Heaven and Earth by polleekin for <user site="livejournal.com"

[springflingmod.livejournal.com]

Title: Heaven and Earth

Pairing: Dean/Castiel

Rating: PG-13

The motel bed creaked as Dean sat down on the edge.  Castiel watched as he pulled needle and thread from his bag and began to stitch up a wound on his side, working with focus and the ease of experience.

“You’re injured,” Castiel said as he looked Dean over.

“I’ll live.”  Dean grunted as he tied off the stitches.

“You will.  But I could have fixed you once.  I could have healed you and taken away your pain.”  He hated how weak and powerless he was now that he was human.  He couldn’t even heal Dean, an action that would have been considered a minor act for a being as powerful as he had once been.  Castiel leaned forward and ran a finger over the bruise under Dean’s eye, his touch was ghost light and he wished he could erase the mark as he once could have.  He studied the numerous bruises, old and new, that littered the hunter’s form.

Dean sighed and looked up at the angel.  “Look, I get that you think humans are weak and I appreciate that you want to help, I really do.  But I managed long before you showed up and I’m telling you, I can handle much worse than this.”

“Humans are so fragile, far more so than you even realize.  You are weak and lacking in the natural defenses that most other animals find essential to survival.  You’re existence seems impossible and the very fact that any of you survive until old age is a miracle in itself.”

“Thanks Cas; you really know how to make a guy feel good about himself.  But yeah, being human sucks.  Welcome to the club.”

“You misunderstand, Dean.  You’re fragility is not a mark against you, but rather a sign of your strength.  You are all my father’s creations; hand crafted by God himself and loved above all other creations.  You are weak in body compared to nearly any other living creature, and yet you not only survive you thrive.  You wake up every morning with the knowledge that your life is temporary but instead of letting it crush you, you use it motivate you, to push you onward.  Humans are beautiful in their flaws and their unending resilience.  All creation will eventually fade away to nothing.  From the Earth you were created and back to the Earth you will one day return.  But in the short time you have on this Earth humans manage to accomplish great acts of creation and of destruction.  You have not let your own weaknesses stop you; rather you have learned to become strong despite and because of them.  That is why God loves this creation above even the angels.  We have been left on our own and have decided to end the world.  Like children left to their own devices that burn their house down.  But humans have lived in a world without Gods intervention and thrived and built great cities.  That is why the human soul will be preserved forever in Heaven…or in Hell.  Such perfection deserves to live on forever.  It would be the ultimate sacrilege to destroy such a work of art as the human soul.  The rose will bloom before dying and falling away and as beautiful as it may be, it does not earn a place in eternity.  The human soul is the only one of God’s creations that deserves to go on without end.”

Dean leaned in pulling Cas forward as he pushed his lips against the angels, the kiss unexpectedly gentle.  Castiel stayed still as Dean pulled away looking at him.  “What was that for?”  Castiel asked, his previous train of thought having been derailed.

“I’ve never met anyone who cares as much as you do.  I’ve never met anyone who seems to see such beauty in human weakness and mortality before and I just….really needed you to shut up.”

Castiel considered this for a moment before speaking, “Shall I begin talking about human mortality again, or can we skip that part this time?”

The hunter grinned and pulled the angel back in for another kiss, more intent this time.  Dean may never admit it but humans really are works of art, at least this one was bruises, scars and all.

Comments

[darcydelaney.livejournal.com]

Ohh, this was so lovely! I loved the way you showed the quiet reverence and admiration Cas feels for humans through something as simple as Dean's bruises, it was really beautiful :) thank you so much, kind anon! <3

[firefly124.livejournal.com]

This is so sweet! Yes, Cas is absolutely adorable when he gets on those tangents, and it's high time for Dean to notice and do something about it.

[anactoria.livejournal.com]

“I’ve never met anyone who cares as much as you do. I’ve never met anyone who seems to see such beauty in human weakness and mortality before and I just….really needed you to shut up.”

Hee! That was great.

[ivory-angel99.livejournal.com]

This is so sweet. I adore Cas' speech and Dean kissing him to shut him up, even though he's secretly happy that Cas said those things.

Thanks for sharing :)

[frozen_delight]

Such a sweet fic! Thank you for writing.