November 1st, 2014.
It was an emotional goodbye.
Dean however, kept a straight and narrow face as he helped Sam load his bags into his trunk.
"I still can't believe you're doing it, Sammy. Giving the old college thing another shot." Sam chuckled under his breath,
"Yeah, I guess I can't really believe it either."
It had been nearly a year since their last hunt together. Sam hadn't seen much need to stay around long after that.
The brothers had defeated Abaddon, and after a grim sacrifice from Kevin, who unbenounced to the Winchesters had completed
the trials behind their back, and sealed the gates to Hell forever.
Ever since that day, they simply drifted apart. It had taken long for both of them to come to terms with the fact, that perhaps,
Hunting was the one thing that brought them together, the one thing that could bond over, but with that gone, alas that bond was broken. With that bond lost, Sam decided to move back to California, and attend Stanford once and for all, and Dean found himself a home that took him back to his roots, back in Lawrenceville, Kansas. He lived there with Cas, where the two of them had made
a new, and somewhat quiet life for themselves. Cas had adjusted to being human. He found it easier with Dean there by his side every step of the way, guiding him.
Sam and Dean both, had moved on, and made well-rounded lives for themselves. But none of that could take away
that Sam was leaving. Dean was losing his baby brother. Maybe not forever, but that didn't matter to Dean. All he could focus on was
the fact that Sammy was leaving, and that was all that mattered.
Dean waited by the car as he watched Sam walk out the front door, carrying what appeared the be the last of his belongings.
Sam tossed the last of his bags into the back of the already crammed car. "I guess this is it." Sam said as he closed the door shut.
"I guess it is… You take care up there, alright?" Dean replied with noticeable sorrow in his eyes. Dean grabbed Sam and pulled him in for a hug.
It had been a while since they had said goodbye like this. "Ya know, I almost wish Cas could've been here. I think I'm gonna miss that guy."
Sam said as he pulled away. "That poor bastard couldn't get out of working today, I'm sure he would've wanted to be here if he could." Dean replied.
Sam walked around his car, making his way to the driver's door, reaching out for the door handle he heard dean from across the car "Take it easy, bitch"
he heard Dean say in a joking tone. Sam looked at the grown and shook his head, letting out a smile, "Alright, jerk". He got in his car, and began his drive to the airport.
He was gone, and that fact had finally hit Dean. His little brother no longer needed him and was off to live his life without him.
Dean carried himself back inside, making his way to the living room. He sat on his couch, propping his feet up in the coffee table in front of him.
He let out a sigh. However, not a sigh of grief. Dean had almost felt selfish to a point. Realizing that he should've been happy for Sam all along.
He knew he was loosing his brother, and would go long periods of time without seeing him, or maybe even just talking to him. But deep down, he
knew that leaving was what Sam had wanted. It was what he wanted all along. Dean began to feel guilty, and to think that perhaps it was his fault
that Sam had been unhappy all these years, and that he was the one that kept him from following his dream, and living his life the way he wanted to.
"If only I had just searched for Dad myself. I could've spared us both all of this. All of this shit that happened in the past decade." Dean thought to himself.
And it was thoughts like this that flooded Dean's mind for the hours that followed until Cas arrived home from work.
Dean heard Cas walk in, yet he remained still, in the same place he had been in for hours.
"Are you okay? I presume today was rather difficult for you." Cas said, as he undid his vest, and placed in neatly on the arm of the couch.
"Is it selfish to wish he didn't leave?" Dean asked. Cas sat down next to him, placing his arm around his shoulder. "Of course not, Dean. These feelings are normal." Cas said in an attempt to console Dean.
"I just can't help but think it's all my fault, ya know? Why did I have to call him all those years ago? If this was what he wanted to do then why did I
go and ruin that for him? I don't even think it was to find Dad anymore. I think it was just for myself. But all I did was delay the inevitable." Dean said as he stood up from his couching, nearly pacing around the room at this point. "You did what you thought was best. That's all that matters. And look at how many people you saved. Look at all the good you've done since you went and got him that night. You saved thousands of lives, you stopped the apocalypse, you closed the gates of Hell… You found me." Dean froze in his spot at hearing Cas say those words. It had never dawned on him that regardless of how selfish he thought he may have been, he had saved lives, he had saved the world, and among all those things, he found Cas. And perhaps that was the one thing to triumph the rest.