Outside These Walls [Destiel]

Chapter 7

Dean stared at the watch on his wrist, the arm resting gently on Castiel's shoulder with his fingertips pressing ever so slightly into the skin, a simple gesture of comfort the man sleeping against him. Dean let out the softest of sighs, reading the time at 4:18 and knowing that they had only a little more time before dawn began to appear and they would have to work.

He shifted a little to get more comfortable, the arm underneath Castiel long since numb and tingling something fierce. He worked it under the man's waist, a burning reaching his fingers when the slight dip where Castiel's stomach met his hip bones providing Dean enough room to let the circulation continue. Castiel stirred just a little before falling back to sleep, and when Dean raised his head enough to look at the man, he found himself frowning at how tired Castiel seemed even unconscious.

They had taken to the ritual of removing Castiel's bandages every night so it wouldn't make the injured soldier feel claustrophobic. It had eased Dean's mind too, as the powerful look of the man now comforted him much more than the scared persona he was always around when the bandages were on. It made him seem older, and when he finally asked Castiel his age, he was surprised to learn that he was twenty-six, four years above Dean.

Castiel flinched in his sleep, pulling Dean from his thoughts as he resumed his gentle stroking along Castiel's shoulders, letting his head rest back down onto the uncomfortable mattress and closing his eyes. He couldn't sleep, but he let his mind wander, only vaguely aware when Castiel's hand rested against the one Dean had on his hips, the thrumming of Castiel's heart picking up catching Dean's attention and open his eyes.

"Are you awake?" Dean asked softly, watching as Castiel gave a soft nod, his shoulder twitching against Dean's touch. Dean slid his arms from the man, sitting up the best he could in the confined space and leaning on one arm, Castiel's air catching his gaze as the man turned in his general direction, staring at him as if he could actually see him, but not at the same time.

"What time is it?" Castiel asked, his voice tired and gravely and it sent a pain straight through Dean's chest as the voice made him shiver, looking down at the watch and staring at the time for several seconds before he actually managed to read it.

"4:21" Dean answered softly, watching Castiel taking a soft breath and let it out in a long sigh before reaching out, his hand moving gently upwards and touching Dean's chest before moving up to settle on his neck.

"How are you feeling?" Castiel asked, obvious worry in his voice as he moved his thumb down just a bit, touching against Dean's collarbone, which was beginning to stick out just a bit more than it should be. 

He had taken to giving Castiel just half of his dinner, then just a fourth after Winters got him alone and berated him for it. The man had been worried about Dean's strange devotion to keeping Castiel safe, and it wasn't until he snapped and threatened that the guards were beginning to notice that Dean became more careful.

Still, he just smiled to himself, mostly for his own comfort as he raised the hand that wasn't supporting him up to Castiel's taking it gently and moving it away from his skin, "I'm fine," He said softly, not wanting to worry Castiel with a little thing like his discomfort.

Castiel was silent for several moments, his face showing how little he actually believed Dean before he rolled onto his back, his shoulder pressing against Dean with what little space they had, "Don't lie to me. You've been taking so much for my sake, so don't you dare lie and say everything is fine," Castiel huffed, the frustration on his face seeming so much more real, so much more alive when Dean could see his eyes, struck by the emotions that played in them so strongly compared to the rest of his features.