Move on

Thomas Law

Dean walked up to the large office building. He pulled his badge from his coat pocket, and flashed the blonde cop outside a smile. "I'm Agent Collins, this is my partner Agent Page, We're here for-"

"Yeah, your other ones are inside," The woman answered blandly, jabbing a thumb over her shoulder.

Dean and Sam exchanged confused glances. Had another hunter beat them to it?

Dean shoved his fake ID back into his coat as he followed Sam inside.

"Cas?" Sam's voice made Dean's head snap up to see the angel was indeed standing in front of them.

Dean swallowed hard. He hadn't seen Cas since he left the bunker a couple weeks back.

"Sam," Cas visibly stiffened as he turned to the youngest Winchester.

"What are you doing here?" Sam asked.

Dean remained unmoving; his hand still paused inside his jacket.

"I'm working a case," Cas answered as if it was the most normal thing for him to be doing.

"Alright, so I just talked to the security guard and he's gonna get me the security footage from last night," A cinnamon haired man spoke, approaching Cas.

"Tommy, this is Sam and...Dean Winchester," Cas gestured to the brothers but was careful to avoid eye contact with Dean.

"Thomas Law, nice to meet you," The man stuck a hand out to Sam who took it with a friendly smile.

Dean made no move to follow Sam's example. Instead he shoved his hands in the pockets of his jacket. And squinted at the man next to Cas. "Thomas Law?"

"He's a hunter," Cas answered, his eyes still not meeting Dean's.

"I didn't know you were hunting," Sam frowned at Cas, "I haven't seen you since we closed that gap in the graveyard. Figured you just needed some time after everything."

Cas and Dean both tensed. Dean hadn't told Sam about Cas' leaving.

"We ran into each other on a case a couple weeks ago," Thomas smiled, nudging Cas. "He saved my ass."

"That's what friends do," Cas spat the words, his eyes cutting towards Dean for a brief moment.

"Friends?" Dean sneered at the term.

"For sure. Cassie and I have been really knocking 'em down. Three hauntings, a vampire nest, two ghouls and a werewolf," Thomas was oblivious to the tension growing rapidly between the oldest Winchester and the angel.

"Let me tell you, having an angel as a partner is awesome," Thomas clasped a hand on Cas' shoulder with an affectionate smile.

Dean's hand twitched to knock it off when he didn't immediately remove it, instead allowing the touch to linger.

"Okay well, do you guys want some help? We're already here," Sam offered.

"They've clearly got it handled. why don't we get back on the road. I think there was another case a few states up," Dean grabbed Sam's arm as if pleading with his brother.

"We'd love the help," Thomas nodded. "This one is a bit of a head scratcher," He gestured to the three large blood stains of the office building.

"That's not necessary," Cas frowned at the other hunter.

"Oh come on, who would pass up an opportunity to work with the Winchesters?" Thomas gestured for Sam to follow him. "I'll show you what I found."

Dean's jaw clenched. He couldn't decide if this guy was just an eager newbie or if he was doing this deliberately.

"You didn't tell Sam," Cas said, his eyes following the younger brother and his partner.

"He's lost enough people, figured it could wait," Dean spoke stiffly, his eyes also following the pair.

A silence hung in the air before Dean couldn't take it anymore, "Since when do you hunt?"

"Is there a rule saying I can't?" Cas snapped, his eyes landing on Dean with a cold blue stare.

"It's not you, man," Dean gestured to the angel as if to prove his point.

Cas narrowed his eyes, "And what am I exactly? A tool for your convenience? A punching bag for when things go wrong?"

Dean's jaw clenched but before he could respond, Sam and Thomas were back.

"Alright, Cassie and I were about to grab a bite and mull this over, you two coming?" Thomas asked, his sage green eyes meeting Dean's.

Dean's hand clenched at the nickname. Cassie.

"Sure, we can wait for the autopsy report," Sam nodded, looking to his brother for agreeance. He wasn't going to get it.

"You go ahead. I'm gonna leave my card with officer Parrish," Cas gestured to the commanding officer on sight. He really needed a minute to breathe. He hadn't expected to see Dean and if he was being honest, it hurt. It hurt to hear his familiar voice and see his face. It hurt to feel the anger Dean still felt towards him. It hurt to fight with him again. He'd left because it hurt too much to endure anymore. He should have guessed hunting would cause him to cross paths with the brothers but he didn't expect it to happen so soon.

-

The four hunters sat around the table of a local diner. Thomas had his tablet up and was going over the report he'd dug up. Sam listened intently, tossing out a question whenever one came up.

Dean, however, hadn't heard a single word. His mind was too busy replaying the arguement before Cas left.

"The plan changed, Dean, something went wrong. You know this. Something always goes wrong."

"Yeah, why does that something always seem to be you?"

Dean shoved a fry into his mouth, chewing the soft potato harshly. He tried to push the memory from his mind but it refused to leave him.

"Where are you going?"

"Jack's dead. Chuck's gone. You and Sam have each other. I think it's time for me to move on."

Dean swallowed, his eyes glancing up to Cas. He froze when he saw Thomas reach over and grab Cas' untouched plate, swapping it with his own empty one.

Cas didn't bat an eye, moving back just slightly to allow him the space he needed before leaning forward once more.

Anger and sadness swelled in Dean like the ocean, ready to pull him down until he couldn't breath.

"Dean? Hello?" Sam waved a hand in front of his brother to get his attention.

"Huh?" Dean blinked, dragging his eyes from his angel-the angel.

"The coroner called, they just finished the autopsy. Cas and Thomas are gonne head over, I figured we could visit family members," Sam spoke, a concerned frown on his face.

Dean only nodded. While he hated the idea of Cas working with someone else, he didn't have it in him to protest at the moment.

"Perfect. Cassie's not the best with subtly so we'll handle the dead bodies and you guys can handle the live ones," Thomas smiled shoving a fry, from what had been Cas' plate, I to his mouth.

"It's Castiel," Dean snapped.

"What?" Thomas looked up.

"Dean," Sam scolded gently.

"It's fine, Tommy," Cas dismissed Dean's outburst.

Dean clenched his jaw before shoving away from the table.

The fond smiles, the cute nicknames, it made Dean sick. He was watching Cas move on, and it hurt.