This is the End ~ Destiel

Chapter 3 - Last Day

Friday Night. June 7, 2019

Dean could think of a thousand reasons to stay in Cape Charles, but none of them seemed to appeal to Sam. Dean wasn't ready to trade their nice little house for an underground bunker, but Sam insisted that they needed to go and pick Jack and Mary up. His thought was that Jack would want to fight the angels once he regained his strength, and he already knew more about them than all three of the boys. Cas, upon being asked for his opinion, said he would prefer to stay a little while, but he agreed that Sam had a point.

As Sam began to pack up and clean up the house, Dean offered to take Cas to the beach for one last little hurrah. It was the perfect time, because the sun was setting and the air was warm. Fortunately, Cas agreed enthusiastically. Dean packed a little basket with a blanket, a couple beers, and some chips to munch on. As he finished preparing everything, Cas came downstairs in a pair of khaki shorts and one of Dean's old Metallica t-shirts. Dean smiled at him, his shirt a welcome sight on his best friend. They said 'goodbye' to Sam as they left for the evening.

Once they got to the beach, Dean laid out the blanket on the sand, smoothing it out and plopped down on it gracelessly, leaning back on his elbows with his legs stretched out. Cas stood next to him, staring out at the ocean. The sun was melting into the horizon, with a variety of dazzling colors pouring out into the sky. Everything from pink to purple to orange. It was absolutely magnificent. Dean asked him to sit, and he complied, sitting upright with his legs crossed.

"Ever seen a view like this, Cas?" Dean asked, beaming. He was so proud of finding the place.

The angel chuckled, looking out at the vast sea. A seagull was squawking in the distance, and somewhere a little kid was laughing. "Well, similar, but not the same. It's one of the most fantastic views that I've seen." The two shared a content smile. It was so calm.

"I remember," Cas began after a moment of silence. "When my father created Earth. Animals. When He wanted humans to grow and rule the planet, many angels were skeptical. I never was. I didn't expect it to be homo sapiens who evolved, but it was. Meanwhile, my brothers and sisters doubted in you, in your ability to be in charge of Earth. Maybe they were right in some aspects. Some of your kind have destroyed such beautiful lands and plants and creatures, and it's devastating. But one thing almost every angel in heaven agreed on... was how absolutely breathtaking were some of His creations. I remember Gabriel grabbing me by the hand when we were younger and taking me to see the first ever waterfall. We would sit together for hours and watch it silently. Every time He would create something new and beautiful, we would go and observe, sometimes for days on end. Even Uriel loved to walk through rainforests and observe the trees and the little frogs. Sometimes I'd even see him play with monkeys.

"In the more recent past, I observed human life instead. I was always fascinated by you. I've fought my siblings to protect you.  But, after all that, all my fighting to protect humanity from the wrath of my family, the one thing I forgot that I loved so much was Earth itself. I used to love beaches and forests and mountains and fields and desserts and skies. I suppose I just forgot. Which is why I am so grateful you brought me here. This place helped me remember." Cas smiled and looked over to Dean, who was staring at him softly, maybe a little in awe.

"Well, Cas," He replied. "You're a damn good poet, I'll give you that. After everything that's happened, I think we all needed a nice change of scenery. And there's no way we would have come here without you, Cas. You're family."

"Right. We're brothers." Wow. Hearing that from Cas sounded weird to Dean.

"Well, I don't know about brothers." He mumbled. Cas frowned.

"What do you mean? You've said yourself that I'm like your brother."

"I mean, yeah. I said that. But, Cas... haven't you ever noticed that you and I treat each other differently than how we treat Sam? It's still family... but something else. I can't really explain it well, but I've always thought that we're just different."