Author's note: this story takes place sometime in season ten. It's AU as I've brought Jo Harvelle, Eileen Leahy, Hannah, and Meg together.
Castiel drove in a hurry, eager to get back to the bunker for the evening. In the passenger seat of his pimp mobile, Hannah juggled a tray of soft drinks on her lap as she gazed out the window at the twinkling stars above.
Castiel stole glances at her on occasion, as if needing some assurance that she was still there. After all, after what everyone had been through lately, no one could blame him. But while trying effortlessly to save Dean from the mark or struggling to get his grace back had all taken a toll, Castiel couldn't have imagined his luck in the last few months.
Dean still struggled with the mark, but for the most part, he was in control. And, Castiel had finally gotten his grace back. He was an angel again. But that wasn't the most extraordinary thing to have happened in the last few months. Castiel was still having trouble wrapping his mind around how he, of all people, the angel who walked the fine line between heaven and earth, could have found love among his own kin.
But there was no denying it. He hadn't been sure at first, but he knew now. He was in love with Hannah. And the best part of it was that she loved him too. Castiel was still not quite sure how it had happened; it seemed to have snuck up right under his nose. At first, he denied it. After all, emotions were distractions, and he couldn't afford to be distracted. But, try as he did, he had utterly failed to keep them from seeping into his psyche somehow.
Love was still an emotion that Castiel didn't understand. He'd experienced it in some degree, after all, he had grown to love the Winchesters as if they were his brothers. That had been a new thing, and he didn't realize that he could feel love any more profound than that. After all, he'd give his life for Sam or Dean, and he knew they'd do the same for him. He gave up an entire army of angels just for Dean's sake. And he'd do it again.
But this, what he felt for Hannah, it was different. How he thought about her when they were apart, the way he couldn't wait to see her, the way she looked at him with those big blue eyes full of passion, the way she felt when he held her in his arms every night, these were entirely new feelings.
"The air is colder," Hannah's soft voice brought Castiel out of his thoughts, and he glanced at her. Her eyes twinkled in the darkness as she looked at him. "There is a change in the air."
"Yes, it's called autumn," he pointed out. He smiled, finding her sense of wonder at this world enlightening. "In parts of the world, the sun's light is not equal, so we enter periods of seasonal change."
Hannah had not been on Earth for very long. Before the fall, she had never been on Earth. Castiel had always had a fascination for this world and for the humans who lived here, though he too had trouble navigating through the overwhelming aspects of it. He did his best to guide her and answer her questions, as she had many. Just as he had once did when he first came to Earth and met the Winchesters.
But love, this passion that had developed between them, he was as new to it as she was. But at least he wasn't the only one in the bunker experiencing it. After Jo Harvelle and Eileen Leahy moved into the bunker, Sam and Dean both walked with a greater bounce in their steps. For the first time in a very long time, all three of them were happy, content.
Their overall lives hadn't changed. After all, Castiel was still an angel and Sam, and Dean were still hunters, but now, they had someone to share their lives with. Jo and Eileen were both skilled hunters, and Hannah was a seasoned angel soldier.
Castiel pulled his car into the garage of the bunker and parked, then peered across the space to Hannah.
"Do you think the Winchesters will appreciate this gift of gluttony and grease?" Hannah asked, glancing at the bags of fast food they'd retrieved in town.
"Yes, providing we got Dean's order correctly," Castiel frowned with apprehension. Dean did not take kindly to not getting his wishes perfectly. "You did tell them about the pie, right?"
Hannah handed him the drinks and grabbed the bag, sifting through it to retrieve the piece of apple pie. "Yes. I had to reason with the man; he claimed he was out and I explained that it was imperative that we get the pie."
"Good," Castiel didn't miss her reference to the meal as gluttony. Hannah had been reluctant to indulge in what she considered 'human things.' In general, she found eating and drinking disgusting, but on occasion, Castiel had gotten her to let down her guard a little, and she found she had a taste for certain foods. Specifically, chocolate.
After she had experienced the pleasures associated with eating, Hannah soon became curious about other human experiences. Jo and Eileen had even taken her on what they'd referred to as 'girls night out' a ritual which they have been sworn to secrecy. Slowly, but surely, Hannah was learning how to fit in with humanity, and although Castiel was a few years ahead of her in his knowledge of Earth, he too was always learning, and it made him love her even more as they faced every lesson together, the bond between them growing strong because of it. They were two angels on a mission to explore humanity.
The two of them walked together into the main room of the bunker where they found Sam sitting there, looking over his laptop. He glanced up at their approach. "Hey Cas, I'm just getting directions for our trip tomorrow. The apocalypse is upon us," he announced. Castiel frowned, glancing at Hannah in apprehension.
"Trip?" Castiel asked it was the first he'd heard of any trip. But the apocalypse reference worried him greatly.
"But Lucifer is in his cage," Hannah pointed out, concern in her voice. Sam chuckled at their confused and alarmed looks.
"No, no," he corrected. "I mean Jo managed to convince Dean to go on vacation. Like a real vacation, all of us. No hunting, no mark, no Metatron, no nothing."
Castiel let out a sigh of relief as he and Hannah placed the food on the table. "A vacation?" he asked as Sam began sifting through the bag, retrieving his salad.
"Yeah apparently some hunter friends of ours are going out of the country, and they want someone to watch over their house," Sam explained. "It's just outside of Miami, a secluded town in the Everglades."
"Sam," Castiel warned, "There are alligators in Florida."
"Yeah, it's okay" Sam replied. "Look these guys are extremely wealthy. This place they want us to look after for them is a mansion. Three stories, six rooms, balconies overlooking the ocean, maids, cooks, the real deal."
Castiel glanced at Hannah. The way in which humans often surrounded themselves in extravagance was curious to both of them.
"So, be sure to pack a bag," Sam instructed. "We leave for Florida early in the morning. Oh and we are taking two cars, I guess Crowley will be joining us."
Castiel groaned at that. That put a dampener on things, but Sam had to shrug. "He says it's payback for everything he's done for Dean lately. And he said something about wanting to take a break from hell for a while."
Castiel couldn't deny that fact. If not for Crowley, he and Hannah would have been killed by Adina, and it's likely that Dean would have remained a demon forever.
Castiel left Sam in the main hall, and he and Hannah retired to the room they shared. Castiel closed the door as Hannah sat down on the bed, in front of the television.
"Must we travel with abominations?" she asked as he joined her, sitting with her on the edge of the bed.
"It's not my first choice either," he said as he turned towards the television set. "Now, shall we watch the world of bees? I am curious to see if the queen is aware of the descent among her workers."
Hannah glanced at the TV as they both watched their problem. Hours passed before the program ended and Castiel turned off the TV and turned his attention to Hannah. "Are you comfortable?" he asked. She nodded.
"I'm an angel, Castiel," she reminded him, and he smiled, locking eyes with her. Sparks of passion in her eyes encouraged him to lean in, to press his lips to hers, closing his eyes, savoring the tender, sensual feeling that passed between them.
The kisses deepened, and she lowered herself down on the bed, compelling him to lean over her as he continued to kiss her. He stopped briefly if only to gaze down into her eyes, feeling the intensity between them.
"I believe we must remove our clothing for this," she explained to him, a serious look in her eyes as if the thought must not have occurred to him. He smirked.
"Yes, I think I am starting to get the hang of that part," he said. They had made love for the first time, not too long ago, and not long after that, Hannah had started sharing his bed on a regular basis. Not that either angel needed any sleep, but in the privacy, they were able to explore this new level of intimacy.
This was one human thing that Hannah hadn't needed encouragement on. Whereas he often had to encourage her to try new human things like eating, this was something she was more than eager to indulge in because it was passionate and she was a passionate angel- something unique among angels, something he found particularly alluring about her.
So he kissed her, his hands moving to work with the fastenings on her blouse, helping her wiggle out of each article of clothing. He lost himself in the passionate kissings as he felt her hands working off his own clothes. He broke the kiss then if only to move back, to admire her.
"You're beautiful," he felt compelled to tell her that as he looked over her body, the soft features of her face, her luscious dark hair, the depth of her blue eyes. Of course, that wasn't all Castiel saw of her. Her skin, her body, after all, was only a vessel, and he could see her true self through it. Her beautiful cream white wings with golden yellow tips glistened outstretched under his ebony black ones. She only smiled as she pulled him back down to kiss him, passionately, sensually.
And so they made love. The sweet, sensual ecstasy shared between them was electrifying to both of them. They kissed, they caressed, they relished in one another's touch. Castiel poured everything of who he was, his heart and soul, into this one expression of love, seeking only to please her, to satisfy her every need.
When it was over, and she lay against him in bed, her body against his, the feeling of her soft skin on his, he held her, straining a little to look into her eyes. "Hannah," he said softly, brushing a finger through her hair with one hand and rubbing her back gently with the other. "Are you happy here on Earth?"
She glanced at him, her eyes meeting his. "Yes," she said sincerely. "I am happy. I didn't know there was any happiness to be had outside of heaven. I didn't think humans held any wisdom or warranted any attention but… there are certain things. Passions, desires, I never knew I needed such things until I came here."
Castiel was glad. If he could convince one single angel that humans were not just simple things to be taken for granted, that they had potential, that Earth held treasures and pleasures that heaven lacked; then he served his purpose. He knew his love for humanity had cost him dearly in heaven; most other angels actively despised him. And it hurt, it hurt to think he was hated by his own people, cosmic brothers, and sisters that he had always believed in and admired. After all, though he would choose Dean and Sam over heaven, and had proven he'd do as much, he still wanted to be an angel, and he still needed their approval. He continued to walk the line between humans and angels, and it pained him that he couldn't have both.
But, in Hannah, there was one angel that didn't despise him. It had taken time, but she opened up and allowed him to show her that despite the chaos and the violence and the negativity that Earth often exhibited, there was good to be found here too and it was something worth protecting.
Hannah was still an angel's angel. She had a strict code she lived by, and she still regarded humans with suspicion and apprehension. She still kept the Winchesters at arm's length, often questioning Dean, something that infuriated him. Castiel often found himself the reluctant referee whenever they disagreed, trying his best to appease them both. But to Castiel's surprise and delight, Hannah had begun to form a bond with Jo and Eileen.
Castiel held her as tightly as he dared, kissing her on the top of her head as she lay her head against his chest, the two of them were content to spend the rest of the night locked in one another's arms.