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For countless eons he had been keeping watch over the earth. He watched as kingdoms rose and fell, then rose again with new power and might. He saw lovers come together, then draw apart. He saw lovers grow old together. He saw hatred, love, malice, forgiveness, greed, charity, envy, contentment, wars, wars to end wars, times of peace, times of famine, the list could go on forever. But never in all those thousands of years had he seen love like the love he saw between the brothers, soulmates, that were his new charges.
They tore the world apart, then put it back together again, and they did it all for each other. Castiel had no illusions that they would not both let the world burn if that's what it took for one to save the other.
The brilliance of two perfectly mated souls was almost too bright for him to behold. Whenever he was with them, he spent hours afterward trying to blink the afterglow out of his vision.
The first time he appeared in the middle of their lovemaking was rather memorable. The bright lights of their souls were pulsing and glowing, shooting out tendrils of light across the entire room. They awkwardly drew apart. Embarrassed, but unapologetic. Fingers entwined as they glared at him, heads held high.
He smiled softly and showed them what he saw when they were together. They looked at him, stunned, perhaps with even a few tears in their eyes. "Thank you." They said. "You're welcome." He replied. Bowing his head reverently to them before taking his leave.
He watched as his siblings tried to tear them apart. They almost succeeded, would have had it been anyone but those two. They regrouped for another attack, and Castiel knew he could not stand by this time. He stood between the army of heaven and the Winchesters.
He fought bravely to the end, and, as the knife that would end his life descended toward his chest, his last thought was if any humans were ever worth dying for, it was these men. Then there was white-hot pain, and a bright light, and Castiel, defender of the humans, knew no more.
{Inspired by this artwork}
