Hello all. I would like to thank keacdragon for the lovely review.
So this takes place in season 7, episode 21 'Reading is Fundamental.' But due to the changes I have made you may recognize some of the lines from a scene from a previous episode (season 7, episode 17 'The Born-Again Identity). I hope you like it. Also the first bit is slightly disjointed as it covers everyone's point of view. I hope it makes sense.
Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural.
THEN…
Castiel turned from the tablet in Dean's hand to look at him before he spoke. "I remember you. I remember everything." He said into the silent room looking deep into Dean's eyes.
NOW…
Castiel turned in the room, he felt Gabriel though did not look at his location instead his eyes fell on the demon in their midst. He stood looking at the smirk on her face as he remembered the conversations they had had and the things she had said about him and Dean. He narrowed his eyes at her, taking satisfaction when her smirk disappeared and she gulped, fear showing briefly on her face before she put up her mask of indifference.
Meg Watched Castiel and Dean stare at each other and smirked as she realised just how close she obviously was to the mark when it came to their relationship. Then Castiel turned his eyes on her and they narrowed. She suddenly came to the conclusion that maybe she shouldn't have said the things she had to a powerful angel cos now he looked really pissed and she really didn't want him flexing his new found powers by smiting her.
Castiel moved his eyes from the demon to the other person in the room, though when they landed on Sam he realised he couldn't look at him for long, not after what he had done to him. With that thought his eyes quickly slid back to Dean.
When Cas' eyes fell on him Sam wanted to say something, though he had no idea what but before he could form any words the angels eyes returned to his brother. Sam decided he could talk to Cas later, it was Dean whom he needed to speak to first.
Castiel looked at Dean with emotions flowing through his mind. He had betrayed this man, his friend, in ways that could never be put right. He had released hell on earth in the form of the leviathans and he had hurt Dean in the most painful way possible. By hurting Sam. with that thought he knew he couldn't stay here. So without further ado he spread his wings and fled.
Dean stood there staring at Cas, trying to think of something to say, but there was so much. So much had happened between them. So much that hadn't been resolved. He was just about to open his mouth and speak, say something, when with a flutter of wings Cas was gone.
"Son of a bitch." Dean shouted in frustration turning and slamming the tablet down onto the table in front of him.
"Don't worry Dean-o, he's just outside by the car. I'll go speak to him." Gabriel said into his head about to spread his own wings when Dean responded.
"No Gabe. This is something I need to do." And with that Dean took the flask out of his pocket and put in down next to the tablet before walking towards the door speaking over his shoulder.
"Stay here." Was all he said before leaving.
Sam stood there with his mouth open, what the hell was Dean going to do? With that thought he made his way to the door ready to follow his brother through it when he was blasted back and the door was locked causing his eyes to go wide.
"Bobby?" He asked into the silent room, hoping that it was the ghost.
Bobby stood there and rolled his eyes at Sam. Course it wasn't him. It was the damn archangel, but he knew that Sam couldn't know that so sighing he made himself visible.
"Yeah boy, what'd ya want?" He asked gruffly.
"Um, did you just lock us in?" Sam asked incredulously, why would he do that?
"Yeah." Bobby replied evenly, though thinking that Gabriel would owe him one for this.
"Why?" Sam asked confused. He needed to go comfort his brother.
"Cos ya idjit, your brother needs to talk to his angel alone." And with that Bobby vanished again as Sam's mouth fell open in an 'o' shape. Of course Dean would go pray to Cas, and course for Dean he would come.
Unheard by any in the room, though clearly by the two outside it, Gabriel whispered "Thanks Bobby." To the ghost.
Dean went outside and saw Cas standing by the impala with his back to him, his head back as he looked up at the stars. Dean still wasn't sure what he was going to say. But that wouldn't stop him.
"What I did, what I became, why didn't you tell me?" Castiel asked not turning round though he knew Dean was behind him.
"Because the world is going to hell." Dean replied, he wasn't going sugar coat anything for the angel in front of him. Not anymore.
"Because of me. Everything, all those people, I shouldn't be here." Castiel said finally turning to look Dean in the eyes. His filled with pain, sorrow and guilt remembering all he had read in Sam and Dean's research. And it was all because of him.
"Cas. You remember, then you know you did the best you could at the time." Dean replied defensively, reaching out and catching Cas' sleeve so the angel couldn't fly away on him again.
"Don't defend me. Do you have any idea the death toll in heaven? On earth? We didn't part friends Dean." Castiel said shaking Dean off of him.
"So what? We've been friends since you came back." Dean replied angrily. He had been Cas' friend since they found him in damn Colorado and now Cas was saying it meant nothing.
"No Dean. You have been friends with Emanuel." Castiel said in a stern voice trying to make Dean understand.
"Who is you." Dean replied stubbornly. He wasn't about to let Cas give him that shit. He had been thinking of Emanuel as Cas since they met. Just cos he'd got his memories back, it didn't change a thing in Dean's mind.
"No, he was human. He was good. I am nothing like him." Castiel said quietly not looking at Dean, instead turning his eyes once again to the sky.
"You are to me." Dean replied in an equally quiet voice, as if admitting to this made him somehow vulnerable.
"I deserved to die. So why did I even walk out of that river?" Castiel asked turning back to Dean with confusion in his eyes.
"Maybe to fix it." Dean replied with a shrug.
"How?" Castiel asked, he really didn't see how he could even begin to fix the pain and destruction he had caused on the world.
"I don't know, but we'll do this together. You, me, Sam and Gabe. Together we can beat them." Dean replied with belief coursing through his tone. He knew that they would have to work together to beat the leviathans. But together, they could take on the whole god damn world if needs be.
"Sam. what I did to him. How could you possibly ever forgive me for that?" Castiel asked looking at Dean with such sorrow filled eyes, pleading Dean to understand why he couldn't stay. He didn't deserve Dean's friendship. He didn't deserve to be in the presence of the man in front of him. He had betrayed him in the most painful way possible, and he knew what he was doing when he did it. He knew that they only way to cripple Dean was to take out Sam.
"Well he's fixed now so…" Dean replied, not really sure what he could say to that. Having Cas now standing in front of him he felt once again the feelings of anger and betrayal that he had muted when he had been dealing with Emanuel. He once again felt the pain of what Cas had done to them, to him.
Cas turned from Dean and shook his head, he could see the thoughts and emotions going through Deans head reflected in his eyes. He couldn't take the pain he saw in them that he caused anymore. He was just about to fly off again when Dean spoke one word.
"Wait."
Dean went and opened the trunk of his car, getting out a dirty, blood stained beige trench coat. Picking it up, he handed it to Cas without a word.
Castiel took the coat, looking down at it with surprise. As many times as Emanuel had put things in and got things out of the trunk he never remembered seeing this. He had no idea that Dean had kept it.
"Remember what you said as Emanuel?" Dean asked causing Cas' eyes to widen and a hint of red to colour his cheeks as he remembered the conversations he had had with various different people about his relationship with Dean.
Dean saw the faint blush rise on the angel's cheeks and chuckled. "Not that, I meant the bit about standing by my side and helping me carry the burden's I was lifting." Dean asked feeling somewhat self-conscious with the chick-flick moment, but he needed to get Cas to stay, and he would use everything he could to succeed.
"Yes Dean I remember." Castiel replied not looking up from the coat which was still in his hands.
"Did you mean that?" Dean asked leaning back against the car.
"Yes." Castiel replied looking up and into Dean's eyes. Of course he had meant that.
"And now? Do you still mean it?" Dean asked crossing his arms.
Cas looked back down at the coat in his hands and shook it out, putting it on before he turned to Dean and replied. "Yes."
"Good." Dean replied smiling at the angel in the trench coat.
And inside the building Gabriel let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. Seemed Dean really was good for something other than just killing monsters after all.
