Castiel picks up a few part-time jobs at the mall, working out to take up no less than 12 hours every day and making good money doing it. At this rate, he should be able to afford his own house within a few years. He's almost starting to feel human, working this type of job. Retail, restaurants, anything he could pick up with no experience. And, in his free time, he even gets to go fishing. Dean always said it was relaxing, and Castiel is beginning to understand why.

He almost feels human here.

But he can only avoid the supernatural for so long.

Castiel leaves well after dark one day, long past the mall's close and all alone as he walks. It doesn't phase him, of course, knowing he can handle himself against anything that comes his way.

But it's still disconcerting to hear a growl not far away.

And even more so to hear the very human scream that follows it.

Castiel follows the sound, his blade dropping from his trench coat sleeve as he prepares to take on whatever this is. Wolf? Bear? He doesn't care. An angel blade will do the trick on any normal parking-lot-stalking animal.

But when he turns the corner, he realizes his blade may not be as effective as he had hoped.

A young girl lies on the ground, most of her hidden by the werewolf crouched in front of her. Castiel's never seen a werewolf in action, and he can safely say right now that he wishes that were still the case. Regardless of how he feels at the sight, he knows what he has to do. He may not be a hunter anymore, but he can't in good conscience leave a woman in a werewolf's hands.

"Hey!" Castiel yells.

The werewolf whips around at the sound of his voice, its teeth bared. It charges at him, and Castiel grows increasingly aware of the fact that he really doesn't have an effective weapon. With no other options, he stabs his blade through the werewolf's chest. It screams in pain, but the blade doesn't stop it.

The werewolf tackles him to the ground, pinning his hands down by his sides. Castiel struggles to free himself, but the wolf is too strong, and no amount of kicking will help. He squirms under the werewolf's grasp, acutely aware of its jaws closing in. In one last desperate attempt to save himself -- or at least his vessel -- he slams his feet against the werewolf's abdomen, both hands shoving the werewolf's paws.

And it works.

As Castiel pushes the werewolf off of him, a wave of relief passes over him. He's back on his feet, and he can work with that. There has to be something made of silver here. Even if he has to tear a car apart, he's determined to kill that werewolf.

Bang!

Castiel doubles over in pain, slapping a hand against his stomach on instinct. Blood seeps truth between his fingers, and it only takes a moment for Castiel to realize he's been shot.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry!"

Castiel's turns around to find a boy and girl, probably in their mid-to-late twenties, staring at him in awe. Eyes scanning the two, he believes he can place who shot him — a girl with bright blonde hair and wide eyes, a gun held loosely in her hand as she stares at him, face paling. They both have guns, but the boy doesn't look quite as panicked as she does.

"Shoot it!" Castiel yells. He's sure shooting what looks to be an innocent human being is traumatising, but they could at least try to fight the real threat here.

Two guns go off at once, both hitting the werewolf. Castiel doesn't watch to make sure it died, running to the victim's side instead. It's a woman, older than the kids but not by much. She's bleeding from just about everywhere, her eyes barely open and her chest barely moving. Castiel puts a hand to her forehead, and after a pause, her wounds are healed.

"What —" she gasps, her eyes shooting open. She looks down at herself, still covered in blood, and then up at Castiel. "How did you..."

Castiel taps her forehead again, and she fades into unconsciousness. He's not here to answer questions. He was just here to save her life.

He looks to the werewolf just to ensure it's dead, before turning to the kids.

"I am so, so sorry," the girl gushes, running over to him. "I didn't mean to shoot you. I was aiming at the —"

"Werewolf, I know," Castiel says. "Don't worry about it. It's no problem." He puts a hand over the bullet wound, healing it easily. He'll have to find a new way to fix his jacket, though. He would hate to have to replace it.

"Woah, how did you..." she whispers.

"Oh, I..." Castiel shrugs sheepishly. He's so used to hunting with people who already know him, and know his powers. He doesn't know how ordinary hunters — assuming they are hunters — would react to knowing an angel, especially considering the hell his siblings have raised in recent years.

The boy pushes his way to them, stopping just short of him and putting a protective arm in front of his partner. "What are you?"

Castiel slides his angel blade up his sleeve. "Just a passerby."

"A magic passerby who just happens to recognize a werewolf?" He scoffs. "Try again, buddy."

"You guys shot me," Castiel reminds them. "I would think I would be the one asking the questions."

"I'm really sorry about that," the girl says.

"Emma, shut up," the boy hisses before turning his attention back to Castiel. "If you don't answer my question, I'll have to kill you."

"I highly doubt you have the proper weapons for that," Castiel says. "But I'd you try, I'll have no choice but to render you unconscious."

"Only you would think threatening an unknown magical species is a good idea," the girl — Emma — quips.

"Oh, shut up," he mutters.

"You're okay, though, right?" Emma asks. "I mean, from the bullet?"

Castiel nods. "Yes."

"How?" she asks. "I mean, I definitely don't want you to not be okay, but I feel like you probably shouldn't be okay."

Castiel's first thought is to give a half answer and then leave, but she seems so genuine in her questions — truly concerned, truly curious — that he feels compelled to answer.

"I'm an angel," he says. "A bullet does very little to me."

"You're an angel?" both of them say at once.

"What are you doing here?" the boy asks. "What I've heard, angels don't spend much time on earth."

"Most don't," Castiel says. "But I'm not very welcome in heaven." Or on earth, but he can at least pretend he belongs here. What's that saying? Fake it 'til you make it?

"Why not?" Emma asks.

"It's a long story," Castiel says vaguely.

"Oh," she says awkwardly. "Well, what's your name?"

"Castiel."

He can almost feel the mood shift at that, though he doesn't know why. He looks between the two, confused.

"Castiel?" Emma repeats in awe. "The Castiel?"

"Um... I suppose?"

"Did you work with Sam and Dean Winchester?" Emma asks.

"And fight Lucifer and Michael?" the boy adds.

"And you met God?" Emma continues.

"Yes, I did," Castiel says cautiously.

"Oh my god, I thought you were just a myth," Emma says, gaping at him.

"Um... Surprise?"

"This is the coolest thing that's ever happened to me," Emma whispers, then her eyes go wide. "Wait. I shot Castiel."

"That's the coolest sentence I have ever heard," the boy says.

"And you threatened to kill Castiel," Emma adds. "James, you tried to kill Castiel!"

"Holy shit, you're right," he says. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize — I wasn't actually going to —"

"You're very strange," Castiel says. "I've been threatened and shot many times. I don't understand why you act like it's a big issue."

"I guess that's fair," James says. It's almost impressive how quickly he recovered his composure. Emma sure hasn't, that's for sure.

"Are the Winchesters here, too?" Emma asks, glancing around excitedly.

"Oh, no, I'm alone," Castiel says, and the words are more true than he cares to admit.

"Are they nearby?" Emma asks. "Can we meet them?"

"I don't know where they are," Castiel says. "Probably in Kansas."

"Why aren't they with you?" James asks.

Castiel chooses his next words very carefully. "Our partnership has run its course."

"What? But you guys are legends!" Emma says. "How could you just... stop?"

I wish I knew.

"It just wasn't working out," Castiel says. "Now it was nice to meet you, but I should probably bring this young woman to the hospital."

Castiel picks up the woman the werewolf attacked, holding her bridal style to carry her. She should be okay now that he's healed her, but a hospital is probably the best place for a human to wake up after a traumatic experience. Plus, it serves as an excuse to leave this conversation, which is a large motivating factor.

"Do you need help with the car door?" Emma asks, already prepared to go with him.

"I don't have a car," Castiel says simply.

James scoffs. "The nearest hospital is five miles away. You can't walk there."

"I don't see why not," Castiel says.

"Well, for one, people are probably gonna be suspicious of the guy in the sketchy trench coat carrying an unconscious woman through the streets," James says. "I have a car. Let us drive her."

"Or let us drive both of you," Emma says, then quickly adds, "You know, so you can make sure she makes it there okay," as if that will make it any less obvious that she's just incredibly starstruck.

Castiel hesitates. "Well, I suppose it would be quicker to drive."

Emma nods enthusiastically. "Yeah, way quicker. C'mon, let's go!"