Disclaimer: They're not mine (as much as I'd like them to be). All rights go to Kripke.
You emerged from the bathroom, having brushed your teeth with your finger since your toothbrush was back at home. The disbelief of that night had faded, leaving you now with a bone-chilling hollowness; almost as though there was a gaping hole in your chest that the winter air was blowing straight through.
The motel room was decorated in olive green. Suspicious stains covered the floor and the blankets were faded yellow, but they smelled clean at the very least. You were somewhere in Pennsylvania, you remembered Dean saying.
"I'm sorry we had to leave so quickly," Sam said, sitting down on the bed across from you. The brothers were sharing the queen-sized bed and you had taken the single. "We can pick you up some clothes tomorrow."
You looked down at your outfit. You were still in your track clothes from earlier, but now they were stained with blood. It was cold in the motel room and the rain outside had turned to sleet - the space heater in the corner did little to improve the temperature. Goosebumps rose over your flesh and you slid under the blanket, still sitting up.
"How did Crowley… kill them?" you asked suddenly. Sam glanced up from his laptop and Dean looked over from where he was positioned in front of a football game on the television. Simultaneously, they looked at each other, as though conversing silently.
"Crowley isn't a normal person," Dean said briefly. "He's got tricks. Special abilities."
"But… how?" you persisted. "I mean, I'm coming with you guys because clearly you want me for this stupid war that you keep talking about, so the least you could do is tell me how that man snapped his fingers and - and…" you finished abruptly, averting your eyes.
Sam exhaled. "Alright. Again, this might sound a bit absurd, but you have to trust us." He leaned forward slightly. "Not everyone is human. Vampires, werewolves, fairies, angels, demons - they all exist. Crowley's a demon."
"Demon," you echoed.
"King of Hell, actually," Dean pitched in. "He's dangerous. Can be a great ally, but will cross you in a heartbeat."
You looked at Sam, then Dean. "Come on, though… fairies? Werewolves?" You hesitated, looking down at your fingers because you could feel your face growing red by simply talking to them. "Can you prove it?"
"You'll find out on your own soon enough," Dean said darkly. "Well, that is, if you stay with us. We hunt monsters for a living."
"But… monsters are in fairy tales," you said doubtfully. "First you're telling me that you need me, now you're saying there are monsters?"
Sam tilted his head, tipping it in agreement. "It's insane, I know, but it's the truth."
"What about the treaty that you mentioned?" you asked, recalling the conversation that had occurred in your home. "What did that mean?"
"Right now, we have an agreement to not have our side attack theirs, and if Crowley attacked us it would have broken it," Dean explained. "We're pretty sure that war is inevitable, too, and Crowley knows it. That's why both of us are preparing, and trying to-"
"Recruit me, for whatever reason," you finished. You could feel a churning sensation in your stomach. This two men were out of their minds. What were you thinking, joining them? Your eyes still felt hot as though you might start crying any moment, and you blinked rapidly.
Don't think of them. Not right now.
"I have to go," you said hurriedly. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be - I can't… I'll just, I don't know, hitchhike or something, but I need to leave."
Thoughts were breezing through your mind on where to go, and you resolved to go to your grandmother's house; she lived in New York.
"Hang on!" Dean said quickly, standing up and holding up his hands as though surrendering. "I can give you proof that angels exist, at the very least."
You paused, turning around. "I don't know," you said, uncertain. "I just… don't think I should stay here longer. I'm sorry. Really."
You lingered for a moment to catch their eyes and then returned your hand to the doorknob to exit the motel room.
"Cas!" Dean suddenly said loudly, and you couldn't help but stop what you were doing to see what exactly he was saying.
"What?" you asked, narrowing your eyes.
"He's calling a buddy of ours," Sam said simply.
A sudden whoosh of air behind you made you jump. You whipped around and found yourself face to face with a man who had not been there moments earlier, and let out a small sound of surprise, scrambling back against the wall.
"Hello, Dean," the man said in a deep voice. His gaze slid smoothly from Dean to your face, and you drew back out of fear when his blue eyes turned to you.
"You obtained the heredis," the man said, interest on his face.
"Her name's Y/N, Cas," Dean said, rolling his eyes slightly.
"Heredis?" you asked, still pressed against the wall.
"It means… we'll tell you later," Sam said, shooting you an apologetic look. "Give her some space, Cas. You're a bit intimidating, I think."
"My apologies," the man, Cas, responded, backing up obediently a step. You edged your way back to the bed you had been sitting on previously, more at comfort there than standing next to Cas.
Dean stood up. "So, uh, this is Cas. Short for Castiel."
"Castiel?" you asked, feeling dazed.
Castiel moved forward slightly, and you were able to take a better look at him. He was wearing a tan trench coat and white shirt, accommodated by a blue tie that hung loosely around his neck.
"I'm an angel," Cas said, an intent expression on his face. "In the past I served heaven and visited Earth sparingly, but ever since Sam and Dean stopped the apocalypse, we've been working together."
"We're friends," Dean summarized.
"Yes, friends," Cas replied, his words seemingly silly but accompanied with one of the most serious tones you have ever heard.
"You're an… angel?" you asked, your breath taken away slightly out of awe; yet there was no doubt in your mind because there seemed to be no other explanation for how this man teleported into the motel room. "Do I… I mean, can I… shake your hand?" Silence followed your words and you felt rather stupid until Cas answered, "Of course," and held out a firm hand. You shook it, expecting to feel some sort of angelic power, but only felt the grip of a man's strong shake.
"This is not my true form. This is a vessel," Cas explained as though he knew exactly what you were thinking. "My real appearance would shatter your eardrums and melt your eyeballs."
"Oh," you said faintly, sitting back onto your bed. "Do you have wings?"
"Yes. They are not visible to human perception, however. Only the shadow of them can be perceived, and only when my grace is at its full power," Cas said, his tone remaining in the stoic octave.
"His grace is his mojo," Dean put in from the corner. "Y/N - we can't force you to stay with us. But, as you can see from the literal angel standing right there… we're not lying. And I know that we haven't told you anything yet, but once we're at the bunker tomorrow, we can explain much better."
You were about to answer when your phone buzzed in your pocket. You'd forgotten it was there, from where you'd put it after dialing Dean's number back in your house earlier. A quick glance at the screen told you that B/F/N had texted you.
are you okay? where are you?
"Don't answer," Dean said, his voice steeled.
"Why not?" you demanded, your voice slightly higher than usual. "It's just my best friend! She must've heard what happened, and she's just asking if I'm okay-"
"She might be a trap," Dean cut in. "If Crowley wants you as badly as we think he does, then he's going to try to get you to either return home and leave us, or at least find out where you are by getting a text back from you."
You slowly lowered your phone, fighting the impulse to disobey and respond nevertheless. It felt like a punch to the gut, ignoring B/F/N.
"It might be more prudent to keep moving," Cas said, stepping forward. "You are still not far from where Y/N's home is. Crowley, or another demon, might still try to lure you back, or otherwise attack. We should continue to put distance between us and them."
"Uh, Cas doesn't sleep, because he's an angel," Sam said in an undertone to you. He cleared his throat and spoke a bit louder. "You're right, but we need to rest a bit. How about we get some sleep and discuss things in the morning? It's been a long day."
Cas looked at them perhaps a moment longer than necessary, then nodded. "I'll allow you to 'rest'", he proclaimed, and vanished with another whoosh of air. You watched, awestruck, secretly wanting Dean to call him again just so you could see the teleporting.
"Alright. Let's hit the hay," Dean said, throwing himself down onto the bed and positioning his arms behind his head.
You silently agreed with him, wanting nothing more than for the room to be submerged in darkness so that the brothers couldn't see the tears that still wanted to come out. Fortunately, Sam shut off the lights a moment later, following his brother into bed. There was a brief minute in which you listened to them argue in the dark.
"Sam, move, your legs are taking up the whole bed!"
"I'm not the one hogging the blankets!"
"Well, put the pillows in between us. I don't want to wake up with you snuggling me in your sleep."
"I don't snuggle in my sleep!"
"Yeah, you do. Remember that shifter hunt in Nevada? We only had a double bed that time, and I woke up with your head against my shoulder-"
"I woke up with your drool on my pillow! If you get any drool on me tonight, you're doing laundry for the next month."
There was a quiet rustle of movement as they shifted, clearly annoyed with the sleeping arrangements, and you spoke up then.
"When can I respond?" you asked suddenly. "To my friend? Or anyone? I need to tell my family - well, my grandparents and aunt and uncle - that I'm okay, and I need to email my teachers and collect my work…" The words were tumbling out of your mouth quickly.
"You're worried about homework?" Dean asked incredulously.
"No!" you said defensively, feeling your face get hot. "I don't know! It's just pretty much all I do in life, so it seems wrong to ignore it… but I guess you're right, I don't need to ask them." Your face was burning now and you wished that you hadn't opened your mouth.
"You can email them once we get back to the bunker," Sam said quickly. "There are fields and wards that protect the location, so it'll be safe then."
"Okay," you relented, leaning back on your pillow.
It didn't take long for both Sam and Dean's heavy breathing to fill the room. Only the sound of them sleeping and the whir of the mini fridge in the corner kept the penetrating silence out of the room.
I'm sleeping in a random motel with two stalkers that I don't even know.
The thought should have freaked you out, but instead all you felt was cold indifference to it.
My family is dead.
That was what scared you. Half of you felt that you should be panicking more, and that your reaction wasn't appropriate to the situation.
Shouldn't I be in emotional shock? Isn't that what it's like in the movies? Shouldn't I be on the floor, incapable of even responding to voices because I'm so lost in despair?
But it was quite the contrary. You felt devoid of emotions. Was that wrong? Was it an insult to your family's memory?
Their lives just ended and all I'm worried about is if I'm responding properly.
You gripped tightly the woven bracelet that your siblings had made you two years ago on your birthday. According to them, it had taken three hours to do.
Three hours they'd never get back. But now they've lost seventy years they're never getting back. And it's my fault.
Your fault. Something told you that Sam and Dean would only say it was that demon Crowley's fault, if you broached it with them, but deep down you knew it was your fault.
If I wasn't so important in this stupid war they claim is about to happen. If I had just gone with Sam and Dean at school, they might not have died. If I hadn't been so selfish, they could still be alive.
I will never forgive myself.
The sudden squeal of the motel room door opening yanked you back into reality. You froze, pulling the covers up to your chin out of instinct.
It was probably just that angel, Castiel. Dean had said they were friends, right?
Something told you it wasn't the angel.
"Sam! Dean!" you hissed. They stirred, and Dean, who was laying facing you, opened an eye.
"Hm?" he asked sleepily.
You didn't have time to respond because whoever had come through the door was impossibly fast. It was a girl, you realized. A teenage girl with black curly hair. She materialized next to your bed within seconds and gripped your forearm tightly.
"Let's go. The king wants you," she said, her voice deep and throaty. Her strength was far greater than you could have expected and you were pulled right out of bed and onto the floor.
"You're not going anywhere," Dean said. He was upright already and holding a knife that you realized he must have been keeping under his pillow.
"You really think that you could slip in here and take her without us stopping you?" Sam asked, his eyebrows raised.
The girl holding your arm tightly grimaced. "To be honest? No. But the king wants her badly. And I'm not stupid enough to defy orders," she added, sneering.
"Let her go," Dean said, nodding towards you, "and we'll let you leave. No one needs to get hurt."
"Can't do that. Crowley'll kill me no matter what if I don't bring her," the girl said. She pulled a knife with her free hand out and pressed it against your throat suddenly. "Drop your knife."
There was hesitation in Dean's face.
"I said drop it!"
He didn't drop it. "You're not going to kill her. Crowley needs her," Dean said slowly, keeping his knife up.
"No, but I'll hurt her," the girl said, and swiftly lowered the knife to your arm, slashing quickly. For a brief moment, you thought that she had missed, but then a blazing hot flare across your forearm indicated otherwise. Ruby red blood began to flow out like a faucet, warm and sticky against your skin. You bit your lip to keep from gasping.
"That's enough of that, bitch," Dean said, and with a sudden graceful twitch of his arm he had thrown the knife like a dart at the girl holding you. The blade embedded itself directly in her heart, and she gasped, flickering oddly as though there was a dying bulb inside of her. With a final exhale she collapsed to the floor, unmoving.
You leapt away from the dead girl and looked at Sam and Dean fearfully.
"But… you just threw that at her heart…" you said faintly. "She's… dead."
"As a doornail," Dean confirmed.
"She was a demon," Sam assured you. "We don't kill people on a whim." He moved over to you and gently lifted your arm up. "That's deep," he noted. "I'll bandage it for you."
You nodded and sat on the bed. Sam took out an antibiotic solution and rinsed the cut gently, his fingers strong but nimble.
You felt slightly awkward, because you could have cleaned the wound on your own, but it was somehow cheering knowing that Sam could be exceedingly gentle.
Even if he does end up being a psychopath, at least he doesn't seem very violent.
"We should pack up and leave," Dean said gruffly, throwing his flannel he'd worn earlier into his olive duffel bag. Sam finished rinsing your wound and carefully wrapped it in gauze.
"Yeah. You good to drive with an hour of sleep?" Sam asked his brother. Dean gave him a look that clearly read, Of course I'm fine.
Something about how the two brothers interacted fascinated you. They seemed so at ease around each other, and you had no doubt that they'd take a bullet for the other. The simple movements, the gestures, the expressions, the unsaid words - their bond as brothers was stronger than any you'd ever seen before. You were forcefully reminded of your relationship with your own siblings and you shoved that thought down immediately, before it could become a lump in your throat.
"Were you able to get any sleep?" Sam asked. It took you a moment to realize he was talking to you.
"Oh. Um, not really, but I'm fine," you said quickly. "Are we going to keep going to your… bunker?"
"Yeah. Cas was right. We should've kept going," Dean said, glancing out the window. "If that demon found us, then more definitely will. Let's head out of here."
This might seem messy so far, but I've got a plan (I think).
I'd be so grateful for any reviews! Thanks so much!