Dean sat on the bed of his motel room. It was a typical motel room, small dingy bathroom, scratchy sheets that smelled slightly of mildew, ancient bed frame, completely sketch mattress, and hideous wallpaper. He had coined this particular colour 'monkey shit brown', and it was peeling away from the wall near the bathroom door, revealing grimy looking drywall underneath that peaked through in several shades of grey. He placed his head in his hands and leaned over his knees.
He was so tired, so tired that his eyes hurt. Dean was more than just tired, he was drained. The last few months had taken a toll on him. It was a constant battle to stay motivated, to keep focused, and every day for the last few months he struggled to conceal his state of mind from Sam.
When he and Sam had first parted ways, Dean had felt relief. He didn't have to worry about Sam, be mindful of where his younger brother was, what he was doing, if he was going all Dark Side on him. It was a relief to be free of that burden for awhile. However, the crushing loneliness was starting to get to him, driving from place to place, no real contacts, no friends, and now no family. Besides Cas periodically, you know, whenever he needed something from Dean.
"You know what I miss," Dean said aloud. "I miss the good old days, when things were simple. Find something evil, kill it, get a beer." Maybe a nice, simple hunt would make everything feel normal again...
Dean pulled out his phone and dialled. "Cas?" He paused. "Yes it's Dean! Who else would it be?" Dean rolled his eyes. "Would I call you otherwise?" He huffed in frustration. "Fine, fine. Red City Motel, room four." He snapped his phone shut.
"What is so important?" Cas queried, about ten seconds later, confusion evident on his face.
Dean turned around from where he had been leaning over the motel table. "That was quick," he muttered to himself.
"You said it was important," the angel stated impatiently.
Dean held up yesterday's paper, which had been fanned out on the table, where he had been obviously studying its contents. "I have a hunt and I need backup."
Castiel leaned closer and quickly read the article. "It is clearly a poltergeist. I don't understand why it concerns us."
Dean gave Cas his 'really, we need to explain this' look. "Because it is evil and we kill evil things?"
Stepping back, Castiel shook his head. "Dean, Lucifer has risen and the battle between Heaven and Hell looms over us all. We can't stop and exorcise every demon, spirit and creature of Hell we come across on the path of your destiny. There are more important tasks for us to complete."
"I'm tired of everything being about the Devil and an epic battle for the world." Dean leaned towards the motel window, to peak out the curtain. "I need a little breather, a nice simple hunt, like the good old days. Do some good for someone." He continued to stare out the window. "I just need this and then tomorrow we can go back to the world ending apocalypse."
"Stopping the Devil will 'do some good' for everyone." Castiel studied Dean for a moment. "Fine. I will assist you, since you will not give this up until we just do it," he finally gave in to his friend. "What is your plan?"
"I figured we'd wing it," Dean threw over his shoulder; he started lobbing things into his bag.
Cas stalked across the room, standing directly next to Dean. "That is not a plan. We need a plan."
"Dude, personal space." Cas moved back one step. "Thank you." Dean gave his head a little shake. "We have a plan, find it, kill it, get a beer." He plopped down into the chair at the table, resting his heavy boot on the other chair opposite him.
Castiel stared at Dean blankly, his dislike of the 'plan' apparent.
"Fine! We'll make a plan, an actual plan. The devil is in the details, as they say."
Cas's eyes narrowed. "Why would Lucifer be in the details?"
Dean's shoulders sagged a little and he let out an exasperated sigh. "No, Cas, it's an expression."
Castiel blinked and cocked his head to one side in thought. "Well, it does not make any sense. Lucifer is not concerned with the inner workings of our plans to exorcise a simple ghost haunting."
Dean's eyes clenched shut in frustration. "No. It means that we need to pay attention to the details, because if we don't we'll run into problems."
"I still do not understand why this involves Lucifer."
Dean stood, grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder. "Screw the details. Let's roll." He strode over to the motel room door and flung it open, indicating that the angel should exit first.
"But what about the plan?" Castiel asked as the door was closed and locked.
Stalking towards the car, Dean gave his head a shake, not sure why he had bothered calling his companion in the first place. He pulled open the Impala's driver side door, threw his duffel over the seat into the back and slid in the driver seat. "Screw the plan. We're back to my original idea. Find it, kill it, beer."
"That is still not a very well laid out plan," Cas stated as he got into the Impala awkwardly. "And just so we are clear, Lucifer is not concerned with this plan either."
