Falling

-One Week Later-

"Morning, sweetheart-" Dean greets the girl tiredly through a mouthful of food, (y/n) chuckling lightly at the way his muffled voice sounds through the phone, "-hows our girl doing? Feathers treating you nicely?"

"Everything's peachy down here in Colorado-" (y/n) answers through a tired smile, politely declining Castiel's silent offering of sliced apples, "-Cas seems to be handling things as well as he can, I mean...considering the circumstances. "

"You think he'll get better?"

"I'm not a real doctor, Dean, I'm just playing one...but-"

"But?"

"I think he could." She replies with a sigh, glancing over to the angel pawing through a children's book beside her

"You do?"

"I have faith in the little weirdo, what can I say?" (y/n) chuckles lightly, once again having to decline the sliced apples Castiel insists she eats, "How are my boys? Getting into trouble?"

"We're actually on a case right now, a hunter-"

"Hey, (y/n)!" A faint voice suddenly interrupts Dean, (y/n) picking up the familiarity of it's laid-back tone

"Is that...Garth?"

"You know it, baby!"

"Can you, like, not? For one second?" Dean grumbles lowly before letting out a frustrated huff of air to continue, "Garth called us to help him out on a weird case. We got nothing on Dick Roman, so we figured we should busy ourselves while we wait for something to pop up."

"Need any help?"

"You're helping us plenty by watching over Cas-" Dean insists, gratitude evident in his voice as he continues, "-don't worry about us, Tweets, we can handle this"

"Alright, but don't be afraid to call me the second you've got too much on your plate"

"Same goes for you, (y/n)-" his voice is gentle as he speaks, "-call us if there's any updates, alright?"

"You got it, Dean-o"

"See you later, (y/n)" As he bids his goodbye, (y/n) smiles at the sound of Sam and Garth joining in, all of the men goofily shouting out their farewells. It was a sweet sound she found herself yearning to record

"See you later, boys"

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The tar black sky peeks in through the pale yellow curtains, glowing stars resembling fireflies as they pulse with life across the horizon. Outside, Castiel can make out the faint outline of the gardens a yard away, soft petals swaying through the chilling breeze passing by. When the sun went away and he could no longer see the beautiful colors of the flowers, the angel found himself riddled with anxiety, body trembling at the thought of having to wait through the darkness as horrific images passed his aching mind. Night was when Lucifer was the most active. Night was when (y/n) went away. Sitting cross-legged on top of his mattress, Castiel turns his gaze onto the Phoenix as she tidies up his small room. Her presence brought him comfort as Lucifer continued his plague, angel wanting nothing more than to hear her kind voice in the hopes of stalling her inevitable departure

"May I ask you a question?"

"Cas-" (y/n) calls out his name through a sigh, amusement in her (e/c) eyes as she continues, "-you don't need my permission to ask your question. You can just...ask it"

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes, Cas-" She chuckles, pulling up a small wooden chair to sit herself beside his bed, "-you may ask me a question."

"Why did you stay here?"

"What do you mean?"

"You could have gone with Sam and Dean-" He explains slowly, trying his best to speak over the unpleasant sounds of Lucifer beside him, "-but you chose to stay here with me. Why?"

"Someone needed to watch over you. I volunteered to do it"

"You willingly stayed behind to care for me?" He asks, quiet voice hinting at his disbelief. (y/n) smiles

"Why do you seem so surprised?"

"When you first met me-" He's hesitant to continue, his crystal blue eyes nervously moving away from her form for a moment, "-I was a villain. I murdered people...I set free the Leviathans"

"You weren't a villain"

"How are you so sure?"

"You're eyes" she answers vaguely, chuckling lightly at the confused look crossing his stubbled face

"My...eyes?"

"Remorse can't be seen in the eyes of a true villain-" She explains gently, leaning back into the cool frame of the chair she sat in, "-I saw the regret you felt every time we crossed paths, Cas. You weren't a villain...you were just an angel trying to fix the things your father left behind. Sure, you got out of hand, but that doesn't mean you can't be redeemed."

"You shouldn't defend me"

"It's not defending when it's the truth." She is quick to argue, watching as his eyebrows furrow slightly upon his forehead, "Look, Cas...I know we don't really know each other, but I care about you and I want to get closer to you. It might take some time, considering everything that's going on, but I'm willing to put in the work"

"You'd do that for me?"

"Without a doubt. We're family now, Cas, whether you like it or not"

It takes the angel a moment to completely register what she'd said, body seemingly frozen in place at the unwavering confidence in her words. He almost convinces himself it was just another one of Lucifer's sick tricks but, strangely enough, the devil on his shoulder seems to be focused on a disgusting novel he was reading out loud to him. The beautiful words that had just left her lips were really hers. Something Castiel found his heart stopping at, stomach twisting into knots as her (e/c) eyes wrinkle at the sides when she smiles sweetly at him.

"May I ask you a question?" As if on autopilot, the words spill from his mouth, ears yearning to hear her speak again. Her laugh washes over him like a cool wave, refreshing his aching mind

"Of course"

"Will you play a board game with me?"

"Anything for you, Cas"

And just like that, the angel knew...He'd fallen head over heels