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The Keys to Destiny	By : mistresswhimsy Category: Supernatural > Slash - Male/Male Views: 2114 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: Nothing about Supernatural is mine everything belongs to its rightful owners. I make no money from the series or this story.

Chapter List
- 5
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"You called me Cas."

Amor blinked, his distracted gaze focusing somewhat as he turned to face his son. He'd been watching Sam, his expression serene as he dreamt on the couch, and Cas found himself wondering what was going through his Father's mind as he watched the believer. "Oh. Oh! I picked it up from Dean's mind. Should I not use it? Is it a special Dean name?"

Castiel chuckled; up until now he hadn't actually thought of it as 'special', yet in a manner he supposed it was. "It's alright if you want to call me that," he said quietly; he didn't want to wake Sam.

The Cherub smiled brightly and reached over to give his son a one armed hug. "You said you had to talk to me about something," Amor reminded him.

Castiel nodded. He'd realized after leaving Dean's that he still didn't know how to hide Dean and Sam. When he explained this to Amor he looked surprised before the expression morphed into something more sheepish. "I'm sorry, Cas. I shouldn't have assumed you'd know, you are half human after all. Here, we'll wake up Sam and I'll show you."

Castiel was reluctant to disturb the man after what he'd been through that day but accepted the fact that the longer they waited, the more danger he was in. A single touch to his bare arm had him stirring. Amor brushed his fingers over the skin gently until Sam's lids fluttered open, sleep heavy eyes searching until they found the Cherub's face. He smiled a little, rubbed his eyes and sat up. Castiel noted curiously that Amor had not removed his hand from Sam's arm.

"What is it?" Sam asked sleepily. He let his hand fall from his eyes and gazed up, half awake and bleary eyed, at the Angel standing over him.

"I need to hide you," Amor told him. "So that demons and other angels can't find you unless they see you. Cas needs to know how too, is it okay if I do this?"

Sam nodded immediately, without even the slightest hint of hesitation or doubt. A real, true believer, Castiel thought with a small smile.

"Thank you." Amor smiled gratefully, then turned towards his son. "Put your hand over mine, the one on his arm."

Stepping closer, Castiel reached out and laid his hand over the one resting against Sam's bicep. Sam watched them, his eyes slowly growing more alert as curiosity sapped away his sleepiness. He looked so relaxed, so unconcerned, that for just a moment the half blood felt jealous. What he wouldn't give for just a bit of peace right now, even the brief escape of restful sleep.

Amor said nothing further, only closed his eyes, but Castiel knew words were no longer needed. Words were, in fact, useless. A few of the powers of Angels could be described, if only loosely, but most could only be taught through feeling. So Castiel stood very still, his own lids slipping over a distant blue gaze, and felt. He felt his Father's long fingered, soft hands, the hard muscle of Sam's bicep beneath his fingertips, the sudden warmth that flooded from his Dad and rushed up his arm. He heard Sam gasp, felt the muscles beneath his fingers flex in reaction to what was happening. The warmth soaking his arm flooded his entire body and just like that, he knew. It was a teaching a full human would not have been able to learn from. Fortunately, at least in this case, Castiel was not fully human.

Almost as one the two opened their eyes. Sam was blinking up at them as though blinded and the half blood realized it was probably the light that came from the Cherub's use of his powers. It was bright even to them, to a human it would be far more powerful.

"Okay Sam, you can go back to sleep," Amor said with a smile.

Still blinking rapidly, Sam let Amor guide him back down onto the couch. The angel's hand lingered on the man's shoulder until he'd closed his eyes. Only then did he step back, his expression strangely tense.

"Did you understand?" Amor asked quietly after a moment.

Castiel nodded. He fingered the edge of his shirt and watched his Dad nervously; seriousness from the Cherub was never a good sign. Amor was a bright, happy, often ridiculous sort of being, seeing him truly serious usually made for some kind of trouble.

"I should tell you something," Amor said suddenly, so suddenly that Castiel jumped. "Dean...oh, how do I put this?" Amor turned away from Sam and walked into the kitchen so that the man could continue to sleep through their conversation. Castiel followed him silently, his mind already on his soulmate. Would Dean let Cas protect him from those who would hunt him? Would he even let Castiel touch him? He'd seemed less hostile near the end...

"You might need to get pushy," Amor continued. "I understand why you're stepping back and giving him space but I think you might need to get right in his face with this."

"In his face?" Castiel repeated slowly, almost chuckling at how that sounded. He'd already been in his face once...

"That doesn't count!" Amor cried, catching the thought immediately. Then he slapped a hand over his mouth, his eyes flying wide as they darted towards the living room. Sam grumbled something about worms and shoes but didn't wake. Castiel made a mental note to ask Dean when and why he'd put worms in Sam's shoes. It never even crossed his mind that the older brother might not be the culprit.

When he was certain that Sam was still Amor continued. "I'm just saying that space might not be the best thing, with his personality."

"It's not just that," Cas murmured, his eyes downcast as he recalled yesterday's events. "He has a girlfriend."

Amor's eyes flicked towards Sam, making Castiel frown, but he refocused on his son again so quickly that the half blood decided he must have imagined it. "That does complicate things," He muttered. He paused, his brows knitted together thoughtfully, before he brightened considerably. "In the dream, when you kissed him, how did he react?"

He'd reacted...well, Castiel thought. At least within the dream. The half blood remembered putting his arm around the man's waist when his Cherub side had overwhelmed him with a need for closeness. Dean's only reaction had been to put a hand over his own, as though the position were the most natural thing in the world. When he'd turned the man to kiss him he hadn't seemed startled or disgusted, he'd seemed almost to expect it. Though Castiel said none of this aloud he saw his Father taking it all in, grinning more and more widely the more he absorbed the information.

"Fight for it!" Amor blurted abruptly, so loudly and determinedly that he again slapped a hand over his mouth and glanced towards Sam. The man squirmed and appeared to try and kick off his shoes before settling again.

"I didn't leave your Mother because of the Angels," Amor said quietly. Castiel blinked in surprise; how had they jumped to this subject? "There's...oh, how do I explain this?" Amor's hands fluttered about helplessly as he squinted at the darkened linoleum, as though expecting to find an answer there. "There are many types of love, you know that. There's this...this brief sort...well, not brief, love never actually goes away...but it's a type that's not meant to keep two people together. Do you understand?" Amor looked up from the floor to his son hopefully, his hands still making strange patterns in the air.

"I think so," Castiel responded slowly. "Like a friendship that lasts through childhood but fades with adolescence?"

"Exactly!" Once again Amor had to slap a hand over his mouth. Castiel chuckled to himself; quietness was not one of his Dad's strong suits. "There's a time for it, and then it's gone. That was how it was with the two of us. Now, Angels did prevent me from seeing you as much as I would have liked, but that's not the point. I bet if I got close enough to sense him again, I could tell you that is the type of love between Dean and his girlfriend."

"And we're meant to last?" Castiel said dubiously; he was beginning to doubt they were meant to be at all. "Most soulmates aren't meant for each other this early, are they?"

Amor's eyes narrowed suspiciously at him. "You've been researching things on that blasted inter...inter...computer thingy, haven't you?"

"Well, you weren't always there to answer my questions," Castiel said with a sheepish smile and a shrug. The comment was not at all resentful, just a statement of fact.

Amor scowled. "It's going to change, damn it. I'm tired of this power game the Archangels are playing." He shook himself suddenly and smiled again, though his comments left Castiel painfully curious. "I'll admit that is occasionally the case, but not always. It really can depend on circumstance and pure chance. In this case I think it's circumstance. I can't say it's Fate because she's tried her damndest to keep you two apart. She can be such a bi...I'm swearing too much."

Castiel snorted, loudly enough that it was his turn to glance at Sam. "I don't mind it, you know," He assured his Dad with an amused smile.

Amor nodded. "Alright, enough of this seriousness, it's going to drive me out of my head. Tell me about first meeting Dean, I didn't see much of it before." He smiled eagerly, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet, making Cas laugh quietly.

"It didn't go as I had hoped," the half blood said with a sigh, though he couldn't help the lingering smile at his Dad's antics. "I was found once by a demon on the way to Lawrence and another one found me on my way to see Dean. Or it might have been the same one, I'm not sure. I had wanted to ease my reality on him slowly but I didn't have a choice, the demon was going to find us if I didn't do something. I..." the half blood trailed off, then reached out suddenly and touched his Father's hand. Immediately, everything about their first encounter was in Amor's mind, as vivid and real as it was for Castiel.

"Oh oh, he touched you first!" Amor gave up trying to be quiet; it seemed Sam was going to sleep through it anyway.

"To convince himself I was real," Castiel pointed out.

Amor pouted. It was the first time Cas had ever seen an expression like that on his Dad's face and he had to press his hand to his mouth to muffle his laughter. "It counts!" Amor said stubbornly.

The half blood wanted to believe that, so badly it was nearly a tangible sensation, so he decided to let himself. He had to have something to keep him going, didn't he?

Sam kicked out against the couch again. His brows drew together tightly in a distressed frown, his hands tightened and relaxed, then tightened again. Before Castiel had even taken a step Amor was across the room and kneeling beside the couch, a hand resting in Sam's longish hair to absorb the dream that was bothering him. Cas frowned yet again at his Father's oddly attentive behavior. It wasn't so strange for Amor to become fixated on someone or something, yet this level of intensity seemed new. Then again, he didn't see his Father much, perhaps this was more normal for him than he realized.

"Go check on Jessica!" Amor whispered urgently.

An image of Jessica followed the words almost immediately. Without hesitation Castiel raced up the stairs and opened the first door he found. It revealed an empty guest bedroom, so he quietly closed it and reached for another but before he could grasp the knob the door swung open to reveal a rumpled, sleepy Bobby. The half blood only spared him a glance before racing to the next door.

"What's goin' on?" Bobby muttered as he stepped out into the hall.

"Which room is Jessica's?"

Bobby pointed vaguely towards a door at the end of the hall. "She's in Sam's room down there."

Quickly, Castiel sprinted silently down the hall and opened the door. The room was empty, save for the young woman sleeping soundly, curled around a pillow with a content expression on her face. Breathing a heavy sigh of relief, Castiel silently shut the door and returned to the now more alert Hunter staring pointedly at him from across the hall.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" Bobby asked when Castiel had reached him.

"Sam offered to let me stay here," Castiel answered. He paused a moment, looking into the Hunter's eyes with a calculating expression before nodding to himself. "Come downstairs. We'll explain."

"We?" Bobby asked but Castiel was already heading down the stairs, leaving the Hunter no choice but to follow him.

"She's alright," Cas assured Amor, who was sitting on the edge of the couch by Sam's legs, stroking his arm. The man's face had relaxed and there was a small smile on his face, suggesting his dreams had taken a turn for the better. "This is Bobby, he's a friend of this family and a Hunter."

"A Hunter?" Amor looked up curiously. He met Bobby's eyes, just as Castiel had, and nodded almost immediately. "We can trust him." He stood up from the couch and strode across the room, giving Bobby a hug before Castiel had a chance to warn him. The half blood couldn't help a quiet chuckle at the startled expression on the Hunter's face. "Why don't you sit down? This might take a while."

... * ...

When Dean woke up his house was empty. Each room was checked with paranoid caution and with every empty space he felt greater and greater relief. Or at least he thought he did, until finally he knew for certain he was alone. Then he felt something else, a nagging doubt at the back of his mind. Where was Cas? He hadn't dreamed about him last night, he wasn't anywhere in the house. Was he okay? Maybe he was with Sam. He'd call Sam and find out.

He had gone back into the bedroom to get his cell phone from the nightstand when he stopped dead, his fingers curled around the device and his eyes focused with a kind of dread on said device. What was he doing? Why was he so concerned when last night all he'd wanted was to forget the man had ever existed? He told himself firmly that he didn't care where Cas was, that it would make him perfectly happy to discover he was gone for good, yet even as he thought this he found himself flipping open the phone and dialing Sam's number.

"Hello?"

"Hey Sam, it's Dean."

"Oh, hey Dean!" Sam sounded cheerful, more cheerful than he had since he'd come home. "Castiel is here with me, did Carmen tell you? Or are you calling for something else?"

Dean had a vague memory of Carmen coming in to talk to him last night. "Yeah...yeah, she told me, I just forgot. I was pretty out of it."

"Yeah, you looked tired. Amor is here, too. We told Bobby everything. Wait until you find out why he moved! Mom and Dad went out with Jess for the day, you should come over."

"Yeah okay, be there soon." Dean hung up the phone and shoved it into his pocket. On autopilot he got his coat, his keys and his wallet and headed out to start the Impala.

The first thing he saw when he walked into the house was Sam and Amor sitting on the couch. They were talking cheerfully, or rather Sam was talking and Amor was watching him with a big, silly smile on his face. Sam had always been the friendlier and more personable of the two but Dean had never seen him quite this comfortable so quickly with anyone before. Was it the whole Angel thing? Where was Cas, anyway?

Damn it, why did he give a shit where Cas was?

"Hey, Dean." Bobby appeared from the kitchen, a beer already in hand despite it only being ten in the morning. Castiel followed him out, a glass of orange juice held in his own hand. When he saw Dean he held up the glass and nodded back towards the kitchen. The man shook his head but managed a small smile. He couldn't begrudge Cas being polite, could he?

"Hey Bobby," Dean greeted. "So...I hear you've been filled in." He waved a hand to encompass the little group.

"Yup," Bobby said simply. He glanced back towards Castiel. "Met this one on the way here, thought he was kidding when he said he was half Angel. Didn't think Angels existed, to be perfectly honest."

Castiel slipped around Bobby and came to stand beside Dean, his eyes focused on his orange juice. "Are you..." Castiel sighed and forced himself to look up. His blue eyes looked hopeful, resigned and a bit frightened all at once.

"I'm good," Dean said before he thought. He knew what Cas was asking; was he still angry? The truth was he wasn't and he knew it. So they had a connection. Fine, he could work with that. Maybe they'd even be friends. Somehow the idea didn't settle well with him but he shoved the thought aside for now and focused instead on his little brother.

"So Sam said something about why you moved?" Dean mentioned, needing something to talk about to draw his attention away from the problem fidgeting at his side.

Bobby nodded. "I've been a Hunter for years, since my wife was killed. Yes killed," He repeated when Dean's eyes widened. "She didn't die from any disease like I said, she was killed by a demon. When I realized my closeness with your Dad and you guys was going to cause trouble I moved. So this whole situation doesn't surprise me much. Makes me sad, though," He added absently. "I was hopin' you and Sam would never have to deal with this like your..." he trailed off suddenly and took a swig of beer. "Never mind, forget I said that."

Right, because that was going to happen. "Like who?" Dean pressed.

Bobby shook his head. "Not my place to tell you. You'll likely find out later, anyway."

"Have you eaten yet, Dean?" Castiel asked suddenly.

Surprised, Dean glanced over at him. "No, not yet," He answered slowly. "Why?"

"Because I need something to do with my hands," Cas muttered before he slipped away into the kitchen without waiting to find out if Dean wanted to eat.

Bobby had wandered over to talk to Sam, making Dean suddenly wonder where Amor had gone. He blinked and found him standing right there in front of him, no more than a few inches away. Startled, Dean yelped and stumbled a few paces back before glaring at the Angel. "What the hell?" he barked.

"Sorry," Amor said sincerely. "I keep forgetting about personal space. Listen, you should know that Castiel is really scared right now. He's not showing it, I'm not sure he even knows it himself, but your reaction to him is frightening him. He thinks you hate him, I think. Or that you don't care, which might be even worse."

Dean shuffled his feet like he always did when he was uncomfortable. "I don't hate him," he admitted almost reluctantly. "And I guess I care, 'cause I was worried when I couldn't find him this morning. But I'm not gay! I can see us being friends but I think he's thinking about something...you know..."

"More?" Amor finished helpfully.

"Yeah," Dean muttered. "More."

"You're an idiot," Amor informed him, though it was said so cheerfully that Dean honestly couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

Castiel came back then with a plate of scrambled eggs and a piece of toast. He thrust it almost embarrassedly at Dean, who took it automatically. For a moment he stared down at it with a bemused expression; Carmen didn't really cook and neither did Dean, partly because of their opposing schedules and partly because neither one of them was very good at it, so having someone bring him breakfast felt...strange. Strange, yet not not at all bad.

"Thanks," Dean murmured finally, lifting his eyes to the other man's to let him know he meant it.

Castiel grinned at almost the same moment Amor started laughing. Cas cast his Father a fond glare while Dean just stared at him with confusion.

"Ignore him," Cas practically growled.

"I am impossible to ignore!" Amor said loudly, then he bounced back over to Sam.

"Okay, why is he so fixated on my brother?" Dean asked, pointing the fork Cas had brought with the plate towards the Angel.

Cas shook his head. "I don't know yet," He answered. "I don't get to see him that much, for all I know this is normal behavior when he meets a believer."

"So what now?" Sam asked suddenly. "I mean, do we need to get out of town? Should I tell Jess or would it be safer if she didn't know?"

Dean glanced at his little brother with an impressed expression; he was handling this whole thing much better than himself.

"I don't know," Amor admitted. "I...I don't know."

For a moment there was a tense silence. All eyes avoided each other, not wanting to see their own uncertainty or that of the other reflected back at them. Finally, Bobby let out a sigh and rolled his eyes. "I've got an idea," He drawled. "How about we do some research on this yellow eyed demon...Azazael?" He glanced at Castiel for confirmation, who nodded.

"I don't think books would tell us anything we don't already know," Amor pointed out. "We know he infected many children with his blood. We know he has demons on his side as well as a few Angels. We know he has a keen interest in Sam. We know he's one of the older ones and very powerful." Amor stopped and frowned, seemingly at himself. "We know we're screwed!" He cried suddenly before he burst out laughing, so hard that he fell against Sam's side. The taller man looked down at him with hesitant amusement and obvious concern as he lifted an arm to put it around Amor's shoulders so he wouldn't fall off the couch.

"Sorry," Amor gasped a moment later as he straightened. "Sorry, I start laughing when I'm panicking."

No one said anything. An Angel had started to panic, what more could be said?

"Okay, is there a way to track the kids?" Bobby asked. "The ones with powers like Sam?"

"Could I find them?" Sam ventured. "Maybe connect with them?"

"I don't think so," Amor said with a shake of his head. "But you may have visions that will give us clues, so be sure to look for details if you have another."

Dean realized abruptly that Cas was no longer at his side. Frowning, he wandered towards the kitchen, where he found the half blood leaning against the counter with his face in his hands. Placing his half eaten breakfast on the table, Dean paused a moment and wondered how to proceed. He still felt decidedly uncomfortable with the other man, yet a persistent need to...to what? Take care of him? He felt such a need with his brother but this felt different, more intense. He almost let out a frustrated sound before he choked it back. To hell with it, he thought as he began to slowly, silently stride forward. He was going with it.

Hesitantly, Dean reached out and put a hand on Castiel's shoulder. The half blood's head jerked up in surprise, his blue eyes even more surprised when they saw it was Dean who had touched him. "You okay?" Dean asked roughly.

Castiel smiled wanely and nodded once. "I may not see him often but my Dad and I have a very deep connection, so when I see him get like that I...it..." He trailed off, his eyes growing more distressed with each word, until they were unfocused and...

"Frightened," Dean murmured, finishing his thought aloud. "It scares you."

The half blood nodded once. Though it never crossed his mind to do anything more than stand there Dean found the man suddenly in his arms. He wasn't sure which one of them had moved, all he knew was one moment the only contact between them was Dean's hand on his shoulder, the next Dean had both arms around Cas's shoulders while the other man's head rested against his own shoulder. For a moment Dean froze completely, his eyes wide and startled, not because of the position itself but because of how it felt. It felt like the kiss.

It felt right.

"Dean." Castiel's voice was startled, confirming that it was Dean who had pulled Cas to him and not the other way around.

Dean said nothing. He knew if he did he would question this and then he would reject Castiel again. Despite everything, he knew he didn't want that. It was just a guy comforting a friend, he told himself. He'd already said they could be friends. That was all it was.

Hands slid up his back, gripping his shirt briefly before moving higher. Fingers slipped into his short hair, cupping the back of his head in a manner that was a little more than friendly. Panic consumed him despite his self assurances and he backed away suddenly, his hands held up in front of him as though to defend himself from an attack. Castiel watched him go, his eyes hollow with sadness, though he did nothing when Dean turned to leave.

The man was stepping through to the living room when he turned partially around. "Look, I didn't mean to..." Dean sighed heavily and made himself look at the other man. "I don't hate you and I don't not care," Dean said quickly, remembering Amor's earlier words. "I just don't want you to think that meant something it didn't."

He left quickly, without waiting for a reply, though he could feel the burn of Castiel's gaze following him even after he'd disappeared from his sight.

... * ...

For just a moment, Castiel had brushed a piece of Heaven.

He hadn't expected Dean to come and find him. He'd hardly seemed to notice Castiel standing beside him, even if he had expressed gratitude for the breakfast Castiel had made him. When he'd felt the hand on his shoulder he'd first assumed it was Amor and been quite startled to find Dean watching him with concerned eyes. The embrace had come as an even greater surprise. It had been so comfortable, so perfect that for just a moment anything that lay beyond Dean's arms had been utterly forgotten. Responding had seemed only natural but his response had been of the sort that Dean wasn't ready to accept yet. Now he was gone again, though his parting words gave Castiel a mixed sense of despair and hope. On one hand, Dean now seemed open to some sort of relationship with him. On the other, he clearly didn't want anything beyond a friendship. Or at least, he was convincing himself that he didn't.

Amor was gone when Castiel finally got up the nerve to return to the living room, as was Bobby. Sam came over to tell him that Bobby had gone to see if he could find anything on any other kids that might have been infected while Amor had simply disappeared. This surprised Cas; Amor wasn't one to leave without saying goodbye first. Dean was also gone and when he asked where he was Sam said he'd gone to work.

"You can stay here, if you want," Sam offered.

Cas almost said no. He almost ran right out of the house, back through the town and into the quiet, dirty little abandoned house that offered alluring solitude. Instead he nodded once and forced himself to smile. "Thank you. Do you have anywhere to be?"

Sam shook his head and grinned. "I'm on summer vacation, I get to be lazy. Besides, I want to know more about you and Dean. What does it mean that your soul loves his?"

For a long moment Castiel gazed at the younger brother uncertainly. Should he tell him? He had a feeling that Sam would be understanding, perhaps even a source of support and even friendship. There was something in his eyes, a sense of empathy that invited you to tell him everything that troubled you. It tugged at him seductively until finally he gave in.

"It means we're soulmates," Castiel said finally. "I've known since I was little that I was connected to someone, I think because of my Cherub powers. Did he tell you about his dreams?" he waited until Sam nodded. "That first dream was the first time I was able to find him. At first it was only about being with him, until I realized he was connected to Azazael and the visions I'd been getting from the Angels."

Castiel explained his ability to hear the Angels and occasionally receive visions from them, how he'd known about Sam because of them and how, through Dean's dreams, he'd come to understand that he had to impose himself on their lives more quickly than he'd intended. Sam listened without interrupting, his eyes as sympathetic and understanding as Castiel had suspected they would be.

"Are you in love with Dean?" Sam asked when Castiel had finished.

The question startled him. He'd never actually thought of that. He knew his soul loved Dean's but did he love Dean?

"I don't know," Castiel admitted. "But I know it feels good when I'm around him, even now when he's so confused. I know I want to stay close to him."

Sam nodded and said nothing, though there was a small, oddly knowing smile on his face.

Bobby returned two hours later with news that he had discovered several 'incidents' in nearby towns involving strange events that pointed to more infected children. As he explained his findings it suddenly occurred to Castiel to wonder why Bobby had come here. Had he known about some of this before and come back to protect his friends?

It seemed the same thing had crossed Sam's mind because he asked Bobby about his visit before Cas could.

"I didn't know anything about what he's told us," Bobby said, waving a hand in Castiel's direction. "But I found some omens that said Lawrence was the new demon playground, so I came to make sure you guys were okay."

"I guess that's not something you could say over the phone," Sam said with a nod.

"Well...I could have," Bobby said slowly. "But it would have put someone in a real awkward position."

Someone in this family was a Hunter, or had been at one time. The knowledge struck Castiel suddenly and he felt like an idiot for not seeing it sooner. It wasn't Sam or Dean, that left only their parents. Castiel had only met them once briefly that morning, when Sam had introduced him as 'Dean's friend Cas' when they'd come down to make breakfast. That certainly hadn't given him enough time to guess at which one of them might have been a Hunter.

Sam didn't press the matter as Dean had; it seemed he knew Bobby wasn't going to give up the information.

John, Mary and Jessica came home just after six. Castiel watched first John as he sat with Sam and Jessica, including Castiel in their conversation as easily as though he'd known him all his life, then Mary, first while she joined the conversation and then while she was in the kitchen making dinner. All he got for his trouble was confusion. Neither one of them put out the vibes of a Hunter, past or present. Maybe he was mistaken?

Dean came home just before seven. His eyes flicked over the room, seeking out first his brother and then Cas. When he'd found them both the half blood noticed a visible relaxation in his posture. He even went so far as to cast a hesitant but sincere smile towards Castiel, encouraging the hope Castiel had felt muddled so thoroughly with despair earlier that day.

Mary set an extra place at the table when it became apparent that Cas wasn't going anywhere. The half blood had never really been a part of a family dinner before but found he greatly enjoyed the new experience. Did Sam and Dean have any idea how lucky they were? Or did they take such love for granted? He found himself looking around the table on more than one occasion and hoping the latter wasn't the case.

Dean surprised him again by offering to let him stay in his old room. Cas almost accepted but knew the temptation to get closer to Dean would be too great, so he took the couch instead. He fell asleep with a warmth inside that he'd never experienced before, one so thick and comforting that his dreams were full of hope and happiness.

Around two in the morning that warmth shattered, dashed into a thousand shards by a scream of such pain that no one who heard it that night would ever be able to forget it, no matter how much they may have wanted to.
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The Keys to Destiny