Bruised: A Destiel AU

Epilogue

*Announcment at the end*

Epilogue

Two months later, Castiel was still in pain. Each day it took everything he had to pull himself out of the bed where Deans sent was fading. He still work the boys shirts and cried at night. It was a battle to eat more than a few bites every day. He only slept when he couldn’t stay up any longer, when days of exhaustion forced his body to shut down and pass out. He was slightly better now, sleeping every few days and eating at least one normal sized meal. These were developments that had only occurred within the last week, and this was only due to the idea that he would soon be off to boot camp.

Air Force. Why was he putting himself through it, through risking having to kill someone when he could hardly punch his own tormenters?  Castiel has never classified himself as a fighter, yet here he was going to fight. It was something Dean had infused into him, but he didn’t want to admit that. It would be counterproductive to the entire situation, which was to get Dean off of his mind.

Getting Dean Winchester out of his mind was far harder than Castiel could have imagined. Staying in his house wasn’t helping, but this was a roof over his head that wasn’t a concrete block. Beyond that, Castiel soon discovered only days after Deans departure that his boyfriend (ex?) had set up an appointment with a lawyer to bring the people who have hurt him ‘to justice.’ He wasn’t sure what the man met when he appeared at his door, but he soon discovered that it was about Anna as well as his former teammates attempt to rape him. Of course Dean would do this; always trying to do what he felt was best for others.

He had told the lawyers and judges what they wanted to hear which, thankfully, was the truth and, even though his case was still in processing, they insisted that he was set for winning. Castiel didn’t care. He just wanted it all over. It was only adding to his memories, only made him sob harder at night when he thought back to how much Dean had seemed to care. But how could he care if he left?

The only good thing that came from Deans actions was the push it gave Castiel to confront his family. It was as if one the loose ends were being tied than every set should follow that suite. He set up a time to meet with Gabriel, figuring walking to the front door with the one family member that still spoke with him would be easier than walking alone. The brothers had, on occasion, met up since Deans depature, but not often. Gabriel insisted on being concerned over his brother’s health, and that caused Castiel to be somewhat picky about how often he met his sibling. Still, Gabriel mentioned none of that when they met up for lunch. He was ecstatic to see his baby brother again and thrilled when Cas ate most of the meal in front of him-his one meal for the day. It was more than he wanted to eat, but it made Gabriel happy, so he couldn’t find it in him to feel sick enough to regret it.

“Are you sure you wanna do this, Castiel?” Gabe asked, frowning over at his baby brother where he sat in the passenger seat of the car which set idling in the parking lot. Cas nodded, waving at him to start driving.

“I’m sure. Please Gabriel, let’s just go. “ Castiel pleaded. “I finally have a nerve. Don’t take that away; it’s my turn to do the stupid stuff.”

Gabriel let out a low chuckle, pulling out towards their home. “Finally I get to be the older brother, huh?”

“’Bout time.” Castiel smiled, letting Gabriel know he was teasing, but the older brother fell quiet and stayed that way throughout the trip home. He felt as though he had failed Castiel. What kind of older sibling lets his baby brother get beaten?

When they arrived home, Gabriel was still quiet. The smile he flashed Castiel as they headed towards the door was painfully fake. Everything, Castiel decided, is just an act. The look on his mother face when she opened the door to find Castiel standing there, however, was anything but fake.