A/N: So this little ficlet was inspired by my insistent terminology concerning Misha's eyes, which is that they are blue like the ocean. At 5 AM, it seemed like a good idea to write a Destiel fic about such a thing, and the story ended up coming out a lot less silly than its origins would lead one to believe. I hope you all enjoy it!
Warnings: Mild slash.
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Supernatural. Of course.
He's never seen anything so impossibly blue, so stupidly, intensely blue.
It's ridiculous, because he doesn't get like this, he doesn't think of colors and intensity and a brightness that is utterly inhuman. Dean Winchester doesn't see things like that- he's not that poetic.
Except that when he finds himself staring into that unending blue, he thinks he's drowning, unable to breathe or move. Memories flash through his mind of a visit to the ocean once when he was young, when Dad took him and Sammy to a beach for a day because they were close by on a hunt and Sam had been begging to go. It had been so blue, so beautiful, and Dean had gone out as far as he could, until water crashed over his head and his mouth and nose were filled and his lungs ached because he couldn't breathe. For moments that felt like minutes, he believed that he was going to die; then Dad dragged him out and pushed the water out of his chest. There had been fear in Dad's eyes back then, but all Dean could think, inhaling and exhaling heavily, was that he'd been surrounded by blue, swallowed up by it, and in a really scary way it had been the prettiest thing he'd ever seen.
Which is exactly what this is like, so much so that he can almost taste the salt and smell it in the air.
Looking away is like coming up for air, because then he can breathe again and the world becomes normal once more.
The biggest difference being that Dean only drowned in the ocean once. He drowns in Castiel's eyes almost every single day.
Another difference being that drowning in Castiel's eyes is a little scarier, because he doesn't know if or when he'll actually stop breathing, or if someone will be there to drag him back out like his father had.
Until one day it happens and the world stops moving because he can't look away this time, can't stop staring into the endless sea of blue. Cas is close, but Dean can't help but move closer, breathing shallow- if he's breathing at all. Thinking that this is it, that he's actually going to go under for good this time, and there isn't a single soul who can save him.
Then there are arms around him, holding him up, and warm, dry lips pressing against his, forcing oxygen back into his lungs. It is the sweetest sensation, Dean holding onto Castiel just as tight as the angel is holding onto him, sharing breath and life and everything in between.
When he pulls away, he backs Castiel against a wall, something firm that they can anchor themselves to while Dean continues to steal the air from him. He's certain that if he stops or lets go, he'll sink right back to the bottom and suffocate. It's just lucky that Cas doesn't seem to mind helping him stay afloat.
Somewhere in the middle of all this, Dean thinks he may be mentioning oceans and drowning and Cas' eyes, but if he does, then there's a God after all, because Castiel doesn't comment on it (though Dean would deny saying such things even if he did).
The next time he looks into Castiel's eyes, he thinks it's a lot like drowning, but so much better, because now he knows there's someone to save him if he wanders too far into the water.