Dean plunged straight into purgatory, his home away from home, without looking back. Cas saunters begins him looking rather blank.
"What does this freaking flower look like anyway?" Dean grunts.
"It's a yellow daisy."
"A daisy? Michael sent us to purgatory for something we could grab from the department store for five bucks?"
"It has to be from purgatory. The soil here has different properties." Cas answered, growing more annoyed.
"And where are we supposed to find the stupid thing?"
"I don't know, Dean. Michael didn't tell me anything that he didn't tell you." A small eye roll from Cas ended their conversation for the time being.
With Dean still leading the way, they stomped all over purgatory, finding nothing. It seemed every five minutes a monster would emerge and attack. Dean would strike it down without batting and eye, and they'd move on.
Four more hours go by, and still no daisy. In fact, besides the trees and the monsters, there were no signs of life at all.
Eventually, they came to a small wooden shack in the middle of the forest. They went in slowly. On their guard. There wasn't much inside. A rusted old spade. A rake with the handle sharpened to a point. A pair of dirty gardening gloves.
"Dean, look." Cas held up a dusty pack of daisy seeds.
"That asshole." Dean grabbed the seeds. "Was this Michael's plan? Hey dickhead!" Dean shouted at nothing, "We don't have time for these games!"
"Dean. Please be quiet. We are still in purgatory, and we do not know whose shed we are infiltrating. It could be anything."
"Or anyone." Answered a southern accent from the doorway.
"Benny!" Dean went in for a hug.
"Hey brother! What brings you to my neck of the woods?"
"Angels sent us on a wild goose chase. Kind of a long story. Oh man, you have to come back with us. I thought I would never see you again."
"Me neither. I'll head back with y'all. I just gotta pack up a few things." Benny laughed heartily and put an arm around Dean and the other around Cas. "I can't believe you're still alive. And still together." He looked at Cas. "Glad to see that year we spent looking for you wasn't wasted."
Before Cas could open his mouth to say something sarcastic or passive aggressive, Dean shut down the topic.
Dean patted Benny on the back. "It's good to see you too, brother." Then he went into the shortest possible version of the story of how they ended up in the shed.
"So if you know where we could find a yellow daisy, we can be on our way." Cas cut in at the end of Dean's story partly for revenge for being cut off earlier and partly because he was always a little jealous of Benny
Dean gave Cas a sharp look which earned him another eye roll and Cas' signature squinty eyes. Benny day between them looking back and forth. "Fellas, is something wrong?"
"I just don't want to get stuck here again." Cas urges. Dean shrugs apologetically at Benny while giving him an "I'll tell you later look."
"Well, as for your flower, I gotta whole pack of seeds here."
"Yeah, man. Great. We'll just plant these, water then everyday, give them some TLC, and in 90 days, after the portal's closed, we will have ourselves a flower. Fan-freakin-tastic."
"Dean. I love you like a brother. So let me tell you a few things. Firstly, if you can find a way to get your head out of your ass, I'll tell you about my magic garden that will grow these plants in about ten minutes. After that, if you're done bein' a damn idiot, I might help with what's goin' on here."
Dean, a little stunned, let Benny take the lead. About ten yards away from the shed was a 6ft X 5ft patch if dirt. Benny buried a seed in the loose dirt and recited the incantation "Adulesco!" A green stem began to sprout.
"Dude, how did you discover all this?"
"I was dating this witch a few years back. Picked up a few things."
A few minutes later, the flower bloomed a bright yellow. Dean plucked it from the soil, wrapped it in a cloth, and stowed the flower carefully in his pocket.
Benny planted himself on the dirt and sat criss-cross. He patted his "garden" inviting dean to sit down next to him. Dean looked around to make sure no one was watching and sat down in the same manner. His joints popped as he sat down, showing his age.
"What are we doing, man?" Dean asked.
"I said we were gonna solve two problems. Now what's goin' on with you and the angel."
"First Rowena, now you. Why is everyone obsessed with me and Cas?"
"Who's Rowena?"
Dean gave a gesture to indicate another long story, so Benny moves on. "Okay. So there's a lot I don't know. But I remember a Dean that flat out refused to leave this place without his buddy. And when I died again, the last tine I saw you, you were still that Dean. Still loyal and focused on all the right things. What's changed?"
"Everything. You weren't there, Benny. We've lost so much. Every win comes with a worse loss."
"That's life, brother. Wins. Losses."
"But it's always him." Dean looked over at Cas who had wondered off a few yards. Some markings on a tree interested him. "I lost Bobby who was like a father to me. I lost my Dad twice, my mom twice. And it's his fault. People keep leaving. And Cas is part of it. Every time."
"It can't always be Cas' fault. You couldn't look me in the eye and tell me that guy over there intentionally took everything you love."
"I know he doesn't mean it," Dean relented. " I never said he meant to do it. But should I just sit back and watch as it keeps happening?"
"Dean. Look around. Look at where you are. Who you're with. I'd like to count myself among your losses, and I know Cas has nothing to do with that. It sounds to me like bad things happen, and the little guy takes the heat for bein' there."
"I lost my mom, man. He was responsible. I can't let that go."
"Again, brother. That's life. You're in your forties. You were going to lose your parents anyway. But in all those losses you mentioned, who stuck around and put up with your ass?Made it back to you through purgatory? Through death even?"
"He only stayed because it's part of Chuck's story," Dean said, referencing the story he told Benny earlier.
"So what if he is? You said before that chuck put you in all these crazy situations but you got to choose how you act. How many times has Cas chose you?"
Dean wasn't completely convinced, but he was tired of talking in circles. They both stood up.
"Cas, buddy, we're leaving," Dean called. No answer. Cas was nowhere to be seen, and only six hours before the portal would close.
"C'mon. Maybe he went back to the shed," Benny suggested.
They checked the shed, but Cas wasn't there. They went around purgatory, Benny taking the lead. Night fell, so Dean and Benny made camp outside. Benny quickly fell into a comfortable sleep for the first time in years since Dean was there to keep watch.
Dean stared solemnly into the fire they built knowing well that it could attract monsters. Both men were beyond caring.
"Cas, you idiot." Dean absentmindedly prayed. "If we don't find you soon, we will have to leave without you. Is this the "moving on" you had in mind? Well if this is your idea of leaving, then you really are stupid. Chuck's ending will have to wait, because the world can't end like this. I'm going to keep coming back here until I find you. You're my family, Cas. I'm sorry if I've been a dick, but you should know better than to run away."
When Benny woke up, they made their way back to the portal. They got there a few minutes before it closed.
"Go on ahead. I'll meet you there," Dean told Benny. He gave Benny the daisy so Michael wouldn't smite him the minute he stepped through the door.
"Cas, please," Dean thought. Another prayer sent unintentionally.
Dean was about to give up. He turned to enter the portal when he heard Cas' voice behind him.
"My powers might be failing me, but I can still hear you."
"Cas..." Dean, just as he did during their last purgatory reunion, captured Cas in a big bear hug, the kind Dean so rarely offered. Unlike their last purgatory reunion, Cas returned the hug wholeheartedly.
Suddenly, Dean's relief turned to anger. "Where the hell did you go?" Against his will, a man-tear tolled down his cheek. "We just lost mom. Kevin. Jack. How could you leave when Sam and I need you most?"
"You blamed me, Dean. You wouldn't look at me. What was I supposed to do?"
"Damn it, Cas. You stay. I've been like this the whole time. You know the drill. I get hurt. I lash out. I say the wrong thing. I'm still doing it now. I- Damn it!"
And for the first time, Dean expresses his appreciation for Cas in the only way he could to get him to stay. In envelopes Cas into a kiss, soft and chaste, yet full of passion. Dean Winchester never could say "I love you" properly. Luckily, Castiel understands Dean better than anyone. He accepted Dean's kiss for everything it was. An apology. A declaration. A promise. So many problems were still before them, but for all of them, Cas would stay by Dean's side.
The end.