Dean/Castiel Prompt: Death vs. Life
Dean's been dead before. He's been to Hell, he's been to his (and Sam's) Heaven, he's been among the living as a ghost. He's seen death before—a lot of it—and he's seen Death before.
Dean's seen Sammy die, Bobby die, John, Mary, Pamela, Jo, Ellen, Rufus, even Castiel…he's seen almost everyone he knows die (at least once).
Of all the people he's watched die, in the back of his mind, Dean never thought Cas would be one of them. Cas wasn't—isn't—like anyone else Dean knows. He's an angel for crying out loud.
Driving not-the-Impala, Dean wonders if Cas is really and truly dead. Maybe he's not gone, maybe he's just tied up in some Heavenly business right now. Yeah, that's it. That's all it is. Rush-hour traffic from Heaven to Earth.
Sam sleeps next to Dean, his head resting on the passenger seat window. Dean's seen his little brother die too many times, and each time, even though he knows what's coming, it never gets any easier. There's always that small possibility that Sam won't come back. That Dean will be alone.
Cas was—is—the best friend Dean's had in a long while. Sometimes, on nights like this one, when Dean's awake driving on the open road, the possibility of making a demon deal crosses his mind. It's only there for a second, running by like squirrel across the road, pushed away by thoughts of logic—that would be way too dangerous—but it was there all the same. Crossroads demons are not fun to deal with and Dean doubts they could even have the power to bring back an angel, or even want to deal with him or Sam. They're not exactly known in Hell for being kind to the demons they run across.
Most people find life difficult to deal with, what they don't know is that death is not any easier. Dean is not most people.
