NikolaHarvey

Never forget that no one ever told that adorable, selfless, loving angel that he was loved. That the best he ever got was Dean saying "I'm sorry" after 12 years of... whatever that ended up being.

Never forget that in the end, his sacrifice went unexplained, unmourned, and his final dying wish was radically ignored when Dean died shortly thereafter doing the same thing he's always done.

Castiel deserved better. Misha deserved better. Dean deserved better. Jensen deserved better.

Jack smiles at Dean's question like he'd been expecting it. "He's with me. In Heaven. He's... done, I think. He played a part in saving the world, and now... he wants to rest. I think he deserves that."

Simultaneously, the news breaks Dean's heart and heals it. But more than anything, it gives him something to think about.

~

"Sammy."

His brother looks at him like he has a million times - with an expression that says he knows exactly what Dean's going to say before the words even leave his mouth. "Are you sure?"

Nodding with a gallic shrug, he slides his hands in his pockets. "Listen, man. We've been through it, I mean really through it the last fifteen years. Monsters, gods, cosmic douchebags... Hitler, for god's sake. You name it, we've beat it. And now Jack, he's... he's better. He's better than Chuck, and I'm alright with that. You've got Eileen here, the baby. You guys are good. Everyone's good. But me?"

Sam tries to cut him off, but Dean's been trying to get these words out his entire life, and he's not gonna let Sam stop him now. "Just wait. I'm not happy here, Sammy. I can't be, not with... not with Cas somewhere else. He's it for me, man. He's everything, and if I gotta let go of this life to go find him, then..." He shrugs again as the faces of all the people he loves flash through his mind. "Then I'm good with that. I've lived a lot of lives, man. More than anyone, probably, if we consider that fiasco at Mystery Spot. And I wanna be done. I wanna be happy. I wanna finally look Cas in those stupid blue eyes and tell him I love him too. So... I asked Jack if he'll let me in up there. Say sayonara to this place and just... be."

Dean was prepared for a lot of reactions from Sam, but happiness wasn't one of them. Tears shine in his brother's eyes as he steps forward and pulls Dean into a hug. "I'm proud of you, Dean. I'm gonna miss you, but... this isn't the end. I'll see you again soon."

With a sad smile, Dean pats his brother's back and steps away. "Yeah, but maybe not too soon, okay? Have a few more kids. Train the next generation of Men of Letters right. And for the love of god, burn every copy of Supernatural you ever find."

Sam laughs, but before he can say anything else, Jack appears. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah, let me just..." Dean pulls off his flannel and sets it in the box he's kept Cas' trenchcoat in. "Alright. Beam me up, Scotty."

"Bye, Dean." Sam sniffles, pulling the box close to his chest. "Tell Cas I said I'm sorry it took you so long to admit it."

With a last grin and a middle finger, Dean disappears from the Earth.

~

Heaven is a lot brighter than Dean remembers it, but maybe that's just because his human eyes were limited. Things look great, and Jack looks around proudly as he leads Dean to the garden. "I no longer keep people confined to their personal heavens. You'll be free to roam, free to see everyone you've ever loved that's up here. I think Cas is visiting with my mom right now."

"Does he... does he know I'm comin'?"

Jack nods. "Yes, he's been watching over you. He's eager to see you again."

Butterflies scatter throughout Dean's stomach as he rounds the corner. He sees Kelly, but she's not talking to Cas, she's talking to some huge, multi-headed thing. "What the..."

"Oh, you haven't seen his true form yet, have you?" Jack asks. "That's what he really is. What he really looks like. Don't worry, he can take any visage he wants up here, so he'll be able to speak with you the way he always has."

As they approach, Dean gets a good look. His wings are wider than anything he's ever seen, all jet black with streaks of blue and green. They're gorgeous, and would've stolen the show entirely if it weren't for the heads. One moose, one squirrel, one insect-lookin' thing that might be a bee... and an Impala. Dean's breath catches in his throat as tears flood his eyes. "Has he always looked like that?"

"No. But you changed him, Dean. More completely than I think you'll ever know. Now... go. I think you've wasted enough time."

As he nears Cas, all four heads turn to look at him. It's overwhelming, but Dean isn't afraid. This is Cas, the love of his life. "Heya, Cas. Long time no see. I uhh... guess I've got some things to tell you. Can you... I dunno, maybe come down here?"

1) 99% of Dean Winchester's coping mechanism is alcohol and shovels. He buries shit as deep as he can with alcohol and repeated layers of absolute trauma... and why? So he can keep going. If he lets himself really sit on what happened, really look at it... he'd die. He'd shrivel up in a ball and let the pain swallow him whole.

But he's not going to do that. Because doing that means Cas died for nothing. It means his sacrifice was in vain. So, he buries it deep and he gets up, and he keeps going. He tries to save the world.

2) "There's nothing and no one I'd put above you." - Dean, to Sam, what feels like an eternity ago. 15X18 saw him ignoring Sam's calls in the middle of a world-ending, Thanos-snapping, total rapture apocalypse. He didn't give a shit what was happening with Sam and Jack. He didn't give a shit if Sam knew he was still alive or not. He just lost Cas.

15X19 has Dean telling God that he will kill Sam, he'll give up, he'll wave the white flag if he just puts everything right again. If he just brings Cas back. He's certainly putting someone above Sam now.

3) The last time Dean faced someone he cared about who inherited God-like powers, terrible things happened. (I'm looking at you, God!Cas). He was scared to death. If Jack was truly absorbing all the wasted power around him, then be realistic. He was juiced up by Death, Lucifer, Michael, God and Amara. That's one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, two archangels, and two deities for anyone keeping track. He's an actual toddler.

If Cas, who already loved them all so much he'd do anything for them, could go dark side with that much power, what would someone like Jack do? The two year old son of Lucifer himself, who already killed Mary, who already killed innocents, and who Dean had been berating for months? He was scared. So was Sam. They didn't ask for favors, they laid on the worship thick. "Of course he's coming back. We'll get him (enter bunker fixtures here)". If I were Dean, I wouldn't have uttered the name of a single person I loved in Jack's presence until I was sure he wouldn't end up like every other god-level dickbag he's ever met.

He probably thought he was doing Cas a favor.

4) For the first time in his life, Dean Winchester knows he's more than Daddy's Blunt Instrument. And why does he suddenly know this after years of being told the same thing? Because he saw the truth in Cas' eyes. He saw the facts laid bare, he finally — FINALLY saw in himself what Cas has seen in him all along.

If his angel says it, believes it enough to suffer a fate worse than death for him... the least he can do is listen. To believe. To do everything in his power to not prove him wrong.

So he walked away. After wanting Chuck dead more than anything he's ever wanted in his entire life... he walked away. Weightless. Unincumbered. Without a shred of regret. He walked away with a fucking smile, because he really did win. He won against every demon inside of him that had tried to tear him down since he was 4 years old. He won against every heartbreak he'd ever suffered, every year in Hell he spent being tortured. Every mistake he ever made. He won, because in the end, when it mattered, he chose mercy. He chose to let go of his quest for revenge. He chose to lead with love. "Everything you've ever done, the good and the bad... you've done for love."

And why? Because his angel, his best friend, the love of his life... knew he was capable of it. Held him to a higher standard than he ever held himself, and he'd kill his own brother (see point #2) before he let Cas down ever again.

The path is clear. Dean's arch has come full circle, freeing his path in more ways than one. He now believes himself to be the man that Cas thinks he is, and only now — only after this final turn when he finally believes himself to be a man worthy of love — can he finally accept it.

Dabb gave us a gift in letting BuckLeming wrap up the mythos of this series. He let them write their bronlies ending, let them write the ending they can sell to ignorant countries that won't be happy with what he does in the true finale. And all that's left is 40 minutes... 40 minutes for Dabb to bring this entire, glorious, wonderful, brilliant story to a close.

And it won't be in violence. "Family don't end in blood."

Square(s) Filled: Fake Marriage for @spngenrebingo

Warnings: Case angst, being fake married to Dean, feels, mentions of death

Summary:  Dean and Y/N have to pretend to be married for a case. But this isn’t any ordinary case. Married couples have gone missing from Albert Lea, Minnesota, every six months for the last few years but there is almost zero evidence. People don’t just disappear like that do they? With Bobby and Sam’s help, plus an ally in their new town, they have just under six months to figure it out. Chances are they’ll survive the case, but will their friendship survive their fake marriage?

Pairing: Dean x Reader

Word Count: 2342

Written for: @spngenrebingo

Beta’d by: @amanda-teaches, who says the nicest things and makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside and also keeps me on a straight line. I heart you! And @alleiradayne for letting me bounce ideas off her, like all the time. 

A/N:  This will be six chapter series, one for each month of the case, plus a bonus epilogue. Loosely based/inspired by the song Making Circles by Christian Kane and I just felt this needed to be written. There will be lyrics dispersed throughout the entire story. I hope you love this as much as I do. The nicest thing you can do for a writer is reblog their work and tell them, and others, how much you like it!

Making Circles master list

Month One

“So get this,” Sam started as Dean and Y/N entered Bobby’s kitchen early one morning. “I think I found a case.” Sam turned his laptop around so they can both see the details.

“You sure this is our kind of thing, Sammy? I don’t know man. This looks pretty normal as far as I can tell,” Dean grumbled, taking a seat.

“What else did you find Sam?” Y/N asked, turning her attention to Sam.

“Well, there have been disappearances going back a few years. Every six months or so another couple is murdered. All of these couples seem normal with blue collar jobs and homes, but from what I was able to dig up, nothing out of the ordinary,” Sam explained. “All the homes of the missing couples have been combed over, but all the evidence is at the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) in Saint Paul and they have a mammoth backlog. We may not know anything for months, even years. Or possibly never. It isn’t exactly high priority, ya know?”

“You idjits better get a move on,” Bobby addressed Dean and Y/N as he poured a cup of coffee.

“Bobby, we’ve got basically no intel. We have no idea what we’re hunting and you want us to walk in there blind?” Dean argued with his surrogate father. “That’s not smart. Besides, why does it have to be us?”

“Oh, you want me and Sam to pose as happily married couple?” Bobby smacked Dean across the back of the head.