if i'm going to scale the highest wall

[freewill]

Who: Castiel & Dean Winchester
Where: The Resistance hideout
When: September 2nd
Rating: PG-13 for Dean's language
Summary: It's about time for Castiel to get a look at the Resistance's secret hideout.
The Story:
It's been quiet. Too quiet.

People have been disappearing at a surprising rate, and while Castiel hasn't been here long enough (that he can remember) to know if that's normal, the general malaise that seems to have fallen upon the mansion speaks for itself. He's heard a few people mention disappearances on his phone, when he bothers to check it, though the only one that's personally affected him is Balthazar's.

But without much to do, he's been dwelling on it. More than he should. He's already discussed it with Gabriel, though he doesn't know that it helped either of them to talk about it. Castiel, against all reason, finds himself hoping that Balthazar will return. He has no idea if he can put things right, or if he even deserves to try, but...

Without any "event" to focus on, there's nowhere else to turn his attention. According to what he's been told, there should be one going on this weekend, and while he should be relieved for the lack of it, he's essentially left with nothing to do.

After he does his patrols for the fifth time that day, Castiel decides to fall back on his favorite pastime: dropping in on Dean. Ever since their conversation after Dean's death, Castiel's been keeping an extra-close eye on him. Not that there's been any real danger, but he's stubborn to a fault sometimes, and he'd made his point when they'd talked, which was that Dean could continue on in his reckless way, but Castiel would be there to see to it that he didn't get himself killed again.

So without any warning, there he is, appearing with a flutter of feathers in the middle of Dean's bedroom. This time, though, it isn't so much to check in on Dean. In all honesty, he's actually bored.

Comments

[freewill]

Castiel can barely believe what he's hearing. All of that time, all of that effort, all of that death endured to try and stop the Devil, and now Dean's saying that they should work together? Lucifer is hardly his brother anymore, either, and while he can understand the other angels referring to him as such, he doesn't appreciate it from Dean.

The soda can in his hand slams down onto the table as he stares in a mix of shock and anger at Dean. "Are you seriously suggesting that we allow Satan to be a part of our plans? Have you forgotten that he wanted to bring about the Apocalypse? Has it slipped your mind what he did to Sam?"

Lucifer is to blame for Sam ending up in that mental institute. Lucifer is to blame for Jo and Ellen's deaths. It could even be said that Lucifer is to blame for Heaven's decline, for his family falling apart, and Dean wants to work with him?

[righteously]

Feet drop away from the table as quickly as they'd gone up, his own soda still clutched in one hand as he gesticulates. "Hey, I'm not saying we give the guy a hug and a candy bar, I'm just saying he's got the kind of power we might need to get us out of here!"

It's said with a combination of defensiveness and rationality, and the can gets set down with a pointed thump. What he did to Sam is unforgivable, but he's trying to be tactical. What happened to Jo and Ellen was Meg's fault, and arguably? Cas is to blame for Sam ending up in that mental institute. Cas broke his wall. He shoves back from the table to rise to his feet and pace away. "And don't you dare accuse me of forgetting about what happened to Sam, because I sure as hell haven't, but if you wanna get out of here one day, it might not be in our best interest to fight more than one damn war while we're down here! You want him out, fine, he's out, but you didn't used to be so gung-ho about excluding him. Hell, you were drinking buddies with the guy. He was gonna help you remember after you left."

[freewill]

Castiel would have expected Dean to back down, at least when it comes to this, because it's his family they're talking about and that's always, always been a sore spot for more reasons than he can count.

But when does Dean ever back down? When does Dean ever resist the urge to butt heads with him? Never, that's the answer.

In some sense, Castiel can see the argument that Dean's trying to make. Yes, Lucifer is powerful, but if he could have gotten out of here, he would have done so already. Dean had taken issue with Castiel working with a demon, and now he wants to turn around and work with the Devil? Has he even talked to Sam about this? Castiel isn't talking about waging war with Lucifer, but he doesn't want him to be a part of their plans either. Not unless they have no choice.

But it's what Dean finishes up with that truly bowls Castiel over, and it takes almost all of the fire out of him as he tries to process that. It's not computing. Not even a little bit.

"... Drinking buddies?" he grates out. "What are you talking about?" Castiel can hardly bear being in Lucifer's presence, not when it brings back memories of hallucinations on top of their complicated set of similarities.

[righteously]

Dean's not saying they work with him, not in the sense that he gets a club badge and free coffee, just in the sense that they don't... you know, specifically include him. He's got the grand idea of all parties being in favor of getting the hell out of here, and if they're all on the same side- Lucifer included- well, things might just go a little bit easier. In his mind, it's decidedly not the same as signing a two for one special with Crowley. There's no gaining, no trust, no alliances, no deals. Just working with what they've got.

Besides, once they break out of here, Lucifer's going into a hole in the ground for all eternity.

He sets Cas with a look, something pointed. "Oh yeah. Not joking. You and Lucifer and a couple of your angel buddies had a real nice night together. You full-on hugged the guy, Cas, so don't get all judgemental with me for suggesting we don't box him out of the inzone when the time comes."

[freewill]

Is Dean lying? He must be lying, coming out with something completely ridiculous in order to make his point. Castiel can't picture himself giving Lucifer a hug no matter what the circumstances. Maybe if an event was to blame, but that doesn't count as far as he's concerned.

It's true that he did some strange things when he'd gotten drunk that one time, but he doesn't think he would ever go that far. And yet... apparently he had. Then again, at that point he'd been from a time when Lucifer hadn't been such a loaded subject.

"I have no interest in hugging him now," he huffs, shifting in his seat and then eventually standing to let off all the excess energy this discussion has dredged up. "He may not have any reason to do us harm here, but that doesn't mean we should offer him any trust." It will lead nowhere good. This is the Devil they're talking about. He doesn't see why it's so hard for Dean to wrap his head around that.

"If we're in a position where we absolutely have no choice but to ask him for help, then maybe. Otherwise he stays out of this." He's putting his foot down in this case.

[righteously]

"I never said we trust him," It's bitten out incredulously. He doesn't have much to say about the hugging, that was a fight from another time, a fight with a Cas who hadn't been through all the shit they'd been through together yet. It was in the past, and it was... well, it was admittedly weird, but whatever. He's focusing on the issue at hand. "You think I'm brain damaged? I'm just saying we use him."

Which... admittedly does sound a hell of a lot more like the Crowley situation there, but without the sneaking and the making stupid decisions with stupid consequences. "And when we do break out of here, he's getting shot back into the pit with Michael, so it's no harm no foul. Trust me, I'm not interested in being bunk buddies with the guy."

Some of the aggression in his tone eases back down to something calmer, something level and serious.

[freewill]

Dean's making some fair points, but Castiel can't shake the feeling that this is the same as playing with fire -- or worse, putting your hand into a pit of vipers.

"And what do you think would happen if the plan didn't work out and Lucifer realized that he'd been used?" One of them will pay for it, that's for certain, and it could very well be Dean. Castiel's been working to keep Dean safe, and allowing him to try and get the best of Lucifer is the equivalent of letting him set his head in place for the guillotine.

Maybe he's overreacted to some degree, but there's no denying that Dean has a suicidal streak and Castiel's been trying to keep an eye on that here. "... If you ever see fit to 'use' him, speak to me about it first." It's not an order, but it is a request, and one that he hopes Dean will agree to.