It was a sunny day, not a cloud in the sky as Castiel appeared before the ruins of Harvelle's Roadhouse. Month's had passed since the place was destroyed by demons, nothing was moved. The walls that once stood were still scattered around the ground. The Roadhouse was far away from civilization that the public was not bothered by the rumble.
Castiel stood with his eyes glued to the fallen building that once gave his friends comfort. The first time Castiel had laid eye's upon the interior of the place was when he visited Ash in his Heaven. He knew Ash was a friend of the Winchesters, he knew Ash was someone he could trust.
"Ash?" Castiel's voice was normal to him, but gave Ash a fright.
"Who the hell are you?" the green eyes were filled with confusion as he stared at the stranger before him.
"My name is Castiel, and I am an angel of the Lord."
Ash gave a little laugh before saying "of course you are." he rolled his eyes before he picked up the beer he was drinking and took a swig.
"You once helped Sam and Dean Winchester correct?"
Castiel saw how his question caused Ash to worry. "Yes-are those to idiot's in trouble again?"
"No." Castiel felt ashamed for forcing a friend of the Winchesters to worry when peace is all he should be feeling in his Heaven. "Sam and Dean trusted you with their troubles, they trusted you with their life's. Trust is not something that comes easy to them."
Ash finished his beer in anticipation for Castiel to continue, when the room was silent after his beer was done, Ash spoke much to Castiel's relief. "Trust is something that has stabbed those to in the back many times, it's something that they were raised never to have. So yeah, even though it wasn't easy for them to trust me they did. Why?"
A shy smile appeared upon Castiel's face as he witnessed Ash grab another beer from behind the counter. The lid flew off as he chugged down another mouthful. His mind flashbacked to a thousand different times when Dean portrayed the same actions.
"The Winchesters are my friends, though I do not understand them. The ask for trust, but do not trust themselves. I thought maybe an old friend of theirs could clarify that for me."
Castiel tilted his head slightly to the side as he watched Ash laugh before him. Once the laughter died down Castiel waited until Ash broke the silence.
"I'm sorry dude but I can't help you." Castiel was confused by this, he wanted to understand why Ash could not help him. Before he could ask why Ash said something.
"Sam open's up more than Dean, he got out. He was free from the world, he went to college, he fell in love, he had a normal life. Dean, however, is someone who as only ever seen the darkness in the world. He only trusts people who show him the light, for those are the only people who are trust worthy in his eyes."
Castiel was stunned by this answer. He had never analyzed the Winchesters on how they trusted people. Castiel was lost in his own thoughts when Ash tore him out.
"Look dude." Ash finished his beer before continuing. "Sam will trust you until you give him a reason not to." Castiel nodded before Ash went on. "Dean on the other hand, will trust you when you prove to him that you will be there for him when all else fails." At this Castiels shy smile grew once more on his face. "and if you wanna prove to Dean that he can trust you, you gotta show him that you trust him."
A moment passed before Castiel opened his mouth again. "is that how all humans are?"
Ash got up and was walking over to Castiel arm's slightly outstretched. "nah man." he said as his left arm hung over Castiel's shoulders. "that's how Sam and Dean are. There hunters, they see things most people don't even dream about in their worst nightmares. They gotta do things that would get most people sentenced to death. Those two." he paused and gave a small laugh Castiel probably wouldn't have heard it if he was not so close. "Those two can't be compared to other humans. Even though they live on the same planet, they live on totally different worlds as other people."
Castiel was lost in thought yet again, he did not even notice when Ash went back to the stool at the counter he previously sat before. A new beer bottle sat next to the empty line, and another in his hands. Ash was staring at him with green eye's that reminded him of Dean's.
"I believe I understand now. Thank you."
"Nah man. Thank you. I don't get many visitor's up here, it's nice to talk to someone again." Ash had a smile on his face which made Castiel think he was truly pleased with his presence.
"You are a friend of Sam and Dean and for that I will give you this." Castiel left for a brief moment before returning to Ash with a broken down machine.
"This will allow you to find people's Heaven's. I am sorry it is broken, but I do not know how to fix it. If you can make it work once more, you may find people you care about and reunite with them once more." Castiel then handed Ash the machine. The look he saw upon Ash's face confused him. There was a smile on his lips, but tears racing down his checks. Before Castiel could ask about Ash's emotions Ash looked up with an even bigger smile on his face.
"Thank you." he spoke as more tears filled his eyes. "Thank you."
And with that Castiel flew away once more, that time he went to answer a call from Dean.
Castiel looked up at the blue sky, still standing before the fallen building. A single tear escaped from his right eye as he allowed the memory to fade away.
"I am sorry I did not know you until you were dead. I am sorry I did not protect you from death. I am sorry." Another tear fell from Castiel's eye as a familiar voice spoke to him.
"Come on Cas, don't be a dick" he could hear Dean's prayer to him, he only took a moment to wipe away the tears before he flew to his friend once again to aid him in any way he could.