Blue Eyes

Chapter 18: Collide

10 Years Later

Dean finished unpacking the last box, place the picture of him and his mom on the fireplace. If you have told 17-year-old Dean that he would escape the hunting life, he would have never believed you. He couldn't say he missed it; the lurking danger wherever you went, the endless possibilities of death, the monsters. Though he did like the saving people part. That never changed.

After those few months of high school, after Cas, they hunted for another year. Sam was distant again, only speaking when spoken to. He missed his friends, the normal life. And Dean? Dean missed Cas. Even though he banned himself for thinking about those almost electric blue eyes, no avail. It still hurts whenever he thinks of him. Especially how he left him; hurt and broken. Exactly how Dean felt while watching the high school disappear in the front view mirror, driving to another place with a new danger.

Bobby, the lifesaver, called one day. John was drunk, which wasn't new, Sam and Dean were kind of used to it by know. They sat together in silence on their shared motel bed, listening to John and Bobby screaming at each other. John had hung up and packed their bags in a tense silence. He ordered the boys to get in the car. They didn't call John out on his drunk driving, how he shouldn't be doing this in his state, how it's too dangerous and they could possibly die in a car crash.

Luckily they made it safely to Bobby's house. It was a big terrain, parts of cars spread across the yard. Bobby was already standing on the front porch, waving at Sam and Dean. They got out, the smell of motor oil and plain heat filling their noses. Sam ran towards Bobby, Dean following after at a walking pace. They expected John to follow behind, not to throw Dean the car keys and get into a different car, already parked close by. It took Dean a few seconds to realize that his dad was leaving them.

Bobby was a great man, he took Dean to the park, playing catch instead of gun practice. He would have been an amazing dad. He often was like that for him and his brother anyways. When they were just a burden to John, too young to come with him on the hunt, he would often drop them at Bobby's place. They would have a great time together, Bobby teaching him how to fix cars, reading lore with Sammy.

This wouldn't be an awful place to grow up, as a matter of fact probably healthier than their normal lives, especially for Sam. But John is still his father, and Dean still loves him even though he had done so many things wrong.

Dean didn't object when John took his stuff out of the trunk of the Impala, Dean didn't make a sound when John got into the other car, Dean just placed a hand on Sam's shoulder in reassurance even if he didn't know what was going on.

"You boys are stayin' with me for a while," Bobby grunted as he lifted the bags of both Dean and Sam. They followed Bobby into his house, the comforting feeling of a familiar place settling warmly in their chests.

Bobby pushed Dean to go back to school, finish his senior year and go to college. Sam was delighted to go back to school, he loved that place, but not Dean. He saw Cas everywhere, in the hallways, sitting next to him on the bleachers when the sun was shining. He even felt the faintest touch of soft lips pecking his sometimes, or a warm hand holding his own.

It took him awhile, but he managed to live without him. Sure, his heart still skipped a beat when his phone rang, or butterflies arising when he saw someone with eyes that held quite the resemblance to Cas's. In the end, he had to remind himself that it was better this way. He, the broken ex-hunter, would never be enough.

Sam eventually encouraged him to finish school and taking classes at college. Dean took engineering as course and studied hard for the next ... years. He got his degree and set up his own garage in a quiet town close to Bobby's home.

Of course, Sam graduated cum laude in high school and went off to Harvard, fulfilling his long- time dream to study law. Bobby and Dean couldn't be prouder when they dropped him off at the campus. It was a full day traveling to get to the university, but the curious and excited glimmer in Sam's eyes made it all worth it.

Dean got his life back on the rails. He didn't think about Cas as often anymore. Dean finally managed to mend his broken heart.

The same could be said about Cas.

After Dean left, his world kind of collapsed. He often forgot to eat, spends endless nights thinking about him without sleeping for one minute. His homework started to pile up and his friends had enough. They had to pull Cas out of the gutter.

Cas saw that what he was doing, was very wrong. He shouldn't do this to himself, not over some guy that broke his heart. He was stronger than this.

With this motivation in mind, he coursed through his homework, finishing everything before the deadlines. He worked hard, his nights now spend with books instead of tears. He began to smile again, a real smile, not the fake one he had put on his face for those days of pain. The bags underneath his eyes disappeared and he wasn't purely living on caffeine anymore. Everything was right again.

He graduated with all of his friends, including throwing his hat into the air and taking pictures with everyone he had to leave behind. His friends promised him to call him as much as they could, and they never broke that promise.

Cas started college and got a degree in English Literature, starting a teaching career at the local high school in a quiet town he now called home. After graduating from college, Cas wanted to leave the bigger town and settle for a smaller, peaceful one.

Well, it was peaceful. Until that one day he ran out of eggs during his dinner making and had to run to the supermarket.

It was cliché, really. They both reached for the last egg carton, holding it until the other let go. Castiel turned around to argue about how he really needed those eggs, but his jaw hung slack instead as his eyes fell on the stranger.

It was in fact, without a doubt, Dean Winchester.

Cas wanted to run and never look back, but he was frozen in his place. Dean had grown older, his hair shorter and his body more muscular. But he could recognize those eyes anywhere. They were the same emerald green that showed his love for Cas before he told him, the same eyes that stared at Cas fondly when Cas was a blushing because of Dean, it was those eyes that stared at him after making out with Lisa Braeden.

Upon that memory, Cas unfroze and thrusted the eggs into Dean's hands, storming out of the supermarket. He didn't need those stupid eggs anyway.

This town should've helped him forget Dean. A new environment, new people, that would be good for him he thought. But no, his past was going to haunt him everywhere.

Cas was having none of it, Dean cheated on him and left without explanation. He didn't need him in his life, he was poison. That's what Cas's reaction should have been. However, the butterflies flying around in his stomach betrayed him, yet again.