Dean's anxiety tore into it. 'Did that sound like he thought you couldn't? Like he hoped you couldn't?' Pushing the lid down on those thoughts, Dean answered. "The bloody way." Still he needed to address the sense of unease. "Are you feeling ok?" Eyes still darting around, Cas answered in such a direct and typical Cas way, Dean was caught of guard a bit. "If you wanna be on the nose about it, sure." His head was reeling. The euphoria had simmered away a bit, and Dean's mind was playing catch-up. The way the angel was acting, was off, even for him. 'No, it must be my imagination. I haven't seen him in a year. And over here, that is a frikken long time. Anything could have happened.' Benny interupted his thoughts. "Why'd you bail on Dean?" Hell if that wasn't rude! "Dude..." Dean protested, but Benny overrode him. Feeling the old need to defend his own, Dean answered for Cas. The soft, barely audible "No." stopped his heart for a second. "What?!" He didn't yell, of course he didn't, but he couldn't believe what he just heard. Cas looked down a second. "I ran away..."
'Wait... what? He ran? What the Hell...' Dean felt the world tilt. Anger replaced every inch of relief he had gotten from finding his angel. His anger started to run his mouth and when Cas tried to cut in, simply saying his name in that exasperated tone he often used, Dean didn't let him. "I prayed to you, Cas. Every night!" Dean counted on Cas knowing what that meant, even if the prayers hadn't come through because they were in frikken Purgatory. Cas didn't even look at him. He just stared off to a point next to Dean. "I know..." It felt like Cas ripped his heart with that simple sentence. "You know... and you didn't..." His voice was failing him. He couldn't even say what as running through his mind. Finally it all boiled down to his next sentence. "What the Hell is wrong with you?"
The excuse Cas threw up, being an angel in a land of aboninations, didn't impress him in the least. His snarled answer had Cas finally showing emotion. The angel got irritated, angry even. He finally looked at Dean again, and his speach got swifter, angrier. Pleased to have broken his apathy, Dean listened. 'Leviathan? So they were hunting Cas all the time, not bothering to look for me.' Then all fight left Cas as sudden as it had risen. "... to keep them away from you." he finished lamely. Awe swiftly overtook the anger that had pulsed through Dean. Cas had purposly been leading the chompers away from Dean, risking his life every day? 'Shit... doesn't he know that I need him? Wherever we are, I need him. Doesn't he see his worth?'
Cas turned from them, all fight drained off. "Just... leave me. Please..." He sounded so defeated, Dean felt his heart shrivel a bit. "Sounds like a plan... Lets roll." Benny drawled. Dean's whole being objected. He laid the plan before Cas, expecting the angel to light up, and follow. But Cas didn't seem to want to leave that Godforsaken place. So, Dean tried with cockiness. That usually got Cas to crinkle up his eyes in mirth and agree. No dice. "It's too dangerous.." that gravelly voice ground out. Dean wanted to yell out, punch something. 'Stubborn ass! Ok then, ultimatum time. See what you gotta say to that.' Finally, Dean could see Cas giving in. "I understand..." he adminished, having Dean whoop internally. Now they were going places!