Ethereal

The Bearer of Bad News

  Castiel's thoughts kept him awake. Before, he couldn’t sleep because Dean was supposedly dead. Now, he can’t sleep because Dean is a demon, and there’s no doubt about it. Castiel decided to get up and get himself a glass of water and maybe get some fresh air. When he finished two glasses of water, he went outside of the bunker. The blowing wind was faint; you only really noticed it if you were searching for it. The sky was covered by a myriad of stars. Castiel took a deep breath of the crisp, fresh air and leaned against Dean's impala.

"I guess Sam's the only one that has to sleep now, huh?" Dean appeared behind Cas. He walked up and joined Cas in leaning against the car. 

"Um, no, actually. My grace is almost out, so I have to eat and sleep now, otherwise I won't have any energy." Cas answered, looking up at the stars. 

"Oh, so you're gonna be human, now? It's almost like we traded places, except I don't have the wings, the halo, and the harp." Dean smirked, glancing at Cas. 

"I guess you could put it that way." Castiel looked over at Dean, who was also watching the stars. "You know, it's great to have you back, even if you are a demon."

"It feels great to be back. To be honest, I've never felt better. I mean, sure, it sucks that I'm a demon, but at the same time, I'm not carrying around all the guilt that I used to. Before I died, I blamed everything on myself. I felt like my death would've been best for everyone. Now, I feel good. Hell, I feel better than good. I'm alive." 

"That's because you no longer have a soul." Castiel announced. 

"Right, it comes with the whole demon thing." 

Castiel nodded and studied Dean, who kept his gaze on the sky. He really did seem happy. His usual stern expression was now relaxed. He had a smile hinting at his lips. Castiel wanted Dean Winchester to be happy again, but he didn't exactly want it to be this way. After moments of silence, Castiel turned his gaze to the stars. Each star shone bright against the darkness of the black sky.

"Dean," Castiel started to say. 

"Yeah, Cas?"

"I just wanted to let you know that no matter what you are or what you do, I will be there for you. I will do anything I can for you, because I didn’t raise you from Hell for nothing.” 

"Thanks." Was all Dean said in reply. 

About five minutes passed before Castiel turned to go inside. He knew he had to sleep eventually, otherwise he wouldn't be able to function properly in the morning. He crawled into bed and closed his eyes, trying to think of anything but Dean. It didn’t take long to fall asleep. Dean stayed outside, observing the stars. He stayed out there long enough to see night transform into day, watch the stars fade in the light of the rising sun.

_____________

"Morning." Dean said to Cas as the angel entered the kitchen. Dean was sitting at the table with his feet propped up on the back of the chair next to him. Castiel, still half-asleep, poured himself some coffee in a Looney Tunes coffee cup. "Morning." He eventually answered. 

"Sleep well?" Dean asked, playing with a pen he found lying on the table. 

"Yeah." Castiel sat down, across from Dean. He sipped his coffee slowly, looking down at the table every time the mug was lowered from his lips. He tried thinking of ways to cure Dean, but no one’s ever done it.