Word Count: 1155

Pairings: Castiel x Reader

Warnings: angst, mentions of death, possible trigger, language

A/N: Request from Tumblr, older story.

Summary: No one would believe you if you told them. They would call you crazy, probably send you away. So you kept quiet, and you drank to forget, to numb the fear.

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You waved the bartender over, sliding your cup towards him to refill. You rested your head on one hand while you swirled the liquid around in your cup. You had become a regular at the shabby bar in this small town. That wasn’t always the case though, it wasn’t until a few months ago that you decided to drown yourself in cheap booze and hangovers.

When you had the unfortunate pleasure of watching someone get ripped to shreds. That alone was enough to give anyone nightmares. However, it was what killed that man that drove you to drink. It couldn’t have been human, not with the way it howled, the way it’s claws tore open that man’s chest. You downed your shot.

“Should we not be doing research?”

That caught your attention, you knew almost everyone in this town and you had never heard that voice before. You turned your head to watch the three men who had just walked in.

“We’ve been driving for ten hours Cas, which means we need food.”

The man in the trench coat furrowed his eyebrows as he followed the other two men to a table.

“And this will help with the research?”

The short haired man sighed and opened his menu. They started talking in hushed whispers, and you turned back around. You focused back on your drink, but had the distinct feeling of being watched.

‘Just ignore it.’ You thought to yourself.

You heard a chair scrapping against the floor, and the sound of footsteps.

“Cas!”

The footsteps stopped beside you and you glanced at the man with trench coat.

“Yes?”

You raised an eyebrow when he continued to stare at you.

“You’ve seen something.”

You looked back at the other two men who were watching you now as well. An uneasy feeling settled in your stomach.

“I’ve seen a lot of things, can you be less vague?”

You rose the glass to your lips but froze at his next words.

“You saw the thing that’s been killing people.”

His bluntness surprised you but not nearly as much as him knowing why you were practically swimming in alcohol. You pulled out a wad of cash, throwing it onto the bar.

“You’re crazy.”

You grabbed your jacket from the back of the chair and started heading for the door. You hurried down the street trying to get home as quick as you could. The sound of several sets of footsteps following you didn’t go unnoticed. You stopped walking, whirling around to face them.

“I don’t care how many of you there are, I’m pepper spraying at least one of you, before the other two can do anything.”

The man with the longer hair raised his hands.

“We just want to talk, I’m Sam, this is my brother Dean, and our friend Castiel.”

“Y/N… just talk? About what?”

“Yes, you have seen the creature we are hunting. We need you to tell us what you have seen.”

You blinked looking at him then to the other men.

“Cas, we’ve talked about this, remember? Ease people into this.” Dean muttered.

“I didn’t see anything.” You lied.

You turned to go but let out a scream when Castiel suddenly appeared in front of you.

“What the hell!?”

You backed up until you ran into Sam and Dean.

“Is there somewhere we can talk?” Sam asked giving you a comforting smile.

You nodded slowly, and lead them to your house. You kicked aside a stack of newspapers as you motioned for them to walk in.

“Are you just going to stand there awkwardly? Or do I get an explanation?”

Dean opened his mouth to answer but Castiel beat him to it.

“I am an angel of the Lord, Sam and Dean are hunters. We hunt supernatural beings that maim and kill humans such as yourself.”

“Dammit Cas.”

Dean pinched the bridge of his nose letting out an exasperated sigh. Sam leaned over to whisper something to Castiel, who gave him a confused look. You took a minute to process what was said before turning and walking into your kitchen. You rummaged through your cabinet looking for your whiskey.

“I’m told it’s not healthy for a human to drink so excessively.”

You placed your hands on the counter top, tilting your head back with a sigh.

“Castiel was it? I’m human, ok?”

You turned to face him crossing your arms as you leaned back. He nodded and you couldn’t help but think it was a little cute how intently he seemed to be listening.

“Right, and humans well we suck at coping, especially after we’ve seen some freaky monster rip out someone’s heart.”

“You seem to be handling it rather well. Most humans either laugh, or run away when I tell them I am an angel.”

You shrugged.

“I’m partly convinced I drank until I blacked out again and this is some weirdly vivid dream.”

You let out a yelp when he suddenly pinched you.

“Ow! What was that for?”

He looked at you as if it was obvious.

“You said you were dreaming, I proved you were not.”

You raised your eyebrows, looking at him in disbelief.

“I wasn’t… it was just… oh never mind. If I tell you guys what I saw will you leave me alone?”

“We will find the monster and kill it yes.”

You found how straight forward and blunt he was kind of amusing.

“Good enough.”

Castiel followed you back into the living room, Sam and Dean stopped talking whenever you walked in.

“Alright you very tall men, listen up.”

You went into as much detail as you could, telling them everything you saw and heard. By the end of your very long and vivid story they had come to the conclusion it was a werewolf.

“You can kill it right? Or at least keep it from finding me?”

You couldn’t help how nervous your voice sounded.

“We’ve got this Y/N, don’t worry.” Dean assured you.

“I’ll stop worrying once, it’s dead.” You mumbled.

Dean and Sam headed out to the car but Castiel lingered behind or a few more minutes.

“Dean copes the same way as you.”

You looked up at him from where you sat.

“Doesn’t help does it?” You smiled bitterly.

Castiel shook his head.

“I could take away the memories if you’d like.”

You thought about it for a moment, it would solve a lot of your problems. However, the people who died, who disappeared there would be no one who knew the truth, no one to tell the families their loved ones could rest in peace now. So, you smiled and shook your head.

“I’ll find a new way to cope, but if it’s all the same to you, I think I’ll keep the memory.”

Castiel nodded and gave your shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

“It was a pleasure to meet you Y/N.”

You nodded to the angel, giving him a wink.

“Maybe next time we can meet when you’re not on a hunt and I’m more sober.”