Castiel wasn't sure how he'd gotten out of the old shack he, Dean and Sam had curled up in for the night alone. At the least he had expected a short fight from Dean about how it was too dangerous to be outside without someone to watch his back, only for Sam to come to the angels rescue. But somehow, Cas found himself leaning forward just far enough to see his reflection in the creeks murky water. Everything he'd given up, everything he'd sacrificed and would continue to sacrifice was for those two boys. The angel had given so much. Yet the only one that seemed remotely grateful was Sam.
He closed his eyes trying to push the thought out of his mind. Dean appreciated him, even though the other didn't say it much Castiel knew.
Twigs snapped to his right, Castiel's head snapped in the direction of the sound. Dean. So, he hadn't made it out unnoticed. At least not for long, the hunter must have come to check on him. "If you have come to drag me back into that hole you're wasting your time," He murmured and turned his head back to face the water. Gazing at the reflection of the moon and all it's glory. How can something so small seem so big on this planet?
"That's not why I came," Dean said, appearing at the angels side. In his hands he held a spare coat which he reached out to him. This caused Castiel to laugh and push their hand away with a small smile. "You know I can't feel the cold." The hunter nodded his head. Had he found time to get a hair cut? His hair seemed shorter than Cas had remembered from earlier that day. Unaware that he had been staring for far longer than he thought until Dean cleared his throat in order to get his attention the smaller man shook his head. "Sorry, what?"
"Cas, what's going on with you? You haven't been with us mentally for the past few days," Dean's tone held genuine worry. "You're not spacing out on us again are you? Are you seeing Lucifer again because I swear I'll kick his invisible ass."
"You ask a lot of questions," Castiel blinked at him, unsure of why the hunter sounded so sure that he could physically harm something that wasn't actually there. "Yeah, and I'm expecting a lot of answers," His voice had grown harsher. The elder Winchester brother gripped their shoulder with such force Cas thought he could almost feel the pain. "To answer each of your questions I will go with a simple no. If I were to draw it out into an epic conclusion we would be here all night. Unless that's what you would like, Dean."
"As long as you're not obsessing over bees anymore I'll believe anything that comes out of your mouth," A brief roll of his eyes and a shudder.
Castiel's cheeks flared as he remembered the day with the Impala and the- bees. That felt like such a long time ago given everything they had managed to live through. It all seemed so surreal. Even to him, the angel of the Lord.
Silence. They both jumped as Dean's cell phone began to signal that someone was calling him. A moment later he pressed the 'answer' option on the screen. Cas had guessed it was the other brother even before the present Winchester spoke.
"Sam?"
Worried muffled shouting sounded from the other end.
"Calm down. We're fine, Cas and I just needed some fresh air."
A possible sigh of relief was audible from the other end followed by a slower tone.
"Yeah, we're heading back now. See you there, Sammy."
Castiel took one last look at his surroundings before his gaze traveled back up to his company. "I assume that we are going back to the cabin," He said softly. "It's not that bad, I picked up pie when I went out to the barber shop in town earlier," Dean said, confirming Castiel's previous thoughts. With a nod that was that and the two headed back to the cabin in a comfortable silence.