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They always knew one day it would happen. Dean cracked bittersweet jokes about it non stop- Hell, Dean had wished for it a couple of times. It was a notion lodged into their minds, something that always enabled them to embark on the craziest, most dangerous quests. It was part of the job, they had always known that.
But this? This wasn't how they had imagined it to be.
They had all thought about it, how it would go. Realistically minded Sammy pictured white hospital walls and tubing and harsh beeps fading into the distance as his body gave up.
Dean, forever the nerd, imagined a heroic, dramatic death, yours truly sporting the best heart breaking smile and uttering truly awesome last words, with loads of time for him to say goodbye to his people. And Cas.. well... how do you explain the concept of oblivion to an immortal celestial wavelength? Cas envisioned black tentacles invading his consciousness-the Levathians. That was the closest he'd ever been to death, for the other times he'd been obliterated he'd been brought back so fast he hardly skipped a beat.
The one thing they all were sure of was that somehow they each would have time. More time to live, more time to deal, more time to say goodbye. And so they would recklessly throw themselves at each new job they found, fighting to save an ignorant world.
They didn't realize the nest had more than 4 vampires.
And that they knew a thing or two about Grace, rendering Cas powerless.
And that they wanted revenge, and stuck a knife into the first human they crossed, and left in haste as the other two came running.
Shoes turned red in the rapidly growing pool of blood. Eyes widened in horror and panic as the men knelt down and a gasped name was cried simultaneously.
"Dean!"
His eyes were fluttering as he felt the life pump out of him. His hands fumbled at the blade stuck into his chest. A frantic, bloodstained angel was running his hands up and down the body, tears running down his face as his mutters turned to shouts. "No. No. NO! NOO! NOT DEAN WINCHESTER. NOT HIM. NOT NOW. NO." He stood up and rushed to the wall, where a powerful grace-blocking symbol was scratched, painted and marked into the brick. Sam, his hands shaking, was trying to feel Dean's pulse and staring at the blade wedged deep into his brother with disbelieving eyes at the same time. This was Dean. Invincible, impossible Dean.
"Cas? His pulse is weak. I n-need your help" Sam's voice rough, his hands gentle as he gingerly moved Deans head and wincing at the answering groan. Cas was pounding at the wall with anything he could find.
"I can't! I am powerless! We need to get him out of here now!" Cas ran to the man he loved as his brother felt his heart break as he realized it was too late. They couldn't even begin to imagine a world without Dean. The grace-less angel had never felt more frustrated, he saw Dean's soul start to waver and Cas crumpled. He knew his power, the only thing that could save Dean Winchester, was unobtainable, and that Dean could not be moved. He knew that whatever he did, his hunter would die.
They didn't imagine it would be this desperate. Sure, Sam and Dean had died a couple of times, but they thought /the/ time would be different. They didn't think it would be this fast, this heart wrenchingly painful.
"Dean." Cas, his fists curled in rage at the world, breathed his true love's name into his skin, his mind filled with regrets, his head cleared of all inhibitions. "I love y-" He was whispering into Dean's ear, his hands unfurling and coming to cup his face as his voice cracked. "I l-lov-" He sobbed now, his face above Dean's. "I Love you." He finally said it, the phrase echoing in the empty hut before being drowned out by the soft sobs being emitted by both men as Dean coughed once, twice and opened his eyes.
"Cas. I... Me.... you... I love...I love you too" His breath was rattling, his words fumbling. Cas pressed his lips to the dying man's and smiled, despite everything, because Dean loved him back and at least now he knew. Dean kissed back as hard as he could from the floor and then smiled back. Then he coughed once more, and another name was uttered into the night.
"Sammy?"
Sam was bent over in grief, and could not raise his eyes to his brother's, for he felt his broken heart would spill out of him. "S-Sammy, pl-ease." Dean turned his head slightly and a quivering hand touched a wet face. Sam forced himself to look up into the pools of emerald he had always sought refuge in. He knew that, through all the lies and the hiding, Dean had always been there, and in his head he'd always thought Dean would be there for him forever. His face tried to smile, but the remains of his heart weighed him down more than anything ever had.
"Dean."
"Sammy. I'm s-sorry" Sam's features fell as he whispered.
"What for, Dean? For being the only one who looked after me, 24/7? For giving up your life for me, more than once? For never losing faith in me? For dealing with all the trouble I've caused?" Sam couldn't stop the stream of grief. "You are the best brother anyone could wish for. You are the best person I know. You are-" The last string holding Sam together broke, and he could not continue, his entire body wracked with loss and pain. He grabbed Dean's hand tight as the older man choked out:
"Sammy... Y-you deserved better. You deserved a life, a p-perfect life." A small tear rolled down one of Dean's cheeks, only to be stopped by a pair of chapped lips carefully kissing away the saltiness. Dean's other hand tightened onto the Angel's cheek. "M-My angel..." He softly pressed one kiss to Cas's lips, and then weakly pulled Sam closer to him, gently squeezing his hand and he murmured the words "I'm sorry" as the last breath left his lungs, and his body grew still.
And so the fighting, cocky, guilty, righteous Dean Winchester ended his nightmare of a life, in the arms of his one true love and holding his little brother close. Maybe he did not die a hero's death like he wanted, but he sure as hell lived a hero's life.