The Fall // Destiel

xii. Cas is Acute Angle

unedited

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Dean lets out a gasp at the sudden weightless feeling in his stomach, before gagging at the fact that the air is immediately sucked out of his lungs. He panics at the colours flashing by him, dancing in time to the ringing in his ears. The only thing he knows for certain is Cas' hand, gentle and warm in his, soothing him from the uncomfortable burning feeling crawling his flesh.

Seconds later, they crash down and he's immediately aware of something else for sure. The burning subsides before flaring up and travelling straight down his shoulder, across his chest and coming to rest on his hip. He coughs, blindly groping for the familiar fabric of Cas' trench coat, letting out a pained sigh when he comes up empty.

"Dean?" the angel's rough voice sounds from somewhere around him, but he can't see where - for some reason his vision is nothing but a fuzzy white, so he can't exactly pinpoint the angel's location.

"Cas?" he groans, surprised at the sudden rush of white-hot agony that darts up his chest. He gasps and chokes on a sudden flow of bile that forces its way up his throat and dribbles down his chin.

"Hold still, Dean." Castiel demands. A swirling and fuzzy image of the angel is appearing in Dean's vision, contrasting to the white above him. The angel grimaces, gently resting a hand on the side of Dean's face, grinding his teeth when it comes away soaked in blood. "You're hurt, Dean."

"I figured," Dean wheezes, trying to crack a laugh that simply turns into a gurgle.

"I can fix you." Castiel assures, resting a hand on the other man's chest. "If you'll let me."

Dean breathlessly nods, before his jaw drops at the sudden rush of ice cold flowing through his veins. The room - wherever he is - glows a bright white, or maybe it's blue, he can't decide. The light initially blinds him, until it centres on a single point - behind Castiel. In two, very specific shapes jutting out from his back.

He can only gape as the swirling light manifests into soft feathers, travelling up to from the angel's back to almost caress the ceiling, before swooping back down to end in the largest feathers Dean's ever seen. Cas doesn't seem to notice, or at least care, as he carries on tending to the injured man's wound.

"Cas," Dean breathes, surprised to find he feels even better than what he did before being stabbed.

The angel looks down to meet Dean's gaze, and much like the sea greeting the land, Dean finds himself being swallowed up by their rough and swirling depths. If only for a second he stares, gaping at how dark Cas' eyes are, barely hearing the word's he's speaking.

"Dean?" Cas repeats, "Did you not hear me?"

"I - uh, no." He replies, the ceiling starting to waver and dance above him, the feathers seeming to be the only thing in focus but still fading quickly.

Cas quietly nods. "I said I'd offer you an explanation, if you wanted."

"Yes." Dean rasps, finding it harder and harder to stay conscious.

"My name is Castiel," he says, clear as a bell, before pausing. Turning to Dean, he bites his lip, before ruffling his feathers. "If you can see them, I have no explaining to do. That's why I let you think I was married, why I let you walk away. It's too dangerous."

Dean opens his mouth, but nothing comes out. As the wings slowly fade, blackness starts to ebb its way in to the corners of the room. "Cas," is all he manages, before the darkness washes over him.

***

Castiel dusts off his hands once Dean is safe in his motel room once more, finding it strange that he's fighting back tears the entire time. It's such a human thing to do.

Although he feels rather human right now. He's guessing that most of his grace was used up to save Dean, and he can't help but feel it's not going to be restored this time.

So he just walks, strolling through the park, kicking up dead leaves and hoping that Zachariah won't be a problem anymore. If his guess is correct, any angel that purposefully harms the Righteous Man will be outcast, powerless to any further advances.

If his guess isn't correct, though, he's likely to be smited on the spot in a few minutes.

When he continues walking for another half hour with no disturbances in his angel radar - which is quieter than usual - he smiles to himself, before turning his head to the sky and smiling.

Almost on queue, the dark clouds part only slightly to reveal the smallest sliver of a rainbow, bringing another smile to the angel's face. His tears long forgotten, he looks back down at the damp ground. The sun should be setting soon, so he quickly travels to he highest part of the park - a little hill that drops off to a ravine a mere fifty feet or so below - and seats himself there.

The clouds slowly but surely drift away, leaving only the sun, sinking down on the horizon in a bright red haze, painting the sky in brilliant ruby shades, to his delight.

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Does anyone remember the reference to the "red sky at night sailors delight red sky in morning sailors take warning" in the second last chapter? Bc I sure do and I played off it

maybe drop a vote or comment to tell me what you thought? ;)