Adult-FanFiction.org : Television / Streaming

The Keys to Destiny	By : mistresswhimsy Category: Supernatural > Slash - Male/Male Views: 2114 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: Nothing about Supernatural is mine everything belongs to its rightful owners. I make no money from the series or this story.

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
- 3
I found ScribbledDreaming's new account but she hasn't uploaded the video yet. I'll keep watching the channel to see if she does. ^_^. Happy reading!

... * ...

Castiel screamed.

The voices of the angels echoed too loudly in his mind, the images crowding in and pressing hard, threatening to fill his mind until his skull cracked. Hands clutched spastically at his own head as he writhed futilely against the kitchen floor, his feet occasionally connecting with the wooden doors of cabinets or the legs of chairs. Through all the visions the face of the man who had stood out before hovered constantly, his eyes shifting rapidly from innocent to a kind of evil that made Castiel's skin crawl, even through the pain. The potential for both was there and Castiel found all he wanted was the reach through the chaos and burn away the evil that had been forced on a man he could feel was good.

The pain left in a sudden, relieving rush. Castiel collapsed, his limbs going limp and his eyes closing as he drew in deep breaths. A dull ache throbbed behind his eyes. He considered getting up for his Advil and decided against it. He'd just lay here for a while, he decided. Just a bit...

Though he didn't fall asleep Castiel drifted, only vaguely aware of his surroundings. It had never been this bad. He'd never been invaded with so much at once, not even the episode from the other night had hit him so hard. This was by far more serious than anything he'd ever been privy to. He let the image of the man's face drift in his mind, tried to think of why it was so familiar.

He had distanced himself from his body so thoroughly that he didn't hear the bare feet padding across his kitchen floor, didn't notice a thing out of place until he felt a hand on his shoulder. It wasn't his Mother, the hand was too masculine. His door was locked, no one else had a key, who...

Castiel's eyes snapped open, meeting a blue gaze with a mixture of surprise and happiness.

"Are you hurt?" the man above him asked, his open face plainly showing his concern.

"Not so much now," Castiel replied with what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "Hi, Dad."

The Cherub grinned widely and slid an arm under Castiel's shoulders, helping him to sit up. Then his other arm came up so he could give his son a hug. For a Cherub, the self named Amor was rather subdued (and one of the only Cherubs who at least wore boxers around humans), though any normal person would still find his hugs to be uncomfortably personal. Castiel welcomed it. Though he loved his Mother, his relationship with his Father had always been deeper, somehow, and after this latest episode he was craving a little closeness.

At that thought an image of Dean flashed in his mind and his Father caught it immediately.

"Who's that?" Amor asked brightly. Castiel sighed a bit; sometimes he forgot that full fledged Angels, even the lower class Cherubs, could read minds, not just pick up emotions as he could.

"His name is Dean," Castiel replied, and then he perked up a bit when he realized Amor might be able to answer the question of why he felt so connected to this soul.

"May I look?" his Father asked, reaching up one hand towards his son's head. Castiel nodded and Amor touched his forehead with two fingers, closing his eyes so he could absorb the knowledge of Dean. The longer he sat there the more he grinned and Castiel began to fidget, curiosity making him restless.

"What is it?" He finally asked.

Amor laughed delightedly. He opened his eyes and flung his arms back around Castiel in a tight hug. "Castiel, you found your soulmate!"

Castiel blinked, the only outward reaction to his surprise. Of course! It explained his connection to the soul of Dean. Now he just had to find out why he felt a connection to the man he currently was. He had learned from watching others that just because you were soulmates did not mean you were destined in a particular life. In fact, it seemed sometimes that soulmates were not meant to be together until near the end of their earthly journey. He wondered briefly if that was the case here and knew immediately it wasn't. Neither one of them was even close to any kind of end here.

Amor pulled back a bit so he could look down at Castiel, smiling happily because this was the point of his kind. They helped to encourage love, sometimes because there was a destiny behind it, sometimes simply because it made them happy to make others happy. "Have you met him personally yet?"

Castiel shook his head. "Just in dreams. He thinks he made me up."

Amor chuckled. "Humans do that. He'll come around eventually. Oh, or is he straight?" He looked dismayed by this thought.

"I think so," Castiel replied carefully. "But...I'm not discouraged. I just have this feeling."

"You go with that!" Amor cried encouragingly, hugging his son yet again. "I really should go soon, I'm not supposed to be here."

"You're never supposed to be here," Castiel replied bitterly.

Amor sighed. "I know. I don't know what the big deal is. It's not like I'm the only Angel who's ever mixed with humans. Besides, I hate being gone so much, it makes me a lousy father!"

Castiel hugged his Father back, hard, trying to reassure him. "You're not. You'd be lousy if you didn't try."

Amor finally sat back, though he remained sitting close to Castiel. The half-blood wondered if his own ease with closeness came from his Father. "You haven't told your Mother, right? I feel so bad about that, but I don't want to make this worse for her."

Castiel nodded. "I haven't told her. I don't think she'd understand why you come to see me but not her."

"It would hurt more when I left," Amor said with another sigh. "She doesn't understand like you do."

Amor was standing to leave when Castiel remembered to ask, "Why did you come here in the first place?"

"Oh, well there were two reasons," Amor replied. "I felt you were in pain, more than usual, and then I realized why and wanted to tell you that all this activity? The Cherubs aren't being allowed in on it, which means it's something huge. Try not to let them know you can hear, okay? I don't want them trying anything with you."

Castiel nodded. "Goodbye."

"Bye, son." Amor gave him one last hug and vanished.

... * ...

Sam and his girlfriend Jessica walked in the door just after eleven. Dean waited impatiently for his parents to go through their greeting process, hugging Sam and then Jessica, John patting him on the back and Mary asking how school was going. Then Sam blew by them all to throw his arms around his big brother, a hug that Dean returned briefly but enthusiastically. For some reason he couldn't understand, he always felt better when Sam was home and within his sight.

"Hey, Sammy," Dean greeted warmly.

"It's Sam," he replied lightly, a token resistance to a nickname he'd never truly objected to. At least, as long as it was Dean.

Dean cuffed his little brother on the side of the head as they pulled apart, which only made Sam laugh and cuff him right back. "How's it going?" Sam asked as they wandered away from their parents and Jessica and headed towards the couch.

"Great," Dean answered smoothly. Last night's dream hadn't tired him out as the others had, which he was glad for. It would have meant coming up with an explanation because Sam would notice, he always did. While he didn't want to tell anyone about the dreams just yet he didn't want to lie, either, particularly not to Sammy. "Carmen's good, we were going to bring her over but she was dead out of it when we got there, so I didn't wake her up. She's been really tired lately. Figured she could come over later."

"Great, Jessica wants to see her too." Sam leaned back against the couch with a small, happy sigh. "It's good to be home. School's been great but I was ready for a break."

Dean just nodded. "Want a beer?"

"Yeah, sounds good."

Dean got up and went to the kitchen, knowing John would have a case in the fridge somewhere. He didn't bother to ask because the answer was always yes. When he came back into the living room Sam was leaning forward on his knees, playing with something in his hands. Dean sat back down beside him and held out one beer, casting a curious glance at the small, black box that was revealed when Sam reached over to take the drink.

"Thanks." Sam set the box down on the coffee table, opened the beer and took a long swig before he nodded towards the box. "Three guesses."

Dean only needed one. "No way."

Sam nodded and took another swig, smiling nervously when he lowered the beer. "Yup. I bought it right before we left. Haven't asked yet, though, I keep hoping for this...I dunno, the perfect moment or something." He chuckled and fiddled with the neck of the beer bottle. "What do you think?"

Dean grinned. "Dude, it's awesome!" He reached over and clapped his brother on the back. "But I still think you drugged her."

"Shut up!" Sam punched Dean's shoulder hard enough to send the man tumbling over sideways. He laughed and kicked sideways, catching Sam in the shin.

"Ow! Jerk!"

"Bitch!" Dean replied, and then they laughed at the old game.

As Dean straightened Sam reached out and picked up the box, holding it out questioningly towards Dean. Curious, Dean took it and opened it. His eyebrows rose slightly in surprise at the contents. "Kind of...plain, isn't it?"

Sam whacked him on the shoulder again. "She doesn't really like diamonds," he explained. "Or jewels, actually. You should see her necklaces. Take a closer look."

Dean lifted the ring nestled inside the black box a little closer. At first glance he'd thought it was just a plain silver band but upon closer inspection he discovered a tiny circle of green ivy that wound it's way around to connect to a single red rose. It seemed sort of weird to him but at the same time it was kind of neat, if only because it was unique.

"Ivy and roses are her two favorite plants," Sam said suddenly, nervously. "So I had it custom made 'cause I couldn't find anything like it." He suddenly snatched the box from Dean's hand and stuffed it into his pocket. "What if she hates it?"

"Dude, chill. She won't hate it."

Sam didn't look convinced but he smiled anyway.

Their parents and Jessica came in a moment later, making Sam pat his pocket to assure himself that his secret was still safely hidden. John soon slipped away when Mary and Jess began to talk about 'the boys' as kids (which somehow seemed to happen every time Sam came home) and after an hour or so Dean and Sam exchanged a glance, nodded to each other and, when the other two weren't looking, snuck outside and ran to the Impala, laughing like a couple of teenagers who'd just gotten away with pranking the neighbor.

"NO!" Dean yelled when Sam tried to steal the keys from him.

"Oh come on!" Sam pouted, something Dean had become convinced his little brother now did on instinct after perfecting it as a kid. Dean wavered, glancing from his brother to the car and back again.

"On the way back!" Dean caved as he pulled open the door.

"You swear?" Sam pressed as he climbed in the other side, though his pout had vanished to reveal a wide grin.

"Yeah, yeah," Dean muttered, trying to fake irritation and failing miserably.

Roughly thirty miles out of town was a river that Sam and Dean had spent the majority of their free time at, after Dean had learned to drive. Whenever Sam came to visit for the summer they ended up there, sooner or later. Mary and Jess had gotten used to them sneaking out without telling them where they were going, had even made a kind of game out of it, though they'd never actually managed to catch the two leaving.

The river was a quarter of a mile into the woods, so Dean parked just off the road. Sam jumped out of the car and took off into the trees before Dean had even opened the car door. "Cheater!" Dean yelled as he threw open the door and ran after Sam. Though Sammy had longer legs, Dean was still a touch faster than his little brother, so Sam gave himself 'head starts.' They broke through the trees at almost the same time but Sam didn't stop. Dean let out a surprised laugh as his little brother leapt straight into the river, clothes and all. He came up laughing, shaking his head to rid himself of the excess water pouring into his eyes as he sloshed his way back to the bank.

"The hell?" Dean chuckled as Sam fell backwards into the grass. He sat down beside his brother, laughing again when he saw the big grin on Sam's face.

"Spur of the moment thing," Sam answered. "We forgot the poles."

Dean gave a dismissive shrug and fell over backwards, mimicking Sam's position. "I don't care."

Sam chuckled. "Yeah, I don't either."

They lay there for what could have been hours or mere minutes, talking about Jess and Carmen, Dean's job, college. The sun was warm, making them feel lazy and slowly lulling Dean to sleep, though he didn't realize it until he saw a newly familiar figure sitting by the river. He looked over and saw Sam, his face relaxed and peaceful in sleep, and had a moment of confusion. He had fallen asleep, hadn't he? Everything seemed the same, except...

"Cas?"

For a moment the other man didn't move. Then he turned suddenly, looking slightly surprised. "Cas?" He repeated curiously.

Yup, he was definitely dreaming. He looked down at Sammy one more time, even reached out to touch him. A frown creased his brow; this seemed too real. Slowly and somewhat uncertainly, he stood and walked down to stand beside Castiel.

"It's easier," He said distractedly when the other man continued to look at him strangely. "I swear nothing just changed. I feel like I'm still awake."

"Sometimes we dream about being awake," Castiel replied. "Why are you asleep in the middle of the day?"

Accepting that he really was asleep, Dean settled at the edge of the river, knowing from the last dream there was no escape from this. Besides, it really wasn't so bad. He definitely could have invented a worse person. "Sammy and I come here when he's on summer break. That's him back there. Guess the sun just kind of put us to sleep. What about you?"

Castiel didn't answer. He had twisted around to look at Sam. Though his face remained perfectly calm Dean saw something in his eyes...shock? "What is it?" He asked.

"I..." Castiel leaned closer, squinting against the sun before he suddenly shook his head. "It's nothing. I thought I knew him." He shifted again, turning partially towards Dean. The shock was gone but Dean thought he saw sadness in the other man's eyes. "You like to keep him close, don't you?"

Dean shrugged. "Protective big brother instincts," He said simply. "So...why are you asleep in the middle of the day?"

"My head hurt," Castiel replied with a shrug. "Very badly. The Advil wasn't helping, so I thought maybe I could sleep it off."

"Hangover?" Dean asked with a small grin.

Castiel chuckled, just a little. "You...could say that. It's very nice here. Similar to the other river."

"More trees," Dean said obviously, and then he wanted to smack himself for saying it. Of course there were more trees! Cas wasn't blind! What the hell had he said that for? "It's smaller too." Stop talking, idjit!, he yelled mentally, unconsciously mimicking John's friend Bobby. He couldn't even recall how many times Bobby had called Sam and himself 'idjits' before he'd mysteriously packed up and moved to South Dakota without warning eight years ago.

Glancing at Castiel out of the corner of his eye, Dean discovered the other man was smiling at him in a way that could almost be described as fond. Fond and absolutely amused. "Shut up," Dean muttered.

"I didn't say anything," Castiel replied.

"Shut up anyway," Dean growled. It only made the other man laugh.

"Do you know how to shift your dreams, Dean?" Castiel asked suddenly.

Dean gave him an odd look and shook his head. "Nope. Why?"

Castiel gave a small shrug and looked away, into the water. "I just...wanted to see more of you. Your life."

This answer stirred the strangest reaction in Dean. Part of him thought it was just weird, another part found it almost threatening, yet another part received a kind of warm feeling, similar to how he felt around Sammy but different, somehow, and underneath it all a distant yet nagging desire to give Cas what he wanted.

Abruptly, without any warning at all, Dean found himself standing at the edge of the road beside his Impala.

"Huh. That was easy," Dean said with a slight grin. He turned and saw Castiel standing beside him, looking slightly startled but also very pleased.

"Is this your car?" He asked.

Dean nodded. "Aside from family, this baby is my life." Dean strode forward and put a hand on the hood of the car with a warm smile. "It was my Dad's, he bought it when he was eighteen, and then he gave it to me on my sixteenth birthday."

"It's nice. What kind of car is it?"

Dean stared at him incredulously. "You're kidding, right?"

Castiel shook his head, grinning a little self consciously. "I don't know much about cars. I can't even drive."

Couldn't drive? That had been on Dean's list of things that would make his world like hell. "How do you get around?"

"I walk," Castiel said. "Everything I need is within a half an hour's walk of my house."

"Yeah, but don't you ever just want to go? You know, take off for a while?" Dean couldn't imagine not having the freedom to just leave, to take his car for the weekend and drive wherever he wanted.

"I...have other ways."

Yeah, that made a lot of sense. "Whatever," Dean muttered. "It's a '67 Chevrole Impala."

"It looks good for it's age." Castiel flashed a quick grin and Dean laughed. So, Cas had a sense of humor. Or...if he'd invented Cas, was that just how own sense of humor? Dean shook his head; it was too weird to think about.

"Dad fixed it up. It has it's imperfections." Dean pointed towards the heater vents. "Whenever you turn on the heater it rattles, 'cause I stuffed some legos down there when I was nine. There's a G.I Joe stuck in the back left door that Sam forced in there on one of our road trips when he was six. Gives it character."

"And history." Castiel peered into the window and smiled when he found the G.I Joe. "Do you remember my Mother's living room? Under one of the chairs there's a big blue and green stain in the carpet because I decided one day that I wanted to play with food coloring. She caught me trying to pull a couch we had back then over it. She says every time she looks at it it makes her laugh."

Abruptly, Castiel reached out and put a hand over Dean's. The other man started, surprised at just how real that hand felt. Were these dreams ever going to stop surprising him? Were they ever going to stop at all?

"Dean..." Castiel glanced towards the trees, towards the river, then back to Dean. "Keep Sam close. And if you see a man with yellow eyes, run. Run like both your lives depend on it."

"Dean! Wake up!"

A sudden impact with his chest made Dean's eyes snap open as a gasp was forced passed his lips. Sam was leaning over him, grinning, though he quickly backed away when he saw Dean was awake.

"Did you just hit me?" Dean sat up and rubbed at his chest, which was throbbing a little. Not that he would admit that out loud.

"You wouldn't wake up," Sam said with a shrug. "And you kept mumbling something about a 'Cas.' And the Impala."

"Yeah? Don't remember," Dean said dismissively, though he felt horrible the moment he said it. He hated lying to Sammy. "What time is it?"

Sam checked his watch. "Two. Should we go back?"

"Nah, lets go for a swim." Dean stood up and yanked his shirt over his head without waiting for an answer. He'd thought he'd accepted these dreams but the details of Castiel's story about the food coloring, the emotion, even the strangely vivid feel of his hand, had coaxed the disturbed sensation back to life. Maybe a swim would help distract him.

... * ...

When Castiel awoke his headache had eased somewhat. He'd thought it would be alright earlier but when he'd finally managed to get off the kitchen floor it had returned with a vengeance. He glanced at the clock; just after two.

Sitting up, Castiel released a quiet groan as his stiff neck protested the movement. A bean bag was not a good place to sleep. Particularly not for a grown man who couldn't fully fit into said bean bag. The half blood reached up to rub the back of his neck as he pushed himself to his feet and headed towards the kitchen. Then, half way there, he changed his mind and instead turned towards the front door. A walk would do him some good right then, he thought. Maybe help to clear his mind.

The front lawn of the rental was rather depressing. When Castiel had first moved in it had been nothing but dirt. Now, a few sparse patches of brown grass grew around the three steps but it only made it seem even more depressing. Many of the surrounding houses were similar but Castiel ignored the dead yards and headed behind his house, where the city ended. Then he stopped, glanced around him to make sure no one was watching and disappeared.

When he reappeared he was standing at the edge of the river that Dean had subconsciously found on their first meeting. Angels were able to instantly transport themselves wherever they wished but Castiel, being half human, was limited to places he had seen and, unfortunately, dreams did not count. Still, he had seen a fair amount of places and this was one of his favorite escapes. He suddenly chuckled to himself for thinking of this as a 'walk.' A walk usually included actually moving your feet more than six or seven steps.

A swim, then, he thought. It was the perfect day for it and swimming helped him think.

Casting another glance around to again assure himself that he was alone, Castiel threw off his clothes and waded into the slow moving water near the edge of the river. He stood there a moment, enjoying the coolness against his legs and feet, before he dove forward into the deeper water. The current here was strong but not so strong that Castiel couldn't swim against it and that was exactly what he did, until his arms and legs began to burn. Only then did he return to the shallows, lying on his back, ignoring the few rocks that poked into his skin.

His Father had answered one question for him. Dean was his soulmate. It made sense that he had been able to sense him, since a Cherub's powers were focused on love. It also made sense that Dean hadn't been able to feel Castiel, because humans rarely consciously felt the pull to their soulmates. More often than not they weren't even meant to be with their soulmates until a different life. Castiel didn't believe that to be the case here. Particularly not after seeing Dean's brother.

Sam. A name to go with the face he'd been seeing. It couldn't be coincidence. Castiel didn't believe in coincidence.

He had to find out where Dean lived. Nothing he'd seen yet had been conclusive and he didn't know if Dean would answer him if he asked outright. He could see Dean's growing disturbance and it bothered him. He didn't want Dean to be afraid of him or disturbed by him, yet he didn't know how to explain it without making it worse. How did you explain to a human that you could leap into a person's dreams because you were half Angel? How did you explain to a straight man that you were his soulmate? How did you explain to a big brother that his beloved baby brother had demon blood in him?

His head hurt again.

The sun was dipping into mid evening when Castiel finally crawled out of the water. He didn't bother to put his clothes back on, he just gathered them up and reappeared back inside his house. As he dropped his clothes onto the kitchen table he wondered vaguely why he'd bothered to go outside at all earlier. Maybe so he could tell himself he'd actually walked? He laughed out loud, just because he felt silly right then, and dug his boxers out of the pile of clothes. Then he threw them back down and headed upstairs for a shower. There was no one here and if his Mother chose to walk in without knocking again then it would be her own fault!

Castiel was half way up the stairs when he heard a slight rustling, like a bird taking to the air. Arms wrapped around him from behind and the next thing he knew he was standing in what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse. His clothes had mysteriously reappeared.

"Dad?" Castiel knew it was him, even though he couldn't see him.

"Sh!" The arms slipped away from him and Castiel felt suddenly afraid. He'd known it was his father's arms around him on the stairs but now, with the strange location and the silence from the usually chatty Cherub, the half blood knew something was wrong. Still, he stayed silent as he turned to find Amor, his dark brown hair a mess, the blue eyes that Castiel had inherited wide with fear. He was fully clothed in a pair of jeans and a black tee, which told Castiel that something wasn't wrong. It was disastrous.

"Okay, I think we're clear." Amor strode back to his son and hugged him, desperately. Castiel hugged him back, though his fear only increased.

"What is it?" He asked quietly. The sense of unease gave him an intent need to keep his voice down.

"Someone was waiting for you in your room," Amor said quickly. "An Angel called Uriel. He's..." Amor made pointless gestures with his hands, a sign he didn't know what to say. "He's...not so good. He does horrible things in the name of Heaven."

"What did he want with me?" So his Mother had been right. They had found him.

"Oh no, they found you ages ago," Amor replied immediately to the thought. "Some of them weren't too happy but others...well, they seemed to think it was a good thing. And I don't know. But it has to do with those children, the ones Azazael corrupted. And possibly Dean. You need to find him."

"Why?"

"Because they don't want you to." Amor suddenly froze. His eyes darted around wildly before he suddenly reached out and slammed a hand over Castiel's chest. There was a flare of white light and a brief, sharp pain that made Castiel bite his lip to keep from crying out. Then it was gone.

"They can't find you now, unless they actually physically see you," Amor said, even more quickly than before. "Do this to Dean when you find him. I can't explain how, you'll just know. Remember, soulmates are powerful even if they're apart, but together they can change destiny." He glanced around again, the fear in his eyes spiking. "Don't go home!"

Then he vanished.

Castiel held still for all of ten seconds. Then he ran. He ran as fast as his legs would carry him, out the door that was hanging half off it's hinges, across cracked pavement that had once been a parking lot. As he ran he wished briefly that Cherubs could find anyone, not just the people they were meant to mark, because it would have made finding Dean so much easier. Then he thought of nothing but getting as far from the warehouse as he possibly could before his legs gave out.

When Castiel finally collapsed he was just off the road, hidden in the trees to be safe, facing a sign big green road sign that read:

Topeka 87 miles

Lawrence 118 miles

Without really knowing why, Castiel stared for some time at the sign. Most of the places he could transport himself to were too close to home. A few were a good fifty miles away but he didn't want to risk it. If an Angel was looking for him they would have eyes in more places than his home. He didn't know what Uriel looked like, or any other Angels that he might have helping him, for that matter, so he didn't want to risk trying to hitch a ride.

"Guess I'm really going for a walk now," Castiel muttered to himself.

One of the city name's looked familiar. Lawrence. It was only twenty miles from Baldwin City, where he lived. Topeka was closer but the more he stared at the sign the more he felt he should go the extra mile...or thirty one miles...to Lawrence. Everything about it just seemed right and Castiel never ignored his instincts.

Staying inside the trees, Castiel began to walk, trying not to let himself think about just how far he had to go. In a car, without delays, it would have taken nearly two hours just to get to the closest city. On foot? He didn't even want to contemplate it. He would just keep going until it started to get dark, then try to find somewhere to sleep. Preferably not out in the open like this, though he knew he could if he had to. His powers would, at least, help keep away wild animals.

It was nearly nightfall and he was accepting the fact that he would be sleeping outside when the most obvious thought hit him.

What if Dean lived in Lawrence?

... * ...

I actually looked up the distances for Topeka and Lawrence on map quest. lol. I think I used Abilene to judge those distances. Reviews make my day! *hopeful look* ^_^
- 1
- 2
- 3
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

The Keys to Destiny