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It had started with a hunt.
To be fair, most things in Dean’s life started with a hunt. Most things ended in a hunt as well. Usually, the thing ending is the monster, but sometimes it’s his patience for other people.
But this is not about the idiots in the world that refuse to listen to Dean and then get killed. This is about Castiel.
Castiel is hard to explain. He’s like if Sam and a robot had a child and was an angel. So in other words, frighteningly intelligent, but so emotionally stupid. Then again, that could easily define Sam just as well as it could define Dean. As long as you ignored the first part of the definition.
But, Castiel. Dean had met him on a hunt. It was a regular, kill the vampire that decided to slaughter a family. Then it rapidly became an irregular hunt with the appearance of an angel and discussion of the apocalypse.
The hunt had ended pretty quickly, but all Dean could focus on was the being proclaiming to be an angel and being sent to aid Dean.
Or something. Dean wasn’t really keeping track.
But safe to say that this is where it started. A hunt.
Ellen watched Dean walk into the bar. He certainly seemed chipper.
“What’s got you on cloud nine?” Ellen asked as Dean took a seat at the bar.
Dean flapped a hand. “Don’t worry about it.”
Ellen gave him a look. “I’m immediately worrying about it. You Winchesters don’t know what you’re doing.”
Dean pulled a face. “Don’t lump me in with Dad.”
Ellen, seeing that Dean wouldn’t be budging, cursed Winchester stubbornness, switched topics, “How’s he doing?”
Dean blinked at her, accepting the glass Jo slid across the bar. “Thanks, Jo!” He raised the glass of beer in toast as Jo wandered off to serve another customer.
“That’s not on the house,” Ellen quickly said, familiar with Dean’s tendency to claim so.
“Well, blow me down and call me Grandpa Spokes, I thought it was.”
“What?” Ellen blinked at Dean. What the actual fuck did he just say.
“What?” Dean returned like he didn’t spout off some random bullshit.
Ellen rolled her eyes. “How is the old man doing?” she asked, returning to her original question.
Dean shrugged. “Fine? I dunno. Haven’t heard from him in a while. We split off a year or so ago.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me this last time you were here?” Ellen asked, arching an eyebrow.
Dean took a sip of his beer. “Nope,” he said, popping the p obnoxiously.
Ellen rolled her eyes. “Right. Why’d you split?”
Dean shrugged again. “Felt like it.”
Ellen narrowed her eyes. He wasn’t telling her everything. “Right…”
After a moment’s pause, “So you’re hunting alone?” Jo asked.
Dean cursed, almost spilling his beer. “Jesus Christ, Jo. Announce your presence or something.”
“What a great hunter you are,” Jo mocked.
“I’m a very good hunter,” Dean retorted.
“I’m sure you are,” Jo said, raising her hands in a mock calming gesture.
Dean rolled his eyes but turned to Ellen. “No, I am not hunting alone.”
Ellen shared a glance with her daughter. “Really? Then who’s hunting with you?” Jo asked.
“Cas.”
“Cass?”
“Cas.”
“Cass?”
As Dean went top open his mouth again, Ellen interrupted, “Enough of that. Who’s Cass?”
“Not Cass. Cas.”
“You literally just said the same thing twice,” Jo pointed out.
“C-a-s,” Dean spelled out. “There’s only one s. I could hear you misspelling it.”
Ellen sighed. This is why she liked to keep her interactions with Winchesters short. Especially Dean. She felt like she was losing the ability to think whilst talking to him. “Right. So who’s Cas then?”
“My hunting partner,” Dean replied, his lips twitching.
Ellen let out a frustrated sigh as Jo laughed.
“Any further information?” Ellen tried.
Dean paused, gulping down the rest of his beer. He fished out his wallet from his pocket. As he went looking for bills, he said, “He’s a dude. He’s a hunter. And he’s my partner.”
Dean threw the bills on the countertop. “I need to see Ash.”
With that, Dean vanished amongst the people at the bar in search of Ash.
Ellen grabbed the bills and shoved them into till. “What an annoying boy.”
Jo laughed at her as she moved to serve tables. “What did you expect?”
Ellen sighed. “What did I expect?” she muttered to herself.
Bobby blinked at the knock on his door. He slowly stood up, grabbing his shotgun. He took a look out the window and couldn’t see anyone.
More furious pounding. “Hurry the fuck up, Bobby!”
Bobby relaxed marginally. That sounded like Dean.
“Perhaps he is asleep,” came another voice. Male. Not John’s. Not Sam’s.
“Fat chance of that,” Dean said. Bobby could hear the snort through the door. “Hurry up! I’m dying of old age out here!”
“You are not,” the voice replied. “You are still in your prime. You are not dying of old age yet.”
“Thanks dude,” Dean’s voice was as dry as sandpaper. “It’s an expression. Although it won’t be if Bobby keeps taking forever!” His voice rose at the end of the sentence so Dean was shouting again.
Bobby grunted and opened the door, cocking the shotgun at the two men on the other side. One was unmistakably Dean and plaid shirts. The other was a guy in a brown trench coat, blue tie, and white shirt.
“And who’s this?” Bobby asked, gesturing with the gun at the stranger.
“This is Cas,” Dean introduced.
Bobby arched an eyebrow. “Is that short for something?”
“Castiel,” the newly named man said. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Bobby Singer.”
Bobby lowered the shotgun. “What are you two doing out here?” he asked as he stepped aside, letting them in.
“We were driving through the state and I felt like dropping by. Show you my new partner.”
“Ellen mentioned that,” Bobby said as they made their way to the kitchen. “There’s beer in the fridge.”
“Thanks,” Dean replied, opening the fridge and grabbing a beer. “And why am I not surprised that Ellen mention him.”
“You wouldn’t say anything,” Bobby said as he sat down, groaning, accepting the beer Dean got for him. As Dean sat down, cracking the beer open, he continued, “Of course she rang me. She wanted to know if I knew anything. And now I do I guess.”
Bobby cast a look at the man. “Castiel, was it?”
Castiel inclined his head slightly.
“How did you two meet? Actually, why did I have to hear from Ellen that you and John aren’t talking?” Bobby directed that last question at Dean.
“Because I hardly thought it was relevant,” Dean said shrugging. “We met on a hunt. I ganked a vampire and met him.”
“I believe I killed the vampire,” Castiel pointed out.
“Details,” Dean said, brushing him off.
Castiel frowned. “It’s the whole sentence.”
Dean sighed, but looked immeasurably fond. “It’s a saying, dude.”
“Oh,” was all Castiel said. “What does it mean?”
Bobby watched as Dean struggled to explain what it meant. As he watched the two continue to go back and forth, the puzzle pieces started clicking.
“How long ago did you meet?” Bobby asked. “You did all the tests, boy?”
Dean frowned at Bobby. Bobby couldn’t tell if it was from interrupting their flirting/argument or at the questions. “Of course I did all the tests. Holy water, silver, everything. He’s clean.”
“Right,” Bobby said. Not that he doubted Dean. He was sure that Castiel was clean. He just couldn’t help but wonder if it was the threat of a mortal variety. “So, when did you meet?”
“Just over a year ago,” Castiel replied. “When I killed the vampire.”
Bobby hummed, the last puzzle piece clicking into place.
Bobby talked to them for a few hours, discussing various hunts and tactics and how people were doing. He got the nagging feeling that the two of them were hiding something, but if Dean wasn’t going to mention it, he wouldn’t find out, especially if he asked.
The two ended up staying the night and Bobby saw them off in the early hours of morning as they headed west.
As soon as the Impala was out of sight, Bobby dialled up Ellen.
“What is it?” Ellen asked.
“So,” Bobby said. “Just met Dean and his new partner.”
“Did you?” Bobby could tell he had gotten her undivided attention with that. “What was he like?”
“Well,” Bobby said. “They met just over a year ago. And I dare say that there is more going on in terms of the word partner in that relationship.”
It was silent for a moment. “You think they’re together?”
“I do. Certainly seemed that way. It’d explain why Dean ditched John.”
Ellen made a humming noise. “I see.”
“His name’s Castiel,” Bobby said.
“Can’t say I’ve heard the name,” Ellen said. “I’ll ask around and see if anyone has heard of him before.”
“He’s not a demon,” Bobby said. “That much I know. I put holy water in their coffee this morning. And the mug was lined with silver as well, so that rules many a monster out.”
He could almost hear the exasperate eye roll over the phone line. “Of course you did. Anyway, I better get going.”
“Catch you later,” Bobby said, hanging up as she replied in kind.
Perhaps he should do his own research into what Dean has been doing over the last year and who Castiel might be.
Sam groaned as he sat up. There was thumping at the door. He blinked blearily and saw Jessica was also waking up.
“Who’s knocking on the door this early in the morning?” Jess asked.
Sam looked over at the clock. It displayed a time of 6:03am.
Sam groaned and swung himself out of bed. “I would hardly call it knocking,” he muttered as he made his way to the door.
As he carefully made his way to the door, Jess also got out of bed, following Sam.
“Who is it?” Sam asked through the door, hand resting on the handle. The door was locked so they shouldn’t be coming through without a fight.
“Open up the door, Sammy!” was the response.
Sam blinked. “Dean?”
The door rattled. “Yeah. Now hurry up and open the door, bitch.”
Sam carefully unlocked the door and opened it, preparing for an attack.
He saw Dean. He hadn’t changed one bit since they parted. What was new was the person next to him. “Castiel?” Sam guessed.
“That is my name,” the man replied, giving a slight bow. “It is an honour to meet Dean’s brother.”
Dean snorted. “You’ve been gossiping, have you?”
Sam stepped aside to let them in. They crossed over the salt line with no issues. “Both Ellen and Bobby rung me to ask who Castiel was and why you weren’t speaking to Dad.”
“Of course they did,” Dean said, scoffing slightly.
“This is your brother?” Jess asked, watching them.
“That I am,” Dean replied, stepping forward, holding out a hand. “And you must be the unfortunate soul that has to deal with Sammy.”
“Jessica,” Jess said, shaking Dean’s hand.
“Dean Winchester as your service,” Dean replied. They dropped hands. “This is Castiel. My partner.”
To anyone else it sounded like Dean was introducing Castiel as a boyfriend. But Sam couldn’t tell if he meant it romantically or in terms of hunting.
“It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Jessica,” Castiel said.
“Why are you here at fuck o’clock in the morning?” Sam asked.
“It’s already six, Sammy,” Dean replied as he moved to sit down at the kitchen island. “That’s hardly fuck o’clock.”
“It is when I don’t have class til three in the afternoon.”
“Then you can make good use of the morning,” Dean said as he sat down, leaning on an elbow on the island. Castiel moved to stand next to him.
Sam watched them for a moment, exchanging a glance with Jess. “Right. So why are you here?”
“Can’t I visit my little brother?” Dean asked, glancing at Jessica.
Sam caught his drift. “I’m not joining you or Dad again.”
Dean raised his hands. “I wasn’t going to ask you to. I’m here on my own accord. I don’t even know where Dad is.”
Sam rolled his eyes. “Fine. What do you want, then?”
Dean cast a look at Jessica and then titled his head to look at Castiel. Castiel shrugged.
“Alright. Fine,” Dean said. “The Yellow-Eyed Demon has been killed.”
As Sam stared in shock, he heard Jess ask, “Yellow-Eyed Demon?”
“Your call, Sammy,” Dean said, staring at him.
Sam blinked out of the shock. He had thought about it before. Whether to bring Jess into his life or not.
“Secrets have no place in a relationship,” Castiel said gravely.
As Sam ran through it in his mind, Jess asked, “Are you guys in a gang or something?”
Dean laughed. “No.”
“We are not,” Sam said before Dean could elaborate. “Demons are real things. As are many of the other things that go bump in the night.”
“And the things that go bump in the day,” Dean said, casting a glance at Castiel.
“I do not go bump in the day,” Castiel said, frowning.
“You sure about that?” Dean asked. “I’ve seen you run into many things.”
“Hold hold hold,” Jess said, raising her hands in the air. “You’re expecting me to believe that demons and whatever else are real?”
“Along with angels, vampires, ghosts, werewolves, God, and other pagan gods, and whatever else you can think of, yes,” Dean said. “And a lot of things you can’t.”
“God?” Jess asked. “Angels?”
“Angels aren’t real,” Sam said, intervening.
Castiel coughed into his fist.
Dean snickered. “Angels are real. I’ve met them. Why do you think that if demons exist, angels don’t?”
Sam pinched his brow. “Fine angels are real. Whatever.”
“And God?” Jess asked.
“Also real,” Castiel said. “He’s just not in Heaven anymore.”
Dean snickered. “Slumming it down here with the humans.”
Jess blinked. “What?”
Before Dean could say anything, Sam interrupted again, resolving to ignore Dean for now, “Monsters are real. We hunt them. Or at least I used to before I quit.”
“So you’re… hunters?” Jess asked.
“Right on the money,” Dean said, shooting finger guns at her. “We,” he said, gesturing at himself and Castiel, “hunt down all the things that decide to make human its next meal. Sammy’s retired now.”
“Right…” Jess said, rubbing at her eyes. “It’s too early for this. Are you sure you aren’t just nutters?”
Dean smirked. “We can do proof.”
“How?” Sam asked harshly. “I’m not joining you on a hunt and she sure as hell isn’t.”
“There are two options,” Dean said, ignoring Sam. “One is Hell and the other is Heaven.”
“Heaven? Hell?” Sam asked.
“Either the angel route or the demon route.”
“Angel route,” Jessica said forcefully.
Sam sighed. “Angels aren’t real, Dean.”
Dean flapped a hand at him. He looked up at Castiel.
“Do your thing, Cas.”
Sam frowned as Castiel stepped away from Dean.
The room, already dim with the early morning sun, seemed to be flooded with a mysterious light. On the wall behind Castiel spread shadows of wings.
In a deep voice, Castiel spoke, “I am an Angel of the Lord. I am Castiel, the Angel of Thursday.”
Power echoed throughout the words, resonating deep inside of Sam.
The shadows faded and the room returned to normal.
“What?” Sam managed to push out.
“You wanted your proof, there it is. Castiel, an angel of the Lord.”
“So it’s real?” Jess asked, her voice weak.
“As real as real can get babes,” Dean said.
“How did you hook up with an angel?” Sam blurted out.
Dean snorted. “Hear that Cas?”
“I do hear that,” Castiel said.
“I told Bobby. Vampire hunting.”
“And that was true?” Sam asked.
“Yep,” Dean replied.
“So angels are real?” Jess asked.
“Apparently,” Sam said. He looked over at her. She looked pale. “Are you alright?”
“I might need to sit down.”
Dean stood up and slid the chair across the floor, the chair screeching as it slid across the hardwood floor.
Jess sat down heavily.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked Sam.
“Because I wanted nothing to do with the life,” Sam said, moving closer to her. “I had been raised in that life and I wanted nothing to do with it anymore.”
“And now you’re getting back into it?” Jess said.
“No,” Dean said. Sam looked at his brother. “Sam can continue to stay here in law school with his new girlfriend. Cas and I will take care of it. I merely came here to tell Sam he has nothing to fear from the Yellow-Eyed Demon anymore.”
“You killed it,” Sam recalled. “How? Have you told Dad?”
“A gun, and no I haven’t and I don’t care enough to do so.”
“Why not?” Sam asked, confused. “He’s been hunting that thing for ages.”
“Then he can continue to hunt it,” Dean replied. “Cas and I have bigger concerns to worry about.”
“Like what?” Sam asked.
Dean waggled a finger at Sam. Sam pulled a face. “You don’t get to know unless you join back with us and that’s not happening,” Dean said.
Dean patted Cas’ chest. “We shall get going. It was nice to see you again, Sam.”
Castiel laid a hand on Dean’s shoulder. “You can’t just-”
He was cut off by them vanishing into thin air.
Sam threw his hands up in exasperation.
“Sam,” Jess said. Sam turned to face her. With Dean gone, he couldn’t help but feel awkward and frankly, a bit terrible.
“You better start talking, Sam.”
A hunt. That’s where it ended. In the loosest definition of the word.
Dean and Castiel had emerged victorious. The apocalypse, well, apocalypses really, had been averted.
The only thing that had been lost was Cas’ grace. Not that Cas cared, able to live out a normal human life now.
But this would be their last hunt before they retired. Neither Dean nor Cas wanted anything to do with hunting. They had done their part.
As they walked away from the vampire nest, heading towards the Impala, Dean couldn’t help but wonder at how he’d gotten here. As he drove them to their new house, he cast a look at Cas.
Cas had given him a life and a new beginning. Now they were ending one chapter of their lives.
“Hey, Cas.”
Cas hummed. “Yes, Dean?”
Dean gripped the steering wheel. “Do you think we should do anything?”
Cas read between the lines. “Why must we? Tomorrow is tomorrow just as the day after will be. It will merely be a different tomorrow every day.”
“Just another day at the office,” Dean translated, focusing back on the road, eager to get home. “Alright.”
And so it ends with a hunt.