Wandering down the darkening, desolate road, Dean forced himself not to reflect on Sam. Sam, who he hoped was heading to a normal, stress-free life right now. Not working a job. Well, not of the supernatural kind, anyway. But Dean couldn't help himself from hating the way he didn't stop Sam leaving. He could no longer protect him, and without that, Dean had no idea what his meaning of life was. It was Sam's choice to leave though. Sure, Dean didn't stop him, but he didn't encourage Sam either.
All of a sudden, Dean was wrapped in a blanket of unwanted memories. The heat of the fire that killed his Mum, the pain of seeing his Dad dead on the hospital floor, the slicing of a knife in hell, the wetness of Sam's blood as he lay lifeless in Dean's arms, the sharp claws and menacing growls of the hell hounds... The damn hell hounds. Dean let out a cry of anguish and collapsed onto his knees. This was it. He had finally given up.
The sound of his name startled him, brought him back to the reality of the cold road he was lying on. Twisting his head around slightly, Dean saw the bottom of a spotless light brown trench coat.
"Cas?" Dean choked on his words, the thoughts still vivid in his mind.
"I... sensed that you were... in some sort of distress." Cas turned away, suddenly embarrassed.
"Well, that's an understatement." Mumbled Dean, attempting to lighten the mood. Cas offered his hand as support. Dean gripped it gratefully, and was instantly hauled upright.
"Gently there, Cas" he joked, gaining his balance. Once he was steady on his feet, he glanced over at Cas, who had a soft smile lighting up his face. Despite the pain, Dean couldn't help but let it reflect on him.
In response, Cas hesitantly laid an arm on Dean's shoulder. Dean didn't back away. In fact, he leaned in closer. Then Cas understood what human comfort was. It was imagining that you were in that situation, and imagining what you'd want someone to do to make you feel better. Unfortunately, Cas was still an angel, so he wasn't sure what he'd want someone to do to him if he were Dean. But he guessed.
"You okay?" Asked Cas, turning to Dean, who was still safely leaning on his hand. Dean gave a silent nod, which turned to a shake of the head and a glistening tear rolling gently down his cheek.
"Stupid question, sorry." Cas faced Dean, and he wrapped his remaining arm around Dean's tense body. Dean blinked his watering eyes, and stared at the wall of a boarded up building opposite him. On the building, he saw the shadow of Cas' graceful wings spreading out, each beautiful feather outlined on the brickwork. Then, Dean realised what Cas was doing. Cas wrapped his wings tightly around Dean, who didn't feel them exactly, but he felt the warmth and protection they provided.
"Thank you."
That moment could've lasted forever; Dean finally felt comforted and Cas was feeling human emotion. But all good moments have to end, and this one ended due to a small noise in an alley just down the road. It was a rustling noise, probably just a rodent. However, both Cas and Dean felt the need to investigate. Cas' wings slipped away, much quicker than they had come, and both Dean and Cas let go of each other.
If Cas hadn't appeared, Dean would've stayed collapsed in the road, almost willing the animal or whatever it was to end him there and then. But now, as Dean realised that his Mum was right when she said angels were watching over him, he felt a spark in his gut. A light at the end of the tunnel. An upside to his pain. A trust that even Sam could not provide.
"You ready Dean?" Once again, Cas' voice had returned Dean to reality. Dean gripped at the knife tucked in his waistband and replied;
"Ready."
"3," Cas started.
"2," Dean responded.
"1!" They shouted this so loudly that they probably scared off whatever had made the noise. Nonetheless, they jumped into the entrance of the alley, both in defensive positions, both watching each others' backs. But the alley was silent, deserted.
"We lost it!" Dean growled, although he was quite sure it was only an animal anyway.
"Nevermind," Cas assured, "you shouldn't be working a job anyway. Not in this state." Dean nodded in agreement, looking into those shining blue eyes of the angel. Cas stared back, and they held that gaze for what seemed like forever.
That was when Dean felt the blade pierce his back.