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Castiel lives in a small town.
On one side, the ocean, vast and deep and dark. Boats go out in the morning and return to dock at night, stocked with fish and crustaceans, ready to sell at the local fish market in town. On the other side, a line of mountains reaching as far as the eye can see. The ocean and mountains separate their small town from the outside world, keeping them inside, and keeping them safe.
He lives alone - save for his cat - and has for many years, but that's just the way that he likes it. His cat though, Will, is his best friend and his confidant. It might seem funny, but Will is the closest thing to family that Castiel has had for years, and is the best companion that he's ever had.
When he left high school, he moved to a different town. He wanted to be away from his family, secluded, so that he wouldn't have to deal with him anymore. There were no goodbyes, no nothing. Castiel just packed up his bags, bought a bus ticket, and left his hometown and never looked back. There was no point in it, seeing as how his uncle Zachariah wanted him out of the house anyway.
Castiel was different.
It started when his mother died. He was six years old, sleeping in his room when he felt the cool touched of hands on his cheeks, and when he opened his eyes, he saw his mother smiling down at him, her red hair brighter than what it usually was. He smiled up at her and he could hear her soft laugh, a laugh that he hadn't heard in so long. His mother was very sick the last time he saw her, and maybe he's dreaming, but she looks well - better. He went to speak but she hushed him, fingers brushing his forehead, and he settled back down to sleep.
The next morning he was told that his mother had passed away while he was asleep. But that couldn't have been true because he had seen her just last night, and she was better, she was healthy.
After that, Zachariah took Castiel to his home with his cousins where he would live until he was old enough to move out and live on his own. For many years, Castiel had kept the secret that he was able to see the ghosts of the recently deceased, speak with them and help them move on to the afterlife, and throughout those years, they were the closest things that he had to friends.
His uncle found out about it though, and as soon as Castiel was old enough, he told him that he wanted him out of his house - out of his family. So Castiel left.
He's twenty-four now, and happier than he has been in years. He took some medical classes, learned to be a mortician, and when he happened across an old funeral home in the town that he had moved to, he decided to buy it and renovate it. It's small, but it's enough; it even has an upstairs that Castiel renovated into a small apartment for him to live in.
Will came into his life a few months after he had moved into town.
It was raining - which it frequently does - when he was working inside the funeral home, arranging things and setting things about. A funeral home should look warm and welcoming, and Castiel thinks that perhaps he achieved that with the amount of things that he has sitting around. He stopped arranging a painting on the wall when he heard a soft cry from outside, turning his head toward the door. He waited a moment, thinking that maybe it was someone outside, or a spirit ready to appear before him, but when neither happened, he headed toward the door and opened.
Outside was a small black kitten curled up in front of the door, crying and shiver. Castiel's heart broke the moment that he saw it, and scooped the poor thing up into his arms and carried it inside, and upstairs into his apartment. He turned the space heater on and grabbed a towel, wrapping the kitten up and setting it near the space heater to warm up. The kitten curled up and closed its eyes, obviously content to be where it was, and it looked as though it didn't have any plans on leaving.
That night when Castiel crawled into bed, he felt something jump onto the bed with him, and was greeted with warm fur against his neck and little paws pressing against his neck.
Will hasn't slept anywhere else since then.
Since Castiel has moved to his new home, he's encountered quite a few spirits. He doesn't mind them as much as he used to, because it comes with his job, and he's happy to talk with them and help them before they pass on. It's nice to be able to help someone, whether they're alive or dead, though Castiel prefers the dead ones since people are rather difficult.
There's a funeral today.
Cas had taken his time getting things ready, dressing the body, and making everything as pristine as possible. The man had been so young and so handsome, and to be taken away so soon - it was a shame. But that's just how the world seemed to work. It stopped bothering Castiel after the first few times - he had cried the first time, but after that, he couldn't find it in himself to will up the tears anymore.
The burial took place on a hill in the cemetery on a beautiful day in spring. The preacher said a few words, there were flowers placed onto the casket before it was lowered, and the family members and friends of the deceased were, of course, upset. It's what always happened, and Castiel was used to it by now.
But one thing was different that day, and it took Castiel by surprise when someone spoke to him, trying to grab his attention.
"Lovely service, huh? You set this all up?"
Castiel turned and stopped, faltering a moment before he regained his composure and smiled.
"It was, and yes, I did."
"Well, it was awesome," the man smiled at him, and it reached his eyes, making him look much younger than the twenty (plus) years he was.
"Ah- Thank you, I appreciate that."
The man held his hand out to Castiel, waiting for him to take it, but Castiel kept his hands at his sides, looking around them a moment before turning his attention back the man in front of him.
"Oh, well.. The name's Dean."
"Castiel."
Dean Winchester was just put into the ground minutes prior, and he doesn't know that he's dead.