It wasn't what you had expected.
It wasn't what either of you had prepared for.
The witch, you were told, was an aging hag who wasn't long for this world as it was. Your source had told you that a bullet to her heart with a strand of her own hair inside would kill her. She had been wreaking havoc on the city you were in, focused on destroying couples. Initially Cas had assumed it was a Cherub gone-rogue, but further insight told you it was a witch scorned.
Your source, the one who gave you all the information, had of course been the witch's apprentice. Information like that would have been helpful before storming into the room. In the haze and hellfire that sprung loose as you and Dean came in with guns blazing (after many, many hours of recon) you had been there to flank Dean as he shot the witch. And while his bullet had torn through the air, you watched as her lips whispered "Cor Contritum" before it slammed into her.
The witch appeared to almost vaporize, but her apprentice was still present. An attractive young woman looking to be in her early twenties, she was unmistakable with her heterochromatic eyes. They seemed to flash, blue and brown, in an instant. She spoke a few words herself and you could have sworn you watched her cry. She didn't stick around. It was wise because Dean looked a little blood thirsty. Instead, she vanished. She was like smoke; there one minute and gone the next. But there was something lingering.
So there you were, standing next to Dean Winchester, confused as hell because that was too damn easy. Your gut told you that something was wrong. When you turned to tell him, however, you noticed that he was gone as well.
"Dean...?" But there was nothing. Next to you, where Dean had been, there was a whisper. That fucking witch. Did she take him? Your eyes were wide and frantic, "Dean!" You were calling for him now in a way that you hadn't done since before he taught you how to hunt. You had to find him. If the apprentice took him... who knew what would happen? He had killed the witch. You watched him do it.
"Oh, god, Dean please!" You shouted, feeling tears stinging your eyes as you desperately tried to figure out what was going on. A second ago he was beside you and now he was gone. Vanished.
"If you took Dean I swear to god I will hunt you!" You shouted, to no one in particular, though hoping that the witch who took him heard it. You didn't have much to go off of on her, but you'd find a way. Anyone who took Dean... well. As Dean had told you many times, Family don't end in blood, but you'd certainly draw blood to make sure it didn't end.
Taking out your phone, you did the only logical thing you could think of doing and you called Sam. He would know what to do.
"Sam!" You practically yelled into the phone as the younger brother answered, able to tell he was wincing on the other end.
"Woah, slow down, everything OK over there with you two?"
"No! It's not OK! First Dean shoots the witch and now he's gone! Sam, I can't find him, I don't know what to do!"
"Easy, Y/N. Calm down. I'll grab Cas and we're gonna meet you there. Or rather, Cas will grab me. You know what I mean. Take a few deep breaths and we'll head over."
Easier said than done. You thanked Sam, terror still crawling in your body as you hung up the phone and slid it back in your pocket. You had a feeling he'd be taking a 'flight' over via Castiel, but he'd still have to put things together. That left time for you to sit down and mope. Which was exactly what you did.
____
"Cas, we've got a problem." Sam looked up at the Angel who nodded his head in agreement, watching as Sam appeared to pack.
"I was informed. I believe it would be wise to meet at their last location. I was given an address." He looked at the paper he had scrawled on, a paper that had a list of shows to watch when he got back, one of which was "Psych" you had written in all caps and highlighted. You were excited for that one.
"Sounds like kind of a mess. Let me get some things together first." Cas appeared to only nod, standing as he waited for Sam to get his things. As much as Sam didn't want to admit it, the idea of his brother having vanished was terrifying. He had a feeling if Dean had died it would have been made clear. But this was something else.
Coming back out with his go-bag, Sam looked at Cas, "All right, let's head over to Y/N." Cas narrowed his eyes slightly, appearing confused.
"We do not know where Y/N is, Dean was the one who called me." Sam's eyes widened a bit and he looked at Cas.
"Y/N called me telling me Dean had vanished. What do you mean that Dean called you? Did he say the same thing?"
"Dean called and informed me that during the hunt after killing the witch Y/N had disappeared. He requested our presence." Sam sighed a bit and looked down, trying to piece it together. What it meant was that both of them were fine, right? If they'd both received a call then what was happening? He doubted it was a trap since it wouldn't make sense. No, this was something else.
"Cas, something is wrong. I think they can't see each other."
When Sam and Cas appeared in the motel room, you just about lost it. "Oh, Sam! I don't know what's happening. I think the witch took Dean!" Sam and Cas exchanged looks, Sam turning back and holding up his hands.
"Ok, ok wait a second. Both of you." You shook your head in confusion. What did he mean 'both of you'? Cas wasn't talking and it was just you sitting on your bed.
"We've got a problem. Turns out... OK, I don't know how to say it. You can't see each other. Dean, Y/N's to your right, Y/N, Dean is to your left. I don't know why, but we're gonna try and figure it out."
What you couldn't see was the look of incredulity creeping over Dean's face as he turned his head to look at you. He had been on the verge of insanity trying to figure out what had happened to you. He had blamed himself, thinking that the shot he let off had somehow incited something in the witch. While he was right, he also didn't realize the only thing it had done was erased you.
Suddenly it occurred to you that you couldn't remember what Dean was wearing. It was so silly, but as you had turned to imagine the fact that he was standing there as Sam had stated, you couldn't remember. But your head was still turned in his direction. That was where Sam said he was.
"So why can't I see him?" Your voice felt small, eyes narrowing slightly. You wanted badly to make him real, wondering what would happen if you tried to touch him. Reaching out your fingers appeared to touch air, though a shiver danced down your spine as you traced your fingertips into the air.
"I don't know. I- huh? She asked why she can't see you. Yeah, or hear or touch. I don't know. I can make a couple calls but I'm guessing this is a spell." You knew what Dean would say. He'd say that he killed the witch and the spell shouldn't have worked. He was right. The spell should have vanished when she did. Instead you were both vanishing.
"Dean thinks that it was the apprentice. Do you remember anything that happened, Y/N?" Sam looked at you and you wondered. You remembered flanking Dean upon entrance to the room and being surprised by the woman's eyes. Brown and blue. And they had flickered with light. It was brief and sudden, but you'd seen it.
"Yeah, actually. She said something- couldn't make out what- and then her eyes flashed, like a light, and she was gone. I know the witch muttered something in Latin, but it didn't make sense. It was cor contritum." Sam looked back between what must have been Dean and you. His confusion had stemmed from the fact that the two of you had said the words in unison. Despite not being able to see or hear one another, you'd repeated the same words.
"Broken Heart?" Castiel looked confused as he glanced over at Sam, "That's what that means. It's one of the phrases the Cherubs speak when healing. Why would a witch need to use it?" Sam looked back at you, concern on his features.
"Y/N, we really need to know what the apprentice said. Are you sure you can't remember?" You were wracking your brain but nothing seemed to come forward. Instead, you shook your head in the negative, slumping a bit as you went to sit on the bed.
What a lonely situation. Dean was within touching distance and yet you couldn't even see him. You knew he was there because Sam and Castiel said so, but you had no way to verify. No way to touch his face. Feel his lips. Hold his hand. So you stared down at your own, imagining what it would be like.
It concerned you, then, when you felt a void. Squinting, you tried your best to remember but couldn't. His taste seemed like a distant memory and one that you couldn't grab a hold of. Castiel was going about needing to head back to the bunker to figure out what was going on, but all you could think was that it just didn't make sense. It was painful. Knowing that the man you loved was both there and not.
"Let's just go, please." You shook your head and Sam cast a glance at you that spoke volumes. He could see the pain even if Dean couldn't.
The trip back had been brief for you, but Dean had insisted on driving back with Baby. It would take him about a day to get back, leaving time for you and Sam to do research. And of course you had wasted no time. You were eager to figure out what was going on. Castiel had said he was going to speak to the Cherubs who still were willing to talk to him. You remembered Dean recounting the story of speaking to the Cherub and smiled. He hadn't been a fan.
"You OK?" Sam looked at you from across the table, books laid out in front. They were spell books of all kinds and different curse books. It wasn't that you expected an answer right away, but you wanted to know what had happened. In your time hunting you'd never heard of a spell that made two people intangible to one another.
"Not really. I just... Sam, I'm scared. What happens if I can't see Dean again?" What if it wasn't reversible? What if the two of you would never touch again? The thought was painful. You closed the book and looked down.
"Hey, that's not gonna happen, OK? We're gonna figure out what she did and we're gonna reverse it. If we can stop Dean from being an old man, turn that around, we can figure this one out." You'd forgotten about that. Dean's run-in with a witch that had left him elderly and dying. But what had happened?
"How'd you guys fix that one?" You tried to ask subtly but it was clear you didn't recall the story.
"Ah, I mean... turned out one of the witches was ready to go. Lost her kid years ago and gave up her life. Broke the spell." You shifted uncomfortably. A woman so broken by time she had been ready to give up immortality in order to see her child again. But you wondered if that was the case. Would she have? Or would she have gone to see Crowley instead?
You buried your head in your hands and stared at the table. Exhaustion was creeping over you and you closed your eyes. You didn't want to stop looking but sleep was tugging at your eyes. As if on cue, you heard Sam speak.
"Get some sleep, you look beat. It's not gonna kill you to rest for a few hours and Dean won't be back until tomorrow anyway."
Not that it matters... I can't see him you had mumbled internally. But you'd agreed and had made your way to the room that you and Dean shared. Staring at the empty bed, perfectly made with a nightstand on either side dedicated to the individual using it, you paused. You didn't like the idea of sleeping in a bed where Dean was supposed to be. He could have been there and you wouldn't have known. It felt like being with a ghost.
Shutting the door you walked down the hall to an empty room, the one you'd stayed in when you first arrived. It was unused but clean. You'd insisted on keeping the spare rooms tidy in case you ever needed to house folks. Now it was housing you. Removing your shoes you sauntered over to the bed and laid down on top of the sheets. You weren't cold. You weren't hot, either. You were tired and yet somehow restless.
Closing your eyes however you found yourself pulled into sleep. It wasn't restful. You slept in fits and spurts, occasionally falling deeply asleep. When you did dream it was disturbing. You dreamt of darkness and of a void. You dreamt of lacking. Of missing. There was no longing but you somehow expected it to be there.
Waking up was a relief in a way. You heard your phone buzz and on instinct and habit you grabbed it and read the screen.
Y/N. I miss you. I hope you can read this because I need to tell you some things. I'm scared of losing you. I love you too much to have you disappear. Not being able to call you or hear your voice is tearing me up. I can't even hear your voicemails. I can't see your pictures. None of them show up. All I see is black and it scares me. Before you I didn't think it was possible for me to love anyone this much. You know me, I thought being a hunter meant living a life alone. I figured that was my fate, you know? That was me.
Having you in my life was different. You felt right. I wanted to get out of a hunt because I knew you'd be there with me. I was never afraid when you were fighting beside me because I knew it was you. I could count of you. I knew even if I told you to let me do it alone I was never going to be alone.
I can't lose you. No way in hell. If it means selling my soul to bring you back I'll meet Crowley in hell. I'd give it all up for you.
The texts were there. While you may not have been able to see his pictures or hear his voicemails (you had a feeling that was the case for you as well), you could read his words. But what terrified you as you read them was that it wasn't in his voice. It was yours. The words came out in your tone. Your inflections. Your own accent. Not his.
His... oh god.
You shot up in bed suddenly, terrified and unsure why. No, you knew why. You knew exactly why. Tearing down the hallway with bare feet you pounded on the door to Sam's room. He had fallen asleep as well, though it didn't take much to rouse him. When he opened the door, his hair was disheveled and he looked exhausted, "Y/N?"
"Sam, oh god, Sam! Sam!" Tears began to well up in your eyes and you couldn't control it. You were bawling now, close to hysterics while Sam wrapped you up in his arms. You could smell him. Touch him. But it wasn't... it wasn't...
"I can't remember his name. Sam, I can't remember his name!"
