Supernatural recs
Jul. 23rd, 2012 04:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hazelbiteI've been reading a lot of Supernatural fanfic lately. The pairing is Dean/Castiel and I only watched the show because of it. Yes, I am that kind of fangirl :D And I figure if I'm going to have a time-consuming obsession, I might as well be productive about it!
I don't rec every Destiel fic I read, but when I do, they're quality.All Mostly NC-17 because I love a hot pay off ;)
Now with shiny new word counts!
Fics marked with * are new additions!
12 Steps
Author: Gedry
Words: 33,032
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: The 12 Steps tell you to keep it simple, but Dean Winchester has never been good at keeping anything simple. So, with the help and support of the core people in his life he’s giving sobriety his best shot, which even on a good day is a struggle. But as he works at it he makes progress and starts to rediscover himself, and maybe find love with the new guy next door.
Keywords: Another one I read before I started doing the rec things. A realistic (so I hear) take on recovering addict!Dean. Also includes a bit of domesticity!
300 Things
Author: cautionzombies
Words: ~76,500
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Dean’s life at twenty-four makes him feel like he’s forty—he works two jobs to help pay bills for his house and put his genius little brother through private school, and has spent six years (on and off, let’s be honest) working on his mechanical engineering degree at KU. With so much of his life devoted to his family, Dean has little time in his schedule for class and no time for social interaction. Then, while getting his classes together for the fall, he finds himself in a do-or-die situation: He must take his last literature class now, his spring already filled with those left for his major…except that none of the English classes will fit his schedule.
This is how Dean grovels and begs Dr. Castiel Milton to make a special arrangement for him, and Dr. Milton does.
Keywords: One of the first Destiel fics I ever read and I still go back and re-read it every so often.
* A Beginners Guide to Communing with the Dead
Author: suspiciousflashlight
Words: 77,159
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: Maybe it’s the little girl whose disappearance turned into a murder, and whose murder turned into a cold case, and who has now apparently decided to move in with him. Maybe it’s the unacceptable hole left in his life when his dumb best friend and partner in (the prevention of) crime decided to go and get himself killed. Maybe it’s his brother, whose high-profile career and fantastic girlfriend and first-child-on-the-way are steadily leaving Dean in the dust. Pick one. Pick all of them. The why doesn’t matter so much as the what, and the what is this: Dean is pretty sure he’s going completely, certifiably insane. Sure, he hasn’t started wearing all his clothes inside out, and he still showers on a regular basis (anyways, that’s not crazy, just a little eccentric); but there’s no getting around the fact that he just threw away his life, his career, and his reputation by dragging out his mom’s old necromancy book and summoning a Class A Forbidden Entity to his attic. A cranky one, too. With horrendous bed-head.
Keywords: An original version of the Supernatural world where Dean is good at necromancy and creatures live side by side with humans. Not dark at all, I want to read more!
A Change of Constellation
Author: ashes
Words: 39,965
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: When Dean wakes up with all the wrong parts in all the right places, his primary concern is figuring out who stole his dick and how to get it back. In the mean time, he may as well try out the new equipment. If only he had ever paid attention in a seventh-grade health class, he could have avoided the complications that came next.
Keywords: Temporary gender-bending and a tiny bit of domesticity.
A Judicious Application of Free Will
Author: Scaramouche
Words: 57,000+
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Dean lives the simple life in Lawrence, running the family business at Winchester Hardware. When Castiel moves into the neighborhood, they strike up a friendship that has the chance to become something more. But before that can run its course, the secrets of Castiel’s past catch up with them both, and their whole world changes.
Keywords: a proper alternate reality. Can’t say much more without spoiling it but it will make you feel ALL THE THINGS.
* A Mighty Dark Night
Author: blue_fjords
Words: 73,813
Dean/Castiel, Dean/Anna
R
Summary: Detective Dean Winchester meets Homeland Security Agent Castiel James over a corpse.
Keywords: Fanfic is the only way I enjoy crime dramas! Lots of good and evil familiar faces, this is one that won’t let you sleep until you finish it, so plan accordingly!
A Song of Wind and Wings
Author: triedunture
Words: 10,000
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: The Angelborn have not been seen in Westeros in hundreds of years. Lord Dean Winchester and his brother Ser Sam arrive in Lady Ellen’s Highroad Keep after receiving word that one has been taken captive.
Keywords: A SPN/GoT fusion! I just started reading Game of Thrones so I did not want to miss this one :D
A Wincest Story
Author: trinityofone
Words: ~3,000
Dean/Castiel, Sam/OFC
PG-13
Summary: When he listened to their former angel pronounce his new official human name over and over, first giddy, then reverent—“Cas Winchester, Cas Winchester”—Sam couldn’t shake the feeling that this was somehow going to come back and bite them in the ass.
Keywords: No actual Wincest just domesticity and humorous misunderstandings!
All the Way
Author: cadignan
Words: 81,000
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Castiel spends the first two weeks of college in much the same way he spent the previous years: alone with his books. He’s fine with it—he enrolled in college to learn, after all. Then in his first chemistry lab, he has the bad luck of being paired with snide, good-for-nothing Ruby, and the further misfortune of sitting behind Dean Winchester, the world’s most beautiful distraction. Ruby catches Castiel staring at Dean and makes him an offer.
Keywords: I love that Cas basically gets pulled into this group without really realizing it :D
An Exercise In ‘Worthless’
Author: beastofthesky
Words: 26,547
Dean/Castiel (Sam/Gabriel)
R
Summary: “I mean, you’re–” He gestures at Cas, in his neat oxford shirt and nice pants. “–and I’m a high school dropout who tattoos for a living.”
Wherein Dean makes a hefty living as a tattoo artist who owns the space next to Gabriel’s cafe. Sam attends the local university. When Gabe’s cousin comes to live with him while starting grad school at Sam’s university, Dean thinks for sure that all his negative karma’s coming to bite him in the ass because Cas clearly has a thing for Sam. No one would ever choose him over Sam. That’s just logic.
Keywords: Dean with piercings and a collection of tattoos is just so different and perfect. Also, just reading about someone getting a tattoo makes me can’t wait until I’ve saved up enough to get my second one!
And I Will Walk On Water
Author: tracy_loo_who
Words: ~2,900
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: In which Dean discovers that the archangels didn’t finish their job after all, and that demons picked up where they left off.
Keywords: Long, involved, and plotty with a slow building relationship. Also, h/c.
* And Yet, By Heaven
Author: liadan14
Words: 11,875
Dean/Castiel, minor Jo/Victor
R
Summary: The one where Cas is a Religious Studies professor and Dean’s the department secretary.
Keywords: The characterization is delightful, I love Dean’s comments (“Like yoda, only hot.”) Also, touches of domesticity!
Angelhawke
Author: almaasi
Words: 407,057
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: A Dean/Cas Fantasy-Drama AU, set in a medieval world where two men are separated by a curse: every sunrise and sunset, both are eternally bound to transform into animals. Every night when darkness falls, Dean Winchester becomes a wolf, and his human mind is lost until the dawn. As the sun rises, his lover Castiel becomes a hawk. Their story has been the same for five years - until the day that a young thief named Sam stumbles into their twisted lives. Without even realising it, he becomes a part of their destiny, their paths entwined in prophecy and fate. Together with a few old friends, they set off on a journey to break the curse, but it won’t be easy. To pass the time, Dean and Castiel take turns to recount their past to Sam, narrating the tale of how they met, how they formed their profound bond, and how they found themselves wanting what no man should ever want: the touch of another man.
Keywords: Dean and Castiel’s epic love story, as told to Sam. Warning: LONG but worth it!
* Après
Author: imogenbynight
Words: 24,045
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: When the angels stop falling and Castiel makes his way out of the trees, he finds himself alone and oceans away from the Winchesters. For once, Dean flies to him.
Keywords: Sweet and fluffy and France! Also, Cas speaking French and Dean enjoying it :D If anyone needs fluffyromance!fic therapy, this is it!
Aschenflügel
Author: liadan14
Words: 28,982
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Loosely based on Grimm’s Cinderella. Once upon a time, a merchant’s wife gave birth to a little boy named Castiel, who was perfect in all ways, right down to the beautiful black wings sprouting out of his back. However, in a country still fighting the phobia of human-to-animal shapeshifters, not everyone agrees, and when his mother dies, Castiel is left at the hands of his stepfather Zachariah, who doesn’t condone non-human traits despite being part-bird himself. And then there’s Dean, the only friend Castiel has in the world, who thinks Castiel’s wings are awesome, but is hiding a few problems of his own.
Keywords: Wonderful retelling of Cinderella: Destiel style! Don’t forget to read the author’s note at the end for more background info.
Asunder
Author: rageprufrock
Words: 23,817
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Don’t go into Restoration Hardware unless you’re prepared for Cas to pay $500 for a Vulcan deer.
Keyword: AU with Sam/Ruby. Dean invites Cas to the wedding. I think this another one of those “I read it before I started reccing things” fics!
Beyond the Edge and Falling
Authors: annundriel, cautionzombies, obstinatrix, and tiptoe39
Words: ~8,900
NC-17
Dean/Castiel
Summary: Cas is feeling dejected about his increasing humanity. Dean shows him some of the benefits.
One word: Gorgeous :D
Bring It On Home
Author: obstinatrix
Words: 14,871
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Cas is beginning to display emotions. This wouldn’t be so bad, were it not for the fact that the emotions seem to be centring themselves on Dean. Dean is oblivious, of course; Sam, on the other hand, is not. Sam’s never tried his hand at matchmaking before, but it can’t be so hard, right?
Keywords: Poor Cas, trying to learn how to be human and Dean not being much help…until he is ;) Funny, quirky, and hot! Also, a really good Castiel!POV.
But Dust and a Shadow & The Cure and the Poison
Author: akadougal
Words: ?? & 23,000
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Dean as a soldier, Castiel as his assigned interpreter. Human/Non-hunter AU. Dean doesn’t know what to do after leaving the Army but Castiel has an offer of another way to serve his country – join an agency determined to track down a massive threat to National Security. A threat his brother is inextricably entwined with.
Keywords: Action/adventure, Dean and Cas as operatives!
Chrysler Almighty
Author: zatnikatel
Words: 5,736
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: All you need to know is it’s a PWP.
One word: Fenestration ;)
Come Carpe Diem, Baby
Author: a_carnal_mink
Words: 9,300
NC-17
Dean/Castiel(Jimmy)
Summary: “I am the only being in all Creation who has cradled your soul in my hands. I know you. I know you are complete. Because I know you completely.”
Keywords: Sweet and hot!
* Confiteor.
Author: orange_crushed
Words: 4,880
Dean/Castiel
PG-13
Summary: "I have a job," he says, carefully, like Dean is not intimately fucking aware of that situation. Like Dean hasn’t been googling grim statistics on gas station robberies and watching clips from Clerks on youtube for the last few weeks like a sad dumb jerk.
"Yeah," Dean says. "I know." He’s mangled the check in his hand; he puts it on the table and irons out the wrinkles with his palm. "I got it."
Keywords: A lovely little fix-it coda to 9x06!
Containing Multitudes
Author: triedunture
Words: 8,700
Dean/Castiel
PG
Summary: Part 1 of the Leaves of Grass series. AU after 6x22.
Keywords: There are four parts to this series (which means the rating gets higher!) I really love fallen!Cas with Dean helping him deal with becoming human. This is a fantastic series! (Parts linked at the end)
Could I But Hold Thee (the life-art ‘verse)
Author: the-diggler
Words: 11,830
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: When Castiel is stuck without a model for his life-art class, Dean volunteers. What Dean doesn’t know is that Castiel has already been sketching the young barista for months…
Keywords: Non-angsty AU with artist!Cas and life drawing!
Crossing the Sea
Author: thegrrrl2002
Words: 20,828
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: The apocalypse is over, and Dean has Sam back, safe and sound. All should be well with his world, but Dean's still coping with the emotional fallout and feeling more than a little off-balance, Meanwhile, Sam is convinced there's a monster living in Lake Superior but they can't seem to find it, although there's plenty of good pie and fishing trips to be had. Plus there's Castiel, who pops back into Dean's life, and gets way into Dean's personal space. He's dealing with his own issues -- being the new sheriff of heaven isn't turning out quite the way he thought it would.
Keywords: a quiet, happy fic :D
Crossroads State
Author: Mercy
Words: 51,002
Dean/Castiel (Castiel/Balthazar)
R
Summary: Castiel has a nice predictable structured life teaching high school, even if he happens to be overqualified for it. Then this guy moves in around the corner and literally knocks him on his ass.
Keywords: Adorable professor!Cas and a bit of UST. Also, a dog :D
* Dark Side of the Moon
Author: imogenbynight
Words: 37219
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: Five months into his six month mission, an accident leaves Flight Engineer Dean Winchester stranded on the moon. It comes down to a man he has never met to bring him home.
Keywords: Destiel in space? Of course I’m going to read this! A mix of sweet and dark with smart!Dean and adorable Charlie! Beware, there is some sad but it’s totally worth it.
Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives
Author: cymbalism219
Words: 15,000
Dean/Cas
NC-17
Summary: After the apocalypse, Dean’s living with Lisa and earning his keep by cooking dinner. Cas likes that Dean can cook. Dean likes Cas’s company. But they could use a little alone time, and Dean has a lot to learn about what the rest of his life really means.
Keywords: Non-AU domesticity is always a treat to find!
Don’t Panic
Author: deans1911
Words: 7,298
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Dean is a Secret Service agent. Castiel is his ex-KGB handler.
Keywords: I forgot to rec this! I read it a while ago and then had to find it again because I forgot the title. Only three chapters long but that doesn’t matter because the story makes it feel like more! Also has mute!Cas.
Dream As If You’ll Live Forever
Author: Commodoresexual
Words: 5,999
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Cas hasn’t spoken a word to anyone in years and is a drifter who works various odd jobs to finance himself. Dean is a guy with a violent temper who grew up in foster care and has just gotten out of prison for a stupid judgment call. The two cross paths in a pay-by-the-week boarding house run by an eccentric older couple.
Keywords: h/c and backstory!
* Dystopia Is for Lovers
Author: blue_fjords
Words: 17,266
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Ben Braeden has just moved to California to live with his scientist dad and his schoolteacher uncle after the death of his mother. Things begin to look up for him and his family when he meets the famous sci-fi author, Castiel Novak. (Told in alternating POVs by Ben, Cas, Sam and Dean.)
Keywords: The best way to describe this fic is original and quirky. The switched POVs really work for this one! Also, dad!Dean, cool uncle!Sam, and the titles for Cas’ books are awesome and hilarious :D
* El Tango de Amor
Author: literaryoblivion
Words: 16401
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: Every Tuesday and Thursday, Dean leaves, is gone for two to three hours, and comes home sweaty and exhausted to the apartment he and his brother Sam share. Sam had asked him where he went once, and Dean had said he was working out, which technically wasn’t a lie. What he was doing was definitely giving him a workout, just not in the traditional sense. In all actuality though, Dean was leaving every Tuesday and Thursday for a dance class. A dance class taught by a one Castiel Novak.
Keywords: Love slow burn dancing fics! Don’t forget to watch the video because it’s AMAZING.
Excerpts From Carver Edlund’s Magnum Opus
Author: twentysomething
Words: 27,000
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: “'C’mon, Cas, it’s like we’re Mulder and Scully, this is totally X-Files,” he says expansively, waving a hand around. It makes his tie flap and momentarily obscure the new and distracting belt buckle that just says “LUCKY” in huge, embarrassing reflective script in the early morning light. Castiel just stares blankly at him.
“I don’t know what that means,” Cas replies. Dean sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose under the bright yellow sunglasses.”
Keywords: FBI agent!Dean, anthropologist!Cas solve crimes!
* F**k You!
Author: deans1911
Words: 24,459
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Kitchen Nightmares AU: Castiel Novak, the general manager of a failing restaurant, and Dean Winchester, his stubborn head chef, hate each other’s guts. It’s up to celebrity Chef Balthazar Roche to keep them from running Garrison 16 into the ground and killing one another in the process.
Keywords: So good and funny and awesome!
Faith and Deeds
Author: teh-helenables
Words: Long one-shot
Dean/Castiel
G
Summary: The Miltons own a haphazard produce store, and Mary Winchester is their most frequent customer.
Keywords: A sweet AU with Mary-the-matchmaker!
Five times Sam didn’t catch a clue (and the time they finally out and told him)
Author: tfwftw
Words: 5,111
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: Sam has no idea Dean and Cas are in a relationship. Dean has no idea that Sam has no idea - has Sam not been paying attention?
Keywords: Oblivious!Sam is hilarious…poor Sam :D
For Me This is Heaven
Author: thunder_nari
Words: ~30,000
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: AU based off How to Train Your Dragon. Cansae is a town nestled in the foothills of the mountains, surrounded by rivers, trees and ravines. A picturesque place to settle, there’s only one major problem. Angels.
In cities all across these lands, angels harvest the souls of humans and the cities have bound their efforts together to create an elite army of hunters. Men and women trained specifically in the killing of angels and the protection of the civilians. Each year, any citizen of the age twenty-one can sign up for the training.
This year the training takes place in the city of Cansae and Dean Winchester is determined to be the best, for the glory of the reward of killing his first angel before the city and before his father.
Keywords: A wonderful AU! I wish I had seen the art before reading, it’s gorgeous and perfect!
Force of Nature
Author: etcetera-kit
Words: 21,622
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: AU. Dean is a detective with the Lawrence P.D. with a huge crush on Cas, a C.S.I. in the department. Dean, and his partner Rufus, make up the P.S.I.T. - Psychopathological and Sociopathological Investigative Team. A vigilante killer begins posting his executions on YouTube, correcting items that justice has failed. Dean and Rufus are assigned to the case and Cas is their appointed C.S.I. They race against the clock to solve the case as the victims become higher profile, and Rufus dusts off his matchmaking skills.
Keywords: Rufus is a hilarious matchmaker :D
* Foxfire Blossom
Author: almaasi
Words: 283,065
Dean/Castiel (see warnings!)
NC-17
Summary: On a narrow lane, right at the edge of San Francisco city, there is a boutique flower shop with a single employee named Dean. The place is Dean’s world; it’s tiny, filled with bright colour and sensational beauty, and it’s the only sanctuary he ever finds amidst the commotion of his new life. Then, there’s Castiel. From the first time he steps into the shop, Castiel can’t help but become deeply enchanted by what’s inside. However, it’s not just the flowers that keep him coming back - with each visit he makes, he grows fonder of the bespectacled florist, learning Dean’s hands and his laughter as Dean shows him how to romance a woman. There is nothing either of them can do to keep from falling in love, despite Castiel’s path already being paved, cemented, and thoroughly set in stone: he is supposed to marry Daphne. It becomes clear that they all have their vices, addictions. Castiel has kept things from Dean… and maybe Dean has a few secrets, too. What with all the lying, cheating, and dauntless emotional vulnerability, they may as well be living in a soap opera.
Keywords: More big bang AND it’s almaasi so you know you’re in for a treat! There is such perfect world building, ups and downs, foreshadowing, learning secrets, and EVERYTHING. Lovely flower shop!AU.
Freefall
Author: lastknownwriter
Words: 128,542
Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel
NC-17
Summary: AU. The most exciting kindergarten teacher Dean Winchester’s life ever gets is when he plays mechanic in his uncle Bobby’s shop on the weekends. That is until a birthday party goes tequila-nova and he trips into a one-night stand with an incredibly hot firefighter named Castiel. Dean’s life gets a lot more exciting after that.
Keywords: Long with domestic related plot! I really love Cas' and Dean’s characterization in this. Also, light on relationship angst!
* Grotesque
Author: lastknownwriter
Words: 58,470
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Deep in the heart of the bayou, a winged creature has paid a long and lonely penance for a tragedy history has forgotten. A fateful storm and a soldier pure of heart are about to change his world. A Dean/Castiel Beauty and the Beast AU.
Keywords: A modern re-working of a fairy tale. You can see the inspiration without it being too obvious and it is just lovely!
* Growing Up With The Country
Author: Sanwall
Words: 30292
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: 1878, Wyoming territory.
Dean Winchester has been hunting alone for a few years already when he hears word that his brother, Man of Letters Sam Winchester, is up to no good. When he attempts to get Sam out of a demon deal, Dean ends up bound to an angel instead. Dean never believed in angels, but if he did, they’d be nothing like Castiel, angel of the Lord and divine pain in the ass.
Castiel, however, is all Dean has, and together they have to find Sam before he can open the Devil’s Gate. The Oregon Trail is not an easy trip, with harsh terrain and even harsher people along the way. After run-ins with hunters and gun-toting townspeople, not to mention bandits, and avoiding certain death more than once, Dean thinks he might have to start believing in angels after all.
Keywords: Historical fanfic that fits with canon? Yes please! Also, cowboys and hats.
* Halfway
Author: anythingtoasted
Words: 29,963
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: A Fallen!Castiel bunker fic; Castiel arrives back at the bunker after six months of being missing, with eighteen of his newly-fallen brothers and sisters in tow; shameless schmoop and angel-care ensues. ♥
Keywords: I wanted to wait until this was complete before I recced it! A nice balance of Cas needing to find himself as a human and Dean eventually understanding this.
Heart of Glass
Author: omphalos
Words: 17,059
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: He’s the one who was punished, severely, because of his feelings for Dean, but who still gave up everything for him in the end. Surely there should exist between them a better level of comprehension than this.
Keywords: This one hits so many of my buttons: h/c, grace-and-soul-bonding, slowly-becoming-human!Cas. and more! It’s pre-apocalypse too.
Hello Night
Author: almaasi
Words: 11,200
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Demon!Dean/Priest!Cas AU. Castiel summons Dean to the crossroads, and he only wants one thing: him.
Keywords: If you have a thing against Demon!Dean DON’T LET THAT STOP YOU FROM READING THIS. IT’S TOTALLY WORTH IT. Trust me.
House of the Rising Sun
Author: moonlettuce
Words: ~14,000
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Between the serial killer and his partner, Dean Winchester’s week really can’t get any worse.
Keywords: Cops, h/c, and sweetness! Also, not-in-denial!Dean, yay!
Hummingbirds
Author: strangenessandcharm
Words: 23,700
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Castiel is rendered mute after being taught a painful lesson, but that enables Dean to learn a few lessons of his own while holding onto something important for him. Elsewhere, someone really loves to count…
Keywords: H/C with some gore in the beginning and sweetness at the end :D
In a Twist
Author: annundriel
Words: 2,133
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Castiel buys Dean a little something. Dean likes it. A lot.
Keywords: PORN and panties. Also, sequels!
In the Silence Afterward
By: ibroketuesday
Words: 13,080
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: After Lucifer rises, Dean goes mute.
Keywords: This is the first one that needs a warning: character death. Apocalypse levels of sad, but totally worth it.
In the Weeds
Author: nanoochka
Words: 40,265
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: “Dean knew, from the minute he laid eyes on Chef Castiel MacCarthy, the day would come that he would have to kidnap the man and dump the body in the darkest, dirtiest crack den in Ireland. Given that this was Dublin city, it wouldn’t be hard to find.”
Keywords: In which Dean and Cas are more antagonistic towards each other than I’m used to reading…but I loved every minute of it! Also, Cas in a kilt!
It’s Always the End of the World Somewhere
Author: scaramouche
Words: 21,000+
Dean/Castiel +others
NC-17
Summary: The status quo is this: Dean is the popular captain of the football team, and Castiel is the off-kilter nobody who doesn’t so much as breathe the same air as Dean. Then senior year happens and the status quo is shot to smithereens.
Keywords: high-school AU with slowly revealed backstory! Also, prequels/sequels at the end!
* Imitating Life
Author: littlehollyleaf
Words: ~60,000
Dean/Meta!Misha, Dean/Castiel & others
NC-17
Summary: Set in The French Mistake universe. To safeguard the angelic weapons he stole from Heaven, Balthazar has entrusted the keys to their hiding place to Sam and Dean and sent them into an alternative dimension. Unfortunately, Heavenly hitman Virgil followed them through and managed to swipe the keys during the ensuing confrontation. Now, the brothers need to find Virgil stat or their world is headed for a meltdown when he hands the keys over to Raphael who plans to use the weapons to re-start Armageddon. The problem is - how? Because if tracking down Virgil isn’t hard enough they also have to keep up the pretence of being a couple of crappy TV stars, investigate the mysterious arrival of one Richard Speight Jr. and deal with a clingy Castiel-lookalike who can’t seem to stop fawning over Dean.
Keywords: Just what I was looking for in a French Mistake fic, with bonus meta!character discussions! Also, there’s more Dean/meta!Misha than Dean/Cas, just FYI.
Inevitable Homoeroticism in Spanish Romantic Heroes
Author: prosopopeya
Words: 41,701
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Dean is a grad student studying for his MA in Spanish literature, and he’s pretty content with his sexuality as it is — that is, fairly undefined and also secret. His attraction to Castiel, a professor to the undergrads, doesn’t seem like a big deal until it becomes a very big deal, and Dean scrambles to keep his head above water.
Keywords: College AU with Cas speaking different languages. So… language porn :D?
Jeté
Author: cadignan
Words: 10,848
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Castiel has been photographing their ballet company for two years now and he and Dean have barely exchanged six words, and yet somehow when Dean breaks his leg, it’s Castiel who takes him home from the hospital and takes care of him.
Keyword: I need more dancer fic because I really enjoyed this one! Also, Dean around kids is adorable :D
Jump the Track
Author: lafleurdumal85
Words: ??
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: High school AU. It’s Dean’s senior year at Lawrence High, and he’s already given up on himself. It takes the arrival of the strange, intense, awkward Castiel Delacroix at the school to prove to Dean that maybe his life is worth saving after all.
Keywords: Here, have an excerpt from Castiel texting Dean:
GABRIEL HAS RED SATIN SHEETS ON HIS BED. GOOD GOD, WHAT AM I DOING HERE?
I WOKE UP THIS MORNING TO FIND BLONDE SKANDANAVIAN TWINS MAKING WAFFLES IN THE KITCHEN WEARING ONLY THEIR UNDERWEAR. IT WAS TERRIFYING.
I SUSPECT THAT GABRIEL IS RUNNING SOME KIND OF DEN OF INIQUITY. I HAVE A HORRIBLE FEELING YOU WOULD LIKE IT HERE.
Last Friday Night
Author: Idwff
Words: 25,459
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Dean is a drag racer and Castiel finds him fascinating. He watches in secret as the green-eyed stranger speeds his way around the hidden lake track every Friday night. That is, until he finds out they attend the same university.
Keywords: WIP with bi-weekly updates! A while ago, I had been looking for a street racing fic where Dean races the Impala… this is it! The fanfic gods were kind because this is exactly what I was looking for!
Lay Your Weary Head To Rest
Author: ladyoneill
Artist: brihana25
Words: 35,242
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: In the final battle of Armageddon, Dean is severely injured. As he suffers through pain and multiple surgeries and the possibility of permanent disability, Castiel is granted a reward by Heaven that Dean struggles with understanding, Sam makes a decision that throws Dean for a loop, and a ten year old boy finds out his father is the man he always wished it was, but nothing like he expected. Somehow these four take something very broken and dysfunctional and make it into a family.
Keywords: Hurt/comfort and domesticity! SEQUEL.
* Learning Curve
Author: mtothedestiel
Words: 37,852
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Dean is a pre-school teacher and Castiel Novak is his new student’s intriguing guardian. They both know the sacrifices that come with caring for others, but, over time, they learn what it means to want something for themselves.
Keywords: I almost skipped this one because I thought I had already read it (I’ve read A LOT of teacher au!) but I’m glad I decided to double check because Dean who is good with kids is one of my favorite things!
Love in Every Stitch
Author: Gedry
Words: 11,121
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: A Dean/Cas high school AU involving them being friends for a long time and Castiel falling in love with Dean and knitting him a sweater.
Keywords: A very sweet fic with a happily ever after sequel! Also, knitting!
* Master of Reality
Author: PeppermintWind
Words: 87,629
Dean/Castiel, Dean/Alastair, Castiel/Crowley
NC-17
Summary: In which Dean hangs out at the Roadhouse Homeless Youth Day Center and Castiel takes an Urban Plunge. And then everything gets complicated.
Keywords: A unique take on teenage Dean and Cas… Watch out for angst!
* More Than Alien Mojo
Author: remivel
Words: 29,605
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Dean was one of Men in Black’s best agents. In fact, he’s been knee deep in extraterrestrial crap his whole life, and he’s gone through more apocalypses than he could care to remember. He thought he’s seen it all— until he and his partner, Sam, were sent out to a routine meteorite crash inspection. What was supposed to be a meteorite turned out to be a golden spaceship, and instead of hitchhiking intergalactic pathogens, it was an alien that took the form of a human male. A verynakedhuman male.
Soon, they discovered that this alien named ‘Castiel’ was a refugee from a war-torn galaxy.The first of his kind to ever venture to Earth, Castiel agreed to share information about his galaxy and his race in exchange for his relocation on Earth. The only catch was: since Castiel was a new alien species, nobody knew what he was capable of, whether he was as harmless as E.T., or as dangerous as the Predator. And it was Dean’s job to keep an eye on him and assess just how much of a threat Castiel could be, and if necessary, eliminate him.
It wasn’t a job Dean was looking forward to doing. Especially since he couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off him, naked or not.
Keywords: MIB fusion AU? Yes please! Has Dean and Cas working together with Cas as an alien. I’m following for future timestamps!
My Eyes Are An Ocean
Author: entanglednow
Words: 10,275
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: It’s amazing what you decide you can get away with when you can’t see a damn thing.
Keywords: Blind!Dean where everyone else is more concerned about it than he is.
* My Roots Take Flight
Author: KismetJeska
Words: 125,900
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: After forty years in Hell, Dean’s more than willing to accept the offer: become a guardian angel and earn his freedom. But his new ward seems destined to hunt alongside Sam, and there are secrets in Heaven that the angels don’t want found out. Dean’s going to have to choose between his duty and the people he loves- and to work out just where Castiel fits in.
Keywords: It’s a reverse!verse fic, but only until it’s not, I guess that’s the easiest way to describe it. There’s quite a bit of canon elements in this!
Of Wizards and Dovah
Author: sofiwick
Words: 13,700
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Set in the world of ‘The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim’. Dean is Dovahkiin - the Dragonborn - said to be destined to kill the dragon Alduin, the World Eater. Castiel is the cute wizard Dean would very much like to have as an ally on his quest.
Keywords: First of all, I know absolutely NOTHING about Skyrim but it’s still a great story without any prior knowledge. Also, potential sequel! I hope so because I would love to read more in this universe
One Thing The Imp Cannot Do
Author: ardeospina
Words: 12,467
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: Dean Winchester loves his job. Most of the time. As a devil on your shoulder, he gets to cause all sorts of mischief with his charges. But his current charge is boring, and the angel he’s paired with is the worst one yet. He can’t wait till his next assignment. But when he finally gets a new charge, his new angel partner, Castiel, is quiet, mysterious, and secretive. Dean finds himself drawn to the angel all the same, but will he ever get Castiel to warm up to him? And what’s the big secret Castiel is hiding from Dean?
Keywords: Dean is an adorable shoulder imp trying to bond with his coworker shoulder angel, Castiel. Did I mention it’s adorable?
* Only Fools Rush In
Author: baka_sensei
Words: 18,161
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Cas lets his feelings run away with him, Gabe is a total dick, Sam is concerned, and Dean has to make a choice.
Keywords: Has a meddling Gabriel, but it’s for Dean’s own good, really!
Our bodies, possessed by light
Author: obstinatrix
Words: ~42,000
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Purged of all his souls, Castiel is a changed being, stronger than an angel and too powerful for Jimmy’s body to contain. Happily, there’s an archangel’s vessel on hand, and he could use fixing, too. Dean isn’t too happy about the idea of his brother acting as a vessel for Castiel, and Sam can guess why, but it isn’t until Castiel gets inside his head and they learn to share the vessel — and their thoughts — that Sam realises Cas is as in love with Dean as Dean is with him. It’s unfortunate that there’s nothing much to be done about it now, but Castiel will get another vessel soon. The Winchesters will make damn sure of that. In the meantime, it’s up to the three of them to establish their own strange accord, and Dean realises more fully than ever that it’s Castiel, and not his vessel, that he loves.
Keywords: Make sure to read the warnings first but, other than that, it’s a gorgeous fic :D
Out of the Deep
Author: riseofthefallenone
Words: 360,926
Dean/Castiel, some Dean/Pam
NC-17
Summary: Stay away from the light-beds. Stay in the deep.
It is the first thing hatchlings are taught the moment their fans unfurl and they can swim without their parents to buoy them along. It is the first rule, the first law. It is the beginning of every boogey-monster bedtime story told when they settle against the cliffs to sleep.
Castiel should have listened better.
Keywords: Merfolk AU! I never thought I would find myself reading something like this, but it’s super addicting!It’s a WIP right now but there’s 38 chapters out of 40 so by the time you get to the end, it should be Complete! Also, there’s TONS of art and drabbles from Dean’s POV.
* Outrun My Gun
Author: Misachan
Words: 33,070
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: "The two of you are so stubborn you’ve made Heaven blink." Finally convinced that Sam and Dean will never say yes and accept their destinies, Heaven and Hell come up with a new plan, one that will redraw the Apocalypse and make everything run much more smoothly. All they need is Dean Winchester’s soul.
Keywords: Re-write of season 2 where Dean meets Cas earlier than in canon. Just, Dean won’t forget Cas. That part really got me… It’s not sad though, despite the warnings! It’s very heartwarming :D
Outside of Class
Author: blue_fjords
Words: 2,300
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Cas is a young, arrogant professor... Dean’s the student.
One word: PWP!
Overthrown, Made New
Author: trinityofone
Words: ~1,600
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: The whole “rehymenated” thing was a joke, but just because something is funny doesn’t mean it’s not true.
Keywords: Glorious PWP!
Peanut Butter-Pumpkin Wedding Cake
Author: sparseparsley
Words: 31k
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: The good ones are sometimes assholes and always taken.
Keywords: Another one I forgot to post from before! Always good for a re-read if you need a dose of fluff and/or romantic misunderstandings!
Play It All Night Long
Author: janie_tangerine
Words: ~43,000
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: the rom-com-ish one where Dean hosts a late night radio show, Castiel is a regular listener of his who starts calling one day and ends up calling more often than not and Dean finds himself liking it. This, until one day Castiel calls for not exactly petty reasons (just before Dean’s brother Sam is visiting with his girlfriend for spring break) and things get very, very crowdy at his place. He also doesn’t know it’s just the beginning of it. Also features Gabriel, Chuck, Andy, the Roadhouse crew and a huge amount of music quoted. Especially Bob Dylan.
Keywords: A sweet AU! Also, check out the playlist. There are some great songs!
Point Pleasant [Taken down due to publication! Message me for the link to the Destiel version or see HERE for details.]
Author: chainedtoacomet
Words: 172,577
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Dean Winchester grew up in the idyllic town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia. A terrifying encounter with the supernatural during his childhood shaped his worldview and served as the catalyst for his successful career as a bestselling horror writer. Dean left Point Pleasant at the age of twenty, driven from his hometown by rejection and heartbreak, but thirteen years after abandoning his home and family, Dean finds himself drawn back to the town by the promise of investigating the apparent reemergence of the supernatural creature responsible for Dean’s childhood nightmares.
Once back in Point Pleasant, Dean is confronted not only by the town’s resident monster, the Mothman, but also by his childhood best friend, Castiel Novak. Together, with Bobby Singer—the old drunk who lives on the edge of town—Dean and Castiel uncover the mystery of Point Pleasant’s Mothman in all its terrifying reality. Point Pleasant is a horror story, but aims to show that the ghosts that haunt us are sometimes made of flesh and blood. And sometimes, they lead us home.
Keywords: A different take on Supernatural creatures in an SPN!AU.
* PWP: Pie Without Plot
Authors: MajorEnglishEsquire & orange_crushed
Words: 79,605
Dean/Castiel. Sam/OFC
R
Summary: he is in the kitchen with flour on his hands and an apron and there is flour on his forehead and cas leans across the counter and wipes it off with his thumb and dean says “thank you” and cas says “you’re welcome” very seriously and later dean makes apple turnovers and he only ruins them a little and sam realizes it’s not a real hunt like four days into it and he lets dean stay undercover for like a week and a half or longer maybe way longer because he is such a good everything
Keywords: Don’t be fooled by the title but there is actually quite a bit of plot in this (also, lots of pie) and it’s sweet and awesome and funny and perfect and no longer a WIP!
Redemption Road
Author: Many!
Words: see individual entries
Dean/Castiel, Sam/OFC
NC-17 overall
Summary: With Castiel having set himself up as the new God, drunk on power and volatile as a nuclear reactor, Dean, Sam, and Bobby find themselves on the run from the jealous, capricious monster wearing the face of their friend. Desperate for protection and wary of his brother’s mental state since Castiel unlocked Sam’s memories of Hell, Dean knows Castiel must be defused before he can wreak further havoc in Heaven or on Earth. Although Bobby advocates for destroying Castiel by whatever means necessary, Dean is convinced the Cas he once knew still remains, buried somewhere beneath the mass of poisonous souls and calling out for help. Determined to save the angel who once rescued him from Hell and redefined his purpose in life, Dean himself must resist the allure of the false deity vying for his obedience, and come to terms with the knowledge, long-suppressed, that his feelings for Castiel run much deeper than brotherhood. It is this bond, and the dubious distinction of the Righteous Man, that will ultimately grant Dean access to where Castiel’s grace languishes in Purgatory. However, what Dean brings back with him is broken, angry, and only half-angel, certainly not the Castiel he remembers—and nor is it the only thing that returns to Earth with them...
Keywords: A truly epic story that will make you feel ALL THE THINGS. Be prepared to do nothing else BUT read this.
* Remaining Grace
Author: todisturbtheuniverse (lilypetals)
Words: 109,309
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Sam’s missing his soul, Castiel has a pissy archangelic nemesis, and Dean wonders if he’ll be spending the rest of his life making sure the Apocalypse doesn’t go ahead as scheduled. Still, though. He’s happy to see Cas. Indiana wasn’t really working out.
Unabashed six-fix, in a universe where Castiel made a different choice, and things snowball from that point forward.
Keywords: I’ve been looking for a fic like this ever since I watched the scene with Dean raking leaves while Cas looks on. This is what happens when Cas asks Dean for help instead of leaving him on his own. I couldn’t stop reading!
* Rvr Ro11435 (NASA ‘verse)
Author: Ferritin4
Words: 67,621
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: In which Castiel is a operations analyst, Dean is a grease monkey, and even though it’s set at NASA no one goes to space.
Keywords: Cas is delightfully quirky and Dean is completely enamored. Office romance!
Salt
Author: Bavarde
Words: 2,394
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Dean teaches Castiel the art of taking body shots.
Keywords: You had me at “body shots”.
Shortskirts ‘Verse
Author: twentysomething
Words: 22,377
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: So, they’re in high school, and then they’re in college, and it’s mostly not about Taylor Swift, except when it is.
Keywords: AU highschool, college, and after! This is the second thing I’ve rec’d by this author as well.
* Shut Up (Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is)
Author: kototyph
Words: 23,876
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Dean’s done some pretty stupid things, but getting drunk-hitched in Vegas to a colleague he barely knows might just take the cake. His surprise husband, Castiel, is a little weird but likable despite that, and Dean figures they’ll go back to Boston, get a quiet annulment, and go their separate ways. Six weeks later, he’s still married to one of the strangest, most genuine and definitely most dangerously lov— likable guys he’s ever known. Dean doesn’t know why or really even how it’s happening, but it’s getting harder and harder to remember that he has divorce papers to file.
Keywords: Super sweet domestic AU! Accidental relationship but it’s completely adorable!
* Smoke In the Mirror
Author: letters_of_stars
Words: 52,371
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: It begins with the flier hung in the library: art model needed for thesis project, will pay. Castiel figures it’s an easy way to make some extra money, but modeling for Dean Winchester ends up complicating his life far beyond anything he could have imagined.
Keywords: The writing is wonderfully compelling! This is one of my new favorite college AUs :D
So Glad We Made It
Author: scaramouche
Words: 16,421
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: At twelve years old, Dean makes a friend, who becomes his best friend, who will eventually become the love of his life.
Keywords: A charming and happy story! I love BFF first stories and this is my favorite destiel author :D
Some Kind of Ride
Author: dreamingwriter
Words: ~3,000
Dean/Castiel
PG-13
Summary: Dean is getting married. To Cas. Sam is thrilled.
Keyword: Sweet!
Something Stupid
Author: Zatnikatel
Words: 20,541
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Castiel loses his faith, his mojo and his Dean, and then gets them all back again with the help of a few movie tough guys...
Keywords: Profound bond and Cas quoting movies!
Stay
Author: assbuttsinlove
Words: ???
Dean/Castiel
PG
Summary: Domestic!Dean and tired!Cas. Basically, Cas eats grilled cheese.
Keywords: Season 8 comfort fic!
Sun ‘Verse
Author: enigmaticblue
Words: 144,804
Dean/Castiel, Sam/OFC
R
Summary: By the time Dean stops Lucifer, it’s already too late. A post-apocalyptic tale.
Keywords: The one in which Dean and Cas are raising six kids and Sam remembers the meaning of family.
This universe is VERY expansive, there’s so much to read and you won’t be able to stop! The author has a fantastic way of showing backstory instead of telling and it’s the perfect blend of post-apocalypse and domesticity that I’ve ever read.
Take Me In
Author: cautionzombies
Words: 26,000
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: Dean can’t cope without Sam, so he gets a little angelic assistance to find him.
Keywords: Trueform!Cas plus an adorable OC angel. Also, sequel!
Taking Liberties
Author: cadignan
Words: 46,435
Dean/Castiel, Ruby/Anna
NC-17
Summary: Dean, Sam, and Bobby are hunters in pre-Revolutionary Paris. An eccentric aristocrat comes to them with a job that could change the course of history. (Shh, just come, there will be cravats.)
Keywords: I am COMPLETELY in love with this story. Historic fanfiction! Pre-revolutionary France! Supernatural creatures! Two coda fics! Just read it!
Team Free Win
Author: 74days
Words: 11,166
Dean/Castiel (side of Sabriel)
PG-13
Summary: Dean would never admit to anyone, but the Tuesday and Thursday nights when they’d log in to the latest (and greatest) shooter – Croatoan, were the best part of his week.
With Sam working at Stanford and Dean working for Bobby, it was the only time they really got to hang out - and the fact that they always seemed to end up playing with two other brothers - well, that was just a bonus!
Keywords: A really fun Gamer!AU inspired by THIS.
* The Distance of the Setting Sun
Author: murron
Words: ~17,850
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: With the apocalypse off the table and Sam returned from the pit, Team Free Will finds themselves at loose ends. When Sam suggests they take a holiday, Dean expects many things. Wearing flip-flops isn’t one of them. AU: Set after 5.22, taking a different bend in the road than season six.
Keywords: Dean, Sam, and Cas finally take a vacation and learn how to live in the process. This fic is so relaxing it feels like you’re on vacation too!
The Ghost of Embers
Author: moorishflower
Words: 38,500
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Dean Winchester’s life has been one big clusterfuck. He lost his mother to a house fire when he was a child, and he lost his father to an explosive car accident when he was a teen, and, now that he’s a full-grown man, he’s losing his brother to college and to distant, sunny California. Dean, determined not to let his pyrophobia or his anxiety over his absent brother ruin him, and desirous of a change that just might fix everything, makes the rashest move of his adult life: a largely unnecessary, almost entirely unplanned move to New York City. Stuck in the middle of a city that has a reputation for chewing up and spitting out the unprepared, Dean’s anxieties fluctuate between bad and worse…until he starts to get to know his mysterious and antisocial next door neighbor, Castiel. But mystery isn’t always a good thing; Castiel is hiding a secret…a secret that even the cynical Dean Winchester might have trouble believing.
Keywords: A beautiful and bittersweet ghost story. I thought it might be sad but it’s more melancholy with a hopeful ending. Don’t miss it!
The Ghosts of Blackthorn Hall
Author: linoresearch
Words: 95,000
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: In 1843 Castiel Milton leaves his life of quiet faith and duty to take up employment as tutor to the young ward of one Mr Dean Winchester, at Blackthorn Hall. Set deep among the Yorkshire moors Blackthorn is a place of mysteries – a wild place with an odd history, where faces appear at the windows and mad women laugh in the night. Castiel is drawn to the enigmatic Master of Blackthorn and they form a strong attachment neither of them expected. But there are secrets hidden behind Blackthorns thick stone walls that threaten to destroy their happiness, they are forced to confront the ghosts of their past.
Keywords: Starts off as a Victorian horror story but as the story unfolds, it all starts to make sense. The descriptions really make it feel like you’re there. I also judge stories by their re-readability, and this one definitely has that!
The Girlfriend Experience
Author: rageprufrock
Words: 15,393
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: While it’s not like Dean hasn’t had a couple of truly regrettable hit-and-runs in his sexual history, this is probably the saddest fucking thing that has ever happened to him.
Keywords: Funny AND hot, two of my favorite things!
The Mirror
Author: cloudyjenn
Words: 24,568
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: When Dean touches a strange mirror, he’s whisked away to one alternate reality after another and it doesn’t take him long to realize the universe is trying to tell him something.
Keywords: The reason I prefer Dean/Cas AUs is because I firmly believe that they have the kind of bond that would radiate out through all universes. This fic is a prefect of example of that!
The (Mostly Accidental) Courtship of Dean Winchester
Author: tuesday
Words: 11,171
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: Angelic marriage rites were never intended to go quite like this.
Keywords: Funny semi crack!fic with oblivious!Dean :D
* The Parts of Our Sum
Author: scaramouche
Words: 55,052
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Castiel, a former soldier, has worked for the Company his entire life. They’ve been good to him, providing clothes, shelter and new body parts whenever necessary. Now the Company’s gearing up for a space exploration voyage, and Castiel’s volunteered for the research team. During the preparation period, he meets Dean Winchester, who makes Castiel wonder about the things he’s missed out on.
Keywords: Destiel in space! Well, they’re on earth for most of it, but still! Destiel and sci-fi, two of my favorite things! There are a few typos, but it’s totally worth it and this is one of my fave authors :D
The Precision of The Fall
Author: behindblue_eyes
Words: 36,850
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: They used to be called The Family Winchester. People came from miles around to see their act, knowing their names and faces before the circus even rolled into town. Life was shiny with salt and sawdust, sequins and smiles. Now, all that was left were a few crumpled posters, an empty bunk next to Dean’s, and the leather-gripped knives hidden in the trick pockets of his vest.
Keywords: Such a unique setting! Plus a little bit of mystery backstory and don’t forget to check out the art!
* The Story of You and Me
Author: the_diggler
Words: 54,936
Dean/Castiel, Sam/OFC
NC-17
Summary: Dean wakes up in bed next to a very human Castiel, and a journal in his own handwriting that tells him it’s two years in the future. The house looks a lot like Bobby’s, and Sam lives there too… He just can’t remember how they got from angels falling in the sky – to comfortable domesticity.
While there is much in the journal Dean doesn’t remember, there is much of their story he’s always known. And as he settles into the routine of his new life and relationship with Castiel, it quickly becomes something he doesn’t know how to live without.
Keywords: Domestic! But with season 8 as AU?? I dunno how to describe this, but I don’t want to ruin it!
* The Two Faces of Vengeance
Author: janie_tangerine
Words: 27,000
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Western AU. Dean Winchester is a bounty hunter, set to catch a group of killers in order to get the money and retire from the business. Castiel is another bounty hunter aiming for the rich businessman who pays that same group of killers to do his dirty work, but for personal reasons. They decide to work together. It doesn’t go as smoothly as it could.
Keywords: I’ve only just really started to get into Destiel westerns! There are a few minor typos throughout but the story makes up for it!
The Violin House
Author: teh_helenables
Words: ??
Dean/Castiel
PG
Summary: The Apple Pie Life is a slow process, but Dean and Cas are getting there—until Cas is called for battle and Dean is forced to wait.
Keywords: I don’t rec a lot of PG but I have a soft spot for domestic!Destiel and this one is perfect :D
The Way the War was Won
By: deans1911
Words: 39,084
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: Dean and Cas are buddy cops faking a marriage for the benefits and tax breaks. Except for the part where Dean’s sort of actually in love with his partner and doesn’t realize it yet.
Keywords: It’s got sort-of denial (the funny kind, not the annoying kind) Did I mention it’s funny? And sweet :DWIP but updates regularly! Now complete!
There’s Only One Sure Thing That I Know
Author: blinkiesays
Words: 20,358
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Dean doesn’t even get halfway through explaining before Bobby starts laughing. When he lets himself think about it for more than five seconds, Dean can almost see Bobby’s point: he’s faced down demons, witches, vampires, werewolves, ghosts, angels, and Satan himself and now he’s been defeated by the God damn Midwest.
One word: Domesticity :D
Thursday’s Child
Author: strangenessandcharm
Words: 114,000
Dean/Castiel, Dean/OFC/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Thursday’s child has far to go.
Keywords: Future!Cas and Dean so they’re both pretty messed up. That doesn’t stop them from trying to heal each other.
Till Human Voices Wake Us
Author: saltandbyrne
Words: 20,634
Dean/Castiel (implied Dean/Others)
NC-17
Summary: In a world of hippogriffs, hydras and flying pygmy elephants, intrepid explorer Dean Winchester was sure he had seen it all. When a monster destroys the only home he's ever known, Dean finds himself falling for his strange rescuer and struggling to face his past.
Keyword: I swear by the fanfic gods that I didn't intend to get into tentacle porn...oops!
Unconditionally Horny and Eternally Sad
Author: wormstaches
Words: 31,714
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: It’s your typical boy-likes-boy story. Boy 1 is sad, Boy 2 is horny. Let’s call Boy 1 Castiel Novak; he’s spent his entire life being left behind by everybody around him. Boy 2 is named Dean Winchester; he just wants Castiel to fall in love with him, and is determined to show Cas he isn’t everybody.
Keywords: The same author as below, I wanted to show a contrast for those who don’t like in-denial!Dean, here is has-his-shit-together!Dean, which is what I love!
Untitled
Author: divachester
Words: ???
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: They just gotta communicate skin to skin.
Keywords: Post season 8 PWP/hurt-comfort with human!Cas. Beautiful and hot.
Vita Nuova
Author: world-according
Words: ~70k
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: AU. Dean Winchester takes a job as a teaching assistant to get his little brother into a prestigious academy. He doesn’t quite expect such long nights and snobby kids, but the real surprise is professor Castiel Novak: or falling in love with him, that is.
Keywords: Truly romantic! There’s tension in the beginning…omg the tension. The writing is so rich and lovely, just the way the author describes Cas’ laugh in one section is enchanting.
Waves
Author: wormstaches
Words: 54,132
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: Dean Winchester is the average guy: football, college, kid brother, nice car, girls and beer; his life is black and white, that is until he meets Castiel Collins: pretentious, slutty, sweater-wearing genius, who won’t even take the time to look up at him from his obscure novel while he insults him. And then everything is shades of gray and Dean is drowning.
Keywords: Hipster!Cas is a riot and surprisingly perfect! Also, Idiot-in-denial!Dean. Couldn’t stop reading!
We All Have Our Time Machines
Author: wandersfound
Words: ~26,000
NC-17
Dean/Castiel
Summary: AU. Castiel wakes up in the snow with no memory of how he got there. He can’t go home because he doesn’t remember where home is. Dean, a professor at a local college, finds the man and offers him a ride. Despite a bad experience in the past, Dean agrees to let Castiel stay with him until he regains his memory. Castiel— or Jimmy, as Dean calls him— has one clue to his identity: a ring that might be an engagement ring. He figures there must be someone out there looking for him and, although Dean finds his feelings for Castiel growing, he agrees to help Castiel look for her. What they find isn’t something either could have expected.
Keywords: I usually don’t read amnesia!fic but I really love this one! It’s more laid-back than most. Also has professor!Dean.
We Became Fans of Collisions
Author: wandersfound
Words: 27,682
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Dean is the owner of a bookstore and one day, he gets a new customer.
Keywords: I love AUs where Dean and Cas have interesting or different than usual jobs! Has shy!Cas and book lover!Dean.
* What Once Was Sacred
Author: saltandbyrne
Words: 55,775
Dean/Castiel, Charlie/Anna
NC-17
Summary: Los Angeles detective Dean Winchester works tirelessly to atone for the sins of his father one case at a time. When his best friend Charlie drags him to visit Sam at his new job, Dean stumbles onto a bizarre string of deaths that brings him uncomfortably close to his past.
Dean can’t stop thinking about Castiel, an enigmatic DJ who plays the sexiest music Dean’s ever heard. A chance encounter at Castiel’s house reveals that Castiel is an incubus, and Dean must face the lies and the reality of his childhood as a hunter. Dean comes to see that he and Castiel have more in common than he thought, and that guilt can be the hardest thing to cast aside.
Keywords: I don’t think I can do this fic justice by describing it. Really, all you need to know is that it’s written by saltandbyrne and I couldn’t stop reading!
Where the World Begins
Author: the-ninth-bow
Words: ~49,300
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: In the aftermath of a battle against demons, Castiel rescues an orphan girl, who then forms an attachment to the fallen angel. Dean and Castiel take her into their care, traveling highways and back roads, killing as many demons as they can, while Sam searches for an alternate way to defeat Lucifer. Amidst trying to end the Apocalypse, Dean finds his life a strange combination of broken, crumbling cities and a half-domestic life on the road. In the quiet moments they make for themselves among the chaos, Dean and Castiel become closer not only to each other but to their ward, and Dean finds his life taking a turn in a direction he never thought it’d have a chance to take.
Keywords: A little bit of domesticity during the apocalypse.
White Winter Hymnal
Author: newbluemoon
Words: 23,205
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: AU. Writer!Dean walks into a café late at night on Christmas Eve, looking for inspiration for his next novel. Instead he finds librarian!Cas.
Keywords: Practically a soulmates story! If you like your Destiel sweet and hot with a dash of schmoop then this is for you!
Yellow Moon
Author: coffeeandcheesecake
Words: 11,548
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: Castiel Novak hasn’t said a word for three years. The mountains and a beautiful boy might give him a reason to speak.
Keywords: In universe!AU. Very sweet! I wish I could read more about Dean and Cas hunting together.
I don't rec every Destiel fic I read, but when I do, they're quality.
Now with shiny new word counts!
Fics marked with * are new additions!
12 Steps
Author: Gedry
Words: 33,032
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: The 12 Steps tell you to keep it simple, but Dean Winchester has never been good at keeping anything simple. So, with the help and support of the core people in his life he’s giving sobriety his best shot, which even on a good day is a struggle. But as he works at it he makes progress and starts to rediscover himself, and maybe find love with the new guy next door.
Keywords: Another one I read before I started doing the rec things. A realistic (so I hear) take on recovering addict!Dean. Also includes a bit of domesticity!
300 Things
Author: cautionzombies
Words: ~76,500
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Dean’s life at twenty-four makes him feel like he’s forty—he works two jobs to help pay bills for his house and put his genius little brother through private school, and has spent six years (on and off, let’s be honest) working on his mechanical engineering degree at KU. With so much of his life devoted to his family, Dean has little time in his schedule for class and no time for social interaction. Then, while getting his classes together for the fall, he finds himself in a do-or-die situation: He must take his last literature class now, his spring already filled with those left for his major…except that none of the English classes will fit his schedule.
This is how Dean grovels and begs Dr. Castiel Milton to make a special arrangement for him, and Dr. Milton does.
Keywords: One of the first Destiel fics I ever read and I still go back and re-read it every so often.
* A Beginners Guide to Communing with the Dead
Author: suspiciousflashlight
Words: 77,159
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: Maybe it’s the little girl whose disappearance turned into a murder, and whose murder turned into a cold case, and who has now apparently decided to move in with him. Maybe it’s the unacceptable hole left in his life when his dumb best friend and partner in (the prevention of) crime decided to go and get himself killed. Maybe it’s his brother, whose high-profile career and fantastic girlfriend and first-child-on-the-way are steadily leaving Dean in the dust. Pick one. Pick all of them. The why doesn’t matter so much as the what, and the what is this: Dean is pretty sure he’s going completely, certifiably insane. Sure, he hasn’t started wearing all his clothes inside out, and he still showers on a regular basis (anyways, that’s not crazy, just a little eccentric); but there’s no getting around the fact that he just threw away his life, his career, and his reputation by dragging out his mom’s old necromancy book and summoning a Class A Forbidden Entity to his attic. A cranky one, too. With horrendous bed-head.
Keywords: An original version of the Supernatural world where Dean is good at necromancy and creatures live side by side with humans. Not dark at all, I want to read more!
A Change of Constellation
Author: ashes
Words: 39,965
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: When Dean wakes up with all the wrong parts in all the right places, his primary concern is figuring out who stole his dick and how to get it back. In the mean time, he may as well try out the new equipment. If only he had ever paid attention in a seventh-grade health class, he could have avoided the complications that came next.
Keywords: Temporary gender-bending and a tiny bit of domesticity.
A Judicious Application of Free Will
Author: Scaramouche
Words: 57,000+
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Dean lives the simple life in Lawrence, running the family business at Winchester Hardware. When Castiel moves into the neighborhood, they strike up a friendship that has the chance to become something more. But before that can run its course, the secrets of Castiel’s past catch up with them both, and their whole world changes.
Keywords: a proper alternate reality. Can’t say much more without spoiling it but it will make you feel ALL THE THINGS.
* A Mighty Dark Night
Author: blue_fjords
Words: 73,813
Dean/Castiel, Dean/Anna
R
Summary: Detective Dean Winchester meets Homeland Security Agent Castiel James over a corpse.
Keywords: Fanfic is the only way I enjoy crime dramas! Lots of good and evil familiar faces, this is one that won’t let you sleep until you finish it, so plan accordingly!
A Song of Wind and Wings
Author: triedunture
Words: 10,000
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: The Angelborn have not been seen in Westeros in hundreds of years. Lord Dean Winchester and his brother Ser Sam arrive in Lady Ellen’s Highroad Keep after receiving word that one has been taken captive.
Keywords: A SPN/GoT fusion! I just started reading Game of Thrones so I did not want to miss this one :D
A Wincest Story
Author: trinityofone
Words: ~3,000
Dean/Castiel, Sam/OFC
PG-13
Summary: When he listened to their former angel pronounce his new official human name over and over, first giddy, then reverent—“Cas Winchester, Cas Winchester”—Sam couldn’t shake the feeling that this was somehow going to come back and bite them in the ass.
Keywords: No actual Wincest just domesticity and humorous misunderstandings!
All the Way
Author: cadignan
Words: 81,000
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Castiel spends the first two weeks of college in much the same way he spent the previous years: alone with his books. He’s fine with it—he enrolled in college to learn, after all. Then in his first chemistry lab, he has the bad luck of being paired with snide, good-for-nothing Ruby, and the further misfortune of sitting behind Dean Winchester, the world’s most beautiful distraction. Ruby catches Castiel staring at Dean and makes him an offer.
Keywords: I love that Cas basically gets pulled into this group without really realizing it :D
An Exercise In ‘Worthless’
Author: beastofthesky
Words: 26,547
Dean/Castiel (Sam/Gabriel)
R
Summary: “I mean, you’re–” He gestures at Cas, in his neat oxford shirt and nice pants. “–and I’m a high school dropout who tattoos for a living.”
Wherein Dean makes a hefty living as a tattoo artist who owns the space next to Gabriel’s cafe. Sam attends the local university. When Gabe’s cousin comes to live with him while starting grad school at Sam’s university, Dean thinks for sure that all his negative karma’s coming to bite him in the ass because Cas clearly has a thing for Sam. No one would ever choose him over Sam. That’s just logic.
Keywords: Dean with piercings and a collection of tattoos is just so different and perfect. Also, just reading about someone getting a tattoo makes me can’t wait until I’ve saved up enough to get my second one!
And I Will Walk On Water
Author: tracy_loo_who
Words: ~2,900
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: In which Dean discovers that the archangels didn’t finish their job after all, and that demons picked up where they left off.
Keywords: Long, involved, and plotty with a slow building relationship. Also, h/c.
* And Yet, By Heaven
Author: liadan14
Words: 11,875
Dean/Castiel, minor Jo/Victor
R
Summary: The one where Cas is a Religious Studies professor and Dean’s the department secretary.
Keywords: The characterization is delightful, I love Dean’s comments (“Like yoda, only hot.”) Also, touches of domesticity!
Angelhawke
Author: almaasi
Words: 407,057
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: A Dean/Cas Fantasy-Drama AU, set in a medieval world where two men are separated by a curse: every sunrise and sunset, both are eternally bound to transform into animals. Every night when darkness falls, Dean Winchester becomes a wolf, and his human mind is lost until the dawn. As the sun rises, his lover Castiel becomes a hawk. Their story has been the same for five years - until the day that a young thief named Sam stumbles into their twisted lives. Without even realising it, he becomes a part of their destiny, their paths entwined in prophecy and fate. Together with a few old friends, they set off on a journey to break the curse, but it won’t be easy. To pass the time, Dean and Castiel take turns to recount their past to Sam, narrating the tale of how they met, how they formed their profound bond, and how they found themselves wanting what no man should ever want: the touch of another man.
Keywords: Dean and Castiel’s epic love story, as told to Sam. Warning: LONG but worth it!
* Après
Author: imogenbynight
Words: 24,045
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: When the angels stop falling and Castiel makes his way out of the trees, he finds himself alone and oceans away from the Winchesters. For once, Dean flies to him.
Keywords: Sweet and fluffy and France! Also, Cas speaking French and Dean enjoying it :D If anyone needs fluffyromance!fic therapy, this is it!
Aschenflügel
Author: liadan14
Words: 28,982
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Loosely based on Grimm’s Cinderella. Once upon a time, a merchant’s wife gave birth to a little boy named Castiel, who was perfect in all ways, right down to the beautiful black wings sprouting out of his back. However, in a country still fighting the phobia of human-to-animal shapeshifters, not everyone agrees, and when his mother dies, Castiel is left at the hands of his stepfather Zachariah, who doesn’t condone non-human traits despite being part-bird himself. And then there’s Dean, the only friend Castiel has in the world, who thinks Castiel’s wings are awesome, but is hiding a few problems of his own.
Keywords: Wonderful retelling of Cinderella: Destiel style! Don’t forget to read the author’s note at the end for more background info.
Asunder
Author: rageprufrock
Words: 23,817
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Don’t go into Restoration Hardware unless you’re prepared for Cas to pay $500 for a Vulcan deer.
Keyword: AU with Sam/Ruby. Dean invites Cas to the wedding. I think this another one of those “I read it before I started reccing things” fics!
Beyond the Edge and Falling
Authors: annundriel, cautionzombies, obstinatrix, and tiptoe39
Words: ~8,900
NC-17
Dean/Castiel
Summary: Cas is feeling dejected about his increasing humanity. Dean shows him some of the benefits.
One word: Gorgeous :D
Bring It On Home
Author: obstinatrix
Words: 14,871
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Cas is beginning to display emotions. This wouldn’t be so bad, were it not for the fact that the emotions seem to be centring themselves on Dean. Dean is oblivious, of course; Sam, on the other hand, is not. Sam’s never tried his hand at matchmaking before, but it can’t be so hard, right?
Keywords: Poor Cas, trying to learn how to be human and Dean not being much help…until he is ;) Funny, quirky, and hot! Also, a really good Castiel!POV.
But Dust and a Shadow & The Cure and the Poison
Author: akadougal
Words: ?? & 23,000
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Dean as a soldier, Castiel as his assigned interpreter. Human/Non-hunter AU. Dean doesn’t know what to do after leaving the Army but Castiel has an offer of another way to serve his country – join an agency determined to track down a massive threat to National Security. A threat his brother is inextricably entwined with.
Keywords: Action/adventure, Dean and Cas as operatives!
Chrysler Almighty
Author: zatnikatel
Words: 5,736
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: All you need to know is it’s a PWP.
One word: Fenestration ;)
Come Carpe Diem, Baby
Author: a_carnal_mink
Words: 9,300
NC-17
Dean/Castiel(Jimmy)
Summary: “I am the only being in all Creation who has cradled your soul in my hands. I know you. I know you are complete. Because I know you completely.”
Keywords: Sweet and hot!
* Confiteor.
Author: orange_crushed
Words: 4,880
Dean/Castiel
PG-13
Summary: "I have a job," he says, carefully, like Dean is not intimately fucking aware of that situation. Like Dean hasn’t been googling grim statistics on gas station robberies and watching clips from Clerks on youtube for the last few weeks like a sad dumb jerk.
"Yeah," Dean says. "I know." He’s mangled the check in his hand; he puts it on the table and irons out the wrinkles with his palm. "I got it."
Keywords: A lovely little fix-it coda to 9x06!
Containing Multitudes
Author: triedunture
Words: 8,700
Dean/Castiel
PG
Summary: Part 1 of the Leaves of Grass series. AU after 6x22.
Keywords: There are four parts to this series (which means the rating gets higher!) I really love fallen!Cas with Dean helping him deal with becoming human. This is a fantastic series! (Parts linked at the end)
Could I But Hold Thee (the life-art ‘verse)
Author: the-diggler
Words: 11,830
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: When Castiel is stuck without a model for his life-art class, Dean volunteers. What Dean doesn’t know is that Castiel has already been sketching the young barista for months…
Keywords: Non-angsty AU with artist!Cas and life drawing!
Crossing the Sea
Author: thegrrrl2002
Words: 20,828
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: The apocalypse is over, and Dean has Sam back, safe and sound. All should be well with his world, but Dean's still coping with the emotional fallout and feeling more than a little off-balance, Meanwhile, Sam is convinced there's a monster living in Lake Superior but they can't seem to find it, although there's plenty of good pie and fishing trips to be had. Plus there's Castiel, who pops back into Dean's life, and gets way into Dean's personal space. He's dealing with his own issues -- being the new sheriff of heaven isn't turning out quite the way he thought it would.
Keywords: a quiet, happy fic :D
Crossroads State
Author: Mercy
Words: 51,002
Dean/Castiel (Castiel/Balthazar)
R
Summary: Castiel has a nice predictable structured life teaching high school, even if he happens to be overqualified for it. Then this guy moves in around the corner and literally knocks him on his ass.
Keywords: Adorable professor!Cas and a bit of UST. Also, a dog :D
* Dark Side of the Moon
Author: imogenbynight
Words: 37219
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: Five months into his six month mission, an accident leaves Flight Engineer Dean Winchester stranded on the moon. It comes down to a man he has never met to bring him home.
Keywords: Destiel in space? Of course I’m going to read this! A mix of sweet and dark with smart!Dean and adorable Charlie! Beware, there is some sad but it’s totally worth it.
Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives
Author: cymbalism219
Words: 15,000
Dean/Cas
NC-17
Summary: After the apocalypse, Dean’s living with Lisa and earning his keep by cooking dinner. Cas likes that Dean can cook. Dean likes Cas’s company. But they could use a little alone time, and Dean has a lot to learn about what the rest of his life really means.
Keywords: Non-AU domesticity is always a treat to find!
Don’t Panic
Author: deans1911
Words: 7,298
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Dean is a Secret Service agent. Castiel is his ex-KGB handler.
Keywords: I forgot to rec this! I read it a while ago and then had to find it again because I forgot the title. Only three chapters long but that doesn’t matter because the story makes it feel like more! Also has mute!Cas.
Dream As If You’ll Live Forever
Author: Commodoresexual
Words: 5,999
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Cas hasn’t spoken a word to anyone in years and is a drifter who works various odd jobs to finance himself. Dean is a guy with a violent temper who grew up in foster care and has just gotten out of prison for a stupid judgment call. The two cross paths in a pay-by-the-week boarding house run by an eccentric older couple.
Keywords: h/c and backstory!
* Dystopia Is for Lovers
Author: blue_fjords
Words: 17,266
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Ben Braeden has just moved to California to live with his scientist dad and his schoolteacher uncle after the death of his mother. Things begin to look up for him and his family when he meets the famous sci-fi author, Castiel Novak. (Told in alternating POVs by Ben, Cas, Sam and Dean.)
Keywords: The best way to describe this fic is original and quirky. The switched POVs really work for this one! Also, dad!Dean, cool uncle!Sam, and the titles for Cas’ books are awesome and hilarious :D
* El Tango de Amor
Author: literaryoblivion
Words: 16401
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: Every Tuesday and Thursday, Dean leaves, is gone for two to three hours, and comes home sweaty and exhausted to the apartment he and his brother Sam share. Sam had asked him where he went once, and Dean had said he was working out, which technically wasn’t a lie. What he was doing was definitely giving him a workout, just not in the traditional sense. In all actuality though, Dean was leaving every Tuesday and Thursday for a dance class. A dance class taught by a one Castiel Novak.
Keywords: Love slow burn dancing fics! Don’t forget to watch the video because it’s AMAZING.
Excerpts From Carver Edlund’s Magnum Opus
Author: twentysomething
Words: 27,000
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: “'C’mon, Cas, it’s like we’re Mulder and Scully, this is totally X-Files,” he says expansively, waving a hand around. It makes his tie flap and momentarily obscure the new and distracting belt buckle that just says “LUCKY” in huge, embarrassing reflective script in the early morning light. Castiel just stares blankly at him.
“I don’t know what that means,” Cas replies. Dean sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose under the bright yellow sunglasses.”
Keywords: FBI agent!Dean, anthropologist!Cas solve crimes!
* F**k You!
Author: deans1911
Words: 24,459
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Kitchen Nightmares AU: Castiel Novak, the general manager of a failing restaurant, and Dean Winchester, his stubborn head chef, hate each other’s guts. It’s up to celebrity Chef Balthazar Roche to keep them from running Garrison 16 into the ground and killing one another in the process.
Keywords: So good and funny and awesome!
Faith and Deeds
Author: teh-helenables
Words: Long one-shot
Dean/Castiel
G
Summary: The Miltons own a haphazard produce store, and Mary Winchester is their most frequent customer.
Keywords: A sweet AU with Mary-the-matchmaker!
Five times Sam didn’t catch a clue (and the time they finally out and told him)
Author: tfwftw
Words: 5,111
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: Sam has no idea Dean and Cas are in a relationship. Dean has no idea that Sam has no idea - has Sam not been paying attention?
Keywords: Oblivious!Sam is hilarious…poor Sam :D
For Me This is Heaven
Author: thunder_nari
Words: ~30,000
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: AU based off How to Train Your Dragon. Cansae is a town nestled in the foothills of the mountains, surrounded by rivers, trees and ravines. A picturesque place to settle, there’s only one major problem. Angels.
In cities all across these lands, angels harvest the souls of humans and the cities have bound their efforts together to create an elite army of hunters. Men and women trained specifically in the killing of angels and the protection of the civilians. Each year, any citizen of the age twenty-one can sign up for the training.
This year the training takes place in the city of Cansae and Dean Winchester is determined to be the best, for the glory of the reward of killing his first angel before the city and before his father.
Keywords: A wonderful AU! I wish I had seen the art before reading, it’s gorgeous and perfect!
Force of Nature
Author: etcetera-kit
Words: 21,622
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: AU. Dean is a detective with the Lawrence P.D. with a huge crush on Cas, a C.S.I. in the department. Dean, and his partner Rufus, make up the P.S.I.T. - Psychopathological and Sociopathological Investigative Team. A vigilante killer begins posting his executions on YouTube, correcting items that justice has failed. Dean and Rufus are assigned to the case and Cas is their appointed C.S.I. They race against the clock to solve the case as the victims become higher profile, and Rufus dusts off his matchmaking skills.
Keywords: Rufus is a hilarious matchmaker :D
* Foxfire Blossom
Author: almaasi
Words: 283,065
Dean/Castiel (see warnings!)
NC-17
Summary: On a narrow lane, right at the edge of San Francisco city, there is a boutique flower shop with a single employee named Dean. The place is Dean’s world; it’s tiny, filled with bright colour and sensational beauty, and it’s the only sanctuary he ever finds amidst the commotion of his new life. Then, there’s Castiel. From the first time he steps into the shop, Castiel can’t help but become deeply enchanted by what’s inside. However, it’s not just the flowers that keep him coming back - with each visit he makes, he grows fonder of the bespectacled florist, learning Dean’s hands and his laughter as Dean shows him how to romance a woman. There is nothing either of them can do to keep from falling in love, despite Castiel’s path already being paved, cemented, and thoroughly set in stone: he is supposed to marry Daphne. It becomes clear that they all have their vices, addictions. Castiel has kept things from Dean… and maybe Dean has a few secrets, too. What with all the lying, cheating, and dauntless emotional vulnerability, they may as well be living in a soap opera.
Keywords: More big bang AND it’s almaasi so you know you’re in for a treat! There is such perfect world building, ups and downs, foreshadowing, learning secrets, and EVERYTHING. Lovely flower shop!AU.
Freefall
Author: lastknownwriter
Words: 128,542
Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel
NC-17
Summary: AU. The most exciting kindergarten teacher Dean Winchester’s life ever gets is when he plays mechanic in his uncle Bobby’s shop on the weekends. That is until a birthday party goes tequila-nova and he trips into a one-night stand with an incredibly hot firefighter named Castiel. Dean’s life gets a lot more exciting after that.
Keywords: Long with domestic related plot! I really love Cas' and Dean’s characterization in this. Also, light on relationship angst!
* Grotesque
Author: lastknownwriter
Words: 58,470
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Deep in the heart of the bayou, a winged creature has paid a long and lonely penance for a tragedy history has forgotten. A fateful storm and a soldier pure of heart are about to change his world. A Dean/Castiel Beauty and the Beast AU.
Keywords: A modern re-working of a fairy tale. You can see the inspiration without it being too obvious and it is just lovely!
* Growing Up With The Country
Author: Sanwall
Words: 30292
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: 1878, Wyoming territory.
Dean Winchester has been hunting alone for a few years already when he hears word that his brother, Man of Letters Sam Winchester, is up to no good. When he attempts to get Sam out of a demon deal, Dean ends up bound to an angel instead. Dean never believed in angels, but if he did, they’d be nothing like Castiel, angel of the Lord and divine pain in the ass.
Castiel, however, is all Dean has, and together they have to find Sam before he can open the Devil’s Gate. The Oregon Trail is not an easy trip, with harsh terrain and even harsher people along the way. After run-ins with hunters and gun-toting townspeople, not to mention bandits, and avoiding certain death more than once, Dean thinks he might have to start believing in angels after all.
Keywords: Historical fanfic that fits with canon? Yes please! Also, cowboys and hats.
* Halfway
Author: anythingtoasted
Words: 29,963
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: A Fallen!Castiel bunker fic; Castiel arrives back at the bunker after six months of being missing, with eighteen of his newly-fallen brothers and sisters in tow; shameless schmoop and angel-care ensues. ♥
Keywords: I wanted to wait until this was complete before I recced it! A nice balance of Cas needing to find himself as a human and Dean eventually understanding this.
Heart of Glass
Author: omphalos
Words: 17,059
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: He’s the one who was punished, severely, because of his feelings for Dean, but who still gave up everything for him in the end. Surely there should exist between them a better level of comprehension than this.
Keywords: This one hits so many of my buttons: h/c, grace-and-soul-bonding, slowly-becoming-human!Cas. and more! It’s pre-apocalypse too.
Hello Night
Author: almaasi
Words: 11,200
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Demon!Dean/Priest!Cas AU. Castiel summons Dean to the crossroads, and he only wants one thing: him.
Keywords: If you have a thing against Demon!Dean DON’T LET THAT STOP YOU FROM READING THIS. IT’S TOTALLY WORTH IT. Trust me.
House of the Rising Sun
Author: moonlettuce
Words: ~14,000
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Between the serial killer and his partner, Dean Winchester’s week really can’t get any worse.
Keywords: Cops, h/c, and sweetness! Also, not-in-denial!Dean, yay!
Hummingbirds
Author: strangenessandcharm
Words: 23,700
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Castiel is rendered mute after being taught a painful lesson, but that enables Dean to learn a few lessons of his own while holding onto something important for him. Elsewhere, someone really loves to count…
Keywords: H/C with some gore in the beginning and sweetness at the end :D
In a Twist
Author: annundriel
Words: 2,133
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Castiel buys Dean a little something. Dean likes it. A lot.
Keywords: PORN and panties. Also, sequels!
In the Silence Afterward
By: ibroketuesday
Words: 13,080
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: After Lucifer rises, Dean goes mute.
Keywords: This is the first one that needs a warning: character death. Apocalypse levels of sad, but totally worth it.
In the Weeds
Author: nanoochka
Words: 40,265
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: “Dean knew, from the minute he laid eyes on Chef Castiel MacCarthy, the day would come that he would have to kidnap the man and dump the body in the darkest, dirtiest crack den in Ireland. Given that this was Dublin city, it wouldn’t be hard to find.”
Keywords: In which Dean and Cas are more antagonistic towards each other than I’m used to reading…but I loved every minute of it! Also, Cas in a kilt!
It’s Always the End of the World Somewhere
Author: scaramouche
Words: 21,000+
Dean/Castiel +others
NC-17
Summary: The status quo is this: Dean is the popular captain of the football team, and Castiel is the off-kilter nobody who doesn’t so much as breathe the same air as Dean. Then senior year happens and the status quo is shot to smithereens.
Keywords: high-school AU with slowly revealed backstory! Also, prequels/sequels at the end!
* Imitating Life
Author: littlehollyleaf
Words: ~60,000
Dean/Meta!Misha, Dean/Castiel & others
NC-17
Summary: Set in The French Mistake universe. To safeguard the angelic weapons he stole from Heaven, Balthazar has entrusted the keys to their hiding place to Sam and Dean and sent them into an alternative dimension. Unfortunately, Heavenly hitman Virgil followed them through and managed to swipe the keys during the ensuing confrontation. Now, the brothers need to find Virgil stat or their world is headed for a meltdown when he hands the keys over to Raphael who plans to use the weapons to re-start Armageddon. The problem is - how? Because if tracking down Virgil isn’t hard enough they also have to keep up the pretence of being a couple of crappy TV stars, investigate the mysterious arrival of one Richard Speight Jr. and deal with a clingy Castiel-lookalike who can’t seem to stop fawning over Dean.
Keywords: Just what I was looking for in a French Mistake fic, with bonus meta!character discussions! Also, there’s more Dean/meta!Misha than Dean/Cas, just FYI.
Inevitable Homoeroticism in Spanish Romantic Heroes
Author: prosopopeya
Words: 41,701
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Dean is a grad student studying for his MA in Spanish literature, and he’s pretty content with his sexuality as it is — that is, fairly undefined and also secret. His attraction to Castiel, a professor to the undergrads, doesn’t seem like a big deal until it becomes a very big deal, and Dean scrambles to keep his head above water.
Keywords: College AU with Cas speaking different languages. So… language porn :D?
Jeté
Author: cadignan
Words: 10,848
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Castiel has been photographing their ballet company for two years now and he and Dean have barely exchanged six words, and yet somehow when Dean breaks his leg, it’s Castiel who takes him home from the hospital and takes care of him.
Keyword: I need more dancer fic because I really enjoyed this one! Also, Dean around kids is adorable :D
Jump the Track
Author: lafleurdumal85
Words: ??
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: High school AU. It’s Dean’s senior year at Lawrence High, and he’s already given up on himself. It takes the arrival of the strange, intense, awkward Castiel Delacroix at the school to prove to Dean that maybe his life is worth saving after all.
Keywords: Here, have an excerpt from Castiel texting Dean:
GABRIEL HAS RED SATIN SHEETS ON HIS BED. GOOD GOD, WHAT AM I DOING HERE?
I WOKE UP THIS MORNING TO FIND BLONDE SKANDANAVIAN TWINS MAKING WAFFLES IN THE KITCHEN WEARING ONLY THEIR UNDERWEAR. IT WAS TERRIFYING.
I SUSPECT THAT GABRIEL IS RUNNING SOME KIND OF DEN OF INIQUITY. I HAVE A HORRIBLE FEELING YOU WOULD LIKE IT HERE.
Last Friday Night
Author: Idwff
Words: 25,459
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Dean is a drag racer and Castiel finds him fascinating. He watches in secret as the green-eyed stranger speeds his way around the hidden lake track every Friday night. That is, until he finds out they attend the same university.
Keywords: WIP with bi-weekly updates! A while ago, I had been looking for a street racing fic where Dean races the Impala… this is it! The fanfic gods were kind because this is exactly what I was looking for!
Lay Your Weary Head To Rest
Author: ladyoneill
Artist: brihana25
Words: 35,242
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: In the final battle of Armageddon, Dean is severely injured. As he suffers through pain and multiple surgeries and the possibility of permanent disability, Castiel is granted a reward by Heaven that Dean struggles with understanding, Sam makes a decision that throws Dean for a loop, and a ten year old boy finds out his father is the man he always wished it was, but nothing like he expected. Somehow these four take something very broken and dysfunctional and make it into a family.
Keywords: Hurt/comfort and domesticity! SEQUEL.
* Learning Curve
Author: mtothedestiel
Words: 37,852
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Dean is a pre-school teacher and Castiel Novak is his new student’s intriguing guardian. They both know the sacrifices that come with caring for others, but, over time, they learn what it means to want something for themselves.
Keywords: I almost skipped this one because I thought I had already read it (I’ve read A LOT of teacher au!) but I’m glad I decided to double check because Dean who is good with kids is one of my favorite things!
Love in Every Stitch
Author: Gedry
Words: 11,121
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: A Dean/Cas high school AU involving them being friends for a long time and Castiel falling in love with Dean and knitting him a sweater.
Keywords: A very sweet fic with a happily ever after sequel! Also, knitting!
* Master of Reality
Author: PeppermintWind
Words: 87,629
Dean/Castiel, Dean/Alastair, Castiel/Crowley
NC-17
Summary: In which Dean hangs out at the Roadhouse Homeless Youth Day Center and Castiel takes an Urban Plunge. And then everything gets complicated.
Keywords: A unique take on teenage Dean and Cas… Watch out for angst!
* More Than Alien Mojo
Author: remivel
Words: 29,605
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Dean was one of Men in Black’s best agents. In fact, he’s been knee deep in extraterrestrial crap his whole life, and he’s gone through more apocalypses than he could care to remember. He thought he’s seen it all— until he and his partner, Sam, were sent out to a routine meteorite crash inspection. What was supposed to be a meteorite turned out to be a golden spaceship, and instead of hitchhiking intergalactic pathogens, it was an alien that took the form of a human male. A verynakedhuman male.
Soon, they discovered that this alien named ‘Castiel’ was a refugee from a war-torn galaxy.The first of his kind to ever venture to Earth, Castiel agreed to share information about his galaxy and his race in exchange for his relocation on Earth. The only catch was: since Castiel was a new alien species, nobody knew what he was capable of, whether he was as harmless as E.T., or as dangerous as the Predator. And it was Dean’s job to keep an eye on him and assess just how much of a threat Castiel could be, and if necessary, eliminate him.
It wasn’t a job Dean was looking forward to doing. Especially since he couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off him, naked or not.
Keywords: MIB fusion AU? Yes please! Has Dean and Cas working together with Cas as an alien. I’m following for future timestamps!
My Eyes Are An Ocean
Author: entanglednow
Words: 10,275
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: It’s amazing what you decide you can get away with when you can’t see a damn thing.
Keywords: Blind!Dean where everyone else is more concerned about it than he is.
* My Roots Take Flight
Author: KismetJeska
Words: 125,900
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: After forty years in Hell, Dean’s more than willing to accept the offer: become a guardian angel and earn his freedom. But his new ward seems destined to hunt alongside Sam, and there are secrets in Heaven that the angels don’t want found out. Dean’s going to have to choose between his duty and the people he loves- and to work out just where Castiel fits in.
Keywords: It’s a reverse!verse fic, but only until it’s not, I guess that’s the easiest way to describe it. There’s quite a bit of canon elements in this!
Of Wizards and Dovah
Author: sofiwick
Words: 13,700
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Set in the world of ‘The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim’. Dean is Dovahkiin - the Dragonborn - said to be destined to kill the dragon Alduin, the World Eater. Castiel is the cute wizard Dean would very much like to have as an ally on his quest.
Keywords: First of all, I know absolutely NOTHING about Skyrim but it’s still a great story without any prior knowledge. Also, potential sequel! I hope so because I would love to read more in this universe
One Thing The Imp Cannot Do
Author: ardeospina
Words: 12,467
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: Dean Winchester loves his job. Most of the time. As a devil on your shoulder, he gets to cause all sorts of mischief with his charges. But his current charge is boring, and the angel he’s paired with is the worst one yet. He can’t wait till his next assignment. But when he finally gets a new charge, his new angel partner, Castiel, is quiet, mysterious, and secretive. Dean finds himself drawn to the angel all the same, but will he ever get Castiel to warm up to him? And what’s the big secret Castiel is hiding from Dean?
Keywords: Dean is an adorable shoulder imp trying to bond with his coworker shoulder angel, Castiel. Did I mention it’s adorable?
* Only Fools Rush In
Author: baka_sensei
Words: 18,161
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Cas lets his feelings run away with him, Gabe is a total dick, Sam is concerned, and Dean has to make a choice.
Keywords: Has a meddling Gabriel, but it’s for Dean’s own good, really!
Our bodies, possessed by light
Author: obstinatrix
Words: ~42,000
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Purged of all his souls, Castiel is a changed being, stronger than an angel and too powerful for Jimmy’s body to contain. Happily, there’s an archangel’s vessel on hand, and he could use fixing, too. Dean isn’t too happy about the idea of his brother acting as a vessel for Castiel, and Sam can guess why, but it isn’t until Castiel gets inside his head and they learn to share the vessel — and their thoughts — that Sam realises Cas is as in love with Dean as Dean is with him. It’s unfortunate that there’s nothing much to be done about it now, but Castiel will get another vessel soon. The Winchesters will make damn sure of that. In the meantime, it’s up to the three of them to establish their own strange accord, and Dean realises more fully than ever that it’s Castiel, and not his vessel, that he loves.
Keywords: Make sure to read the warnings first but, other than that, it’s a gorgeous fic :D
Out of the Deep
Author: riseofthefallenone
Words: 360,926
Dean/Castiel, some Dean/Pam
NC-17
Summary: Stay away from the light-beds. Stay in the deep.
It is the first thing hatchlings are taught the moment their fans unfurl and they can swim without their parents to buoy them along. It is the first rule, the first law. It is the beginning of every boogey-monster bedtime story told when they settle against the cliffs to sleep.
Castiel should have listened better.
Keywords: Merfolk AU! I never thought I would find myself reading something like this, but it’s super addicting!
* Outrun My Gun
Author: Misachan
Words: 33,070
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: "The two of you are so stubborn you’ve made Heaven blink." Finally convinced that Sam and Dean will never say yes and accept their destinies, Heaven and Hell come up with a new plan, one that will redraw the Apocalypse and make everything run much more smoothly. All they need is Dean Winchester’s soul.
Keywords: Re-write of season 2 where Dean meets Cas earlier than in canon. Just, Dean won’t forget Cas. That part really got me… It’s not sad though, despite the warnings! It’s very heartwarming :D
Outside of Class
Author: blue_fjords
Words: 2,300
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Cas is a young, arrogant professor... Dean’s the student.
One word: PWP!
Overthrown, Made New
Author: trinityofone
Words: ~1,600
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: The whole “rehymenated” thing was a joke, but just because something is funny doesn’t mean it’s not true.
Keywords: Glorious PWP!
Peanut Butter-Pumpkin Wedding Cake
Author: sparseparsley
Words: 31k
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: The good ones are sometimes assholes and always taken.
Keywords: Another one I forgot to post from before! Always good for a re-read if you need a dose of fluff and/or romantic misunderstandings!
Play It All Night Long
Author: janie_tangerine
Words: ~43,000
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: the rom-com-ish one where Dean hosts a late night radio show, Castiel is a regular listener of his who starts calling one day and ends up calling more often than not and Dean finds himself liking it. This, until one day Castiel calls for not exactly petty reasons (just before Dean’s brother Sam is visiting with his girlfriend for spring break) and things get very, very crowdy at his place. He also doesn’t know it’s just the beginning of it. Also features Gabriel, Chuck, Andy, the Roadhouse crew and a huge amount of music quoted. Especially Bob Dylan.
Keywords: A sweet AU! Also, check out the playlist. There are some great songs!
Point Pleasant [Taken down due to publication! Message me for the link to the Destiel version or see HERE for details.]
Author: chainedtoacomet
Words: 172,577
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Dean Winchester grew up in the idyllic town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia. A terrifying encounter with the supernatural during his childhood shaped his worldview and served as the catalyst for his successful career as a bestselling horror writer. Dean left Point Pleasant at the age of twenty, driven from his hometown by rejection and heartbreak, but thirteen years after abandoning his home and family, Dean finds himself drawn back to the town by the promise of investigating the apparent reemergence of the supernatural creature responsible for Dean’s childhood nightmares.
Once back in Point Pleasant, Dean is confronted not only by the town’s resident monster, the Mothman, but also by his childhood best friend, Castiel Novak. Together, with Bobby Singer—the old drunk who lives on the edge of town—Dean and Castiel uncover the mystery of Point Pleasant’s Mothman in all its terrifying reality. Point Pleasant is a horror story, but aims to show that the ghosts that haunt us are sometimes made of flesh and blood. And sometimes, they lead us home.
Keywords: A different take on Supernatural creatures in an SPN!AU.
* PWP: Pie Without Plot
Authors: MajorEnglishEsquire & orange_crushed
Words: 79,605
Dean/Castiel. Sam/OFC
R
Summary: he is in the kitchen with flour on his hands and an apron and there is flour on his forehead and cas leans across the counter and wipes it off with his thumb and dean says “thank you” and cas says “you’re welcome” very seriously and later dean makes apple turnovers and he only ruins them a little and sam realizes it’s not a real hunt like four days into it and he lets dean stay undercover for like a week and a half or longer maybe way longer because he is such a good everything
Keywords: Don’t be fooled by the title but there is actually quite a bit of plot in this (also, lots of pie) and it’s sweet and awesome and funny and perfect and no longer a WIP!
Redemption Road
Author: Many!
Words: see individual entries
Dean/Castiel, Sam/OFC
NC-17 overall
Summary: With Castiel having set himself up as the new God, drunk on power and volatile as a nuclear reactor, Dean, Sam, and Bobby find themselves on the run from the jealous, capricious monster wearing the face of their friend. Desperate for protection and wary of his brother’s mental state since Castiel unlocked Sam’s memories of Hell, Dean knows Castiel must be defused before he can wreak further havoc in Heaven or on Earth. Although Bobby advocates for destroying Castiel by whatever means necessary, Dean is convinced the Cas he once knew still remains, buried somewhere beneath the mass of poisonous souls and calling out for help. Determined to save the angel who once rescued him from Hell and redefined his purpose in life, Dean himself must resist the allure of the false deity vying for his obedience, and come to terms with the knowledge, long-suppressed, that his feelings for Castiel run much deeper than brotherhood. It is this bond, and the dubious distinction of the Righteous Man, that will ultimately grant Dean access to where Castiel’s grace languishes in Purgatory. However, what Dean brings back with him is broken, angry, and only half-angel, certainly not the Castiel he remembers—and nor is it the only thing that returns to Earth with them...
Keywords: A truly epic story that will make you feel ALL THE THINGS. Be prepared to do nothing else BUT read this.
* Remaining Grace
Author: todisturbtheuniverse (lilypetals)
Words: 109,309
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Sam’s missing his soul, Castiel has a pissy archangelic nemesis, and Dean wonders if he’ll be spending the rest of his life making sure the Apocalypse doesn’t go ahead as scheduled. Still, though. He’s happy to see Cas. Indiana wasn’t really working out.
Unabashed six-fix, in a universe where Castiel made a different choice, and things snowball from that point forward.
Keywords: I’ve been looking for a fic like this ever since I watched the scene with Dean raking leaves while Cas looks on. This is what happens when Cas asks Dean for help instead of leaving him on his own. I couldn’t stop reading!
* Rvr Ro11435 (NASA ‘verse)
Author: Ferritin4
Words: 67,621
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: In which Castiel is a operations analyst, Dean is a grease monkey, and even though it’s set at NASA no one goes to space.
Keywords: Cas is delightfully quirky and Dean is completely enamored. Office romance!
Salt
Author: Bavarde
Words: 2,394
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Dean teaches Castiel the art of taking body shots.
Keywords: You had me at “body shots”.
Shortskirts ‘Verse
Author: twentysomething
Words: 22,377
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: So, they’re in high school, and then they’re in college, and it’s mostly not about Taylor Swift, except when it is.
Keywords: AU highschool, college, and after! This is the second thing I’ve rec’d by this author as well.
* Shut Up (Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is)
Author: kototyph
Words: 23,876
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Dean’s done some pretty stupid things, but getting drunk-hitched in Vegas to a colleague he barely knows might just take the cake. His surprise husband, Castiel, is a little weird but likable despite that, and Dean figures they’ll go back to Boston, get a quiet annulment, and go their separate ways. Six weeks later, he’s still married to one of the strangest, most genuine and definitely most dangerously lov— likable guys he’s ever known. Dean doesn’t know why or really even how it’s happening, but it’s getting harder and harder to remember that he has divorce papers to file.
Keywords: Super sweet domestic AU! Accidental relationship but it’s completely adorable!
* Smoke In the Mirror
Author: letters_of_stars
Words: 52,371
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: It begins with the flier hung in the library: art model needed for thesis project, will pay. Castiel figures it’s an easy way to make some extra money, but modeling for Dean Winchester ends up complicating his life far beyond anything he could have imagined.
Keywords: The writing is wonderfully compelling! This is one of my new favorite college AUs :D
So Glad We Made It
Author: scaramouche
Words: 16,421
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: At twelve years old, Dean makes a friend, who becomes his best friend, who will eventually become the love of his life.
Keywords: A charming and happy story! I love BFF first stories and this is my favorite destiel author :D
Some Kind of Ride
Author: dreamingwriter
Words: ~3,000
Dean/Castiel
PG-13
Summary: Dean is getting married. To Cas. Sam is thrilled.
Keyword: Sweet!
Something Stupid
Author: Zatnikatel
Words: 20,541
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Castiel loses his faith, his mojo and his Dean, and then gets them all back again with the help of a few movie tough guys...
Keywords: Profound bond and Cas quoting movies!
Stay
Author: assbuttsinlove
Words: ???
Dean/Castiel
PG
Summary: Domestic!Dean and tired!Cas. Basically, Cas eats grilled cheese.
Keywords: Season 8 comfort fic!
Sun ‘Verse
Author: enigmaticblue
Words: 144,804
Dean/Castiel, Sam/OFC
R
Summary: By the time Dean stops Lucifer, it’s already too late. A post-apocalyptic tale.
Keywords: The one in which Dean and Cas are raising six kids and Sam remembers the meaning of family.
This universe is VERY expansive, there’s so much to read and you won’t be able to stop! The author has a fantastic way of showing backstory instead of telling and it’s the perfect blend of post-apocalypse and domesticity that I’ve ever read.
Take Me In
Author: cautionzombies
Words: 26,000
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: Dean can’t cope without Sam, so he gets a little angelic assistance to find him.
Keywords: Trueform!Cas plus an adorable OC angel. Also, sequel!
Taking Liberties
Author: cadignan
Words: 46,435
Dean/Castiel, Ruby/Anna
NC-17
Summary: Dean, Sam, and Bobby are hunters in pre-Revolutionary Paris. An eccentric aristocrat comes to them with a job that could change the course of history. (Shh, just come, there will be cravats.)
Keywords: I am COMPLETELY in love with this story. Historic fanfiction! Pre-revolutionary France! Supernatural creatures! Two coda fics! Just read it!
Team Free Win
Author: 74days
Words: 11,166
Dean/Castiel (side of Sabriel)
PG-13
Summary: Dean would never admit to anyone, but the Tuesday and Thursday nights when they’d log in to the latest (and greatest) shooter – Croatoan, were the best part of his week.
With Sam working at Stanford and Dean working for Bobby, it was the only time they really got to hang out - and the fact that they always seemed to end up playing with two other brothers - well, that was just a bonus!
Keywords: A really fun Gamer!AU inspired by THIS.
* The Distance of the Setting Sun
Author: murron
Words: ~17,850
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: With the apocalypse off the table and Sam returned from the pit, Team Free Will finds themselves at loose ends. When Sam suggests they take a holiday, Dean expects many things. Wearing flip-flops isn’t one of them. AU: Set after 5.22, taking a different bend in the road than season six.
Keywords: Dean, Sam, and Cas finally take a vacation and learn how to live in the process. This fic is so relaxing it feels like you’re on vacation too!
The Ghost of Embers
Author: moorishflower
Words: 38,500
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Dean Winchester’s life has been one big clusterfuck. He lost his mother to a house fire when he was a child, and he lost his father to an explosive car accident when he was a teen, and, now that he’s a full-grown man, he’s losing his brother to college and to distant, sunny California. Dean, determined not to let his pyrophobia or his anxiety over his absent brother ruin him, and desirous of a change that just might fix everything, makes the rashest move of his adult life: a largely unnecessary, almost entirely unplanned move to New York City. Stuck in the middle of a city that has a reputation for chewing up and spitting out the unprepared, Dean’s anxieties fluctuate between bad and worse…until he starts to get to know his mysterious and antisocial next door neighbor, Castiel. But mystery isn’t always a good thing; Castiel is hiding a secret…a secret that even the cynical Dean Winchester might have trouble believing.
Keywords: A beautiful and bittersweet ghost story. I thought it might be sad but it’s more melancholy with a hopeful ending. Don’t miss it!
The Ghosts of Blackthorn Hall
Author: linoresearch
Words: 95,000
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: In 1843 Castiel Milton leaves his life of quiet faith and duty to take up employment as tutor to the young ward of one Mr Dean Winchester, at Blackthorn Hall. Set deep among the Yorkshire moors Blackthorn is a place of mysteries – a wild place with an odd history, where faces appear at the windows and mad women laugh in the night. Castiel is drawn to the enigmatic Master of Blackthorn and they form a strong attachment neither of them expected. But there are secrets hidden behind Blackthorns thick stone walls that threaten to destroy their happiness, they are forced to confront the ghosts of their past.
Keywords: Starts off as a Victorian horror story but as the story unfolds, it all starts to make sense. The descriptions really make it feel like you’re there. I also judge stories by their re-readability, and this one definitely has that!
The Girlfriend Experience
Author: rageprufrock
Words: 15,393
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: While it’s not like Dean hasn’t had a couple of truly regrettable hit-and-runs in his sexual history, this is probably the saddest fucking thing that has ever happened to him.
Keywords: Funny AND hot, two of my favorite things!
The Mirror
Author: cloudyjenn
Words: 24,568
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: When Dean touches a strange mirror, he’s whisked away to one alternate reality after another and it doesn’t take him long to realize the universe is trying to tell him something.
Keywords: The reason I prefer Dean/Cas AUs is because I firmly believe that they have the kind of bond that would radiate out through all universes. This fic is a prefect of example of that!
The (Mostly Accidental) Courtship of Dean Winchester
Author: tuesday
Words: 11,171
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: Angelic marriage rites were never intended to go quite like this.
Keywords: Funny semi crack!fic with oblivious!Dean :D
* The Parts of Our Sum
Author: scaramouche
Words: 55,052
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Castiel, a former soldier, has worked for the Company his entire life. They’ve been good to him, providing clothes, shelter and new body parts whenever necessary. Now the Company’s gearing up for a space exploration voyage, and Castiel’s volunteered for the research team. During the preparation period, he meets Dean Winchester, who makes Castiel wonder about the things he’s missed out on.
Keywords: Destiel in space! Well, they’re on earth for most of it, but still! Destiel and sci-fi, two of my favorite things! There are a few typos, but it’s totally worth it and this is one of my fave authors :D
The Precision of The Fall
Author: behindblue_eyes
Words: 36,850
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: They used to be called The Family Winchester. People came from miles around to see their act, knowing their names and faces before the circus even rolled into town. Life was shiny with salt and sawdust, sequins and smiles. Now, all that was left were a few crumpled posters, an empty bunk next to Dean’s, and the leather-gripped knives hidden in the trick pockets of his vest.
Keywords: Such a unique setting! Plus a little bit of mystery backstory and don’t forget to check out the art!
* The Story of You and Me
Author: the_diggler
Words: 54,936
Dean/Castiel, Sam/OFC
NC-17
Summary: Dean wakes up in bed next to a very human Castiel, and a journal in his own handwriting that tells him it’s two years in the future. The house looks a lot like Bobby’s, and Sam lives there too… He just can’t remember how they got from angels falling in the sky – to comfortable domesticity.
While there is much in the journal Dean doesn’t remember, there is much of their story he’s always known. And as he settles into the routine of his new life and relationship with Castiel, it quickly becomes something he doesn’t know how to live without.
Keywords: Domestic! But with season 8 as AU?? I dunno how to describe this, but I don’t want to ruin it!
* The Two Faces of Vengeance
Author: janie_tangerine
Words: 27,000
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Western AU. Dean Winchester is a bounty hunter, set to catch a group of killers in order to get the money and retire from the business. Castiel is another bounty hunter aiming for the rich businessman who pays that same group of killers to do his dirty work, but for personal reasons. They decide to work together. It doesn’t go as smoothly as it could.
Keywords: I’ve only just really started to get into Destiel westerns! There are a few minor typos throughout but the story makes up for it!
The Violin House
Author: teh_helenables
Words: ??
Dean/Castiel
PG
Summary: The Apple Pie Life is a slow process, but Dean and Cas are getting there—until Cas is called for battle and Dean is forced to wait.
Keywords: I don’t rec a lot of PG but I have a soft spot for domestic!Destiel and this one is perfect :D
The Way the War was Won
By: deans1911
Words: 39,084
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: Dean and Cas are buddy cops faking a marriage for the benefits and tax breaks. Except for the part where Dean’s sort of actually in love with his partner and doesn’t realize it yet.
Keywords: It’s got sort-of denial (the funny kind, not the annoying kind) Did I mention it’s funny? And sweet :D
There’s Only One Sure Thing That I Know
Author: blinkiesays
Words: 20,358
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Dean doesn’t even get halfway through explaining before Bobby starts laughing. When he lets himself think about it for more than five seconds, Dean can almost see Bobby’s point: he’s faced down demons, witches, vampires, werewolves, ghosts, angels, and Satan himself and now he’s been defeated by the God damn Midwest.
One word: Domesticity :D
Thursday’s Child
Author: strangenessandcharm
Words: 114,000
Dean/Castiel, Dean/OFC/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Thursday’s child has far to go.
Keywords: Future!Cas and Dean so they’re both pretty messed up. That doesn’t stop them from trying to heal each other.
Till Human Voices Wake Us
Author: saltandbyrne
Words: 20,634
Dean/Castiel (implied Dean/Others)
NC-17
Summary: In a world of hippogriffs, hydras and flying pygmy elephants, intrepid explorer Dean Winchester was sure he had seen it all. When a monster destroys the only home he's ever known, Dean finds himself falling for his strange rescuer and struggling to face his past.
Keyword: I swear by the fanfic gods that I didn't intend to get into tentacle porn...oops!
Unconditionally Horny and Eternally Sad
Author: wormstaches
Words: 31,714
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: It’s your typical boy-likes-boy story. Boy 1 is sad, Boy 2 is horny. Let’s call Boy 1 Castiel Novak; he’s spent his entire life being left behind by everybody around him. Boy 2 is named Dean Winchester; he just wants Castiel to fall in love with him, and is determined to show Cas he isn’t everybody.
Keywords: The same author as below, I wanted to show a contrast for those who don’t like in-denial!Dean, here is has-his-shit-together!Dean, which is what I love!
Untitled
Author: divachester
Words: ???
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: They just gotta communicate skin to skin.
Keywords: Post season 8 PWP/hurt-comfort with human!Cas. Beautiful and hot.
Vita Nuova
Author: world-according
Words: ~70k
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: AU. Dean Winchester takes a job as a teaching assistant to get his little brother into a prestigious academy. He doesn’t quite expect such long nights and snobby kids, but the real surprise is professor Castiel Novak: or falling in love with him, that is.
Keywords: Truly romantic! There’s tension in the beginning…omg the tension. The writing is so rich and lovely, just the way the author describes Cas’ laugh in one section is enchanting.
Waves
Author: wormstaches
Words: 54,132
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: Dean Winchester is the average guy: football, college, kid brother, nice car, girls and beer; his life is black and white, that is until he meets Castiel Collins: pretentious, slutty, sweater-wearing genius, who won’t even take the time to look up at him from his obscure novel while he insults him. And then everything is shades of gray and Dean is drowning.
Keywords: Hipster!Cas is a riot and surprisingly perfect! Also, Idiot-in-denial!Dean. Couldn’t stop reading!
We All Have Our Time Machines
Author: wandersfound
Words: ~26,000
NC-17
Dean/Castiel
Summary: AU. Castiel wakes up in the snow with no memory of how he got there. He can’t go home because he doesn’t remember where home is. Dean, a professor at a local college, finds the man and offers him a ride. Despite a bad experience in the past, Dean agrees to let Castiel stay with him until he regains his memory. Castiel— or Jimmy, as Dean calls him— has one clue to his identity: a ring that might be an engagement ring. He figures there must be someone out there looking for him and, although Dean finds his feelings for Castiel growing, he agrees to help Castiel look for her. What they find isn’t something either could have expected.
Keywords: I usually don’t read amnesia!fic but I really love this one! It’s more laid-back than most. Also has professor!Dean.
We Became Fans of Collisions
Author: wandersfound
Words: 27,682
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: Dean is the owner of a bookstore and one day, he gets a new customer.
Keywords: I love AUs where Dean and Cas have interesting or different than usual jobs! Has shy!Cas and book lover!Dean.
* What Once Was Sacred
Author: saltandbyrne
Words: 55,775
Dean/Castiel, Charlie/Anna
NC-17
Summary: Los Angeles detective Dean Winchester works tirelessly to atone for the sins of his father one case at a time. When his best friend Charlie drags him to visit Sam at his new job, Dean stumbles onto a bizarre string of deaths that brings him uncomfortably close to his past.
Dean can’t stop thinking about Castiel, an enigmatic DJ who plays the sexiest music Dean’s ever heard. A chance encounter at Castiel’s house reveals that Castiel is an incubus, and Dean must face the lies and the reality of his childhood as a hunter. Dean comes to see that he and Castiel have more in common than he thought, and that guilt can be the hardest thing to cast aside.
Keywords: I don’t think I can do this fic justice by describing it. Really, all you need to know is that it’s written by saltandbyrne and I couldn’t stop reading!
Where the World Begins
Author: the-ninth-bow
Words: ~49,300
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: In the aftermath of a battle against demons, Castiel rescues an orphan girl, who then forms an attachment to the fallen angel. Dean and Castiel take her into their care, traveling highways and back roads, killing as many demons as they can, while Sam searches for an alternate way to defeat Lucifer. Amidst trying to end the Apocalypse, Dean finds his life a strange combination of broken, crumbling cities and a half-domestic life on the road. In the quiet moments they make for themselves among the chaos, Dean and Castiel become closer not only to each other but to their ward, and Dean finds his life taking a turn in a direction he never thought it’d have a chance to take.
Keywords: A little bit of domesticity during the apocalypse.
White Winter Hymnal
Author: newbluemoon
Words: 23,205
Dean/Castiel
NC-17
Summary: AU. Writer!Dean walks into a café late at night on Christmas Eve, looking for inspiration for his next novel. Instead he finds librarian!Cas.
Keywords: Practically a soulmates story! If you like your Destiel sweet and hot with a dash of schmoop then this is for you!
Yellow Moon
Author: coffeeandcheesecake
Words: 11,548
Dean/Castiel
R
Summary: Castiel Novak hasn’t said a word for three years. The mountains and a beautiful boy might give him a reason to speak.
Keywords: In universe!AU. Very sweet! I wish I could read more about Dean and Cas hunting together.
