deancasbigbang:

Title: Green Corners
Author: rustling-pages
Artist: harplesscastiel
Rating: Teen
Pairings: Dean/Cas (past Dean/Lisa)
Wordcount: 75000
Warnings/Tags: Threat of Main Character Death, Elemental Magic AU, Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, Platonic Bedsharing, Grief and Hurt/Comfort, Familiars, Gardening with Magic, Myth Arc
Posting: 11/1/2018

Summary:

After the death of his son, there is nothing left for Dean other than his garden market. His days are tough, the nights are tougher, but at least there’s a reason to get up in the morning. And with the new boom on do-it-yourself garden magic, his business is going okay.

Amidst the passing of time, there is only one thing that distracts him from functioning like a normal human being: Diagonally across the street, in the display window of that traditional Herb and Potion shop, plants are dying in masses.

Storming in to confront the owner goes differently than he imagined, though. Castiel Novak may be the kind of guy who wears old-fashioned mage robes and keeps his shop in sweltering heat, but he’s also a talented herbalist, the kindest soul Dean has ever met, and utterly beautiful.

Not that Dean is ready for anything other than friendship.

(Not that Cas doesn’t get sick a bit too often.)

---

He opens a door and for a moment, Dean is almost blinded by the sudden intensity of green light after the dimness of the shop.

It’s a greenhouse.

Smaller than Deans’ more commercial collection of glass buildings, and indefinitely more art-nouveau, but definitely a well-maintained greenhouse.

“Step through, please.”

Dean is spurred back into action and stumbles the rest of the way inside, while Castiel carefully closes the door behind them. “To keep the bees out of the shop,” he explains with a fond twinkle in his eyes, as they follow one of them buzzing pleasantly past them.

Dean finds his voice long enough to say, “You have bees in a greenhouse.”

“They live in the garden, but I like to let them in occasionally.”

The pleasant humid warmth is a far cry from the bone-dry heat of the shop, but it does explain the fire. Dean’s best guess is a sort of hypocaust under the terra cotta floor.

The amount of plants in here is bordering on too many, but much like within the shop, it’s a well-maintained crowdedness. Row upon row of plants are anchored into pulley mechanisms, to easily select which flower bed one works on.

To call this greenhouse elegant would be an understatement.

“Shit, I’m such a douche. You’re a herbalist.”

“I am.”

But, “What’s with the plants in the display?”

Castiel looks down on the small pot he’s still carrying, and the sadness sitting in the crinkles of his eyes grows more pronounced.

“They’re the ones I can’t save.” And suddenly, Dean feels very small. “I do my best, but as you know, sometimes there is no cure and they waste away. My abilities allow me to feel which plants are beyond my help, even before they begin showing their disease.”

Dean nods numbly.

“So you put them into the window.”

“Yes. I figure the least I can do for them is make sure they are appreciated by someone other than me, if only for a short time.”

He smiles at the little Umbrian basil, and now that Dean knows the full story, he understands it’s the loving goodbye of a parent who needs to ease the passing. He feels almost sick, suddenly, thrown back to a hospital room and watching Lisa hold Ben’s hand as his heart stops beating.

“That’s…” He gulps down memories, pulls himself back into this healthy green world. “I’m honestly such an asshole.”

And Castiel lays a hand on Dean’s upper arm and very earnestly says, “You’re clearly very passionate about plants, Dean. I could never fault anyone for caring too much.”

And it just figures that the one guy Dean chooses to take out his own problems on is one of the kindest people he has ever met. And also has the most gorgeous eyes Dean has ever seen.

“What minerals are you putting into your soil?”, he asks to distract them both from whatever moment they just shared.

deancasbigbang:

Title: Take Care of You
Author: WaywardAF67
Artist: Pimentogirl
Rating: Explicit
Pairings: Dean/Castiel Sam/Original Female Character
Wordcount: 37000
Warnings/Tags: Canon Divergent, Fluff, Soulmates, retired hunters, smut, masturbation, vacation, feelings discovery
Posting: 11/2/2018

Summary:

After their first attempt at closing the gates of Hell failed, Sam and Dean moved on. With Kevin gone, all hope seemed to be lost, until Rowena found a spell that locked up Hell for good. Along the way, they met a feisty witch name Kori. Sam was instantly smitten.

Cas was called back to Heaven, leaving Dean wondering what life could be now that Hell was locked up tight. Though he isn’t gone long, Cas returns from Heaven both human and in search of his soulmate. Dean is shocked to learn soulmates even exist.

With the idea of retirement sounding more appealing, Dean decides to test the waters by planning a vacation. The four pack their bags, deciding to spend a well earned and long overdue relaxing week at the lake. It’s the rest Dean has always dreamed of, so why isn’t it as easy as he imagined?

Dean struggles with Cas’ decisions and ultimately makes a few choices of his own. Never ones to let destiny decide their fate Team Free Will take matters into their own hands. They seize the future they all deserve even if it’s not the future they ever saw coming.

---

Dean felt like a little kid walking down the dock. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been swimming in fresh open water. He teased Cas about needing floaties, but was not-so-secretly worried that his friend might really need them. Cas being human for one day had already been stressful for Dean. He imagined as long as the former angel was around, Dean would spend most of his time fussing over him. Cas had a tendency to say he knew how to do things, when he did not, in fact, know how to do them. He was too worried about burdening Sam or Dean to open up about the things he couldn’t do. Pretending to know how to make oatmeal and burning it was one thing, a lesson learned. But jumping into a lake without knowing how to stay afloat and risking his life was something completely different.

“Dean, I already told you, I know how to swim,” Cas assured him once they were halfway down the dock.

Dean froze, causing Cas to sidestep to avoid running into him. “I thought you couldn’t read minds?”
“I can’t,” Cas laughed. “I just know you well enough to know you are worrying unnecessarily.” Cad beamed at him before dropping his towel and popping open the lid of the sunscreen, pouring a generous amount in his palm.

“Fine, drown for all I care.” Dean gave Cas a cheeky wink before dropping his towel and running the remainder of the dock, cannonballing into the water once he reached the edge.

Cas laughed out loud at Dean’s antics. He rubbed the cream carelessly across his body and face. He was giggling before he shot down the dock, jumping in just close enough to make sure he splashed Dean in the face.

Dean coughed and spit out the water that got in his mouth from Cas’ version of a cannonball. He was thoroughly grossed out and plotting his revenge when he noticed Cas hadn’t surfaced. He instantly started to panic, thinking Cas really didn’t know how to swim. He was frantically looking around, but the water was too murky to see through.

He felt something wrap around his ankle and before he had time to figure out what was happening, he was pulled under. Fear clenched around his heart as he remembered the ghost from the haunted lake so many years before.

Of fucking course! We would have to vacation at a haunted lake. I’m never going to escape this shit. I just want a normal fucking life.

Dean hadn’t been pulled under very far, and only moments passed before broke the surface. Dean was slightly disoriented, but when he heard chuckling to his left, it dawned on him Cas was what pulled him under. He was so relieved that the lake wasn’t haunted and holding Cas hostage, that he actually laughed along with Cas.
He was still laughing when he paddled his way towards Cas, feral look in his eyes. Cas was going to pay.

deancasbigbang:

Title: Rescue Mission for Two
Author: Pherryt
Artist: Dogsled
Rating: Mature
Pairings: Destiel
Wordcount: 50000
Warnings/Tags: Fantasy au, soulmate au, creature fic, dragon!cas, brief non graphic torture scenes, first kiss, stubborn!cas, self sacrificing characters, bedsharing, hurt/comfort
Posting: 11/2/2018

Summary:

Castiel thinks he’s the last of his kind and doomed to live a life alone. He’s hiding in plain sight, as a human soldier in Angels Outfit, fighting alongside other companies – including Lord Winchesters renowned cavalry, the Silver Hooves – when his soul mark unbelievably flares to life.

Either he’s not the only Dragon to survive the war, or he’s bonded with a human. Before he can figure out which of his fellow soldiers it could be, he’s sent across into enemy territory on a rescue mission.

Lord Winchester’s eldest has been captured and last rumored to be in Alistair’s hands. Castiel can’t say no, but the clock is ticking and if he doesn’t find his soul mate, he will die.

---

The skirmish covered a fair amount of ground, so it took a bit of traveling to escape the prying eyes of anything on two legs. He took it at a light jog to leave the area more quickly and when, finally under the sparse cover of young trees, Castiel looked for a good spot before he took his pack off.

Amazingly, he found one nearly straight off, and with no one in sight, he wasted no time in stripping his clothes and stashing them in the bole of a tree. Now naked, Castiel picked the pack back up and shifted the makeshift strap around that Balthazar had helped him design. He slipped his arms through the straps, the pack sagging low against his back. Not ideal for a human but…

Within seconds, he’d shifted, his human body melting swiftly down into the compact version of his true form. Castiel took a few moments to stretch his legs, his blue black scales nearly invisible in the darkness, but his eyes glowing ethereally. His tail swished across the leaf strewn ground and he flexed the toes on all four feet, getting used to once more being himself again. He sighed in relief at the stretch of wings on his back.

He didn’t generally mind being human. But the one thing he truly missed was being able to fly, unfettered, free of worry, as high and as long as he wanted.

But that was no longer the world he lived in. Short, stolen flights were all that he could manage most times. It was one of the reasons he volunteered so often for the ‘suicidal’ missions. Sentries were literally not prepared for non-human intrusions, and Castiel could be very silent.

He snapped his wings back down to lay flush against his back and started running, the pack bouncing lightly, but not too awkwardly in the space between his wings. When he emerged from the young wood on the side closest to the Tenebrim camp, Castiel spread his wings and leapt, taking to the air.

The wind rushing past his face and ruffling through his feathers caused exultation to soar through him. He kept his mouth shut, however, smothering the happy sounds he wanted to make at feeling at home again.

The sky was littered with stars and for a few moments, he let his memories drift to happier times and just enjoyed the flight.

Soon enough – too soon – he got down to business, focusing forward and speeding through the air, his wings flapping swiftly as he climbed higher. He only wished he could have asked for something of Dean’s to aid his search. One sniff would have made a big difference.

Well, no use crying over things that couldn’t be helped.

First thing was first. Make his way over to the Tenebrim camp and ascertain if Dean was still there or not.