Screw you guys, this was sitting on my iPad for a month. A MONTH. My muse is taking over my brain, guys. Expect muchos stories soon.

Maybe even an AU. A glorious, fantastical AU. Filled with synchronized swimming and awkward perfectionist coaches and Olympic amounts of pain.

This had been your warning for my biggest project yet.

DISCLAIMER: If I owned Supernatural, Destiel would have been canon as soon as Cas raised Dean from Hell. Canon meaning they would have had hot dirty barnfloor!sex while Bobby sleeps the sleep of the knocked-unconscious.

I THINK I SHOULD MENTION that this one-shot is inspired by a wonderful tumblrarian by the name of Flutiebear. HER META MAKES ME WANT TO PUKE RAINBOWS ALL OVER MY TELEVISION. And I'm pretty gay for the moment, so that's saying something.

Emanuel hid his fear as he walked towards the blackened, ugly beasts who hid away in the fleshy prison of men. The man - Dean - had told him he knew how to smite these creatures, but was he truly sure in his beliefs? From the way Dean had talked about this 'Cas', he hadn't been a very good angel. The man seemed to hate him, almost.

"Hey y-you! You're supposed to be dead!" A demon had spotted him, alerting the others to his presence. Emanuel held back a fearful whine, and clenched one fist.

"So I've heard." He replied, solemn. It was now or never. He held one hand out, pushing into the demon's chest. Surely if they were such heartless beings, the weak spot would be the beating organ itself? Or... The demon looked at him in confusion. No, it wasn't the heart. It was the soul.

Emanuel pressed his hand into the creature's face. A searing power surged through him, burning his veins and restarting the cognitive muscles that held back his memories. As white light poured out of the demon's orifices, reflecting the feelings Emanuel felt within, he remembered.

The summoning. Jimmy. The barn. Dean.

The shell collapsed to the ground, its host gone long before then. Emanuel was shocked. But he wasn't Emanuel, was he? No, he was Castiel.

Cas.

Two more demons rushed at him. He held out both hands, praying to the Lord he was sure wasn't there anymore that this would work. Grace scorched through him, rough from being unused for smiting for so long. More memories swept through his mind.

Zachariah. Blood. Pain. White light. Sam. Power. Rage. Hurt.

These new memories nearly froze him. He had - he had broken Sam. It was his fault. And Dean wanted his help. But Dean should know by now... he was broken. He could not heal as much as he could hurt. Everything he touched died. He wasn't an angel of the Lord, he was an angel of Death.

A few more demons. The light of his revelations shined through their eyes.

Crowley. Purgatory. Power.

Oh Father, the power. It burned and seared and ate away at him, twisting him and mutating him and morphing him into a monster... even worse than the ones he currently had in his hands. And Dean... how could his hunter ever stand to think what he did was forgivable? He felt the urge to fly, to spread his wings and never look back, but he knew it was of no use. As the two empty bodies crumpled to the cement, he spotted the last demon beginning to scramble away.

With barely a thought, he landed himself in its direct path. "I don't think running will save you now," he murmured, although whether to himself or the demon he wasn't sure. With a hand outstretched, he purified the demon inside, melting it away to nothing more than a wisp of smoke to be whisked away by the wind. And then the memory hit him.

Dean. Dean. Hot lips pressed against his own, arms wrapped around each other like lovers lost and found time and time again. Heat wrapped itself around his heart, blood screaming through his veins for Dean, Dean now, yet he made no move to put the claim on his hunter. It was up to him. After all, Castiel belonged to Dean.

With a shock, he felt the truth of his words ring through him. No matter how many times he fell from Heaven, he fell the hardest when Dean was the one who caught him.

With a shudder, he turned to face the hunter, sunny forests met by icy oceans. The moment's pause was endless.

"I... I remember you." And upon Dean's face was the question. Did he truly remember? "I remember... everything."