I honestly had no idea where the hell this came from. One minute I was scrolling through some superwho gif sets the next minute two of them gripped me tight, sat me down in front of word and made me write. This is probably the most crackish thing I have ever/will ever write. A mess of feels, fluff and nuttiness with a few Doctor who quotes and plot points thrown in in.

This is an AU from the last act of season 6.

Cas has absorbed the souls and Dean is trying to talk him down. It doesn't end in the way either of them would like. But in the end, the hunter will always find his angel. He just has to remember

Dean watched in horror as Raphael exploded. Castiel stood there quite calmly, still glowing with pure energy.

"I am God. I create myself. I take the words and I scatter them in time and space, a message to lead myself here."

"Cas you've got to stop this!" Dean pleaded "You've got to stop this now! You've got all of Purgatory running through your head. No one can hold it in! You're going to burn!"

"I want you safe. My righteous man. Protected from the apocalypse." Cas looked Dean straight in the eye, and even through the haze of blinding white energy, he could see Cas.

The Cas he had fallen in love with.

"You're full of nuke, Cas. It's not safe!" Dean begged "you've gotta put those souls back!"

"Oh no. They belong with me." Cas shook his head.

"No, Cas, its it-it's scrambling your brain. You've done it. Now stop. Just let go."

"No, I'm not finished yet. How can I let go of this? I bring life."

-ooo0000ooo-

In Bobby's panic room, Sam sat bolt upright, the walls rebuilding, and the memories fading.

-ooo0000ooo-

"This is wrong! You can't control life and death!" Bobby spoke up

Dean saw this may be his last chance

"Listen to me. Listen, I know there's a lot of bad water under the bridge, but we were family once. I'd have died for you. I almost did a few times. So if that means anything to you... Please."

Cas blinked once. Dean carried on.

"I've lost Lisa, I've lost Ben, and now I've lost Sam. Don't make me lose you too. You don't need this kind of juice anymore, Cas. Get rid of it before it kills us all."

"You're just saying that because I won. Because you're afraid."

Dean shook his head, but Cas continued. "I control the sun and the moon, the day and night. I can see everything. All that is, all that was, all that ever could be."

He regarded Dean again.

"And I did it all for you."

Dean felt his eyes stinging "Cas, it's going to kill you. The power's going to kill you and it's my fault."

"It's killing me?" Cas sounded curious, rather than scared

"Yes Cas" he took a step towards him "you saved me Cas. Now let me save you."

He closed the distance between them. Cas' eyes were gold rather then there normal blue.

Cas' next words caught in his throat, almost like a sob "My head." His voice was shaking. "the souls…they're hurting me!"

Dean smiled "I think you need a hunter"

He closed the distance between and kissed him. Cas leaned into him, sighing in relief as Dean shared the power of millions upon millions of souls with him.

Dean stepped back from the kiss. He kept the power separate from himself, knowing it would get to him like it had to Cas if he let himself be overcome by it.

He glanced over at Cas, and was relieved to see his eyes were back to normal. He had no idea if he looked like Cas had, but judging from the look on both Bobby and Cas' faces, he probably did. The power though! He now knew why Cas had been like that. Dean could feel the souls in his mind.

He also feel himself dying.

He was gonna burn. Just like Cas.

So instead of holding onto the enormous power like Cas, he simply…let it go.

The light spiralled out of him and broke through the wall back to purgatory.

The light faded and Dean dropped like a stone.

-ooo000ooo-

"Dean!" Castiel shouted and rushed to his side. He was barely breathing

"What's wrong with him?!"Asked Bobby anxiously

"he-" Cas swallowed to compose himself. "He absorbed all of the souls into himself. It was killing me and I am an angel. He kept the power separate but…" he paused "it is too much for any human, even Dean."

"you're a goddamm angel!" Bobby spat "fix him"

Cas felt tears. A new sensation "I can't" he picked Dean up in his arms, bridal style.

"But I can fix this"

"What?" Bobby looked worried. "What, if not Dean?"

"I go back in time" Cas explained. "And I erase myself from existence. None of this would happen and Dean would be alive."

"He would still be stuck in hell if you hadn't pulled him out!" Bobby argued

Cas shook his head. "There was a whole garrison of angels that were assigned to pull him out. I just got there first."

He set Dean gently against the wall

"What about Sam?" Bobby asked.

"He won't remember. He'll be alive. Everything will be alright and no one will remember me"

"Ya idjit." Bobby sighed.

Castiel kissed Dean tenderly on the forehead.

"Goodbye" he whispered. He stood and faced Bobby. "My friend"

Then he blinked out of existence.

-ooo000ooo-

It was raining outside the crappy roadside motel. No one noticed when a trench coated man popped into existence next to the 1967 Chevy Impala.

"Oh! Okay. I escaped, then."

Castiel surveyed the area around him. That's when he saw himself and Dean striding towards the car. He realised at once "No. This is last week, when we took care of that poltergeist. I'm rewinding. My time stream unravelling, erasing. Closing"

Dean, oblivious to the angel next to his car, rummaged through the boot for something.

"Dean!" he shouted

Dean paused and looked around, frowning.

"He can hear me…"Cas murmured. Before he could say anything else, he was whisked somewhere else

-ooo000ooo-

"I remember this" Cas muttered as he watched the scene in front of him "this was when Dean and Sam returned from heaven…when Joshua…"

He watched himself leave through the window, and then waited as Dean left, after dropping his locket in a bin.

It was a bit of a shock when Dean stopped and stared at him.

"Cas?" he asked "I thought…you left…"

Cas quirked his lips into a smile "hello Dean"

"Why did you come back?"

Cas knew there wasn't much time "You need to start trusting me. It's never been more important."

Dean scowled "But you don't always tell me the truth."

Cas gave a little smile. God, he missed Dean "If I always told you the truth, I wouldn't need you to trust me."

He strode towards Dean slowly, but with purpose. To Dean's eternal credit, he didn't back away.

"Cas…I don't understand"

"Neither do I, really" Cas barked out a laugh "Now, listen. Remember what I told you?"

"What did you tell me?" he asked

"No. No, that's not the point." He pressed his head against Dean's. Dean didn't even flinch at the contact. "You have to remember."

"Remember what?" Dean asked but it was too late. Cas had gone

-ooo000ooo-

The last place Cas appeared was another roadside hotel. The first thing he realised was the date.

November 3, 1983

The next thing he realised was the fact he was inside. In a motel room. In which was a little boy, who had fallen asleep on the sofa with his baby brother in his arms.

John Winchester was nowhere to be seen.

Cas sighed and smiled.

"The Righteous Man. Always looking after him"

He gently lifted Sam out of Dean's arms, laid him in the cot, and then came back for Dean. Dean stirred as Castiel raised him softly into his arms and carried him over to the bed. Little Dean yawned and snugged into Castiel, so much so that Cas had to prise his fingers off his coat so he could tuck him into the scratchy hotel bed.

After he was tucked in, Cas sat on the edge of the bed and began to speak

"It's funny. I thought if you could hear me, I could hang on somehow. When you wake up, you won't even remember me. Well, you'll remember me a little. I'll be a story in your head. But that's okay. We're all just stories in the end. Just make it a good one? Cause it was, you know, it was the best. The daft old angel who stole the righteous man and ran away. Did I ever tell you that I stole you? Well, I borrowed you. I was always going to take you back. Oh, that man. You'll be that man one day. I always loved your eyes you know? The greenest eyes ever. And the times we had? Would have, never had…"

He caressed Dean's face

"I hope you'll dream about me too. A stupid angel, who wears a tan trench coat because the man he loves, likes it. That angel will never leave you. Big and little at the same time, brand new and ancient and his eyes the bluest blue ever. In your dreams we'll still be there. Castiel and Dean Winchester. And the days that never came."

He stood up

"The timeline is repairing itself. But it won't work properly until I erase myself. I don't belong here anymore. I think I'll skip the rest of the rewind. I hate repeats. Live well. Look after Sam."

He took a deep breath and suddenly the room was filled with golden light.

When the light cleared Castiel was gone.

A few seconds later Dean yawned and sat up. He looked around him, with an expression that said he had lost something, but he wasn't entirely sure what. Then he shrugged and lay back down to sleep, to dream about blue eyed angels in trench coats.

Many years later

"Man, I hate these angelic dicks" Dean swore as he and Sam drove out of the town. Ever since Dean had first encountered angels he had hated the lot of them. Even the one that had pulled him out of hell was a dick. Now Raphael was trying to restart the apocalypse, and even though they had managed to stop him, something just felt off.

There was something missing.

"Sammy?" he preceded cautiously. After all, Dean Winchester was not one for 'emotional' talks or 'sharing of emotions'

"Yeah?" Sam had his hands behind his head and his eyes closed, but Dean carried on anyway

"Do you feel like you've forgotten something really important? "Dean contemplated how rubbish that sounded before trying again

"Do you feel like there's a great big thing in your head, and you feel like you should remember it, but you can't?"

"Yeah!"

"Are you just saying that because you want to annoy me?"

"Yup!"

"Bitch"

"Jerk"

They pulled into a diner and entered through the double doors. As they sat at the nearest booth, Dean's eyes caught a glimpse of a man striding past the window. He only caught a flash of the stranger, but the first thing that registered was trench coat.

He stood up and Sam stared at him strangely

"Dean? Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm…fine." He sat down again but something wasn't right. He was shaking and now Sam was looking very concerned.

"Dean?"

Dean stared around the diner, trying to see the reason he was tearing up. Without meaning too little things caught his attention

Messy black hair.

A loose blue tie.

A tan trench coat.

Dean felt a single tear escape down his cheek. He reached up with shaking fingers and brushed it away

"Dean!" Sam's voice brought him back to reality "Dean, what the hell is wrong?"

"Shut up Sam! "Dean snapped. A couple sitting nearby turned to looked at him. Sam looked offended

"Sorry, but shut up." Dean amended "There's someone missing. Someone important. Someone so, so important."

"Dean, what the hell is up with you?"

"Castiel" the name sent shivers down Dean's spine as he said it, and all the memories flooded back.

Meeting Cas.

Watching him save their lives so many times.

Eating burgers.

Saving the world.

Falling in love.

Kissing Cas.

"That son of a bitch." Dean muttered and stood up yet again "I remember you Cas!" he shouted and the whole diner fell silent

"I remember! I sent those souls back; I can bring you home, too. Castiel, I remember you, and you are late for the apocalypse!"

The glass started rattling, and the diner's started to mutter about the crazy shouting man, but Dean didn't care. He was going to get his angel back.

"I found you. I found you in words, like you knew I would. That's why you told me the story. The story about the brand new, ancient blue eyed angel in a trench coat!"

Wind whipped through the diner, glasses began to shatter and still Dean stood, even as the other customers dived for cover.

"oh, you clever son of bitch! Cas, you better get your feathery ass down here right now!"

Quieter he whispered "I forgive you"

From under the table he heard Sam holler "DEAN!"

Dean just grinned as bright light filled the diner. "He's coming back"

"WHO?!" Sam bellowed

"Someone old. Someone new. Someone borrowed. Something blue."

When the light cleared a very familiar looking angel stood in the middle of the room.

From under the table Dean heard Sam gasp "Cas! How could we forget Cas?"

Castiel, in all his finery, smiled bemusedly at Dean.

"Hello Dean."

Dean catapulted himself over the table and sprinted towards Cas. He didn't care that anyone was watching, he just took Castiel's face in his hands and kissed him senseless.

After several long moments-or it might have been half an hour-or possibly several sunlit days- they broke apart. The diner was now empty, the consumers having fled. Dean's eyes sought Sam's and he felt relief flush through him. Sam was grinning like a maniac.

Cas was wearing the happiest smile Dean had ever seen, and Dean was pretty sure his face looked the same

"You brought me back" Cas smiled.

"I promised I would save you" Dean replied and kissed his angel again.

And he tasted like heaven.