Dean was in the middle of the sentence, but Cas didn't care. He walked away as soon as you entered the room. His cobalt blue eyes were narrowed and fixed on the cut on your cheekbone and the bruise surrounding it.
"Cas! What the hell? I was talking t—"
"Shut up, Dean," Cas growled over his shoulder, not pulling his eyes away from you. You were peering at him in vague confusion, your eyes a little wide and surprised.
"Cas, what's—?"
"Who did this to you?" he asked, studying the injury to the side of your face.
"What?"
"Who hurt you?" he growled in a low voice. "No one hurts you and gets away with it. Tell me what happened and I'll deal with it," he said, determined.
"Oh. No, no one. It's from a tree branch when we were running back to the car after the last case. It's nothing," you said.
Cas' head tilted slightly. "Are you sure?"
You laughed. "Yes, I'm sure. It's really from a branch. I'm fine."
Cas relaxed, his shoulders dropping. He lifted two fingers and gently pressed them to your forehead and the cut and bruise vanished instantly.
"Thanks," you said, giving him a small smile.
"Of course. I'm sorry I didn't know about it sooner."
You shook your head. "It was nothing. Really."
"I never want you to hurt," he insisted.
You gave him a fond look. "I appreciate that but, uhh—I'm not sure it's practical in our line of work," you said.
"Perhaps. But that's why I'm here."
Prompt: "No on hurts you and gets away with it."
Because Hozier’s NFWMB came on and because I love it when Cas does the things...
Nothing Fucks With My Baby
From the first time Castiel had seen Dean in Hell, he’d known he would give up anything to keep him safe.
And so, now, as he abandoned his brothers and sisters on the battlefield that he was supposed to be on and hurtled towards Earth because of a prayer from Sam that Dean had been taken, he tuned out the judgement coming across angel radio about where his priorities lay.
They lay with Dean, always. They should know that by now.
He landed in front of Sam. “Where is he?”
Sam jumped at his sudden appearance. “I don’t know. We were tracking a vamp nest, talking to a few leads. Next thing I knew, I was behind that dumpster and Dean was gone. That was a few hours ago. They’re probably not fa—”
From the first time Castiel had held Dean in his arms, he’d known that there was nothing else more precious in this world.
And so, now, as Castiel flew away from Sam, scanning the area for Dean, there were no words to describe both the sense of urgency and overwhelming relief that Castiel felt as he spotted the faint glow of Dean’s soul on the outskirts of town.
That glow led him to a run-down warehouse. On this plane, Castiel could see that along with what he assumed was the vampire nest they’d been hunting, this supposedly abandoned warehouse was also surrounded by demons.
Castiel tilted his head. “This is a strange alliance,” he thought out loud as he landed.
The nearest demon turned, wide-eyed. He opened his mouth to speak, but was not afforded the opportunity.
Castiel pressed his hand to the demon’s forehead and released his grace into it. It didn’t matter why they were working with vampires, why they’d taken Dean.
The fact that they’d taken him was enough.
Castiel removed his hand from the demon’s forehead and watched the husk fall to the ground, burned from the inside out. He stepped over it and towards the warehouse as three more demons ran at him.
He stabbed the first one as it came near, hurled his blade through the air and into the chest of the one furthest back, then grabbed the face of the other, shoving it to the ground as he reduced its insides to ash.
From the first time Castiel had pressed his lips to Dean’s, he’d known he was owned, not as he had been in the past, not as a prisoner or slave, but as a willing sacrifice at the altar of this man he’d chosen.
And so, now, as he blasted open the door of the warehouse to step inside, he nearly hit his knees in reverence at the sight of Dean, machete in hand, covered in blood, the ground around him littered with the dismembered corpses of those unlucky enough to have already faced him, and surrounded by a dozen more about to take their turn.
Dean’s gaze lifted to him. “Heya, Cas.”
Castiel paced towards him. “Close your eyes, Dean,” he growled.
Dean did, a small smirk gracing his features.
Castiel let his grace fly free, seeking out and burning every vampire and demon in the area.
He pulled Dean into his arms as he reached him, pressing their mouths together in a bruising kiss.
Dean pulled away and chuckled. “Gotta admit, I kinda like it when you get all smitey.”
Castiel hummed against his lips. “I like it when you’re safe.”
Dean pulled him back in for another kiss, then took his hand and began leading them out of the building. “Thought you were gonna be away for a while with the angels?”
Castiel squeezed his hand and followed. “There were more pressing matters.”
After retiring from being God, Jack decides it is time he tries out being a human. He learns that part of being a human teenager is having a crappy job that pays minimum wage. When he comes across an ad for Pepperoni Palace announcing they are hiring pizza delivery drivers he applies (with a little help from his big sister Claire and some most definitely forged documents). The only catch is his dad, Castiel, ever the protective dad, makes him agree to a set of rules. Jack (and sometimes Dean) thinks rules are meant to be broken, a wild first night as pizza boy ensues!
Read on Ao3 or under the cut
https://archiveofourown.org/works/34444360
“You sure you want to do this? You know you don’t need to have a job. You’re busy enough with helping us on hunts and you don’t really need money. You live with us, you don’t pay bills.” Dean checks with Jack as he helps him adjust the hat that goes along with his new Pepperoni Palace uniform.
Jack is doing his best to learn everything there is to be about being human and part of that he’s learned, especially for teenagers, is holding a crappy job and working for minimum wage. So, when he sees the local pizza place is hiring delivery drivers he enlists Claire to help him fill out an application. It’s a bit tricky at first, getting around the fact that he doesn’t have any actual identification so his team gets bigger when he ropes Charlie into making him a fake driver’s license and home school transcripts.
Cas of course completely freaks out when Jack announces he’s got the job. It’s the usual dad stuff, worrying if he’s in trouble and needs the money to pay someone off. Then he frets about the safety of the car Jack will drive. Jack foolishly tries to convince Dean to lend him Baby, an idea that’s immediately shot down, Dean proclaiming she was no Pizza Slut. So, in the end, it’s Cas who folds and lends Jack his truck but not before Dean has performed a thorough inspection of the brakes, the tires, the oil, the engine, and whatever other things Cas can think of.
This is how he ends up here, preparing for his first day on the job. Cas is pacing back and forth while Dean finishes making sure Jack’s uniform is buttoned and put on correctly. It’s much more complicated than his usual clothes, there’s rules about tucking shirts in and what color shoes or belt he’s allowed to wear, it’s a bit much. He’s thankful Dean is calm, at least on the surface, he knows deep down he’s worried because he can hear him praying over and over for his safety.
“What are the rules, Jack?” Cas says, leaning against the kitchen counter, eyebrows knitted in concern.
“Dad, no. I’m not a baby. You don’t have to do this!” Jack whines, sounding much more like a child than he intended. He is four though, so definitely not an infant, or even a toddler, and he will stand by that.
“Dad, yes. The rules, Jack.” Cas sighs, pointing to the list that he’d put on the fridge, held up by a pie shaped magnet.
“Just read them, kid, you know you’re not going anywhere until you do,” Dean says knowingly, taking up residence next to Cas and looking at Jack expectantly.
“Fine,” Jack rolls his eyes at his parents, recalling the painful night he spent at the kitchen table, Dean, Cas, Sam, and Eileen all making his rules. Jack hates rules, at first he thinks that this is the part of him that’s still a bit Lucifer, but over time he learns that Dean also hates rules, so maybe it’s nurture and not nature.
“Number one, you are the pizza boy and not the pizza man.” He recites this in a monotone voice, he will do this for his dad so he can leave, but he will not enjoy it. “I still don’t understand that one. What does that even mean?” He complains, Cas’ face going pale, clearly having some sort of flashback.
“We’ll tell you when you’re older. Like for real older.” Dean chuckles, giving Cas’ shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
“Number 2, not every dog is friendly. Don’t approach strange dogs because they might be protecting their house.” Jack continues, resigning to it all and sitting at the dining room table.
“Good, yes, what’s number 3?” Cas prompts, giving Jack an approving nod and smile.
“Number 3, only accept tips in cash. Do not accept any candy, mysterious packages, or any sort of favors.” He recites, shaking his head at the idea. Did his dad really think he was that naïve? He learned the hard way not to eat mysterious candy after he ate some gummy bears he found in Claire’s backpack that made him feel fuzzy.
“Number 4, don’t go inside anyone’s house no matter what, stay outside the door if you want to live more.” Jack continues, looking up at the ceiling and willing time to by faster. Come to think of it, he could probably make time go by faster if he wanted, but that’s an idea to explore later.
“And the last and most important one.” Cas interrupts his thoughts, clearing his throat and crossing his arms over his chest.
“Number 5, no using my angel powers. I know. It’s too dangerous, someone could see.” Jack nods, standing up and straightening out his uniform.
“Okay, you’re ready, kid! I still don’t know why you’re doing this. But um, we’re here for you. If you have any problems at all. You see anything funny or feel unsafe, call us. Okay? We love you and we want you to explore this human thing, but safely.” Jack appreciates that Dean always supports his choices, he’s definitely the cool dad. He also knows that Dean would be the first to back him up if things went sideways.
“Yeah, I know. I love you both too.” Jack nods, hugging Dean first and then approaching Cas. Cas is wiping at his eyes discretely, clearly trying to hide that he was crying. “Dad, what’s wrong?” Jack asks, cocking his head to the side as if it will help him better assess the situation.
“It’s just that you’re growing up.” Cas sniffles, giving Jack a tight hug.
“I was God.” Jack points out, hugging him back.
“Maybe to the rest of the world, but to me you’re just my son.” Cas defends, squeezing him tighter, causing Jack to laugh.
“He’ll be okay. He’s going to deliver pizzas, not to join the war front.” Dean says fondly, joining the hug and gently pulling Cas away after. “Let the boy go. You raised him right and I taught him how to kill just about anything. He’s good.” Dean adds, giving Jack a conspiratorial wink.
With that, Jack takes his opportunity to grab the keys to the truck and his phone. Then he’s on his way, starting his first official shift as a human with a job. He stops at the Pepperoni Palace to get his orders. Since he’s new, they start him off easy, giving him 3 orders to drop off.
The first stop is at large Victorian at the end a dead-end road. The house is surrounded by large iron gates, and overall gives him the creeps. But Jack is a big boy now with a big boy job, so he grabs the order, two extra-large cheese pizzas and makes his way to the door. When he rings the door a man in green silk robe answers the door, he’s pale, and his face is eerily gaunt.
“Hello! Pepperoni Palace delivery for Gregory.” Jack announces, putting on his best ‘customer service face’ that Sam had taught him.
“It’s Gregor. This doesn’t have any garlic, does it? I think I smell garlic. I’m very allergic.” The man replies in a thick Eastern European accent.
“Garlic? Uh-No.” Jack panics. Vampire, this guy is definitely a vampire. No garlic, check, old spooky house, check, Eastern European accent with no specific origin, check. Jack doesn’t bother to stick around to see what tip Gregor is planning to give him, in case it’s the tip of his fangs. He runs back the truck, driving a ways down the road before pulling over and calling Dean.
“Dean, I think I just found a vampire!” He pants into the phone, looking in his rearview mirror.
“Oh yeah, why do you think that?” Dean asks calmly, clearly sensing that Jack was not in any immediate danger, this also helps Jack relax a bit.
“His name is Gregor, he asked if the pizza had garlic, he lives in a spooky house!” Jack rattles off.
“Oh, Gregor, he’s cool. Weird as hell but cool. Sam and I thought the same when we first saw him in town. But I’ve also seen him in the daylight and he works at the fancy French place in town, so always handling real silverware. Not a vampire.” Dean chuckles, telling Cas to relax from where he is clearly listening in beside him.
“Okay, sorry, I just wanted to be safe and you said I could call.” Jack feels a bit flustered, he doesn’t want to need his dads this much, but does. Maybe he is in too deep, getting a job and working by himself. Working with his dads is much easier, much safer, even with the monsters.
“Hey kid, it’s your first night on the job. Don’t be hard on yourself. You’re doing great and you can always call me. Okay?” Dean’s voice is soothing, it helps ease the queasy feeling in Jack’s stomach.
“Thanks, dad, I love you.” Jack replies, hanging up and getting himself ready for his next delivery.
The next stop is an apartment building close to the main street downtown, or as downtown as Lebanon gets. He takes the order, three extra-large sausage and pepperoni pizzas and walks up to the front door. He presses the buzzer for unit 2 and waits patiently.
“Pizza’s here!” He hears someone shout from the second-floor balcony. He looks up to find a group of guys around his age, well at least the age he appears, drinking out of plastic red cups.
“Incoming!” One of the guys shouts as he climbs over the balcony and uses the drainpipe to shimmy down the side of the building.
“I don’t think that’s safe!” Jack calls up, thinking of all times his dads have yelled at him for trying to climb trees, rickety stairs, or rusty fire escapes while working a case.
“Who cares! YOLO!” The guy shouts, the rest of his friends cheering him on. He pumps his fist in celebration and loses his grip on the pipe, falling the last five feet and landing on his back. Jack springs into action, setting the pizzas down and almost forgetting rule number 5.
“No angel powers.” He mutters to himself, resisting the urge to use his grace to heal the very drunk and very winded guy laying on the ground.
“It’s good! Ha! I’m good, nothing can stop me!” The guy laughs as he sits up, giving his friends and Jack a thumbs up.
“That was amazingly stupid. Awesome!” Jack grins, admiring the guy’s fearlessness.
“Hey, pizza man, I’m Austin. You should come party with us!” The guy offers, handing Jack a wad of balled up cash as a tip.
“Oh no, I’m on the clock. Also I’m only four-uh four hours away from checking in with my sponsor. Big drinking problem, just got out of jail. Gotta stay sober.” Jack quickly corrects, remembering the time Dean had to go to special meetings after he got caught breaking into a Gas n Sip after hours to get some of those little hand pies.
“Rad! You should come party with us sometime. You know where to find us!” Austin nods before staggering into the front door this time with the pizzas in his arms.
Jack’s last stop is at a familiar address, he laughs when he recognizes where he is going. He stops in front of the small blue house, tucked away in a cul-de-sac. Eileen is waiting on the front porch, waving at him as he pulls into the driveway.
“Hey, pizza boy! You’re five minutes late, luckily my husband already gave me your tip.” Eileen signs, holding out a bag full of Jack’s favorite nougat candies with a $20 bill in it.
“Dad said I shouldn’t except candy from strangers.” Jack signs back once he’s handed the pizzas over.
“Our secret.” Eileen smiles, handing the candy over.
Sam and Eileen invite Jack in and he tells them all about his first day on the job. They let him have some of the pizza which is mediocre at best, but the company is better. Jack realizes belatedly he broke two rules, number 3 and 4, but like Dean once said ‘rules are for dorks.’
The ghost they’d been hunting was a stubborn bastard and wouldn’t just give up and die (though when did they ever). It’d thrown the Dean into a few headstones while Sam and Castiel had been fighting to burn the bones.
But it was finally dealt with and now here they are, staggering into yet another nameless motel room. Dean had made the mistake of leaving Sam in charge of getting the rooms so now he and Castiel are stuck with a queen and Sam’s room is a few doors down. Dean didn’t want to think about what Sam was trying to imply.
Dean flicks the switch by the door and the light twitches into life. He lets his duffle fall to the floor with a clunk and shuffles over to the mirror. He inspects his injuries. He has a few cuts and scrapes littering his face and he’s probably going to be bruised as hell in the morning but at least he’s alive.
Still checking himself out in the mirror, Dean’s eyes flit up and catch Castiel’s watching him. The angel is standing behind him with an uncomfortable look of concern on his face.
“Y’know, the wind changes and your face will stay like that.” Dean mocks. He watches as Castiel’s head does its signature tilt of confusion.
“I don’t understand how the variation of the wind affects someone’s facial expressions.” Castiel wonders.
Dean rolls his eyes lightly and shakes his head with a chuckle. “Don’t worry about it, man.” He cuts himself off with a sharp hiss as he moves his shoulders, trying to work out the tension that has built in them.
“Dean.” Castiel says, moving closer to the hunter. “Are you okay? Are you in pain?”
Dean turns to face Castiel. “Nothing I’ve not dealt with before.” He tries to reassure the angel with a cheeky grin.
But Castiel isn’t buying it. “Dean..” He presses.
“Seriously, man,” Dean sighs, “I’m fine.”
Dean hopes Castiel will just drop it. Every man and his dog knows how much Dean hates talking about his feelings.
Of course, Castiel knows it too but he chooses to ignore it.
“Dean, you have cuts all over you and you limped all the back to the car. Do you ever get tired of saying you’re fine when it’s clear you’re not?” Castiel walks closer into Dean’s space, almost close enough for their breaths to mingle.
Dean hates the way Castiel can see right through him.
“Yeah? And what are you gonna do about it, Cas? Kiss it better?” Dean sarcastically quips, hoping it’ll annoy Castiel enough to make the angel drop the subject in exasperation. (He won’t let his brain think too hard about how much he wishes Castiel would actually kiss it better - that one is staying buried until he’s in his grave, permanently.)
“Dean,” Castiel growls, “must you always deflect when someone is trying to care for you?”
Dean goes warm inside at Castiel’s implication that he cares about him. Of course Dean knows, logically, that Castiel cares for him. He’s saved both his and Sam’s asses many times. Given up armies for Dean. Dean knows Castiel cares. But to hear it said out loud in this context is overwhelming. He doesn’t dare to hope.
Dean doesn’t know how to answer but he’s saved when Castiel lightly grips his upper arms and moves him to sit on the edge of the bed.
Suddenly, the atmosphere shifts and Dean fully accepts that he’ll do anything Castiel asks of him when he is looking down at him with blue eyes filled with concern.
“Take off your shirt and lie down.” Castiel whispers.
Dean frowns slightly in confusion. “I thought you were just going to heal me?”
Castiel crouches to kneel in front of Dean, resting a delicate hand on Dean’s knee. “I said I wanted to care for you. That doesn’t just involve healing you.”
Dean doesn’t trust himself to speak, so he slowly, carefully reaches to lift his dirty, bloody shirt over his head. He cringes slightly at the look on Castiel’s face when the angel takes in the marks littering his torso. So maybe Castiel had been right. Dean is not okay.
Castiel wordlessly reaches out a hand to run a soft finger across the purpling bruises on Dean’s chest. He sighs and shakes his head minutely.
“Just try to relax, Dean.”
Easier said than done when Castiel is touching his skin in ways that Dean could never even begin to dream. But Dean takes a steadying breath and tries to relax into Castiel’s touch.
A finger turns to a full palm and Castiel smooths a hand over the cuts and bruises. Dean looks down to see a familiar light glow come from under Castiel’s hand. He would never get used to the way his body feels when Cas heals him. It’s a numbness and sense of brief purity that he’s never felt any other time.
Castiel takes his time and, even once Dean’s stomach and chest are clear, he continues to knead his hand over Dean’s skin as if massaging the aches no longer there.
Soon, Castiel moves onto Dean’s arms, this time bringing his other hand up to mirror the other, and softly glide them over Dean’s hands and up towards his elbows. The redness marring Dean’s limbs disappears under his touch. When his hand reaches Dean’s left shoulder, he squeezes over so slightly and Deans lets out a soft breath at the memory of having Castiel’s mark there. The look Castiel gives Dean shows that he remembers it too.
From there, Castiel moves hand to cup Dean’s cheek, a soft thumb brushing against his jaw. Dean braces himself for the wash of pain relief. But, after a few seconds, he can still feel the stinging pain of the gash to his head and the dull ache of the thud in his brain. He sends a questioning look to Castiel.
“Close your eyes, Dean.” Castiel asks.
While he doesn’t completely understand the reason behind Cas’ request, Dean trusts Castiel with his entire being, so he flutters his eyes closed.
With the loss of his sight, his other senses become heightened. He can hear Castiel take a steadying breath and can feel him move in closer.
In a second there are lips on his. This time when Dean feels the numbness and purity, he knows it’s not only from being healed, it’s from the euphoria of Castiel’s mouth against his.
Dean’s injuries might be gone but Castiel continues to pepper Dean’s face with soft, slow kisses.
A few moments pass before Castiel pulls away, bashfully avoiding Dean’s gaze.
But Dean doesn’t allow the angel to go too far, pulling Castiel back into another kiss that is this time much deeper.
-
A/N: Idk how I actually feel about this one but it’s out there now. I’ve done quite a few canon fics recently and i think i definitely prefer doing AU so I think i’ll stick to that for a while!
I'm feeling an intense need to listen to Hozier's NFWMB on repeat while writing about Cas smiting the shit out of everything in the way to get to Dean and slaughtering everything that dared to lay a hand on him. Not that Dean's a damsel in distress in this situation; he's actually holding his own just fine. Cas is just intense.
Lucifer's current vessel, Nick, has started to decay, unable to sustain the Archangel for long. Lucifer needs Sam to do it, as he remarks to Cas. But Cas is not having it. He steps up closer to Lucifer, almost stepping into the Holy Fire that would crisp him to the bone, and declares that he will not let Lucifer take Sam, under any circumstances. Even if he has to fight Lucifer himself to prove it.
