Unintentional prompt: “They just snog with their arms like limp jellyfish.”
“Did I mention how much I hate camping?” Dean grumbles. “Who needs this back to nature crap.”
On the other side of the campfire Sam looks at Cas and rolls his eyes. “We’ve been over this.”
“Seventeen times,” Cas says under his breath.
Sam snorts, then continues. “The coven lives deep in these woods. There are no roads, and it is more than a day’s hike. So we camp.”
Dean isn’t done complaining. “And seriously, it’s August, isn’t it supposed to be summer? It’s freezing!”
Barely holding on to the calm tone of voice, Sam says, “It’s northern Michigan, not Miami. You’re in the woods, and it cools off at night. That’s why we have a fire.” He shoots Cas a look that clearly means It’s your turn to take care of the baby, then stands and says, “I’m going to bed. We’ve still got about ten miles to go in the morning.”
“Goodnight Sam,” Cas says.
Dean grunts and throws a pine cone into the fire.
Cas sighs as Sam disappears into the darkness. “Do you have up be so…disagreeable?”
Smiling at Cas, Dean says quietly, “I really do hate camping. But I was also trying to get him to go back to the tent.”
“Next time try, ‘hey Sam, I’d like to be alone with my boyfriend.’” Cas says drily.
Dean bristles. “Cas…”
Cas puts his hand on Dean’s shoulder, instinctively finding the place his handprint used to be. Their eyes lock. “It’s alright, Dean. You’ll tell Sam when you’re ready.” He slides his hand up Dean’s shoulder to the back of his neck, pulling him close for a kiss. Dean relaxes.
“Look up,” Cas says, and Dean can hear the smile in his voice.
The sight almost makes the tent and the hike and the cold worth it. “Cas,” Dean breathes. Cas laughs and pulls him against his chest so they can both look at the sky together.
“The Milky Way,” says Cas. “I can’t hear the stars sing anymore, but I still appreciate their beauty. And I remember fragments of their songs,” he says wistfully.
“Sing to me,” says Dean. He looks at the sky, holding the best part of heaven in his arms.
“Dean, look out!”
Dean looks up when Sam yells, but he’s too late to escape the spell. At the last second Cas dives at him, trying to push him out of the way, and he’s caught in the blast too. The witch laughs, a horrible, high-pitched laugh, then snaps her fingers. There is a disorienting flash of red light, and by the time their vision clears the witch–and the rest of her coven–is gone.
“Great,” mutters Sam.
Dean and Cas look at each other. At first it is unclear exactly what the spell did. They look normal enough. “You okay, Cas?” asks Dean.
Cas nods slowly. “I think so.” But when he attempts to stand the problem becomes apparent at once.
He has no control of his arms. At all. They actually flop from his shoulders as if all the bones are gone, but when Sam grabs his wrist Sam can–thankfully–still feel bones there. Cas feels…nothing.
Dean’s eyes widen with panic as he tries–and fails–to move his hands. He turns at the waist and his arms follow in the same direction, and since he can’t stop his momentum he lands directly on his face. Sam is overcome by a fit of laughter.
Dean glares.
“I’m sorry,” Sam gasps between fits of mirth. “But if you could only see yourself…” A thought occurs to him, and he pulls his cellphone out of his pocket.
“Dammit, Sam!”
“Sorry Dean, but you’re going to want to see this later. Or, I’m going to want to see this later. Over and over and over…”
Dean growls and tries to move toward Sam. He has limited control of his legs–they move, if weakly–but without his arms it’s difficult to make much progress. Sam laughs and backs away, filming everything.
Cas clears his throat. “If I could interrupt this bit of brotherly love…”
“Oh. Right. Witches. Uh…it may not be the safest plan ever, but I think I’m going to have to leave you two here and go after them myself. They can’t have gotten far. And hopefully I only need one of them. Any of them should do. We can hunt the rest down once you’re…better.”
Dean and Cas look at each other. It’s probably true that any of the witches can break the spell. And they trust Sam to be persuasive. They aren’t safe anywhere, and if they go with Sam they will only slow him down. “Go,” they say together. Dean adds, “And hurry.”
Sam looks from Dean to Cas and back again. “That was weird,” he says. Then he’s gone, chasing after the witches.
“What now?” Cas asks, truly looking around for the first time.
The house is surprisingly large and bright for housing a coven of witches deep in a forest. They are in what looks like a family room, complete with flatscreen tv and comfortable looking couches. It’s disordered from the fight–a bookshelf lays on the floor, a painting hangs crooked–but still it’s not a bad place to wait for Sam to capture one of the witches. The picture window overlooks a blue, glassy lake and towering pine trees.
“Think we can get onto one of the couches?” Dean asks with a wink.
Cas’s eyeroll is epic. “You are trapped in an unfamiliar house belonging to an unfamiliar coven of powerful witches, any of whom could return at any moment. You’ve been hit by a spell and can’t move your arms. You have very little control of your legs. Your brother is risking his life to fix you…and your first thought is ‘hey, there’s a couch. Let’s make out.’”
“Yeah, pretty much.” Dean grins. “Come on, Cas, lighten up. What else are we going to do? Build a defensive perimeter? Gather weapons? Prepare a healthy salad for Sam to enjoy when he gets back?”
A smile tugs at the corners of Cas’s mouth. “When you put it that way…”
Getting onto the couch is not easy. They discover that although they can move their legs a bit, walking is impossible. With their arms swinging every which way, they overbalance and topple over as soon as they try to move. So they get to their knees and do a rather ridiculous looking sideways shuffle, and then one at a time roll onto the couch.
As soon as they’re on the couch they realize it isn’t going to work. Cas is face down, trying desperately to roll over, but Dean is sprawled across his legs. Dean struggles to sit up but all he can do is push his face into Cas’s thigh and kick his feet in the empty air.
“Uh, Dean,” Cas says, his voice muffled by the couch cushions, “I think maybe the floor is better.”
Dean grunts in agreement and manages to flop himself onto the floor. “Ow,” he groans. “My tailbone is going to feel that for awhile.”
Cas rolls off the couch, and they maneuver themselves to lean against it. “After all that,” he says, “I think I just want a nap.”
“Are you kidding?” Dean says. “All that work? I’m getting my reward.” He leans forward to kiss Cas, Cas leans forward to meet him, and they both lose their balance and fall to the floor.
“Fuck!” yells Cas, and Dean can’t hold back his laughter. Cas glares.
“I’m sorry,” says Dean, “but that was funny.”
They are face to face, only inches apart, sprawled on the soft carpet. “Hey,” says Dean. “This could work.”
Cas’s arms are both underneath him. Dean is on his side, one arm between the two of them and one arm awkwardly behind him. It doesn’t matter. Their lips meet, and they just snog with their arms like limp jellyfish.
They both smile, breaking the kiss. “See?” says Dean. “Totally worth it.”
Two hours later
Sam bursts into the house, yells, “I got one! You two–” He breaks off mid-sentence, frozen at the sight of Cas and Dean wrapped in each others’ arms and connected at the lips.
“Clearly your arms are working again, but uh–um–was there a love spell I didn’t know about?” Sam asks.
Dean smiles at Cas, ears pink, then looks at Sam. “No, Sam. I was just enjoying some time alone with my boyfriend.”
So…this story came about because Lindsay ( @justrandomspnstuff ) and I were having a conversation about my struggle with writing Dean and Cas kissing. I told her I can see it all in my head but they don’t ever do what I want them to do on the page….
me: WHY DON’T YOUR ARMS AND HANDS AND WHATEVERS DO WHAT I WANT THEM TO DO?????
Lindsay: haha nope. They just snog with their arms like limp jellyfish
It made me laugh (and laugh and laugh) and a story was born. It was supposed to be a drabble, but instead it’s 1400+ words. Oops.
Thanks, Lindsay!! (And I did finally write that kissing scene!!!! ;) )
