Prompt by Callie Ali – Shadow Hunters Clary and Jace Ending for Destiel
Chuck is killed by Jack, the entire universe is reset and everyone loses their memories. EXCEPT the angels. This means that Mary didn't die, the boys didn't become hunters, Sam marries Jess, Dean is with Lisa. Castiel remembers everything.
He would always watch him, in disguise over the span of a year, concealing himself behind a plane of the universe where humans could not see.
Humans were not aware of these planes that exist like layers on an onion, where other beings could slip through without being noticed. Where an angel like himself could stand behind a veil and observe the man he had loved for fifteen years settle into a life that killed Castiel every single hour of every single day.
In between those years, there were many changes that occurred so tragically and painfully and because he could never embrace these things, he was left to stand around whilst his heart ripped into pieces. He lingered where Dean raked leaves, a tired expression on his face. He witnessed the false love between him and Lisa, wondering if Dean really and truly ever loved him back. He studied Dean's face all the time whilst he worked and realized that there were spaces in time when he would just stare off into the distance, those green eyes become dazed and lost.
When Jack defeated Chuck in the year 2020, in the end, he terminated the existence of many storylines. For one, Mary Winchester never burned on the ceiling, so John was left with no passion for revenge. His life wasn't affected by the thirst to hunt down the monster who killed his wife, and his sons grew up with the existence of both parents.
Sam pursued his Degree in Law, falling in love with Jessica and marrying her five years later, then the two of them moved on to have three beautiful kids; a twin set of boys and a baby girl shortly after. By 2020, Gabriel and Castiel were ten years old and Maria just five. And maybe the names should have raised question marks when decided on by the happily married pair, but of course Sam had no recollection of ever meeting his sons' namesakes and therefore he could not determine where the inspiration arose from, except that the names just came to him in a whim.
Dean, on the other hand, met Lisa Braeden in his early twenties, fell in love somewhat more heavily on her side and the two of them entered into a committed relationship for a span of twenty years exact. Now, there was anything but happiness in this union, because whilst they both fell out of love based on their differences, they remained together for the sake of continuing what was already a foundation, flimsy, but already established.
The older Winchester entered the area of Sales and Marketing, spending five years at one company and hopping into one where his employment lasted for ten years to present. And he was successfully promoted to a Director whilst still feeling that he could be more, that he was supposed to be doing something else, that he was becoming an imposter in a life that was not his own.
He wasn't happy like his brother, couldn't sweep his eyes around the comfortable cottage he shared with Lisa and experience a sense of normalcy, a sense of family and contentment. What he in contrast experienced was the absence of something else, or someone, maybe someone apart from Lisa who could make him feel something special. Call it flashes of feelings from another life, but Dean was so certain that he was the victim of reincarnation, because he could suddenly visit a place during their awful vacations, and experience a daunting sense of déjà vu.
It was November 20th, 2021 when his entire world turned upside down at an appreciation event for Bryden and Ferlie's where he seemed to be working his ass off and still believing that the returns weren't suited.
Dean was lingering at a small booth set up to register new customers for loyalty cards, entertaining a conversation with Brian from Purchasing when he suddenly got the feeling that someone was watching him. And that feeling…
Over the past year, he would be standing somewhere, and the back of his neck would begin prickling, or the pores on his arms would become too sensitive as if brushed by a ghosted hand.
He would be lurking in the lunchroom right by the water cooler, or waiting on a document to be printed by the machine, and he could feel someone's scrutiny. Then after glancing around curiously, nothing was revealed but the usual setting with no one staring in his direction.
But that day, where the weather grew colder outside and people started coming in with scarves wrapped around their necks, Dean felt the heavy presence of someone scrutinizing him. But just when he thought that the results would be the same, that no one would show themselves, he noticed him.
His conversation with Brian faltered when he considered those pools of blue that widened instantly when their eyes met. His words stopped and he couldn't breathe and the more he stood there considering the man in the trench coat, the disheveled hair, fisted hands and inner black suit, Dean's lips parted.
At first he was so certain that he was imagining things because once a long time ago, the same visage appeared in a dream, a very tormenting one where he retrieved the same color trench coat from the trunk of the Impala and cradled it, almost like a baby. But ever since then, those dreams never came or maybe they were continued but he couldn't recall because most of his life was filled with nightmares.
Until now…
Dean, unaware of it, began drifting towards the man standing by the pull up banner advertising a new brand of vitamins that were supposed to make your hair grow faster. He couldn't understand why he was drawing closer, why a small smile tugged at his lips, why his chest was filled with a variety of butterflies, but he continued as if not in control of his body. And after those pools of blue were so close, after Dean realized that he was instantly drowning in them, a warmth buried deep inside his gut becoming too beautiful, he blinked slowly.
Castiel though was so moved by being recognized, after concealing himself so effortlessly, that he immediately believed someone else was receiving the scrutiny. So, naturally, he turned around and glanced behind him, only to discover that he was the center of attraction to someone who was the most beautiful thing that ever happened to him.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to spook you," Dean said softly, wondering why the surprised look on the other man's face resembled a deer caught in the headlights.
"You can see me?" Castiel whispered, unable to breathe.
Dean couldn't believe the question and smiled with a quizzical expression. "Of course, I can see you. What –" They gazed at each other as if familiarizing themselves with their own fantasies.
But immediately, as if completely wounded and disturbed by their meeting, the man in the trench coat glanced around, his cheeks coloring immensely, and he retreated through the crowd.
There Dean was left, standing in a puddle of confusion that only became worse for him when a doorway opened up inside his mind. The room around him disappeared and was replaced by a sunlit one where windows were like scenes from a movie, snatches in time that made no sense until he could definitely highlight himself and the other man. And instantly becoming fueled by adrenaline, as Dean's heartbeat quickened, he darted through the crowd and left a few people staring in his wake.
He pushed past the double doors, rounded the exterior lobby decorated with blue and yellow streamers, sidestepped a gathering crowd and a wailing baby, all the while his mind spun around like a carousel. Then the night wind kissed his face as he jogged up the sidewalk, glancing every single direction and trying to latch onto that distinct khaki colored coat until…
Dean ran towards the nearest alleyway that was dimly lit and he turned into it as if feeding off of an energy that guided him in the right direction. And there he was…
"Hey!" he cried after the retreating figure, who clearly heard him but continued walking. "Hey! I'm talking to you! Stop!"
Castiel in that moment, decided that maybe the worst could happen, and maybe it was simply a chance of luck that he resembled someone Dean happened to encounter during the year. Maybe he perhaps was confused and thought he knew him, but it couldn't be. It couldn't be possible that there would be memories…And so, he turned around and faced the owner of intense green eyes that stared back at him in awe and confusion and disbelief.
Breathless, his heart racing and knees weakening, Dean stopped when they were inches apart. "Don't I know you? From somewhere? Have we met? I mean…you look so…"
"No," Castiel said, tears already burning behind his eyelids as he shook his head. "I don't think so—"
"No," Dean said, feeling a heavy burden resting on his chest as his eyes stung and he stared back in disbelief, "I do, I…definitely do…I…" he wanted to touch him, to reach out and just take his hand, maybe by reflex but he was conscious of his desires and didn't attempt it. "You're Castiel, right? Cas…you're…"
Tears…that glistened and then that smile, that beautiful smile that twitched on his lips as he felt glorified and almost like his world was becoming stable again. "Yes," Castiel said softly, his voice growing huskier though afterwards, "yes, I'm…Cas.
"I'm Dean…Winchester…uh," the younger man swallowed hard and felt like he was on the verge of having a heart attack because why was this so familiar? Why was this face so familiar? Why was he suddenly aware of his sense prickling and his mind bubbling over and almost exploding? "I know you…I—"
"I know you too," Castiel said softly, smiling as tears filled his blue eyes and his shoulders slumped. "Dean, of course, I know you."
Suddenly, the air around the man in the trench coat shimmered, almost like the veil between two worlds moving or an energy force that was fighting to reveal itself and as Dean stared, as his gaze rested on the disturbance in the air behind Castiel, he gasped.
Wings, real wings unfurling and stretching close to ten feet with definite substance. Feathers of darkened shades of black, then grey, fanning out into white ones and majestic, beautiful and real, so real. Dean studied the expanse of something he only believed would exist in brilliant CGI and with parted lips, he stepped closer. But when he did, Castiel blinked, lips trembling as he became deeply affected by the distance eaten up between them.
"Jesus," Dean whispered, reaching out tentatively and braving his fingertips to draw nearer to the underlying white feathers tinged with a charcoal color. "You're…an angel. You're…"
"You can see my wings?" Castiel's voice was barely a whisper as he braced himself for the impact of touch. "How can you…"
In response, the younger man finally touched what he thought would only turn out to be an illusion. At first, his fingertips brushed softness, so alive and humming with a kind of beautiful static. The wing shuddered a little as if thirsty for his touch and then the small gasp which escaped from Castiel's lips was so resounding that Dean pulled his hand back and stared into pools of blue that were wide as saucers.
The trench coat, touching it and feeling like he would die if he couldn't get him back.
If he couldn't...see him again.
Losing him.
Crying and breaking down. All of it.
Hunting monsters and fighting together.
Bad decisions and then forgiveness.
Their hugs.
Their lingering gazes.
We are real.
Profound Bond.
I love you.
I need you.
I'd rather have you.
"I remember you," Dean said so softly that the traffic rushing by at the head of the alleyway could have drowned away his words.
Castiel, chest heaving, felt tears leak down his cheeks and he could only assume that the pieces were fitting together again. The recognition in the other man's eyes was too beautiful and too real. "What do you…remember?"
"Us. Together. Against the world. Fighting and…" Dean's words faltered again as his eyes leaked, "I also remember how I feel about…you." Reaching out, he carefully rested his hand on the angel's left shoulder, both of them completely shuddering from the bold gesture.
"How…do you…" Castiel couldn't breathe, and he couldn't even slacken his heartrate.
"I love…you," Dean said in a rush, his countenance become contorted from fighting his emotions. "I remember that I've loved you. For too damn long until I started…falling for you. Until I realized that I'm…in love with you. I… Cas?" he tried, still completely unsure of the actuality of them ever meeting again and what happened to tear them apart. "Is that really you, Cas?"
"Yes," the angel whispered, nodding as they drifted together and reaching for the younger man's fingers, Castiel entwined their hands as he whimpered and smiled. "It's really me. And I'm in love with you too. I've been in love with you since we first met...Dean…I—" he was silenced with a soft kiss, their lips brushing together as they trembled from the contact.
"Jesus, Cas," Dean said, falling into the other man's arms and wounding his own under the trench coat and around Castiel's waist. He pressed a kiss onto parted lips again and lingered there, then pushed in further to initiate a deeper one. This time though, they couldn't stop as fingers dove into his hair and pulled him closer until he was spun around, his back hitting the wall and their hands…
Their hands roamed, unbuttoning shirts and slipping inside to caress warm skin as their chests heaved. Their breaths, hot and desperate, brushed flushed cheeks and then Dean realized that he wanted Castiel in so many other ways. He wanted to take him somewhere and relive their memories, peel away his clothes and make love to him because finally something felt real.
Finally, he felt like his life had a purpose.