Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Dean Winchester. Mr ‘No chick flick moments’. The ‘straightest man alive’ that’s who he was. He was the tough guy. Always was. Always will be.

Currently, he and his brother were on a mission. The ‘bell witch.’ A Witch that hadn’t stuck since the 1800s on the bell property. 

‘ ‘ it’s been sub grouped as a spirit. ‘ ‘ Sam said.

Dean looked over as they made their way to baby. 

‘ ‘ sub grouped? ‘ ‘ He asked 

‘ ‘ No one really know what she is. ‘ ‘ 

‘ ‘ well, she’s called the bell witch. ‘ ‘ 

Sam narrowed his eyes looking over as Dean started the engine. With a sigh he shut the door. 

‘ ‘ It was the 1800s. Everything that moved was a witch to them. ‘ ‘ 

Dean only glanced in response at first. Saying almost nothing. He grumbled something under his breath. 

‘ ‘ Well, what do you think it is? ‘ ‘ he sighed. 

‘ ‘ Not sure. ‘ ‘ Sam responded 

They both knew that being a spirit couldn’t be marked out completely. It could always be a spirit. 

Deep down, Dean wished the bell family was still around to question. I’m of course it had been hundreds of years since the ‘Bell witch’ had struck.

Why had she been away so long and why was she just coming back now? Dean didn’t have much time to think about it since Sam spoke up again.

‘ ‘ She goes by Kate apparently. ‘ ‘ 

Dean looked over. Raising an eyebrow slightly. 

‘ ‘ Kate? ‘ ‘ He repeated.

So it probably was a spirit. Or a demon pretending to be one. He hoped the latter. Mainly so he could handle it better.

Sam nodded. Dean stared at him for a good moment. Then he looked forward when the car went silent again.

How were they supposed to get rid of her? Finding the why and how would be easy. Actually doing it? That would be hard.

They finally arrived at the property. A man stood on the porch. Dean stepped out, Sam not far behind him. 

The man watched judgtngly as they approached him. Dean walked forward. He held his hand out to shake. The man took it hesitantly.

‘ ‘ Dean Winchester. ‘ ‘ 

The man raised his eyebrow at Sam as he retracted his hand from his and Dean’s handshake.

Sam moved forward a bit. Smiling awkwardly.

‘ ‘ Sam Winchester. ‘ ‘

The man looked between them, trying to figure out how they were related.

‘ ‘ Brothers ‘ ‘ Sam croaked 

‘ ‘ Family business. ‘ ‘ Dean said.

Dean wanted to get into the case. To see what exactly was going on. In order to do that they had to stay at the house for the night. He wasn’t looking forward to that. 

The man just nodded. He showed them inside. Dean scanned the house. It was modern. It was also very clean. It seemed very new. The man turned. Dean looked back watching him leave.

Great. They were alone now. Dean looked over at Sam. He cleared his throat to get his attention. Sam looked over. 

‘ ‘ What all have you got about the witch? ‘ ‘ he asked 

‘ ‘ Apparently the last time they were here they were looking for their tooth? Their grave had been disturbed and their bones were scattered. ‘ ‘ 

‘ ‘ Ah. So could that have happened again you think? ‘ ‘ 

‘ ‘ Probably. ‘ ‘ 

Dean nodded. He looked forward again. So they had to find a bone or something? Like he had said, it would be easy to find the why and how. Not the doing. 

The brother’s moved away from each other. They went to go explore. To scan around the house. Luckily not much was happening at the moment. 

There was two stories. Dean slowly made his way up the stairs. He didn’t think the bone was up there. It was probably under the house. 

It was better to check. Mainly so he knew the house lay out better. It was for the best. He watched around the house. What was the point of not knowing what was around the corner. That was dangerous.

He, as if out of habit, slowly grabbed his dagger. Some thing had seemingly shifted. The energy felt different. He looked over.

He scanned an area. A place he felt like he was being watched from. Nothing was there. He sighed. Was he just being Paranoid? Probably. 

At least that’s what he thought. He had been followed. A dog like creature seemingly not far behind him. He hadn’t noticed until he turned from a room to head downstairs. 

There it stood. Not far from him. Sam hadn’t mentioned dogs in this. He moved over closer to it. He didn’t get close before it vanished from his sight.

‘ ‘ Damn. ‘ ‘ he muttered.

Maybe it was nothing. Seeing things perhaps? That’s what he thought at least. Until his hair was grabbed and tugged on. 

He turned around. He half expected Sam or Crowley. Possibly even Cas. No one was there though. He blinked oddly. 

‘ ‘ What the hell? ‘ ‘ he hissed.

He felt a small grab on his arm. Nothing much. It didn’t hurt. He looked down anyways. He turned again. 

‘ ‘ Dean! ‘ ‘ 

Dean sprinted down the stairs. Straight into the room Sam stood in. He quickly composed himself. 

‘ ‘ What is it? What happened? ‘ ‘ He asked 

Sam looked over. Almost confused. 

‘ ‘ What? I didn’t call for you. ‘ ‘ 

Dean blinked oddly. He could have sworn. He only stared at him for a moment. 

So he simply turned. He began walking out. Then he heard it again.

‘ ‘ Dean! ‘ ‘ 

‘ ‘ What the fuck? ‘ ‘ 

‘ ‘ What? ‘ ‘ 

Sam looked over at him. He looked over.

‘ ‘ Someone keeps calling my name. I swear they do. ‘ ‘ 

‘ ‘ It’s not me. ‘ ‘ 

Dean frowned.

‘ ‘ I can tell. ‘ ‘ 

He turned. He moved from the room quickly. He rushed down. Trying to find the source of this voice. 

‘ ‘ Dean! ‘ ‘ 

Who could be doing this. He searched for a good five minutes. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. But the dog did return.

It now stood closer to Dean. He stared down at it. What was it doing here? It definitely wasn’t a normal dog. 

‘ ‘ Who are you? What are you doing here? ‘ ‘ Dean asked.

At this point he had a firm grasp on his dagger. The dog looked up at him. And it spoke. 

‘ ‘ I am a spirit. I used to be very happy. I have been disturbed. I was buried in a grave nearby in the woods. It has been disturbed and my bones have been scattered. One of my fingers have been lost under this house. I am here looking for that. ‘ ‘ 

‘ ‘ Great. ‘ ‘ Dean said, ‘ ‘ So if we find that.. you’ll leave? ‘ ‘ 

‘ ‘ Yes. ‘ ‘ the spirit responded.

What a civil conversation to have with a spirit. That was a first. With that the spirit was gone. He watched down. He turned.

Lucky for him he was able to find Sam really soon. He leaned on the wall a bit. Sam looked over.

‘ ‘ I know what we’re looking for. ‘ ‘ 

Sam raised an eyebrow. 

‘ ‘ Finger bone. Under the the house. ‘ ‘ 

Sam nodded. With that they headed outside. They looked around. They finally found a way under the house. When they wormed their way under it they began to look around. 

Nothing. They crawled back. The sun was setting. They made their way up to the door again. Dean tried to open it. 

And it was locked. 

Of course it was. He looked back at Sam. There behind him was that stupid dog. God how he hated that dog. 

He narrowed his eyes at it. Then he looked back at Sam again. He sighed a bit. 

‘ ‘ What now? ‘ ‘ Sam asked 

‘ ‘ Break the door down? ‘ ‘ Dean suggested.

‘ ‘ Absolutely not. ‘ ‘ 

‘ ‘ We’ve got to get in somehow. ‘ ‘ Dean groaned.

‘ ‘ Not by breaking and entering! ‘ ‘ Sam hissed

Dean turned. He couldn’t be told what to do. So after a bit of trying.. the door unlocked as he rammed into it leaving him on the ground. 

Sam walked in. He stood over him. 

‘ ‘ Told you. ‘ ‘ 

Dean simply replied with a glare as he stood up. He huffed. He looked around again. Seeing nothing. 

‘ ‘ Where could this stupid bone be? ‘ ‘ 

He moved forward. He’d have work harder to find it wouldn’t he? God damn it. He honestly just wanted to get this done.

He moved upstairs again. Since that’s where everything seems to be going on. Or at least actively wise. This was probably where they could everything over with.

He sighed. Something once again tugged at his hair. He turned again. It didn’t seem to be.. to violent. For now at least. He knew for a fact that it could and probably would get worse. 

He watched around Him. He still found nothing. He groaned. He narrowed his eyes. Soon enough there was a voice again.

‘ ‘ Bringing these things here are useless. ‘ ‘ 

Dean looked back. To face the voice completely. His face scrunched.

‘ ‘ What? ‘ ‘ He said 

He half hoped that whatever was there wouldn’t respond. Though he already knew that he would most likely have a civil conversation. If it was anything like the last one. 

‘ ‘ It was worthless. I have always been there and will always be here. ‘ ‘ 

Dean didn’t respond. 

‘ ‘ You won’t get rid of me. I will always remain. ‘ ‘ 

Dean frowned. What was that supposed to mean? All this work for nothing? Hell no. He wasn’t going to do something that lead to nothing. 

Dean moved back a bit. He moved towards the stairs. Before he could actually walk down the stairs he was shoved by a whatever he had been talking to. 

He stumbled down. He could feel bruises forming. Sam stuck his head from the room to look at him. He rubbed his head as he sat up. 

‘ ‘ Damn it. ‘ ‘ He muttered 

‘ ‘ What happened? ‘ ‘ Sam asked

Dean only glanced over at him. He frowned. He shook his head. 

‘ ‘ Doesn’t matter. ‘ ‘ He groaned. 

He stood up. Looking over at Sam again. 

‘ ‘ I don’t think we can defeat this stupid ghost. ‘ ‘ 

Sam raised his eyebrow. 

‘ ‘ What makes you say that? ‘ ‘ 

‘ ‘ I don’t think there’s any bone or anything. ‘ ‘ 

‘ ‘ Huh? ‘ ‘ 

‘ ‘ I don’t think there’s a way to end this. I think people should just leave this plot of land alone. ‘ ‘ 

He rolled his eyes a bit. Sam shook his head. 

‘ ‘ You never give up on cases. ‘ ‘ Sam said.

‘ ‘ We’re never going to finish this. ‘ ‘ Dean responded.

‘ ‘ What? ‘ ‘ 

‘ ‘ If this things able to stay around this long no matter what happens to it then why would it be defeated now? ‘ ‘ 

Sam only watched him for a moment. Not saying anything as dean groaned again. 

‘ ‘ We’re trying to get them to go away from how they talk they’re not going away. Besides, after 100s of years.. those bones have most likely decayed by now. ‘ ‘ 

Sure. Dean didn’t know anything about decaying bodies, but he was pretty sure it would have decayed by now. He shook his head.

‘ ‘ Fine. What are we going to tell the owner? ‘ ‘ 

‘ ‘ That they should move out? I don’t know. Isn’t this place supposed to be national park? ‘ ‘ 

‘ ‘ Yeah. ‘ ‘ 

‘ ‘ Then he can leave. The ghost can lock him out. We can move on. ‘ ‘ 

Sam watched. Dean moved out of the house. He wasn’t going to work on something that he wasn’t going to be able to solve or finish. 

He looked back one more time before following Dean to Baby. They got in the car. Dean started the engine as Sam looked over. Be blinked awkwardly. 

They began to drive off. Dean’s mind was already on food.

Chapter Text

Castiel. Angel of the lord. Or sort of. He didn’t talk about it. If someone knew they knew. If they didn’t they didn’t. 

Cas, as few people called him, was in a small town that he had been sent to. He stared down at the townspeople. He was here on a mission. So he stood there for a moment. Scanning the towns. There seemed to be nothing there. Or there was nothing wrong to the average human. 

So Cas made his way deeper into the downtown area. What was the point of this again? Dean had sent him here for something. Honestly he had given up on that and was now here for his own interest. 

This place seemed odd enough on its own. The people added onto that. Sure, first glance they could be mistaken for normal people. They went to their jobs at certain times, some went to church on Sunday, there were kids in the park. Overall it seemed pretty normal. 

Though everything seemed scarily together. Every time a family left the park a family of the same size arrived. Every time someone left their shift another person arrived to take their place at the same time. No one seemed sick. There didn’t seem to be any homeless person anywhere.

Sure that could be seen as a good thing. To most at least. Everything seemed so expensive. The houses were big, the food only served in portions to feed full family’s. There didn’t seem to anyone that lived alone. There seemed to be an opposite sex counterpart for everyone. 

Cas felt.. something. He couldn’t describe it. Like something was off. The town didn’t sit right with him. He didn’t like it. He also didn’t like not being to explain what he felt. He had been able to do that relatively well up until now. 

Though he had only felt relatively basic emotions up until this point. Happiness, anger, sadness. Nothing really that was this level of.. discomfort? Was that what it was? Discomfort. Yeah. He was pretty sure that was what it was. 

He shook his head. Maybe it was. Maybe he could find out later. He’d have to. He wasn’t here to figure out what emotions were what. He was here for… honestly he had forgot. Yeah he didn’t care. He could tell Dean what he found while he was here and move on with everything. 

It was obvious he didn’t fit in. He looked like trash. Everyone in this town looked straight out of a 90s movie. He didn’t. He got weird glances from the town’s folk as he moved through the town. Honestly he didn’t mind it. There was a lot of times that people gave him weird looks.

Soon enough he was approached by a woman. She was dressed better than the others and had a soft smile on her face as she approached him. He scanned her quickly. He stopped. He so badly wanted to shove past her and keep going, but he could probably get some information out of her.

She scanned him. Judgment in her eyes. She then held out her hand. Cas stared at it for a moment. Then took it. They shook hands. Then Cas pulled his hand back quickly. 

‘ ‘ You must be new here! ‘ ‘ She said, unnaturally cheerful.

‘ ‘ Just passing through. ‘ ‘ He responded. 

Her smile twitched. Cas frowned. He didn’t like the energy she gave off.

‘ ‘ Ah, I see! ‘ ‘ She finally responded. 

He didn’t trust her at all. He moved back a bit. He just wanted to leave. There was nothing normal about this place and he didn’t want to be here any longer. Everything seemed wrong. 

Now he didn’t feel unsafe necessarily. He just.. didn’t like this town. The sun was to bright, there were to many noises, and everything was moving to fast. The woman was talking to him, but he couldn’t tell what she was saying. 

He didn’t want know what she was saying. She was part of the problem. His head was beginning to hurt. He felt his clothes too much. What was going on? He didn’t like this. There was a lot of emotion he couldn’t understand or name. 

Why was he feeling so much? He usually didn’t feel like this. There was too much going on at once. At this point he was getting surrounded. He looked around. Scanning each face. They each began talking to him. Some asking what was wrong. Some wondering if they could help. Some simply asking for a name.

He couldn’t respond. He couldn’t even think properly. He wanted to get away. The town lights began flashing. The car’s horns began going off. Everyone turned. Looking. As if trying to figure out what was happening. The woman who originally approached him looked at him. Her face scrunching in anger.

‘ ‘ What have you done?! ‘ ‘ She yelled

She began walking towards him. He backed away. Before he could think anything through he simply poofed away. Next thing he knew he was in.. a field? Whatever. It was quieter and a better place he could be than that stupid town. He could return later when he felt better. 

Chapter Text

Sam and Dean finally arrive to the hotel room. Dean threw his bag down onto his bed. He groaned as he laid down. 

His whole body hurt. He didn’t think that this case would be so tiring. Especially since they just left it unsolved. 

Dean did regret that looking back on it. There had to be a way to get rid of this thing? Maybe they could go back to it later. 

They always could just say it was unsafe for them to stay in the house overnight? That they needed to return in the morning? They had left at night. 

In all honesty they could probably go back in the morning. After Dean slept and ate of course. He would eat now, but he was too tired to get up. 

He pushed his bag off the bed. This caused Sam to look over. Dean only let out a groan. He didn’t feel like talking. He shoved his face into his pillow as Sam rolled his eyes.

The hotel room was quiet for a good way. Then Dean finally looked back at Sam. He blinked oddly before he spoke again,

‘ ‘ We can go back tomorrow. ‘ ‘ 

Sam looked over at him. He raised his eyebrow. 

‘ ‘ So you do want to finish this? ‘ ‘ Sam asked 

‘ ‘ I want to at least try. ‘ ‘ Dean replied.

Sam nodded. It didn’t take long, but Dean was already started to fall asleep. He almost did fall asleep. Though blinked himself awake. Trying to keep himself awake. 

Now he usually didn’t try to keep himself awake, but he was trying to think. How were they going to get this over with? He looked over to Sam again. He raised an eyebrow slightly.

‘ ‘ How did they get rid of ‘er last time? ‘ ‘ he said tiredly 

‘ ‘ They didn’t. ‘ ‘ Sam responded 

Didn’t? So that’s why they returned. Of course that’s why she was back. With a groan Dean buried his face in his pillow again. He closed his eyes. 

Yet he was still trying to stay away. How were they supposed to get rid of her? She— they— it? It seemed to want to stick around. That and really hard to get rid of. Seemingly really stubborn. 

Dean could be stubborn. Sure yeah. He could use his stubbornness to his advantage. To get rid of this ghost. Besides, the owner of the house would be away from the house for 2 weeks. 

They had time. They could do whatever. They could use the whole week if they needed. Dean didn’t plan to do that. He didn’t plan to stay much longer than the two days he had planned originally. 

Before he could get any other thoughts in he had fallen asleep. He hadn’t realised he had fallen asleep. He didn’t know when he had fallen asleep. 

He hadn’t cared much when he did wake up. At least he wasn’t as tired as before. Sure he was still tired, he could still sleep if he wanted to. In all honesty he did want to sleep more. 

He couldn’t though. He said they were going to finish that stupid case. So he looked over at Sam. He was already up. Of course he was.

He was always awake before Dean was. Not that Dean cared. He enjoyed sleep. It was the only comfort he really had. Everything else was horrible. So he wasn’t going to deal with it. 

He shifted out of bed. He looked down. Oh right. He had fallen asleep in his clothes. That just meant less time getting ready he supposed. 

‘ ‘ So, I think I know why you heard your name yesterday. ‘ ‘ Sam said 

Dean was shuffling through his duffel bag of stuff he usually carried around. He raised an eyebrow.

‘ ‘ Yeah? Why’s that? ‘ ‘ He grumbled 

‘ ‘ So the bells, the family it haunted, had slaves right? ‘ ‘ 

‘ ‘ mhm? ‘ ‘ 

Oh right. Slave owners. Dean finally looked up. His eye slowly looked at Sam. He, of course, was sitting on his laptop. Reading.. something? 

‘ ‘ So they had a slave named Dean who apparently had multiple encounters. ‘ ‘ 

Dean blinked oddly. Was there really? How odd. Maybe he could use this to his advantage. No. He definitely could. He nodded quickly.

‘ ‘ Oh? Was there now? ‘ ‘ 

Dean looked back down. Finally zipping his bag up. He threw it over his shoulder. He turned. Walking out to the door. He did a quick scan to make sure he grabbed everything. Then turned back again.

‘ ‘ Well, let’s go then. The faster the finish this the faster I can get back to bed. ‘ ‘ 

Sam rolled his eyes as he collected his stuff. With that they were off. Going to finish what they needed. 

Chapter Text

Cas had decided against going back to that stupid town. On their own at least. They couldn’t do that. Especially since they couldn’t tell what all of those emotions were. Meaning that he didn’t know how to calm himself down.

Shaking their head they sat down. The wind started blowing softly. His eyes moved up to the stars. They had to admit. The stars were very pretty. He absolutely loved looking at the stars. When he could of course. It was rare for them to be able to do that. To be able to look at the stars. 

Honestly? He hoped to be able to do this more. He found them so beautiful. It shook its head as the wind picked up. Time to head inside, Cas decided. Inside where? There was nowhere nearby to go. As they stood up with a shiver they looked around. There was nowhere really.

They sighed. Dean and Sam's hotel room it was. Sure, he could do better. It was the best he could do at the moment. So he shook his head a bit. 

Like always, it was a blink and he was there. Standing in the empty room. Dean and Sam were out. He knew that. He wasn’t going to get involved with that. 

So his eyes scanned the room. They didn’t leave much behind in the room. He didn’t see why they would. Especially when things follow them around. Things that like to snoop. Kind of like Cas. After a moment he gave up looking around. He sat down. Slouching in a chair as he warmed up. 

He honestly didn’t care to be alone. He much preferred it actually. It gave him room to think. While he was at it maybe he could process. Or at least attempt to. It was hard to process what you didn’t know.

He sat there for a moment thinking about what he could have possibly felt. There was a lot of it. He felt a lot of everything. And it was a lot. Everything he felt was bigger than normal. What could he recognise? There was.. uncomfortableness, fear, and a bit of guilt. There were other things too, but he couldn't figure out what they were. He didn't have to figure it out of course. When he was asked about it he could just talk about the town. 

What had he figured out at the town? It was an odd town. Of course, it was. He couldn't just say 'It was weird'. He had to describe it. How was he supposed to describe it? Just what he had found? The odd people. The amount of people that were there? The children? The children weren't odd actually. Or.. Not yet anyway. Cas supposed they were on their way eventually. 

Cas leaned back in his chair. His mind moved from the town again. He knew he wouldn't be able to think about it for long. Why would he want to think about that town and what happened there? So his mind moved towards something else. He began towards the brothers. Sam and Dean. He was their guardian angel of course. Yet he rarely hung around them. He was never around. 

He was only really around when they needed them. They actually called when he was needed so that he could be around. Yet at the same time, he always knew where they were and could check in whenever. He didn't need to check in at the current moment. He could tell. He would when he needed to. 

So he closed his eyes. He wasn't going to sleep. Just thinking a bit. 

Chapter Text

Sam and Dean finally arrived back at the house. They grabbed their tools and moved inside. Ready to get back to work. They split up again. 

Dean found this stupid. Splitting up. It was dangerous. What if Sam got hurt? He would be able to deal with that. Not at all.

He needed to do this though. Especially since this ‘bell witch’ seemed to target him the most. He could use that to get it down.

With that there were footsteps behind him. Even if they sounded like Sam’s he knew what they were. They weren’t Sam’s. 

Deans eyes shifted to look behind him. He turned quickly. Nothing. Of course this stupid thing wouldn’t show himself. His eyes narrowed and his mouth twisted into a thin frown.

‘ ‘ What brings you back? ‘ ‘ The spirit asked, almost annoyed 

‘ ‘ I’m going to finish this. ‘ ‘ Dean replied.

He didn’t know why he was talking to this thing. He should had just attacked it. How could he attack what he couldn’t see? Get it to grab him? 

His response had got a laugh out of the thing. His grip tightened around his blade. He felt the energy in the hall shifted. 

‘ ‘ Finish what? ‘ ‘ The Bell witch questioned, laughing.

Dean didn’t respond to this. He didn’t need to respond to this thing. It didn’t deserve to know what he wanted and what he was actually doing here. Especially what he meant by ‘finish this’. 

‘ ‘ That doesn’t matter. ‘ ‘ He hissed 

He frowned. His eyebrows furrowed. He didn’t want to be here. He was already regretting returning. Could he just give up again? Return home and sleep? 

No. He told himself he’d finish it. He told Sam that they’d finish this. So they had to. He moved back a bit. 

‘ ‘ Especially to you. ‘ ‘ He growled at them.

It was cold suddenly. He let out a sigh, his breath suddenly visible. He glanced to the nearest window. It was still daylight out. So he looked back towards where the voice had been.

Suddenly he felt a pain on his neck. He moved forward quickly, turning around. He gently tapped on the back of his neck looking down at his hand. He was bleeding. 

Great. That was great. How wonderful. He could deal with that later. Now he had to do this. He had to bring this down. He had to kill this stupid… thing. 

He said wasn’t sure what it was. He didn’t care what it was. He just needed to get rid of it. That’s all he needed to do. That’s all he could do. 

His eyes scanning around him. As if trying to find something that he knew he couldn’t see. He began listen to noises around him. As if trying to hear the footsteps of the ghost. 

He snapped around when he heard paw steps. That stupid dog like creature. Dean moved forward quickly. He lunged at it.

That was a mistake. It was gone. He landed face first on the ground. He slid across the floor, scrapping across his face. He shifted up. 

Damn. Why did he think that would work? He should have known that stupid thing would do that to him. He shouldn’t have let himself be fooled that easily. 

He was met with another cold laugh. One of mocking and reticule. His head hurt, he felt blood pouring down his face already. 

He hadn’t even touched the damn thing and he was already bleeding. How was that even possible. Well obviously this was a smart ghost. Smarter than he expected really. 

He shifted. Finally getting to his feet. He wasn’t going to give up that easily. He could tell that the ghost was annoyed at this. The air had shifted again. Something grabbed at his arm.

Damn it. He stabbed at it. Hitting, of course, nothing. The grip around his arm tightened. Wonderful. He pulled his arm. As if that would do anything.

‘ ‘ At this point you’re just being a pussy. ‘ ‘ He hissed. 

Insulting the damn thing wasn’t going to help his position. He fucking knew that. It would only make it worse. Yet here he was. Insulting a thing he could barely fight. 

‘ ‘ Insulting me will only make me stay longer. ‘ ‘ The thing responded. 

‘ ‘ Why exactly did you come back? ‘ ‘ Dean asked.

As if he could reason with this ghost. Ghosts couldn’t be reasoned with. Dean couldn’t reason with anyone anyways. That’s what Sam did. Sam was the reasonings man. Dean was not.

Dean now began to wonder where Sam was. Downstairs? He had been awfully quiet. There was nothing for him to find. Everything was upstairs. So why would he not?

There was no response from this ghost. He could get one later. Right now he was worried about the amount of silence downstairs. It was almost like something happened. It was unnatural. 

Though Dean was getting progressively worried. His face, almost out of habit, scrunched and he turned. He began towards the stairs. This was idiotic. He knew that. He was just making sure nothing had happened to his brother.

Once again, this time face first, he was shoved down the stairs. He let out a groan, getting up. His head beginning to pound. He was fine. He could deal with this later. 

He stood slowly. Making his way down the hall. Looking into each room. Soon enough face to face with Sam. Sam looked at him, concern and confusion riddling his face. 

‘ ‘ What happened to you? ‘ ‘ He asked

‘ ‘ Doesn’t matter. ‘ ‘ Dean responded 

Good, Sam wasn’t hurt. At least he knew that. That was good. He was glad to know that. Though, Sam did seem concerned. Dean brushed it off.

It was fine. He was fine. He moved back. He could finish this now. He moved. Sam followed. As if trying to see what had happened to Dean. 

Dean didn’t really want Sam to follow him. What if he got hurt? He couldn’t just tell him to go away though. So he stayed silent. Not going against Sam.

Maybe this way they could just.. get the ghost to leave? Was that an option? Maybe it was. Maybe they could do that. That would be easier than fighting it. 

Especially in the state Dean was in. He knew that. He was going to push himself anyways. If he needed to fight he would fight. Especially if Sam got hurt. 

It was colder again. Dean shook his head. Why was it always coldness? He hated the cold. He groaned at this. He gripped his dagger. 

Sam pulled his dagger out behind Dean. Dean just glanced at him before looking in front of him again. He let out a growl. He hadn’t even meant to. It had just happened. 

He didn’t care about the glance he got from Sam. At this point he was too tired to care. He just wanted to be done with this. So he ignored the glare. 

His eyes scanned the room around him. Where was that stupid ghost? It wasn’t going to show itself to them. That was obvious. 

So Dean stepped forward. Stepping in front of Sam. There was the sound of paw steps. Great. That form again. So Dean turned his head to look towards the sound. 

 That dog like thing stood there. Sam looked over. A snicker as he glanced at Dean then back at the dog. He grinned, leaning towards him. 

‘ ‘ Is that what got you all fucked up? ‘ ‘ 

Dean simply glanced at him, then back at  the dog. Or.. what looked to be a dog. Kind of a dog? The more he looked at it the less it looked like a dog. 

He sighed slightly. Narrowing his eyes at it again. He looked back at Sam, who was still snickering at him. He frowned. 

‘ ‘ Well, you go at it then. ‘ ‘ 

Sam paused, looking back at him slightly. He then looked at the ‘dog’. So he moved forwards a bit. When he went at it it was gone. 

He tripped over himself, almost falling. He turned to Dean again. From the looks of it he was slightly embarrassed at this. Dean got his mocking smile in. 

‘ ‘ Yeah, besides, that’s not how I did this. ‘ ‘ He said 

Sam rolled his eyes in response. So Dean stepped forward. He paused, listening. Trying to decipher where the ‘spirit’ was. 

He didn’t have to listen for to long. He was grabbed, again. Without thinking he turned stabbing at the air. A small hiss from the nothingness. 

Dean couldn’t help but smile at the thought that he finally got a hit on this stupid thing. It had took him long enough. 

But it didn’t take long for him to be up against the wall again. He had hit it hard. He didn’t know what had happened at first. All he knew was that he hit the wall then he was on the ground.

Of course the old floor had nails sticking from it. One went straight through his hand. So he was bleeding there too. He didn’t care. He could deal with that when they were done. 

He stood, adjusting himself. His eyes narrowed, as if that would help any. He couldn’t just.. see something that wasn’t there. 

He looked over at Sam, who at this point looked quite fearful. Dean rolled his eyes. This was their job. There was nothing to look so fearful about. He wasn’t dying or anything. 

He began walking forward. Moving towards Sam. He was about to let out a snarky remark when he was pinned on the wall again. He went to stab at it. Shit.

His dagger was on the ground. He had forgotten to pick it up. So he began thrashing around. Trying to at least slightly hurt whatever had a hold of him. 

‘ ‘ Sam.. ‘ ‘ He groaned out. 

He was trying to get something done. Sam luckily seemed to understand what was being told to him as he stabbed at… something? The ghost?  

Either way something was affected. Dean was dropped. Landing on that stupid nail again. Now bleeding from his leg. 

He was sore, but they were getting somewhere. He stood up again. This time grabbing his dagger. He wasn’t making that mistake again. 

He stepped forward. There had to be a way, other than being attacked, that they’d be able to find the thing again. They had to attack first this time. Just to get the thing down.

Dean was ready to get this over with. He was shaking at this point. He shook it off. There was no need for this. Or at least he attempted to. He was still shaky. 

He stepped forward. Trying to keep this going. To get this stupid thing gone. It could get hurt. They had figured that out. 

He stepped forward. There seemed to be a weird grey goop on the floor. Dean looked down at it. He raised an eyebrow. Blood? Is that what it was? Maybe this could help them find this thing. 

He watched down at it. It lead over to a different room. Dean slowly inched towards the room. Sam followed slowly. 

Dean could tell that Sam was keeping his distance. Dean was fine with that. As long as he didn’t get hurt. He preferred he was the one that hurt. 

He was right about that. Especially so far. So Dean was slightly grateful for that. Knowing that Sam would leave at least less hurt than he would. 

There was a deep hiss as they entered the room. So it was in her. Dean gripped his dagger tighter. His eyes scanned the ground. Trying to find out where it was hiding. 

He growled. Where was this thing. Then he spotted the trail again. He walked across the broken floor. Soon finding the still forming puddle. 

His own blood mixing with the goop on the ground. He didn’t care at this point. He only wanted to get back to the hotel room. To get this paycheck.

This would happen eventually. Suddenly he was shoved to the ground. His shirt slipping up, his skin scraping against the floor. Some of his skin getting caught on some of the floor. 

He stood, bleeding more violently. He groaned. His head was beginning to thump. His vision was blurring. He couldn’t see well, but that wasn’t going to stop him.

As he wobbled forward he stabbed at.. nothing. Of course. He couldn’t tell where he was. He didn’t mind it at this point. He knew that this was only going to get worse.

Dean shoved in front of him as he was lifted into the air. He began kicking at nothing. Finally he actually began stabbing. He eventually stabbed something. 

He was dropped. He turned to where he got the stab in. He began swinging. He got a few good hits in. He groaned. 

He could hear Sam walking over. Dean simply wished he could see. Maybe he’d be able to get a few more good swings in. Soon he did hear a thud. 

‘ ‘ Sam?! ‘ ‘ 

Dean could hear a groan from across the room. So he turned quickly. Rubbing his eyes as if it would help him see. It did not. 

‘ ‘ I’m fine. ‘ ‘ Sam muttered in response 

Dean could barely hear it through the ringing of his ears. Though he almost immediately regretted turning around. He was quickly lifted into the air. 

Shit. Not with all this blood loss. The sudden movement caused a blood clot to fall with a small thud on the ground. Dean shut his eyes quickly.

‘ ‘ Shit. ‘ ‘ He hissed 

This wasn’t going good for him or his body. He had to stop himself from throwing up, yet the bit of blood that was in his mouth did escape. 

Quickly he stabbed behind him. His dagger catching on something. An inhuman yelp came from whatever was holding him. 

He was dropped dragging his dagger with him. The thing finally fell with a loud thud. Dean moved back. Trying to find Sam. It didn’t take him long as Sam moved to him.

‘ ‘ You think you got it? ‘ ‘ Sam laughed 

‘ ‘ It better stay dead this time. ‘ ‘ Dean said. 

He pushed past Sam and began to the door. Or where he thought the door was. He couldn’t see so he wasn’t sure. Instead of finding his way out he bumped right into a wall. Only making the perching pain in his head worse.

Suddenly his shoulder’s were grabbed and he began swinging. 

‘ ‘ Calm down. It’s just me. ‘ ‘ Sam said. 

‘ ‘ Let go of me! ‘ ‘ Dean snapped.

‘ ‘ You obviously can’t see, how do you expect to get out of here like this? ‘ ‘ 

‘ ‘ I’ve got it! ‘ ‘ 

There was a silence, he knew Sam was judging him in the silence. He tried to pull away. Yet Sam pushed him. In the opposite direction than he was facing. 

Had he been going the wrong way? No wonder he hit a wall. It didn’t matter. He turned and began walking. Finally getting from Sam’s grip. He honestly had to feel the wall to see where he was. 

Finally he did find the door. Moving out. Until he found the stairs. It was a slow process. Getting there.. then getting down them. It didn’t matter though. He got there eventually. 

Sam had walked off while he found the front door, stumbling out. Sam soon walked out, giving Dean his bag. It took Dean a minute to get to the car and unlock it, putting his bag in the trunk. 

Sam took the keys from him, almost aggressively. So Dean turned to him. Letting out a scoff. Sure he was in no state to drive, but he didn’t like this. He didn’t argue though. He didn’t want to admit that he couldn’t see. 

He shut the trunk. Feeling along baby until he got to the unlocked passenger seat door. Slipping in. It was stuffy in the car. There was a random flash of heat. 

It was probably the amount of blood that covered him. That’s what he was going to assume. He was regretting not bringing bandages with him. 

With a groan he looked over to Sam. Or at least tried to. He still could not see. At this point blood was flowing into his eyes. With another painful groan he closed his eyes and leaned back into the seat. 

‘ ‘ How far away are we? ‘ ‘ He asked, ‘ ‘ From the hotel? ‘ ‘ 

‘ ‘ Not that far. ‘ ‘ Sam responded. 

Dean nodded. He stopped quickly as pain stabbed through his head. He let out a sigh. He didn’t mean to fall asleep, but it happened anyways. 

Chapter Text

Cas leaned back, soon enough his eyes moved to the door as it opened. Sam walked in first. Castiel tilted his head, wondering where Dean was. He didn’t wonder long as Dean stumbled through the door. Cas blinked oddly as the other collapsed onto his bed. Blood pooling below him.

Cas stood slowly looking at Sam. He knew Dean wouldn’t tell him anything. He never did talk about what happened or how he felt about it. He sighed slightly. Right, they had been on a mission. He didn’t remember which one they said they were on.

‘ ‘ What happened? ‘ ‘ He finally asked.

Sam looked up from whatever he was doing. Dean grumbled something under his breath. Obviously saying what happened, but tried to make it as unhearable as possible. Dean let out an uncomfortable groan afterward, as if talking had hurt him. So Cas shifted a bit.

‘ ‘ A ghost beat the shit out of him. ‘ ‘ Sam laughed.

Cas nodded a bit. He let out a small ‘oh’ in response. He sighed. Finally he actually walked over to Dean completely.

‘ ‘ Well, sit up. ‘ ‘ Cas said

Dean looked over at him, scrunching his face in confusion.

‘ ‘ What? ‘ ‘ He asked

‘ ‘ you heard me. ‘ ‘ Cas said, ‘ ‘ Sit up. ‘ ‘

Sam stood up, moving out of the hotel room. Cas watched, confused on why he had did that. He did question further though. His attention returned to Dean again. He frowned. It took Dean a moment, and a bit of Cas almost yelling at him, for him to sit up.

Dean simply glanced at him. A look of anger in his eyes. Cas moved over to him. Or well, closer to him. He examined Dean. Not even thinking he grabbed Dean and pulled him closer to examin him better. Dean’s eyes widened slightly. He began trying to get out of his grip.

‘ ‘ Let me go! ‘ ‘ Dean began

‘ ‘ Be quite. Wait for a moment, I’m trying to help. ‘ ‘

‘ ‘ How is this helping?! ‘ ‘

Cas didn’t reply to this.

If Dean would give him a minute he’d see why! Though he didn’t get the chance. Dean had passed out not long after, presumably from the blood loss. Cas was surprised he hadn’t been out sooner. He had seemingly lost so much blood. Though Cas wasn’t there long, before he was done with the healing process. He stepped back, leaving Dean to rest.

Sam had walked in a bit later. He had began gathering his and Dean’s stuff, ready to leave. Cas turned returning to the chair, which he had decided was now here for the rest of the stay.

‘ ‘ What are we going to do about Dean’s blood? ‘ ‘

Sam looked over, seemingly confused about what he was asking.

‘ ‘ What? ‘ ‘

‘ ‘ Dean’s blood. It’s all over the sheets ‘ ‘

Sam looked over at Dean, who was still asleep, seemingly surprised at the amount of blood he spilled. Cas shifted in his seat. He was the best at cleaning things.. or coming up with ideas.

That was probably why he wasn’t brought on many missions. Not only was he bad at planning.. he never really followed through with plans. He didn’t mind not going on any missions though, it allowed him to do his own thing. Gave him more freedom.

Cas was pulled out of his thoughts as Dean let out a groan. Cas looked over, then back at Sam. Sam let out a sigh, looking at Cas in return.

‘ ‘ Can you take him to the car? Put him in the passenger’s seat, I’ll clean up the blood. ‘ ‘ Sam finally said.

Cas sighed. Damn, he had to give up his seat. It was very comfortable. He had to admit, he knew he wouldn’t be able to say in it forever. He just nodded and let out a quiet ‘sure’.

He stood slowly, making his way back towards Dean again. He adjusted himself. He wasn’t the type of person to carry people. Dean definitely also wasn’t the type of person to be carried. He, surprisingly carefully as to not wake Dean up (and anger him), picked him up bridal style and carried him slowly outside. He carried him over to baby.

Luckily the door was unlocked as he opened the passenger’s side and placed Dean gently down. Since Sam seemed so eager to leave Cas went ahead and buckled him up too. Shutting the door. Cas didn’t hesitate to climb into the back of the Impala. It didn’t take long for Sam to join them either and start up the car.

They had slowly started down the road. There was silence. Neither said anything. The only real noises were those that of Dean. Some of pain, some possibility due to whatever dream he was having. 

Cas couldn’t help but feel curious. What was he dreaming about? He couldn’t help himself but wonder. What did Dean Winchester dream about? He could check. He did have that ability, so he was going to use it. Right here and now. 

To Sam he had simply vanished, but to him? He now stood in a small room. Dean stood in the middle of the room, looking around. He seemed confused about something. 

Cas began to approach, yet Dean gave him this look. A look of confusion. A look of fear. A look that hurt. Of course it didn’t.. physically hurt, but.. it did hurt. And cas felt bad. 

He didn’t want to stay. So he didn’t. He was back in the car. He knew it was just a dream, but it was Dean’s dream and he gave him a look.. one Cas didn’t like. He couldn’t explain why he didn't. Not at the moment. All he knew was that it hurt.

it hurt and he did want to see that look on Dean’s face ever again 

Chapter Text

By the time he woke up they were almost already home. He hadn’t remembered getting in the car. He had remembered that dream. 

He had seen.. Cas. Though he hadn’t recognised him. For some reason, he had felt fear? He rarely felt fear in normal dreams like that was, but when Cas appeared he had. 

He looked to Sam, who was well focused on the road. Than in the mirror. At Cas. Cas didn’t return the look. With a frown, Dean turned to look out the window. 

The car ride was silent. Not a word spoken. Not a song played. Nothing. When they got home, Dean was the first out of the car. 

He was still covered in blood. A shower would be nice. He didn’t hesitate to move to the front door, leaving everything in the car. 

‘ ‘ Are you not gonna grab anything? ‘ ‘ He heard Sam call behind him.

‘ ‘ Later. ‘ ‘ He responded, with a hiss 

‘ ‘ Alright then. ‘ ‘

He passed one last glance at the other two. Sam was grabbing his things from the trunk, and Cas was standing nearby. Seemingly saying something Dean couldn’t hear. 

Dean just grumbled and headed inside, quickly closing the door behind him. Quickly removed his shoes, placing them by the door before heading to his room. 

He grabbed proper pyjamas before heading to the bathroom. Turning the water to hot. He quickly stripped down. Getting in the shower.

His muscles relaxed immediately. His eyes closed and he didn’t hesitate to sit down. The water felt amazing. He didn’t move for a moment. 

Though he didn’t stay like that wrong. He was never one to stay long in showers. Especially just relaxing. He had to stand up eventually. 

He grabbed his shampoo. Slowly washing through his hair. The water moving through his hair felt absolutely wonderful. 

How long had it been since he had taken a proper shower? He didn’t remember. Maybe that was the reason he had felt gross for the past few days. Though he didn’t think about it long. 

He had his reasons. For one he never had the time. He was always out doing something. And for the few times he did have time? 

He hated the sight of it.

He finished rinsing the shampoo out of his hair. He began washing his conditioner into his hair slowly. After a few moments he finally finished.

He softly began washing his body. He took his time, taking his time to get blood off of him. Luckily it was quite easy. 

Soon he began rinsing his body. Once done he stayed in the water for a moment. Just loving the warmth. 

He then began rinsing the conditioner from his hair. After he was done, he turned the water off. Stepping out of the shower. 

The cold air hitting him like a freight train. He only slightly shivers before grabbing his towel. He first dried his hair, then his body. 

After getting dried off he began getting dressed. After he did get dressed he moved to the door. He left his clothes in the floor. He could get them later. 

He slowly headed to his room, sitting on his bed. Suddenly there was a soft knock on his door. He looked over a bit. 

‘ ‘ Yeah? Who is it. ‘ ‘ 

It was a fifty-fifty between who it could have been. Though he didn’t have to ponder long as the door opened. 

Cas walked inside, though stayed a bit in the door. Dean raised an eyebrow at him. 

‘ ‘ What’s up? What do you need? ‘ ‘ He asked.

Cas didn’t respond for a good moment. To the point that Dean was starting to think that he didn’t need anything and that he was just there to slightly annoy him. 

‘ ‘ Just in here? Okay. ‘ ‘ He sighed 

He went to stand up, but Cas moved forward. Dean looked up at him. Cas started to speak. He quickly paused. 

‘ ‘ While you and Sam were off doing.. whatever that last mission was.. I found this town.. ‘ ‘ Cas started. 

He moved back a bit. Dean raised an eyebrow. A town? That was it? They had been too many strange towns before. That’s nothing new at all. 

‘ ‘ So? What about it? ‘ ‘ Dean responded

Cas fell silent again. He almost seemed nervous to talk about it. This kind of confused Dean. He had never seen Cas like this. He scanned him a bit. 

‘ ‘ Well..? ‘ ‘ Dean said, ‘ ‘ What about the town..? ‘ ‘ 

He stepped forward a bit, towards Cas. Cas messed with his hands a bit. Dean crosses his arms as he watched Cas with a frown. 

There was nothing about this town was there? Was Cas making things up? Why would he do that? He usually didn’t. 

Dean didn’t think he had any reason to lie. Especially now. Or about some strange town. Why did he seem so.. nervous about it..?

Dean just let out a sigh, shaking his head. He moved over, placing his hand on Cas’s shoulder. Cas looked over at him. 

‘ ‘ What about this town, Cas? What happened? ‘ ‘ 

Cas only responded with wide eyes. Still silent for a moment. After a minute, Cas sighed. He shook his head a bit. 

‘ ‘ Everyone was just weird. Like.. everyone and everything was slightly off. I couldn’t explain it. They just weren’t.. human. I couldn’t tell what they were.. ‘ ‘ 

Dean moved back a bit. He looked at Cas. He was very confused. Not even Cas could tell what they were? What did that mean? 

Dean’s face scrunched in confusion. He raised an eyebrow slightly again. How could that be? What on earth could they be? 

‘ ‘ Well? What town was it? ‘ ‘ Dean asked 

‘ ‘ I’m not sure. Though I do remember where it was.. ‘ ‘ Cas murmured.

‘ ‘ Where? ‘ ‘ Dean responded, quickly. 

‘ ‘ I can’t tell you. You need to rest a bit more. ‘ ‘ Cas responded.

‘ ‘ Cas.. ‘ ‘ Dean groaned.

‘ ‘ No! ‘ ‘ Cas said.

And with that Dean shook his head. Cas moved back a bit. Dean looked at him still. He sighed. 

‘ ‘ Fine. We’ll talk about this later, Cas. ‘ ‘ 

Cas nodded. He then left Dean’s room. Dean watched him leave. He then moved to shut his door. Once he had he moved back to his bed. He sat down. 

His room fell silent. This caused him to began thinking again. How could cas not be able to tell what these things are? Did they have some way of hiding it? How did Cas know they weren’t human? 

He let out a sigh. He shouldn’t think about it long. He was on break. Or well.. they didn’t have a case. Maybe Cas was right. Maybe he did need to rest more.

He would try it. Resting a bit. It would be difficult. He usually wasn’t one to rest. Other than sleeping in a bit. He was usually on cases all the time. Rest might have been nice. 

He would give it a shot he supposed. So he laid down. He got comfortable and it didn’t take long for him to actually fall asleep again. 

Chapter Text

He stayed outside Dean’s room for a good moment. He stayed frozen, staring at the closed door. 

Stop.

He needed rest. So he turned again. Walking to the living room. He looked over, Sam was sitting at the table. 

‘ ‘ What are you doing? ‘ ‘ Cas asked 

Sam looked up from his laptop. 

‘ ‘ Informing the owner of the bell witch house that we’ve dealt with everything. ‘ ‘ 

Cas nodded. That was the case they had been on. He didn’t say anything. Simply sighing a bit. Sam looked back down at his laptop. He seemed to be continuing. 

‘ ‘ I wouldn’t talk to Dean for a bit. ‘ ‘ Cas said. 

‘ ‘ Why? ‘ ‘ Sam asked, not looking up. 

‘ ‘ He’s already planning on whatever mission he wants to do next. I think that you both need rest though.. ‘ ‘ 

Sam looked up at Cas again. Both went silent again. Sam sighed, looking down again. He shut his laptop. 

‘ ‘ Okay. I’ll keep that in mind. ‘ ‘ Sam finally responded. 

Cas nodded. He turned, heading to the guest bedroom Dean had said he could stay in. Of course, Cas didn’t sleep. He didn’t need the bedroom. Yet Dean insisted that he stayed in there when he was over. When Cas asked why Dean said that it was so Cas would stop watching him in his sleep. Though Cas was unsure of what he was supposed to do at night when the brothers were asleep. 

He assumed he’d find something eventually. Usually, he was just a guardian angel though. Making sure nothing happened to the two of them. Nothing ever did. It was usually boring. Long boring nights. As he sat on the bed he wondered if this would also be another long boring night. As the house fell silent he could tell that it would be. He heard Sam get up and head to his own room. 

Cas sighed. He didn’t mind the silence. It was nice… sometimes. Tonight felt different. It felt eerier and there was more edge to it. To the point that Cas was starting to believe that something was going to happen. He didn't want anything to happen. So he stood. Like that, he was in the house, but no one else was able to tell. No human at least. He was able to walk around in silence. He wouldn't be seen by anyone either. 

It was easier to guard the house like this. To make sure nothing happened. He began making rounds around the house. It was still silent. A silence that was never there before. there was always some sort of noise in the house that Cas would have been able to hear. Mice or bugs running around, or one of the brothers rolling in their sleep, possibly a faucet dripping. Yet he heard nothing.

He hated it. He absolutely hated it. So he continued around the house. Continuing around the nothingness that happened. He knew that Sam and Dean were alright in their beds. That it had taken Sam an hour and a half to fall asleep. Dean hadn't slept all night. Cas didn't worry about that. He wanted to understand what felt so wrong about this night. 

In the end, he found nothing. The sun rose and everything was fine. Maybe it was just a feeling. Maybe.

Chapter Text

The night had been long. The hours treading on. How long had he been asleep during that nap? Of course, that's not what Dean's mind had been on the entire night. He had been focused on the town Cas had brought up. He was confused. He wanted to find out more and as the sun rose he decided he was going to. He slipped out of bed, not bothering to do anything else. He headed straight to Cas's room. 

' ' Cas! ' ' 

The room was empty. 

Right. He probably had important things to do. Angel things. Dean turned to leave. Cas stood in the doorway, causing Dean to jump a bit. He hadn't heard him approach or anything. Startled him a bit.

' ' Damn it, Cas! ' ' 

Cas's face scrunched in confusion as Dean let out a sigh. 

' ' You called me..? ' ' Cas said, confused. 

' ' Right. So about that town.. ' ' 

Cas shook his head. Dean raised an eyebrow.

' ' No, Dean. You need rest. ' ' 

Dean scoffed at this. His nose scrunched in a slight defiance to the straight face he was trying to keep. He didn’t want rest. He wanted answers. 

‘ ‘ Why do you care about me resting..? ‘ ‘ Dean hissed. 

He hadn’t mean to sound so mean. It just came out that way. Cas paused, looking at Dean with confusion. As if he should know the answer to this. As if he’d been told before.

‘ ‘ I’m your guardian Angel, Dean.. ‘ ‘ 

‘ ‘ and? ‘ ‘ 

So he had to care about him? That didn’t reassure Dean at all. He turned to start walking away when Cas grabbed his wrist. His grasp was firm. 

Dean turned to face him again, with shock this time.

‘ ‘ and I personally care about you, Dean. ‘ ‘ Cas said in a harsh tone, ‘ ‘ and I want you to be as well rested and in the best condition you can. ‘ ‘ 

Dean felt his eyes widen. He hadn’t expected that response. His nose scrunched slightly. 

Well rested and in the best condition he could be? He was rarely in a good condition. Where was this coming from and why did Cas seem to care now? 

Maybe he just hadn’t voiced his concerns? Had Dean just blocked it out when he had? That sounded a lot like something Dean would do. 

‘ ‘ Did I say something wrong..? ‘ ‘ 

This question snapped Dean from his thoughts. He should have said something by now. His eyes snapped back onto Cas’s face. 

He was confused and concerned. He seemed to be upset as well. Dean couldn’t help, but frown at this for some reason. 

‘ ‘ No. Of course not. ‘ ‘ 

Dean shook his head. He looked back at Cas. His look hadn’t changed much. Cas let out a sigh. 

‘ ‘ Can you just try to relax then..? While you have time off? ‘ ‘ 

Dean didn’t want rest. Dean wanted more work. He needed more work. It helped keep his mind focused and quiet. Without work his mind would start to drift more than it already did.

He didn’t like when that happened. It made him feel stupid. He hated it. He didn’t like when his mind got loud with useless thoughts. 

Though he was pulled back to reality when he realised he hadn’t responded to Cas yet. The angel’s face had twisted with even more concern. 

‘ ‘ Fine. Though that doesn’t mean we’ll be out of a case for long. ‘ ‘ Dean Hissed 

Cas shook their head in response. They looked back up at Dean, still looking concerned. 

‘ ‘ As long as you rest while you can Dean. That’s all I’m concerned about.. ‘ ‘ 

Dean frowned slightly, letting out a sigh. His head tilted slightly before he shook it and straightened up.

‘ ‘ fine.. I’ll try. ‘ ‘ 

Chapter Text

The day was quiet. Cas sat in the living room. His eyes moved to Sam walking into the room. He sighed and Cas tilted his head at him, confused. Something seemed to be bothering Sam.

‘ ‘Are you alright? ‘ ‘ Cas asked 

Sam looked over at him.

‘ ‘Yeah. Just thinking. ‘ ‘ He replied. 

‘ ‘ Oh. ‘ ‘ Cas said, ‘ ‘ about what? ‘ ‘ 

‘ ‘ Talking to Dean about going to college. ‘ ‘ 

Cas’s face scrunched. College? He wasn’t big on knowing about human schooling. He looked at him. 

‘ ‘ For you or him? ‘ ‘ Cas asked.

‘ ‘ Me. ‘ ‘ 

‘ ‘ I’m sure he’d be okay with it. ‘ ‘ 

Sam just looked at him. He didn’t reply. He nodded slightly before turning. He walked over to the table and sat down. Cas watched. He sighed and looked forward again. Sam was doing his own thing. Cas softly sighed. What was Dean doing? He usually wasn’t this quiet. Cas's face scrunched. 

' ' Where is Dean? ' ' He asked, looking at Sam again.

' ' His room probably. ' ' 

Cas nodded, standing up. He turned and walked towards the hallway. He approached Dean's room. He gently knocked on his door. For a moment there was no response. Then Cas heard slight movement. The door opened and Dean looked at him.

Dean looked like he had just woken up. His hair was a mess and his eyes weren't completely open. He was also in his Pyjamas. Cas scanned him before looking up at him again. He blinked awkwardly. 

' ' Sorry, didn't mean to wake you! ' ' Cas said quickly. 

' ' No it's fine. ' ' Dean responded tiredly, ' ' Did you need something? ' ' 

' ' Just checking in on you.. it's just been really quiet today. ' ' 

Dean nodded. Cas sighed and scanned him again. Something felt different, yet it felt the same? Stronger? Dean raised an eyebrow at him. 

' ' Sorry, I'll let you go back to bed now. ' ' Cas said. 

He turned and started walking away. 

' ' Wait- ' ' Dean called out behind him. 

Cas paused, quickly turning back to him. His head tilted. He let out a small 'huh'. 

' ' Can you stay for a moment? ' ' 

Cas tilted his head. 

' ' Another nightmare? ' ' He asked. 

That was the only time he asked to stick around when he was sleeping. He usually complained when Cas watched him sleep. It was a bit confusing. Either way, Dean nodded, his face a bit pink. 

' ' Okay. ' ' Cas said.

Dean walked back into his room. Cas followed him in, shutting the door behind him. He moved over, sitting on the end of Dean's bed. Dean laid down and soon fell asleep. Cas looked over at him. He seemed tired recently. Cas was glad that they didn't immediately jump into another case. Dean seemed so peaceful in his sleep at the moment. There were no nightmares at the moment. Everything was still. 

He let out small noises in his sleep. Cas just watched him, scanning his features. He looked so much calmer than normal. Cas couldn't help but smile. He was glad that Dean finally had the chance to sleep. After a moment Cas sighed, looking away from Dean. He looked downward. He watched the ground for a moment. Everything seemed happy, it was calm.

Chapter Text

Later Dean woke up. Cas looked over at him as he sat up. Dean quickly rubbed his eyes. He hadn't meant to sleep this much. He looked at Cas. Right. Cas was there. Dean sighed, why had he asked Cas to stay in his room? He didn't have a nightmare. He frowned as he thought about it.

Had Cas not recognized he lied? Maybe he just didn’t care. He simply watched Cas, who sat there watching him as well. After a moment he stood. Cas quickly moved to his side. Even if the two knew that he didn’t need it, Dean said nothing. Not at the moment. 

Sure, this could break the ‘personal space rule’, but he didn’t care momentarily. He moved forward out of the room. Cas’s footsteps followed close behind him. Soon they made their way to the living room. 

Sam was sitting at the table doing work. There was a slight noise and a gust of wind behind Dean. He looked back. Cas was gone. He just sighed, they weren’t doing anything so Cas wasn’t ultimately needed. However, Dean wouldn’t complain about him sticking around. 

He turned back to Sam. He walked over, looking at his brother’s laptop. Though, he couldn’t really tell what he was doing. He looked back at him. His eyebrow raised slightly. Sam looked up at him. 

‘ ‘ What’re you doing? ‘ ‘ Dean asked. 

Sam looked back down at his laptop again, going back to typing. Dean’s brow furrowed.

‘ ‘ Great conversation. ‘ ‘ He said. 

Sam rolled his eyes at this. Finally, he looked up at Dean again. Dean let out a groan and basically threw himself on the couch. His eyes moved to Sam again. His eyebrow furrowed. Obviously, he wasn't getting information. He sighed. He slowly looked at the laptop in front of him. Sam turned it so he couldn't see it. 

' ' What on earth are you doing? ' ' Dean asked. 

' ' Nothing of importance. ' ' Sam replied. 

' ' Then let me see. ' ' 

Sam sighed, finally looking up at Dean again. Dean quickly furrowed his brow. Why was his brother hiding from him this time? His face scrunched, even if he hadn't meant it to. He just stared at him for a moment. Sam sighed again as he looked at Dean. 

' ' I'm just.. applying for something. ' ' Sam finally says. 

' ' For what? ' ' Dean asks.

' ' College. ' ' he replied blankly. 

Dean paused, slightly surprised. His eyes widened. 

' ' College? ' ' He asked quickly. 

Sam just stared at him for a moment before returning to his laptop. Dean stayed silent, staring at him in shock. He was going to college? He simply stood there for a moment. He didn't move. He backed away a bit. 

' ' For what? ' ' He asked. 

' ' Law. ' ' 

Right. He remembered him speaking about that. His eyes scanned his younger brother. He tilted his head for a moment before sighing. 

' ' Fine.. Good luck with that. ' ' 

Deep down he wished he knew soon. No. He wished his brother wasn't going to college. What if he got hurt? What if something happened to him? Dean wouldn't be around. He wouldn't be around to help. He didn't want anything to happen to his little brother.

Chapter Text

Cas sat quietly in the guest room. He didn’t have a purpose of being there. Did he truly need one? Probably. He felt he needed one. He probably should have a reason for sticking around. He didn’t. Or not a good reason. He just wanted to be there.

The guest room was basically his now. Dean had said so at least. ‘You’re always here’ he usually said ‘and I don’t want you watching me or Sam sleep so just stay in the guest room.’ 

To be fair he didn’t listen most of the time. He always found himself drawn to Dean’s room at night. He always did watch over him. He left before Dean woke up, but he was always there. 

Instincts. Thats what he always said it was. It’s what he told himself every time he did it. That he was still just a guardian angel and that he had instinctively watched over Dean at night.

How could he stop himself if it was his job? If that’s what he was here for. To be a guardian angel. Or well.. that’s what he was here for originally. He wasn’t sure that’s why he was here now. 

No. It was. That’s what he was here for. He was a guardian angel after all. That’s why he was here. That was his reason. That’s why he was in the Winchester home. Because he was supposed to be here. 

With a sigh he literally himself off his bed. The guest bed. It wasn’t his. He knew it wasn’t his. He was here all the time, so he might as well call it ‘his’. Even if he didn’t sleep or stay in this room. Either way it was a room he was supposed to be in at night. 

Currently it was about 1.30 in the morning. Once again his ‘instincts’ had kicked in. He quietly made his way to Dean’s room. He sat quietly nearby. It was a shock to him that Dean wasn’t having a nightmare. That was usually something he had to deal with. 

It was a nice change for the night. Cas hoped he could possible have a peaceful night and hopefully Dean wouldn’t have any problems sleeping that night either. 

So Castiel leaned back slightly. He was silent as he watched Dean. His eyes moved slowly to his face. Despite the subtle movements it was peaceful and he seemed to finally be resting properly. 

Eventually, a few hours after Cas sat down, Dean began shifting uncomfortably, obviously having a nightmare. With a sigh Cas got up and moved over to Dean. He gently placed his hand on Dean’s shoulder. He sat there calmly and began attempting his best to calm Dean down. 

Usually this would help, but Dean seemed to start getting worse. His face began slightly shifting as well, more fearful than before. Cas continued to attempt to calm him down.

When it came evident Dean was going to wake up Cas out a sigh and he was gone. He had gone back to the guest room as to make it as if he was never there.

Chapter Text

Dean shot up. He rubbed his eyes moving to his clock. 3.34. He flopped himself down into his bed again with a sigh. He stared up at the roof. His eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness.

Something felt off. He sat up and quickly looked around. He frowned slightly. nothing. Or at least nothing to his knowledge. So with a sigh he laid back down and slightly rubbed his eyes. 

After spending what felt like a few hours trying to sleep he looked over at the clock again. 4.15. Dean groaned and stood up.

There was a moment where he simply stood there before he left his room. He quickly checked on Sam, who was still asleep, before heading to the kitchen. 

He got a beer. Sure it wasn’t the healthiest thing, but he didn’t really have anything else. He quickly popped the cap off. As he went to get a drink there was a voice behind him, 

‘ ‘ I don’t think that’s best at this time.. ‘ ‘ 

Dean glanced behind him. It was Cas. Dean frowned a bit. He took a swig before turning to him. 

‘ ‘ it’s technically not the best at anytime so I don’t think it matters. ‘ ‘ Dean stated. 

This got a frown from the angel. 

‘ ‘ it’s not going to get rid of the night terrors. ‘ ‘ 

Dean paused for a solid moment. His eyes went wide, but he quickly composed himself. He frowned. 

‘ ‘ How the hell did you know about that? ‘ ‘ 

Cas glanced away. 

‘ ‘ Cas. ‘ ‘ The angel looked at him, ‘ ‘ have you been watching me sleep again? ‘ ‘ 

‘ ‘ no. ‘ ‘ Castiel said plainly.

Dean glared at him. Doubt lingered in the air for a solid moment. Eventually Dean sighed and scanned Cas. 

Of course the angel was in the same clothes he always wore. What could Dean expect? He didn’t seem to own any other clothes.

An idea came to him as he took a swig from his beer. He looked back at Cas. Like always the angel stood there awkwardly staring at him.

‘ ‘ do you own any clothes? ‘ ‘ Dean asked.

He didn’t know why he was asking this. It was an odd question. It would catch anyone off guard so it wasn’t a surprise the angel got confused. 

‘ ‘ I do not. Is there something wrong with my clothes? ‘ ‘ 

‘ ‘ it’s a bit odd to wear the same outfit everyday for years. ‘ ‘ Dean stated.

Cas stared blankly at him for a few moments.

‘ ‘ well I like my clothes. ‘ ‘ Cas stated

‘ ‘ I.. am aware of that. ‘ ‘ 

Dean had no fucking clue how to respond to that. He supposed you had to like your clothes at least a bit to wear it on the daily for years. 

‘ ‘ I think we should get you new clothes. ‘ ‘ 

‘ ‘ Why? These are nice clothes. ‘ ‘ Cas said blankly 

‘ ‘ Yeah. They’re filthy though. You can’t just wear one outfit. ‘ ‘ 

Dean scanned him more as he took another drink. Now that he really looked at him Cas was filthy. Covered in old blood, dirt, and mud. Dean couldn’t hold in his scoff.

‘ ‘ Do you ever shower? ‘ ‘ Dean asked 

‘ ‘ …Shower? ‘ ‘ 

Well that answered his question.

‘ ‘ yeah. Bathing. Y’know, cleaning yourself?” Dean sarcastically let out. 

‘ ‘ ..no. ‘ ‘ 

Dean couldn’t help but gag slightly. Well now they had two things to do tomorrow: Get Cas clean and get Cas clothes. 

Chapter Text

Castiel watched him walk off. He very slowly returned to the guest bedroom and sat down quietly. He crossed his legs. New clothes and a bath? He didn’t have a smell. He was an angel! Or well.. he didn’t think he had a smell. Though he clearly was covered in dirt and blood he supposed. 

He could get that off of him. He sighed a bit. He rubbed his face with one hand for a moment. He would glance around before doing what he did most nights and waited for the morning.

The next morning he left the room when he heard Dean walking around. He also heard hushed talking between Sam and Dean. He was quiet, opting to walks into the kitchen where the brothers were stood.

‘ ‘ Are you actually going to finish this time? ‘ ‘ Dean asked.

‘ ‘ Yes, Dean. ‘ ‘ Sam said, ‘ ‘ I’ve save up so much for this. ‘ ‘ 

Dean sighed a bit. He simply nodded.

‘ ‘ Alright, but are you going to be continuing hunting? ‘ ‘

Sam shook his head, 

‘ ‘ no. I don’t want to die like this. I don’t want to spend my entire life like this. ‘ ‘ 

Dean looked at him. If Cas was reading his facial expressions right, which he normally didn’t, Dean looked sad. He thought so at least. If that’s what the glossiness in his eyes meant.

Eventually Sam made eye contact with Cas. Dean seemed to notice and blinked a few times and turned towards Cas. He frowned a little before going back to his usual grouchy look.

‘ ‘ Right. ‘ ‘ Dean said, ‘ ‘ Let’s go. ‘ ‘ 

The three fell silent before Dean headed outside. Cas and Sam followed behind him to the car. Each heading to their normal spot in Baby.

The ride was mostly silent. Eventually Sam spoke up, 

‘ ‘ I’ve saved the money for a dorm along with my schooling. ‘ ‘ He said

Dean slowly looked at him.

‘ ‘ How in hell are you going to get around? You don’t have a car. ‘ ‘ 

Sam looked out the window in thought. 

‘ ‘ I don’t start for awhile. I’ll find a way. ‘ ‘ 

Dean sighed, staring blankly at the road ahead. Cas could practically see the tension. He mostly was unsure of what he was supposed to do about it. 

‘ ‘ Where are we going? ‘ ‘ He asked suddenly, trying to change topics as quickly as possible 

‘ ‘ A few different places. ‘ ‘ Dean replied gruffly. 

He was still clearly upset. His finger’s tapped on the steering well. He let out small grumbles. 

Cas didn’t understand why he had to go with the two. He didn’t want to leave and cause a fight though. Everyone was already tense and his sudden disappearance wouldn’t help at all.

Dean was already pissy enough and had dragged him out here for a specific reason and he kind of wanted to figure out what that was. He was curious and already felt bad for Dean being pissed.

Anyone getting any more upset would ruin the day completely and he didn’t want to be responsible for that. So of course Cas was silent. For a few moments. He was never one to stay quiet long. 

‘ ‘ How much do we have to do today? I do not want to be here long. ‘ ‘ He said. 

He didn’t like being around when either of them were upset. In all honesty he was about to leave just until they got to their destination. He didn’t want to be in the car if Dean got upset enough to somehow crash. Even if he didn’t want to.

He got a glare from the mirror. Dean only replied with a mumble that Cas couldn’t hear. He frowned a bit. He had things he could be doing in the moment. Out of all things Dean wanted to go clothes shopping? That wasn’t the Dean he knew at all. 

While he wasn’t sure why Dean wanted to do any of this, but he supposed he had to be dragged along with it. So did Sam. Even if Sam was leaving later on. They could be solving a case in the moment. Speaking of which, Cas could be back looking at that strange city. 

Of course he had to listen to the brothers bicker, which of course they had gone back to. Cas was only half listening of course. He didn’t care for the two’s bickering. They did it often. It was usual to hear.

‘ ‘ You do know how long law school takes right? How are you going to pay for a home, a car, and college at the same time? ‘ ‘ Dean asked as his hands moved to slightly mess with the wheel

‘ ‘ I don’t know, Dean, I’ll have to get a second job I guess. ‘ ‘ Sam replied 

‘ ‘ Hunting, working, and college? Are you trying to burn out? ‘ ‘ Dean let out 

‘ ‘ I can’t do this forever, Dean. ‘ ‘ 

Of course Cas only partially listened. He zoned out. Eventually they did pull into a parking lot. He slowly looked up. He was the first out when they parked. That wasn’t hard though, he didn’t necessarily need to use the door and he hadn’t been buckled. 

Sam was out second and he genuinely seemed happy to be ‘shopping’ for furniture. When Dean joined them he was clearly still upset. Though he’d get over it. He’d have to eventually. 

When the three of them got into the store Sam disappeared. Cas knew that he’d be gone for awhile. He slowly looked over at Dean. Dean glared at him for a moment and frowned. He grumbled again. 

‘ ‘ Come on. Let’s get you clothes. ‘ ‘ He let out in a mumble. 

‘ ‘ Okay. ‘ ‘ Cas said plainly.

Dean began walking. Cas followed quietly. He would quietly look around, people watching. This was not a space the two fit into well. He felt way out of place. Of course when he looked at Dean he could tell he was out of place as well. 

He knew that they’d probably be getting food after and that’s why Dean was oh so “willing” to do this. That and maybe Cas was just gross. He had been wearing the clothes since the two had met. So maybe he did need the clothes and stuff. 

Dean would glance at him from time to time. Eventually the two stopped in the ‘men’s’ section. Cas looked around in a little bit of confusion before shifting through the rack. 

‘ ‘ What sizes do you wear? ‘ ‘ Dean asked suddenly.

‘ ‘ Sizes? ‘ ‘ Cas let out as he turned to look over at him. 

His head tilted a bit. 

‘ ‘ Yeah. Sizes. The numbers on the tag of your clothes. ‘ ‘ 

Cas let out a little ‘uh’ in response. He stared at him for a moment. Dean groaned in annoyance. He pointed at a sign that read ‘restrooms’. 

‘ ‘ Go check the sizes on your tags. ‘ ‘ Dean said simply.

Cas simply nodded as he wandered over to the bathrooms. He paused. He looked between the men’s and women’s restroom for a second. Though eventually he walked into the men’s restroom. 

He was a bit confused on what Dean meant, but he paused a little as he walked inside. He looked around for a moment before deciding it’d be better if he wasn’t here. Or visible at least. With a sigh he was invisible to the human eye. 

When he was visible again he was next to Dean again. He had startled Dean, but that was normal.

‘ ‘ 42–44 and 36–38. What does that mean? ‘ ‘ He said 

Dean just nodded. Cas’ face scrunched up. He still did not understand what the numbers meant.

‘ ‘ What do the numbers mean, Dean? ‘ ‘ Cas asked again 

‘ ‘ It’s your size. ‘ ‘ Dean explained simply

Dean spent minutes picking out clothes and holding them up for Cas to look at. Cas didn’t like any of them. He wasn’t a design guy. Eventually Dean settled on getting him more dress pants and dress shirts. Though he only seemed to accept it because it meant Cas got more clothes. 

Of course he was made to try them on in the ‘dressing room’ (which he also did not grasp the concept of) to show that they actually fit. When Dean was satisfied with how many outfits Cas now had he nodded. He gestured to get Cas to follow him. Cas of course had to carry all the clothes that he had been handed. 

Slowly they made their way through the store until getting to the furniture section. Eventually they found Sam, who was still searching around for furniture. Cas looked over at him for a moment. He seemed genuinely happy to be looking around at the time, though it was becoming increasingly obvious that Dean was getting irritated and ready to leave. 

‘ ‘ Let’s hurry this up. ‘ ‘ Dean said, ‘ ‘ You’re not even going to be getting anything today anyways. ‘ ‘ 

Of course this caused another small fight between the two that Cas was not interested in. He slowly turned to act as if he hadn’t been involved. The three of them were getting stares. Luckily for them the store was practically empty at this point. 

That clearly did not stop the people from stopping in the isles to turn and stare at the fighting brothers. Cas scanned the isles of clothes, trying to pretend that he wasn’t involved. After a moment he paused and turned to them. He frowned for a moment. 

‘ ‘ I think we should leave now. ‘ ‘ Cas said plainly. 

This seemed to pull the two out of their fight.

‘ ‘ As long as we’re getting out of here. ‘ ‘ Dean said gruffly. 

Dean began walking, shoving past Cas in the process. Of course Cas followed first. Sam trailed behind, keeping his distance as they made their way to checkout. Eventually though Cas was back in the backseat of the impala and they were headed back to the bunker