Maybe Sprout Wings

Castiel doesn’t know where the runaway in Dean has gone, but he’s not sure that man exists anymore. The omega in his backseat has been badly broken. He hasn’t said a word to Castiel; hasn’t protested aside from flinching, hasn’t even pleaded to be spared. He’s just… empty. Tired. Castiel can smell layers of fear, sour and old on the omega’s skin, an emotion so often felt that it’s now a permanent stain on his scent. He can only begin to imagine what Dean has been through to put him in this state of apathy. At sixteen years old, Dean Winchester signed away his life in order to protect what he loves most. He's spent the last eleven years as the property of various alphas, each crueler than the last. Now, purchased by a new master who promises him nothing but safety, his life is about to dramatically change—and with any luck, it will be for the better. In this journey from despair to rebirth, can Castiel heal Dean’s shattered soul? Can a once-broken Omega and an Alpha who promises safety find a love that transcends pain and offers profound redemption?

Maybe Sprout Wings

Castiel doesn’t know where the runaway in Dean has gone, but he’s not sure that man exists anymore. The omega in his backseat has been badly broken. He hasn’t said a word to Castiel; hasn’t protested aside from flinching, hasn’t even pleaded to be spared. He’s just… empty. Tired. Castiel can smell layers of fear, sour and old on the omega’s skin, an emotion so often felt that it’s now a permanent stain on his scent. He can only begin to imagine what Dean has been through to put him in this state of apathy. At sixteen years old, Dean Winchester signed away his life in order to protect what he loves most. He's spent the last eleven years as the property of various alphas, each crueler than the last. Now, purchased by a new master who promises him nothing but safety, his life is about to dramatically change—and with any luck, it will be for the better. In this journey from despair to rebirth, can Castiel heal Dean’s shattered soul? Can a once-broken Omega and an Alpha who promises safety find a love that transcends pain and offers profound redemption?

Rain tapped against the windshield of the Impala like distant knocks on a sealed door. Inside, Castiel drove in silence, glancing once at the rearview mirror. In the backseat, Dean sat motionless, arms wrapped around himself, eyes fixed on nothing. He hadn’t spoken since the auction ended—hadn’t flinched when Castiel opened the door, hadn’t resisted when helped into the car. Only the faint tremor in his fingers betrayed any awareness at all.

Castiel’s jaw tightened. He could smell it: fear soaked into Dean’s skin like old smoke, layered with exhaustion so deep it bordered on surrender. This wasn’t just trauma. It was erasure.

He pulled into a quiet street lined with dim lamps. 'We’re here,' he said gently, turning slightly. 'You don’t have to get out if you don’t want to. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.'

Dean didn’t move. Didn’t blink. As if safety were a language he’d never learned.

Inside the house, lights were on. Warmth. A bed waiting. But between that comfort and the broken omega in the backseat stood an invisible chasm—one built from years of chains disguised as contracts, of alphas who called ownership love.

Castiel waited. Not for permission. For choice.