"Where the hell have you been?" Dean bellowed.
It was 4 a.m. Sam was still sleeping, or trying to, and Dean decided he'd go get a beer, or maybe something stronger. He'd shuffled through the dark room, trying not to bump into too much stuff, steering towards the kitchen. He had walked quietly into the map room and turned on the lights. As he tried to stifle his yawn he'd turned around and...
And now Cas was there. Just standing there, in the middle of the bunker.
"I can exp-" Cas tried to get out, raising his hands in a calming gesture but was cut off by Dean again.
"I don't care!" he yelled, walking closer to Cas, who was still simply standing there, although the man noticed him flinching.
Dean wanted the throw everything in sheer frustration, smash every shelf, break something, just get his anger out in some way.
"Dean, I'm-" Cas said quietly.
"Shut up, will you?" Dean interrupted again and Cas blinked a few times before looking down.
Dean stopped a few feet away from him and looking at him properly. He seemed so small, with his shoulders hunched up, head bowed like a scolded child.
Suddenly all energy, everything just slipping away from Dean.
"Why are you here, Cas?" he asked tiredly. He ran a hand across his face. He was just too exhausted to fight, to argue.
All the shit he'd been going through the last year, or just the shit in his life in general was washing over him suddenly, leaving him so very tired.
"Why can't you just leave me alone. It's... I can't take it. I can't handle you leaving me all the time," he said, and sighed shakily.
Cas looked up to study Dean's face. It seemed too old for man Dean's age. So much wieght of everything he's seen, everything he's done, showing in the dim light. He didn't let his guard down around Sam, but when it came to Cas, everything just tumbled out.
"I really am sorry Dean," he mumbled, worry and empathy ebbing into his voice.
Castiel wished he could remove the lines from Dean's face, and … make him happy again.
Dean looked at him, his eyes searching the angel's face for something, before turning to the table and showing all the maps off in a violent move, all the papers clattering to the ground, echoing through the empty rooms.
"God fucking damn it," he groaned, his voice breaking.
Cas stepped forward to aid him in some way, trying to comfort him in whatever what he could. He tentatively touched Dean's shoulder, as an attempt to make his presence known.
Dean was shaking silently, not bothering to remove Cas' hand again.
"I don't want your apologies and excuses Cas," Dean muttered brokenly, before turning to look at him.
His eyes were slightly red and puffy, exhaustion clear on his features. He reached up to Cas' face, holding it gently with his right hand, his fingertips dipping into Cas' soft hair. His eyes searched Castiel's desperately, trying to make him understand.
"I just want you," Dean whispered, a broken smile ghosting across his lips.
He turned towards the angel, and made Cas face him by resting a heavy hand on his shoulder.
"I want you here, with me," he said, and now the tears were spilling over, gently dripping down his cheek.
Cas' heart broke as he realized he was the cause for the tears.
"Why won't you stay with me?" Dean mumbled, and his voice trembled slightly, so full of hurt and doubt. His thumb glided over Cas' cheekbone, caressing it lightly.
"I need you, you dumb sonofabitch, when will you ever get it into your thick skull?" he muttered, pulling Cas closer.
Castiel could feel the warmth before the soft touch of lips as Dean leaned in to kiss him gently.
It wasn't a lot; only chapped lips sliding on lips, the delicate touches of hands and the bumps of noses. But it was also the warmth that spread from his fingertips to his stomach, the rush of blood to his head and the sudden realization that Cas felt secure, safe and at home when he was with Dean.
"I need you too," Cas breathed across Dean's lips.