The Year of Redemption

Chapter 34: Long Black Train

"What's that one?" Dean pointed to a bright star above the Big Dipper. He was still enthralled by the sky, the canyon, the stories.

"That used to be what you humans call the North Star," Cas told him. "Its name is Dundrel now. It was demoted for leading some sailors the wrong way several hundred years ago and causing all kinds of chaos on Earth. People discovered lands and named them the wrong things and made incorrect maps all through the 1400s because of that star."

"You mean, like Columbus?" Dean said in disbelief.

"That is correct. Shortly after, Polaris was named the new North Star, and Dundrel was largely forgotten."

Cas went on, talking about the other stars and their stories. Dean was captivated. He felt like he could lay there and listen forever. "It's like, there's so much more out there than this little world," he remarked after one story. "It's kind of freeing - liberating - you know? To think about everything else that's happened throughout time and that's happening right now everywhere in space. How we're such a miniscule part of that all."

Castiel looked at him. Humans had always amazed the angel with the ways they thought about things. Or maybe it was just Dean. Regardless, Cas was taken aback by Dean's comment, by the way he viewed the universe, the way he viewed himself and his planet. Cas almost wished he could show Dean the entire universe and all of its wonders. He thought about how impressed the hunter would be, how much he would appreciate every spectacle, whether large or small, whether critically important or largely superfluous. Cas smiled picturing Dean's face.

"Earth has always been one of the most significant creations in this universe, Dean. There's so much beauty right here." He looked over at the hunter, trying to convince him.

"But we're part of something so much greater, so much more infinite than we can even imagine." Dean looked at the sky in awe. His hand was still resting on top of Castiel's on the ground between them.

Cas grabbed Dean's hand and pointed it at the sky, tracing a checkerboard pattern formed by a group of stars. "See that?" he asked. "That's called The Great Unified Quilt. It's a pattern of stars that have been unified together over billions of years. It's said that The Quilt is incomplete. It has an almost endless thread at the end that is theorized to connect all the other stars, and they are just waiting to be woven into it. They're all part of the same thread, they're all connected, and they're all trying not to become too tangled as they wait to weave their way into The Quilt."

Dean was raptured. He'd never thought of the world and the universe in that way. Cas put Dean's hand back down on the ground, palm up, and he placed his own hand on top of it. It just felt right there. He didn't want it to be anywhere else.

Dean felt calmer than he had in a very long time. He curled his fingers up, linking them in between Castiel's fingers, locking their hands together. Cas wasn't sure if Dean even noticed that he was doing this, but it sent a wave of warmth through the angel's hand and up his arm. The wave finally washed over Castiel's chest and dispersed throughout his body.

Dean held Cas's hand tightly and sighed, his eyes still fixed on the sky. "Can't we just stay here forever?" he asked wistfully.

Cas turned his head towards Dean. His eyes were wide, with disbelief, with contentment, with hope, with warmth. Dean looked over at him and recognized all of these things in the angel's moonlit eyes.

Castiel glanced down at Dean's lips as they curled into a small smile. At once, he realized how close their faces were. He could feel Dean's breath, he could see every line on the hunter's face illuminated by the moonlight. The moment felt right.

Cas leaned his face a little closer and gently placed his lips on Dean's. A feeling of peace instantly coursed through Dean's body. There seemed to be a sort of electricity where their lips touched. Castiel's mouth felt soft and gentle against his. It was warm and reassuring and forgiving. It felt like it fit.