Silence before the Storm - Part One: Silence

Author's Note: This short fic is inspired by the third preview clip to 5x18 and the novel "Nights in Rodanthe" for those of you who know it. I'm sorry there is not much love between them in the first chapter but I promise to make it up to you in the second one! I hope you enjoy this story!

Spoilers: up to 5x18.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters of Supernatural, unfortunately.

"Do it." Even now the words still resounded in Castiel's head. "Just do it!"

Their confrontation had been like a sudden explosion to make way for pressure that had gathered beyond the surface for a long time. A vivid flash of lightning. The storm before the silence.

As Castiel looked down at the unconscious man on the bed he couldn't help but feel tired and numb. His actions had been too fast, too ruthless and still his mind found it hard to realize that now this was unchangeable past. This sudden, unexpected outburst of emotion scared him. It had clouded his mind and made way for something inside him that had never been released before. Something he didn't wish to ever see again.

The figure on the bed moved. Castiel waited. There was dried blood all over Dean's swollen face. He looked miserable.

Dean opened his eyes. Even though he knew that Castiel was standing next to him, he didn't deign to look at him. There was however a slight hint of surprise in his eyes. As if he had not anticipated to ever wake up again.

Dean let his gaze wander around the room in silence. It looked unfamiliar. Dean was sure he had never been here before. It didn't look like a motel room either. There was a large closet next to the door and a black piano in front of the window. "Where am I" he said after a while, his voice low and without any emotion.

"A place where nobody will ever find you again" Castiel explained unmerciful. "No priest, no angel. You have no chance to say yes."

Dean gave him a fierce look. "You think you can do to me whatever you like? I'll tell you this one thing, Castiel: You can beat me, kidnap me, hurt me. But I will never surrender. Not to you."

Castiel turned his head away. "You have no choice."

"Do you even realize what you did to me?!" Dean shouted back at him. "You almost killed me!"

"You can't even imagine how close I was to killing you!" Castiel hissed back, grabbed his collar and shook him heavily. "You'd be scared if you knew."

Dean closed his eyes and turned his head. It was that same gesture of resignation he had shown during their fight.

Castiel let go of him. "I will not let you destroy everything… everything that I sacrificed for you, and only for you!"

"I never asked you to!"

"You never asked me to?! You pleaded! You begged me to. I told you what I would have to give up for you and you still made me do it."

Dean didn't dare to look at him.

"And if you don't give me what I deserve" he threatened in a menacing deep voice "I will take it by force."

"I am trying to do what is right here, Castiel" Dean snapped back at him. "We were abandoned even by God. Michael is the only hope. So if you have another idea, just spit it out!"

"We'll find a way."

"It will be too late then." Dean got out of the bed and grabbed his jacket. "I will not sit around and watch the world burn. I am the one who has to make this decision, Castiel, not you. You wouldn't be the one to live with the guilt of refusing humanity their salvation." Without looking back he left the room and went down the stairs.

Dean watched the unfamiliar landscape with surprise. This house was built at some beach, fern and weed covering the sandy ground around it. Dean had no idea where he was.

The sudden flap of wings made him turn around.

"It's an abandoned isle in the middle of the ocean. You'll stay here until you come to your senses."

"You can't keep me here" Dean hissed through his teeth. "I will find a way to escape and then I'll say yes gladly."

For a second Castiel had to resist the urge to punch him again. It was not worth it. Dean had no chance to say yes. Not here. "You should hurry with your decision, Dean" the angel warned instead and pointed at the sky.

On the far horizon dark clouds were gathering, clouds so dark they almost seemed black.

Dean turned his head towards Castiel in shock. "A storm. You intent to leave me on this inland during a storm?! Are you nuts?! You'll gonna get me killed for real."

Castiel lifted his fingers as if to touch Dean's forehead. "It will start tonight. I can take you away from here in time."

But Dean hit his hand away. "Don't you ever. Dare. To touch me again." Without warning he pushed him aside and vanished through the front door.

Castiel returned in the afternoon. He found Dean sitting on a joist of the veranda, barricading the windows with wooden planks.

The man barely even looked down at him. "If you're here to get me out of this mess, forget it. I will overcome all obstacles you put in my way, Castiel. I don't care anymore."

Castiel didn't reply. He watched him for a while, until Dean was out of planks and jumped down next to him.

The black clouds had already come dangerously close.

"I will take you away from here now" Castiel said plainly as he realized that Dean wouldn't change his mind in time. "I'll return you to Bobby's panic room."

Dean paused and looked the angel into the eyes. "No. You're not making any more decisions for me. I will see this through. I am not letting myself being blackmailed by you." With those words he passed the angel and took another few planks from the ground.

Castiel watched him with an unreadable expression. For a while he just stared at him. Then, slowly, he went to the table and took a hammer and a bag of nails. He knew that Dean observed him surprised, but he didn't say anything. So the angel grabbed a few planks and left for the back of the house.

It started raining as soon as the sun had set behind the menacing clouds. The wind had already risen to an alarming force and Dean pulled his jacket over his head as he struggled against the wind to close the front door, barring it from the inside. As he finally turned around, he noticed that Castiel was sitting on a chair in the living room.

Dean put the hammer down. "Why are you even here, Castiel? Why did you help me with the windows? I'm sorry, but if you're trying to make amends here-"

"You're the one who should be trying to make amends, not me, Dean" Castiel replied calmly.

"For what?" Dean walked towards him. "For trying to stop the Devil? Oh yeah, I'm so sorry for that."

"You turned your back on us, Dean. On Bobby, on Sam, on me. You're spurning all out efforts and sacrifices for you."

"You know what?" Dean lifted his head to face Castiel's eyes. "Just screw you. I really thought that there was something between us. I thought of you as my friend. And you let me down. You assaulted me like some full-crazed psycho! Whatever it was, this connection, it's gone now. And you're the one who broke it, not me." His voice was merely a growl.

Castiel got up from his chair to face Dean. "That arrogance of yours… The only reason you can't bring yourself to give up on that Michael thing is that you wouldn't be needed anymore. You wouldn't be the shining hero anymore. The world would stop revolving around you and you can't take that."

Dean stared back at him with fury in his eyes. "You…" he snarled, grabbed Castiel's collar and slammed him against the wall. "You know nothing about me!" Their faces were only inches away. Dean knew that it was stupid to provoke the angel again. He wouldn't even get the chance to defend himself let alone strike back. Maybe he would die this time.

The storm outside rose, the raging wind tugging at the planks covering the windows.

Castiel stared back at him, defying, but he did not attack. Instead, Dean let go of him and turned away.

"Go" he said without turning around. "Leave me alone."

"I can't" Castiel replied. "I can't leave during the storm."

Dean turned his head. "What? Are you saying we're trapped here together until the storm ceases?"

Suddenly the lights started to flicker and went off. Darkness filled the room.

"Awesome."

They had lit a few candles but the light was barely helping. The growling thunders from the outside made Dean pray the house would be able to resist the force of nature. The phone had gone dead a while ago. They did their best to avoid each other.

Dean found some canned soup in one of the cupboards in the kitchen, but because of the power outage he wasn't able to warm it. So he ate it as it was. The sound of the spoon touching the ground of the soup bowl made him feel lonely and depressed. His thoughts went back to Sam. Would he even be worried about him anymore? What if Castiel was right and he really had let everybody down? But why wouldn't they understand his reasons, his feelings? He was trying to do what was best and still everybody treated him as the villain.

He flinched as suddenly Castiel appeared next to the table. He gave the angel a threatening glance. "I thought we had agreed that you stay on the second floor and for me to stay on the first, so-"

"Dean" Castiel interrupted with a strange expression. "I'm here to apologize."

Dean dropped the spoon in the darkness of the kitchen.

To be continued.