Out of Touch [Astrid]

[CASTIEL]

A large frown fell over his face as he looked around. He was out of place and out of time. Dean and Sam were missing, again, and they didn't want to be found. So he had been trying to hunt down some demons, and monsters, and whatever evils were running around the world these days.

Somehow he had ended up in Las Vegas. He frowned as he wandered around the city that was just - reeking of sin. Cas, uncomfortable, decided to take a page out of Dean's book and to try alcohol for the first time. Well it hadn't been the first time, but it had been thousands of years sense his last drink. He wandered into one of the open bars and took a seat. He ordered something, he wasn't quite sure what it was. The bartender informed him it was 'hard liquor'.

He didn't understand, considering it was still a liquid. How could it be hard? He took the shot and downed it easily, undaunted even by the burn that followed. He ordered another one, and then about twenty more. If he had been human, he should have been dead... Still, he kept ordering drinks, a slow smile coming over his face as he loosened up.

What was this? He felt...relaxed. It was strange, but he liked it. Castiel even started talking, of course the bartender thought his story was something from a loony bin, but Castiel didn't even care that the man didn't believe him. As long as the bar tender kept giving him these...whiskeys...he was going to be quite content.

Eventually the bar tender cut him off. Castiel was saddened by this, but logically speaking...he should have been dead from that much alcohol. So he slowly walked himself out of the bar, after using one of Dean's fake credit cards to pay for the drinks. He stared at the card as he walked back onto the street.

What other wonders, besides whiskey, did this town have for him? For once he was excited.

[ASTRID NIGHT]

Las Vegas had always been a city Astrid enjoyed, as an ex angel it was a small pleasure she most likely shouldn't indulge in, but she couldn't seem to help it. The city was alive and constantly in motion with a consistent flow of people wandering the streets, looking for their own night of freedom. Astrid moved swiftly through the crowds with ease, focusing on each person she passed she was not currently on a hunt, but still the risk was always there. The air was warm and she stopped in front of one of the local bars in order to sip off her jacket, trying to decide on a destination. The best option was to head back to her motel room and call it a night and possibly heading out early in the morning. That was the conclusion she had reached when she started the walk back to her motel, but something caught her eye and she stopped dead in her tracks.

A man in a rumpled trench coat and dark hair caught her eyes. It wasn't that there was anything about his appearance that would usually cause her to stop, but there was something about him. Astrid was practically human, but she had still retained enough of her grace to recognize when someone wasn't human. It had been a huge advantage for her during hunts.

Her plans had changed now and she turned back around in order to follow him. He was an angel, she was almost sure of that. It was a feeling that was easily recognizable amongst all of them, even with the ones who had fallen. He didn't seem to have a certain destination in mind and she was unsure of what to expect from him. Though he seemed to be slightly inebriated he would no doubt realize someone was following him soon enough and many of the angels did not take well to her, not after she had fallen at least. Curiosity had gotten the better of her once again though, and she continued to follow him through the cluttered city.

[CASTIEL]

Castiel lightly stuffed his hands in his coat pocket as he wandered down the street. He wasn't bothered by the people that bumped into him. He hardly noticed the humans that asked for spare change. He was swimming in his own little world and that was perfectly fine with him. He smiled softly to himself, distracted by various thoughts that slowly sifted and swam through his mind. His thoughts were usually quite clear, sharp, distinct but the effects of the alcohol had begun to soften those harsh edges. Maybe this was why the humans drank in the first place. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense.

Somehow at this point, Cas, was still connected to Heaven. It was a weak connection as he was still being punished for becoming too close to Sam and Dean. Of course, he didn't mind anything right now. All was right with the world, and had he known any good songs he might have been singing. Of course all the songs he knew were in a language that didn't really translate to English. So...that wasn't going to work out very well in his favor.

As he walked along he peered down the streets, looking at the women that were whistling at him. Why were they calling him "big boy", he politely paused and informed the ladies in odd garb, that his name was Castiel, not 'big boy'. They must have mistaken him for somebody else. The girls tried to explain what they were offering, but Cas just...didn't get it. He shrugged and wished them a good evening and wandered away from the prostitutes. His thoughts drifted back to Dean as he had tried to 'hook up' the angel with a woman named 'Chastity'. Castiel did not understand a lot of things, but at that moment he had gotten the sheer irony of the situation.

He continued to walk down the street, eying another bar when he felt a familiar sense pick up. Was he...Was somebody? He turned his head around, looking behind him. Astrid was in the group that he saw, but he couldn't pick her out yet. He felt as if he was being followed though. He didn't like it. The angel had expected to be left alone honestly, but not now. Well...If he was being stalked, they were going to stalk him into the next bar. He wanted more of that whiskey, and beer. Dean had introduced him to beer, but the liquid made him burp a lot. Whiskey didn't though. Maybe this 'hard liquor', even though it was a liquid, would keep him from burping.

Castiel walked himself into the next bar and sat himself down at the bar, in a small little corner. He eyed the door, as if the structure had done something wrong, but he was just waiting to see who else walked in here...He picked up the shot glass, the tender here said it was rum. Today was a day of lots of new experiences.

[ASTRID NIGHT]

The closer she got to the man, the easier it was able to sense the angel that currently inhabiting the vessel. Once had had stopped she was able to get a read on him entirely. Castiel. Astrid frowned, it was a rare occasion that she had ever really come across Castiel when she was an angel and she knew how devoted of a soldier he was. What his status was now, she was unsure of and for whatever reason she still continued following him until he stepped into another one of the bars.

There was no doubt in her mind now that he knew he was being followed. Astrid had to pick up her pace and slip between various people in order to keep up with him and when he sat down up at the bar she lost a lot of her confidence. If Castiel were to decide to haul her off to heaven there was not much she would be able to do about it. However, while he was obviously on guard and ready to spring into defense of necessary, there was softness about him that she didn’t often see in other angels and that alone intrigued her even more so. Astrid took a deep breath and considered her options, she could step forward and reveal herself or she could turn and leave and continue her evening as planned. She bit her lip, a nervous habit that she had picked up during her time on Earth. It wasn’t often she wandered into other angels.

Astrid took a hesitant step forward towards the bar. Her steps were slow and though she was still unsure she did her best not to show it. She did not want to appear as a threat, but she did not want to appear weak either so she slid down into the seat next to Castiel and ordered herself a drink. This night could end up being far more interesting then she had originally planned.

[CASTIEL]

Castiel kept drinking while he waited on his little stalker friend to arrive. He shifted in his seat and loosened his tie, the effects of the alcohol making him feel a bit warmer than usual. He took a few more shots of this 'rum' and smiled to himself. It was alcoholic but this kind reminded him of pineapples. So it was sweet while it burned down his throat. Humans were creative creatures. He wondered how they mastered adding flavor to booze. He must ask Sam and Dean, once he found them. He could wait a little while. They were big boys. They could take care of themselves...

Usually he would be angry, even frightened for their safety, but he was feeling very relaxed. He noticed the woman enter the bar and looked at her through heavily lidded eyes. Okay, he was almost drunk, well...he was drunk, and he didn't care! The world was coming to an end fairly soon. It seemed no matter their efforts, Lucifer was going to rise. So why not spend one evening and get completely plastered? He didn't see any harm in it. He hadn't had 'fun' in...well...ages. Not to say that being with Sam and Dean wasn't fun, but, ever sense his siblings dragged him back to Heaven - Castiel had been distant with them.

He swallowed another shot, noticing the woman sit down beside him. His angel senses were tingling...or was that spider senses. Wait, no, that was Spiderman. Spiderman was a comicbook character that Dean had informed him existed. He was some sort of super human...that had been bit by a spider. Castiel didn't know how being bit by a radioactive spider would work. After all wouldn't it just transfer the radiation to Peter Parker? Along with the spider venom? How would that change his genetic code? Castiel was confused.

"Why are you - following me..." he said, slightly grumpily as he oredered his tenth shot at this bar.

He turned in his chair a little bit to look at Astrid, who was slightly blurry looking at this point. Castiel loosened his tie some more and slowly blinked at the woman. Who was she, why was she here? Was she a demon? Was she an angel...Wait a minute. He leaned forward to get a better look at Astrid, quickly closing and breaking her personal space. He got an 'angelic vibe', as one of the boys would say, but it was...weak. Was she one of the fallen?

"What are you?" he rephrased.

[ASTRID NIGHT]

For the most part Astrid enjoyed many human experiences. Often times it was the little things she enjoyed, she was sitting at her stool and leaning up against the bar and a cool breeze was flowing from a nearby vent and she enjoyed the contrast between the cool and the heat tickling her skin. Despite all she did enjoy, there were human experiences that she could choose not to live through if give the choice. Her nerves were buzzing under hers skin, making her uncomfortable and a little shaky and she hated it. Feeling nervous always seemed to coincide with feeling vulnerable and since falling she always felt weakened and defeated in this state. Angel’s weren’t supposed to feel these things, though she was beginning to wonder if she could truly call herself an angel anymore. Her connection to heaven was limited and heaven felt further away and less like home with each passing day.

Astrid raised her glass to her lips and took a small drink, risking a glance over at the man next to her. He looked much more relaxed than he had been when he had passed her outside and his brow was furrowed in confusion. She turned her head away set her glass down on the table trying to figure out her next move. If Astrid was being honest with herself she was not entirely sure what point she was trying to make with all of this. It had been reckless of her to run after an angel. The risks of following an angel were great and she did not want to be dragged back to heaven again to be thrown in some sort of angelic prison. She had heard horror stories of these places and she shuddered at the thought. She was about to give up and head out of the bar, back to safety where she was free of doubts when the angel spoke to her. At first she could only stare back at him. Of course she had wanted to speak to him, but the fact that he had initiated contact caught her off guard.

Astrid tilted her head up a bit and sat up straighter, wanting to seem more confident then she felt. He held eye contact with her, but his gaze was a little unfocused and her eyes shot down to his hands as he loosened his tie before bringing them back up to meet his. What could she say? He wanted to know why she was following him and she wanted to give him an answer that didn’t make her sound like a petulant child. There was no answer she could come up with besides the truth however, so she decided to be honest with him.

“It’s not often that I come across an angel wandering through the streets of Vegas, I came to inquire your reason for being here”

Before answering the second question she paused. If she were to tell him the truth and he were to come after her to bring her to his superiors, she didn’t stand a chance against him. Not when she her powers were so limited. She was a skilled fighter, but not skilled enough to take on an angel. At the same time however, Astrid knew that he most likely already had a good idea of what she was.

“I’m an angel” She paused and bit her lip nervously again before continuing. “I am one of the fallen”

[CASTIEL]

Castiel listened carefully and nodded slightly. A smile spread over his lips a little bit as she spoke. Angels, well of course there were few of them here. Most of them were fighting one another or grappling with demons. Several of them had died by his old friend's hands, Uriel. Castiel thought that deserved another drink. He slung back another shot of rum down and lightly set the glass on the table once more. He turned his head away from Astrid for a moment. Something went through him that hadn't happened in a while. He laughed. Castiel, let out a good laugh. He shook his head again and lightly pulled off his trench coat. He folded it and lightly placed it in his lap, revealing the business suit underneath the beige garb.

"No, that is a rarity," he said, still slightly chuckling.

His amused face started to somber up quickly after she spoke of being one of the fallen. He had already considered that. He had paid the price for his doubt and he wasn't sure if he could do it again. He didn't know if he had the strength in him to make that decision again. Doubt was a dangerous human emotion and the mental scars from going back to Heaven without choice weighed heavily on his mind. Castiel gave a small shudder and ordered a beer.

"You, and may others have made that decision," he said gently with understanding in his tone.

Castiel lightly held the beer in his hand once it arrived, feeling the cool condensation against his warm hands. It felt good. He rested his arms along the bar, wet with spilled rum from his little drinking escapade. He didn't mind if the liquor got on his suit. It was easy enough to clean. He lifted his head as he looked around the rest of the bar, envying the humans within. They had no idea what kind of chaos they were missing right now. They had no clue of this war, or the fact that their world and their lives were in the cross hairs of one of his siblings. It saddened him and it made him envy them. Ignorance was bliss.

"Considering your recent decisions...Why did you follow me?" he turned to ask her, perplexed.

It was dangerous, possibly suicidal. How did she not know that he would drag her back to Heaven. He had done so with Anna. He had done so with other angels that had fled to Earth. Then again, the tables had been turned and he had felt Heaven's Wrath. He would not take her back. He respected her choice, admired it even.But he could not make that decision for himself, not now...Of course he would later on. Castiel felt sympathy for her. After having learned personally what happened to Angels who were 'weak', 'defective', 'tainted'...He could easily imagine what they would do to her if he took her back home. No, he couldn't do that. Not again. Not after he knew...

"I won't take you back there," he said, quietly voicing a fear that he could relate to.

[ASTRID NIGHT]

This time Astrid kept her eyes trained on the other angel. She was fearful of his reaction, but part of her fiercely wanted to believe that there was another angel who could comprehend the weight behind her decisions and the toll that falling had taken on her. Astrid turned her head away from him and glanced down at the drink in her hands, needing to focus on something besides the angel beside her for just a moment. Astrid set her drink down and brought her hands up to tie her hair back into a ponytail to get it out of her face before returning her gaze back to him, her eyes widening in surprise as he told her others had made the same decision. Of course during her time as an angel the decision had been made by some, it was such a rare and powerful choice though, that it had not often occurred, it surprised her that others had taken the same course of action as well. It made her stop for a moment and wonder how bad things had become and how much she was unaware of in her human state.

When he followed this revelation with a question of why she had followed him, there wasn’t much she could come up with at first. It was stupid and she had put herself in a very vulnerable place and he knew that. They both knew what she had risked and it didn’t make sense, even to her.

“I don’t regret my decision”

She whispered softly after a fair amount of time had passed. Astrid turned away from him again, leaning forward and resting her elbows against the table. Her voice was still hushed, lowered down to almost a whisper.

“I don’t regret my decision, but it’s been a long time since I’ve felt much of a connection to anyone, especially an angel. I followed you because on some foolish whim, I was hoping you wouldn’t turn me away”

It sounded just as ridiculous when she said it out loud and Astrid felt herself flush at her admission. She kept her gaze down and once again cursed her nerves. This was foolish. Astrid was sitting in a bar, talking to an angel who she knew nothing about and who most likely knew nothing about her. Astrid always tried to be smart about her decisions, and though she knew he was not going to drag her back to heaven, she also did not know what she was expecting to get out of all of this. It had been a long time since Astrid had felt as unsure as she did right now and for the second time that night she cursed the spectrum of human emotion.

Astrid brought her glass to her lips once again, this time polishing off her drink. It was getting later but she had no desire to return to a quiet motel room where she would without a doubt, spend her night lying awake in bed and staring at the ceiling

[CASTIEL]

Castiel understood in full her reasoning. It was a piece of him that gnawed at his belly. There were very few in his situation and knowing that made him feel like an outcast, and a sort of black sheep. It was a dangerous line he was walking and the further down the path he went, the narrower the line became. It was maddening, confusing, and even though he had tried to repress the human emotions...Castiel kept finding himself being attached to them, using them, experiencing human feeling. The road of doubt was winding, confusing, and it had a good hold of him.

It was good that she lived without regret of her decision. She reminded him much of Anna, and even though he felt that their relationship was extremely strained...He sighed softly, frowning a little at the thought of his former commander. Castiel shoved the empty shot glasses forward with a sweep of his arm, giving them back to the bar tender. He idly held his beer as he stared at the mouth of the bottle. He blinked slowly and then shut his eyes in deep thought.

On some level he wished the brothers could understand the gravity of his situation. Of course they were human, so they had no concept of angelic life. Even with all the information he had given, they were still lost in a sea of incorrect knowledge.
"Fallen or no, you are family. We were created by the same Father, we have been tested, we are angels. You may have fallen, but I shall not shun you away for that decision," he just couldn't be that hypocritical, as he had almost made that choice several times.

Ane Zachariah was breathing down his neck. He knew much what Dean and Sam did not, but there was nothing he could do...He had to remain vigilant, to stick to the cause. To help defeat Lucifer and end this madness once and for all.
"Unfortunately...I am not like some of our brethren," he said with soft regret.

Were emotions really that horrible? Did he really need to forgo their acceptance so that he could do his duty? He thought his emotions had been helpful in trying times, but then again...a weakness in other. He had lost himself in 'the big picture' because of these feelings. That was why he had been punished. That was why he had been dragged back...A haunting memory that he could not push away from his mind.

[ASTRID NIGHT]

Astrid turned back towards Castiel and kept her eyes trained on him. He seemed to be less guarded now and she let herself relax a bit more. It was like a weight had been taken off of her chest when she realized that he wasn’t going to turn her away and now she let herself examine him a little more closely. He had abandoned the trench coat and he was looking away from her, his eyes focused on the bottle in front of him.

When he started speaking again Astrid jumped slightly, pulling her out of her thoughts. She found that she liked the sound of Castiel’s voice. It was surprisingly deep and she found the gravely edge to it soothing and she found herself relaxing even more and leaning back in her chair. She felt her chest clench at his words and she sucked in a breath, this was something that she had needed to hear for a long time. That she still had a family and that despite everything perhaps her creator still loved her the way he had once had. Astrid did not regret her decision, but sometimes she was overwhelmed with how homesick she became at times.

Before she could give him a thank you he continued. This time she tilted her head to the side, unsure of what he meant. Again she was taken by how his expression was so much more soft and open then she was used too from the other angels. Part of that could have been the alcohol talking, but she was surprised he was sharing this with her. Astrid reached her hand out and placed it on his writs, wrapping her fingers lightly around his. She did not want to scare him off, but she wanted him to know that she was grateful that he was responding to her this way and she wanted him to feel comfortable with her, even if it was just now in this moment.

“What do you mean?”

Her voice was soft again, almost as if she was whispering and she leaned ever so slightly into his space so that he could hear her. The breeze from behind the bar passed over her again and her skin erupted in goosebumps, but she momentarily ignored the chill of the room in favor of keeping her attention on the other angel.

“I don’t mean to pry, and I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable, but if you want to talk, I’m here to listen”

The corners of her mouth tilted up into a small smile, trying to get him to understand that she meant well and to express how much she appreciated him even just sitting at the bar with her.

[CASTIEL]

It took him a few seconds for him to notice that she was touching him. He was slightly taken aback, but he was not frightened. He had experienced physical contact from Dean and Sam, along with a few humans and other beings he had met through his travel. It didn't disturb him, but he never initiated such contact - unless it was violent in nature. Those were other situations, not like this one, friendly conversation. He did not draw away from her touch, he did not lean into it, he just accepted it and gave a slight nod as she asked him another question.

Castiel's eyes moved to view her hands before his gaze lifted to her face. He peered at her, perplexed. Maybe he had slurred his words, or maybe he just wasn't thinking clearly enough to be understood properly. The angel swallowed and shifted in his seat. He was not uncomfortable with Astrid, he was uncomfortable with the memories he held within his mind. A stranger was asking him to go retrace the steps of a horrible nightmare.

"At one time, not long ago, I was exposed to Heaven's...Methods of persuasion, for having doubt with my orders," he said, pausing as flashes of what had happened ran through his mind.
"I had failed the chain of command. I deserved punishment for having traveling down the road of emotion and doubt, " he said.

There was something in his tone that was strange, as if he was trying to come up with some sort of justification of his treatment. He looked back at his beer and shifted one hand so that it was no longer under her hand. He brought the beer back to his lips and took a few more drinks from it before setting the container back down upon the table.

"I understand, how one might make that decision..." he trailed off, as he had been so close to coming to it himself.
Some voice in the back of his mind was still debating that question.

[ASTRID NIGHT]

The second she saw the look that crossed Castiel’s face Astrid regretted the question. It wasn’t that he looked fearful, but he looked haunted and it she felt a pang deep within her chest. With the admission of his punishment her regret for the question further deepened and she could hardly imagine what he had to go through. When he drew his hand away Astrid brought hers back to rest against the bar. Her fingers idly tracing the designs in the wood, she had fallen, but she had not suffered through heaven’s wrath. It was something that all angel’s feared and was the reason many did not rebel despite their belief’s.

“You didn’t deserve it” She said still speaking in hushed tones. “Having doubts has been made out to be something terrible, but if I’ve learned anything during my time on Earth it’s that some things are worth fighting for and protecting”

Astrid paused, she didn’t want to offend him. She didn’t want him to believe that he deserved whatever they had dished out at him, but there was a line and she felt if she went too much further she was going to cross it and she didn’t want him to leave. Astrid sighed and look away from him before motioning to the bartender to bring her another drink. Her nerves were long gone but she felt, well more then anything she felt sad. Heaven had once been a safe place for all of them and now angel’s like herself and like Castiel were being punished for having doubts. They had always been taught between right and wrong, but they had never been taught exactly how to define it. Astrid closed her eyes and tilted her head back, needing just a moment.

“I’m sorry”

It was all that she could think of to say to him. She knew that it didn't make a difference, it didn't change his situation, but shill she wanted to say it. The air was heavy around them and she wondered if she had made the wrong choice in following him. It had brought on a lot of bad memories for him and she didn’t want that. Astrid took a large gulp out of the drink that had been set in front of her, the drink did little to ease the knot in her throat, but it did blur the edges just a little bit.

[CASTIEL]

He repeated the words she said in his head a few times. He kept it as a sort of mantra for a few moments, letting it sink in. He wanted to believe it. He wanted to believe what she said with every fiber of his celestial being, but it was hard. He had so much guilt within him for having failed. He nodded though, giving her a sign that he heard her words and was accepting them. Even though his mind tussled with what she said he wanted it to be true. In his heart he knew he had not done nearly as wrong as they had made him imagine…

The angel was finished with his beer, but he held onto it anyway. Part of him wanted another one but he didn’t want to appear like some angelic alcoholic to a fellow sibling. He nodded again. His job was to protect the humans and their right to have emotions and free will, not him. He had not been created that way. Was he no better than Lucifer for even thinking…No, no…He was still with Heaven. He still had great Faith in their Father – wherever he might be. He took a deep breath, trying to cleanse his thoughts with it, as he had seen other humans do over his time on Earth.

A thought struck him. He shifted in his seat and looked up, staring aimlessly in the distance. For a moment he thought he was channeling Dean’s or Sam’s whit.
“A fallen angel and an angel of doubt walk into a bar.. ” he trailed off, chuckling to himself.
There was not a punch line to it, but the sound of what he had just described humored him. He chuckled and took the last draught of his beer.

He turned his head to look at her as she said she was sorry. What was she sorry for? She had not taken him to Heaven. She had not unleashed the punishment. So what was she sorry for? He was confused but he was also appreciative of her words.
“Thank you…” he said softly, gruffly trailing off
He let his eyes relax a bit as he quickly polished off the other beer. He ordered another. Today was a day to drown his sorrows in liquor. He felt more human by the minute.

“They call me Castiel…”

[ASTRID NIGHT]

For a moment the two of them were quiet. It wasn’t uncomfortable but it did allow Astrid a few moments to get lost in her own thoughts. Astrid pulled her jacket off of her chair and wrapped it around herself again. Vegas always seemed to keep the indoors of each establishment cold, it was always a relief to feel a chill against the heat of the outside, but they had been inside long enough that the chill was starting to get to her and her arms erupted in goose bumps again. At the sound of his voice she turned her head back to focus on what the other angel was saying. When he actually cracked a joke she felt her lips turn up into a genuine grin.

He chuckled, almost to himself and she decided that she hoped she got to hear that from him again. The somber air wasn’t entirely gone, but it was nice to hear him laugh. Especially after his previous admission. Though she did not know what he had done to have him dragged back into heaven, she believed that he had good intentions and that his doubts were justifiable. When Astrid had fallen she had spent many nights lying awake and questioning her decisions over and over again, unable to come up with a conclusion. As she continued her life on Earth however, she was able to see why humanity was worth saving. Astrid saw families, she saw love, she saw compassion and talent and despite all of the pain she had come across she still believes that those powerful, good things were worth falling for. Being able to see these things every day is what comforted her.

Castiel. It was a name that she was familiar, one that she recognized and had come across in her time in heaven. They had never really encountered each other, but she was glad that they had run into each other like this. Both of them on Earth and able to talk face to face, even if she was still concerned she had made a bad move in asking him about heaven. Castiel still looked conflicted, but at least now he looked a little bit less haunted.

“Nice to meet you, Castiel. My name is Astrid”

Once again she offered him a small smile and she considered holding her hand out to shake his but thought better of it.

[CASTIEL]

He made her smile, it felt good. He smiled back in return, his own a slightly weaker version of her own grin. He looked over and shuffled on his seat a little bit. He turned to face her and extended his arm weakly as he tried to mimic the gesture of a proper hand shake. It was good practice, if anything else.
“It’s good to see another soul from Heaven,” he said as he readied himself for a handshake.

He wished that he had not needed to meet her through these terms, in this state, in this physical condition. Astrid…Astrid…He tried to recall her from Heaven, but his mind was a mish mash of memories and the fuzz from the alcohol. It was if somebody had stuffed a very soft rabbit into his brain and it was hopping around. He couldn’t quite focus properly. No wonder why humans did this.

He thought and looked back at her, his brows furrowed in contemplation. He swallowed another drink of his beer and peered at her for a moment, studying her vessel. What happened to the vessels of the fallen? What would happen to Jimmy if he decided to stay on Earth and…become human? The thought worried him, and only added to his resolve to stay with the ranks of the Heavenly Host.

“Why Las Vegas?” he asked suddenly, perplexed.

He had come to escape the horrors of his long life, to find some sort of peace. He expected her to be happy with her decision, to not have any qualms or doubts about her choice. Shouldn’t the Fallen be the most content out of all the angelic brethren? He lightly set his beer down as he leaned forward on the bar stool to hear her properly over the crappy music that played.

“This is not a wholesome place…” he said.

Actually, maybe that was why she was here. Decadence…and lots of it; it sounded like a good idea to him at the time. He smiled a bit, as if he was proud of her choice. Whatever had brought her here, he was happy to meet her. He was content to see another angelic soul that wasn’t after him to put on guilt, or cause him physical harm. It was refreshing and it made Castiel, very happy.

“But they have burgers here!” he said in sudden alarm at his thought.

He slid forward, off of his bar seat and grasped her hand, forgoing the handshake. His sudden revalation was swimming around in his mind. Wait, he needed more booze. Maybe there was a location that served burgers and booze! Excitement flooded through him and he lightly tugged at Astrid’s hand, an eager child ready to play outside. He smiled again, and remembered to pick up his trench coat. Grinning, he slung it over his shoulders.

“Come, Astrid, I must show you the delights of red meat!” he shouted, getting a few odd looks from the few people in the bar.