"Dean, where are we going?"
"Dude, just be quiet for like, two minutes, okay?"
It was well after dark, Castiel observed, his feet tripping over themselves. Dean's hands were covering his eyes and he kept feeling like he was going to trip over a rock or upturned soil.
Still, the hand at the base of Cas's spine was sure and steady, so he trusted Dean to keep him from falling.
The night air was crisp and soft, tickling his nose with the different smells. Several wafted past him: Mowed grass, fresh dirt. His personal favorite that came after rain, like the kind that misted off the summer's hot asphalt, leaving everything quiet and lazy.
"Okay," came a hoarse whisper, followed by a short tug on the back of Cas's shirt, making him halt. "You can look now." Smooth hands peeled themselves away from his face, and it took him a moment and a few blinks to adjust to the scenery around them.
Dean had let them off a small country road near an overpass where their motel was. They were on a hill now, with weeds and flowers sprouting up randomly. Purples and blues and greens dappling around his feet.
But it was the sight when he looked up that truly took his breath away.
Here, out in the country, far from the town's pollution or the city lights, the stars laid out on the night skyline were simply astounding.
It was, Cas thought, like a painter had dipped the tips of his fingers in white and flicked his pitch-black canvas until the billions and billions of splatters were satisfactory enough to bestoy upon the world.
"C'mon dude, sit down." Dean said, after a minute. He plopped down quickly, spreading himself out on the slightly-damp grass, arms behind his head as he let out a long sigh.
Castiel took a careful seat near him, choosing his spot carefully, so there were no flowers to crush.
And they sat like that, for a while. They didn't say anything because they didn't need to.
This was truly, Nirvana, Castiel thought.
Cas had been trying to count the stars when the silence was broken. Dean took a careful step with his words, "Y'know, when I was younger, my dad used to tell me that the stars were all the great people that had left us, watching down on us. He always told me mom was up there, and sometimes, like now, I wonder if he's up there too."
Silence settled down again, and Cas didn't know what to say. He wanted to comfort Dean, to reassure him that a man as great as his father must surely be in the stars, among the greats. But he couldn't be sure himself.
It was another span of many minutes before Cas spoke, "Dean, do you think, maybe, my father is up there?" He turned over to the Winchester, seeking an answer but knowning he wouldn't have one.
Without looking at him, Dean responded, "I don't know Cas."
And then, "I just don't know."
Castiel went back to counting the stars.