Cas had always been unsure about his wings.
They were far from ugly, that much he knew, but he wasn't quite sure how much they were worth. He always saw his brothers and sisters' wonderful wings, helping them fly through Heaven in all their splendor.
His weren't small, not even close, but they weren't exactly large, either. Not when it came to angels. Most of his brothers and sisters' pair of wings would be bigger, mightier than his. Whenever he flew, he loved the feeling of feathers gently flowing through the air, and felt great joy at the extent of his pair, since they were big enough for him to fly around the entire world twice in a second. Yet sometimes, when a sibling surpassed him greatly, with only a few flaps of their wings, Castiel was reminded of the greatness some of his angelic partners bore, unlike him.
On the other hand, he quite liked the colour. White, turning black around the edges. They were rare, there was no denying it - black feathers were actually strange to see. However, when the sun shone through them, his wings would appear to be just as bright as light itself, the darkness fading in the white of the body.
Yet his wings were not golden, like Gabriel's, nor white and silver, like Michael's. Even Zacharia's grey wings were incredibly outstanding, and Anna's brown wings would always take his breath away. There was no contest in Castiel's mind.
He was still fond of them. From time to time, his hands would reach out to the tip of his wings, and his fingers would caress the soft feathers. Despite his own insecurities, and a few quite unpleasant comments from some angels, more than once his brothers and sisters had complimented them. And Castiel knew, deep down, that they were as beautiful as some of them said.
It was just so hard to see it sometimes.
All doubt disappeared from his mind, however, the day Dean Winchester had seen them.
It was a hellhound hunt. Apparently, a few of Crowley's dogs had escaped 'accidentally', and the Winchester brothers had, as always, bumped into the task. Castiel had been with them at the time, and just as every time the opportunity showed up, he would offer his help to his friends.
They told him of a new method they had found out. Glasses purified with holy fire made the trick, and whoever wore them could see things the bare eye couldn't. Sam left them to guard the victim. Dean and Cas, on the other hand, settled to check out the trunk and go hunt the creature down.
Dean had given him a pair of glasses before putting on his own, and right before Cas could try them, unsure wether it would work or not, he heard Dean take in a breath and even sensed the man's eyes tracing over him.
Castiel looked up, confused, and stared back at Dean. "What's wrong?"
"Cas..." Dean breathed, eyes wide. "Your wings. They are-" Unconsciously, the Winchester reached out with a hand. However, he didn't complete the motion, halting midway and hiding his hand back again in his jean's pocket. Suddenly he seemed uncomfortable.
It took Cas a moment to realize what was going on. As soon as he caught up, he couldn't help but smile inwardly. He sure as hell wasn't confused at all, not with this. "What's with them?"
It was the first time a human had seen them. Damn, it was the first time Dean had seen them. The thought made him shift in his own place, uncomfortable with expectance, waiting for the man's words. Castiel had always been self-conscious about his wings, had always received both praise and disdain about their appearance, but never in his long life had he been so anxious about a comment, about someone's reaction, waiting for... something. He didn't know what exactly.
"Nothing. It's just... They're, um, kinda awesome." Dean half smiled as he regained control, trying to make it sound everything but awkward. It didn't matter. That statement alone was all Cas needed.
Dean turned around and for a long time he refused to look Cas in the eye. And maybe it was for the best, as they got immersed back in the hunt, since Castiel couldn't really get rid of his smile.
Maybe his wings really were to be proud of, after all.