Prologue
Dean had led them to the end. The end of the line, the end of their story. There were so many things he hadn't done, feeling he hadn't felt. Or, at least, not in the way he now wanted to. His mind was anything but empty. Thoughts racing in every direction, bouncing off the sides of his head, he could barely hear Billie pounding on the door or the words Cas was saying. He caught bits and pieces of his words but - wait.
"Why does this sound like a goodbye?" His brain went silent as he stared at Cas, his best friend, his-
"That's because it is. I love you, Dean" No, this couldn't be it. This wasn't the way it was supposed to happen. Not that he ever really thought they would get here but this wasn't how he'd imagined it. And now, Castiel's own happiness would kill him and a part of Dean would die with it. His hands were shaking, damn it, his whole body was shaking.
"Don't do this Cas", He couldn't tell if he was crying or if Cas was, but either it felt like his esophagus was caving in on itself.
The door was blown off its hinges and Billie walked into the room, her steps deafening. He could hear the empty coming through the wall. Dean felt the weight of Cas's hand on his shoulder, knowing full well it would leave a mark, blood or not.
"Goodbye Dean", Cas gripped his shoulder tightly and pushed him across the room, his back slamming against the bricks. Dean didn't take his eyes off Cas when the Empty swallowed him whole. It would have been impossible to look away. It was like watching half of himself die.
After having stolen Cas and taking Billie, the Empty slinked back into the wall and Dean found himself alone. And alone he sat, trying to remember how to exist, how to breathe.
His phone rang and didn’t have to pick up to know it was Sam, to know that they had lost.
He allowed himself one hour. He let out heavy, painful sobs and smashed his bathroom mirror. He cut his knuckles bloody so he wrapped them quickly and headed to Sam and Jack. He pushed it all back, everything.
And it worked.
Until it was all over when God was dead and Jack used all of the power he had to kill him and set things right. So there they were, three humans. The last of the Winchesters.
“What now?” Sam asked as they drove back to the bunker, Jack and their new dog in the back seat.
“Now, we get Cas back.”