Theme Prompt - Danger Ahead

Dean and Cas slept soundly on the couch for the rest of the day and through the night. Dean only woke up shortly after dawn when he felt Cas stirring on his chest. He opened his eyes and smiled gently at his angel, still not quite believing he had him back. He felt a sticky warmth on his chest and saw that Cas's cuts were bleeding again.

"Cas, wake up," Dean said, lightly shaking the angel's shoulder. Cas opened his eyes and blinked sleepily before smiling into Dean's eyes.

"Hello, Dean," he said, tilting his head to brush his lips across Dean's. Dean kissed him back, his tongue dipping into Cas's mouth. Breaking their kiss, he brushed a hand over Cas's hair.

"You're bleeding again," he said, his voice gravelly. "Sit up so I can clean and bandage you." They both say up, Cas between Dean's legs. Dean grabbed a clean towel from the pile next to the couch and gently rubbed the blood off himself and Cas. When he was finished, he applied a mild antiseptic and bound the cuts. He hugged Cas gently, kissing the top of his head.

"All done," he murmured. "You shouldn't get any infections from those cuts. Let me look at your wings." Cas sat forward and allowed his wings to manifest. Dean caught his breath at the mangled appendages, tears prickling his eyes. Ducking his head, Cas sighed. He knew how much Dean loved his wings and now he no longer would.

"Cas, I'm so sorry," Dean choked out. He ran a hand gently over the completely stripped wing, his fingers raising goosebumps on the skin. His other hand straightened out the bent and twisted feather's in the angel's other wing, smoothing them repeatedly.

"How can I help heal you?" Dean asked. Cas shrugged despondently, the few feathers on his wing rustling quietly. He didn't want to turn to see the disgust he knew would be in Dean's eyes.

"I don't know," Cas whispered, his head still tucked against his chest. "I'm not even sure they will heal." Dean pulled Cas back against him, carefully arranging the wings so that they weren't crushed. He placed butterfly kisses on the nape of Cas's neck, trying to soothe the angel with kisses and touches.

"It's all right, love," Dean whispered. "You are still wonderful and beautiful to me." Cas tilted his head back to meet Dean's eyes, wonder in his own. Searching Dean's green eyes, Cas saw no trace of disgust or dislike.

"You really aren't unhappy I lost my wings?" Cas said wonderingly. "You loved them and now they are shredded."

"Cas, I didn't just love your wings," Dean replied, his hand cupping Cas's cheek. "I love your wings, yes, but I love you. Your wings were a part of that." He kissed Cas, his tongue tracing the angel's lips. Dean had to make him believe, had to convince him that the loss of the beauty of his wings didn't matter. Slowly, Cas relaxed against him, breath sighing out against his lips. They looked up as someone cleared their throat in the doorway.

"Hey, guys," Sam said, an apology in his eyes. "Don't want to interrupt, but we need to talk. And Cas, you might want to change into something besides those bloodstained pants." Cas stood but kept one hand in contact with Dean's shoulder. He waited until the hunter stood then the two walked upstairs to Dean's room. Cas changed into a pair of Dean's jeans but decided to forgo a shirt. He didn't want anything against the cuts. Heading back downstairs, they met Bobby, Sam, and Gabriel in the kitchen.

"What did you need to talk about, Sammy?" Dean asked, sitting down and pulling Cas into his lap. He wrapped an arm around the angel and held him tightly.

"Zachariah is upstairs," Sam replied. "Those three angels brought him yesterday. He's human." A growl reverberated in Dean's chest, forcing its way up his throat. The hunter glared at Sam and Gabriel, murder in his eyes.

"And you tell me this now?" Dean snapped.

"You were sleeping," Gabriel replied reasonably, sucking on a lollipop. "I thought it best to let you and Cas sleep. Zachariah's tied up in one of the spare rooms upstairs. He's not going anywhere." Cas turned to look at Dean and studied his eyes closely. He placed a hand on Dean's cheek and drew the hunter's eyes to his.

"Dean, I want you to think before you go up there," Cas said intensely. "I made the mistake of asking you to torture someone before. I do not want you to go back to that person." Dean tried to shrug off the memory Cas evoked, unable to tear his eyes from his angel. He was terried of becoming that person again, of craving the torture again.

"I will wait a bit," Dean replied. "For you." Cas smiled brightly at him and brushed his lips across Dean's. Bobby, Sam, and Gabriel traded relieved looks, happy that Dean wasn't going to go tearing upstairs and murder the former angel.

"Well, now that that's settled," Bobby said gruffly. "What are our options for dealing with him?"

"We could keep him imprisoned," Sam suggested. "That way, he can't get into any more trouble." The others considered his suggestion before Gabriel shook his head.

"We can't just keep him locked up," the archangel said. "We'd be no better than him. And we'd have to take care of him and watch him 24/7."

"What do you think?" Sam asked his archangel, an eyebrow arching in question. Gabriel thought for a moment then shrugged.

"We could just kill him," he suggested. "It would be fair for what he did to Castiel."

"But we would be no better than him again," Cas said quietly. "Murdering him would make us as guilty as he."

"I want to see him before we decide," Dean said suddenly. "I want to hear what he has to say." Cas caught his eyes again, staring deeply into them. The angel nodded and stood from his lap, pulling Dean up with him.

"We'll go together," Cas said. "I have to face him again myself." Twining their fingers together, the two made their way upstairs and into the bedroom Zachariah had been taken to. The once-angel was livid, his face flushed with anger.

"Release me at once!" he shouted at Cas and Dean. "You have no right to keep me here!" Cas stood silently, his eyes raking his former brother. He had been worried he would hate Zachariah, hate his family for allowing the torture. Breathing out a relieved sigh, Cas stepped forward and looked deep into Zachariah's brown eyes.

"I forgive you, brother," Cas said quietly. "For what you did to me, I forgive you. But I will never forget." He felt Dean step forward as well and place a gentle hand between his shoulder blades. The angel leaned into the touch, feeling uncountably lighter.

"I, however, don't," Dean growled, glaring at Zachariah. "And you will stay here until I figure out what to do with you."

"You?" Zachariah snorted. "You are just a mud monkey having a tantrum. What can you do to me?"

"I don't know," Dean replied. "But you're human now. I'm sure I can figure something out. There's danger ahead for you." He smirked as Zachariah's eyes widened in panic. The former angel had driven that little fact from his mind.

"Let's go, Cas," Dean said. "Give him some time to consider what I may do." They walked out of the room, Zachariah's curses and screams following them out. The door muffled the sound and Cas leaned against Dean.

"That was harder than I thought," Cas whispered. "I remember everything he did to me and it hurts. What are you planning on doing with him?"

"I don't know, love," Dean replied, wrapping an arm around his shaking angel's shoulders. "But we will figure it out together. He can't hurt you anymore. I love you, Cas."

"I love you, too," Cas said, burying his head in Dean's shoulder. They stood there, breathing quietly and healing from the pain and sorrow that Zachariah had caused. Dean's mind flickered through all the options he had to make Zachariah pay. And pay, he would.