The smell of Oak filled his sense. Castiel could hear a quiet sound of woods burning. He could even taste the fire roaring in the fireplace but what he loved the most is the the touch of a wool blanket wrapped around his body.

Warmth and comfort? These two words seemed like a stranger to him. They both were luxury he could not afford, not in Purgatory.

Castiel opened his eyes and found himself in a small room dimly lightened. His trench coat was gone. He was curling in a mole of a blanket on soft mattress with lots of pillows by his side. On his right, a man was sleeping on a couch, his left arm fell off his temporary bed but his rhythmic breath shown that he was at peace in his dream. Castiel did not see the man's face to know who he was.

"Dean." Castiel got up, quietly woke his friend.

Dean shifted and just made a sound in his throat.

"Dean." The angel shook the sleeping man's arm. He's still not woken up.

"Dean!" Castiel snapped.

"What what?" The hunter suddenly shot up from his pillow, his hand immediately grabbed Castiel's collar. He was breathing hard contrasted to the way he was just a second ago.

"Dean, where are we?"

Instead of answer, Dean just released his grip and threw his head back to the pillow.

"Dean. This is urgent."

"Go back to sleep, man." Dean said drowsily.

"But."

"Sleep."

Castiel lost his patience. He got up on the crouch and hovered himself over Dean.

"Dean, get up!" He demanded.

"What again, man?" Dean protested.

This time, Castiel stared at Dean to let the latter know he would not take no as an answer. Dean sighed, rubbed his face and drew back his legs from under Castiel body so that he could hunker on the couch.

Dean stared back at Castiel as to mimic the angel's puppy-ish expression then he cupped his friend's face in two hand.

"We are safe now, Cas."

The angel did not understand that 4 words sentence.

"Remember? Sam'd got us back here yesterday?"

"But I don't…"

"We're on earth." Dean dropped his left hand from Castiel's face.

We were in Purgatory. You and I were running from Banshees. Where is my trench coat? How could we be here in this…room? Why are you on the couch? Of course, Castiel did not have to say any of these rather than just knotted his brows to make Dean understand what was going on inside his head.

When words were not enough, Dean decided to explain by his action. He grabbed both Castiel's arms, pulled him in so that their noses are no more than two inch apart. Dean cradled the back of Castiel's head, pressed their foreheads together and closed his eyes.

"We have escaped, Cas. We survive." His breath lingered on Castiel's lips. "It was just a nightmare. Now, we are okay."

Castiel tried to pull back as he did not believe any of this. Dean was slightly startled by his reaction but, he leant in.

Blue and green met, and Castiel was memorized. Dean's lips softly caressed his like they were asking for permission. Castiel gave in.

/

/

"Castiel." Someone was calling his name.

"Castiel." That someone pressed him again.

"Castiel!"

And the angel of Thursday woke up.

"News flash, an angel can nap." The guy said mockingly. He ruffled Castiel's dark hair with his hand. "Much better" The man said, satisfied. Castiel noticed several of his brothers were chuckling too.

"Dean." Castiel grumbled, obviously annoyed.

"What?"

"I'm not a cherub."

Weren't they supposed to do something? Be at some place?

Dean shrugged. "You're still my litter brother though."

Castiel sighed.

Dean smiled. "Are you ready to smite some demon?"

Castiel nodded though he knew Dean did not need the answer.

"Good. Let's rock and roll." Together, they dived into hell in the quest to search for a righteous man.

Dean brought the wrath of heaven with him to hell. With one swift of his wing, he would send a pack of demon flew into oblivion, or just cut them apart in two. His grace was beyond comparison. When he summoned the holy light, hell lit up like a thousand thunders strike at the same time. No hellhound could come near the corporal of the garrison, their eyes would be burnt by just the sight of him.

But something did not feel right. Something was crawling in the back of Castiel's mind. A feeling he could not shake away. A feeling that this moment had already passed. Not like this.

They did not keep track of time or the brothers they had lost. When Castiel reached the deepest dungeon of hell, all he had left was Dean by his side and they have found him, the Righteous man.

"John Winchester?" Dean called out to the man on a rack. That man looked anything but human. He's a pile of meat with limbs that had been skinned alive.

Dean confidently walked to the man, his fingers raised as he was about to heal the body, but before the archangel touched him, the man on the rack laughed.

"Why are you still here?"

"What did you say, mortal?" Dean asked, obviously confused.

"I'm not speaking to you. I'm talking to him."

He motioned his chin toward Castiel.

"Me?"

"Yes, you."

"What business could you have with me?"

"I certainly don't have any business with you." He chuckled. But aren't you supposed to be having other business, Castiel?"

"What is he talking about?" Dean asked.

"Come on, Castiel. Wake up!" The man howled and light was flooding everwhere in Castiel's vision.

He had to no way to defend himself but to give in and fell.

/

/

The low hum of the engine woke Castiel. He felt like it had been long and tiresome journey. They were always going to some places he did not care about the destination anymore. The car stopped but Castiel made no attempt to get up.

He felt someone unlocked his safety belt and scooped him up from baby seat. Castiel was half awake now but he wanted to just smell the leather jacket so he did not fight the man who was carrying him, instead he snuggled against his father's chest.

His father put him down on a comfy bed and covered him with a blanket, the one they carried around everywhere. He traced Castiel's ruffled hair and kissed his temple. Castiel loved it when his father did that. It showed he was beloved.

"Are we there yet, dad?" Castiel asked.

"Tomorrow, big guy." The father pinched his son's cheek lovingly. "Now, you've gotta go to bed."

"But I've been sleeping all day." Castiel protested. guickly grabbed his father's shirt. "Could you please tell me a story, dad?" He pleaded. "Please."

"Seriously? That look?" The man chuckled. "Move for your old man okay?" He fit himself on the empty space beside his son.

"No Snow White please."

"Why?"

"Because she marries the man who love her corpse. Ewwww."

The father shrugged. "How about the angel Castiel?"

"Yay, he's my favourite!" The blue eyed boy settled himself by his father's chest.

"Once upon a time" The father began. "There was angel name Castiel. He was a fierce soldier of heaven, though not the strongest one. Every other angels love Castiel the best."

"Why?"

"Because he has what others don't, compassion." His father continued, "One day he was order to go to hell."

"Why?"

"Because he had a rescue mission."

"Why?"

"Now, do you want daddy to continue or not?"

"Yes, please." Castiel whimpered.

"Sometimes, a good man went to hell for a bad reason." He looked at his son to see if the kid was still following. "But something happened to the angel the first time he saw that man. He fell in love."

"EWWWWW."

"Now, don't underestimate love. I'm telling you, Cas. Love can move the world."

"Really?"

"No, not really. But you see, The angel Castiel fell in love and he was beginning to fall from heaven himself."

"Love sucks."

"He fell from heaven because he decided to disobey his order." The father paused, increasing the tension of his story. "Heaven said he must destroy the humankind. He refused because the man he fell for just love human so much."

"Human sucks."

"Except one."

"Who?"

"You." He kissed his son's forehead. Castiel chided away. He loved when his father showed his affection. But not too much. He's going to be …. years old in the next two months.

Wait. Just how many years old? He was …. years old. He was going to be …. years old. Why couldn't he remember his own age?

Cas.

Someone was calling his name. The voice was familiar yet strangely faraway.

Cas, wake up!

Suddenly the image of his father flickered like a bad signal television.

"Getting tired already, champion?"

Castiel looked at those green eyes and decided that anything else did not matter anyway.

"Mmmhmm." He did not want to fight the comfort of his pillow. "But dad, what if the monster comes?"

The father smiled. "Remember what I told you."

"Monsters are afraid of us the Winchesters." They said together.

"That's my boy. As long as I'm around, I won't let anything hurt you." He patted Castiel's head.

Castiel, I pray that you would get the fuck up.

That voice was calling for him again. Why wouldn't it just leave him in peace?

His father was getting up and about to leave the room when he turned off the light.

"Dad?" Castiel called. His father stopped and turned around. "Is the angel Castiel real? Or you just name him after me."

"He is real, Cas." The man looked through his son's beady eyes. "He is real as long as you believe in him.

Don't die on me, Cas.

"Goodnight, Cas."

"Goodnight, dad."

Castiel closed his eyes and drifted off into his dream. Then he heard a voice. A different voice from before but still familiar and so powerful it could eclipse everything else.

You can't go.

Why? Where am I going?

Come back, Castiel.

But I don't want to go back.

Wake up.

I'm tired. Can I just sleep?

Not yet, my child. Wake up now and return to him.

Return to who?

The one who carries your heart.

Castiel opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was a pair of green eyes glimmered by stirring tears.

"Dean." Castiel felt an ache all over his body, he did not the energy to say anything more or to move. All he knew was that he was safe in the arms of his friend.

"Cas." Dean said the name almost like a prayer. One tear dropped from his eyes, his nose was red.

"….Why are you crying?" Castiel had to ask. Usually Dean would hide his emotion away from everybody including himself.

"You stupid son of a bitch. I'm not crying." Dean sobbed and held castiel tighter.

"Where are we?" He began to connect things. He remembered being surrounded by Banshee while he only had a tiny bit of his grace left just enough to teleport Dean out of danger only to find out later those Banshee were controlled by Djinns "Those Djinns."

Dean could not answer. He did not want anyone even Castiel to see he was crying, especially when he was crying on his friend's shoulder.

Castiel tried to look pass Dean and saw at least 4 bodies lying in blood on the ground.

"Don't do that again." Dean said, almost whispered either because he could not believe he was saying this or simply too exhausted."Don't zap me away again. Do you understand?" It was an order. "We're in this together."

We're in this together. Castiel repeated Dean's words in his head.

He remembered all those Djinn's illusions. The Dean that loved him, comforted him, tell him bedtime stories and kissed him. They all had their own appeals but none of them were Dean.

Between the cruel Purgatory with monsters waiting to eat him alive and to the dream land where everything was peaceful,

Castiel would choose the real Dean, always.