Dean slapped the counter of the bar loudly, announcing to everyone in a mildly slurring voice that he was heading out. Jo had a moment to be thankful that Sam had Dean's keys. The larger of the Winchester brothers had stuck to water all night, and Jo had a feeling that it was because he knew Dean was going to drink too much. It had been a difficult hunt, she knew; a kid had been caught in the crossfire and while Sam wasn't handling it well either, Dean felt responsible for it for some reason and was taking it very poorly.
Deciding to put it from her mind, Jo went to wipe down the bar where the brothers had been sitting only to find a beat up old smart phone laying there. It didn't take a genius to realize that Dean must have left it. Sam barely moved an inch without his phone, the boy was the most plugged in Hunter she'd ever met. Dean on the other hand tended to go for cheaper phones specifically because he lost them. As far as she knew, though, this was the longest he'd gone with the same phone.
Grabbing her own phone from her back pocket, she shot Sam a text letting him know Dean had left his phone at the bar. She also let him know that she'd hang onto it and they could pick it up in the morning, Dean needed sleep more than he needed his phone in her opinion.
With that done, she pocketed both phones and went about her work, for the mean time forgetting about the piece of technology that she now had in her possession.
It wasn't until later that night, as Jo and Ellen worked on cleaning the Roadhouse up after closing, that Jo remembered the phone. Turning to her mom, she fished the phone from her pocket and waved it in the air slightly. "Dean left his phone here, I forgot to mention it. They'll come by in the morning to grab it."
Nodding in approval, Ellen wiped her hands on the bar towel that she'd thrown over her shoulder and reached out to take the phone from her daughter. On a whim she ran her finger over the screen, lifting a brow when the phone automatically unlocked. A glance over at her daughter showed that they were both on the same wavelength, Jo's eyes fixated on the phone in interest. It wasn't every day that they were left with something that belong to a Winchester and could give them more information.
Even though Ellen had known the boys for most of their lives, she knew that they both kept secrets. It was a habit that they picked up from their father and while it was good on a professional level it was hell on their personal relationships.
"You know...I heard somewhere that if you want to know what a person loves the most, you should look through their photos on their phone." Ellen hummed thoughtfully, mostly just to get what she already knew both of them were wondering out in the open.
Jo snorted indelicately, though Ellen had never once accused her daughter of being delicate. "I bet it's filled with naked women from that dirty mag he likes, or pictures of his car."
Ellen had to admit that she was inclined to agree. Dean was fairly superficial at best. Either way, though, they both crowded together as Ellen flicked over to the photo album with only a smidge of doubt about what they were doing. With her daughter looking over her shoulder, she opened the album.
Unsurprisingly, the photo that pulled up immediately was of Dean's car. He must have recently been looking at his photos since it had directly opened to one. Curiously, Ellen swiped to the next photo. This time it was a surprise.
It was a photo of Sam talking to someone in what was easily recognized as one of the dumps the boys called Motels. The other man was shorter than Sam, and much more rumpled looking. His dark hair was a mess, though it did look to be well cut, and while his clothes were clean the trench coat and suit looked as if they'd been slept in, the tie left knotted loose around his neck. The man's head was tilted to the side, almost inquisitively, as if he didn't understand something. Not much else could be determined from the out of focus photo.
Curiously, she moved to the next photo. It was of the same man again, the one from the previous photo with Sam. He was wearing the same rumpled suit and trench, but this time he was facing Dean. His blue eyes seemed to stare through the phone at them.
The next photo was of Dean's car again, looking as if it had been freshly washed, and the next was of something he'd obviously wanted to look up for a case.
Then there was another series of photos of the strange man. All different poses, and all obviously taken without the man's knowledge of what was going on. In some he was talking, sometimes to Sam or off screen to someone else, and in others directly to Dean. There was even one of him looking almost moodily out of the window at the rain, the grainy quality of the poor cell phone camera only giving an extra air something to the photo.
Jo reached over Ellen's shoulder then and tapped the back button, pulling them out of the photo view and allowing them to see the thumbnails of the entire album. There were a handful of photos of the Impala, and some of Sam looking particularly ridiculous, there were even a few of thing supernatural related. Only two or three were of women, though they were fully dressed. The majority though...it was easily to tell that the majority were of that mystery man.
The chime of the bell attached to the door had Ellen quickly shutting off the phone and jamming it into her pocket, her head lifting to tell whoever it was who'd entered that they were closed already. Only for the words catch in her throat at the sight of who had walked it.
It was the man from Dean's phone.
In person his eyes didn't seem to be as startling of blue as some of the photos had suggested. They were, however, deeper and more soul piercing. He was wearing that same rumpled suit that he had in all of the photos, the tie loose and crooked around his throat, and the trench coat barely stained with obvious wear. Even as he looked around curiously, almost awkwardly, Ellen couldn't help but feel like the man was dangerous and in the kind of way that spoke of power.
"You're the guy on Dean's phone!" Jo suddenly blurted, breaking the silence that had fallen and drawing the man's attention to them fully.
Tilting his head in the same way that appeared in many of the photos, the man seemed to contemplate the statement for a moment before he nodded. "You are referring to the photos in which Dean Winchester takes when he thinks I will not notice. Yes. I was unaware that he shared those photos. I am Castiel. Dean requested that I get his phone from you, he did not trust that you would not look through it."
Ellen knew that Jo was blushing, that if she was younger and more prone to embarrassment that she would be blushing too. Instead, she simply pulled the phone back out of her pocket and held it out to the man, to Castiel, letting him stride over and take it. Before he walked away, she couldn't help but ask, "Does your phone have as many pictures of him?"
Castiel paused at the door, hand on the doorknob and back a tense line.
"No... but I do not have a phone that takes pictures. I have seen Dean's soul though, and it is a sight I will never forget. If I could, I would create a picture of that...of who Dean Winchester truly is, so that I may carry it more than just in memory. For his is the brightest and most beautiful I have seen since humanity began."
With that the man swept out of the Roadhouse, the door swinging shut behind him with a dull thud, leaving Jo and Ellen staring after him with shocked expressions. They hadn't expected an answer like that once the question had been put out there.
Shaking herself form her stupor, Ellen turned to face her daughter with a raised brow. "Want to take bets on how long it will take that idiot of a Winchester to get his head out of his ass and ask that angel of his out?"
Jo immediately began to laugh. They both knew the apocalypse would happen before Dean admitted to anything...