No matter how many times Dean called for Cas, the angel didn't move from his position on the beach. Instead he continued looking up towards the starry sky, lost in his own world; with a defeated sigh, Dean left Sam to man the barbecue and made his way down to Castiel. Cas' tie and trenchcoat were neatly folded on the sand beside him, his socks tucked into his shoes and set on top of the coat, Dean sat on the angel's other side, mirroring Cas' position; leaning back while his palms pressed deeper into the grains of sand, Dean stretched out his legs and looked up generally as his eyes scanned the stars. They both sat silently, the cool waves lapping at their bare feet before rushing back to the large expanse of water.
"They're coming," Dean paused for a moment, raising an eyebrow as he cast a sidelong gaze at Cas.
"Wait, what? Who's coming? Damn, I left my rock salt in the Impala. Sam-!"
"Dean." Although his voice was steady Dean could still trace the amusement behind it and his panicked look immediately formed into that of a childish glare.
"What?"
"The angels, they're healing. God is back." Instead of panic, Dean looked around hesitantly, his eyes wide and alert; there was a slight waver in his voice the next time he spoke.
"Why?"
"The star I was looking at when you sat beside me was one of my brothers, Israfeil." Cas instead said, distracted once more. Dean knew it would be futile to press Cas further on the issue; he also knew that Cas would never let any harm come to him and although he hated taking advantage of that, he was aware that this would always be the case.
Dean became aware of Cas shuffling closer and sat up accommodatingly; moments later his arm was around Cas' torso, his fingers loosely playing with the hem of the angel's white shirt as they both looked up into the sky, the food and Sam both forgotten.
"Who's that?" Dean used his other arm to point directly towards the horizon; although small, the star was unusually bright.
"That is one of my sisters, she is newly born and the purest of us all. Hadraniel, the Angel of Love and one of many; she will be accepted and cared for in hundreds of ways as she is the first angel born after the apocalypse which is why I said-"
"That God is coming." Dean finished, finally understanding why Cas had included the big man in his revelation earlier. Both Sam and Cas had long ago explained that an angel could only be born during the shattering of grace or creation by God; both acts involving Him.
"Wait, are you telling me that if you're not down here doing anything or fighting some sort of holy war, that you're all stars?"
"Humans souls are represented by stars and your existence goes unnoticed in the sky however God stores our grace as stars, or part of our grace, which is why they shine. In that way when we are severely injured in battle we can fly to the remaining part of our grace and complete our beings once more before returning to fight."
"But I don't get it, so many angels die Cas. Why aren't supernova's going off everywhere?"
"Dean, humanity's capabilities are limited as it is. It would be impossible for them to track every super nova that goes off in the universe as the universe itself is endless. And you are wrong; stars do not only die through supernovas."
"But…explain," Dean sighed as he rested his temple against Cas', tracing faint patterns through the thin cloth of Cas' white shirt. Dean took pleasure in feeling Cas shiver underneath him and let his fingers linger over each area, smiling further when Castiel leaned closer to his touch.
"Stars go into a supernova when an angel dies in the worst possible way: when an angel falls. Those supernovas destroy everything around them and leave no mercy in their wake. However stars also go into a supernova when archangels die; long before the seven current archangels there were nine. Two of them were killed when protecting Heaven from the Leviathans; those supernovas were the most beautiful things humanity has ever missed, they were bright waves of coloured light that lasted centuries and allowed everything around them to die beautifully too. Only angels who are pure of grace and mind will receive such a breathtaking death. Other angel's graces simply fade into the night, into heaven."
"Did you ever see one?"
"I have seen a supernova, yes. I have seen that of Lucifer's, the morning star." Dean didn't need to encourage Cas to explain; the angel looked down at the water with a slight frown on his face as he began to recall the event. "When I had been growing and learning to fight, the archangels had taken special care of me. Although to this day I still do not know why, it meant that I could grow closer to them in a way many other angels had not had the honour of doing.
At that time Lucifer had still been in heaven and we had loved him, respected him in a way no other could be respected. When Lucifer fell, sadness descended upon heaven. He had not died; he had fallen and continued to live – something which had not been expected. As brothers, the archangels went to plead with our Father not to kill him so God destroyed a part of Lucifer's grace instead; God destroyed his star.
This…this is a shameful thing: for a star to die before it's angel. Although humans have created names in the calendar for an event when they can see the morning star, it is nothing compared to the true grace. The morning star blazed blue, as bright as the sun, and shone upon many universes."
Castiel finally took a breath as his shoulders sagged, sadness clear in his eyes; although Dean could tell that the blue of Lucifer's star was awing with the way Castiel had talked about it, he knew that he would only ever like the blue of Castiel's eyes. Bringing two fingers underneath Castiel's chin, Dean turned the angels face so he could look into the orbs he adored so much; smiling reassuringly he pressed an ample kiss on the side of Castiel's mouth and pulled back despite the angel's faint protests.
Dean pressed Castiel closer and moved his arm around Cas forward so he could run his fingers up and down the angels arm;
"which star are you?"
Dean felt a sudden change in Castiel's composure and glanced from the corner of eye to find the angel surrounded by a faint glow. Castiel answered his question before Dean could voice it.
"When a star senses its angel's grace, it reaches out to the angel. This glow around me is because my star can feel me thinking about it, it's calling out to my grace. In the same way, my star will be glowing unusually brightly too."
"So where is it then Yvaine?" Dean was glad that Cas hadn't understood the 'Stardust' reference or else he'd never be able to live the moment he'd watched such a chick-flick film down. Slowly, Castiel raised the arm Dean had curled around him so that Dean's arm lay limp on top of his, their fingers aligned. The angel then continued to move their arms up until his forefinger was pointing just above the horizon; there, in the dark of the night, Dean saw a white star seemingly coated in a faint, bluish glow. Dean could do nothing but stare as the star grew brighter and brighter before he whispered under his breath, "son of a bitch."
When he turned his head to the side Dean caught the faint blush blooming on the apples of Castiel's cheeks; smiling Dean removed his arm from Castiel's and turned so he was sitting cross legged, facing the angel, and then waited until his action was mirrored. Out of the corner of their eyes' they could make out Sam's silhouette, he was stood over the fire with a beer in one hand and his phone in the other. Dean's gaze kept travelling from the bright blue eyes in front of him to the star shining to his left, back and forth until Cas had finally cupped Dean's face with both his hands.
"You could be up there, couldn't you? Close to your grace and Heaven now that God's back; you'd be happier there. Why'd you stay with me and Sam, Cas? We're nothing but bad luck – we're Winchesters. You could be…glowing like this all the time. I think you should go; you'd be happier wouldn't you? You'd be with all the good guys again; I think you'd like it too would-"
Dean was cut off as a pair of soft, velvet lips pressed against his and for a fleeting moment he had felt himself melt into the very touch that could only be described as Castiel.
"You think too much, Dean Winchester." Castiel whispered, his lips trailing down the side of Dean's jaw, "you are the 'good guy', Dean. I'm happier with you than I will ever be with Heaven, especially one once corrupt." Allowing himself to appreciate the confession instead of arguing back, Dean leaned forward to meet Castiel's lips once more before he was pushed back onto the sand. Growling slightly he sat up only see Castiel's trouser-clad knees; the angel had gotten up rapidly, his back rigid and straight yet there was a smile on his face that Dean had only ever seen when Cas was alone with him. When they were wrapped under the covers, sharing stories of their pasts' and kissing in between sentences with their limbs tangled together, Dean had seen Castiel smile as brightly as had when watching the stars. For a moment Dean allowed jealousy to take over as he turned his glare towards the night sky before realising the stupidity of his actions; Dean paused for a second before he eventually stood to attention too, clasping Castiel's hand with his own. Dean couldn't help but allow himself notice that even their hands fitted together perfectly like two jigsaw pieces.
"Wh-"
"The stars, look." Rolling his eyes fondly, Dean looked up and saw a shower of shooting stars across the sky; mixtures of silvers, golds and blues brightened the once dark sky and illuminated the water. At certain points Dean covered his eyes due to the intense glare of the light, the grace, surrounding him.
"What's happening?"
"A shooting star means that God is taking away any harm surrounding an angel from heaven itself; it is His way of thanking His children."
Despite Sam's shouts as he ran towards them from the patio of the beach house, Dean could only keep his hazel eyes on the angel beside him who suddenly seemed so much more beautiful. Dean was torn between awe and amazement, shock and fear, as the shooting stars came down around him, speeds increasing as they reached whichever angel God was thanking. When he looked down at Castiel, he saw the angel chuckle with youthful delight and a small, fond smile had graced the hunter's lips. As the stars begun to fade, the angel finally turned to look up at his lover with silver shimmering in his deep blue eyes; Dean somehow knew Cas had received his thanks too.
"Did you see?" Cas' voice was still deep and gravely, but Dean couldn't help but notice how much lighter it had sounded. "Wasn't it beautiful?"
"Yeah," Dean replied breathlessly, distracted by the way the colours on Castiel's face seemed to have deepened. With another small laugh Castiel cupped his free hand around the back of Dean's neck and brought their lips together. Dean had grinned as he felt Castiel smile against his mouth and ignored Sam when he ran back to their burning food.