None of these stories are interconnect at all unless otherwise stated. There only connection is through the music that I based the stories on.

Title: First Day of My Life

Song: First Day of My Life by Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes)

Warnings: Slash

Pairing: Dean/Castiel

Rating: K+ (PG-13)

Spoilers: Episode 5.16 "Dark Side of The Moon"

Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural, CW and Kripke do. I don't own the Song "First Day of My Life" that is owned by the band Bright Eyes and the singer Conor Oberst.

When the world didn't end, Castiel would like to have said that he wasn't shocked. He would have liked to have said that he always knew that the Winchester boys would manage. He couldn't say either thing, because as an angel (falling or not) he couldn't bring himself to lie. He never expected things to end well, but somehow they had. It had taken years, 3 to be exact, since Lucifer had risen. But finally, in 2013, He and Gabriel (who wanted things back to normal so he could go back to having fun) and Sam and Dean somehow pulled off what legions of angel's had not been able to do.

Castiel expected now that things were over, he would be called back to Heaven and much to his surprise, he was disappointed by that fact. In the years he had lived on Earth, he had gotten quite used to life as the Winchester's lived it and going back home, was suddenly not as an exciting an idea as it had been 3 years ago.

That was why, when his Father called him home, he said his goodbyes to the solemn faces of Dean and Sam and vanished before Dean could grab hold of him and not let go, like Cas wished he would.

In Heaven his Father looked down upon him and the glory of the lord shown about him, but he was not afraid and his Father was pleased.

"You did what others would have feared to do, my child. You deserve a reward and I will give you anything that you wish." Castiel could have asked to become an Archangel, or even a Principality if he had wished, but that's not what he wanted.

"Father, you know what I wish for."

"Of course I do, I am all knowing. I want to hear you say it Castiel."

"I want to return to Earth, I want to stay with the Winchesters."

"You know I cannot let you live on Earth as an angel?"

"Yes."

"You would give up your Heavenly Grace for love?"

"Yes."

"Then you shall have what you wish." Then he was in heaven no longer. He stood in the empty motel room that he had stood in before he was called to Heaven. He could hear the sounds of the Impala being packed outside the door and the loud sounds of life being lived by the people of the city they were in.

He opened the door and stepped out in the hot Galveston sunshine. The beach could be seen from the sidewalk outside the front door, people were spreading blankets and towels on the beach, heedless of the fact that the world had nearly ended only days ago. Castiel looked over at the Impala and the first face he saw was the shocked and bewildered face of Dean Winchester. He had never looked more beautiful to Castiel than he did at that moment, even stripped of his ability to see inside Dean's soul.

"Cas!" he called, Sam looked up from putting his duffel in the trunk. "What are you doing back here?" Dean sounded as bewildered as he looked.

"I did not wish to stay in Heaven."

"And they just let you go because you didn't want to stay?" Sam sounded disbelieving.

"My Father wished to give me a reward. I chose what I wanted." Dean's face was puzzled and then understanding and sadness fell over his face.

"No Cas, you can't give up your home for us."

"I already have Dean, there is no going back and this is my home now. It has been for a long time now." Cas walked over to Dean and grasped his hands. "I'm human now. I have no past, I don't know what my future will be, but Dean…." Here Castiel paused "I know that I want to spend it with you." Dean froze for a moment and then, with a relieved cry, he pulled his hand from Cas and gripped the sides of Cas' face to pull him in for a kiss.

"What did I ever do to deserve you?" he asked, in wonder, when he pulled away.

"You didn't have to do anything."

"Are you human now Cas?" Dean asked. Sam seemed to have vanished, leaving Cas and Dean to talk.

"Yes, but we have forever here and in Heaven. There is to be somewhat of a restructuring of the way Heaven is run now." Cas paused. "We will have to take some of this slowly, Dean. I have never been fully human before and I will need you to help me."

"You're home now Cas, Sam and I…we're your family now and we'll always be there to help."

That night, in their hotel room with Sam down the hall, Cas lay pliant against Dean's side. Remembering the first time they had found themselves in this situation. It had been only days after Joshua's news that God wasn't going to get involved in the Apocalypse. Castiel had been devastated and he'd run from the last bit of family he had. He'd travelled all around the world, looking for something to believe in, because an angel can't survive without something in which he can place his faith.

He had been so lost and confused. His heart was breaking, but finally he stopped his journey and sat down on the ground by a sign post on the interstate and pulled out his phone.

"Cas?" Dean's voice was rough with sleep and so hopeful that it really was Cas on the phone.

"Yes, Dean."

"Where are you?"

"I am not sure, the sign says Oklahoma City 40 miles, I believe I'm to the West of that city."

"That's a few hours from here, just…just stay there Cas. I'll come to you." The sound of Dean dressing could be heard over the phone and then the scratch of a pen on paper, he was leaving a note for Sam, Cas thought.

"You do not have to do that, Dean. I am more than capable of coming to you."

"But would you?" That was a good question, Cas admitted to himself that he might not. Dean sighed deeply. "Just…let me do this for you Cas." Cas made an affirmative noise and then the phone hung up.

Hours passed, the sun was rising in the East when the sound of the Impala finally reached Castiel's ears. The car pulled over and Dean walked over to where Cas was seated on a rock by the road.

"Let's go Cas, Sammy is waiting for us."

"You must be tired Dean."

"Nah, strangely enough I feel like I just woke up, it's probably adrenalin or something." Cas didn't argue, just took Dean's offered hand and stood before getting into the passenger seat of the Impala. Dean seemed uncomfortable for a moment as he started the car, but then he turned off the engine and turned to Cas.

"You know Cas, I'm not good at this chick flick kind of stuff, but I can't leave you like this. I understand that this is the first time you've never had a mission. I know that must feel terrible, but this…this the first day of the rest of your life. Wow that sounded a lot less cheesy in my head." Castiel managed a laugh at that. "Look, maybe I'm supposed to say some cheesy stuff like "I'm glad I didn't die before I met you" or some crap, but that sort of stuff doesn't really apply to us does it?" Cas laughed, a sound he had probably never had cause to make before on Earth. "But the point is, Cas, I think that no matter what happens, no matter where we go from here…as long as you're with me I think we can be happy." Dean gave a frustrated sigh. "I guess what I'm trying to say is…I love you." In what was probably an attempt to avoid an awkward moment, Dean leaned over and kissed Cas soundly. He made a surprised noise when Castiel immediately began to kiss back.

"Thank you Dean, I…I love you too." Castiel said as they pulled back for air. Cas had just found something to believe in and the light that shown out of his eyes took Dean's breath away.

"Cas, I..I know I may not always be the easiest guy to deal with, but this is the end of the world right and I think that we need to take the time to see if we can make this work. I'd rather know we gave it a shot now, rather than sitting around waiting for something better." He swallowed nervously, "I don't think I could find anyone better anyway."

"I know I will never find anyone better" Cas responded and then kissed him again. Dean made an odd whimpering sound that he would later deny and then in the light of the slowly rising mid-western sun they found that the back of the Impala was actually big enough to fit two grown men. They also found out that Oklahoma police officers aren't all as homophobic as people think, but that's a different story.

First Day of My Life – Conor Oberst

This is the first day of my life
Swear I was born right in the doorway
I went out in the rain, suddenly everything changed
They're spreading blankets on the beach
Yours is the first face that I saw
I think I was blind before I met you
Now I don't know where I am, don't know where I've been
But I know where I want to go

And so I thought I'd let you know
That these things take forever, I especially am slow
But I realized that I need you
And I wondered if I could come home

Remember the time you drove all night
Just to meet me in the morning
And I thought it was strange, you said everything changed
You felt as if you'd just woke up

And you said, "This is the first day of my life.
I'm glad I didn't die before I met you.
But, now I don't care, I could go anywhere with you
And I'd probably be happy."

So if you wanna be with me
With these things there's no telling
We'll just have to wait and see
But I'd rather be working for a paycheck
Than waiting to win the lottery

Besides, maybe this time it's different
I mean I really think you like me