Supernatural One-Shots

A Sky Full of Stars

A/N - this is set whenever, I tried to keep it pretty general because I didn't want to include too many story lines. Starts off with a hunt just because I thought it was weird that I hadn't included such a pivotal part of Sam and Dean's life yet. I hope you like!

Sam and Dean crept up to the back door of the house. Sam carefully peered through the window, and then silently gestured to Dean that the coast was clear. Dean turned the door knob and they edged into the dark kitchen, as quiet and lithe as cats creeping up on a bird. This was familiar to them.

A crash sounded from the upper storey, followed by a muffled groan of pain. The brothers exchanged a glance before heading for the stairs. The steps carried a fine layer of dust, which helped to muffle their footsteps.

The stairs led to a hallway completely shrouded in darkness, save for the second room from the right. A thin line of flickering light, as if from a flame, was visible under the door. Dean caught Sam's eye and gave a quick nod, before kicking the door down.

A woman with dirty blonde hair whipped her hair around, black eyes furious. Behind her, a man slumped in a chair by a dying fire, blood dripping from his mouth.

"Get away from him, you black-eyed skank!" Dean snarled, whipping out a bottle of holy water. He slashed the open bottle through the air, catching the demon right in the face and making it scream with pain. Sam was kneeling by the man and checking his pulse.

Dean was about to move in for the kill when he felt his arms being pinned to his chest from behind. Decades of training allowed him to successfully build up power in his muscles and throw off the arms that were constricting him, but the demon, wearing an athletic male meatsuit, was ready for him. A powerful blow swung at Dean's head which he narrowly avoided, tackling the demon from below. Sam, meanwhile, was busy with the blonde demon, who had since recovered from her holy water shower.

The demon had successfully rolled Dean over in the struggle on the floor and pinned his arms to his sides so that Dean could not reach the bottles of holy water in his pockets. Dean struggled but could not get free. The demon leant down and grinned in Dean's face.

"I knew demons were some stinky ass sons of bitches, but buddy you really need to sort out your breath," Dean spat.

"Dean Winchester," the demon sang. "How nice of you and your brother to wander into our hands like this. Almost takes the fun out of killing you. Almost."

"So what," Dean demanded. "You roll into town, torture a couple of people for kicks?"

"For kicks, always," the demon chuckled. "But let's just say we were hoping you'd show up to save the day. Personal grudge, few years back. Involved a stabbing of a close friend. Wouldn't expect you to remember. What I do expect from you however..." The demon leant down to whisper in Dean's ear. "...is for your intestines to be exceedingly satisfying to feed on."

Beside him, Dean heard Sam grunt as he finally drove Ruby's knife into the blonde demon and pushed her to the ground. The demon on top of Dean was about to finish him off when the knife pierced through his throat, lighting him up like a Christmas tree. The body fell to the ground and Dean pushed it off him, grabbing Sam's extended hand.

"Is the guy-" Dean began to ask, getting to his feet.

"He's alive, barely," Sam affirmed, wiping his brow.

"Let's get him to a hospital. Good work Sammy."

*

Dean was drifting off to sleep when he heard the familiar brush of settling wings in the motel room. He opened his eyes and rolled over to see Cas standing by his bed.

"Hey Cas," Dean yawned, sitting upright.

"Hello Dean."

Dean looked over to Sam's bed, where the slow rise and fall of the sheets indicated that Sam was asleep.

"Let's go for a walk," Dean suggested in a whisper, swinging himself out of bed. Cas nodded and they made their way outside.

"So what was so important that couldn't wait until morning?" Dean asked, not in an annoyed tone, as they began walking.

"I wanted to check on you," Cas responded.

Dean laughed. "Yeah, that was definitely urgent enough to warrant pulling me out of bed at four a.m."

Cas shrugged. "I had nothing better to do. Besides, you were restless in sleep. I would not have woken you otherwise."

"Yeah, well, we did gank two demons tonight. Not exactly recommended for a good night's sleep."

They walked in comfortable silence for a while, until they reached a park in the middle of the town. Dean found comfort in the dark and silent atmosphere that others may have found eerie, knowing that he could handle anything that the night could throw at him. They found a park bench beside the small lake and rested there.

Dean turned to Cas, who was considering the stars in the night sky. They were unusually bright here, as the town was small and did not blanket the sky with artificial lighting. They were so bright that they were reflected in the blue of Cas's eyes.

"It's so strange how luminous balls of gas can be so beautiful," Cas observed, fully aware of Dean's eyes on him. He shuffled his body, absentmindedly drawing closer to Dean. Dean did not move away.

"Cas," Dean murmured, uncrossing his arms so that his right arm lay beside Cas's left. "Why did you really come here tonight?"

Cas finally looked at him, finding that their faces were the same distance apart as they had been in Bobby's kitchen long ago, when Cas had advised Dean to show him some respect. What had once been intimidation between them, however, had now turned to a soft, unspoken care and mutual dependence.

Dean's breath, warm and familiar, twisted gently in wisps around his face in the cold air. Cas looked down to their touching arms, where their hands were millimetres apart.

"I told you," Cas mumbled. "To check on you and Sam."

"Uh huh," Dean remarked lightly. "And how is Sam?"

"What?" Cas asked, bewildered. Right now he could not even remember what Sam had looked like, as hard as he tried. "Um, fine?"

"Right," Dean said softly, tilting his head to catch Cas's eye again and lift their gaze. Cas was reminded of another memory, in a white and golden room where he turned his back on all that he knew for one man. "Why are you here, Cas?"

"I-I missed you," Cas confessed in a tumble of words, wanting to look down again but finding that he couldn't. Dean's hand closed the distance to flutter over Cas's, but Cas was too distracted to notice. "Alright? I missed you and I wanted to see you because I can't concentrate on anything when we're apart. I needed to hear your voice and see your face, not just to remind me of my cause but to remind me of why this life is worth living at all, Dean. I needed to know you were still here and safe, because life would lose all meaning if you-"

Cas was interrupted by the pressure of Dean's calloused index finger on his lips. Dean's mouth was slightly parted and his green eyes wide and earnest. He looked terrified as he pushed aside years of deep-seated denial and insecurity to lean in and replace his finger with his mouth. Despite his fear, Cas could feel that Dean was entirely sure of his actions. The kiss was simple and short, but when it ended they did not move away, instead leaning on each other's foreheads. Their breath, slightly elevated in rate, combined and danced around them.

"I know," Dean breathed. "I missed you too."

Cas squeezed Dean's hand in quiet relief.