Warnings: Major character death.
A/N: After reading that warning, you can probably assume this is the sad story I was talking about a few days ago. You would be correct. Please, do enjoy this. :) Thanks for reading, guys.
Disclaimer: I, sadly, do not own Supernatural or any of its characters. All rights go to Eric Kripke.
It was just supposed to be a simple hunt. A quick 'kill it then we're out of here' hunt. But, of course, it was never going to leave the boys without a new emotional scar, now was it? And this hunt proved to bring on tenfold the pain that others had before.
After killing the monster, Dean stood silently in a secluded, woody clearing. Birds were settling down in their nests, singing lullabies to their babies. The sun was low in the sky, sending bright streaks of orange and purple and pink out across the normal blue. But Dean was paying no attention to the astonishing routine that nature was playing out before him. No, no. Dean Winchester was watching a funeral pyre burn.
What was supposed to be a simple hunt had ended in disaster. What the boys has thought to be a werewolf had turned out to be a clever shapeshifter taking on the form of a werewolf and killing multiple innocents. It was dead now. But so was someone else. Someone important.
Dean watched his brother's large body burn to ash. He saw the flames lick at the chestnut strands of hair and turn them to a fine, light grey substance.
Dean's chest hurt.
For the first few hours after his brother's death, Dean's emotions had gone completely blank. The hunter had acted like a robot, his movements almost mechanical. Wrapping his brother in firm white bandages, building the sturdy funeral pyre in a lush, green clearing in a Hoosier forest. Even clapping Sammy's shoulder for the last time felt rehearsed.
While wrapping up his brother, Dean had stolen a final glance at Sammy's face. For a moment, it had entranced Dean, the spectacular image of pure serenity on his brother's face in death.
But after he left that clearing in the woods, the remains of the funeral pyre mere glowing embers and the dark night sky shining with bright stars, he broke.
Dean tore through the forest as fast as he could, desperate to get away from the horrid events of that day. He barely noticed when a large branch cut a deep slash in his right arm.
By the time he made it out of those woods, his body heaving with sobs, Dean's whole body was caked in mud and dust, his arm coated with congealed blood. Tears streaked down his cheeks, and his entire form was shaking.
Why does everyone around me die? Dean wondered as his knees gave out from under him and he sank to the cold, leaf-strewn forest floor.
Why do I fail everyone I love?
After a few horrible moments of curling up as tight as he could, back against the rough bark of a tree, doing nothing to attempt to stem the blood gushing from the deep wound on his arm, eyes slammed shut, Dean found himself hoarsely calling out, "Cas, Cas..."
The angel had appeared the moment the first syllable had passed Dean's lips.
Dean was alerted of his friend's presence when a sharp, shocked gasp hit his eardrums.
"Dean, are you alright?" Castiel crouched down next to the hunter and placed a comforting, concerned hand on his shaking shoulder.
"No, not really Cas," Dean replied, subconsciously leaning into the touch.
And the most extraordinary thing happened.
Honest to God, it turned out to be one of the things Dean Winchester came to love best about Castiel.
The angel asked no questions. He simply reached forward and gently took Dean's wounded arm, healing it. Then, he leaned forward and wrapped the hunter in his strong, reassuring arms. Dean's head fell forward to rest in the crook of Cas's neck, his fingers tangling in the short, fluffy dark hair.
And that is how hunter and angel stayed, simply hanging on to one another, both knowing what had just gone down, and both drawing comfort from the other.
A/N: Congratulations for reading to the end! Thank you so much for taking the time to read the entire story. If you wouldn't mind, I would he super appreciative if you'd take a small amount of time and just type up a quick review. Thank you, and may cookies rain from the sky.
Did anyone see the new Supernatural last night? That freaking smile. I swear, Destiel just became canon. :)