"Dean?" Cas looked at the other man from where he stood, leaning against the hood of the Impala. They were parked on a dirt road on the side of a field, where no trees or buildings obstructed the view of the stars. Dean had brought beers for both of them, but Castiel's was forgotten in his hand. The two were craning their necks to see the sky, not speaking until now.
"Yeah, Cas?" Dean said, lost in thought.
"When you look at stars, what is the point? What do you see?"
Dean looked at Cas quizzically to find the former angel looking up at the night sky forlornly, as if he missed being up there. It was a melancholy sight - Castiel would never truly fit in anywhere but with the divine. Was it selfish of Dean to want him to stay here? To hope with all his heart that his fallen angel would always be anchored here on earth, with him? The hunter shifted his gaze back to the stars, imprinting the image of Castiel in his brain to keep with him when he was lonely. He sighed.
"They're stars, Cas. Balls of flaming gas. Really hot. Really far away."
"But you...mankind sees something more. Something meaningful."
Dean cocked his head, now wondering what Cas was talking about. His ever-present curiosity was tiring at times, but now it seemed pleasantly philisophical. He thought for a moment, taking a long swig of beer and setting the bottle down to cross his arms.
"I guess that they're a symbol. Because they're always there. They're not inconsistent, and you can rely on them. There's something...otherworldly about them - and not just because they're Heaven's work or whatever," Dean said, when he saw the fallen angel open his mouth to correct him. "We see beauty, and hope, and they're just so…"
"Divine." Cas said. Dean chuckled and nodded.
"I can rely on you, right Dean?" Cas asked hesitantly. Dean snapped out of a hazy stupor and looked at the other man. His blue eyes were wide like the sky and they sparkled with something that looked suspiciously like a star. Maybe that's how he could be so adorabley blind sometimes, Dean thought, he has stars in his eyes. Castiel thought he knew the answer to his own question. But part of being human is knowing when seek out fellow man, and reassurance was all he needed. He got more than that.
"Always." Dean said, his voice taking on a pitch that was gravely serious. The hunter watched as the former angel nodded and looked back up to the sky. He crossed over to where he stood and took one of Castiel's hands in his. Cas looked startled, but he gazed into Dean's eyes like he knew that whatever this was, it was okay. Dean kissed him then, bringing one rough hand to cup Cas's face and intertwining his fingers of the other in Cas's. It was soft and sweet and reassuring. Castiel didn't recognize the feelings that stirred within him, but he knew that they could be described only in comparison to something bigger. When Dean seperated their lips he dropped his hands, moving away to put space in between the two. Castiel was hurt, but he moved to fix it, now sliding closer and taking Dean's hand again.
"I think I see what you mean." He said in his low voice. Dean jumped at the noise, eyes fixed not on the stars above but on the interlocked hands between him and the former angel.
"About what?"
"About the stars." Castiel said. He rested his head on Dean's shoulder, and they stood under the night sky together like that for far too long.