Chapter Text
“Goodbye, Dean.”
Thump
Another limp body falls to the floor, eyes blank and staring at him. Castiel would say that he wouldn’t want to look at his face, but it’s something he couldn’t resist the temptation to look at. Whether it is to try and feel guilt because of how wrong it is, or trying to feel accomplished and how right it’s supposed to be. Nonetheless, it’s all that has been staring at him for the past days. No. Weeks maybe? He’s not sure. He can’t help it though. Turning his gaze towards the floor, he sees the dull green eyes of a man he used to love. A man he wants to love. This one, however, feels different. For the first time, his lips start to tremble and tears start rolling down his cheeks. He dropped his blade. The loud clank startled him as it echoed in the seemingly endless room. Falling to his knees, he grabs the leather coat of his Righteous Man and pulled him close. The angel wanted to scream. The angel wanted to yell. The angel wanted to wail and apologize again and again.
He woke up.
That’s when he screamed.
Breathing heavily and eyes darting from left to right, blinking the tears threatening to spill, he tries to focus and familiarize himself with his surroundings. He notices an environment that's all too familiar, yet also alien to him. There’s soft overgrown grass of shades of yellow and green. Slowly, he placed his hand down to touch it. It’s spiky and stings little at first, but once his fingers make contact with the soil, his fingers wrap around the grass, gripping it tight, he concludes that this is, in fact, reality.
He decided to look back up and once his eyes met the sky, it looked vibrant, he couldn’t help but smile in fascination. Clouds are scattered across the endless blue, the sun was on its way down past some distant mountains still sprinkled with snow. It made him momentarily forget what he was dreaming about. Once his thoughts took over again, his eyes dimmed, and small smile turned into a sad frown. The countless bodies he murdered over and over again. They’re the same ones that he told “I love you,” to.
“I love you..”
He actually said those words. Those three little words were finally spoken out loud and directed to the green eyed freckled man; before he was taken by the Empty.
He shouldn’t be here.
Confusion takes over as he finally processes what is happening. Somehow, he’s out of the Empty. Somehow, he’s out and set free into the wilderness once again. This time, however, he has no recollection of any deal he could have made or any disturbance he might’ve caused. Stumbling back onto his feet, he analyzes his body. He’s still wearing the same trench coat and suit he was wearing that fateful day: the day his truth came out and the day he saw despair wash over Dean’s face at his confession and what that confession would result to.
He concludes that he’s unscathed and drops his hand beside his sides before scavenging around for a nearby road or any sign of civilization. He notices a series of electrical posts aligned and connected by a few black wires drooping and rising at each post.
Walking over there, he stumbles a little with each step, his balance a bit uneven as he walks towards what he thinks is a road and… a passing car. The car was long gone before he could reach it, of course. Once he reaches the post, he waits for another car to pass, hopefully to try and get to civilization.
One car is approaching.
He can hear it roaring towards him and he reaches his hand out to try and get their attention, a small glimmer of hope in his eyes as it comes closer.
They ignore him.
He drops his hand and huffs. He’s not giving up hope yet, so he waits for another car or other 4 wheeled vehicle to drive by and help him. While he waits, he looks around and takes in the greenery around him as well as the soft breeze making his hair softly fly and coat rise ever so slightly.
It’s only until he hears another roar coming from the road that he switches his focus back onto the black ribbon of tarmac and waits for the car to arrive. He waves at it as it speeds closer to him but, in the end, it doesn’t stop. Dropping his hands as he faces another loss, he concludes that it would probably be easier to walk to the nearest town so that he could at least get a little closer to civilization and get information on where he is and when he is.
Walking required a lot more effort than he thought. He’s not entirely sure why. He feels different. He’s not an angel, he doesn’t feel the grace burning inside his throat like it used to, but it doesn’t feel dry and in constant need of water like a human either. Not wanting to question himself and overthink his situation, he tries to direct his focus to his surroundings. He’ll figure out answers when he knows where and when he might be.
Castiel observes the trees of varying sizes and shades of green as some gently brush each other as they're so close while others aimlessly try to reach each other. Looking at them for a few minutes, he starts to sympathize with the trees. It’s bizarre and not something he ever did before, but something about the way the branches seemed to extend like limbs and fingers to reach its partner, but being stuck in two different patches of greenery made it impossible.
Exhaling and exhausted sigh, Castiel decides to look up to see what he could come across. To his disbelief, he sees what looks like a small town further up ahead. A small smile tugged at his lips and a new burst of energy erupted in him and quickened his pace towards the town
Town name: Marfa, Texas.
~~~~~~~~~~
When he arrived, the sun had practically gone down by that time. He breathed heavily once he reached the town. If his emotions weren’t dulled down, by what he’s assuming is his remaining grace, he would most likely be shedding tears of joy at the feeling of concrete under his feet, colorful buildings aligned neatly and lampposts scattered above the tarmac where a few cars rolled around.
Strolling down the sidewalk, he scavenges for something, anything, to find out how to get to the people he knows- his family. That is… if they’re still alive.
He finds a stack of newspaper and looks at the front cover: September 13th 2026
2026, Castiel thinks to himself. That’s almost 6 years after I left, after I… confessed. Oh no. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Castiel was never supposed to come back. He wasn’t supposed to deal with the consequences or deal with Dean’s response. He wouldn’t know what would be more painful: Dean rejecting him, or Dean saying out loud that he loves him too, making Cas feel immense guilt for abandoning the man he saved. The man he loved- still loves.
He puts the paper back down and continues down the road. He’s thinking. He’s thinking about whether or not it is a good idea to call Dean, or Sam, or maybe even Claire or Jody to tell them that he’s back and that he’s okay. However, he decides against it. They’ve probably moved on already. It’s the hunter life after all, you can’t really get close to anyone because death will hit you hard and will be the cause of your own death.
Besides, Dean probably has a loving woman with him since he always was a ladies man so there’s no doubt he’s probably growing grey with another woman. He wouldn’t want to ruin the relationship they’ve been building.
Maybe he’ll talk to them one day, but for now, it’s best that he stays off the radar. In the meantime, he has to find someplace to stay inside for the night.
Castiel spots a motel a few feet down the street and decides to head towards it for rest. He found it bizarre- needing rest- it felt very human.
As he passes a dark, narrow alleyway, he notices dark figures lurking in the shadows, as well as grunts and thuds, as well as hissing?
Instincts kicked in and Castiel starts to sneak into the alleyway, the commotion becoming louder the deeper he walked into the narrow alleyway.
The path led into a wider opening where he hid behind the wall. The noise was clearly and obviously coming from there. Cautiously, he tried to take a look at what was going on and what he saw made his angelic warrior and protector instincts rise and kick in.
There were two men and a woman. They were clearly adults and they were all bloody and appeared hungry. Starved even. They were all fighting this much younger, petite girl. She too, was bloody, but not all of it was her blood, but she looked exhausted. The three adults growled and hissed at her as she was slowly winning the battle. They were vampires. He saw their teeth, their sharp ragged teeth protruding in front of their normal theeth.
As he let his glimmering silver angel blade slip out of his sleeve, he approached the vampires swiftly, face stern and threw the blade onto the vampire closest to the young girl. The blade hit the vampire straight in the heart. The vampire eyed the blade, mouth open for so long it could catch flies, but then his eyes looked back at Castiel, then at the blade, then back at Castiel before muttering:
“Damnit…”
He fell heavily on the ground, barely touching the girl. The other two vampires, shaking from fear at this stranger who appeared out of nowhere, stood as still as they could, both unsure of what to do.
Castiel approached the small fight zone and stood in front of the girl, guarding her.
“Leave the humans alone, or else you’ll end up like your friend here,” he gestured to the corpse, his voice deep and menacing
The woman gulped and opened her mouth to say something, but only a yelp came out of her lips as she was dragged by the man that grabbed her hand and bolted out of this almost forgotten thieves’ playground.
The young girl looked at Castiel.
He turned to his face to see her.
Her eyes were wide and blue, a blue similar to his, but a little bit more grey. She was on the ground, her legs shaky and heart racing from that near death experience. Her hair was a mix between chestnut and dirty blonde. It was curly and reached just below her shoulders.
“Are you alright?” He asked. Kneeling down in front of her, having one knee touch the dirty cement and having his trench coat displayed on the floor like a graceful peacocks tail.
Their eyes met.
For a reason she could not explain, those eyes looked very comforting and familiar. Despite their coldness, they seem to radiate a type of warmth from deep within.
“Y-yeah. I’m alright,” she started, voice dry, maintaining eye contact,” I’m just a little shaky.”
“Of course. You’re not too badly injured are you?” He asked, breaking the eye contact to examine her arms and face. His arms were reluctant to touch her but she easily complied and let him pull up her sleeves to check.
“No. Just a few bruises and minor cuts. Nothing too serious,” she explained to Castiel as he pulled back her jacket sleeve at her answer.
Castiel stood to reach the corpse where the angel blade was buried in his chest. He pulled it out and it made a squelching noise that made both of them cringe slightly; but the young girl had her curious eyes transfixed on his demeanor.
He stood up straight and tall, despite not looking much over six feet. His face was serious and rigid. His movements were off, like a stone statue learning how to move fluidly to blend in with its surroundings. She wasn’t sure how old he was but his comforting, seemingly all-knowing eyes suggested that he was an old soul. She couldn’t help herself but ask:
“Who are you?”
Castiel froze for a second, pondering almost as if he had forgotten his own name, but of course he didn’t. Angels don’t forget. His eyes glanced over at the girl, who was still sitting on the ground, though she seemed a lot more relaxed now in his presence.
“Jimmy,” Castiel finally answered,” Jimmy Kline.”
Castiel didn’t want to lie. His first instcint was to respond truthfully, but in light of recent events, if she is a hunter, she might know his old friends and now isn’t the time to deal with so many people simultaneously.
“Are you a hunter?” She asked.
“Depends. What kind are you referring to?” He answered as he hid his blade in his belt rather than in his pocket to avoid her figuring out who or what he is.
“You know what kind I mean. Those people- things- you just scared away, they were-”
“Vampires. Yes, I know.”
The girl finally stood up, brushing a few strands that got in her face and brushed her butt to get rid of whatever dirt and pebbles she could. She assessed the condition of her clothes but apart from a few mild rips here and there- which she could easily stitch up- there was no major damage.
Once she looked up, she saw the trench coated man- Jimmy- start to walk away from her and back into the streets.
“Hey! Wait!” She called out to him as she started running towards him, blocking his way,” Where are you going?”
“There’s some place I need to be,” Castiel lied. In truth, he didn’t want to deal with any hunters whether he knew them or not. It’s dangerous business he doesn’t want to meddle with and he simply isn’t ready for it. So he took another step forward
“Well, let me buy you dinner first! Please? As a thank you?” She asked as she extended her arms in front of him, rendering him unable to move forward anymore.
He looked into her eyes and there seemed to be a sense of loss and seeking comfort. He examined her one last time: she didn’t look any older than 18 or maybe 19, her hair was brown messy and if you looked close enough, you could see light freckles splattered on her cheeks.
He sighed.
“Sure.”
The girl smiled bright and her eyes glimmered in hope and joy.
“Thank you! I’m Grace, by the way. It’s a pleasure to meet you Jimmy,” she held out her hand.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Grace,” he shook her hand.
~~~~~~~~~~
“So you’ve traveled to how many countries?” Grace asked as she mixed her ketchup and mayonnaise together, creating a salmon pink mixture with her fries that she then chucked in her mouth.
“A little over 56,” he replied, a bottle of cheap beer in hand. He wasn’t really lying on the amounts of countries he’s visited. In reality, he’s been to over 156 but 56 is close enough.
“And out of all of them, which one is your favorite?” She asked curiously.
“Hmmm, let me think,” he took a swig of the beer,” it’s hard to tell since I all enjoyed them for different reasons. For example, I really find the architecture in countries such as Italy, France and Spain to be really fascinating, but I also love China and Japan’s history as well as India’s and Arabic countries’ culture.“
“What about the food then? Which country has the best food?”
“I’m not too much of a food person. I don’t eat much,” he answered truthfully, tapping his nail on the metal bottle.
“Yeah, I can tell. You only ordered a plate of steamed vegetables,” she smiled with an eyebrow raised.
Jimmy chuckled,” I guess if you’re that intrigued, I guess hummus is not too bad.”
“Hummus? I never tried it,” she confessed.
“Maybe you should get some one day and try it out.”
“Yeah, maybe,” she said as she picked up her burger and stuffed it in her mouth, trying her best to not chew loudly. Jimmy did the same and put a forkful of vegetables in his mouth.
Once she was done, she asked again,” Tell me, is Paris really as romantic as people make it out to be?”
“I’m not sure, I haven’t been there in a while but I guess it did build itself on that premise.”
“And what does a great international explorer like you does down here in the middle of nowhere?”
“I guess you call it a break from hunting,” Jimmy confessed slowly.
“Damn. Dude, that’s awesome you got to travel to all of these places. I’ve always wanted to fly on a plane,” she asked after biting another piece off of the burger.
“Well, why don’t you? Jimmy asked, head tilted curiously.
“My dad,” Grace answered, lazily dipping another fry in her mixture,” he hates planes. Never trusted these damn metal birds.”
“I guess that’s understandable. As a hunter, I’m guessing you don’t have many friends either who would like to travel?” Jimmy asked.
“No, not really. Hunting life is tough. Although it did get a lot better thanks to my uncle,” she smiled at the memory.
“Tell me, how old are you? You seem young to be a hunter?” He asked while playing with his food.
“And you seem a little too old to be a hunter, my guy,” she smirked, popping another fry in her mouth and giving a toothy grin.
“Touché,” Jimmy chuckled.
“I’m almost 19, and I don’t hunt often. My dad makes sure of it. He says it’s not a line of work I should get myself into,” she explained, looking slightly disappointed,” I actually haven’t hunted in a few months, or maybe a year? I’m not sure, time passes by too quickly for my liking.”
“Yes, I haven’t hunted in 6 years, yet it only feels like a few days, maybe weeks since I’ve been gone. But your father is right. Hunting isn’t a business you want to get involved in. If you have the chance to escape it, you better do it before it’s too late. Some people never get the chance to live a normal life.”
“Yeah, well with my dad gone, I consider myself allowed to hunt for a little while,” she smiled, though it fell quite quickly and her eyes seemed to have dulled and lose its glimmer.
Castiel- Jimmy- couldn’t help but ask,” Where… is your father?” He asked slowly, almost hesitantly
There was a pause as Grace looked away for a moment to her left then to her right before facing the trench coat wearing man and replied,” I don’t know.”
“You… don’t know?” He asked, a sudden burst of concern washed over him.
“No, I don’t. He went on what I’m assuming is a hunting trip and he hasn’t been in touch with me for a while and I’m starting to worry,” she confessed.
“I’m guessing that that’s why you’re here?” Jimmy asked.
“Yes, that’s where his last known location was. I’ve been looking for him for a week now,” she finishes her burger.
“Is there anyway I can be of assistance?” He asked.
“N-no. To be honest, I just met you and hunters aren’t really trusty- trusty with each other. You should know better than I do,” she explained,” besides, my dad is someone that kinda has a bad reputation. If I tell you who he is, you’d probably walk away and never speak to me again.”
“Is he a good father for you?”
“The best.”
“Then you don’t have to tell me his name. If he’s a good man. Let me help you find him,” He smiled.
Grace gave an honest smile and the light in her eyes seemed to shine brighter than before as relief and joy settled in her heart. Castiel could feel it. She has a good soul with good intentions. He wants to help her. He wants to do his job he’s always been tasked to do ever since he’s been created:
Protection.
“Well, if you’re done, I think it’s best for us to head off and hit the hay,” she smiled while stretching her arms,” We have a long road ahead of us tomorrow. You have a place to stay?”
“I- No. No, I don’t and I don’t think I have any money either,” Jimmy said as he patted his pockets.
Grace grabbed her wallet from an inside pocket of her jacket and flipped through the few credit cards she has in there. She picks one out and flicks it towards Jimmy.
“Use this one to book yourself a room close to mine to stay the night. Trust me, you’ll need to the rest,” Grace smiled as she shoved her wallet back in her jacket.
“Thank you. You’re very kind,” Jimmy smiled, storing the card in a pocket.
“No, Jimmy. Thank you.”