"I'm glad you're back," Hannah says quietly. "It's weird, walking in there with someone who has no idea what to expect instead of someone who can determine a fake crime scene in five minutes."

Castiel chuckles softly. "I can only imagine."

"And I kinda missed you," Hannah adds.

Castiel smiles slightly. "I missed you, too." They've been working together for years. It wasn't a very fun change.

He flashes a badge at the cop by the crime scene, and he lets them in without question. Hannah gets the inside scoop on what happened, but Castiel is more drawn to the message on the wall.

"So I'm a day early. I'm sorry, I just couldn't wait. It's been a boring six days. I'd say you have four days to call me, but I don't know if I have the patience to wait that long. Better safe than sorry, right? Call me, day or night. And if Cas isn't back on the case, forget it. I'll figure it out after a couple days of radio silence."

Castiel sighs. He likes this case. He likes trying to find this guy. He likes getting inside his head, see the world from his perspective. He just doesn't like phone calls.

~~

Dean wakes up in the dead of night to his phone screaming at him. He groans and grabs it, ready to shut it off, until he realizes it's Castiel's number. He's been waiting for this. He just wishes it could've waited another couple hours.

"It's 3:30 in the morning. What the fuck?"

"You said day or night," Castiel reminds him. "I picked night."

Dean chuckles half-heartedly. "That I did." So this is his new tactic, huh? Catch him off guard? "And you didn't put me on speaker this time, either. I'm impressed." He didn't hear his swearing echo back to him.

"Your game, your rules," Castiel says.

"I like this," he replies. "Last time, you were a bit rattled. Now you're ready."

"Well, what can I say?" Castiel says. "I know what to expect now."

"You don't, though," he says. "We talked once. There's no guarantee this will be anything like last week. For all you know, there's a hostage lying half dead next to me." Of course, he's actually alone in an abandoned house's kitchen, but Castiel doesn't need to know that.

"You sound like you just woke up and are in dire need of a cup of coffee," Castiel says. "I'm not really worried about you pulling something right now."

"You're not wrong," he says. God, he really does want some coffee, now that he says it. If only coffee shops were open at 3:30 in the morning. Are they? Maybe he should check. Would the cops question every dude nearby getting coffee at 3:30 in the morning?

"So?" Castiel asks. "Why did you want me to call you again?"

Dean shrugs, though Castiel can't see it. "I like talking to you." He was just trying to fuck with Michael at first, but it's actual kind of fun taking to him.

"You —" Castiel scoffs. "You like talking to me?"

"Yeah, I do," Dean says. He doesn't talk to a lot of people. This is nice.

There's a pause on the other end, then an awkward, "Okay." Changing the subject, he asks, "Why do you do this?"

"You're gonna have to be more specific than 'this,'" Dean says. "I do a lot of things." Like break into abandoned house's beds because he needs a place to sleep, for example.

"Anything," Castiel says. "Everything. What do you get out of killing people?"

Dean's first thought is to go with the simple answer — money. He kills someone, he takes their money. It's usually the only tangible thing he can take. He can only carry so much. But that's not why he does it, and he really wants Castiel to understand.

"Have you ever killed someone?" Dean asks.

"Of course not," Castiel says immediately.

"I don't just mean in cold blood," Dean says. "You ever been after someone and pulled your gun at them? Killed 'em in the heat of the moment? All in a day's work, of course. Nothing wrong with it."

There's a long pause, until Castiel finally says a quiet, "Yes."

"Do you remember how it felt?" Dean asks.

"Not pleasant, if that's where you're going with this," Castiel says coldly. Dean must have hit a nerve.

"No, not pleasant," Dean agrees. "Powerful. Adrenaline pumping, knowing you're in control. There's nothing else on the planet that gives you that kind of thrill. And after five years, I'm still not sick of it."

"And these people you're killing, they don't matter as long as your get your kicks in?"

Dean sighs. "I've never had a very good relationship with the human race. I don't really care about them. I really don't understand why you do."

"Because they're people, same as you and me," Castiel says.

"Exactly," Dean says. "Just like you and me. They can fight back, just like you and me. One of them takes me out, good for them. There's no reason they can't turn it around on me. And if they don't? That's their own damn fault."

"Not everyone can fight a serial killer," Castiel says. "Not everyone can fight, period."

"If they never took the time to learn, I have a hard time feeling bad for them," Dean says.

"Not everyone lives a life where they need to fight," Castiel says.

"Then they're some lucky sons of bitches," Dean replies. Growing up like he did, he definitely can't say the same. "Doesn't give them a free pass."

"So that's it?" Castiel asks. "You basically just kill people because you can?"

"Sounds about right," Dean says. "It's fun. I'd say you should try it, but with your brother being who he is, that may not go over too well."

"Why do you keep mentioning my brother?" Castiel asks. "Both calls. He never did anything."

"He has, though," Dean says. "He's the one who tells the media everything except what they need to know about me."

"And what do they need to know about you?" Castiel asks.

Dean hadn't really thought of that. He notices a lot of omitted details, but off the top of his head, he's not sure what they would be.

"Anything?" Castiel asks. "Can you think of a single thing he's done wrong, or are you just against him because of his position?"

Dean thinks this over. His biggest pet peeve is that no one but the FBI seems to know about his little messages, but that doesn't seem important now. Instead, he says, "I guess he should just tell them that I'm uncatchable."

Castiel scoffs. "Uncatchable, right. Of course."

"It's been five years, Cas," Dean says. "More than that, even. You haven't found me yet. What makes you think that's gonna change?"

Castiel pauses. "I guess I just have more faith in myself and my team than I do in you."

"And that, my friend, is your problem," Dean replies, the last word interrupted by a yawn. "Seriously, why 3:30 in the morning? That's just rude."

"I would say murder's a bit ruder," Castiel says.

Dean pauses. Well, he's not wrong. He probably shouldn't complain, anyway, considering how hard it is to get the guy in the phone in the first place. Although maybe it's hard for a reason, and maybe this is the reason.

"What are you trying to pull?" Dean asks. "I'm guessing you wanted me off my guard for something."

"No, I've just been working my ass off trying to find you, and I finally decided to use the one resource I have left."

"At 3:30 in the morning?" Dean says skeptically. "Don't tell me you've been trying to find me this whole time."

"What can I say? You kept me up all night."

Dean smiles to himself at that. He likes the connotations that come with that statement, even if Castiel only said it as a half-hearted joke. It would be cute if Dean didn't know this call was just a distraction. He just doesn't know what he's supposed to be distracted from.

And there it is.

"Smart," Dean says. "No lights, no sirens, middle of the night when I'm half asleep. I don't think they know where I am, though, just a general area, because they're not coming here."

Castiel chuckles drily. "Well, thank you for your cooperation. I'll make sure to tell them to check a different house."

"No problem," Dean says, but his mind isn't really in it. He looks around, aware of the back door but not sure he wants to ditch just yet. If he waits too long, he's sure they'll surround the house. If he leaves, they could catch him on the run. He's not sure which is worse.

"You want to cooperate a little more, tell me which house you're actually in?" Castiel asks.

"Where's the fun in that?"

"Probably more fun than then kicking the door down," Castiel says.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Dean says. He makes a split second decision. "Well, it's been great catching up with you. I'm gonna go hide in a closet, and I can't risk them hearing us chat. Talk to you in a week, Cas."

He hangs up the phone, smashes it under his foot, and runs out the back door. He's never really been afraid he'd get caught, but now, he's not completely confident he can make it out. But it's an adrenaline rush like no other, and he loves every second of it.