Title: Screw God, Believe in Yourself
Fandom: Supernatural
Pairing: Dean/Castiel
Rating: M
Spoilers: Vague for season 6 but this is AU so you are safe.
Summary: Sam is a wise sage, Dean isn't whining and Castiel hides things in the Batcave.
A/N: This follows immediately after my story "Holy Angel, Batman!". If you haven't read it you don't necessarily need it to read this. In summary, Sam sells his soul to become a lawyer, Dean is forced to shoot him down and Castiel betrays Dean because apparently he has been siding with heaven all along. Also yeah, they have a gay romance. Gabriel pulled a trick on Dean and so Dean has a lot of fake memories so he feels that he has been with Castiel for a long time.
eschatology / eschaton / realized eschatology
The Greek eschatos means "last thing" (e.g., Rev 1:17; "I am the first and the last."). But in the context of eschatology (a non-biblical term), the eschaton specifically means the last period of history. Eschatology, then, concerns the concepts and beliefs about the future, specifically about the last period of history. There are a variety of these throughout biblical literature. Most commonly, eschatology involves a new age, a time that is not corrupt and is perfect and, in the context of the worship of God, a time when evil is defeated and God is in full control. Some NT interpreters suggest "realized eschatology," which draws from Jesus' idea of his own appearance and ministry on earth. Also an adjective, eschatological.
He gets up in the morning. He sleeps in Lisa's backroom. Originally, Lisa thought that Dean would share her room. Dean thought so too but as the weeks went on and he was unable to feel anything for her, not even the slight flicker of sexual desire, he found himself doomed to always be her friend.
He goes to work at nine. He works with a building company. It isn't ideal because Dean doesn't have that sort of experience. He can work on cars but no one is looking for mechanics and there is a recession on. The world is in turmoil and everyone thinks that the world is ending. Dean accepts any job that he can get. He has no real job experience. He has no references. The fact that anyone would take a chance on him is a miracle itself, if Dean believes in miracles.
Ben is brilliant. He really gets along with Dean even though for the most part, Dean is grumpy and unsociable. He tries for their sake but he feels like he is going through the motions. He isn't feeling anything anymore. He should be happy with this sort of life. There are no motels, good meals and he has a sort of family. He cannot help but feeling like everything is missing.
The Impala is under a tarp in the garage. She stays there because fuel for her takes away most of his wages and he cannot afford to, because he also feels obliged to pay Lisa something for dealing with his sorry ass. He looks at her now and again. He thinks maybe today, he will just get inside her and drive off a cliff. Then he thinks that he could never do that to his baby.
For the most part, he keeps his head down. He cannot ignore the demons though. Especially when the blow into town and start attacking the school that Ben goes to. Dean tries to bury his head in the sand about the whole thing for a long time but the world is ending. He is still a hunter and if he can help people, if he can save someone else's brother, then he will do it.
It starts with small things but soon everyone is coming to Dean for anti-possession tattoos. It won't protect them from the crop failures and the strange new brand of flu that makes smallpox seem like a doddle.
Still it is better than nothing at all and soon every single person in Cicero has one from the youngest to the oldest. Dean couldn't bear to watch Ben get his done but from what Lisa says, he was very brave. Ben got his where Dean's is because he says he wants to be just like Dean when he grows up. That is a depressing thought. Lisa's is placed on her wrist.
Most people stop and check to make sure their friends and neighbours and not possessed. People don't greet each other with "hello" anymore. The term that they greet each other with is "Christo". Public places are covered with devil's traps and salt lines. Most people's homes have warding sigils placed around them. People carry salt and holy water. For the most part demons stay away after than but there are still attacks. At least once a month if not more which puts everyone on edge. People just keep dying.
Dean helps out when he can. His knowledge of demons and hunting makes him a target amongst the people though and he hates it. Most of the time he wants to be left alone. He can bear the company of Ben and Lisa and a couple of the guys that he works with but beyond that most people irritate him. He used to be a people person but everyone reminds him of Sam.
Sometimes he cannot face the world at all. He will just sit in his room. He won't even get up. Everything will just feel numb and black and on those days even simple things seem impossible. He cannot work up the strength to get dressed. Eating is impossible and he doesn't make it to work. His boss seems to understand. They all think he has PTSD.
Lisa is as understanding as she can be. Every day, she sees the demons and the monsters that are crawling out of nowhere and she knows the trouble that he has faced with in the past. Dean has told her about Sam's death but only because he couldn't keep it from her. He had to tell someone. She had just been there. It had been late one night and he had been drinking. A lot. It came spilling out of his mouth before he could stop it and then he was crying. For the first time. For the first time he was able to feel.
Each day becomes more of the same. He works, picks up Ben from school, helps Lisa with dinner. Occasionally, he will drive with some of the men from the police department and they will hunt demons. It isn't good company but it is all that Dean has now and he doesn't trust to go hunting by himself because he knows that there will be that day when he makes a mistakes. Deliberately. And he will die miserable and alone. As much as he craves that, he knows that he could never do it.
It is a normal day by all length. Dean has been working for a couple of hours now. His lunch break is soon and he is looking forward to taking a break. As much as honest work is supposed to be good for him, it is back breaking and hard in all sorts of ways. It surprises him that this is what normal people choose to do.
His phone rings. He can barely hear it over the sound of the sander that he is using. He picks it up just before it switches to voicemail. He should have checked the caller ID.
"Dean," he hears Bobby say. Dean nearly hangs up. Not that he has anything against Bobby but that is a different life. A life that had Sam and hunting and dad. He pushed Bobby away because just hearing his voice is like being forced through into that world again and it is like being dragged over broken glass. "Don't hang up, you idjit."
"Bobby, what do you want?"
"Your brother is alive," Bobby says.
Dean drops the phone on the floor. He is out of there a second later without a word to anyone. He gets into his car and drives off. He is already in Omaha before anyone can notice that he has gone.
He arrives at Sioux falls in just over ten hours. He disobeys all sorts of speed limits as he does so but he doesn't care. He could get locked up in prison. Nothing is stopping him from seeing his brother.
"Where is he?" Dean demands the second that he enters Bobby's house. Dean walks in without so much as a by-you-leave and Bobby doesn't stop him. He knows how important family is to the Winchesters.
Sam had appeared in a ball of lightning in the middle of Bobby's Salvage Yard, destroying a whole heap of cars in the process. Bobby isn't going to complain about that just yet. The moment that he had seen the boy, he dragged him into the iron wrought panic room that he kept in the basement. The fact that Sam could even get into the room was a good thing. It was designed to keep Dean out. Bobby had done all the checks. It isn't a shifter, it isn't a ghost or a demon or a changeling or anything. Bobby checks everything but it just seems like Sam.
The giant is out and has been for the past twelve hours. Bobby knows he should be worried but hell, the kid is alive and breathing and that is just a miracle in itself. Bobby almost wants to call a certain angel down from his cloud. Almost.
Dean is in the panic room now and Bobby explains what has happened. Dean sits by Sam's bed.
"Sam?" Dean asks. Sam groans and his eyes open.
"Dean?" he asks confused. "Where am I?"
"In Bobby's panic room. It is okay. You are okay," Dean says. He doesn't know who he is trying to convince. This still could be soulless Sammy. The one that almost killed Castiel and countless thousands of other people.
"What is the last thing that you remember?" Bobby asks.
"I was in a meeting at college. The man, God, he was a demon!" Sam jumps up suddenly. "What happened?"
"Sam, that was years ago," Dean says. Perhaps Sam doesn't remember what he has done. It means that Dean is going to have to explain to Sam that dad is dead. That isn't going to go down well.
"There was something else but you are going to laugh," Sam starts. He looks unsure like he hasn't been since he was a teenager.
"Tell us," Dean pushes.
"I swear I was dead. I can remember being a ghost or a spirit or something then someone comes to me. God, he was so bright! And he says that I would be alive again. I think he was an angel," Sam explains. He looks from Dean and Bobby. "Yeah, yeah. I know call me a girl but I believe in angels okay?"
"What did the angel look like?" Bobby asks because there is no way that Dean can.
"Now you are going to think this is funny. He was wearing a trench coat and a bad suit," Sam says. "He had strange blue eyes and messy black hair." Sam looks between Bobby and Dean. "What?"
"That is Castiel. I thought he went to play for the team upstairs?" Bobby asks Dean.
"He did. I don't know what he is doing here," Dean replies.
"Well, call him down and ask him."
"It is not as simple as that!" Dean protests.
"Who is Castiel?" Sam asks confused.
"Oh, I am letting you answer this one," Bobby says. Dean pulls a face but he doesn't say anything. Bobby sighs. "Castiel is an angel."
"Angels?"
"Yeah, Sam. They have been walking the Earth for a while now," Dean says. "You have met Castiel before. You just don't remember."
Dean explains in a cliffnote version about what has happened. He explains how Sam sold his soul and Dean had to kill him. Dean doesn't think about leaving that sort of thing out. He explains about how the demons have been rebelling since they lost their leader and things have been in chaos. He also tells Sam about the angels' plan to destroy the world. He covers pretty much everything apart from his relationship with Castiel because that is something private and it honestly still hurts far too much for Dean.
"We have to fight," Sam says determined after Dean explains everything.
"Fight?"
"Against the angels and the demons and everything. Dean, I did so many bad things. I got you sent to hell. I want to make up for it. I have to put this right. I need to make this better," Sam says. He sounds so much like Sam. He honestly cares about other people. It is so ridiculously refreshing that it almost makes Dean cry but all he does is nod in agreement. If Sam wants to make everything right again then Dean is definitely going to help him.
He calls Lisa and explains that Sam is back and they are going to hunt down demons. Lisa doesn't understand how his dead brother could be back alive all of a suddenly and Dean doesn't have the words to explain it but she says "finally!" like she has been waiting for him to get a grip on life and actually face the demon threat that everyone is facing. He knows that they are not going to have a problem with finding hunts.
He and Sam head off back to Indiana just to pick up Dean's stuff. Lisa confesses that she never expected that this would be a permanent thing and Ben thinks that he is a jerk for leaving him. It doesn't matter to Dean because finally, after so many years, he is back on the road with his brother.