Chapter Text
As the sun broke through the motel window, the two lay sleeping in each other’s arms. Their legs were tangled lazily together, hair mussed around their faces. They were naked still from the previous night’s debauchery, nestled against one another beneath a plush comforter. A gentle knock on the door caused green eyes to flutter open, lazily, inching slowly away from the black haired beauty beside her. Their skin stuck together, slick with sweat, and the blonde’s movements woke Cassie. She groaned, grabbing her partner’s hand. “Stay,” she muttered sleepily.
“Anna, open the door,” the familiar voice rang through the door. Deanna kissed Cassie on the forehead.
“It’s Samantha. I gotta get it.” Deanna wrapped a towel around her body, opening the door. Sammi didn’t hesitate to walk through the doorway. She had obviously been up for hours. Her workout clothes were stained with sweat, long brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. In her hands was a cardboard tray with three coffee cups, one of which she stuffed into Deanna’s hand, glancing over at Cassie. She smirked for a moment.
“So get this,” she started. Deanna sighed, leaning against the desk in the hotel room. This definitely wasn’t her favorite way to be awoken in the morning. She stared longingly at Cassie, still lying comfortably in the bed. “I was on my morning run, getting ready to hit the road and everything, when I ran into Gabriel.” Samantha quit speaking, glancing back and forth between Deanna and Cassie, waiting for the light bulb to go off in one of their heads. Deanna, irritated with the halt of the story that was so important it was necessary to disturb their sleep, furrowed her brows together.
“Who?” Sammi rolled her eyes. “Think, Anna!” Deanna sat her coffee down on the desk and folded her arms across her chest, indicating that she was not going to play guessing games first thing in the morning. Samantha sighed in defeat, pulling out a chair and straddling it.
“Okay, well you know, Gabriella – trickster/archangel/loki?” Deanna nodded and Cassie sat up in the bed, sure to keep the blanket covering her chest.
“What about her?” Cassie asked, her interested piqued.
“Well I ran into Gabriel. He’s like… he’s Gabriella, but he’s a guy. And he said he’s from some parallel universe. So I asked him what he was doing here, and he said that he lives here. That we’re… we’re like foreigners. We’re not home, I guess.” Deanna glanced at Cassie and the back at Samantha, shaking her head slowly.
“What are you on drugs?” Deanna answered, as if it was the only logical solution. And really, it was. Sure, Gabriella had pulled some stunts on them in the past, but they had since entered into a truce of sorts. Why would she start messing with them again now?
“No, Anna! Listen, so Gabriel said that there was something messed up in this world that only we could fix. But I asked him what it was and he just said that we’ll know when we see it and then he was gone.” Cassie plopped her head back against the pillow, not entirely wanting to listen to such nonsense so early in the morning. “Well are y’all gonna get dressed?”
“No, Sammi. I wanna sleep,” Deanna grumbled. Samantha opened her mouth to speak, but before she could get the words out a voice echoed down the hallway outside the door.
“Cas! Get your feathery ass down here!” Deanna shot a glance at Cassie, who sat up abruptly in bed. She had heard the gruff man’s voice, not only in the hallway, but also in her mind – angel radio. Her eyes grew wide as she turned to Samantha.
“We should get dressed,” Cassie said, decidedly.
- - - - -
Castiel had been working diligently to collect the angel tablet, perusing heaven for any possible explanation of where it could be located, when he heard Dean’s gruff voice ringing in his ears. With an eye roll, he tuned into Dean’s location and appeared in front of him, probably a little too close for comfort.
“Cas? Can you back up there buddy?” Dean’s voice confirmed Castiel’s theory, and with hesitance, Castiel backed away. A wavering breath escaped his lips as he waited for Dean to speak, but Dean simply stared at Cas, seemingly lost for words.
“Did you need something, Dean? Because, in case you’ve forgotten, I’ve been busy searching heaven for clues as to where the angel tablet is located.” Castiel spoke, his voice low and gravelly, reminding Dean that he was not entirely useless and was not available for him at his every beckoning call. Dean sighed.
“Yeah, I know. Any luck?” Dean watched as Castiel titled his head to the side, his eyes squinting in that peculiar way that always made Dean’s knees lock up and his stomach lurch.
“Did you really call me to ask about my progress?” Castiel gazed at his hunter with curious eyes, noticing the way Dean shifted his weight, as if uncomfortable. He couldn’t help but wonder how, after all this time, Dean could still be uncomfortable around him. Dean’s tongue slid across his lower lip and he brought his thumb up to his mouth, wiping unnecessarily at the corner of his lips.
“It’s Sam,” Dean admitted, the words hanging heavy in the air. Cas searched Dean’s face as Dean continued speaking. “He’s started these … these demon trials. I want – can you fix it? It shouldn’t be him.” Dean no longer met Castiel’s gaze, just stared at the ground.
“Dean, your brother is just as capable of completing the trials as you are,” Castiel started, gently. He didn’t want to tell Dean that he couldn’t fix it, although he truly couldn’t. Dean’s green eyes met with Castiel’s, a displeased glint in his orbs. Cas inhaled slowly before huffing. “I can’t reverse the fact that he’s started the trials, Dean. But if you don’t want him to complete them, you’ll have to do them yourself – before he does, I suppose.” Dean nodded, already knowing that was the only option. He had simply wanted confirmation from his angel that it was the only way.
“He doesn’t want to stop,” Dean answered, his voice nearly a whisper. “And I’m scared,” he admitted – something that he rarely admitted even to himself. Castiel was shocked as the word’s rolled off his tongue. He had never heard Dean admit any weakness, although he knew all of Dean’s weaknesses, Sam being his biggest weakness.
Castiel touched Dean’s shoulder, drawing Dean’s gaze back to his eyes. “You have nothing to be afraid of. We will work it out, no matter what. Like we always do.” Dean smirked at Cas, a small laugh escaping from his lips. Cas sounded just like Dean’s reassuring voice of reason. It didn’t bring him much comfort, since Dean knew that when he spoke those same words to Sam or to Cas, he never truly believed them himself. Whenever the going got rough, Dean would put on his game face and pretend that everything would be alright, but deep down he always felt as if it would be the end.
“Thanks, Cas,” Dean answered, but Castiel’s attention had been pulled away. He was staring at a group of girls, his face contorted in confusion. “Uh… Cas?” Dean said, raising his eyebrows and snapping his fingers. Castiel turned his attention back to Dean.
“Excuse me for a moment,” he replied, and then he was gone. Dean rolled his eyes and looked back over at the girls. They looked remarkably familiar, but then again – maybe not. Shrugging his shoulders, he headed back into the motel, walking directly past the group of three, but not without winking at them in passing.
“Son of a bitch,” Deanna muttered, her heart pounding. “Sammi, you were right.”