New chapter! I don't think it's been that long since I updated, but sorry for the wait. I hope you enjoy this chapter. *evil laugh* I don't own Supernatural or Hetalia and never will. Enjoy!

Dean sat on the hard motel mattress, cleaning the large hunting knife he had used earlier to take down the zombie. The monotonous job barely held his attention, thought wandering a bit. The sound of a shower running filled the small room, but even that familiarity could bring no comfort to his tumultuous reflections.

He thought on the case, worried that there might not be a solution, that they might fail. If they didn't fix what was wrong here, find the angel responsible, then this town could be in mortal danger. But every time they fought against one of the zombies, they put their lives at risk. He realized how close he came to possibly losing Sam again and that was more than he could bear. Lovino had been the one to save him, not Dean. But Lovino was situated on a very slippery slope. If he didn't deal with his grief, then he could end up getting himself or one of the others hurt.

And then there was Cas. Always swinging in just in time to save the day. Lovino should have died in that room, but he didn't thanks to the angel. Dean would never truly understand how he had become so attached to him, calling on him and praying to him almost every night. However, the angel had yet to let him down. If there was anyone besides his brother that he trusted, it was the angel.

Almost as if his thoughts were a beacon, the angel suddenly appeared in the center of the room. The two stared at each other a moment, blue eyes gazing into green with a ferocity that could only be described as genuine care. Dean set aside the knife, and stood up, walking towards the angel slowly. He could tell immediately that the conversation from earlier in the day was sure to be picked up now.

"Dean," he said, eyes searching the other's face. "I don't know if you realize this, but there's been a strange energy between us since…"

"Since Kearney…" Dean finished for him. "Yeah, I'm acutely aware, thank you." He looked down, grimacing slightly. "Listen, Cas, I don't know if what happened back there actually meant anything for you. 'Cause I know that angels aren't human and you have different emotions than humans do but…"

"If you're asking if I've been having the same feelings about what happened there: confusion, apprehension, affection… I have. But you are right. It's not considered normal for an angel to feel these things toward a human. But for some reason, I feel them towards you."

"Yeah, I wouldn't call it normal exactly either…" Dean said. "But it did happen so now we have to deal with it…right?"

"I would assume so… We can't just pretend it never happened."

"God dammit, Cas," Dean suddenly exclaimed, moving a bit closer to the angel subconsciously. "What even did happen? One minute I was alone, dealing with a ghost, and the next minute you were there and we were…"

"I was afraid you were going to get hurt. So I intervened. You didn't know that it was right behind you."

"Yes I did, Cas! I'm not stupid. I've been doing this job for longer than I've known you, and I've always been okay. I didn't need you busting in there to protect me. And I certainly didn't need you to…"

Cas stared at him, waiting for him to continue speaking. When he didn't the angel stepped forward and laid a hand on the hunter's shoulder. "Didn't need me to what?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. Now, don't make me say it, alright?"

Castiel cocked his head to the side, watching Dean with uncertain eyes. Emotions were swelling up in the both of them, confusion also playing a key factor. It seemed reality was a few steps away from the two as they stepped closer together. Now, mere inches separating them, another force seemed to pull them even closer. Like magnets, they drew together, the motel room fading in obsoleteness, feelings surging around them. Just as their lips were to meet, Dean saw movement out of the corner of his eye.

Whipping his head around, he saw Sam, pulling a shirt on, stepping out of the bathroom. His eyes met with Dean's, confusion and bewilderment plainly written in them. Dean felt the angel's presence suddenly disappear, himself wishing he could do the same. As the elder brother struggled to form coherent thoughts to explain himself to Sam, there was suddenly a frantic knocking at the door.

Dean quickly turned and cleared his throat. Walking to the door, he swung it open and gaped at the sight. Antonio stood, Lovino's limp body leaned against his side. He was out of breath, probably from running across the street carrying him. Dean didn't give him the chance to explain, just lifted the small Italian into his arms, carrying him easily and brought him in, dumping him onto one of the beds.

"What the hell happened to him?" Sam asked, rushing over help Antonio through the door, then shutting it behind him.

"We were…" he paused, taking a breath. "We were arguing. He had just taken a bunch of pills. Then, he just fainted and I realized he wasn't breathing. The only thing I could think to do was to bring him over here. I don't know why, but it just seemed like the right thing to do…"

"No, you were right to bring him over her," Sam said, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You said he wasn't breathing. Did you check for a pulse or heartbeat or anything like that?" He looked over at Dean who was now doing just that.

"No, I panicked," the Spaniard said, tears in his eyes. "I'm such an idiot. I should have done that."

"Well," Dean said, looking over. "He's right. He's not breathing. I think he's dead."

Antonio let out a strangled sob, rushing over and collapsing onto the bed beside the body. "No. I almost lost him once today. I can't actually lose him."

"The pills…they must have gotten to him." Sam said, looking away from the crying Spaniard.

"No," a fourth voice said. Everyone looked to the angel who had just appeared, ratty trench coat flapping a bit as he walked over. "The angel got to him. I should have been paying more attention."

"But, you can bring him back, right?" Antonio asked, looking up the angel with desperate eyes. "You can heal him like you did before. Yeah? Heal him? Please?"

Castiel frowned, then shook his head slowly. "No, I can't… The angel. The one responsible for this. He took his soul. Even if I did bring the body back, the soul wouldn't be there. Besides, the body will come back to life. And you'll have to kill it." He looked at Dean, nodding at him.

"What?" Dean looked at him, a little horrified. "Can't you get the soul back? Something? At least try…."

"Dean, I don't think you realized how hard that would be. I'm not even sure of the identity of the angel responsible. But for whatever reason, he's collecting souls, and that spells trouble for anyone."

"Cas," Sam said, speaking up. "You said you needed one of the bodies, alive, so that you could figure out who was behind this. We could keep Lovino alive and you could use him. Then, we could try and get his soul back so that he… So that he doesn't have to die."

"Do you know how dangerous that could be?" Castiel asked, shaking his head. "These bodies, these things are extremely powerful. What are you going to do to keep it restrained? How are you going to keep yourselves safe against it? There's just no way…" He looked down at the body and the Spaniard who was crying over him. He sighed, looking at Sam again. "We'll have to be extremely careful. Keep a close watch on it until it wakes up. As soon as it does, I'll get the information I need and take Dean to go after the angel responsible. If we can't get the soul back, I'll have him call you immediately. If you get that call, don't waste any more time. Kill it. Understand?"

"I understand, Cas…" Sam said. He looked over at his brother. "Alright, I'll take first watch. With you, Cas. The rest of you need to get some sleep. We'll have a long day tomorrow, however this goes down."

"No," Antonio said, looking up and wiping his eyes. "I'll stay up with him. I want to. This is my fault. I got him upset. I made him vulnerable."

"You can't blame yourself," Cas said. "This angel targeted him."

Antonio waved him off, eyes going stony and cold. "You two get some sleep, I guess. I need to do this, okay? I've been absolutely useless to him. And he's saved my life so many times. This is the least I could do for him."

Dean nodded, walking over to Sam and whispering to him, "You get some sleep, alright? I'll take the couch. You get the bed. Be ready for anything. If I have to, I'll take him out."

Sam and Dean settled into their respective beds, or a couch in Sam's case, while Castiel stood in vigil in over Antonio and the body. The room was mostly silent, neither speaking at first. Only the sounds of the boys' steady breathing broke the stillness. Antonio tended over the body with a gentleness that Castiel had never really seen before, brushing the hair off his face, holding his hand, stroking his pale cheeks. The angel regarded this with a curiosity.

"You love him, don't you?" Castiel asked, his blue eyes falling to the floor. "That's why you care so much."

"Of course it is," Antonio whispered in response. "I've never known someone like him. I've watched him fight against so much pain and now this? I don't think I could deal with losing him. Not like this."

"He lost his brother, not a long time ago. I worried that he wouldn't find someone to hunt with, to keep him safe. Not from the things he hunted, of course. I was never worried about that. His hunting abilities rival even Dean's. But, I wanted him to be safe from himself, from destructive decisions that follow losing someone that you love. I'm glad he found you."

Antonio looked down, sadly. Then, his eyes slowly drifted back up to Lovino's face. He looked so calm in death, a calm that he had never showed in his life. He reached out again, stroking his cheek gently. Then, with lightening reflexes, the bodies pale hand shot up, grabbing his wrist with a vice tight grip. His usual milk chocolate eyes opened, now glowing a bright yellow. Antonio let out a pained shriek as its grip tightened and the bones in his wrist were crushed.

Castiel ripped Antonio away, looking over at Dean who was now awake and on high alert. He jumped off the couch, brandishing a knife. Sam stood up, watching the body with caution. It slowly sat up, looking at everyone in the room for a moment before letting out an unearthly screech and jumping at Antonio. Sam blindsided it, grabbing it and pulling it down. Dean shot forward, taking it from the other side. Together, they wrestled it down, pinning it to the bed.

"Don't hurt him," Antonio suddenly screamed, worry tainting his voice. Even with the broken wrist, he still cared about nothing but making sure Lovino would be okay.

The angel advanced forward. His eyes began to glow with angelic light. He reached his hand down inside the body's chest. It let out a pained screech, but Castiel persisted. The seconds dragged by, feeling like forever. The body thrashed in Sam and Dean's grasp, but with every passing moment it became weaker and weaker. Finally, Castiel pulled his hand out and the body went limp in their arms.

Sam and Dean both hesitantly let go, looking at the angel hopefully. He stayed silent for a moment, seemingly thinking over what he had found out. Finally, he looked down at the body then over to Sam.

"Get some rope." Castiel said. "Tie it up. It won't stay knocked out forever. When it does wake up, it's going to be angrier and stronger. You're going to have to be ready to end it if things get out of control. I know who is responsible for this, and I know where he is."

"Go take care of that then," Sam said. "We'll take care of things here."

Castiel reached over, touching Dean on the shoulder before both of them disappeared from the small hotel room. Sam didn't waste any time, immediately grabbing the car keys and running out to the door. Antonio slowly walked over, looking at the body, suddenly feeling the pangs in his wrist a lot more than when the adrenaline was coursing through his veins. Sam reentered the room and walked over. He flipped the body over and tied its hands and feet together as tightly as possible. He looked at Antonio before sighing.

"Look, if you can't handle this," he said, rising to looking down at the shorter man. "I'm not going to be mad if you have to just leave. In fact, it might be better if you do…"

"No," the Spaniard said, shaking his head. "I'm staying right here. I'm going to make sure that my Lovino is okay."

Sam sighed, then pulled him away from the body across the room. He picked up a knife and waited. He didn't want to end things, but he knew that if it came to that, he would have to do it. The night stretched on, Antonio hopeful and Sam expecting the worse.

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