Ice of Oblivion Chapter 17
Title: Ice of Oblivion Chapter 17/24
Author: zoomzoomzoomzoo
Fandom/Genre: SPN AU Romance, Drama, Action
Pairing (s): Dean/Castiel
Rating: T
Word Count: ~82,000
Warnings: Underage, Mild Sexual Situation, Violence
Summary: AU. In a time of great tragedy in the lands of Mamot, the human race and the angel race are forced to form an unbreakable union that will bind them together for twenty seven lifetimes in order to stop the uprising of the demon race. In bargain they offer Castiel, one of the most powerful angels in the entire world to marry Dean Winchester, the young crown prince of the human world. The typically detached Castiel winds up falling in love with the Prince. The only problem is his brothers don’t expect Dean to live through the war. Will Castiel stay and support the man he loves despite the heartbreak that might accompany his passing or will he fall back in line with his brothers, becoming numb to all human emotions once more?
Chapter 17
The first gunshot was unexpected. The second one shocked Castiel on his feet. The third one prompted him to pull his knife from his pocket. And the fourth one got him out of Dean’s tent. There were roughly a dozen demons approaching their campsite through the woods and all of his allies were attacking them feverously. Castiel went to join them not once thinking about the disabled and unconscious man inside of the tent.
The demons were peons to say the least; in no way were they the best that Iad had to offer and most were easy pickings face-to-face. But, they were in the forest and the demons - the feral beasts - were in their element. They crept out of trees and bounded out of forests with wild shrieks, catching nearly everyone off guard at first.
So for the most part, the battle was simple.
But, Castiel was still worried. If these demons were able to find them less than a day after they rescued Dean than it was highly likely that they knew the route they were going to take back home. And if that was the case then it would be very simple for Lucifer to send more demons there way, much more and more powerful.
The demon count was trickling down to almost zero when Castiel stabbed his last demon and the remainder decided to flee. Everyone was able to breath again but not for long because as their eyes scanned the campsite turned battle ground, they heard a strange ruffling.
“Damn it,” Shouted Jo. “One just got into Dean’s tent!”
Without wasting a second to try to comprehend what Jo said, Castiel scurried in the direction of Dean’s tent and could hear the rest of the humans following. If not for this Iad’s powers over angel’s strength Castiel could have flew there and if something happened to Dean because he couldn’t he swore he would rip Lucifer apart piece by piece.
Just as they came within inches of the tent they heard a loud screech and then a gunshot. The demon flew out of the tent, almost knocking everyone off of their feet, with various shot gun bullets in its chest… dead.
Everyone looked at the tent, amazed. They shuffled over and pealed open the flap entrance; there was Dean, sitting up with Luke’s forgotten shot gun in his arms. He was breathing hard and biting his lips hard enough to draw blood.
His striking - still striking - green eyes snapped up to the seven little heads peaking at him from all areas of his opening. He gave them a baffled look but his eyes obviously weren’t giving him a clear picture because all he did was frown and squint. “Hey…” He murmured.
That seemed to shock everyone out of his or her stupors, no one, not even Castiel, expected Dean to recover to the point of consciousness so quickly. The first to speak was Luke, who launched himself into the tent and threw his arms around his friend.
“Dude, you have no idea!” Luke shouted. Castiel expected him to finish his statement but after the man only continued to cradle Dean and smile into his ear he dropped the issue.
Dean groaned in pain but otherwise didn’t move to push his friend away. Instead, he just reached up and placed his hand on Luke’s shoulder. “Good to see you too,” He said.
Jo and Trent were next, both saying hello to Dean in their own way. Jo wrapped her arm around Dean’s neck and caused him to groan again. While Trent took the shot gun from Dean’s hands and gave him a firm handshake. Then the most bizarre thing happened, Castiel felt overcome with this emotion. It was new and though he knew what it was, he couldn’t admit it to himself.
Despite having three people hanging off of him like leeches and being in pain because of it, Dean didn’t try to push any of them away. He just rolled his eyes and looked forward at the remaining four heads; his eyes roamed over them quickly but they stopped and widened almost comically when his eyes fell on Castiel.
He squinted for a second time and then his eyes were wide again. The expression was difficult to decipher, it was blank but there was something there, something new. Castiel met his eyes gaze and just looking into those green eyes he knew that Dean was still himself and he knew that he still loved him. He still loved him very much.
Dean gulped and his eyes dropped to his lap before rising again. “Cas?”
Castiel nodded. “Yes Dean.” He did want to say something spectacular, something that would make Dean realize how sorry he was and how much he missed him for all those years. But nothing came to mind and a simple I love you, I miss you was not passable in Castiel’s mind. He just went with the familiar. “It’s - it’s nice to see you again.”
Dean nodded but didn’t do or say anything else; he didn’t even look at Castiel anymore. He focused on his friends, engaging them in random conversation, completely ignoring Castiel.
Castiel felt his stomach drop but it wasn’t as if he didn’t expect that reaction. Dean was still hurting and it was his fault. Dean was allowed to ignore him and treat him like dirt, if only for now.
Anna put her hand on Castiel’s shoulder and pulled him away from the tent as the rest of the angels lifted from the cramped up space. Lucas gave him a sympathetic smile while Raphael expressed stark amusement by chuckling openly.
“We have to make a plan if we expect to get back home without more of them coming after us,” Anna said.
Castiel nodded. Business needed to come first. When they had a better escape route he would worry about Dean; until then Castiel’s feelings for Dean would have to take a backburner.
~*~*~*~
They decided to take an alternate route back home using a rather archaic map that still split the land of Iad up between Himmel and Inim. The only problem, of course, was that it would take a couple more days to get back. But, it was still something and it was relatively safe if they stayed in the woods and away from mainland.
They set off immediately after they made the plans; Dean decided to ride his horse alone, insisting that he would be fine and he felt up to “sitting on his ass on top of a moving animal and he was kind of pissed that anyone would think for a second that he needed a chaperone on his own damn horse”. Regardless of his earlier assumptions though, Castiel saw Dean’s obvious pain every time his horse mis-stepped or whether they came down a hill.
He tried to ask if Dean was okay, but the man wouldn’t even speak to him. He pretended like he didn’t hear him each time. Even though he knew he deserved it, Castiel was still disheartened every time Dean ignored him. He could remember a time when Dean hung on to his every word and treated him like he was the most special thing in the world; now Dean didn’t even look at him.
How was he supposed to get Dean to love him again if the boy didn’t want to admit he existed?
~*~*~*~
The next morning started out as usual; the angels spent their time constantly recharging their energy as they weaned their way off of nightly patrols while the humans all crept out of their tents with messy heads and sleep drenched eyes. They went to the water basin and took small quantities for themselves to wash off their faces and hands.
But, as luck would have it, Castiel saw no sign of Dean creeping out of his tent at the break of dawn and he didn’t hear a peep from him when the humans started making breakfast.
He told Trent, who told Jo, who told Luke. Luke stood up with a frustrated eye roll and walked towards Dean’s tent with his gun in hand. “Dean, wake the hell up!”
When there was no sound, not even a curse or groan, Luke peeled back the flaps of the tent and pulled back, looking confused and troubled. “Dean’s not inside.”
Once again, without thinking about the situation, Castiel launched himself off of the ground and immediately started barking out orders to everyone present. They all followed them without thought and when half of them started to leave to find Dean, Castiel followed.
He had not bothered to channel his energy to finding Dean when he hadn’t risen in the early morning, which was very foolish on his part. He decided to do it then and followed that path; the others went in opposite directions just as Castiel ordered. He needed some alone time with Dean.
He found Dean in a slightly uncovered area with a pistol in one of his hands. As Castiel moved closer his breath effortlessly caught up in his throat when he finally saw Dean. He was beautiful. In the early morning hours the sun hit his body just right and cast almost no shadow on his face, lighting it up with a fervent glow. His body also changed; Dean only wore his undershirt and pants, giving Castiel an amazing view of the mature body in front of him. Bulging with rippling muscles and tan skin, the man looked heavenly. His father definitely took his time when he sculpted Dean; especially his face. Castiel could tell it was Dean, just a more grown up version of the beautiful boy he used to be. But, his face still changed so much. He had beautifully shaped lips and wide eyes with thick eyebrows that matched each other perfectly. He still had freckles that dusted over his skin and made him seem almost child-like. But, he wasn’t a child. Not anymore. He was a man now and Castiel couldn’t have been more proud.
Dean held the gun in his left hand and shot the silent gun a faraway tree; he sighed in frustration and pulled his arm closer to himself again, favoring his right arm with a grimace.
“What are you doing?”
Dean jumped and turned around with his gun already aimed at the man beside him; when he saw who it was a frown seized his features and he turned away quickly. “None of your business.”
Castiel wrinkled his eyebrows because of the rough treatment; but he would take snarky comments like that over bizarre silence and isolation anyways.
“Are you trying to relearn your gun,” Castiel asked. “I think you already have a wonderful shot, Dean.”
Dean glanced at Castiel and then turned back to his work at hand. “Thanks…”
Castiel opened him mouth to make another comment when Dean turned completely toward him with an uncharacteristically callous expression on his face. Castiel swallowed his gasp and frowned.
“Why are you here?” Dean asked, sounding exasperated.
Castiel cleared his throat and moved a little closer to Dean. “No one knew where you were. I have no idea how you managed to sneak past us in the first place.”
Dean sighed and rolled his exquisite green eyes. “Well I’m fine, there’s nothing to worry about. Can you just leave now?”
Castiel was about to follow his advice - he was starting to feel very uncomfortable being on the receiving end of Dean’s stony gazes - but he stopped when he saw Dean favoring his right hand. He’d always used his right hand to shoot, it was only then that Castiel noticed that he’d been using his left when he showed up.
Cocking his head to the side, Castiel moved closer to Dean. “Is something wrong with your arm?”
Dean shook his head. “It’s none of your business. Just - just go back to camp, I’ll be there soon.”
“Do you want me to assist you?”
Dean didn’t answer him and instead just turned away and focused on the tree a couple of yards in front of him.
Castiel took that as a ‘no’ but decided that he would try to help anyways. He taught Dean how to shoot Before; no doubt Dean could use his assistance again. He moved closer to Dean until he was so close that they could share body heat. Dean obviously had not noticed Castiel moving so close to him and jumped forward when he felt Castiel place his hand on his indisposed arm. He whirled around to face Castiel and stepped back a couple of steps.
“Dude, don’t do that!”
Castiel’s head dipped to the side and he frowned. “What - what did I do?”
“Personal Space,” He said simply.
Castiel scowled while his head dipped to the opposite side. He studied many different things but “personal space”, he didn’t understand that concept.
When he didn’t say anything for a long enough time, Dean sighed and turned around to face the tree. “Just try not to stand too close to me. It makes me… uncomfortable.”
That was probably the worst thing Dean told him all day; when Dean was a child they touched each other a lot - it was like of their things. Even when Dean got to the point where he became too old to hug, he still liked to be close to him; they brushed arms and knees like two teenagers in love. Now, Dean wanted this… “Personal space”. Castiel released a heavy sigh and nodded.
“I apologize.”
Dean gave him a strange look, the same one from the previous day when they saw each other for the first time in ten years. But, he quickly masked it with the same callous expression from before. “Can you go back to camp so I can finish this?”
Castiel almost consented to Dean’s request but he knew he would never get anything accomplished by just walking away. That’s what he did years ago and look where that got him; if Castiel planned to fix everything he messed up with Dean then he would have to bother him until he breaks and lets them be friends again.
“Can I help you?”
“No.”
Castiel scowled at the back of Dean’s head but pressed on, “I know the perfect method to help you use your left hand; it’s not entirely difficult.”
“Cas,” Dean snapped. “I got it.”
“But, if you’d only let me -“
“Cas!”
Castiel frowned and moved closer to Dean - he almost cheered when the man didn’t move away. He placed his hand on Dean’s left arm and tried to raise it up to aim again. Dean tried to jerk away then but Castiel kept a firm, pinching-like grasp on his arm and succeeded in putting it into the proper position. Dean gawked at him but otherwise didn’t make any more movements to stop him.
Despite his personal space issues, Castiel was pleased to report Dean did not completely yank away when Castiel got close enough to his ear to whisper, “Cradle your arm with the other, it keeps you in focus.”
Dean, apparently getting the point, placed his right hand on the bottom of his left one. Castiel congratulated himself; maybe Dean was not so averse to him as he pretended to be. He observed Dean’s stance and was disappointed to see his legs very close together.
“I believe I taught you about your posture before…” He murmured.
Dean looked at him, annoyed. “Cas, I’m not in a - “
Castiel interrupted Dean by bending over so that his knee could kick Dean’s legs apart; the man consented but only after kicking Castiel back once or twice.
“Are you focused?”
Dean didn’t answer him but Castiel did feel a strong gulp going down his body; he didn’t really know what that meant at first but took it as a sign that the man was focused.
“Now… shoot.”
Dean unloaded three bullets at the tree all of which made it in the exact same spot. Castiel smiled and stepped away, looking at Dean with pride.
Dean, however, looked uncomfortable and wouldn’t even turn to face Castiel all the way. “… Thanks… you can, uh. Go back to camp now, right?”
Castiel nodded. “Of course,” He affirmed; Dean looked relieved before Castiel added, “But, not without you.”
Dean looked frustrated as he wiped his forehead with the side of his small pistol. “Seriously?”
“Yes,” Castiel said with another nod of his head. “Leaving you alone would be very irresponsible, not to mention the fact that you’re shooting guns while we’re being hunted by demons. If we expect to make it to Inim without dying I would recommend us pulling out immediately before the demons realize we’re here because of your gun shots.”
Dean threw up his arms and stomped past Castiel while muttering various obscenities, most of which Castiel knew was about him. But, he didn’t really care enough to feel bad about it; Dean listened to him, not only listened to him but looked at him and talked to him, he even let Castiel touch him.
Things were finally looking up - again!
Next
Author: zoomzoomzoomzoo
Fandom/Genre: SPN AU Romance, Drama, Action
Pairing (s): Dean/Castiel
Rating: T
Word Count: ~82,000
Warnings: Underage, Mild Sexual Situation, Violence
Summary: AU. In a time of great tragedy in the lands of Mamot, the human race and the angel race are forced to form an unbreakable union that will bind them together for twenty seven lifetimes in order to stop the uprising of the demon race. In bargain they offer Castiel, one of the most powerful angels in the entire world to marry Dean Winchester, the young crown prince of the human world. The typically detached Castiel winds up falling in love with the Prince. The only problem is his brothers don’t expect Dean to live through the war. Will Castiel stay and support the man he loves despite the heartbreak that might accompany his passing or will he fall back in line with his brothers, becoming numb to all human emotions once more?
Chapter 17
The first gunshot was unexpected. The second one shocked Castiel on his feet. The third one prompted him to pull his knife from his pocket. And the fourth one got him out of Dean’s tent. There were roughly a dozen demons approaching their campsite through the woods and all of his allies were attacking them feverously. Castiel went to join them not once thinking about the disabled and unconscious man inside of the tent.
The demons were peons to say the least; in no way were they the best that Iad had to offer and most were easy pickings face-to-face. But, they were in the forest and the demons - the feral beasts - were in their element. They crept out of trees and bounded out of forests with wild shrieks, catching nearly everyone off guard at first.
So for the most part, the battle was simple.
But, Castiel was still worried. If these demons were able to find them less than a day after they rescued Dean than it was highly likely that they knew the route they were going to take back home. And if that was the case then it would be very simple for Lucifer to send more demons there way, much more and more powerful.
The demon count was trickling down to almost zero when Castiel stabbed his last demon and the remainder decided to flee. Everyone was able to breath again but not for long because as their eyes scanned the campsite turned battle ground, they heard a strange ruffling.
“Damn it,” Shouted Jo. “One just got into Dean’s tent!”
Without wasting a second to try to comprehend what Jo said, Castiel scurried in the direction of Dean’s tent and could hear the rest of the humans following. If not for this Iad’s powers over angel’s strength Castiel could have flew there and if something happened to Dean because he couldn’t he swore he would rip Lucifer apart piece by piece.
Just as they came within inches of the tent they heard a loud screech and then a gunshot. The demon flew out of the tent, almost knocking everyone off of their feet, with various shot gun bullets in its chest… dead.
Everyone looked at the tent, amazed. They shuffled over and pealed open the flap entrance; there was Dean, sitting up with Luke’s forgotten shot gun in his arms. He was breathing hard and biting his lips hard enough to draw blood.
His striking - still striking - green eyes snapped up to the seven little heads peaking at him from all areas of his opening. He gave them a baffled look but his eyes obviously weren’t giving him a clear picture because all he did was frown and squint. “Hey…” He murmured.
That seemed to shock everyone out of his or her stupors, no one, not even Castiel, expected Dean to recover to the point of consciousness so quickly. The first to speak was Luke, who launched himself into the tent and threw his arms around his friend.
“Dude, you have no idea!” Luke shouted. Castiel expected him to finish his statement but after the man only continued to cradle Dean and smile into his ear he dropped the issue.
Dean groaned in pain but otherwise didn’t move to push his friend away. Instead, he just reached up and placed his hand on Luke’s shoulder. “Good to see you too,” He said.
Jo and Trent were next, both saying hello to Dean in their own way. Jo wrapped her arm around Dean’s neck and caused him to groan again. While Trent took the shot gun from Dean’s hands and gave him a firm handshake. Then the most bizarre thing happened, Castiel felt overcome with this emotion. It was new and though he knew what it was, he couldn’t admit it to himself.
Despite having three people hanging off of him like leeches and being in pain because of it, Dean didn’t try to push any of them away. He just rolled his eyes and looked forward at the remaining four heads; his eyes roamed over them quickly but they stopped and widened almost comically when his eyes fell on Castiel.
He squinted for a second time and then his eyes were wide again. The expression was difficult to decipher, it was blank but there was something there, something new. Castiel met his eyes gaze and just looking into those green eyes he knew that Dean was still himself and he knew that he still loved him. He still loved him very much.
Dean gulped and his eyes dropped to his lap before rising again. “Cas?”
Castiel nodded. “Yes Dean.” He did want to say something spectacular, something that would make Dean realize how sorry he was and how much he missed him for all those years. But nothing came to mind and a simple I love you, I miss you was not passable in Castiel’s mind. He just went with the familiar. “It’s - it’s nice to see you again.”
Dean nodded but didn’t do or say anything else; he didn’t even look at Castiel anymore. He focused on his friends, engaging them in random conversation, completely ignoring Castiel.
Castiel felt his stomach drop but it wasn’t as if he didn’t expect that reaction. Dean was still hurting and it was his fault. Dean was allowed to ignore him and treat him like dirt, if only for now.
Anna put her hand on Castiel’s shoulder and pulled him away from the tent as the rest of the angels lifted from the cramped up space. Lucas gave him a sympathetic smile while Raphael expressed stark amusement by chuckling openly.
“We have to make a plan if we expect to get back home without more of them coming after us,” Anna said.
Castiel nodded. Business needed to come first. When they had a better escape route he would worry about Dean; until then Castiel’s feelings for Dean would have to take a backburner.
~*~*~*~
They decided to take an alternate route back home using a rather archaic map that still split the land of Iad up between Himmel and Inim. The only problem, of course, was that it would take a couple more days to get back. But, it was still something and it was relatively safe if they stayed in the woods and away from mainland.
They set off immediately after they made the plans; Dean decided to ride his horse alone, insisting that he would be fine and he felt up to “sitting on his ass on top of a moving animal and he was kind of pissed that anyone would think for a second that he needed a chaperone on his own damn horse”. Regardless of his earlier assumptions though, Castiel saw Dean’s obvious pain every time his horse mis-stepped or whether they came down a hill.
He tried to ask if Dean was okay, but the man wouldn’t even speak to him. He pretended like he didn’t hear him each time. Even though he knew he deserved it, Castiel was still disheartened every time Dean ignored him. He could remember a time when Dean hung on to his every word and treated him like he was the most special thing in the world; now Dean didn’t even look at him.
How was he supposed to get Dean to love him again if the boy didn’t want to admit he existed?
~*~*~*~
The next morning started out as usual; the angels spent their time constantly recharging their energy as they weaned their way off of nightly patrols while the humans all crept out of their tents with messy heads and sleep drenched eyes. They went to the water basin and took small quantities for themselves to wash off their faces and hands.
But, as luck would have it, Castiel saw no sign of Dean creeping out of his tent at the break of dawn and he didn’t hear a peep from him when the humans started making breakfast.
He told Trent, who told Jo, who told Luke. Luke stood up with a frustrated eye roll and walked towards Dean’s tent with his gun in hand. “Dean, wake the hell up!”
When there was no sound, not even a curse or groan, Luke peeled back the flaps of the tent and pulled back, looking confused and troubled. “Dean’s not inside.”
Once again, without thinking about the situation, Castiel launched himself off of the ground and immediately started barking out orders to everyone present. They all followed them without thought and when half of them started to leave to find Dean, Castiel followed.
He had not bothered to channel his energy to finding Dean when he hadn’t risen in the early morning, which was very foolish on his part. He decided to do it then and followed that path; the others went in opposite directions just as Castiel ordered. He needed some alone time with Dean.
He found Dean in a slightly uncovered area with a pistol in one of his hands. As Castiel moved closer his breath effortlessly caught up in his throat when he finally saw Dean. He was beautiful. In the early morning hours the sun hit his body just right and cast almost no shadow on his face, lighting it up with a fervent glow. His body also changed; Dean only wore his undershirt and pants, giving Castiel an amazing view of the mature body in front of him. Bulging with rippling muscles and tan skin, the man looked heavenly. His father definitely took his time when he sculpted Dean; especially his face. Castiel could tell it was Dean, just a more grown up version of the beautiful boy he used to be. But, his face still changed so much. He had beautifully shaped lips and wide eyes with thick eyebrows that matched each other perfectly. He still had freckles that dusted over his skin and made him seem almost child-like. But, he wasn’t a child. Not anymore. He was a man now and Castiel couldn’t have been more proud.
Dean held the gun in his left hand and shot the silent gun a faraway tree; he sighed in frustration and pulled his arm closer to himself again, favoring his right arm with a grimace.
“What are you doing?”
Dean jumped and turned around with his gun already aimed at the man beside him; when he saw who it was a frown seized his features and he turned away quickly. “None of your business.”
Castiel wrinkled his eyebrows because of the rough treatment; but he would take snarky comments like that over bizarre silence and isolation anyways.
“Are you trying to relearn your gun,” Castiel asked. “I think you already have a wonderful shot, Dean.”
Dean glanced at Castiel and then turned back to his work at hand. “Thanks…”
Castiel opened him mouth to make another comment when Dean turned completely toward him with an uncharacteristically callous expression on his face. Castiel swallowed his gasp and frowned.
“Why are you here?” Dean asked, sounding exasperated.
Castiel cleared his throat and moved a little closer to Dean. “No one knew where you were. I have no idea how you managed to sneak past us in the first place.”
Dean sighed and rolled his exquisite green eyes. “Well I’m fine, there’s nothing to worry about. Can you just leave now?”
Castiel was about to follow his advice - he was starting to feel very uncomfortable being on the receiving end of Dean’s stony gazes - but he stopped when he saw Dean favoring his right hand. He’d always used his right hand to shoot, it was only then that Castiel noticed that he’d been using his left when he showed up.
Cocking his head to the side, Castiel moved closer to Dean. “Is something wrong with your arm?”
Dean shook his head. “It’s none of your business. Just - just go back to camp, I’ll be there soon.”
“Do you want me to assist you?”
Dean didn’t answer him and instead just turned away and focused on the tree a couple of yards in front of him.
Castiel took that as a ‘no’ but decided that he would try to help anyways. He taught Dean how to shoot Before; no doubt Dean could use his assistance again. He moved closer to Dean until he was so close that they could share body heat. Dean obviously had not noticed Castiel moving so close to him and jumped forward when he felt Castiel place his hand on his indisposed arm. He whirled around to face Castiel and stepped back a couple of steps.
“Dude, don’t do that!”
Castiel’s head dipped to the side and he frowned. “What - what did I do?”
“Personal Space,” He said simply.
Castiel scowled while his head dipped to the opposite side. He studied many different things but “personal space”, he didn’t understand that concept.
When he didn’t say anything for a long enough time, Dean sighed and turned around to face the tree. “Just try not to stand too close to me. It makes me… uncomfortable.”
That was probably the worst thing Dean told him all day; when Dean was a child they touched each other a lot - it was like of their things. Even when Dean got to the point where he became too old to hug, he still liked to be close to him; they brushed arms and knees like two teenagers in love. Now, Dean wanted this… “Personal space”. Castiel released a heavy sigh and nodded.
“I apologize.”
Dean gave him a strange look, the same one from the previous day when they saw each other for the first time in ten years. But, he quickly masked it with the same callous expression from before. “Can you go back to camp so I can finish this?”
Castiel almost consented to Dean’s request but he knew he would never get anything accomplished by just walking away. That’s what he did years ago and look where that got him; if Castiel planned to fix everything he messed up with Dean then he would have to bother him until he breaks and lets them be friends again.
“Can I help you?”
“No.”
Castiel scowled at the back of Dean’s head but pressed on, “I know the perfect method to help you use your left hand; it’s not entirely difficult.”
“Cas,” Dean snapped. “I got it.”
“But, if you’d only let me -“
“Cas!”
Castiel frowned and moved closer to Dean - he almost cheered when the man didn’t move away. He placed his hand on Dean’s left arm and tried to raise it up to aim again. Dean tried to jerk away then but Castiel kept a firm, pinching-like grasp on his arm and succeeded in putting it into the proper position. Dean gawked at him but otherwise didn’t make any more movements to stop him.
Despite his personal space issues, Castiel was pleased to report Dean did not completely yank away when Castiel got close enough to his ear to whisper, “Cradle your arm with the other, it keeps you in focus.”
Dean, apparently getting the point, placed his right hand on the bottom of his left one. Castiel congratulated himself; maybe Dean was not so averse to him as he pretended to be. He observed Dean’s stance and was disappointed to see his legs very close together.
“I believe I taught you about your posture before…” He murmured.
Dean looked at him, annoyed. “Cas, I’m not in a - “
Castiel interrupted Dean by bending over so that his knee could kick Dean’s legs apart; the man consented but only after kicking Castiel back once or twice.
“Are you focused?”
Dean didn’t answer him but Castiel did feel a strong gulp going down his body; he didn’t really know what that meant at first but took it as a sign that the man was focused.
“Now… shoot.”
Dean unloaded three bullets at the tree all of which made it in the exact same spot. Castiel smiled and stepped away, looking at Dean with pride.
Dean, however, looked uncomfortable and wouldn’t even turn to face Castiel all the way. “… Thanks… you can, uh. Go back to camp now, right?”
Castiel nodded. “Of course,” He affirmed; Dean looked relieved before Castiel added, “But, not without you.”
Dean looked frustrated as he wiped his forehead with the side of his small pistol. “Seriously?”
“Yes,” Castiel said with another nod of his head. “Leaving you alone would be very irresponsible, not to mention the fact that you’re shooting guns while we’re being hunted by demons. If we expect to make it to Inim without dying I would recommend us pulling out immediately before the demons realize we’re here because of your gun shots.”
Dean threw up his arms and stomped past Castiel while muttering various obscenities, most of which Castiel knew was about him. But, he didn’t really care enough to feel bad about it; Dean listened to him, not only listened to him but looked at him and talked to him, he even let Castiel touch him.
Things were finally looking up - again!
Next