Unexpected Destinies Chapter 98
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: 2,436
Summary: Dean deals with Michael's revelation and Miniel's news.
PAST
"For life?" Dean repeated, stunned.
"Yes, Little One," Michael confirmed.
For life, but for an angel that was... that meant...
Dean's mind balked at the mere thought, not quite able to process or comprehend that. Hell, he already had enough trouble trying to conceive exactly how long ago any of his angels had been created (tens of millions of years ago! just how was he supposed to wrap his mind around that?), so forget trying to understand what life meant for them. It was just something he couldn't understand even with his forty years in Hell and multiple short trips to Heaven. They were literally talking eternity here if nothing untoward happened to Castiel. How could the idiot have chosen him given all of that?
"But... but that's... different for humans and angels," Dean stammered.
"You are thinking too much in physical terms, the human soul does not die with the body."
"But Heaven compartmentalizes everyone."
"Those thus bonded to angels were considered like soul mates, thereby allowing those of my siblings affected to share their mate's Heaven," Michael explained. "Now, of course, humans all mingle freely and we are allowed to enter the human portion of Heaven as well so it would be easier now for those mated with humans."
He'd been wrong, oh so very wrong, Dean realized with a start. Mate wasn't the angelic equivalent of the human word lover, but rather of husband, or wife as the case may be. Being mated for angels was like being married for humans. There was a flare of panic within him that was made all the worse by the fact that he knew that Michael could sense at least some of his emotions and he immediately tried to smother it, but holy shit his angels saw Castiel and him as married!
It- marriage- was something that had never even crossed Dean's mind, at least not seriously and in relation to him. Not even when he'd been with Cassie and things had been at their best had the thought even occurred to him. That was like... like really serious and he wasn't husband material. He was a freaking hunter who more often than not put his foot into it when it came to all of that emotional and thoughtfulness crap which that kind of a relationship entailed. And... and...
And, wait, he didn't remember getting angel married, which was extremely odd given how big on consent angels seemed to be. Or at least on a superficial level, though that had changed dramatically as of late.
"Does it just happen?" Dean asked. "Isn't there, like, some kind of ceremony or whatnot?"
"There are rituals that are usually performed to celebrate the bond, yes," Michael replied. "But they are not necessary for the pair to be mated just as your marriage is not a precondition to love. The bond itself develops of its own accord."
There it was again, that word.
Marriage.
It was kinda amazing how easily just one word could send him into a tailspin but there you go.
"Dean? Little One, are you okay?" Michael inquired.
"Yeah, just give me a moment here," Dean replied.
Almost desperate now, Dean tried to shove the panic aside. He didn't want Michael to get the wrong idea and mention anything to Castiel. The mere idea of his angel hearing about this and being hurt by it was almost too much to bear. It wasn't about his lover, hell it could never be able Castiel, but rather it was about the word and what it meant. Forever, literally when it came to angels, and that was just too much. It was too long, too-
"Michael?"
The voice echoed through their head and had Dean been in control of his own meatsuit he'd have startled at the suddenness of the intrusion. He hadn't spoken and so that could only mean one thing-
"Miniel," Michael answered the call.
"Cas!" Dean exclaimed, wishing he could butt into the conversation but knowing he couldn't make it onto angel radio. The archangel could hear him, though, and that would have to be enough. "Well, ask him!"
Michael's response was a flick of Grace against his soul that somehow felt like a cross between being lightly cuffed on the back of his head and getting a fond hearted shove. Dean scowled and deliberately poked the archangel right back.
"Raphael has asked me to relay Castiel's status to you," Miniel said. "We have been able to fully heal his vessel as the damage to it was only that of fire to human flesh."
The words, though relieving on some level, only made Dean fear even more. Why break the news down into vessel and true form if the information wasn't different? Besides, screw the vessel, it wasn't like Jimmy was still there anyway (if he were then it would be a whole different story!). No, it was just an empty vessel and while it would have caused a whole host of difficulties if Jimmy's meatsuit had been irreparably damaged, they could have dealt with those if Castiel himself were fine.
Just how okay he was with that startled Dean as he knew how hard it would be to see his lover with a new face and body (not to mention the fact that the new vessel might outright refuse to let them interact as they were wont to now and really he wouldn't be able to blame them for that). It should have bothered him more, though, he was human after all and things like a change of the entire outward appearance of one's lover just didn't happen. With one's mate, however, it was obviously a distinct possibility and maybe he was already more okay with that whole concept than he'd realized.
"And what of Castiel himself, Brother?" Michael asked.
"That has been far more difficult," Miniel replied and Dean wished he had a real lip so that when he bit it he could actually feel the pain of the action instead of the nothingness he got now when he tried futilely to imitate the action in an effort to contain himself. "The damage, as you know, was quite extensive."
Even Dean knew that was an understatement and he didn't even know the first thing of angel anatomy let alone angel medicine or first aid. Well, beyond that which he'd seen and felt Michael perform on his lover, which he figured didn't really count as he'd been far too out of it to take much note of what was being done, let alone how it was done.
"We have, however, managed to stabilize him and are now working to heal him."
Those words at least were a relief.
"Will he make a complete recovery?" Michael asked.
"We cannot be fully certain of that just yet," Miniel answered. "The damage to his right wings was particularly significant and gruesome and it will take more time for us to tell the exact extent of it or to determine how well we will be able to heal them."
The words had Dean frozen in horror and fear. Castiel's beautiful wings! His beautiful, sensitive wings!
The horror from before was back and it was nearly overwhelming though now it rapidly turned to rage. Dean would be eternally grateful that he'd been Michael's vessel when the archangel had killed Meg, but he sincerely wished that they'd had more time to deal with her properly. Hell, if it had been up to him and he hadn't had Castiel to worry about, there was no telling what might have happened but he had the sneaking suspicion that he might well have resorted to more than one skill that he'd learned from Alastair while in the pit.
"When might you know?" Michael questioned.
"It is difficult to tell. Raphael expects us to be busy for another day or two with the initial treatment, after that it will depend on how well Castiel is responding and healing."
"Very well, thank you, Brother."
Dean really wanted to ask a few more questions but he managed to keep himself quiet. It sounded like his lover still needed all the help he could get and while Raphael obviously felt that they could do without Miniel for a little bit, he didn't want to risk keeping Castiel a Healer short needlessly. Besides, chances were that he wouldn't fully understand the answers to his questions anyway, so why bother asking? They'd only serve to make himself feel better which he didn't want if it came at the expense of his lover.
"There is one more thing," Miniel continued and even Dean could hear the hesitancy in his voice.
"Yes?" Michael prompted.
"Castiel has expressed a desire to recuperate with his mate once it is safe for him to do so."
The words had Dean's spirits soaring as well as plummeting at the same time. The fact that his lover was thinking of him even while so severely injured elated him, but it also meant that his absence had been noted and he knew how he'd feel if he woke from something like that and Castiel wasn't by his side when it was clear that he'd been rescued. He could only hope that his angel would understand. As it was Heaven, he had to assume that Castiel would know why he wasn't there, but it was possible that it hadn't occurred to his lover as wounded as he was.
"His mate would not be averse to that," Michael stated and the ripple of humor Dean caught told him that the archangel knew precisely how much of an understatement that was.
Dean let the slight jibe pass in favor of focusing on the matter at hand. Now that he had some idea of how Castiel was doing and what his lover wanted, he had something to work towards which was exactly what he needed. As far back as he could remember, he'd always hated being helpless and therefore he now leapt at the opportunity to be able to do something. The only issue was that doing so would mean leaving Michael and therefore his only point of contact with his angel.
"Good, I shall inform Castiel when next he awakes," Miniel replied.
"Thank you, Brother, and let us know when you have any more information."
There was a brief pause from the other end then: "Us? Oh, you mean your vessel and yourself."
"Yes."
"I will."
The words were followed by the sensation that Dean could best describe as the mental equivalent of hanging up the phone and then he had the archangel's full attention once more. Or well as much of it as anything could get while Michael was still on guard duty. Which was another point against his plan, but there were ways around both and he really did need to be doing something just now or he'd go crazy.
"If you were to move back to Aunt Deirdre would that leave you too vulnerable to Simiel?" Dean asked.
"You wish for me to leave?"
There was an undercurrent of hurt in the archangel's tone or at least what Dean was pretty sure what hurt based on his, albeit limited, experience with the true voices of angels and it caught him off-guard. It hadn't been his intention and he hadn't expected his friend to feel so strongly about this. It probably had to do with the fact that the archangel saw no reason for him to leave and every reason to stay so to Michael it probably looked like he wanted to get away from him.
"If Cas wants to stay with me, then there are things I need to do first before he arrives," Dean explained. "Not the least of which is to change towns."
"Why?"
"'Cause I just finished a hunt where I am now and I had to impersonate an FBI agent with the cops for it. If they see that I'm still around in a few days, they'll start to get suspicious so I need to move somewhere else where no one knows me. Also, if I'm gonna stay in one place for a while, I should probably also do some grocery shopping and get a place with a kitchen."
He wasn't going to say that he'd gotten far too used to Castiel bringing him awesome food all of the time to really want to go back to solely eating greasy dinner food and takeout all of the time. Really, he wasn't going to say it as that would just make him sound whipped or wimpy and uncool. It was just easier to make something big like lasagna and eat from it for several days. Really it was. And no, he absolutely wasn't thinking of what vegetables he could slip into it that wouldn't really alter the taste any.
Dean sighed as he wondered why he even bothered to try and convince himself otherwise when he knew exactly how much Castiel had changed him and his habits. It was almost the way he imagined a married couple might influence each other.
"I see," Michael replied, voice clear now of any negative emotions and Dean felt a wave of relief, he really hadn't wanted his friend to think he was trying to get away from him.
Despite all that he'd thought and feared about becoming a vessel, or how much he'd fought it, Dean had come to find that it really wasn't all that bad and this despite what had happened only a few short hours ago. Or at least he thought it had only been a few hours ago, being stuck in his own head tended to mess with his sense of time. There were definitely benefits and perks to the whole deal and he knew that he would miss the connection with his friend if he survived this Apocalypse, not to mention the fact that he could truly feel the bond that existed between himself and his lover when Michael's Grace was wrapped around his soul.
"You still have the cell phone I gave you, right?" Dean checked.
"Yes."
"And you remember how to use it?"
"Of course."
"Good. Promise to call me if you hear anything else from Miniel or Raphael?"
"Of course, Little One. Go prepare a nest for yourself and your mate."
Dean laughed, pretty sure Michael was just teasing him now, though the image that popped into his head was far too amusing for him to mind. Now if only Castiel's wings would heal enough for him to think of them like that without a twinge of dread and horror.
A.N.: Argh! I hate DDoS attacks! I've been trying to get this chapter up for nearly 48 hours now (well, when I've been at my home computer during that stretch of time as I'm not touching this fic from work)! The worst was when I'd get reviews in my inbox and so knew that some people could get at the site while I couldn't.
Chapter 99
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: up to and including Exile on Main St., AU from the end of season 5
Warnings: AU, slash
Word Count: 2,436
Summary: Dean deals with Michael's revelation and Miniel's news.
PAST
"For life?" Dean repeated, stunned.
"Yes, Little One," Michael confirmed.
For life, but for an angel that was... that meant...
Dean's mind balked at the mere thought, not quite able to process or comprehend that. Hell, he already had enough trouble trying to conceive exactly how long ago any of his angels had been created (tens of millions of years ago! just how was he supposed to wrap his mind around that?), so forget trying to understand what life meant for them. It was just something he couldn't understand even with his forty years in Hell and multiple short trips to Heaven. They were literally talking eternity here if nothing untoward happened to Castiel. How could the idiot have chosen him given all of that?
"But... but that's... different for humans and angels," Dean stammered.
"You are thinking too much in physical terms, the human soul does not die with the body."
"But Heaven compartmentalizes everyone."
"Those thus bonded to angels were considered like soul mates, thereby allowing those of my siblings affected to share their mate's Heaven," Michael explained. "Now, of course, humans all mingle freely and we are allowed to enter the human portion of Heaven as well so it would be easier now for those mated with humans."
He'd been wrong, oh so very wrong, Dean realized with a start. Mate wasn't the angelic equivalent of the human word lover, but rather of husband, or wife as the case may be. Being mated for angels was like being married for humans. There was a flare of panic within him that was made all the worse by the fact that he knew that Michael could sense at least some of his emotions and he immediately tried to smother it, but holy shit his angels saw Castiel and him as married!
It- marriage- was something that had never even crossed Dean's mind, at least not seriously and in relation to him. Not even when he'd been with Cassie and things had been at their best had the thought even occurred to him. That was like... like really serious and he wasn't husband material. He was a freaking hunter who more often than not put his foot into it when it came to all of that emotional and thoughtfulness crap which that kind of a relationship entailed. And... and...
And, wait, he didn't remember getting angel married, which was extremely odd given how big on consent angels seemed to be. Or at least on a superficial level, though that had changed dramatically as of late.
"Does it just happen?" Dean asked. "Isn't there, like, some kind of ceremony or whatnot?"
"There are rituals that are usually performed to celebrate the bond, yes," Michael replied. "But they are not necessary for the pair to be mated just as your marriage is not a precondition to love. The bond itself develops of its own accord."
There it was again, that word.
Marriage.
It was kinda amazing how easily just one word could send him into a tailspin but there you go.
"Dean? Little One, are you okay?" Michael inquired.
"Yeah, just give me a moment here," Dean replied.
Almost desperate now, Dean tried to shove the panic aside. He didn't want Michael to get the wrong idea and mention anything to Castiel. The mere idea of his angel hearing about this and being hurt by it was almost too much to bear. It wasn't about his lover, hell it could never be able Castiel, but rather it was about the word and what it meant. Forever, literally when it came to angels, and that was just too much. It was too long, too-
"Michael?"
The voice echoed through their head and had Dean been in control of his own meatsuit he'd have startled at the suddenness of the intrusion. He hadn't spoken and so that could only mean one thing-
"Miniel," Michael answered the call.
"Cas!" Dean exclaimed, wishing he could butt into the conversation but knowing he couldn't make it onto angel radio. The archangel could hear him, though, and that would have to be enough. "Well, ask him!"
Michael's response was a flick of Grace against his soul that somehow felt like a cross between being lightly cuffed on the back of his head and getting a fond hearted shove. Dean scowled and deliberately poked the archangel right back.
"Raphael has asked me to relay Castiel's status to you," Miniel said. "We have been able to fully heal his vessel as the damage to it was only that of fire to human flesh."
The words, though relieving on some level, only made Dean fear even more. Why break the news down into vessel and true form if the information wasn't different? Besides, screw the vessel, it wasn't like Jimmy was still there anyway (if he were then it would be a whole different story!). No, it was just an empty vessel and while it would have caused a whole host of difficulties if Jimmy's meatsuit had been irreparably damaged, they could have dealt with those if Castiel himself were fine.
Just how okay he was with that startled Dean as he knew how hard it would be to see his lover with a new face and body (not to mention the fact that the new vessel might outright refuse to let them interact as they were wont to now and really he wouldn't be able to blame them for that). It should have bothered him more, though, he was human after all and things like a change of the entire outward appearance of one's lover just didn't happen. With one's mate, however, it was obviously a distinct possibility and maybe he was already more okay with that whole concept than he'd realized.
"And what of Castiel himself, Brother?" Michael asked.
"That has been far more difficult," Miniel replied and Dean wished he had a real lip so that when he bit it he could actually feel the pain of the action instead of the nothingness he got now when he tried futilely to imitate the action in an effort to contain himself. "The damage, as you know, was quite extensive."
Even Dean knew that was an understatement and he didn't even know the first thing of angel anatomy let alone angel medicine or first aid. Well, beyond that which he'd seen and felt Michael perform on his lover, which he figured didn't really count as he'd been far too out of it to take much note of what was being done, let alone how it was done.
"We have, however, managed to stabilize him and are now working to heal him."
Those words at least were a relief.
"Will he make a complete recovery?" Michael asked.
"We cannot be fully certain of that just yet," Miniel answered. "The damage to his right wings was particularly significant and gruesome and it will take more time for us to tell the exact extent of it or to determine how well we will be able to heal them."
The words had Dean frozen in horror and fear. Castiel's beautiful wings! His beautiful, sensitive wings!
The horror from before was back and it was nearly overwhelming though now it rapidly turned to rage. Dean would be eternally grateful that he'd been Michael's vessel when the archangel had killed Meg, but he sincerely wished that they'd had more time to deal with her properly. Hell, if it had been up to him and he hadn't had Castiel to worry about, there was no telling what might have happened but he had the sneaking suspicion that he might well have resorted to more than one skill that he'd learned from Alastair while in the pit.
"When might you know?" Michael questioned.
"It is difficult to tell. Raphael expects us to be busy for another day or two with the initial treatment, after that it will depend on how well Castiel is responding and healing."
"Very well, thank you, Brother."
Dean really wanted to ask a few more questions but he managed to keep himself quiet. It sounded like his lover still needed all the help he could get and while Raphael obviously felt that they could do without Miniel for a little bit, he didn't want to risk keeping Castiel a Healer short needlessly. Besides, chances were that he wouldn't fully understand the answers to his questions anyway, so why bother asking? They'd only serve to make himself feel better which he didn't want if it came at the expense of his lover.
"There is one more thing," Miniel continued and even Dean could hear the hesitancy in his voice.
"Yes?" Michael prompted.
"Castiel has expressed a desire to recuperate with his mate once it is safe for him to do so."
The words had Dean's spirits soaring as well as plummeting at the same time. The fact that his lover was thinking of him even while so severely injured elated him, but it also meant that his absence had been noted and he knew how he'd feel if he woke from something like that and Castiel wasn't by his side when it was clear that he'd been rescued. He could only hope that his angel would understand. As it was Heaven, he had to assume that Castiel would know why he wasn't there, but it was possible that it hadn't occurred to his lover as wounded as he was.
"His mate would not be averse to that," Michael stated and the ripple of humor Dean caught told him that the archangel knew precisely how much of an understatement that was.
Dean let the slight jibe pass in favor of focusing on the matter at hand. Now that he had some idea of how Castiel was doing and what his lover wanted, he had something to work towards which was exactly what he needed. As far back as he could remember, he'd always hated being helpless and therefore he now leapt at the opportunity to be able to do something. The only issue was that doing so would mean leaving Michael and therefore his only point of contact with his angel.
"Good, I shall inform Castiel when next he awakes," Miniel replied.
"Thank you, Brother, and let us know when you have any more information."
There was a brief pause from the other end then: "Us? Oh, you mean your vessel and yourself."
"Yes."
"I will."
The words were followed by the sensation that Dean could best describe as the mental equivalent of hanging up the phone and then he had the archangel's full attention once more. Or well as much of it as anything could get while Michael was still on guard duty. Which was another point against his plan, but there were ways around both and he really did need to be doing something just now or he'd go crazy.
"If you were to move back to Aunt Deirdre would that leave you too vulnerable to Simiel?" Dean asked.
"You wish for me to leave?"
There was an undercurrent of hurt in the archangel's tone or at least what Dean was pretty sure what hurt based on his, albeit limited, experience with the true voices of angels and it caught him off-guard. It hadn't been his intention and he hadn't expected his friend to feel so strongly about this. It probably had to do with the fact that the archangel saw no reason for him to leave and every reason to stay so to Michael it probably looked like he wanted to get away from him.
"If Cas wants to stay with me, then there are things I need to do first before he arrives," Dean explained. "Not the least of which is to change towns."
"Why?"
"'Cause I just finished a hunt where I am now and I had to impersonate an FBI agent with the cops for it. If they see that I'm still around in a few days, they'll start to get suspicious so I need to move somewhere else where no one knows me. Also, if I'm gonna stay in one place for a while, I should probably also do some grocery shopping and get a place with a kitchen."
He wasn't going to say that he'd gotten far too used to Castiel bringing him awesome food all of the time to really want to go back to solely eating greasy dinner food and takeout all of the time. Really, he wasn't going to say it as that would just make him sound whipped or wimpy and uncool. It was just easier to make something big like lasagna and eat from it for several days. Really it was. And no, he absolutely wasn't thinking of what vegetables he could slip into it that wouldn't really alter the taste any.
Dean sighed as he wondered why he even bothered to try and convince himself otherwise when he knew exactly how much Castiel had changed him and his habits. It was almost the way he imagined a married couple might influence each other.
"I see," Michael replied, voice clear now of any negative emotions and Dean felt a wave of relief, he really hadn't wanted his friend to think he was trying to get away from him.
Despite all that he'd thought and feared about becoming a vessel, or how much he'd fought it, Dean had come to find that it really wasn't all that bad and this despite what had happened only a few short hours ago. Or at least he thought it had only been a few hours ago, being stuck in his own head tended to mess with his sense of time. There were definitely benefits and perks to the whole deal and he knew that he would miss the connection with his friend if he survived this Apocalypse, not to mention the fact that he could truly feel the bond that existed between himself and his lover when Michael's Grace was wrapped around his soul.
"You still have the cell phone I gave you, right?" Dean checked.
"Yes."
"And you remember how to use it?"
"Of course."
"Good. Promise to call me if you hear anything else from Miniel or Raphael?"
"Of course, Little One. Go prepare a nest for yourself and your mate."
Dean laughed, pretty sure Michael was just teasing him now, though the image that popped into his head was far too amusing for him to mind. Now if only Castiel's wings would heal enough for him to think of them like that without a twinge of dread and horror.
A.N.: Argh! I hate DDoS attacks! I've been trying to get this chapter up for nearly 48 hours now (well, when I've been at my home computer during that stretch of time as I'm not touching this fic from work)! The worst was when I'd get reviews in my inbox and so knew that some people could get at the site while I couldn't.
Chapter 99