He was on a bus, a bus to nowhere.
Why should he have a destination? Where does an angel go when everywhere is unsafe?
Wandering. That is the life he will have.
Castiel looked down at the tablet in his hands. It was in the bag he slipped it into when he first entered the bus—safe beneath fabric. He remembered first touching it, the glow it gave off as it broke his bond with Naomi, saving him from making the worst mistake yet. He absently brushed his hand over the fabric, feeling the slight indentations from the runes. It felt right, in his hands. Maybe that was what his Father wanted after all.
His gaze shifted to the window. It was nighttime, the passing cars painting rainbow-like streaks as they sped along. Humans certainly had a way with lights, fixing them up anywhere they could in ways that continued to dazzle him, even after eons of observation.
Lights. Souls. Choices.
Humanity infected his essences. Perhaps it was always there to begin with.
The bus had taken an exit off the highway, rolling to a halt at stop light before turning into a rest stop. Castiel had no clue where he was—and he was loathe to use his powers to discover. Part of wandering was the uncertainty. He had to do this right.
He shuffled off the bus with the rest of the passengers, not because he needed to stretch his legs, but rather because he wanted to mingle. To try and act human. So he slung his bag on securely over his neck, keeping his hand on it where the tablet bumped his left hip as he walked. Once he left the steps, he stretched, meandering about briefly before sitting on a bench under one of the dim street lights lining the premises of the rest stop. The bus driver went to fuel up and the passengers stumbled about on lazy legs to the bathroom or vending machines. While Castiel sat, watching the tiny bugs fluttering around the light above his head, he noticed a presence fill the space to the right of him on the bench. Looking over, the angel saw an old woman smiling over and holding out a chocolate bar. He could not sense any malcontent from her, so he took the offered treat.
"The machine gave me two," she chuckled, shakily pealing the wrapper from her own bar, "Why not share the good fortune, eh?"
"Thank you," Castiel smiled softly, slipping the bar into his pocket and watching her battle with the wrapper, finally succeeding with a satisfied gasp.
"I've always loved Milky Ways," she commented softly, taking a small bite and smiling in pleasure. "Nothin' quite like the assortment of flavours you find in Milky Ways."
The angel's smile didn't fade, but he returned his attentions to the moths and mosquitoes, vying for a go at the bright light they couldn't quite get to without dying.
After a few moments of comfortable silence, the woman spoke. "Reminds you of us, don't it?" Castiel glanced at her to see she, too, was observing the bugs.
"How so?"
"The bugs, they are always after the shiny lights, huh? Struggling, fighting. Somethin' they can't quite reach all the time," she took a nibble off the Milky Way, "but when they do, finally reach the light I mean, they die. It's too much for them. All that effort for a moment of bliss." She looked down at her bar, "Like humans chasing the divine." Castiel was staring at her now, his smile gone. He couldn't sense anything but human from her. Yet she seemed to read his mind, echoing words he had spoken to Dean as a jest all those weeks ago. And now it was terrible, abruptly sad.
He looked down at fists he hadn't realized he had clenched, and took a shaky breath trying to calm his rising sorrow.
The woman must have noticed his distress, because she reached a hand over and placed it on his tense fist. "Have I upset you?"
"No," he ground out, then, softening his tone, "I just…that was very accurate."
"It is only humanity which seeks the divine," she whispered, "And humanity is beautiful."
The angel looked at her, seeing soft, loving eyes and a calm smile. His tension eased, and he offered a small smile back, laying his other hand over hers. "Thank you."
She grinned and pulled away, popping the last of the Milky Way in her mouth. "Here's the bus, kiddo. We best be going!"
He watched her walk over to the gathering people, his gaze returning briefly to the bugs overhead. He watched on fly into the light and fall away dead. Shaking his head, he stood and wandered over to the group. He was last to get on the bus, sitting in the same seat near the back which he was in before. He looked around him, but couldn't find the woman anywhere. A switch glance outside told him she wasn't left behind. His brow knotted in confusion as the bus began to roll away from the rest stop and the image outside his window once more being the streak of headlights.
Slipping the strap of the bag from around his neck, Castiel pulled the satchel onto his lap. He slid a had inside, intending to touch the tablet, but his fingers found it to be in the company of a candy bar. A smile broke out across his face as he pulled out the Milky Way, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Yes," he whispered softly, "Beautiful."