Sam held his brother in his arms as the light in Dean's eyes slowly dimmed and fluttered closed. He brought him closer to his chest as the tears finally began to fall.
There was the flapping sound of wings, signaling Castiel's appearance.
"He's dead." The angel said bluntly.
Sam refused to look away from his brother to acknowledge his presence, but he laughed humorlessly in response "Yeah. Yeah, he's...gone."
"No, he's not gone; he's dead," Cas corrected, he stepped closer to the Winchesters, hardly making a sound.
"Yeah, I understand that, Cas. But I-I can't say it out loud, okay?" He looked up into blue eyes mere inches from his own. The angel was crouched down next to Dean's body, across from Sam, face solemn but eyes suddenly glinting with something that was dangerously close to hope.
"That's not what I mean. He's not gone. His body is dead but his soul remains in it -it's still vibrating with life." He laid a hand on Dean's stomach and both men watched in awe at the faint glow that emitted from it.
"What? What does that mean?" Sam
"I don't know," Cas shook his head. "Reapers are the only gateways to the afterlife aside from the crossroad deals, but they need permission to extract them."
"He didn't want the reaper to collect his soul?" Sam asked, "But-but why? Dean knows that souls that don't move on become vengeful spirits. He- he knows what that did to Bobby."
"I don't know," he repeated as he removed his hand. But the light, Dean's soul, attached itself to the angel's fingertips and Castiel froze.
"Wait- what's happening? What are you doing, Cas?" Sam yelled, he grabbed at the angel's hand and was instantly zapped. The hunter drew back quickly, eyes wide and heart racing.
"Humans are not allowed to touch them. Souls are made of pure energy - they're similar to the grace of an angel- the human body cannot handle more than one." He explained and glanced apologetically at his friend for the harm.
As the light curled itself around his arm and traveled even further up his body, Castiel's face suddenly contorted into a frown, "Dean, that son of a bitch."
"Cas? Cas, what's going on?" Sam demanded. His patience was wearing thin - couldn't his brother just die in peace?
He didn't answer and instead closed his eyes, arms to his side, and palms open upwards. Dean's soul moved even faster at the whole hearted acceptance, entering Castiel's body through every pore of his vessel.
The angel glowed for a brief moment and then slowly dimmed back.
"My grace wasn't as strong as it used to be after Metatron ripped it from my vessel. Dean didn't want the reapers to collect his soul, he wanted me to." He explained. But Sam remained confused, so he clarified further, "He... He gave up Heaven and gave his soul to me so...so I could draw power from it."
The hunter glanced back down at his brother's corpse in his arms and smiled wryly yet affectionately, "Always taking care of people till the goddamn end, you idiot."
"He's the righteous man, Sam." Castiel corrected as he brandished something from the chest pocket of Dean's flannel shirt. He circled his arms around Sam's neck as if it were an embrace, but he drew back quickly and the Winchester felt a sudden weight pressed to his chest.
"And he wanted you to have this - I feel it."
Sam encompassed the object in his fist and, without looking, he could tell it was the amulet.
"You know, he never had the heart to truly throw it away." The angel said, resting a hand on his shoulder.
"That's our brother for you. Can't have a "Chick Flick" moment with him, but everything he does basically calls for one." He replied, squeezing the amulet harder.
Thank you for reading and please leave a review!
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