, that was- just- argh!"
Then there was a flutter of wings and Castiel suddenly stood beside the bench, eyes instantly seeking out theirs and something flashed through them as his lover realized that Michael was once again inside of him. It seemed to ease a moment later when his angel saw that they were okay.
"Castiel, Brother!" Michael sounded relieved to see the other angel. "Please tell me, why is Dean upset with me for having filled his stomach with pie after he requested it?"
Castiel blinked once, twice, as he clearly tried to figure out what had happened, but then his lover's lips twitched upwards as a chuckle escaped him and, safely ensconced within Michael's Grace, Dean scowled. Traitor, he thought. He was definitely going to remember this incident and make his angel pay for it just as soon as Michael was safely back within Deirdre.
"I believe Dean wished for you to consume the pie in the manner of humans instead of just filling him with it," Castiel informed his brother.
Okay, now that just sounded wrong, though Dean did have to give his lover points for trying. Just not enough points to let him off the hook entirely. Not for laughing at him when he'd been cheated of his precious and much deserved pie.
"Why would he want that?"
"Because it is the taste of the pie which he enjoys so much, not the actual nourishment he gains from it."
"Oh."
Dean could feel the obvious confusion of his angelic hitchhiker at this explanation and decided to take pity on him. Michael had tried after all, even if he'd done it completely wrong. He figured that he could meet him halfway. Concentrating, he pulled up the memory of the last homemade pie he'd had, ironically enough it had been during the middle of the whole zombie fiasco at Bobby's, and pushed it at the archangel. Michael accepted it and let himself sink into it and yeah, that would never grow any less weird.
When the archangel surfaced from it a few minutes later, Dean could detect understanding and just a dash of wonder coming from Michael.
"I see now, I am sorry, it was not my intention to rob you of your pleasure."
"S'okay, I get it. You tried."
"Would you like to have some pie properly now?"
"Uh," Dean hated to say no to pie, especially such awesome homemade pie as this, but he was full- absolutely, positively full- with it already. He really couldn't say that Michael hadn't tried to give him what he thought he'd wanted. "Thanks, but I don't think I could fit another bite." The words had hardly left his mouth before there was another swirl of Grace and his stomach was empty once more. "Dude!"
"Since you are letting me use your body, I believe you should get to enjoy the advantages of my presence, no?"
Dean's eyes were wide as he realized what the archangel had just done and why. "Mike, you're awesome!"
The oddest sense of pleasure and joy reached him for a fraction of a second before it was gone and Dean's attention shifted to the heavenly pie suddenly before him.
"Do not blaspheme," Michael scolded fondly.
"Just you wait until you've tried this! Then we'll see what you have to say about it."
"Is he always like this with this type of dessert?" Michael questioned, looking up at his brother.
"Yes," Castiel replied with an indulgent smile.
A.N.: If this makes it up, I'll be well impressed! I've been fighting with vanishing comments and posts for the past few hours and am totally not sure whether this'll work. Damn those hackers for messing with LJ, what the hell do they gain from it anyway?
Chapter 74