Standing Together

Chapter 34

"Hi, Princess!" Castiel says with a grin. He crouches down, and almost instantly, the cat is by his side. He runs a hand down her body repeatedly, listening to the sounds of her content purrs.

Dean steps into the room, and his eyes light up at the sight of the cat. "She's so cute!"

"Sit with me," Castiel says. "One of the cats will let you pet them."

Dean sits down obediently, and a small black cat walks up to him. She rubs against him, her purrs almost harmonizing with Princess'.

"God, cats are the best," Dean says.

"And dogs," Castiel adds, just as a familiar golden retriever runs up to him, licking his face. Castiel laughs. "Hey, Misha! Long time, no see, huh, buddy?"

Misha's only response is his panting. He stretches his front legs out in front of him, then plops down on the floor by his owner's side. Castiel scratches behind his nonexistent ear with one hand, petting Princess with the other. Dean watches with a fond smile, enjoying his private time with his own cat.

Another kitten runs over to them, but instead of trying to befriend the humans, it jumps on Misha's back. Misha doesn't complain, almost seeming to smile instead. Another small cat jumps on him, rubbing their heads together, and Castiel takes his hand away before he accidentally takes the kitten with him.

More and more cats come to join them, and soon, they must be surrounded by at least 200 of them. Castiel looks over and Dean, who just laughs, making Castiel laugh, too.

"This is so much fun!" Dean says with a grin.

"It really is," Castiel agrees. He ducks his head to meet Misha's gaze. "Yes, it is a lot of fun, isn't it? Huh?" Castiel scratches underneath his chin, and he lifts his head up to make it easier on the boy.

"I can't believe you didn't invite me!" Charlie says, acting much more offended than she really is. The cats clear a path for her, and she walks over to the two boys, sitting down with them. Almost instantly, a small tabby cat crawls into her lap, and Charlie doesn't hesitate to pet her, just how the cat wanted.

"I'm sorry," Castiel says sympathetically. "I should have told everyone. You're more than welcome to stay, though."

"You couldn't get rid of me even if you tried," Charlie says teasingly.

A blue Persian cat crawls up her body, not stopping until he's on her head. Charlie just laughs. "Look, I have a hat!"

"I want a hat!" Lucifer says, running over to the three of them.

He sits down quickly and pats his head, gesturing for a cat to sit there. He gets a small black cat, which isn't anywhere near as fluffy as Charlie's, but it doesn't seem to phase him.

"Look, I have a cat hat!" Lucifer says excitedly. "A cattity hattity! I'm gonna start selling cattity hattities. I think it's gonna be the next big thing."

"You better make kids sizes," Charlie says. "I think Alex wants a cattity hattity too."

Alex crawls in between the four of them, disrupting their perfect circle, but none of them mind. She reaches for one of the cats, pulling its tail instead of petting it, but the cat just purrs.

"No, cattity hattities are for adults only," Lucifer says. "Babies can have..." He pulls Mark out from behind him. "Guinea pig wigs!" He gently places the animal on Alex's head, and the baby just laughs.

"Shouldn't it be guinea piggity wiggities?" Dean asks.

Lucifer gasps dramatically. "How dare you insult my beautiful creation?"

Bang!

All Castiel sees is fire — fire surrounding the cats; fire engulfing his dog; fire burning his friends — and the only one who's okay, the only one who can just watch it all without feeling a thing, is Castiel.

He has no choice. He has to watch the fire, has to watch it consume everything in its way, until all that's left is Castiel, alone in the darkness.

Castiel sits up quickly, gasping for breath. It takes him a moment to remember where he is — in bed with Dean, safe and sound. He's fine. Everything's fine.

But he just can't convince himself that it's true; can't shake the feeling that there's something wrong. He buries his head in his hands, only the sounds of his heart pounding in his chest keeping it from complete silence.

The bed squeaks softly, and after a few seconds, Castiel feels an arm around his shoulders, and he knows Dean is right there, holding him close.

"Hey, you're okay," Dean coos. "I'm right here, okay, sweetie? You're okay."

Castiel sniffles and wipes the tears from his face — when did he start crying? — and rests his head against Dean's shoulder.

"Nightmare?" Dean guesses.

"Mm hmm," Castiel hums.

"Want to talk about it?"

Castiel shakes his head.

"Okay." Dean squeezes him in an awkward-but-reassuring side hug. "Are you good now?"

Castiel nods. "Yeah, I think so."

"Are you sure?" Dean asks skeptically, sensing the boy's uneasiness.

"No, I'm not," Castiel whispers, his voice cracking. He puts his head back in his hand, as if hiding his face will hide the fact that he's crying.

Dean holds him tighter, rubbing his back soothingly. "Hey, it's okay," he murmurs. "You're okay, Cas. If you wanna talk —"

"Mm-mm," Castiel hums, shaking his head slightly. He doesn't want to talk. He doesn't know what he wants, but talking is not part of it.

"That's fine," Dean says, but he clearly isn't sure what to do. There's not a whole lot that comes to mind when your boyfriend is crying and doesn't want to talk. After a pause, he begins singing, "I believe most people are good, and most mamas oughta qualify for sainthood. I believe most Friday nights look better under neon or stadium lights. I believe you love who you love —" Dean presses a kiss to the top of his head before continuing, "ain't nothing you should ever be ashamed of. I believe this world ain't half as bad as it looks. I believe most people are good."

Castiel sniffles and looks up at his fiancé. "I can't believe you're serenading me with country music. Again."

Dean chuckles. "Well, I do believe it's the surprise factor that —" He yawns, covering his mouth with his hand. "I was saying something. What was I saying?"

"Surprise factor," Castiel repeats.

"Right, it's the surprise factor that..." Dean pauses, then sighs. "Yeah, I completely forget where I was going with that, but it was probably something really witty and should make you happy anyway."

Castiel offers him a small smile for that.

"So, feeling a little better after my beautiful singing?" Dean asks.

Castiel nods.

"Good." Dean presses a kiss to the side of his head, a sweet end to their little moment. He glances at his alarm clock. "Well, by the time I fall back to sleep, I'm gonna have to wake up again for football, so I'm just gonna..." He sighs. "I don't know. I'm gonna take a cold shower and drink a couple cups of coffee or something." He gently brushes his thumb along his fiancé's cheek. "You should go back to bed."

Castiel hesitates, then nods. "Okay. Wake me up before you leave, though? I want to say goodbye."

"Of course." Dean gives him a quick kiss before crawling out of bed. "Sweet dreams, Cas."