Road Trip to Safety

Inky darkness shrouds the tan colored minivan in its cooling embrace, bright neon lights painting its shining surface as whispered conversations fill the night air. Men stand in crowds of three outside of the run down gas station, lips parted as clouds of noxious smoke pour from their lungs, cigarettes burning until their fingertips blacken. (y/n) watches from inside of the store as they poison themselves beneath the warm lamps above, placing her small pile of groceries onto the sleek countertop for the cashier to ring up

"Will that be all, sweetheart?"

(y/n) meets the woman's tired looking gaze, watching the way an uncomfortable smile tries to tug itself onto her wrinkled face before it disappears completely, cherry red lips seemingly sewn into a permanent frown from the years of shitty customers she undoubtedly had to serve.

"Yes, that's all for me-" (y/n) finally answers, seamlessly blending in as a human as she offers a kind smile, "-thank you, ma'am"

Quickly exchanging the food items with pieces of cotton paper, a process the Phoenix still found herself strangely fascinated by, (y/n) bids a gentle farewell before she's striding out of the small convenience store. Warm skin prickled by the frigid air, (h/c) locks of hair tossed around in the breeze, she's finally made it back to the small minivan near the edge of the parking lot, body hopping into the back seat before she's closing the door behind her

"Are you alright?" Dean is the first to speak upon her arrival, body turning in the front seat to quickly scan over her form. (y/n) chuckles lightly, hands moving down to rummage through the paper bag that rested in between her legs

"What?" her voice is teasing as she continues, handing both him and his brother a pair of water bottles for them to hydrate, "You think I can't go shopping without supervision?"

"No, that's not what I meant, I just-"

"We just got you back, (y/n)-" Sam finishes for his brother, tossing her a brotherly smile before continuing, "-let's just say, being away from you makes us a bit nervous"

"Aw, you guys do love me!"

Sam laughs in response while Dean rolls his eyes, trying his best to conceal the smile threatening to make its way across his freckled face. It was in that moment (y/n) realized how relieved she was to be by their sides again, heart warming at the way they were able to talk to each other with love so familiar it made her wish she had found it sooner. Of course though, moments as good as this one end sooner than others. As Dean pulls the minivan out of the gravel strewn parking lot, car rumbling against the rough road ahead, (y/n) turns her gaze onto the form beside her. Curled up against the door, knees pulled up to crush the dirt covered duffel bag against his chest, Kevin Tran's small body trembles in his sleep. She found her heart aching at the way he clutched onto his own jeans until his knuckles turned white, eyebrows furrowed upon his forehead as he whimpered quietly to himself. He was having a nightmare. Reaching back down into the paper bag between her knees, (y/n) pulls out an orange and holds it in one of her hands, using the other to tap the boy lightly on his shoulder

"Kevin?" she calls out to him gently, tilting her head to the side to watch as his closed eyes squeeze together slightly

"Oh god..." he mumbles the helpless sounding phrase, (y/n) poking him slightly harder than before

"Kevin, buddy, you should wake up and-"

"Oh god!"

The boy is suddenly jolting awake, legs throwing themselves from their curled up position as he slams his back into the leather seat behind him, doe eyes widened as he lets out panicked breaths.

"Woah, it's alright, Kevin-" she quickly tries to soothe him from his startled state, watching as he slowly calms down, "-what's the matter, kid?"

It takes him a second to fully catch his breath again, dark eyes frantic as they bounce around to land briefly on each person in the car as they stare at him as if he were a ticking time bomb. Gulping down the lump in his throat, grip upon the duffel bag in his lap relaxing only a small bit, he sighs tiredly

"Nothing..." he begins quietly, voice fragile as if it were going to shatter as he continues, "It's just...my life...my future...my girlfriend...It still doesn't seem real."

Nodding in understanding, guilt running like tar through her veins, (y/n) fixes her gaze onto the fruit still held in her hand, mind crowded with thoughts as an uncomfortable silence takes over the small car. Soft fingertips peel away at the bitter rind of the orange, picking apart the fleshy fruit as its sweet juice stains the whites of her nails. It isn't long before the pieces of the orange are resting upon a plate made from it's cream colored rind, citrus aroma comforting as it fills the air.

"Here-" she reaches over to grab a hold of the boy's hand, turning it over until his palm faces the sky, "-you should eat something. Keep your energy up."

Gingerly placing the orange slices into the soft skin of his hand, (y/n) offers a gentle smile, (e/c) eyes meeting his own nervous orbs as he shifts his gaze back and forth from her and the fruit in his palm.

"Are you sure-?"

"You're not our prisoner, Kevin-" Sam reassures the younger boy gently, tossing a light smile over his shoulder before continuing, "-we're just trying to keep you safe."

Suddenly, the phone resting in the pocket of (y/n)'s jeans begins to vibrate against her hip, screen illuminating from beneath the fabric as it rings. Pulling the small device from her pants, she offers another sweet smile to the boy next to her, pressing the bright green button near the bottom of the screen

"Eat up, kid-" she urges him softly before placing the phone to her ear, furrowing her eyebrows slightly, "-hello?"

"Everything happened so quickly-" (e/c) eyes widen upon hearing the familiar roughness of a certain angels voice as it sizzles through the speaker, a sense of urgency in his tone as he speaks

"Cas?"

"I'm not sure how I ended up here, (y/n)-" his voice shakes slightly, almost childlike as he continues, "-I don't like it here"

"Is that Cas?" Dean questions, frantically glancing at her form from the rear view mirror in front of him as Sam turns in his seat to listen in, "Where is he?"

"Cas, it's alright-" (y/n) soothes him gently, ears picking up the faint sound of barking in the background, "-just tell me where you are, buddy"

"I'm surrounded by unhappy dogs, (y/n)"

"Dogs?"

"Dogs?" Sam echoes quietly, the brothers both sharing the same look of confusion before they are turning their attention back onto the girl as she tries to make sense of the angels ramblings

"You're in Perth?"

"As in Australia?" Dean questions in disbelief, watching as (y/n) covers the speaker of the phone to speak directly to them

"He ended up at a dog track in Perth..." she explains through a tired sounding sigh, her eyes moving to scan the metal signs that pass by their car in green blurs, "Listen, Cowboy, we're on highway 94, north of St. Cloud, Minnesota, just passing mile marker...79."

Just as the number passes her lips, the small space fills with a powerful presence, gust of cooling air breezing past each body as the seat between Kevin and (y/n) sinks beneath the form that appears before their eyes. Kevin, a teenager who has not experienced the coming and going of an angel before this night, finds himself letting out an involuntary exclamation, the strange mix of a gasp and a scream that ends up overshadowed by a coughing fit caused by the orange slice that he had been chewing on only seconds ago.

"Kevin-" (y/n) finally speaks up through the uncomfortable silence that follows his choking experience, the Phoenix offering a gentle voice for him to ground himself to, "-this is Castiel."

"You're one of the...angels?" his voice is timid, almost as if afraid to take up space, "Like, a real life angel?"

Instead of answering, another uncomfortable silence passes through the car, Dean and Sam watching the tense interaction through the mirrors hanging from the ceiling. The angel and the boy stare at each other, studying one another's faces with unknown intent as eyes move from one feature to the next. Suddenly, Castiel begins to lift one of his hands, pointer finger extended as he leans toward Kevin slightly. The boy holds his breath. (y/n) watches curiously as the angel, unprovoked, decides to place the soft pad of the tip of his finger onto the boy's nose.

"Boop"

The word sounds strange as it leaves his mouth, everybody in the car seemingly shocked at the way his face never loses its familiar ruggedness as he childishly presses onto Kevin's nose out of, what seems to be, pure entertainment. To think a divine being such as this, a creature who could aid in the destruction of entire planets, could be broken down to such an innocent state, mind and actions mirroring that of a toddler unable to focus on a single thing for more than five seconds at a time.

"(y/n)-" Castiel's gruff voice pulls Phoenix from her thoughts, the angel turning in his seat to inspect the girl beside him, "-are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, Cas-" (y/n) answers honestly, motioning to the hunter in the driver's seat silently asking for her help to get the angels attention, "-but do you think you could answer some questions for me?"

"Of course"

"Dean?"

"Cas, what happened back there?" Dean is quick to jump into the conversation, a certain anxiousness evident in his voice as he continues, "Who were those guys?"

"They're from the garrison. My old garrison-" Castiel explains, unable to hide the strange excitement he feels when talking about his old friends, "-and it looks like Hester's taken over. We were assigned to watch the Earth. Often, it was boring. The wars were very boring and the sex, you know, repetition-"

"(y/n), please..." Sam practically begs the girl, the pair of hunters knowing if they were going to get any answers from him it had to be through the help of his caretaker. Sighing lightly, (y/n) gets the message, turning so that she can face the angel beside her

"Buddy, we need you to-"

"Those dogs were miserable, (y/n)-" he talks over her suddenly, the girl finding herself unsure how to get him back on track as he continues, "-they could only think in ovals. Isn't that strange?"

"Cas-"

"I wonder if they could ever lead a normal life after that. It's a shame, really, to have no other purpose than to run in circles your whole life-"

"Castiel-" (y/n) interrupts softly, (e/c) eyes searching his face for signs of dissociation, unsure whether or not he was fully losing coherency, "-remember what we talked about?"

"Am I...rambling? I'm sorry-"

"It's okay, just-" (y/n) lets out a tired sounding sigh, nervously glancing at the pair of hunters up front who give her pitying looks, "Can you tell us why they're after us?"

"They're following protocol" his explanation is vague, an answer that seems to frustrate Dean

"What protocol?"

"If the word of God is revealed, a keeper of the word will awaken-" Castiel suddenly turns in his seat to face the smaller boy eating beside him, leaning forward to poke the tip of his nose again, "-like this hot potato right here."

Seeing the discomfort in the teenager's face, understanding him to be too afraid to say anything, (y/n) is quick to reach over and grab a gentle hold of the angel's wrist, sighing lightly as she rests his arm back down onto his lap. Patting the smooth skin of the top of his hand softly, (y/n) coaxes Castiel to continue through an encouraging gaze

"Cas, can you tell us what this protocol instructs the angels to do?"

"The garrison code dictates you take the keeper to the desert-" he explains through a thoughtful smile, almost as if proud of himself for being able to remember this, "-to learn the word away from men."

"What kind of sense does that make?" Dean challenges through a light scoff, green eyed gaze focused on the winding road ahead as he steers the small van through darkness, "He has to tell us so that we can use it."

"That's God and his shiny red apples..."

"I-I can't live in the desert-" Kevin finds the courage to speak, voice shaking only slightly as he continues his jumbled mess of a concern, "-I'm applying t-to Princeton!"

"Okay, you know what?" Dean's voice is laced with agitation, the group somewhat ignoring the stuttering plea of the teenager next to them as he continues, "Screw the garrison, man, we need the tablet to end Dick Roman's 'soylent us' crap!"

"If you want the word, you'll have to duck Hester and her soldiers."

"You're in our corner, right, Cas?" Sam's hesitant voice is quiet and yet is able to create the same tension a scream could. The angel is silent, body almost drawn to move closer to the Phoenix beside him in search of temporary comfort. (y/n) watches him carefully as his crystalline eyes shift to stare out of the smudged window, jaw tightening slightly as he watches through the glass

"No, I don't fight anymore...I watch the bees."