A Dark Path

Untitled Part 3

It was a strange feeling walking up to the bunker again, preparing himself to knock on the door to acknowledge his presence. Once upon a time, he would have just appeared, not bothering with the niceties of human behavior. Now, however, he was forced to. 

"Cas," Sam opened the door with a wide smile. "Good to see you. Come on in. Are you hungry?"

The angel narrowed his eyes. "I am an angel again," he seemed to have to remind the younger Winchester. "I do not require food."

Sam blushed at his blunder. "Right. Sorry. Come in." He stepped aside to let Cas walk through the door. 

The bunker seemed quiet. It was orderly and clean, which Cas suspected was Dean's doing. As macho as Dean acted, he was a domestic soul, and caring for the place he called home would be second nature to him. It also seemed peaceful, which was unusual for any place the Winchesters resided. Usually there was a tension in the area that could easily be felt the second another individual intruded. That tension was understandable, since the boys had so much on their plate from day to day. Hunting things, saving people, it took a lot of them, and it was acceptable that it would show in their daily lives.

On the days that there wasn't any tension, the days in which the brothers seemed to have caught some sort of brief break, Dean always found something to entertain himself that kept the brothers from experiencing anything closely relating to peace. He would be playing his Old Time Rock and Roll much too loud. He'd be drinking way past the appropriate amount, and his behavior would reflect that. He'd be playing pranks on his younger brother to try and get a rise from the other. Or something. Dean Winchester was not one known for being quiet and peaceful.

So that fact that quiet and peaceful had been one of the first impressions of the bunker, set Cas on guard. "Where is Dean?" 

"In the garage, washing the impala." For a moment the smile diminished, and all the worry that Sam must have been carrying since Dean had got the Mark showed itself in his expression. "You should check on him."

Cas was torn. He did indeed want to check on Dean and see with his own two eyes how the hunter was doing. Not only that, but seeing the hunter would assuage him of the empty feeling in his stomach. Cas almost never felt lonely when Dean Winchester was in his presence. 

On the other hand, Cas also wanted to stay with Sam to know why he had been requested back to the bunker. As much as he was glad to have a reason to return, he knew something must have gone wrong to prompted the request. It was agonizing to have to wait any longer to learn the reason behind it. 

Like always, however, the choice involving Dean won out, and Cas headed to the garage. As Sam had said, the older Winchester was busy washing Baby. His back was turned when Cas entered the vicinity, the radio just a tad too loud for him to hear the soft-footed angel step foot into the garage. He had a soapy rag in his hand, delicately soothing the fine metal of his car. He had taken his shirt off for some reason, his muscles flexing at each movement with just a little bit of fat at the edges. 

Castiel had spent enough time with the Winchesters know that it was rude to simply watch from the distance. Not to mention creepy. In fact, it had been one of the earliest lessons Dean had taught him back when Cas was a fully powered angel and Dean was destined to stop Lucifer from even rising. Obviously, it was a lesson Cas never gave much mind to. 

Truth was, watching Dean was too enjoyable. There was something about the hunter that called to him. Gave him a sense of peace. A sense of familiarity. It was most likely their profound bond that caused Cas to feel the way he did around Dean, and Cas was never one to deny those sensation bought on by said profound bond. 

Then again, Cas mused as he watched Dean lean over the impala's hood to wash the center, Dean had changed. There was still that sense of comfort seeing Dean in person. It was that same sense that made Cas not feel so lonely when with the hunter. However, watching him was different, and it wasn't nearly as enjoyable as it had once been.

Years ago, the hunter had filled with passion, an almost carefree humor, and hidden hope so bright it made his soul outshine the sun. It was a sight more beautiful than anything Castiel had ever seen in the billions upon billions of years of existing. Now, it was almost a depressing sight. The passion was now mingled with unadulterated and unreasonable anger. The carefree humor was sharper than before, the bite more fierce, and green eyes no longer smiled along. The worst change was his damaged soul. Cas still found his soul to be beautiful, but it was outlined in darkness with no hope in conquering it. 

If Cas had been human again, he would have sighed miserably. There was nothing more Cas wanted than to lift the burden off his friend's shoulder. It hurt more than it should have seeing Dean in pain, for the pain wasn't his own.

"You're doing it again," the rumble of the roughened hunter brought the angel out of his thoughts. "Staring."

Cas wasn't sure when Dean had noticed his presence, but was close enough to embarrassed at being caught that he lowered his eyes slightly. "I apologize Dean."

"Yea, yea." Dean went to retrieve the water to wash away the suds . "Come here and help me dry, huh?"

"Of course." And he went to do so with a hidden glee. Dean didn't regularly ask for help concerning the impala, and Cas took it as a show of brotherhood and trust that he would be requested for such a sacred duty. 

"So what you doing back?" The harshness in his tone wasn't to be missed, but Cas did have to wonder why it was there. Dean shook his head, as if realizing himself how he must have sounded. "I mean, I'm glad to see you, don't get me wrong, but it is sort out of the ordinary for you."

Cas squinted curiously, wondering what that statement meant for the hunter. Did he mean to say that it was odd for Cas to be back at the bunker? Or strange that he would come to check on the brothers? It then occurred to Cas that Sam hadn't told Dean of asking Cas to come back, and it only served to worry the angel more that Sam felt the need to hide that from his brother.