sorry that i started a new story, but the muse is stabbing me in the ears with this one. i'll try to keep up with both!
kripke owns all characters, all mistakes are my own
North of Eden
AU, story takes place after episode 8:7 when Castiel returns to Earth, each chapter is written from the stated person's POV
Prologue: Dean
Castiel has been on our tail 24/7 lately. Like, way more than usual. He generally comes and goes but now, he just stays all the time. Every now and then I'll catch him glancing around like he doesn't remember who he is, or who we are, and then he snaps back into it like nothing happened.
But the worst is when he just stared at a spot on the wall for a good minute and then jumps and blinks hard, like he's had an out of body experience and he's hopping back into his Jimmy-skin. When he does that, he sort of folds in on himself like he's been hit and is trying to hide from another blow. But always after looking around and touching something, even the floor or the seat in the Impala, he acts normal again.
I can't place it, but it makes me nervous as hell having a half-sane angel around us again. Especially with the job we are on now.
We are still hunting for the other half of the tablet, and Kevin is floating around somewhere close with his half. His mother is being as overbearing as ever, but at least she is jumping into this life and not being a girl about it.
Me and Sam have checked into a room at the Dolphin motel on the side of some highway in Indiana. I wish to hell that we could go back to Bobby's, but it's been destroyed. I wonder idly if Cas could fix a burned-out house. Probably not. Not until he's full-force at least. Cas doesn't sleep, but I get a room for three just in case. He gets weird sometimes and acts more human than he really should. But what the hell do I know, I'm no angel.
I walk across the parking lot, a duffel bag over my shoulder and Sam and Cas trucking along behind me. Cas walks like he's seeing the world for the first time again. He's back to Cas, plain old stick-up-the-ass Cas, but at the same time he's more…timid. I hope he gets over his Vietnam flashbacks fast. I'm not in the business of babysitting supernatural beings.
I unlock the door and go in, seeing Sammy duck through the door behind me. the fact that I don't see a trench coat flutter through that door makes me look up. Cas is standing on the sidewalk outside, looking straight up. His hand goes to his chest and he rubs it for a second before looking back down and meeting my eyes. My brow furrows, and he looks down, trying to hide some strained face he pulls. He comes in and sits quietly at the table, closing the door with a flick of his wrist. He pulls at his tie, loosening the neck a bit, and swallows hard. I turn back to unpacking my duffel bag.
"Sam, why don't you go find us some food, and see if there's a Laundromat around?" I toss him the keys to the Impala and pull out the last set of fresh clothes I have, putting my duffel on his bed and heading to the bathroom to take a leak and change so he can do the laundry while he researches on their free wifi.
When I come back, Sam is sitting on his bed by the door, and catches the pile of clothes I toss at his head. He grumbles as he stuffs them into the duffel and throws both over his shoulder.
"Okay, what are you going to do while I'm gone?" he asks, catching my eye and flicking his eyes toward Cas. I nod once.
"You know…take a nap or something. I'm uh…pretty tired after that ass-kicking back there," referring to the scuffle over Kevin with Crowley. Cas blanched visibly in the corner of my vision. I pursed my lips.
"Alright, see ya. I'll come back with a pizza or something in a few hours," Sam says, and he leaves.
I rounded on Cas as soon as the door closed.
"Alright Cas, you're gonna tell me what's going on in that head of yours." I pull a chair up slightly in front of him, and sit in it backwards, leaning on the back. His eyes follow me warily, but I see pretty clearly that he is more tired than anything. He has big purple bags under his eyes.
"I am tired Dean… my vessel is wearing out I think." His shoulders droop.
"Nope, I'm not buying that. Why did you look nervous when you looked up outside? Who's coming?" I pressed. He hesitated, catching himself as his eyes turned upwards again.
"No one is coming Dean, not that I know of. There's just… a rustling going on in heaven. There is nothing to be wary of here though." Cas stood up and stayed still for a second. "Excuse me for a minute, I need I sleep before this vessel collapses." He walked over to the bed farther from the door –aka mine- and crawled on top of the covers, falling asleep immediately.
I shoved off of the couch and headed to take a shower, mulling over what could possibly be bothering him that he couldn't- or wouldn't- talk about.
please R/R!