Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There is an angel in Bobby’s living room.

This in and of itself isn’t unusual. Castiel has spent the past couple of years popping in and out, so Bobby is used to it at this point. What is unusual is that he’s lying face down on the carpet.

He approaches the angel slowly, just in case something happens, but he remains lifeless on the floor, so Bobby nudges him with one of his feet. Nothing happens.

“Cas?” He asks hesitantly, something like worry slipping into his voice. The Angel was certainly an interesting addition to their ragtag group of hunters they call a family, but the quirky little guy has been growing on him like a particularly stubborn patch of black mold. Something about the way he interacts with Dean, dulling the younger man’s sharp edges, probably helps Bobby’s opinion of him. That and the whole apocalypse thing he helped prevent.

The angel stirs, and Bobby crouches down, placing a hand on his shoulder and shaking him again. It’s a slow movement, and he lets out a groan like he’s a little kid being woken up to go to school at 6 in the morning, and then suddenly it’s not. Something like panic runs through the angel's system, causing him to tense like he’s touched a live wire, and the angel shoots up into a sitting position, almost smacking Bobby in the face. The hunter falls back onto his ass, trying to get out of the way in time, and watches with something like dread curling in his gut. Castiel seems to immediately come into a defensive position, and the telltale sounds of angel wings are heard before he cringes in pain, not moving from his spot except to keel over, leaning against the couch.

He looks terrible.

“Cas,” Bobby says slowly and clearly, not making any sudden movements. “It’s just me.” He explains before he realizes how stupid that sounds and clarifies. “It’s Bobby. It’s okay. You’re in my house. Everything is fine. You’re safe here. I’m not going to hurt you.” He’d feel dumb talking to an Angel of the Lord like a traumatized war veteran if it wasn’t such an accurate comparison.

Castiel blinks at him blearily for a few seconds until he seems to piece together his surroundings. “My apologies.” He says, gravelly voice as deep as ever. “You startled me. I hope I did not hurt you.”

Bobby huffs out a laugh. “I’m made of tougher stuff than that, kid.”

“I did not mean to intrude into your space.” He apologizes again.

“Shut up, ya idjit. You’re welcome here anytime, just like any of my boys.”

There’s a minute change in the angel’s ever-stoic expression, and Bobby thinks he might feel touched about the offer, like no one has ever told him he’s welcome before. Something pulls on his hardened heartstrings, and he tells it to shut the fuck up.

“Thank you.” Cas dips his head politely. “But I should get out of your way.” He starts to struggle to his feet but ultimately fails.

Bobby levels him with a stare from where he also sits, claiming a spot on the floor. “Cut the bullshit, kid. You look like crap. I’ll help you onto the couch if you’ll just tell me what’s going on.”

Cas refuses to meet his eyes and looks like he might try to fly off again, but eventually concedes. “I would appreciate the assist.”

Bobby rolls his eyes but pushes himself off the floor and reaches down to pull the angel to his feet. “Good, I’m getting too damn old to be holding conversations on the floor, and I can’t imagine you appreciate it much more than me.”

“Not at the moment, no.” Cas agrees, allowing himself to be settled on the couch.

Bobby takes a seat on a recliner nearby. “Alright, spill. I know you got your war going on upstairs; does this have something to do with that?” He gestures vaguely to Cas’s uncharacteristically disheveled state.

“I’m afraid so.” Cas admits, “Raphael is a formidable foe. He outranks me since he is an archangel and I am but a seraph, which makes the battles quite unbalanced. Crowley contacted me and offered to make a deal where I could gain enough power to defeat Raphael, and while tempting..."

“Crowley!” Bobby hisses, upset.

“…I declined.” The angel pauses. “He was not very happy about my choice.”

“He’s the one who roughed you up?”

“You could say that.”

Bobby has come to learn that is Castiel for ‘you are correct, but it’s embarrassing, and I don’t want to admit it.’

“You did the right thing.”

“I hope so.” Cas agrees, but he seems hesitant.

“Of course you did. We’ll think of some other way to help you win this fight without the help of a demon deal. That’s what family is for.”

“Oh no.” Cas refuted immediately. “I couldn’t possibly ask that of you. You, Dean, and Sam have much to worry about down here without me intruding with problems of my own.”

Bobby just kind of stares at him like he’s stupid. “Did you not hear what I said? You’re family, and family helps each other out. I don’t know what my boys have or have not said to you, but we’re going to figure this out together, whether they like it or not.”

Cas seems to be torn between stricken and grateful.

“In the meantime, you need to rest. I have a spare bed upstairs. Go sleep for a while.”

“I do not need to—“

“Don’t give me that crap. I found you passed out on my carpet. Go power off for a few hours, or whatever it is you do. I’ll call the boys, and they’ll be heading this way by the time you get up. You’re safe here, kid. I wasn’t lying when I said it earlier.”

“I will be forever grateful for your hospitality, Bobby. I will find a way to make it up to you.” Cas promises, and Bobby waves at him dismissively as the angel hauls himself off the couch.

As Bobby watches him make his way up the stairs and disappear around the corner, he finds himself hating whoever it is that made Castiel think love was transactional like that. Now that he thinks about it, he probably picked it up from the Winchesters, who learned it from their father. That thought tugs at his heartstrings again, and he sighs, ignoring it as he pulls out his phone to call the brothers.

They have a lot of work to do. 

Chapter Text

There’s an angel sleeping in his spare bed upstairs.

The thought of it doesn’t bother Bobby like it might’ve just a few years ago. In fact, he’s more annoyed that the brothers come stomping into his house like a herd of elephants, and might make the poor thing up.

“Haven’t you ever learned any tact?” Bobby snips as the door slams shut behind them, rattling the house. Both of the boys freeze and glance at each other like they're unsure of what they’ve done, but neither says anything, not wanting to make another unknown mistake. Bobby sighs a little harsher than he intends and just now realizes how shaken up seeing their normally unbothered angel hurt has got him. “I called you and told you Cas was in a real world of hurt, and now you’re storming in here like you’re trying to wake him up.” He explains, less harshly but no less stern.

“He okay, Bobby?” Dean asks quietly, concern filtering in over his face. Sam doesn’t say anything or look concerned at all, but that’s not too out of the norm lately.

“Just tired,” Bobby promises, hoping to soothe his worries. Dean worries about practically every goddam thing in his immediate proximity, there's no need to add to that buddle of stress. But Dean doesn’t relax just yet, obviously waiting for an elaborate explanation. When Bobby continues to not say anything, Dean gives him this look like he wants to say something but is making an effort to hold back his sass.

“You might as well grab yourself a beer.” Bobby says, “We’re gonna be here a while.”

Dean sets his shoulders, stalking off towards the kitchen like a man on a mission and Sam follows after him like a rather complacent lost puppy. Bobby takes his cap off, running a hand over his face and through his hair before placing it back on his head and taking a seat. The brothers emerge from the kitchen and Dean settles down on the couch across from him, fiddling with the beer more than drinking from it, though Bobby does notice a rather long, nerve-soothing sip.

“The war in Heaven is not going great for Cas,” Bobby says eventually. “His side—our side—is losing. Cas isn’t powerful enough to take on an archangel and his army, even with the help of other angels.”

Dean grimaces like he was privy to this knowledge, but hasn't made much effort to act on it. “You said you found him collapsed on the ground?”

“Right over there.” Bobby points to a spot a few feet away from where Dean sits on the couch. Dean glances over at it, staring at the spot on the ground for a few long seconds as if trying to imagine it, before looking resolutely away. Sam takes a casual sip of his beer. “Crowley had offered to make a deal with him for godlike power, though Cas didn’t go into much detail on how.”

“He wouldn’t do that,” Dean says, coming to the angel’s defense immediately. “I mean, not… he wouldn’t go behind our backs to work with Crowley.” He snarls the demon’s name with something akin to disgust and glares at Bobby like he expects him to disagree with him.

“I never said he would.” Bobby returns calmly, knowing better than to rile Dean’s rather foreboding protective instinct. “He reassured me that he did not take the deal.” He informs, and Dean sags a little at the admission. “But he also paid the price for it.”

“Crowley beat him up?” Sam asks bluntly and Bobby nods.

“Is he okay?”

“I would’ve told you if he was dying, idjit. He’s fine. Just upstairs sleeping it off. The problem at hand is what we can do to help him out. He seemed pretty insistent that he didn’t want to bother us, but I don’t want to find him face down on my living room floor again. I’m not particularly fond of seeing anyone else I know die, especially if we could’ve done something to prevent it.”

Something about the way Dean’s posture changes shows that the hunter never really considered the possibility that Cas could die. Sure, the angel isn’t really around all that much, and they’re all busy, but the idea that he might zap out one day and never come back really throws him for a loop.

“I was thinking that me and Sam could strategize and you could go upstairs to convince the poor guy to let us help.”

Dean looks a little caught, like he was trying to hide something and got found out.

“He likes you the best anyway, and he could use the comfort. Hell, you could too.”

Dean flushes, dropping his gaze to the carpet, and Bobby realizes that it sounds like he implied something he didn’t really mean. Not that he cares, though based on Dean’s reaction, the other hunter certainly seems to think so.

“I’m not your dad, son. I don’t care if you kiss or sleep together or whatever all you kids do these days.”

“Bobby.” Dean manages out, looking scandalized.

Sam just laughs. “I knew you liked him.”

“What— I don’t—“ Dean stumbles over his words in denial.

“Get out of here before you give us any more reason to tease you. I think I heard him moving around upstairs.”

———
Dean hurries up the stairs like someone lit his ass on fire.

Sure, he thinks that Cas is kind of attractive, but he was only really just now admitting it to himself. He wasn’t quite ready for all of his deepest thoughts to get aired out like that. He knows that Bobby doesn’t mind and Dean has seen his little brother bring a few men of his own back to his motel room after hunts, so he certainly doesn’t care. Though, he certainly doesn’t really seem to care about much of anything now. He dismisses his thoughts, focusing on the task at hand as he approaches the bedroom, knocking on it gently before pushing it open.

He doesn’t want to wake him if he’s still asleep but—

“Hello, Dean,” Cas says from where he is perched on the side of the bed. Dean freezes in the doorway, taking a look at the angel’s overall disheveled state and steeling himself, Bobby’s words still too fresh in his mind.

Because like this, Cas is gorgeous. Not that he normally isn’t, but without the oversized trenchcoat and bulky suit coat, he can get a better look at him. The scene before him is so incredibly domestic, with Cas’ hair messy from sleep and without the stuffy dress shoes he always wears. But not just that. He’s lost all the tense lines from his body, not seconds away from rendering an enemy into pieces, always ready to strike. Something about it fits the softer parts of his personality that Dean has come to know, the parts that are fascinated by nature and humanity, that seek to belong somewhere here with him, that makes him unique from the rest.

“Uh.. Hey, Cas.” Dean says after realizing that he had just been staring at the guy for a few seconds. “Bobby was filling me in.” He wanders over and steals a spot on the bed next to him.

“I do not mean to monopolize your time, Dean.” Cas starts to say.

“What do you mean?” Dean cuts him off. “You need help, I want to help you. It’s not a big deal.”

Cas glances down at the floor. “But it is. I used to be so powerful. I could solve your problems with a flick of my hand. Now, I can’t even solve my own.”

“It’s okay to ask for help, Cas.”

The angel gives him a look.

“Okay, I know that’s hypocritical of me to say, but I mean it, ya know?”

“There is no way I could make this up to you if I do accept your help.”

“Make it up to me?” Dean asks, like he doesn’t understand why the angel would think like that. “Staying around would be making it up to me enough.” He says before he realizes how that sounds. “I mean,” Dean gets nervous. “I know you have shit you’d rather be doing and all, but I kinda like having you around,” He admits. He’s having a weird day with his secrets coming out, so he might as well just get this one out too. If not, Cas will probably hear Bobby and Sam tease him about it later, so he might as well do it himself.

Cas looks over at him, slightly stunned. “You like having me around?”

Dean stares back at him, equally bewildered. “Yeah. It’s pretty obvious. Even Bobby picked up on it, and I’m not around him all that often. And Sam says I get mopey whenever you’re away.”

Cas smiles at him like that’s the sweetest thing that he’s ever heard. “I like being around you too, Dean. I am busy with heaven, but I do not consider it my home anymore. I only fight so I do not lose this new one I have made for myself with you.”

“Damn, Cas,” Dean says, flushing, reaching a hand up to rub at the back of his neck. “That sounds awfully like you’re in love with me.” He means it in a slightly teasing way, but Cas stares into his soul with those bright blue eyes of his, entirely serious.

“Yes. Is that not what we were discussing?”

“Wha—“

“I was unsure if you had reciprocated my feelings, though I had my suspicions, but you confirmed that you wanted me around. I do not want to be around anyone the same way that I want to be near you, Dean.”

“You love me?” Dean asks, his voice escaping his mouth as something akin to a high-pitched squeal.

“Yes.” Cas pauses, evaluating him. “My apologies. I did not mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“I’m not uncomfort—“ Dean pauses, and amends his statement. “Well, it’s just a lot to take it. I was just getting used to the idea that I liked you, and now I know that you like me back? I’m happy about it, of course, but I’m still trying to understand.”

“What is there to understand?”

“I mean, I get why I like you, you’re great. You stopped the apocalypse and you’re badass but you’re also kinda dorky and cute, but me? Well, I don’t know…” He trails off as if when he lists the things he hates about himself, it might convince Cas to hate him too.

“Dean Winchester.” Cas reaches out and places a hand on his shoulder—the shoulder—and he has no choice but to look at him. “I know that you struggle with the way you see yourself, and while it pains me that you cannot appreciate the absolutely stunning piece of human craftsmanship that you are, you must remember that I was the one that pulled you out of hell. I have seen you at your absolute worst state of being and your soul was still the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. It continues to be so now. I would not betray my brethren and stop the apocalypse for just anyone, Dean, not even for your brother or Bobby, who are my closest friends. I did it for you. Because I love you and began falling in love with you from the moment I saw you, even though I did not know what it was.”

Dean doesn’t say anything, feeling overwhelmed.

“However, I recognize that this is too much for you to handle at this time, and we will agree to take things slowly as you gain more confidence and I gain more experience.”

“That sounds great, Cas,” Dean says, eyes a little watery from Cas’ words.

“I would, however, very much like to kiss you, if you do not mind.”

Dean grins over at him. “That sounds even better.”

It’s a little awkward at first, but soon it melts into something sweet and Dean pulls away feeling more stabilized. Kissing is at least something he’s familiar with. Cas seems just as pleased, if not a little shy and it makes Dean want to kiss him again.

“Hey, you two.” Bobby’s voice suddenly rings out from downstairs, and Dean huffs, annoyed that they were interrupted. “If you’re still alive up there, we got an idea.”

Dean rolls his eyes but pulls back all the same. “C’mon. Get dressed and we’ll go see what they have to say. Maybe if whatever they have works, you won’t have to keep flitting off anymore.”

“I’m looking forward to it.

———
Bobby pulls the angel off to the side sometime later, so it’s just the two of them. “How are you feeling about this plan? And don’t lie to me. I need the truth. I got you away from Dean so you don’t have to worry about hurting anyone’s feelings. If you think it sucks, we need to know.”

“I have confidence in your planning, Bobby. I promise that I will let you know if how I feel about it changes in the future.”

Bobby nods, and silence lingers in the air for a few moments. “Did you figure everything out with him earlier, upstairs?”

“We came to quite a pleasant understanding.”

“You know,” Bobby says as if he needs to reassure the angel, “I’m not John Winchester.”

“I am well aware,” Cas says in such a way that implies his distaste for the man.

Good, Bobby thinks, if there’s one thing Castiel has gotten right out of all this, it’s that John Winchester has done no one any favors.

“I mean to say, I’m happy for you.”

“Thank you, Bobby. I am happy for us too.”

Bobby smiles and pats Cas on the shoulder. “Good, Good. Now, let's get back on out there before Dean thinks I’ve stolen you away to lecture you.”

“Bobby,” Cas says, stopping him from walking off. “Thank you. For your help with everything.”

“Like I said, you’re family. That’s why I’m here.”

Dean gives them a weird look when they re-enter the living room together, but he is quickly distracted when Cas settles himself on the couch by his side. The sight pulls on Bobby's heartstrings but in a good way this time. He allows himself to revel in the good feeling for a moment, but not long enough to get distracted.

After all, they have work to do.