#fallen!cas

“Tell me something true.”

Cas thinks for a moment, then says, “The summer solstice isn’t really the longest day of the year. Every day is twenty four hours long. The solstice just has the most sunlight, so people say it’s the longest.”

Dean throws his head back as he laughs. “Very good, Cas. I already knew that, though. Also, it’s April.”

Tilting his head, Cas says, “Next time be more specific.”

. + . + . + .

“Tell me something true.”

“A snail can sleep for three years,” Cas says.

Dean makes an odd noise in his throat. “I have no idea how to respond to that.”

Cas shrugs. “No response is necessary. You asked for a fact, I relayed it.”

Shaking his head, Dean sighs. When Cas turns away, Dean smiles.

. + . + . + .

“Tell me something true.”

“There are 88 official constellations, but people have been telling stories about the stars since stories and stars began.”

Dean looks at Cas’s face in the starlight, then looks back up at the night sky. “Tell me,” he says.

Cas tells a story of a young girl in what is now Spain, who looked at the sky 700 years ago and saw the wings of a butterfly. He tells of a group of young men in Greece's far past who saw Achilles chasing Patrocles, and how they hoped Achilles would one day catch his love.

When Cas falls silent they just look at the stars, side by side in the grass. After a time Dean says, “Thanks.” He hopes it’s enough.

. + . + . + .

“Tell me something true.”

Cas looks at Dean, a thoughtful look on his face. Finally he says, “Green is my favorite color.”

Another color, this one pink, rises to Dean’s cheeks. “Yeah?” he says. The word sticks in his throat.

Cas nods.

“I like blue,” Dean says.

. + . + . + .

“Tell me something true.”

“I don’t regret falling from grace,” Cas says. His words are soft, but resolute.

True.

Dean searches Cas’s face for any sign of sadness, any hint of doubt, but all he sees is the truth he asked for.

“Even though you can’t–” Dean starts, but Cas cuts him off.

“I don’t regret falling from grace.” He emphasizes every word. “I don’t miss healing, or flying, or angel radio. I don’t miss heaven. I don’t miss commanding armies, or striking fear into the hearts of beings with my words alone. You are worth it, Dean Winchester.”

Dean cannot speak. He’s just a guy, a pretty good hunter but fairly average at most everything else. Actually, he screws up just about everything he touches that isn’t about killing monsters. To think that Cas–beautiful, strong, bigger than the Chrysler building Cas–gave everything up for him…

“Please stop thinking like that, Dean,” Cas says. “I can’t get into your head anymore, but your thoughts are plain on your face. I mean every word. You are worth it.” He brushes a kiss on Dean’s cheek, and then he’s gone, almost as if he’d flown.

. + . + . + .

“Tell me something true.”

Cas smiles, the smile that lights up his whole face. “I love you,” he says.

Something inside Dean falls into place; he almost hears the click in his head. Or in his heart. He can’t stop his own grin from spreading across his face. “I know,” he says with a wink.

Cas rolls his eyes, says, “I do pay attention when we watch movies together, Dean. Especially the ones we’ve seen thirteen times.”

“Thirteen?” Dean sputters. “We haven’t watched the Star Wars trilogy–”

“Thirteen times, Dean. I have an excellent memory.”

“Okay, Rain Man,” Dean mutters, pouting.

“Who is–” Cas starts, but Dean interrupts him.

“We’ll watch that one later. Just shut up and kiss me.”

Cas does, and after Dean says, “I love you too, you know.”

Foreheads pressed together, Cas murmurs, “I know.”

**

for @bend-me-shape-me 's Dean/Cas Summer Prompts Series!

Destiel Trope Collection 2021 | Day 1: Fallen!Cas

In A Fortress of Pine Trees | @mistofstars Rating: Explicit Word Count: 3,380 Main Tags/Warnings: Endverse, Croatoan, 2014, 5x04, Smut, bottom!Dean, Angst, Top!Cas Summary: Future!Dean / Future!Castiel "Cas", he finally exhales. "I could need one of your amazing hippie massages right now" -it starts with a simple massage and ends somewhere else; Dean gives in to long neglected needs... DESTIEL in 2014

The Warmth of your skin | @notfunnydean

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 3,414 Main Tags/Warnings: Sharing Body Heat, Hurt!Cas, First Kiss, Naked Cuddling, Sharing a Bed, no explicit sex, human!Cas Summary: Dean and Castiel are in the middle of a forest, when a snowstorm surprises them in the middle of the summer. To make their luck perfect, Castiel breaks into the ice of a lake. There is only one way to survive this cold. Body Heat.

Are We Human? | @one-more-offbeat-anthem

Rating: General Word Count: 3,766 Main Tags/Warnings: human!/fallen!Castiel, first kiss, love confessions, pet cats Summary: After losing his grace, Cas struggles with being human. Dean tries to help him out—and in showing the former angel how to find joy in the little things, starts to find joy himself (if he's brave enough to reach for it). And also discovers that maybe cats aren't so bad.

The End Of The Beginning | @vampamber

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 3,885 Main Tags/Warnings: ABO, omega Dean, alpha Cas, endverse, endverse Cas, heat, pwp, S5E4 The End, there's a sequel Summary: He just wished that Zach-y boy had picked a better time. Dean could feel those deep seated aches in his abdomen that could only mean he was a day or so away from his damn heat starting. Hopefully he could learn his little lesson before he had to lock himself away for a few days to keep himself from presenting to every damn alpha in a five mile radius. He usually took suppressants, but dealing with Lucifer had kind of taken front seat just long enough for Dean to miss a few too many doses. “Damn it,” he muttered to himself as he rubbed at his wrists, finally free. He wandered out to see where the hell he was. It was an old summer camp, that much he could tell, but that was about it. But as weird as all this was, as unreal and impossible as it had to be, the most mind blowing part was definitely Cas. Fuzzy, stoned out of his gourd, sex guru to a gathering of betas and omegas Cas. Cas, who smelled so strongly of alpha and everything that Dean had ever wanted that he had to shift himself when the guy wasn't looking to try and hide the quickly growing erection in his pants, praying that he wouldn't slick right through his jeans.

Finally Realized | @vampamber

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 4,018 Main Tags/Warnings: ABO, alpha Cas, omega Dean, Dean in heat, human Cas, first time, porn with plot Summary: Dean is sick in bed, so Sam calls in a now-human Cas to come and take care of the cranky patient while he escapes goes on a hunt. Dean cooperates with Cas, but it just figures, when the cold is finally gone, his heat takes its place. Now denial stops being an options as Dean begs Cas for the thing he's always wanted, but could never admit to.

Sweet Cherry Pie | @imbiowaresbitch

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 4,801 Main Tags/Warnings: No archive warnings apply, first kiss, first time, friends to lovers, top dean/bottom cas Summary: Dean takes the newly-human Cas to a diner to try some new foods. Cas wants more than a taste.

Tick Tock Goes The Clock | @vampamber

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 5,784 Main Tags/Warnings: ABO, omega Dean, alpha Cas, human Cas, alcohol as a coping mechanism, implied mpreg, angst, porn with plot, drunken confessions, drunken sex Summary: It was a well known fact that every omega had a metaphorical biological clock ticking away inside of them, just waiting to spring the alarm and make the poor guy or girl go just a wee bit baby crazy. And as much as Dean Winchester tried to deny it, mostly to himself, the one inside him was gonna blow at any second. Even though Dean would never admit it to anybody, especially his brother, he had always felt pretty maternal towards Lisa's son, Ben. He’d always wanted a nice, big family with plenty of pups of his own, ever since he had presented as an omega as a teenager. At least, whenever John hadn't been pressuring him to act like the alpha his dad thought he should've been, that is. It had only gotten worse when Sam presented as a beta, so Dean had shoved that dream so far back in his mind that he completely forgot about it ninety-five percent of the time. That was exactly why the omega knew that his biological clock was gonna kick his ass any day now. Where he used to mostly forget about the idea of having a bunch of pups, it was now taking up the vast majority of his thoughts lately.

I Been Blind | @jemariel

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 22,387 Main Tags/Warnings: Human!Cas, porn-watching, masturbation, mutual pining, porn with feelings, suggestion of m/f and m/m/f sex (in porn), oral sex, frottage, anal fingering, suggestion of bottom!Cas. Summary: Castiel is in love with humanity. At least, so long as he's not the one experiencing it. A lighthearted smutty romp wherein Dean helps Cas navigate the tricky minefield of human needs.

Roaming in the Dark (WIP) | @casbelieves

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 24,624 Main Tags/Warnings: Major Character Death, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Drug Abuse, Drug Use, Drug Addiction, Explicit Sexual Content, Alternate Universe - Croatoan/Endverse, Bottom!Cas, Top!Dean, Heavy Angst, Smut, Fallen Angels, Apocalypse, Croatoan Virus, Canonverse, Minor Character Death Summary: A reimagined look into how "The End" came to be. Castiel does not return to heaven after he rescues Dean from his stint in an apocalyptical 2014. The brothers don't reunite. The angels do fall. A dangerous and deadly virus spreads worldwide. But, without fail, Castiel follows Dean and, perhaps, that is his only fault.

Room A Thousand Years Wide | @mittensmorgul

Rating: Mature Word Count: 34,921 Main Tags/Warnings: Case Fic, Getting Together, Long-Suffering Sam Winchester Summary: Once the world and their lives are finally their own, and Cas has chosen humanity once and for all, he begins to find a new routine of daily life with Dean. Sam doesn't know how much longer he can take their apparently oblivious platonic domesticity, when their regularly scheduled evening goes out the window with a single text message from someone they never expected to hear from again. Ex-Ghostfacer Ed Zeddmore is afraid he's stumbled over something too big to let slide, and sends them a link to a potentially dangerous Ghostfacer wannabe, and a case that isn't at all what it appears to be on the surface. What they uncover dredges up a lot of interesting feelings all around, and they must finally face a few ghosts of their own.

Empty Spaces | @thisisapaige

Rating: Mature Word Count: 48,411 Main Tags/Warnings: Angst, Drug Use, Drug Abuse, Drug Withdrawl, Fallen Castiel, Pre-series Dean, Canonverse, Internalized Biphobia, Slow Burn, Canon-Typical Violence, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort Summary: [Castiel] found the colour. It was a green, one of the few gentle colours at the edges of his dreams and the one he tried to capture in his paintings, never quite finding the right hue. He spent so long chasing the colours, trying to find it though pills and needles, but they always evaded his grasp. Yet he found one, right here, hiding in the eyes of a stranger. He studied the colour, the subtle differences between dark and light, the little flecks of gold nearly hidden in the sea of green, the ring around the outside. He studied it, trying to commit the colour to memory. The other man cleared his throat. “Uh, dude?” Oh. Castiel forgot the colour was attached to a person. ~~~ What if Castiel had fallen before the start of the series and met Dean on a routine hunt? Set in the spring before Dean goes to find Sam in Stanford.

Gates of Bronze and Bars of Iron | iCeDreams (AO3)

Or he just wants to know what Cas would wish for.

Cas rolls his head back, enough to look up at Dean with heavy blue eyes. “I used to. Not so much anymore.”

“No?”

“No.” Cas stifles a yawn, but the force of it has him sitting up straighter. He stretches out his arms, tilts his head side to side. “I don’t wish on my birthday either, when I blow out the candles.”

“Dude, no. Now you are just messing with tradition.”

It’s Steve now, fallen Cas fic rec list - this angsty collection of canon verse fic is a counterpart to our more mellow Castiel, you’re human now rec list. Heed the authors’s tags and have tissue boxes around!

Thanks to euclase/ @eliciadonze/ @eliciaforever, who provided us with permission to use her beautiful art!  (link to #euclase fanart tag at @destielfanworks​)

All title inks go to our tagged reviews or submitted rec posts. 

A Winter’s Tale by northernsparrow (submitted rec) [T, 63,700 word count]

Cas is sick and Dean finds a journal that Cas kept about his time alone as a human. This fic is a retelling of first half of S9 from Cas’s POV (via Cas’s journal). Lots of Cas angst/loneliness and a correspondingly equal volume of Dean guilt. Sick fic, hurt/comfort, journal fic, and a Christmas fic too.

Down Like Water by museaway [M, 14,500 word count]

There’s no time for nerves, no time for second guessing. There’s only right now, and right now he has Cas. (Or, in which Dean and Cas get over themselves and take a roadtrip before Cas’s grace runs out. Not S10 canon compliant.)

It’s getting dark, too dark to see by Enochian Things (Salr323) (submitted rec) [T, 18,400 word count]

Cas is human and alone in the world; Dean’s not handling it. At all. But then again, neither is Castiel.

My Heart Is Beating From Me by enochian things [M, 55,100 word count]

After Rexford, Castiel tries to live a normal life and Dean tries to let him go… But nothing’s ever that easy. (Canon divergent from s9e06 “Heaven Can’t Wait”)

There Are Many Things by imogenbynight [NC-17, 28,800 word count]

In which Dean and Castiel learn, through trial and error, how to be together.

Things that Leave Marks by thestoryinsideme [M, 23,500 word count]

Once the rogue angel Dean had allowed inside his brother was expelled and Sam was safe, a guilt-ridden Dean searched high and low for his friend and former angel, Castiel.  Unable to find him, Dean presumed he was dead.  Until, that is, the fateful day he ran into him during a quick stop in a small northwestern town more than three years later.

Zenith by anactoria [NC-17, 33,400 word count]

Season 9 AU. Still relatively new to humanity, Castiel struggles with both Dean’s confusing behaviour and the loss of his angelic faculties. When a pissed-off witch restores his ability to see the supernatural, the curse seems like a blessing. He can help his friends again – and when Dean’s lies blow up in his face and Sam is once again left hovering between life and death, Cas is happy to be useful. But his abilities keep getting stronger, and they might just be more than a human brain can handle.

The wilderness. by orange_crushed [T, 8,000 word count]

He takes a shower and the pressure is not especially good, but it doesn’t matter. It’s warm and he stands under the spray a long time. Human skin, he knows, constantly renews itself, shedding the dead cells of the epidermis. He wonders how long it will take until he is an entirely new person, until every cell on his surface is a new one. He looks at his hands under the water. It might take less than a month. (9x03 post-episode fic)

Other resources

Call for Coda - 9x03 - a very special coda fic rec list, posted only couple of days after the episode broke our hearts. Destiel writers rose to occasion and poured all their love, and hurt, and confusion into these coda fics. A time capsule of emotions.

Ten Years of Castiel Masterpost - . more Cas centric fic recs

Season 9 fan art at @destielfanworks​

Demon!Dean Winchester x Castiel, Sam Winchester

Word Count: 2,012

Warnings: dark themes

A/N: This is first dark fic so if I missed any warnings please let me know. I wrote this for @ejlovespie​ follower challenge and my prompt is Demon!Dean. I’ve had this idea floating around in my head for a while and I’m pretty excited about this 🖤🖤

Castiel felt the words as they were whispered into the back of his neck, pulling him from the pleasant daze of being half-asleep.

He shifted, craning his neck to try and see Dean as he curled around Castiel from behind.

“Oh,” Dean breathed, his voice hitching, “M’sorry. Thought you were asleep.”

“Delilah?” Castiel questioned, his brain still sleep-addled, so he wasn’t sure he’d heard him correctly. “Who’s Delilah?”

“Nothin’.” Dean’s forehead pressed against the base of Castiel’s neck and his arms wrapped tighter around Castiel’s stomach. “Sorry - it was just - dumb.”

Castiel frowned and turned over in their bed, ignoring Dean’s small protests as he moved to face him, trying to catch a glimpse of his expression in the dark to get some sort of indication of his mood.

Dean ducked his head.

“Dean, what’s wrong?” Castiel reached out and gently reached for Dean’s hand, squeezing it once.

“It’s not - it’s stupid. You should be sleeping and -”

“Dean.” Castiel said softly, but firmly. “Whatever this is, it’s clearly bothering you, so it’s not stupid. What’s on your mind?”

Castiel waited, counting Dean’s breaths.

“So... you know the bible?”

“I’m vaguely familiar, yes.”

“Right. Duh. Yeah. So, I was reading it, right? For research. And there’s this story of a guy named Samson. He’s super strong and super powerful, but if he wants to stay that way, he can never cut his hair.”

Castiel knows every biblical story backwards and forwards, and he’d even been involved in a few of them as they unfolded, but he didn’t interrupt, just hummed to show he understood.

“Then one day, Samson meets a woman named Delilah, and he... falls in love with her. He falls for her so hard that he can’t see she’s going to be his downfall.”

Dean’s voice gets even quieter.

“And Delilah tricks him, and cuts his hair while he’s asleep. Samson loses all of his power, and gets captured. Because of her, he’s no longer this powerful guy. He would have been better off if he’d never even met her, you know? He would have stayed super strong, and feared and -”

“- and you think that you’re the Delilah to my Samson.” Castiel finished, propping himself up on an elbow.

Dean said nothing - and spoke volumes.

“Dean, I may not be an angel anymore,” Castiel murmured, rubbing a thumb along the palm of Dean’s hand, “but that’s not your fault.”

“Feels like it.”

“Delilah was bribed by the Philistines to find out the secret to Samson’s strength so that they could capture him. No offense to Samson, but he lied to her several times only to find out that she had tried those techniques during the night, and still decided to tell her the truth. I never met him, but given those facts, I don’t think Samson was the brightest candle under the bushel.”

Dean huffed out a laugh and looked up at Castiel for the first time since they’d started speaking.

“I understand where you’re seeing the parallels, Dean, but there’s one big difference.”

“What’s that?”

Castiel leaned in a pressed a soft kiss against Dean’s forehead.

“I cut my own hair. I clipped my own wings. And I’d do it again -”

A kiss on his cheek.

“- and again -”

A kiss on his lips.

“- and again -”

Dean let out a soft sigh as he melted against the kiss, and pulled away, looking a little less weighed down than before.

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yeah.”

Castiel let his head fall back down onto the pillow and let out a long breath as Dean tucked himself closer.

“So, do you think Sam would lose all of his power if we cut his hair while he slept?” Dean asked.

Castiel quirked a smile.

Post apocalypse (aka post s5) Dean and Cas having a beard contest chilling 

Bonus(es) :

Hellosaidthemoon, schmerzerling (91,054; PG13)

Summary:  Dean has cystic fibrosis, a brutal respiratory disease that means he can’t cut it in the life his father chose for him, despite his very best efforts. He also has a give ‘em hell attitude and a dogged crush on his childhood best friend. Castiel has an absent father, a stellar GPA, a comprehensive ten-year plan, and—a lot of reservations about all this.

Comments: This is an incredible fic. It deals with some heavy subjects, from small-town prejudice, to serious medical illness, to shitty parenting, but it balances it with very refreshing bouts of hope and love. There is enough good mixed in that the bad is bearable (but still a million tears for Castiel). The art is also aces.