Summary: Cas is still getting used to being human, and doesnât understand how to âproperly sleepâ. He keeps seeing bad things and Dean gets concerned. He tries to help in anyway he can, and turns to Maryâs old techniques for help. Cue protective hand holding and Dean singing.
Warnings: nightmares/night terrors, descriptions of violence, taunting
A/N: I got this idea while listening to Jensen singing on Jason Mannsâ album Covers With Friends, (amazing album you should check it out) and I decided to write this instead of doing my homework. So I hope you like it considering itâll be the cause of me failing all my classes. Enjoy!!
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Castiel had gotten used to being human. Mostly. Heâs used to eating, and peeing, and swearing under his breath (or very loudly) when he accidentally smashes his hip into the side of the counter that heâs convinced moves out into the walkway more and more each day. But the one thing he canât get used to, is sleep.
Sleep to him is an illusion, so contradictory to what people describe it as. A relief, a reprieve from the worlds troubles. A time to recharge. Peace. But Cas doesnât see it. He watches Sam and Dean fall asleep on the couch and not wake up until the next morning, unmoving and gently breathing. Their worried expressions fading away briefly before they awaken and the constant furrow of their brows returns. Cas had looked up articles, researched techniques on how the hell to sleep, and heâs tried everything from warm milk to progressive muscle relaxation, which he just found weird frankly, and the warm milk did not sit in his stomach well. He was about to give up on trying honestly, he was at the point where his technique was to just stare at the ceiling until his body decided to work correctly and fall asleep. But even when he manages to drift under, he can never achieve that bliss of nothingness like the humans describe in such a positive light. Because heâll close his eyes and heâll see them. See his brothers and sisters and all the humans heâs ever slaughtered, or who died because of him, whether it was for the greater good, or to protect himself or Sam and Dean, or from his time as âGodâ.
It was strange, and he didnât know what it was. Sam never told him about this part of sleeping, just told him about the black, the nothing, the peace. Didnât tell him about the scenes replaying in his mind, terrifying him and making him jolt awake, soaked in sweat and breathing heavy. He was so confused. He thought maybe some part of his grace was still there, but the bad part. The part that was screaming at him through the voice of a sister over and over, âyouâve fallen in every way imagineable castiel, youâre gone, look what youâve doneâ. The part that was punishing him for not fulfilling his role, not playing by the rules.
One day he grabbed Samâs laptop and googled âpictures while you sleepâ. Everything that popped up talked about âdreamsâ. Castiel knew what dreams were, Sam and Dean talked about them like they were everything theyâve ever wanted, and everything theyâll never achieve. But they were positive, happy. He knew Samâs dream was to go to college, marry Jess. Deanâs was to have a family again. And yes, granted these didnât happen, but they were happy. They were things that Cas would be quite content to see in his sleep, the Winchesters happy. Itâs been much too long.
After more looking, Cas determined that what he saw was definitely not a dream. So he tweaked his search. âBad pictures while you sleepâ. A link popped up talking about something called a ânightmareâ. He clicked it and read the definition. âA frightening or unpleasant dream, a terrifying or very unpleasant experience or prospect.â Well, that seems about accurate.
Cas searches for ways to get rid of them but canât find anything that he hasnât already tried to simply fall asleep. He glances at the clock in the corner of the screen. 12:37. He should really try and sleep again, as much as he doesnât want to. He walks down the hall and slips into bed. After many hours, he drifts off, hoping and praying he can get through the night without waking up with his blood laced with fear.
To no avail. He feels a presence beside him. He hears the faint call of his name but he canât talk back.
âCas! Cas! Wake up Cas cmonâ
Itâs Dean. Cas tries to wake up, he tries to respond, but he canât. Heâs stuck. The people have his arms and are pulling him back into the dark, into his nightmare. He feels his breathing speed up and he can hear Dean calling his name more frantically and shaking him. Cas wants so desperately to tell Dean whatâs wrong, why he canât wake up, but heâs trapped, being beaten down by everyone, screaming at him, about how heâs a failure. Then suddenly, heâs awake. He jolts up, breathing erratic and hands shaking. He sees Dean sitting there with concern flashing alarmingly in his eyes, the permanent furrow in his brow even more pronounced. He glances down and sees Deanâs hand on his cheek, as if trying to protect him from the horrors behind Casâs eyes. When Dean sees Cas looking though, he quickly removes it.
âCas man, are you okay? What the hell happened??â
Cas takes a deep breath in.
âIt seems Iâve once again failed to sleep properly.â
Dean looks confused, so Cas tries to explain.
âI researched earlier, âpictures while you sleepâ and found dreams, but the description of dreams were too pleasant, so I then searched, 'bad pictures while you sleepâ. I found out that what Iâm having every night is a nightmare.â
Dean eyebrows shoot up. âThis is happening every night?? Why didnât you tell one of us?â
Cas shrugged. âI assumed I just wasnât doing it correctly. While Iâm mostly adjusted to human conditions, sleep has always puzzled me.â
Dean just stared at him for a few moments. âIâm sorry man, I shouldâve realized. Did you look up ways to get rid of them?â
Cas nodded. âNothing I havenât tried before.â
Deanâs face changed, almost like he was contemplating something, then said, âyou know, when I was little and I had nightmares, my mom would lay in bed with me until I fell asleep, and after a while I didnât have them anymore. Well, you know before, that, but anyway. Iâm not saying I would sleep in the bed with you, but I could drag in the couch and just be in the room? It might help, and I could at least be in here to wake you up and pull you out of them so you donât have to go through it on your own. I know I did that for Sammy a lot growing up.â Dean gave a hesitant smile.
Cas smiled weakly in return, âare you sure? I wouldnât want to inconvenience you.â
Dean chuckled. âDonât worry about me Cas, Iâm fine. Letâs worry about you yeah?â
Cas nodded slightly.
âGoodâ Dean said, as he patted Cas on the shoulder and walked out of the room.
By nightfall, Dean had dragged the couch from the living room into Casâs room. He tossed a couple pillows from his own room onto the couch and spread a blanket over it. Cas looks hesitantly at the bed, praying that this works. The nightmares are really starting to get to him.
Dean walks in to see Cas staring pensively at the mattress and sighs.
âIf you really donât wanna do it, we can just have a movie night, no promises Iâll stay awake though.â
Cas shook his head. âNo, I canât just not sleep. I need a solution.â With that, Dean nods and flips off the light switch and crawls under the blanket.
âGoodnight Casâ he says with a yawn.
âGoodnight Deanâ
Castiel opens his eyes and he sees black. Heâs not in a room. Heâs just surrounded by darkness. Though he himself, is light. He sees someone materialize in the distance. He canât tell who it is, but they look angry. They come closer and Cas realizes itâs another angel, Hester.
âHello Castiel.â Hester snaps.
Cas doesnât respond.
âDo you realize what youâve done Castiel? Do you realize what all these angels and all these humans have in common?â
Cas looks around and sees thousands upon thousands of souls, all dead, because of him.
âHester please, Iâm sorry.â
âSorry doesnât bring people back Castiel! Sorry is what you tell two
children to say to each other when theyâre arguing and you want them to be quiet! Do you even care, that this is all your fault?â
âOf course, of course I care Iâm sorryâ
âStop apologizing.â Hester interjects. âNo amount of apologies are going to save you from thousands of vengeful souls. You have fallen in every way imaginable Castiel. And now, youâre going to pay.â
Castiel tries to back away, he tries to run. He tries to move his arms and hit them, push them away from him. But he canât. Heâs frozen in place and thousands of people are approaching him, preparing for their turn at revenge.
âHester please, please Iâm sorry.â
Hester grins maliciously and steps up to him. He hears a swish sound and looks down to see the angel blade she dropped into her hand from her sleeve. She throws him backwards and he crashes into something solid, but thereâs nothing there. Itâs still just darkness. She starts by trailing the tip of the blade across his throat, but not applying enough pressure to make a cut. She taps his chest and heâs pinned against, nothing. But he canât move.
Hester rips open his shirt and stabs him through the heart. Cas screams out in pain but he doesnât die. He canât die. He never dies he just has to endure torture after torture from EVERY soul heâs damned. Hester starts carving something into his chest. He clenches his teeth in pain and digs his fingernails into his palms, making them bleed. She keeps carving, and Cas keeps screaming.
Then she stops, and itâs like a camera pans back and Cas can see himself, bloody and beaten, pinned in a crucifixion stance, with the word âFALLENâ engraved into his flesh.
Hester laughs and her hands fly up. Thousands of people come rushing towards him wielding every weapon you can think of and more. They beat him, strangle him, carve out more words into his flesh. And Cas screams. He screams for them to stop and he screams apologies and he screams that he canât breathe and please please youâre killing me youâre suffocating me please Iâm sorry
But possibly worse than the torture, is the face of Dean clearer than day, thrusting a blade through his heart, repeating Casâs words. âIâm sorryâŚ.. Iâm sorryâŚâŚâ
âCASâ
Cas jerks awake and sits up abruptly, feeling Dean remove his hand from his cheek as he does. His chest is heaving and his lip is bleeding and there are tears rolling down his face. Thereâs a sheen of sweat on his body and he feels like heâs burning up. He looks at Dean as the tears spill out of his eyes uncontrollably.
âCas I couldnât wake you up, you, you wouldnât wake up what happened.â
Cas inhaled shakily and looked down at his trembling hands.
âY-You were th-there Dean. You were there I saw you you were hurting me you-â
âWhoa Cas slow down. I was hurting you? Start from the beginning tell me what happened.â
Cas wrings his hands together as he tells Dean his nightmare. From the darkness, to Hester appearing, to the rejected apologies, to all the souls he hurt, and the torture, and the carving and the way that Dean looked at him as he shoved a blade through his chest. And Dean listened. He listened with sadness overtaking his face and guilt weighing down his body.
âCas, I donât know what to say, thatâs awful.â
Cas nods and sniffles, then looks up at Dean through wet lashes.
âItâs okayâ he whispers. But obviously, he wasnât okay.
They keep going like this for a few nights, then, one night, Cas says something without thinking.
âMaybe it didnât work because you were too far away.â Cas says in a voice barely above a whisper.
âHuh?â Dean asks, not being able to hear him.
âI said, maybe it didnât work because you were too far away. I always feel really alone in the nightmares, so maybe if I wasnât alone it would help. I guess my subconscious doesnât pick up on you across the room on the couch.â Cas said with a slight smile.
Dena chuckled. âI suppose not.â He responded in a quiet voice. âSo, what, you want me to sleep in the bed?â Dean asks.
Cas shrugs shyly. âIt might help.â He whispers.
Dean smiles. âAnything to help you Cas.â
The next day Dean drags the couch out of the room. Cas is slightly nervous about sharing a bed with Dean, mainly because what he really wanted to do was cuddle up to him and bury his face in Deanâs chest, not ask him how heâd like to separate the two of them.
Dean walks into the room wearing a tshirt and lounge pants, Cas slightly disappointed that he ditched his usual attire of only boxers. But then again, the point of this was for Cas to be able to sleep through the night, and that would be almost impossible if he was sleeping next to a shirtless Dean, who he would much rather make out with than awkwardly share a bed with.
âSo do you want to put a pillow between us or?â Cas asks hesitantly.
Dean rubs the back of his neck, and almost looks like heâs searching for an excuse.
âNah, we donât have to. The bed isnât very big and I shift a lot so Iâd probably just end up chucking it onto the floor five minutes after I fall asleep.â Dean says sheepishly.
Cas nods and swallows. He was kind of relying on that to help resist the urge to roll over and cuddle the hell out of Dean, but heâll have to deal.
Cas climbs into bed and Dean switches off the light, climbing into the opposite side. Dean studies Casâs face for a moment, then smiles gently and says, âgoodnight Casâ, as he rolls over and goes to sleep. After a few minutes, Cas can hear even breathing and gentle snores coming from Dean, and he lets the soft noises lull him to sleep.
Heâs back in the darkness. Hester is standing in front of him and she starts throwing punches. She pins him against the nothingness and carves into his flesh. He feels himself burning up and on the verge of passing out but he never gets that luxury, has to stay conscious and scream through the pain. He gets thrown to the ground and the souls approach him. Theyâre red hot, furious, spiteful. They wail on him, beat him til their fists are raw and far beyond. But Dean isnât above Cas, torturing him like he has been. Cas doesnât even see him until he gets one particularly hard punch to the temple, causing his head to swing to the side and lull there for a few moments before he opens his eyes. And there Dean is. Laying there taking the torture just like Cas is. The only difference, the words carved into him are things like âbrokenâ, âburdenâ, and âfailureâ. Deanâs eyes meet his and they whisper to each other, âIâm sorryâŚ.Iâm sorryâŚ..Iâm sorryâŚ..â
Cas jerks awake, face flush and breathing heavy, tears pooling in his eyes. Deanâs hand is on his face again, but this time he doesnât move it. He lets it rest there, wiping away a few tears that slip, and rubbing his thumb along Casâs cheek. His other hand is clasped tightly around Casâs. The room is dark but Cas can still see the pattern of their fingers laced together, and it helps him calm down. Dean removes his hand from Casâs cheek and starts to untangle their fingers, but Cas holds on tighter and whispers, âdonât, please, I need to know youâre okay.â
Dean looks puzzled, so Cas inhales shakily and tells Dean about the beatings, how he looked over and saw Dean next to him, how he watched people carve into his chest. But he left out what the carvings were. Deanâs self esteem wasnât great as it is, and Cas didnât want to risk lowering it.
Dean rubs his thumb across the back of Casâs hand as he recounts his nightmare, and keeps going when heâs finished. Itâs almost like heâs scared to let go, like he thinks that heâs the only thing holding fragile little Cas together. And in the moment, Cas kind of agreed.
Apparently, Dean believed it a whole lot more than Cas thought. Now every night Dean would hold Casâs hand as he fell asleep, and it was actually helping a little. Dean wasnât getting beaten in the dreams anymore, just standing off to the side looking helpless. And the carvings were getting better. They were still happening, but they werenât words, just random cuts in the most painful places. But the taunting was still there, instilling in Casâs mind that he had fallen, maybe even more effective than carving it into his very flesh, was whispering it accusingly in his ear, with a tone so vengeful that it made Cas feel like he had caused all the problems that have ever occurred on earth and in heaven.
And if that was their goal, they were sure achieving it.
Dean was stepping up. He no longer just held Casâs hand anymore, he now wrapped his arm around Casâs shoulders and pulled him close so he could lay his head on his chest. But he still weaved their fingers together every night, as though their locked fingers were the stitches holding together Casâs very soul.
The darkness overwhelms Castiel. Itâs eternal, no end in sight. And yet, the souls come from somewhere. The souls who are beating him down with their voices. The souls who taunt and scream at him until he collapses with his hands over his ears and screams back to try and drown out the vicious words. Heâs on his knees, pinned to the floor. He can hear Hesterâs voice âyouâve fallen Castiel, in every way imaginable, your fault, your fault, your faultâ
Cas screams back âno no no no noâ in a desperate attempt to make them stop. But then a voice reaches out over the others, and the damned souls hush, allowing Cas to listen to the new voice, Deanâs voice. âCas, pleaseâ he says. Cas looks up and sees Dean broken and bloody in front of him, curled up on his side on the verge of death. All Cas needs to do is reach out, touch him, heal him. But heâs stuck. Stuck within these invisible walls of darkness blocking him from doing anything. And all he can say is, âIâm sorryâŚ..Iâm sorryâŚ..Iâm sorryâŚ.â
This time, Cas does not jolt awake. He slowly awakens, as he feels himself sobbing, to a much calmer voice, shushing him and lulling him, telling him that everythingâs okay, that heâs okay. Dean. Safe Dean. Dean who doesnât need to be saved. Dean who he can touch.
He reaches out a trembling hand, and places his fingertips on Deanâs cheek, Dean smiling as he does. Cas drops his hand and lets out another sob, his chest heaving as he drains himself of tears.
Dean continues to stroke his back and calm him, never unlacing their fingers. Itâs becoming somewhat of a security blanket to Dean now as well as Cas. Cas looks up at Dean and beckons him to lay down. Dean does, and Cas lifts their melded hands above their heads and takes his other arm and wraps it around Dean, sobbing into his chest and saying heâs sorry, heâs so sorry, as Dean quiets him and tells him that itâs okay, he did nothing wrong, while resuming rubbing Casâs back.
It took awhile before Cas could tell Dean what had happened. He would finally be okay and then he would look up at Dean and see him covered in bruises and cuts, on the verge of death, and desperate for Casâs help that he couldnât give. But eventually, Cas spit out the words and Dean buried his face in Casâs neck and hugged him and told him that heâs okay and heâs going to be okay and donât worry baby weâre both gonna be okay. The baby just slipped out but neither of them seemed to notice, or care. They just lay there, bodies pressed together, fresh tears brimming in both of their eyes but not wanting to surrender and let them fall. They cling to each other, practically forcing themselves to stay in reality, the reality where theyâre both here, safe, tangled up in bed together.
Cas is still a bit shaken by the dream of last night when it was time for them to go to sleep again. He laid next to Dean, hands held together and hearts anxiously beating, hoping for the best, but expecting the worst.
âDean?â Cas whispered.
âYeah?â Dean answers.
âWhat exactly did your mother do when you were having nightmares?â
Dean furrows his brow. âShe did this Cas, what do you mean?â
Cas sits up and faces Dean.
âNo, I want you to do exactly what she did. Down to the sides of the bed you were on and the way she stroked your hair. Do that to me. Please. Yours went away, I need mine to.â
Dean shifted slightly, hesitant to respond but then says, âwell, she used to have me curl up on her chest, my head in the crook of her neck and my body diagonal across hers. And she would wrap her arm around me and I would hold her thumb because my hand wasnât big enough to hold hers. And then, sheâd um, sheâd sing to me.â Dean finishes the sentence quietly.
âWhat did she sing to you?â Cas asks with a soft voice.
Dean smiles, remembering the song, âHey Jude. It was her favorite. It helped me fall asleep, and made the screams stop. They were replaced by her voice, comforting me.â
âDeanâ Cas whispers
âYes?â
âWould you sing to me?â
Dean smiles. âOf course Cas.â He leans down and gently presses his lips against Casâs, and Cas flutters his eyes closed and melts into the kiss. Dean pulls away and smiles, and helps Cas get settled onto his chest. He takes a deep breath, and the room begins to fill with his deep, soothing voice, singing the words,
Hey Jude, donât make it bad
Take a sad song and make it better
Remember to let her into your heart
Then you can start to make it better
Hey Jude, donât be afraid
You were made to go out and get her
The minute you let her under your skin
Then you begin to make it better
And anytime you feel the pain, hey Jude, refrain
Donât carry the world upon your shoulders
For well you know that itâs a fool who plays it cool
Dean continues the song, even past when he feels Casâs breathing even out and knows heâs asleep. He imagines his voice as his mothers, and he smiles. He smiles because she was beautiful, kind, good. And yes, she was taken too early, but she made the world better in her short time.
The darkness is still here, but Cas isnât scared. He doesnât feel, anything. He feels empty, like the nothingness of the space is seeping into him. And itâs quiet, so quiet. No screaming, no taunting, no words. Itâs silent, apart from footsteps coming from behind him. He turns, and sees Dean approaching him, face free of bruises and a faint smile on his lips.
He reaches Castiel and lays down next to him, both suspended in the darkness and staring up into it. Dean moves his hand from his stomach where itâs laying and entwines his fingers with Casâs. They both just stare, stare into the place where nothing meets nothing, where all there is is darkness and blank space. And they lay, silent, peaceful. Cas finally found the peace. And neither of them once, utter the words âIâm sorryâŚâ
Cas slowly opens his eyes, blinking in the sudden brightness of the room. His legs are tangled in the blankets and one hand is still wrapped tightly around Deanâs, the other resting calmly on his chest. He sits up and tries to make sense of what happened. He was there. In the darkness, but he was safe. He wasnât scared. And Dean was there, and he was okay. And they just held hands and stared at nothing and had nothing to say sorry for. He smiles widely and rests his head in his free hand. He hears a groan come from beside him and sees Dean slowly waking up. Before he could process his thoughts, he disconnects their hands, places both of his on Deanâs cheeks, and smashes their lips together.
Dean is startled, but responds quickly. He kisses back, and itâs urgent but gentle. They savor the taste of each other until Dean feels a drop of water land on his cheek and he pulls away.
âCas? Are you okay? Did I hurt you?â
Cas laughs and shakes his head, leaning in for another quick kiss before he wipes the tears away.
âNo, Dean, you did it. My nightmare, it, it didnât happen. I was there, in the darkness, but I wasnât scared. And you were there, but you were safe. And we just held hands and stared and that was it. There was no one else but us, no words, no sounds, no Iâm sorryâsâ
Deanâs concerned face quickly changes into an exuberant one. He sits up and pulls Cas in for another kiss, but it doesnât work very well considering they both have these stupid grins on their faces that they canât keep off.
But they kiss anyway. They kiss to make up for all the lost time they spent silently pining for each other, both too scared to make a move. They kiss to drive away the bad memories of the weeks past and to savor this one. They kiss to thank each other for not leaving, not giving up. And they kiss because they want to, because they can, because thereâs no invisible barrier separating them and theyâre safe and they arenât scared.
And for every night after that, they sleep in that bed together. Fingers and legs intertwined. And Dean sings, and Cas sleeps. He dreams of Dean and Mary and Sam and the good times he had with his brothers and sisters. And he dreams of The Beatles. Dreams of him and Dean going to a concert together and Dean singing in his ear as they sway along to the beat. And after weeks of waking up screaming, sobbing, and sweating, Cas finally, finally has the pretty pictures while he sleeps.