destieldrabblesdaily:

“Correct
me if I’m wrong, but I’m sensing that you don’t want to talk about it.”

Claire
shrugs at the assumption, but it’s followed by a tiny nod. She sighs as she
sits down on the edge of her bed, in the process picking up the fluffy grumpy
cat that Castiel knows all too well.

And Castiel
understands, because how can he not? He’s never been much of a talker himself,
and even though he’s getting better at sharing his thoughts and emotions, he
still has a lot to learn. As has Claire, and truth be told he’s just glad to
have a chance to visit her, seeing with his own two eyes that she’s still in
one piece and at least has a family now. There’s Jody, and Donna, and Alex, and
Patience… They’re all looking out for each other.

Claire’s
doing well, all things considered, and whatever sadness is hiding in her eyes,
Castiel knows that there’s no point in pushing her.

Glancing
around Claire’s room, Castiel looks for a way to change the subject, but Claire
surprises him before he can even come up with anything.

“There
was a girl,” she blurts out, avoiding eye contact. “Her name was
Kaia. I promised that I would protect her but then… In the end I couldn’t. I
just couldn’t, and I lost her. Let’s leave it at that.”

“Ah…”
Castiel finds himself saying; Claire still doesn’t look at him, instead
fumbling with her grumpy cat plushy. “And this girl, she was your
friend?”

“Yeah…”

A long
silence.

“I’m
sorry,” Castiel offers eventually. “No matter how long you exist, losing
a friend will never get any easier.”

Claire
blinks up at him, and Castiel swears that tears are about to fall from her
watery blue eyes. He reaches out to briefly squeeze her shoulder, shooting her
a sympathetic smile before turning around to leave the room and give her some
space, because she obviously needs it. However he’s stopped just as he’s about to
close the door behind him.

“Wait!”
Claire exclaims, then pauses, but continues once Castiel glances over his
shoulder and tilts his head at her. “She eh… She wasn’t just my friend.
She was… she was my friend like
Dean is your friend.”

And oh. Oh. Another beat of silence.

“You
were in love with her,” Castiel states, not asks.

Claire
shrugs again, but her eyes say it all.

And Castiel
remembers. Remembers all of the times that he’s lost Dean, but also remembers
all of the times that he’s found him again. A story isn’t over until it’s truly
over, by now, at least that much he knows.

“We’ll
get her back,” Castiel says, firmly, determinedly. “I’ll help you, if
you want me to.”

Claire says
nothing, but drops the plushy and gets up to firmly hug Castiel. Castiel
tentatively hugs her back, already knowing that this is one promise that he will make
sure to keep, no matter what.

They both
aren’t talkers. But when it comes to this, they now seem to speak the same
language, even if it’s without words.