Archangels are absolute

Fucking Shit Up

Alternate title - finally getting some fuckin answers

Cas and Dean's relationship is different, more cuddling and looking at each other and casual brushes. 

Dean likes it, he missed Cas and all his little quirks. It's not what he thought about during his little visit to heaven but... they've got a war on their hands, whatever Dean is feeling so strongly should wait until this is over.

Things don't usually end up as Dean plans.

One little above average (so normal for them) demon in Georgia, Dean freezes for a second, and Cas gets hurt. 

God be Damned if Dean is gonna lose Cas in this fight he's gonna let himself have Cas first. 

Listening to Cas's still steady heartbeat, securely wrapped around each other, it's the best sleep Dean's ever had. Cas softly humming one of the Led Zepplin songs from the mixtape Dean gave him was a wake-up call from his closely guarded fantasies.

Sam doesn't stop mumbling about 'hunter husbands', Bobby gruffs an 'about time',  Jo smiled (kindly asking that she and Cas go outside to 'talk', it all turns out well, Ellen has her own talk with Dean), and Ellen brings them some drinks to celebrate. 

They do find out one of the reasons Michael is so eager to get Castiel in his grimy claws. 

Castiel was the only archangel God trusted to keep humanity and earth safe after Lucifer fell. Castiel was put in charge of keeping Lucifer in the cage and humanity going, the archangel of humankind more than the lord. Micheal didn't accept this and wanted Lucifer freed so their father would see that Castiel couldn't do his job and how he was superior since only Micheal could defeat Lucifer.

And he wanted Cas to watch as the cage bursts open and humanity becomes doomed. He wants Cas to watch as his entire purpose becomes pointless and his brothers fight to the death while destroying everything in their paths. 

Dean is absolutely furious, Sam has to hold him back from leaving and hunting down Michael to kill him himself. Pointing out that Cas and everyone else needs him is the only thing that snaps him out of his rage. 

Meeting Gabriel isn't much better, finding out a stupid trickster that forced Sammy to watch Dean die every day over and over again is an archangel and Castiel's older brother was eventful, to say the least.

Cas telling them stories of Gabriel raising him and them playing together and visiting humans over the centuries helped the transition.  

They fight angels and demons together, getting every once of information they can about the progress on Lucifer's cage before banishing them to their respective homes. 

Finding Jack was surprising, son of Lucifer surprisingly kind and non-murdery. 

Meeting Chuck/God was not great either, Dean still feels like he should get a prize or something to predicting God was an ass.  

It was impossible for Lucifer's cage not to open, with so many possible seals. Most of which there was no way not to break, it was unavoidable. 

But the four Horseman's rings change things (Gabriel really did come in handy). Death was surprisingly helpful, willingly giving them his ring as long as they promise to give it back. 

War, Pestilence, and Famine were difficult but they had two archangels, the Righteous Man, a boy with demon blood, and the King of Hell Crowley. Along with many many hunters who would rather the apocalypse not happen. 

After Lucifer gets back into his cage with his dear brother Michael for company, they decide it's time to deal with God.

Luckily even God has a limit and any Winchester, even honorary, is very hard to kill. Jack is able to absorb his power before it returns to God. 

Fitting that Chuck has to live out the rest of his days as a human just like the billions he's stopped caring about a long time ago. 

Jack and Cas go to heaven, fixing as much as they can and helping the angels understand what really happened not the propaganda they believed. They let the angels exercise the free will they've had since their creation but never had the option to use. 

More buildings like the Roadhouse pop up, safe houses for hunters and fallen angels, and the like. Even the bunker opens up to old friends. 

They hunt down the remaining stragglers bent on revenge, from any and all sides. 

It's a lot of work but they have lots of connections now. So it's over quick, well, quick for them. So like a year. 

Once it's all over, the group sits down and takes out their journals. Filling out anything and everything someone could need for stopping another apocalypse. 

Every single name of an ally or enemy or seal to the cage, every place you can find an angel blade or demon killer. 

Every journal has one section to a diagram to make another colt. 

They even add simpler stuff like were djinn live or nice vampires or curing vampirism or safehouse or how to find Death or contacting Jack (new god). 

Every piece of information they ever come across in their entire lives of hunting. 

And they lock them away in the warehouse where they summoned Castiel for the first time, a few tricks, spells, and enchantments, and they're perfectly safe. Anyone with true intentions will be able to get the journals and other knick-knacks they store there. 

Nice little touch means that the spirits of the people who put them there had to approve of the person taking the stuff and why. Bobby, Ellen, Dean, and Sam. 

Everything was set in place, earth is in good hands. 

Ps With the whole 'Castiel's role with the angels' this is what I was thinking:

Castiel- earth

Lucifer- hell

Micheal-heaven

Gabriel- the middle ground between heaven and earth, chaotic good basically

Others- depends, normally psychotic kinda-good intentions.