Fragments of Memories

"Hey Cas…" Sam's voice, regardless of how weak, broke the silence and had Castiel's attention faster than an alarm ever would. Castiel placed his book down as he rose from the armchair he always occupied in the room, his back wet as a result from the summer heat. Most would turn on a fan or two but he'd already gotten used to the 40-degree weather (104 in Fahrenheit).

"Yes?" He nestled next to Sam's bedside, moving over the mounds of blankets covering the young man and brushed the stray hairs from his forehead. Cas tried not to let Sam's clammy cold sweat get to him, it would only serve to upset him and at that moment he needed to remain positive for his family.

Sam smiled at him meekly, barely flinching at the touch this time. "It's… cold in… h-here."

"I'm sorry, baby, I can't turn the heat up any more." Cas replied softly, "I'll get you more blankets."

Small Problem World: Part 4

Back along the tree line where Castiel had dropped the emerald, the team had gathered, the simple plan being pushed through despite a few taking issue with it. They chose a clearing to set up, a space that mini-Cas could sit in broad daylight while the others took cover. To Sam's request, the hunter Dean was positioned closest to his angel. It didn't even matter which Sam suggested it because the other agreed with the motion immediately. While they were positioning themselves Castiel discovered the emerald lying in the tall grass, his boot nudging it and making a sound very unlike a rock.

"This yours?" He asked as he lifted it up, looking at the two hunters for clarification, tossing it their way.

"Yep," Sam lifted his hand to catch and pocket the thing, giving his brother a nod before disappearing into the trees.

"This isn't a good idea." Dean muttered grumpily. He was close to Castiel, right next to him but out of sight from above. He glanced down at the angel who barely seemed nervous about the whole situation, sitting atop a branch letting his legs dangle down. Still undressed but wrapped in a torn cloth as some sort of toga, Cas played with the petals of a nearby flower. Dean was a little surprised to see how calm he looked, Castiel wasn't often used as the bait Dean would have thought he'd be more on edge than he appeared. "You aren't nervous?"

"Of course I am," Castiel chuckled softly, "Dean, since I was shrunk I've been weaker, I can't remember as much as I'd known before, I get tired and a little hungry. I don't know what's happening to me but right now I don't have time to be scared." He looked up at the worried face Dean wore, eyes tracing it vaguely before he smiled sadly and turned away. His fingers fiddled with the soft pink flower, tightening around a petal and plucking it free. "The other Castiel believes this thing to be more dangerous than his first impression, but he only thinks so because there could not possibly be anything he was here to witness."

Dean furrowed his brow as he caught something in Castiel's tone that didn't quite fit. He sounded strained, like he was holding onto something, a meaning his words weren't making on their own. "What do you mean?"

"'There's nothing to see between me and Cas anyway,'" Castiel repeated and Dean recognized the words as his own from earlier.

"Cas… I'm sorry." Dean looked down at the ground for a moment before returning his gaze to Castiel's disheartened expression. "I… I shouldn't have said it like that."

Castiel looked up at him, the hurt slowly being replaced by curiosity. "How should you have said it?"

"I meant it as in what you and I have or… whatever, it's not something I want other people watching. It's private and…" He struggled with the words but he couldn't just stop talking with Castiel looking at him like that. "…personal. It's personal and I don't want other people watching us like that."

The smile that took over Cas' face was overwhelming and for moment Dean had forgotten where they were. "May I be honest for a moment?" Cas broke his concentration with the question, the tone a little softer than it had been before.

"Go ahead," Dean smiled reassuringly.

"Yes, I am nervous, I'm scared…" Cas looked away as he curled his lower lip in, biting it anxiously before continuing. "I am afraid that this monster is worse than it normally would be, that it's a larger threat. But at the same time I've faced things that were able to kill me before and I came out fine so I don't see why I should be all that worried." He fidgeted, again plucking a petal free and sighed, looking up at the sky for some kind of black clot. "And yet… I can't stop the shaking." His voice broke with the words and Dean was about to call it off right then and there.

He would have, too, if the aer hadn't descended on them like lightning. A loud crash of wind all but blew Castiel from his perch, the miniature angel clinging for dear life but not able to hold on. His hands slipped, a sharp cry tearing from his throat as he hurdled backward, anticipating the painful crack of the trees behind him.

Dean's reflexes were faster than either gave him credit for, his hand snapping out and snatching his angel in mid-air. Castiel's hands scrambled for something to hold onto, scratching and pinching as he found purchase in the flesh of Dean's forearm and wrist. "Holy shit," Dean breathed, his arms fumbling a little to cradle his angel and get at his gun again. His eyes were wide as a disembodied face leered down at him, the smokey space forming a body behind it. Dean jerked backward, shielding and hiding Castiel from the wispy hand that reached for him.

The moment went by so fast, the aer thrashing forward as it tried to break away from a sudden hold on it. Dean relaxed a little as the thing flailed backward threw the air, its grabby hands far away from his angel. The chant that had been previously lost in the gusting winds overpowered the immediate area, Castiel the priest compressing the aer into a ball between his palms.

"Whoa," Jet settled next to Dean and laughed, "Dude that's a lot of memorization you're gonna have to deal with."

"Shut up, I'm getting that." Dean replied, eyes glued to his partner, something in his mind telling him to keep an eye out. It wasn't that he sensed trouble or that Castiel needed his help, he just felt more comfortable watching and making sure everything was all right. It was all over so smoothly, Castiel crushed the ball of gas with the last of his incantation and that was it. Done. "Easiest one so far." Dean called out as he approached Castiel, the priest absently rubbing his hands off on his coat.

"Yes well… it was definitely nothing worth writing home about."

"So that's it? We're done?"

"Basically, let's get going." Castiel sighed and motioned for the others to come closer.

"What do you mean by 'basically'?" Dean shifted around to stand in front of his partner, not letting Castiel look away. "Is there something else about these things I should know about?"

"Nothing we need to worry ourselves with."

Dean watched Castiel's face for a moment, not letting him get away so easily. "What is it, Cas?"

Castiel glanced over at the hunters and their angel, Dean cupping mini-Cas close to his chest before lifting him up to kiss the top of his head. "The thing about the aer is that they tend to mess more with the dimension than just a little bit, they alter the timeline and twist everything out of sorts if they're left too long. It seems we got to this one soon enough that the timeline can go back to the way it was, however that means resetting it."

"Resetting to when?" Dean gawked before following Cas' line of sight. He felt a hitch in his chest when he saw the way little Cas nuzzled his hunter's nose, an adorable laugh fading on the wind. "Is there anything we can do to stop it?"

"No, there isn't. It'll reset to an earlier period before the aer altered anything serious but I don't know for sure when that will be. Perhaps we'll save him from being shrunk in the first place." Castiel offered a thought meant to be uplifting but it didn't take. "Come on, we should keep moving."

Dean remained in place as his partner passed him by, watching the two who seemed to newly find their relationship with one another. It was so sweet, to see someone discover their feelings and find them mutual in the other person. Dean couldn't remember the last relationship he'd had that worked, but he didn't think he'd ever been as happy with someone as the other him was with Castiel at that moment. And now he was leaving, knowing they'd never remember this and that they may never get together because of it. None of it seemed fair.

"Dean, come on." Sam called, breaking his thought process. "Cas says there's probably something more important waiting out there, we're wasting time."

'Are we wasting our time?' Dean thought as he followed his brother's beckoning.

None of them thought it worth it to go and give a heartfelt goodbye, not the hunters anyway but little Castiel flew over and landed on Sam's shoulder. "Thank you for everything." He spoke softly before hugging the side of Sam's head affectionately.

"You're welcome," Sam rubbed his back in return and shooed him playfully, "Now get back over there, you're boyfriend's waiting."

Cas blushed and nodded, taking his leave and allowing the others to go in peace, returning to his Dean as the other took one last look at the couple. Dean shook his head and followed the others into the portal, vanishing from that dimension and leaving it to reset itself.

Mainline

"Cas slow down," Sam urged as they hurried down the road, "I think we should stop and think about this for a second."

"Think about what?" Cas turned around, his tone not annoyed but it still sounded fairly close.

"About when we travel to the dimensions, we always seem to get separated. Is there a way to stop it? What if next time someone's alone?"

Castiel furrowed his brow and glanced over at Dean for a moment as if to say 'I said they shouldn't come' but continued to speak to Sam anyway, "I understand you're concerned but at the moment there's nothing we can do about it. It's randomized, we held hands and went in a completely different order but Dean and I still wound up together. There's nothing more we can do short of tying ourselves to one another."

Jet shrugged and pat Sam on the shoulder, "What are you so worried about, man? You were pretty awesome back there, we don't need these jokers."

Sam smiled, appreciative of Jet's attempt at least, "Yeah, aside from you and the freaking semi truck."

"Hey, I would've been a pancake."

"What?" Dean laughed, catching up and leaning over toward Sam, "You saved Jet's life and I missed it?"

"I know, I regret it too," Sam smirked at Jet's fake-shocked expression.

"You're all impossible." Cas muttered as he continued on ahead, hiding the smile that pulled on his lips.