C A S
Cas is met with empty darkness as he opens his eyes. But he's not alone.
"Cas...?" Dean whispers his name carefully, his eyes shining bright as Cas half turns to look at him. A glowing glass ball hangs in a chain around his neck. But it is Dean's eyes that Cas takes to study. His stare is met with a sad but bright and loving smile. Dean takes his hand in his, holding on tight to support Cas.
"Dean. Is it really you?" Resting his back against Dean's body, Cas half sits on the ground.
"It's me, Cas. It's me."
He says his name right.
His freckles have the right shade and pattern.
His eyes are right.
A movement in front of him steals his attention away from Dean, and as Cas turns he can see the Shadow standing in front of them. But... it's slowly dissolving.
"You better keep your promise, Winchester." And then the Shadow is gone.
And then the darkness is lit up.
And then the empty is filled.
As the Shadow throws them out of the void, Dean and Cas are thrown away from each other as they crash to the floor of the bunker. They land almost on the exact spot where Cas stood as he was taken by the empty. The room is shaking as if an earthquake had hit the bunker, but it quickly dies down as the black hole in the wall closes up, leaving nothing.
Their hands still intertwined.
Dean growls from beside him, drawing Cas's attention to him. Half in shock, they just lay there on the floor, staring at the other's eyes. Neither fully believing they made it out. Together.
They speak a single word at the same time, breaking the deafening silence.
"Cas?"
"Dean?"
At the sound of the other man's voice, they both collapse in relief. Exhaustion hitting both of them hard. But neither of them can stop smiling.
Dean is the first to move. Crawling. Towards Cas.
His body hitting Cas like a sinking ship as he embraces him.
Cas can feel tears on his face. But he's not sure if they are his own, or Deans. Or both. He's not sure how much time passes, as they both lose themselves in the embrace. Dean's hand finds its way to Cas's hair, pulling them even closer to each other as Dean runs his hand through the dark and soft hair.
"Don't ever leave me again, you dumb son of a bitch." The words would have sounded rough coming from anyone else. But Cas can hear the softness of his voice. If Cas didn't know better, he'd say it almost sounded like it was filled with love.
Cas buries his head in the space between Dean's neck and shoulder, drawing in a trembling breath. For just a moment he wants to know what it feels like to hold Dean like this. Being held by Dean like this. He wants to forget the world and just get lost in this moment.
Unfortunately, no one really gets what they wish for deep in their hearts. Their silence is broken by quick footsteps in the hallway coming towards them. Cas starts to pull away from the embrace, but Dean only holds him tighter.
"Don't. Don't let go just yet." So Cas falls back against Dean's shoulder, breathing a little easier now.
Sam comes running into the room, and a moment later, a fluffy and cheerful dog comes running in. It crosses the room towards them but stops short at the sight of Cas. Curious eyes studying him and Dean.
"Dean! Oh my... Cas!" Sam exhales loudly, clearly relieved at the sight of them. "Are you okay?"
"We're good, little brother. We're good." Dean pulls back from the hug but sitting there on the floor close to each other, his eyes never leave Cas. A hand cups his face as they stare at each other.
The younger Winchester stares at them with a questioning look when no one elaborates, too caught up in each other. Win a short, "I'm gonna go tell Eileen and Jack" Sam leaves the room again.
The dog, who had been eyeing them, comes closer, clearly curious. The movement catches Dean's attention and as he turns his face to the dog, the animal launches himself into Dean's lap. Greeting Dean with a wet kiss, the dog barks happily. Dean smiles at the dog, his hand leaving Cas's face to hug the dog.
"Good boy! Yeah, good boy!" When he looks back up at Cas, he smiles fondly. "Cas, I want you to meet Miracle. Mir, this is Cas. Yeah, the Cas I've been telling you about!"
The dog seems to understand him as he turns his whole being around to place his front paws on Cas's thighs. Cas smiles at that, greeting Miracle with gentle strokes on his head as the dog looks questionably at him. "Hello, there. Aren't you a gorgeous little one?"
"We found him a while after you... and then when Jack brought everyone back, no one claimed him. So I brought him back home with us." Dean smiles, clearly already caring deeply for the dog.
"He's adorable." Cas smiles, as Dean chuckled at the sight of them.
Exhausted, they sit there in silence, taking in the sight of each other, the dog sitting between the two of them clearly enjoying being cuddled by them both until they hear footsteps approaching them.
Eileen and Jack greet them with huge smiles, and everyone gives Cas a hug after he raises from the floor. Jack's hug lasting longer than the others. Jack melts into the embrace as Cas holds his son tight. Dean keeps close to him all the time.
"Cas, what happened to your throat?" Sam asks after pulling away from the hug. Cas places his hand on his throat finding a cut, still bleeding.
"Oh, it's..." Dean turns to face Cas, pulling the glass ball from the chain and holding it up to Cas. "I had to remove your grace to be able to bring us back. I left only a small grain so that I was sure you would make it. But it's all in here."
"Keep it safe for me, Dean." Cas closes his hand over Dean's. Hiding away the glass ball in the closed palm of his hand. Dean only nods at that, his cheeks blushing slightly.
"How... how long was I gone?" Dean turns to his brother. Pulling the chain over his head again, the glass ball resting against his chest.
"You were gone for four and a half-day, Dean. We were worried sick."
"Four days? Really? I didn't know four days could feel that long."
"Yeah... Now I really hope you'll stop scaring me like that and just stay here. Safe. Both of you." Sam looks at them both in turn with a worried look, but then a smiles cracks on his lips.
"Come on, we should get you all some food." Eileen smiles as she takes Sam's hand and leads then towards the door.
Cas moves to follow the others from the room, but as he starts moving, the exhaustion takes over and he sways on his feet, falling into Dean who was walking behind him.
"Cas?! Are you okay?" He can feel himself getting weaker and weaker. Only wanting to lay down and rest. If it hadn't been for Dean holding him, he would already have fallen to the floor.
"He might be drained of... well everything since he spent so long there," Jack says as they pass Sam to approach Cas. "I could heal the cut and bump up your levels, but that might make it worse. You've been locked away In the void for so long, with no access to your power or anything. I don't know how you'd react to my power if I tried to heal you. Especially since Dean had to drain your grace. You should probably get some proper rest. You'll need it, whether you want your grace returned or if you stay human."
"Okay, come on angel. Let's get you some rest." Dean says as he leads him down the hall towards the bedroom he's been assigned, but never really used. But then Dean passes Cas's room, leading him into his own.
Sam and Eileen have already headed for the kitchen to get some food for them. Jack follows Dean and Cas, and after making sure they are both alright, having studied them both inside and out to make sure. When they are happy with Dean and Cas being alright, Jack tells them about the things he has to go take care of. Cas suspects they'll close of any entry to the void, so that the Shadow has no way of reaching them, no matter what. Cas says nothing, only smiles exhausted as Jack hugs him once more. Jack had been in the bunker for a few days, so there were other things to take care of too, as the new and improved 'God' they're responsible for a lot. But Jack promises they'd be back as soon as they could.
When Jack leaves, Cas is too tired to do or say anything and gladly collapses on the bed.
Dean moves to his closet, pulling out some clothes.
"Here, change into these. They are way more comfortable than that suit of yours. I'll go find you something to eat and drink. I'll be right back." He seems nervous, voice shaky as he speaks, not wanting to meet Cas's eyes this time. But as he reaches the door Dean hesitates, looking back to Cas.
"Thank you, Dean. For everything." His voice is sleepy and barely loud enough to hear.
"Of course, angel. I'll be back in a second."
Cas dresses in the sweatpants and hoodie Dean gave him, and the moment his head rests back against Dean's pillow, he falls into a deep and comfortable sleep.
He knows he should wait until Dean returns with food, he'll need it now as he's human.
And he wants to talk to Dean. Clear the air. Tell him that even though he said those things before he was taken, he doesn't expect anything from Dean. He only wants his family back.
For everything to be as it was.
But sleep gets him before he can finish the thought. He's finally gotten away from the empty.
Finally safe.
Finally home.