WHO: Castiel and Ruby WHAT: his last day as a human? WHEN: The day before the Lilith fight WHERE: various RATING: PG13 STATUS: COMPLETE
They had all reached the point where it was no longer a question of who had Ben, but where the demon bitch had him. The truth was Castiel felt somewhat helpless, the once awesome power he'd had as an angel gone now he was in his human form. It felt unnatural to him, to sit back and let others do the searching, but the bitter truth was he was pretty much useless these days.
Still, he would be there when they found her. With the gun John had trained him to use. And, in case he needed it, the Grace that would give him back the power, but cost him Ruby. He hated that thought. If he thought it would do any good he would pray to be allowed to remain human. but he doubted anyone truly listened to the prayers of the fallen.
So he went to meet Ruby, as she'd asked. To make sure the last resort was ready, just in case.
She sat looking at it, waiting for him to come meet her. The little blue vial on a chain that meant he would become 'hers' again. Would take him away from her. Muttering some utterly unwholesome latin under her breath she still was amused at the thought of angelic grace being protected by infernal magic. No one had suspected, because no one, not even Uriel would think Castiel would allow it, of course he hadn't known the level of protection she was giving the grace and it didn't seem to have harmed it any. Besides having met Lucifer, or an aspect of him anyway Ruby felt less bad about calling on that side of herself.
She was ready for the fight, she had told Sam she would follow him anywhere and she would. She believed in him, believed he was what Lilith feared he could be, believed he could, and more to the point someday would, change things in the Pit. But for now he would fight Lilith, alongside his brother, and they would win. They had to win.
Azazel's Boy King. Hers now, and still destined to lead, destined to change things, though she'd give him time after, let him be happy with Heather, he deserved it, they both deserved it. And with Lilith gone, it gave her breathing room. Gave her time to plan her next move.
She was still incanting in Latin but with that look in her eyes, the one Castiel always said she got when thinking about her ambtion, about Sam.
Castiel found her, seated with his Grace just in front of her and a look in her eyes which both amused him and on some level concerned him. He approached her from behind, softy kissing the back of her neck.
"You're thinking too much again," he murmured with a faint smirk. "Didn't we talk about you stopping that?"
It did worry him, sometimes. What her plans were, how far she would go to fulfill her ambitions, whatever they were. Honestly, he didn't want to ask. Sometimes he feared the answer. And besides, it wasn't relevant right now. All that mattered was killing Lilith and getting the children back unharmed. So he kept his questions to himself and just focused on sliding his arms around her waist, tugging her close to him.
She finished the incantation, feeling another level of the protection break, she wasn't done yet, not even close, few more layers of protection to go, she hadn't kidded around when he'd said keep it safe, but she would take a break. How could she not when he pulled her to him like that.
"We talked about me stopping, or...well actually you talked about it, Mostly I thought about fries" she told him with a smirk tilting her head up to kiss her fallen angel and wondering if he would still be that tomorrow. Either fallen, or hers.
"Its gonna be a while, thats some heavy magic keeping it safe. You sure you want to wait with me, I know you don't approve"
"You and your fries love," he teased with a grin. "You know, I almost get jealous over it all. You'd definitely choose fries over me, any day."
He responded to the kiss with a smile, inwardly wondering when the fact she was a demon had stopped being a big deal for him.
"I can wait. It may not be the sort of magic I was raised with, but I appreciate the intent behind it."
It was oddly perverse, using that sort of dark magic, cast by a demon no less, to protect angelic Grace. But still, he strangely liked it. And it had prevented Uriel from getting anywhere near it. He appreciated the effort Ruby went through for him, and the rest of the Winchesters too. He hoped he wouldn't have to walk away from this life he had built for himself.
Ruby laughed "I would you know. But at least you know that, It'll hurt less when it happens" she told him
She sometimes wondered if this was why Uriel hated her so much. Castiel, an angel since time began was human now, and accepting her demonic power as a way to protect his Grace, it should be wrong, should be abhorrant to him, but it wasn't.
"Next bit" she said softly pulling a knife from her pocket, not THE knife but just one of her nicer ones and sliced across her palm the blood dripping on the table where the grace lay as she muttered another few words in Latin, this time a dark smoke, not black, just, dark, fizzled for a moment before snaking around the demons head and vanishing.
This done she turned to him brightly.
"Now its just the blood of 3 virgins and we're good"
She waited a beat before laughing again.
"Kidding..." she admitted, beginning chanting again.
"I'm bracing myself for it as we speak," Castiel smirked dryly. "but don't think I'm giving up without a fight. How much would you still love fries if I stole all the ketchup?"
He watched as she continued the ritual, something that would have made him flinch mere months ago. As it was, all that concerned him was the cut on her hand and if she was ok. Strange how the world worked sometimes.
When she mentioned the blood, just for a split second he wondered if she was serious before rolling his eyes at her.
"Very funny."
Still, he was smirking, just slightly, in amusement as he sat back and let her finish.
This kept happening, people kept threatening to rid the world of ketchup just to spite her, or there was Heather with her freak concoction of basterdised ketchup. She didnt know which concept disturbed her more, ketchup gone, or replaced with something that WASN'T ketchup
"Why do people threaten ketchup?. What has ketchup ever done to you Castiel. I mean really"
She focused again and spent a few solid minutes breaking the final enchantments before reaching out to lift the grace from the table and stepping back and turning to Castiel, the chain between her fingers.
"...You sure this is how you wanna play it?" she asked in all seriousness.
"Because everyone knows the ketchup is your weak point," he laughed as he watched her finish up the spells and finally the Grace was free.
He watched it in her hand, not reaching for it, not yet.
"No," he half laughed. "I can't say that I'm sure, but I know what's at stake here." He dragged his eyes away from the pendant, so beautiful and deadly, to meet her gaze.
"This has to be available as an option if we need it."
Ruby shook her head, not happy with this, with any of it. "I get that it should be an option, but I just...I don't want you to. I don't want you to go back, and have her to turn around in a mood one day and tell you I have to die, or you do, or you can't ever see me, and you can't promise me she won't. Or that Uriel won't use you to get to me"
Ruby moved closer to him, eyes fixed on his and wrapped her arms around the fallen angel.
"Its selfish but it comes with the demonic teritory. I want you"
Castiel wanted to tell her it would be ok, that God would allow them to still be together or at the very least not come after her. But the truth was he couldn't promise any of it. All he could do was wrap his arms around her in return and kiss her slowly.
"I want you too."
And that would remain the truth, even if he was forced to take back his Grace.
"And I will do everything in my power to stay with you."
Ruby decided then and there even as the kiss grew more heated and she pressed the pendant back into Castiel's palm as she led him toward the bed they had been sharing that if he had to go back then she would give him incentive to find a reason to stay with her. And if not, something to remember her by.
"No one makes me feel like you do, no one" she told him "Like maybe I'm not all past redemption"
She dragged his free hand to her waist pulling it under her top.
"And you can't leave me completely. I'd miss tempting you far too much"
The feel of the pendant in his hand almost burned against Castiel's skin. With a mixture of hurrying and reverence he placed it next to the gun from John before focusing back on her, letting her lead him to the bed as he kept kissing her.
"You're not past all redemption," he half smirked. "You opened my eyes to a world I'd never imagined."
He slid his hand up under her top, gliding over her skin before tugging the top off altogether.