Title: Meintz
Author: Aaeth Payne
Rating: PG-13
Genre and/or Pairing: Dean/Castiel pre-slash
Spoilers: Up to 5.04
Word Count: 700ish
Warnings: some naughty language.
Disclaimer: None of these wonderful characters are mine. All these boys are belong to Kripke.
Summary: Dean is a possessive bastard. My own spin on "The End"

A/N: Title is what my husband, a collector, would call his museum of collections, "Meintz". Next door would be the store full of things you could buy, "Yourtz." My husband is odd.

Deep down Dean Winchester was a possessive bastard. And he knew it. Maybe it came from a childhood when everything he owned fit into a duffel bag. Whatever the reason, the things that were his he kept. The things that were his he treasured. The things that were his, he took care of.

And it didn't matter how something became his- it just mattered that it was. Even if the Impala was once his father's, on Dean's 17th birthday it became his. It was his means of transportation. His connection to his father. His little bit of freedom. His.

It didn't matter that Sammy was his little brother. On that night when Dean was four and Sammy was just six months, Sammy became his. His to rescue from a burning house. His responsibility. His first priority. His.

So in the future when he saw the Impala rusted out in the center of the camp, Dean's heart ached. Because no way would he in his right mind ever let that happen to his baby. Even if she couldn't run, she'd be kept pristine. Something was wrong that he let something of his waste away like that.

When he saw Sammy in the ugly white suit, the thing that was not Sammy anymore, his heart bled. How could he have let this happen to his little brother? If Lucifer were ever to take Sammy, it would be because Dean was cold in the ground. He'd see to it.

When he saw Castiel his heart broke.

Somewhere along the line, so slowly he hadn't even noticed it, Castiel had become his. His Cas. Not one of those sanctimonious dicks. His. And as he saw the angel stretch and make plans for an orgy with some (admittedly lovely) ladies, Dean's gut clenched. His. He saw the sadness in the once angel's eyes, the sadness of someone abandoned- someone who never should be alone if Dean could help it. His!

It wasn't until he saw them together that he knew for certain. Future Dean didn't care about Cas. He didn't care that he was sending his supposed friends into a meat grinder. That dick didn't care about anything. None of the things that Dean should have, would have died for before, mattered- they were less than nothing to him now. Future him was so broken Dean found it hard to even be near him.

And that was why they would lose. In this timeline.

Then he was back in the shitty hotel room.

Dean wanted nothing more than to pound Zachariah's smarmy face into hamburger, but it was probably for the best that somehow Castiel knew to pull him out of there. The look on Cas's face seemed to indicate he had an idea of what Dean had been pulled from just at that moment.

"Don't ever change." It was an understatement. A massive understatement.

"How did Zachariah find you?" Somehow Cas knew.

"Long story… let's just stay away from Jehovah's Witness from now on, ok?" Dean pulled out his cell and Called Sam; that would be the first step. Only the first step.

"What are you doing?"

"Something I should have done in the first place." It had been stupid to push Sam away, Dean knew that now. As much as the people he loved could be used against him- they were what kept him human. Losing them would be to let Lucifer and Zachariah win.

Dean made the call, and then looked back to where Castiel stood. The next part would be difficult and take some time, but it was no less important. Slinging an arm around Cas's shoulders like he had done after the disastrous brothel excursion, Dean began down the dark street. "What do you say we grab a beer?"

The shoulders tensed under his arm. "Are you attempting to purchase female company for me again?"

"No, Cas, no ladies this time." Dean snickered as the angel relaxed under his arm. "Just you, me, some beer… then we go get my baby from where I last parked her. Avoid the Jehovah's, meet Sammy. Kill the devil, save the world." He took a deep breath, and enjoyed the cool night air. Air that didn't stink of burning plastic, burning cities, burning bodies.

"It seems like you are glossing over some important details Dean."

Throwing back his head, Dean laughed like a kid. Light like he hadn't felt in a long time. "All in due time Cas. We'll work it out." He'd just seen his worst nightmare, but somehow he knew it was going to be different this time. Things were going to be all right.