A/N: This came to me when I watched this video, /watch?v=T0iO6A3D8Xk, on youtube. I didn't mean to get feels, but I got them and this is what happened. I probably won't do anything else with this.
For those who don't want to watch the video, it's a kind of Supernatural, Hunger Games, and other fandoms mash up, though I didn't mention the other fandoms I don't think. I dunno, just decided to throw this up here and I wrote it half asleep haha.
~o~
Dean doesn't sleep much in the arena, for good and obvious reasons. So he's alert and up when he hears the brush below his feet crunch in the way when someone walks on it. He turns to see Castiel of all people, relaxing, knowing Cas wouldn't kill him. Something's off. Cas is stumbling towards him, swaying and his head is down. It's so wrong to see, Castiel is an angel, he's always graceful. Dean rushes over and when he catches Cas he smells the blood. He knows deep and instant, even if he tries to deny it, that the canon is going to sound in the next hour, maybe even half.
He eases down and holds Castiel, who's mumbling in that language he talked about, one Dean would never understand, even if Cas tried to teach him. Only angels could understand it. After a few minutes Cas seemed to get a bit better, gaining the strength to look up at Dean, who didn't let this get his hopes up. He knows Cas was saving his strength for this, but he can't help it and tears are welling up in his eyes faster then he thought they could.
Castiel's eyes are soft and he reaches up, slowly, stroking Dean's cheek. Its a few moments before Dean chokes and lets his head hang, leaning down and raising Cas, burying his head in the Angel's hair. Cas's words reach his ears, though he can't really hear them over the blood pumping in his veins.
"Dean, Dean listen to me. Dean, please," Slowly Dean lifts his head and looks down in the blue eyes staring up at him. "Dean, don't cry. I know it's a lot to ask for, but don't cry. Everything will be okay," Cas says, and Dean knows he doesn't mean that he won't die, because he will. Dean can't do anything about the blood spilling out of Castiel.
"Cas," Dean chokes, trying to clear his throat but failing.
"Sshh," Cas shushes, tapping a finger against Dean's lips. "None of that," He gives a weak laugh, coughing at the end. Blood trickles from his lips.
"Cas, no. No, no no-" Castiel interrupts him again, tapping his lips.
"Quiet. It was selfish to do this. I wanted to come say goodbye. For now." Cas says, with a smile on his face. Dean looks confused through his despair, silently asking Castiel to explain what the fuck he means. With another quiet laugh, Cas does.
"You'll be fine Dean, you're gonna win. You'll win, bring your district joy and pride, and live. You'll live, Dean. Without me." Castiel says, almost pausing, "Without Sam. Because you're strong enough to live without us." Dean shakes his head and starts to say something, but another shush from Castiel shuts him up. "You'll live, be happy, maybe even have another family." Dean cuts him off this time, talking over the shushes.
"I may live, if I do I can look forward to seeing Sam again, after I die. But I'll never see you again, will I? This arena will have robbed me of you, What happens to angels who die?" Dean says, asks, and cries. He doesn't know what to do with himself. Cas gives a tender smile, before he has a coughing fit. Its close now, they both know it.
"Silly, silly, Dean Winchester. Angels go back to heaven when they die, should they die outside of it. I'll be waiting patiently for you, after I find Sam and your heaven, we'll be waiting for you. I'll even search for your parents, everyone you've lost. We'll all be waiting, Dean. But keep us waiting a while, yes? Don't show up too early." Cas says, speaking without break for the longest since Dean last saw him, unharmed and full. "It will take time to gather everyone."
Dean fell apart at these words, in both suspicion of the truth behind Castiel's words and the grief hurting him already.
"Cas.." He whispered over and over again, and he jumped when Castiel moved, not thinking the Angel had the energy. He whimpered and shut his wet eyes when Castiel's bloodstained mouth pressed against his, trying to savor the moment, knowing it would most likely be the last for a long, long time, if Castiel was true with his words.
"I promise, Dean. I'd never lie. We'll be waiting, just, live for us. For the people you loved who's lives were stolen." Dean doesn't know what to say to this and just returns to kissing his angel until Castiel is coughing too much to keep up with it, and then Dean held him in his arms until he felt Cas go, his entire body listening for the heartbeat to stop, entire body waiting to feel his chest cease to move, before Dean lowered his head again and let himself break just a little, before he took Castiel's coat, the long tan overcoat, trench coat really, and the Angel's blade, before laying him on his back, cleaning his lips and hands of blood and then gathered his own things, and moved on, the tail of the coat fluttering about his heels in an uncomfortable, but nearly familiar fashion, as the canon boomed, and the sky lit up with Castiel's stoic portrait.
Dean doesn't know if he'll make it, he can't really control if someone kills him, but he will try. He will try goddamnit and he'll do it for Sam and Cas. Castiel was gone, Sam wasn't yet, but Dean understood how futile it was to think they'd all get out. Only one would, and either one of the three of them would, or someone else would, and he was damned if he was going to roll belly up for some other person. He killed before, he was going to do it again. Them or him.
He was going to win every time that question was asked because he had to. He had promised and he never went back on a promise. Sam knew that, Castiel would have learned that.
He was going to teach every last person here that he never went back on a promise. He would show them Dean Winchester wasn't helpless and wasn't a push over. They'd have to get through him to win, and Dean knew what hell was like. He figured he could take them, considering what he had waiting for him.
~o~
