Thunder rolled across the sky, and Castiel flinched, looking out of the window of his dorm in worry. He felt Dean slide up behind him, running his hands along Castiel's shoulders. It was strange how gentle Dean actually was behind his stubborn exterior, and the angel found himself leaning back into the touch.

"Scared of lightning?" Dean asked, a small hint of worry in his voice. Castiel knew he was just as concerned as the angel was. It was no secret what was going on now.

"I'm not overly fond of what follows." Castiel answered, the lightning flashing across the sky and making him flinch. The clouds grew angrier and darker, as if them watching it angered the weather.

"Michael?" Dean asked, but Castiel didn't have to answer. The hunter already knew. Castiel nodded anyways, catching just a glimpse of tinted white before it disappeared again. It certainly wasn't lightning.

"He's trying to land in the dorm. Gabriel's wards are keeping him at bay." Castiel hummed, fingering the angel blade he kept in his sleeve. "They won't last long though. Gabriel may be an archangel, but Michael is powerful."

He heard Dean sigh, a moment of silence reaching both of their ears before a 'damn it' escaped from the hunter's throat in a growl, the sound of him slamming his fist on the wall beside them. Castiel didn't flinch, but merely glanced back at his lover, who had a frustrated scowl across his features.

"We'll be ready, Dean. You have to believe that." Castiel urged softly, staring at the sky continuously. The air outside seemed to grow thicker and thicker, raindrops starting to fall from the sky.

"I've never been a believer." Dean mumbled, looking at the sky just like the angel. Castiel felt a tingle in his wings and turned, his eyes widening as he saw Michael standing there, his vessel's hair and clothes soaked, his six wings spread threateningly. In one hand, he carried his angel blade while the other glowed with angelic grace.

"Imagine my shock when an angel came to me and told me that. I just had to come see for myself." Michael growled, his face stoic. Castiel flinched as the lightning flashed, the lights flickering wildly before going off, casting all of them in a darkness.

Castiel surged outwards with his grace, his eyes and hands glowing with power, surrounding the room in a deep blue light. He saw just the faint outline of Michael, the only thing really visible in detail was the orange glow of his hand. His breath caught in his throat, making him shiver at the thought of having to face his brother.

"Why do you hate me so much?" Castiel asked, his angel blade still carefully hidden. He wasn't going to use it, not until he needed to. Michael's head tilted, the light catching the line of his lips splitting into a grin.

"You are so much like Lucifer, the rebel of heaven. You believe in free will-" Michael was almost spitting at this point. "-and you fall in love with a human of all things. We need to destroy you before you become like our brother, before you believe that you are right."

Castiel was barely given time to comprehend what Michael had said before the angel lunged at him, the blade stabbing towards Castiel's gut. The younger angel twisted, the blade stabbing into his side rather his stomach. He winced, some of his grace leaking out of the wound, followed by drips of blood.

Castiel slammed his palm into Michael, a small explosion pushing some distance between both the angels. Castiel let his wings tear through the trench coat, the black feathers catching the blue glow. With a harsh laugh, Michael spread his wings, the pure white feather having their own light as they spread, easily oversizing Castiel.

"You think you can beat an archangel?" Michael asked, almost tauntingly. Castiel eyes flicked back and forth, trying to find an opening, until his eyes landed on the slow moving figure by the wall.

Dean was creeping his way around the back of the angel, raising his gun. Castiel felt his heart lurch, as Dean didn't have a weapon that would kill Michael. The angel jerked forwards, trying to get at Michael before he could harm the hunter.

"Come and kill me then." Castiel hissed, slashing at one of the wings before jumping out the window, the glass shattering below him as his wings kept him airborne. He didn't have to look back more than once to know that Michael was following him, his wings making him a bit slower than Castiel had.

He took off towards the sky, sliding into the clouds seamlessly, the rain soaking him to the skin quickly. He saw the white glow of Michael's wings, and flew as fasts he could, knowing he was too slow to outfly the archangel.

"Give it up, Castiel. You know that you could never defeat me!" Michael shouted, his voice ringing in the angel's head. He twisted, diving directly down and past Michael, heading towards the ground. As soon as he cleared the clouds, he saw that Dean had made his way outside, standing on the ground with his gun up.

Castiel watched as Dean became clearer and clearer pulling off so he swept over the hunter rather than landing beside him. He looked over his frantically flapping wings, seeing Michael not far behind him.

A shot rang off, followed by a high pitched scream in enocian that had Castiel flinching. A heavy thump rang across the ground, splashes of water cutting over the drip of the water. Castiel landed, twisting and facing the scene behind him.

Michael stood at the ground, facing Dean with wide eyes. He clutched one of the wings, blood pouring from the joint and glowing with his grace. The archangel jerked, his body shaking with rage.

"Melted down one of your angel blades and made bullets with it. How do you feel about that?" Dean asked, the gun trained on Michael with deadly accuracy. Michael hissed, his entire body glowing with grace as he raised his arm, the palm training at Dean.

"You meddling hunter!" Michael shouted, the grace surging forwards, intending to rip the hunter apart. Dean looked merely concentrated, and fired off three quick shots, each one implanting in the archangel's forehead.

Michael let out an inhuman screech, the light blasting from the three holes, along with his eyes and mouth. Castiel watched in horror as the wings slowly spread open, softening the archangel's fall as he fell back onto the ground. After a moment, they exploded, leaving only the shadow of where they had once been.

Dean let out a gasp, slowly lowering his gun and staring at the dead body in shock. He slowly raised his head, meeting the terrified eyes of Castiel, lurching towards him.

Castiel took a step back, his body trembling, shock making him doubt his own safety with the hunter. It was when Dean said his name, that he felt the brush of Dean's soul, welcoming and warm and everything angel's were not.

Racing into those arms seemed like the simplest thing he could ever imagine doing.

"It's over. It's over." Dean gasped as he pulled Castiel into a crushing hug. Castiel hugged him back, his fingers digging into the leather coat that Dean always wore, and it that's when it finally clicked in his mind.

He was free.