A Multifandom OneShot Collection

[Destiel] A Heaven for You

Content, Dean sat on the hood of his Impala and watched the stars stretching over the horizon above. It was one of the last clear nights before autumn would drown the landscape in golden leaves and cloudy afternoons, and every once in a while a surprisingly cold breeze would make him shiver. Taking a sip of his beer, he let his eyes wander to Castiel, who sat next to him watching the lights above, clutching his bottle tightly without having taken a sip so far.
"You don't like it?", Dean said, pulling Cas out of his thoughts. The angel looked at him in confusion, before he noticed Dean's meaningful gaze at the bottle in his hands.
"No, that's not it. I forgot I had it."
Dean knitted his brows, watching Castiel take a few sips.
"You forgot?", he repeated incredulously, and Cas nodded, turning his attention back to the stars. Dean stared at him for a few seconds, before he huffed and made himself comfortable by moving up the hood of the car and laying down with his back on the windshield. His gaze turned back to the sky, and he spotted the Big Dipper and Cassiopeia, following each dot which made the star constellations and tracing invisible lines. Sometimes, when his father found the time during their trips through the states, he'd park the car on a silent road during a clear night and explained some of those stars to Dean while Sam slept in the back of the car. It was one of the few times Dean got with him without talking about monsters or jobs. Since his father died, he did that with Sammy whenever they would find the time. Or, if it just so happened that he was apart from his brother, alone. Few things gave him as much peace as staring at the tiny lights, philophosizing about the vastness of the universe. Especially in times when he thought everything was his responsibility, and the future of the world weighed heavily on his shoulders, it helped to remember how insignificant he probably was in the whole picture. Just a tiny spec in space, there and gone within the blink of an eye.
"What are you smiling at?", he heard Cas ask curiously.
With a sigh, Dean put an arm behind his neck to support his head and watch his friend better.
"Nothing, Cas. Just thought of something funny." He took another sip of his beer thoughtfully. "Hey, I know angels don't go to heaven when they die and stuff, but, if you would, what do you think yours would look like?"
Castiel looked at Dean's face for a few seconds, seemingly thinking about the question, before he took a half hearted sip from his bottle and answered slowly. "I don't know. I have never really thought about it."
Dean frowned. "What, never? Not even out of boredom? Not even a little bit?"
When Cas shook his head, Dean narrowed his brows in thought, staring at one particular star, which appeared to slightly flicker from time to time.
"What would your heaven look like?", Castiel asked then, turning Dean's attention back to him. The hunter shrugged.
"Probably a nice dance bar with some hot chicks", he said with a sly grin. "What could be better than an eternity with the women of my dreams?"
When he saw Cas staring at him intently, he quickly took a few more sips.
"I don't think that's what you truly want", the angel then said, making Dean sigh. Castiel was right. Dean had thought about it more than he would like to admit. What hell was like, he knew all too well. But the only things he knew about heaven is what he picked up during their short visits there. When he first fantasized about it, his first ideas all had to do with strippers, alcohol and sex. But, the more he had been thinking about it, the more his imaginary heaven changed.
"I don't know", Dean said quietly. "I imagine heaven with my Baby there. Fishing at a quiet lake. Sam's there, safe and happy. We visit Bobby and the Road House crew from time to time for a round of poker." He's quiet for a few moments, feeling Cas' look on him. "And you", he then added quietly, taking another sip. He'd have to get another bottle soon. Castiel now turned his whole body towards him, his undivided attention directed at Dean. "In my heaven, you'd step by from time to time as well. Drink a beer with us, play some cards, whatever our hearts desire."
"Dean-", Cas began, but was stopped by him before he could continue.
"I'm sorry, that's not fair to say. If I'd even get a spot in heaven, you'd certainly have more than enough angelic duties to worry about."
Castiel tilted his head ever so slightly, looking at Dean for a moment, before he copied him by leaning back against the windshield as well. There were a few long moments of silence, before the angel began to speak.
"My heaven would look like the bunker. You'd be there as well, just like Sam. It would rain outside, and we'd watch all the movies you like. You'd eat pizza and drink beer, and Sam would sleep after the first thirty minutes." Dean turned his head towards Castiel, watching him curiously. The angel seemed to stare at nothing, fiddling with hem of his bottle with a frown. The corners of Dean's mouth twitched upward, and he hummed in understanding. Suddenly, Cas turned all of his attention back at Dean, watching him with knitted brows.
"Why do you think you would not get a place in heaven?", he asked with curiosity.
Dean snorted without humour, turning away from Cas' intense stare and letting the empty beer bottle drop to the ground besides the Impala. He looked at Castiel with a wary gaze, waiting for the angel to understand the reasons by himself. When there was still nothing but sincere interest, Dean frowned.
"Seriously? Cas, you gotta be joking. You of all should know how royally fucked up I am."
When Castiel still showed no sign of understanding, Dean sat upright with a stare of disbelief.
"Do I really have to remind you? Cas, I made deals with demons, multiple times, while we're at it, I was a demon myself, twice, and I tortured souls in hell. And I was quite good at that, might I add. I lied, killed, and hurt people multiple times, and I don't think that's compatible with the heavenly ideal."
Now, it was Castiel who frowned.
"Dean, there is not a single person alive that would deserve a heaven more than you."
Dean huffed. "Yeah, no. I appreciate the effort Cas, but I could name several people right now on the spot."
Castiel gazed at Dean's face searchingly. Then, he raised his look to the sky and began to talk abscently.
"Dean, you are the single most sincere human being I have ever had the honour to come across. Everything you do, you do because you think it's right. You're selfless, loving and brave. Sam and you have saved this planet and all of its inhabitants multiple times. You've saved me, and believed in me, even when I didn't deserve it. There's not a single other soul in this world brighter than yours, trust me. You will go to heaven."
Dean swallowed heavily at that. He clenched his jaw while picking on the seam of his jeans. It's not the first time the angel had tried to tell him that he's not the hopeless and hateable being that he thinks he is, but whatever Castiel saw in him, Dean was unable to see as well, no matter how hard he tried to look.
When he couldn't stand his own uncomfortable thoughts anymore, he slid off the Impala's hood and got himself another beer from the cooling box. He opened the bottle with a hiss as the oxygen escaped and threw the cap aside carelessly. With a swift movement, perfectioned over the years, he got back up to his resting place against the windshield, and he returned to stargazing with a sigh. He traced the sky's Pegasus, moving on to the Cygnus and Lyra. He couldn't wait until the winter brought Orion with it, for some reason it was his favourite constellation. The fact that he could only see it for a few months before it vanished to the southern hemisphere again, made it even more special to him.
It took him several minutes until he noticed Castiel staring at him. With furrowed brows, he took a sip of his new beer.
"I got something on my face, Cas, or why are you looking at me like that?"
Castiel squinted slightly, not taking his gaze off of him.
"Who do you think should get a place in heaven, if not you?", he asked.
Dean sighed. "Are we really gonna do this now?" When Cas didn't answer, he sighed again. "Alright, first of all, Arnold Schwarzenegger. That guy is a god damn badass, and he has a pet donkey. Need I say more? Next, whoever is responsible for 'BustyAsianBeauties.com'. They're doing God's work. Oh, and Steve Bacic of course. Without him, Dr. Sexy would be way more doctor and way less sexy. And don't get me started on Scarlet Johanson. I think we can both agree that she is going all the way up." Dean gives Castiel a meaningful look, before putting the bottle to his lips again. After he had taken a few sips, he silently watched Vega shine above him, letting his thoughts drift again. Cas still looked at him, but seemed to notice that Dean needed a few moments to think and said nothing. "Sam deserves it up there. His own little nerd-heaven. A library, some freshly made disgusting green smoothies and peace. No more hunting, no more monsters, just him and his veggie stuff."
Cas tilted his head empathetically. "I am sure that Sam will have a place in heaven. Just like you."
Dean scoffed, but didn't want to start a discussion and just returned to emptying his beer.
"You deserve one, too", he then mumbled. He didn't know if it was the alcohol talking, normally a few bottles could barely make him tipsy, but maybe the strain of the past months had finally gotten to him. "I mean, you're a damn angel, it doesn't get much holier than that. It's not fair that you saved this planet multiple times, with your life, even, and don't get shit in return."
Castiel watched him thoughtfully.
"Dean, I'm certainly not good at being an angel. Though, if it makes you feel better, seeing the sun rise every day and knowing it does so partly because of my sacrifices is reward enough. Before I met you and Sam, my existence was senseless. But if I were to die tomorrow, I would do so knowing that I was of use."
Dean gripped around the bottle tighter, his nostrils flaring disapprovingly. "Don't talk like that, Cas. We're a team, we three. You, Sam, and me. We're a family. You did so much more than just be 'useful'. Man, if it weren't for you who knows how things would've turned out." Dean took a few long sips of his beer when imagining that, suppressing a shiver at the thought of all the possible ways that the planet could have turned to ashes in those last years. "No", he continued then. "You are certainly the best one out there." With a crooked smile, he looked at Cas. "The only angel who keeps on fighting for humanity."
Castiel squinted his eyes together for a short moment, barely noticeable. Then, he lifted his head again to watch the stars above him. Dean sighed, following his example and crossing his legs at the shins. For a long while they both said nothing, Dean emptying his new bottle of beer in the meantime and simply letting his thoughts drift. He didn't know how much time had passed, when he yawned with his mouth wide open. Immediately Castiel's eyes were back on him.
"You should sleep", the angel stated.
"Sure", Dean mumbled, not making any attempt to move. It wasn't long until his yawns grew more frequent, though, and he couldn't fight his eyes beginnings to close against his will.
"Dean", Castiel said, more intently.
The hunter turned his head so that he could look at him without lifting it from the roof of the Impala, and gave an amused huff at the unhappy gaze of Cas.
"Yeah, yeah", he said, gathering himself to stand up and get back inside the car. With a sigh he first sat up, stretching his back that made sure he knew how resting it on a windshield for hours without any kind of cushioning was not acceptable, and then sliding off, putting the empty beer bottles into a plastic bag to not leave behind the trash. The angel followed his example, moving from the hood of the Impala and sitting down on the backseat as soon as he opened the Impala's door. Dean followed, not being able to ignore his tiredness anymore, and got in on the other side of the car, leaning down on the backseat to place his head on Castiel's lap in a ritual they had built for themselves during the last few times they had been stargazing. Dean had found himself unable to sleep with the angel sitting stiffly on the passenger seat in the front, no matter how tired he may be. He bent his stiff legs so that they fit inside relatively comfortable, and tried to hide another deep yawn behind the crook of his elbow.
"G'night, Cas", he said, and felt the angel shift a bit under his head to lean against the car's door more comfortably.
"Good night, Dean."
"Hey, Cas", the hunter mumbled before he could drift away completely, and would later blame the alcohol and his sleepy conscience for it. "Promise me you visit us in heaven?"
"Yes, Dean", Castiel answered, abscently playing with a strand of Dean's hair, lulling him to sleep that way, while looking out of the Impala's window, still gazing at the stars. "Of course I'll visit you."