The End of Us: Castiel
Castiel stared out the window, watching as golden flames licked up the buildings and along the streets, consuming everything in their path. His hearth ached with a wretched guilt. He knew full well whose fault this was. Which retched human was to blame.
Why'd you have to do it? he thought to himself, fingernails digging into his palm, Why'd you have to try and send the angels back to heaven? All you did was make things worse.
Like usual.
Sunken blue eyes tired of watching their mess, Castiel turned from the sight, looking instead to Dean, a pleading expression crossing his face.
"Dean. I-"
"No." Dean stated numbly, staring at the wall. He remained motionless, body positioned on the edge of a worn bed.
"I'm sorry, Dean. Really, i-"
"I said no, Castiel." Dean snapped, turning on him suddenly, eyes ablaze,"I don't want to hear it. So just… stop."
Dean turned away, his back to Castiel. The former angel fumbled for words; his breathing becoming shallow, his voice growing thick, "I-I'm sorry…"
Minutes passed with no reply. The silence did little for the man, bearing a more tremendous weight upon Cas' shoulders as he turned once more -no longer able to bear the slouch of Dean's shoulders- towards the destruction of the outside world. He placed a hand against the silver pane, wishing nothing more than to break the glass, as though shattering the thin material would also shatter the nightmare that was the outside world.
"I'm going to fix this," Castiel whispered, a stony look sweeping across his features. He gripped his hand above the glass, creating small streaks on its surface. Glancing towards his friend, he pulled a shotgun off of the small coffee table to his left, gripping it in his hands, "I am."
Crossing the room in stride, Cas paused at the door, turning to Dean.
"If only this once, I promise to fix my mess." He murmured, looking towards the ground as he spun out the door, slamming it behind him. Dean collapsed onto the bed, palms pressed to his eyes.
"Fuck. No. Cas…" his voice cracked, head spinning as he uttered words only God could hear, "I love you. Don't go."
Part of the hunter fought with himself, part of himself urging him to run after Cas -to stop him, to save him, something—while the other half argued that Cas could do this, that he needed to do this. God knew Cas wasn't the type who could start something and expect someone else to end it.
Dean groaned, sitting up and grasping the gun nearest him, pulling the [] back to be sure it was loaded. Satisfied, he walked over to the window, eyes searching for the familiar, messy black hair amongst the rubble. Catching a glimpse of what he was looking for, Dean quickly stumbled back towards the door, determined to prevent yet another end.
Choking and gazing up at the blackened sky, Dean desperately searched for Castiel. He followed the direction in which he had seen the angel go, tripping over chunks of concrete as he made his way through the steel maze, screaming Cas' name.
"Dean!" the voice echoed throughout the alleyways between blackened skyscrapers.
"Cas?!" Dean called back, following the sound of Castiel's voice.
"Dean!" closer. Dean broke into a sprint, chasing the sound. As he wheeled around the nearest corner, Dean froze, eyes widening as he felt a small object whizz past his ear. Castiel cried out, collapsing to the ground.
"NO! CAS!" Dean dashed to Castiel's side, ignoring the screaming of his lungs. Castiel lay on the littered ground. He coughed weakly, spitting out blood while fingers gently prodded at the silver arrow lodged in his side. Dean kneeled down beside him, hands hovering over his abdomen, unsure of what to do. His jade eyes flicked up to look into Cas'.
"Hey. Cas. Buddy. You're gonna be alright, ok? Everything's gonna be fine…" he slid an arm beneath Castiel's limp shoulders, pulling him onto his lap.
"D-dean…" his teeth were stained with blood and he coughed again, a mixture of saliva and blood trickling down his chin. Dean bit his lip, choking down sobs. He looked about helplessly, unable to spot the attacker from before. The growing silence of the city was frightening him. There was no one left.
"Help!" Dean sobbed, tears beginning to stream down his filthy face.
He looked back to Cas, one hand brushing through his hair.
"I-it'll be ok, C-Cas. Y-you're going t-to be o-" he felt a hitch in his throat as he watched the light in Cas' eyes go out, their expression becoming vacant, "No, Cas! Don't leave me buddy. I need you. I need you to hear me, Cas. My last prayer. Cas, I need you to know.…" Dean gasped for air, now powerless against his weeping, "Cas. Please, don't leave me. I love you, Cas. I love you."
I love you.