Midnight Rider

don't own the clothes i'm wearing

Mary Winchester's grave was a pale white marble. It was pristine years ago, but the sun had cracked its surface and Dean didn't have it in him to come often enough to keep it beautiful.

He placed a single white rose on the grave and sat down. "Hey, mom," he whispered. Cas had come with him, though he said he would wait in the car for ten minutes then come find him.

"Sam wasn't home yesterday. I tried to make it up to him. I punched him before Christmas. He said I was turning into dad, and I don't want that.

"Jess says hello. You remember me talking about Cas? I brought him. You'll finally get to meet one of my friends. He brought his brother, too. Gabriel is autistic and he doesn't talk. You'll like him," Dean continued the conversation by himself.

He was quiet for a while, listening to the birds chirp and flitter about above his head. The rustle of wind through the growing grass. The slight hiss of the sprinklers in someone's yard. He brought his knees up into his chest and wrapped his arms around them. Tears pricked his eyes and forced his vision to blur.

"I let Sam down. I always let him down. I can't do anything right, mom. And now he won't talk to me," he said with a wobble in his tone. His mind pixelated at the edges and images of Sam's blood on his hands filtered through the backs of his eyes and curled around his conscious. "I'll figure it out, mom, don't worry."

"Dean?"

Dean scrubbed at his face with a hand and turned to see Cas walking up to him. His forehead glistened slightly with sweat. "Hey. Just talking to my mom."

"What has she told you about Sam?" asked Cas.

"Nothing. She doesn't usually offer much advice. She is six feet under, after all," Dean answered, a stilted breath following his words.

Cas rolled his eyes and sat down. Dean realized Gabriel had followed him, his hands trembling. "Isn't that why you speak to her? For advice?" Cas asked.

Dean glanced over at him and tried not to scoff at the ridiculousness of the situation. "No," he managed to keep his voice toneless. "I come here to speak my mind without being judged or - whatever."

Gabriel took a seat beside them, staring at the grave and reading over the epitaph. His eyes turned golden in the light, and Dean could suddenly see the resemblance between him and Cas. The intensity of their gaze was the same.

Somehow, Dean thought he had already known that for a while, but he also, somehow, knew this was a newfound realization. What was wrong with him? His memories were being muddled and swirling together in strange sequences that he knew weren't correct. Maybe they were, and he was just going crazy.

Either way, something was wrong in his thoughts.

"Thank you," Cas finally broke the silence.

Dean turned his head to look at him. "For what?" he asked.

Cas couldn't help but smile graciously, eyes sparkling with happiness. "For finally trusting me. You told me about your mother, and you brought me here, to her grave, and you took me to Sam's.... apartment."

"Yeah, well..." Dean trailed off and rolled his eyes, glaring back at his mother's headstone. "Quit acting like an idiot," he offered. His words held hardly any air, but Cas still caught them.

Cas took offense to that, so crossed his arms over his chest.

Gabriel eventually stood up and began walking away from them.

"Where's he going?" Dean asked. The sun was beginning to set, and, as much as he hated to admit it, Dean was worried about Gabriel.

Cas went to follow him. He threw a "To our grave," over his shoulder as he walked.