Supernatural High [Destiel and Sabriel High School AU]

Chapter 41

Cas had never been to hell before this point in his long, long life. Honestly, it wasn't that bad. He expected more so along the lines of dungeons, various torture chambers, fires, pits, screaming, wailing . . . but it was actually more along the lines of offices, kinda like Wall Street. At least, that was what the upper levels were like. The farther down into the depths they got, the more dungeons and cells Cas saw. He stuck close to Dean, just as a precaution. The last thing Cas wanted was to see his human get hurt on his watch.

"You know," Lucifer commented as they walked through a rather narrow hall lined with cell doors. "I like what you've done with the place."

Crowley slowed down a little and glanced over his shoulder at Satan. "Thank you... I guess."

As they proceeded down the hall lined with cells, Cas felt like his grace was being ripped apart. The souls around him were dim—weakened from years and years of rigorous torture. They screamed and wailed as the group of demons, angels, humans, and a vampire passed. Castiel noticed that he seemed to be the only one bothered by the prisoners. Dean, while he remained close to Cas, looked straight ahead. His jaw face was taught and he looked like he was trying to ignore them until they got to the demon Crowley had captured. Lucifer looked perfectly at ease in what had once been his home... or maybe prison was the right word. Either way, Cas didn't doubt that his older brother was used to the screams. The little vampire that was with him had a smile on her face. The sound of the souls must have sounded like music to her the way she bounced along happily next to Satan. Crowley's expression was one Cas couldn't see since the demon was at the head of their rag-tag team. However, Cas was fairly certain that the King of Hell couldn't have cared less.

Some of the souls began to reach out toward the group the farther down the hall they went. Cas felt himself stiffen and edged closer to Dean. They knew that the souls could see his and Dean's light—even Lucifer's. They were drawn to it and wanted to latch onto something that wasn't dark and dismal like everything else in this tepid landscape.

"How much farther?" Dean called out to Crowley, who was still leading the pack.

The crossroads demon came to an abrupt halt and turned to face Dean. "Quite a bit. Hell is rather large and expansive, you know—not a lot of souls find their way to heaven these days when the reapers collect them."

His words made Cas shudder a little. The very idea of that unnerved him. Humans were such beautiful creations, but God just had to include that free will package. They drew their own conclusions... and, based on some beliefs, Lucifer was responsible for putting the darkness in them. He corrupted humanity and planted that seed of evil inside their hearts. Some knew it was there and they did everything they could to keep the weed from growing, or at the very least keep it small. Others let it grow and prosper—they let it spread until it covered everything inside them and suffocated all the good that was left.

Cas looked over at Dean. He knew that the darkness inside Dean was growing rapidly, and it made him anxious. He wasn't going to let Dean get lost in his darkness—he knew that much. The sooner we get out of this place, the better.

"I was just asking," Dean said defensively.

For a moment, Cas was confused, then he realized that the conversation had never really ended. He shook his head a little, scolding himself for getting lost in his own thoughts. What if something had happened to Dean while you were musing about life and death and Heaven and Hell?

Dean stepped away from Cas, trying to get around Lucifer and his new vampire girlfriend. By doing so, he stepped dangerously close to the cells. Cas opened his mouth to warn him, but words failed him as one of the souls latched onto Dean's wrist.

What happened next passed in a blur—only a few seconds—but to Cas, it felt like an eternity. He was running toward Dean, but it felt like his legs were stone. It took so much effort just to take a few steps and nothing he could do was fast enough. He heard Dean shouting something incoherent as the human tried to yank his hand away and simultaneously beat the shit out of the spirit. When Cas did reach him, the first thing he did was put his hand on Dean's shoulder—just being able to touch the human made him calm down significantly. Dean's right here. Dean's okay. He's okay. He's safe.

Cas then turned his attention to the soul. Any pity he had for the poor creature was gone the moment it laid a hand on Dean. Dean was his, no one else's. Anyone who would try to take Dean from him would meet an unpleasant fate. "No one touches Dean," he growled under his breath before reaching through the cell bars. He put his other hand directly onto the soul itself, the other still resting on Dean. Cas concentrated all his energy into that moment—his eyes glowed with grace and two shadowy wings unfolded from his back. The soul was destroyed in a vibrant flash of light, the force of which sent both Dean and Cas staggering backward from the cell.

The three other members of the party looked on. Michaela the vampire's eyes were wide with interest, but her satanic companion seemed bored. "Are you two done?" he said, almost tiredly. Crowley watched with narrowed eyes, focused on Dean.

Cas stood up to his full height and put his hands on Dean's shoulders. He looked him up and down, trying to assess his human and make sure that he was indeed alright. "Jesus, Cas," Dean breathed after a few moments. The human's green eyes were the brightest they had been in a while, and a smile played at his lips. "That was... really hot."

Lucifer groaned. "Can you not? I'd like to keep my lunch down."

The angel found himself blushing. "Are you okay Dean?" he inquired softly.

Dean nodded. "Yeah, I think so... Are you okay?"

Cas chuckled. "Of course. I'm a lot more resilient than you are."

Rolling his eyes, Dean's hand went to the shoulder Cas had been gripping when he smote the soul. Cas's eyes narrowed. "Did I hurt you?" he demanded. His voice was strained and he began to panic—what if he had hurt Dean in the process? I'll never forgive myself if I hurt Dean...

Dean didn't answer, but instead slipped off his leather jacket. That left him in a V-necked navy-blue t-shirt. He rolled up the sleeve on the shoulder in question to expose a bright red, angry-looking handprint.

"Well," Lucifer said, observing the mark. "Looks like Cassie called dibs once and for all."

Cas felt sick as he looked at the handprint. "I... I'm so sorry, Dean."

He quickly shook his head. "N-no, Cas," Dean quickly tried to amend. "It doesn't hurt at all! It's just kinda... pulsing, but it doesn't hurt... In fact, it's kinda cool."

That made Cas arch an eyebrow. "Cool? I just marked you with my grace."

"And every angel is now gonna know that I belong to Castiel," Dean pointed out, smirking. "And I wouldn't have it any other way." Cas was still unsure, which must have showed on his face. Seeing this, Dean leaned in and pressed his lips to the angel's, earning a gagging sound effect from Lucifer.

Cas slowly kissed him back. Dean's lips were so gentle... nothing like how he had been acting since John's death. He didn't know how long Dean would be like this—if this was just a fluke or a sign that Dean was beginning to cope with the loss of his father. In that moment, Cas didn't care. He opened up in to the kiss and accepted Dean's love in that moment wholeheartedly. He kissed him back with all the passion he could muster. A small voice in Cas's head said a prayer. Please be okay, Dean... Please be okay.