fated | j. kline [vol. 1]

03

he said "boy what are you running from?"
i said i don't know
_________________________

ON THE WAY BACK HOME, the group stopped at the house they'd only left that morning. Venus went with Dean to get Cas while Sam took Jack to retrieve Kelly. Her and her brother walked wordlessly over to where the angel lay, covered by a sheet. Dean revealed his face for a moment, but Venus couldn't look. The thought of what they were about to do gave her chills, and she knew she'd feel even worse if she looked at Castiel.

The group spent an hour or two cutting wood after that. They were still silent, each caught up in their own thoughts. Venus had to wipe her eyes every few seconds, as they continued filling with tears and blurring her vision. She couldn't help but feel angry at the state of her relationship with Cas at the time of his death. Her and her brothers had refused to trust him on his judgement of Jack, and Venus was beginning to believe that Cas had been right all along. The guilt of distrusting her friend when he died consumed her. Her chest felt heavy.

The rest of the evening was a blur as they built the pyre and hoisted the two bodies onto it. Dean doused the pile in gasoline as Venus watched, standing between Sam and Jack. Her head spun, and she heard her brother talking to Jack but couldn't manage to make out the words he was saying.

Dean made his way over to stand next to Sam and said his goodbyes, and before anyone could process their thoughts, the pyre was lit. Venus crossed in front of Sam to stand between her two brothers. A somber mood seemed to wrap around them like a blanket, suffocating them. Venus wrapped an arm around Sam's and Dean's waists, respectively, pulling them closer to her. She leaned her head into the taller brother's side as he gently placed a hand on her back.

They stood there until the fire was all but gone.

~~~

The drive was very long and very dark. Venus and Jack shared the back seat again, the latter reaching for the former's hand within five minutes of their departure, and falling asleep on her shoulder with the first hour. Venus didn't have much of a problem with the arrangement, and passed out with her head on top of his not much later. Sam glanced back at the two a few times. He kept his mouth shut, knowing they needed sleep.

Venus slept the remainder of the ride, her body exhausted from the previous few days antics. Unfortunately, however, her sleep was restless. She drifted in and out of lucidity, floating from nightmare to nightmare about Cas, Mary, Lucifer, and what could be happening to them, or where they could be.

When Sam woke her up at the hotel where they'd be staying the night, she felt like she hadn't slept at all. Venus sat heavily down on the couch as the three boys looked around the room. Soon, she was joined by Jack.

"Jack, hey, I can take the couch. Why don't--" Sam started, sympathy spreading across his features.

"No, no. It's fine." Jack cut him off, turning his attention to the bible Dean had given him.

"Alright, who's sharing with V tonight?" Venus asked, gathering up the energy to lift herself off of the couch and onto her feet.

"I've got you," Sam replied. "Now who wants food?"

~~~

When they returned with food, Jack and Venus took their previous spots on the couch with the coffee table in front of them, Dean sat in the armchair at the end of the table, and Sam stood, finishing off the warding on the door. Dean unwrapped his burger and took a bite, Jack and Venus doing the same moments later. Jack, however, having never eaten a burger before, seemed to really enjoy it and began eating very quickly.