Author's Note: Finally finished this one. It has been swimming around in my head for a little while. I hope you enjoy it.
Dean Winchester was on the end of his rope. No matter how hard he tried, he could not get warm. He was always cold. Ever since he got back from Hell, it was like his whole body had been thrown off, and rightly so. He'd been in Hell for Chuck's sake, so of course it's going to screw him up.
The only time when it seemed to get better was in the presence of his angel- wait what? No, no, no, no, Dean Winchester does not swing that way. The only time when it seemed to get better was in the presence of the angel- there, that's better, named Castiel. Castiel was the angel that as he said himself "gripped him tight and raised him from Perdition." When Cas was near, it was as if a mini sun in between them that created this… heat that would warm Dean from his head to his toes. Ugh, could this get any gayer? Then Dean began to see it. An actual orb of light popped into Dean's vision every time Cas would come near, floating around, rushing back and forth between him and Castiel. When the warmth would come around, Dean would try to read Cas, to see if he might feel the warmth too, as an experiment. Cas was almost unreadable, almost. There was always a small hint of a smile on the angel of the Lord's face or a barely audible hum of pleasure niceness because god forbid, putting the word pleasure in a sentence involving him and Cas.
For a while, Dean had convinced himself that the only reason why the light showed up was because of some weird angel crap. His main theory was that because of the mark on his arm filed with Castiel's grace, angel mumbo jumbo happened. He didn't really want to explore the topic of the freaking mini ball of light that was hovering around all the time because he knew that it would lead to awkward situations that he wasn't prepared for. He instead just watched the light flicker and fling itself toward Dean. As long as they didn't talk about it, it was easy to ignore.
Until the more profound bond crap started happening. After Castiel had spilled the beans about his and Cas's "more profound bond," things really started to get weird. The warmth began to get stronger. It was getting harder and harder to ignore the damn thing, the light getting bigger and bigger flitting from Cas to Dean, back and forth. Finally, Dean just got so annoyed that he finally asked Cas during Sammy's burger run.
"Cas, have you been feeling something lately? Like anything, I don't know, warm?"
Cas was leaned up against the window, staring out into it. He turned at the mention of his name and instantly locked eyes with Dean as the rest of his sentence rolled off his tongue. He didn't answer for a while; he just studied Dean's features.
Finally, he piped up. "You feel it, don't you? The light, the warmth, everything?"
"I can see it too."
"You are more susceptible than I first believed you to be."
"Explain, Cas. What is it?"
"It is part of my grace. When an angel makes a special bond with someone, the angel's grace manifests itself in certain forms; in this case, it's a ball of light."
"Special bond? Like this profound bond you talk about?"
Something crept across the angel's face, a smile and was that blush? Dean had never seen Castiel blush before. It was kind of cute- nope that's not it- attractive- no, that's not it either- becoming on his face-I guess that'll do.
"No more like um," the angel hesitated for a moment, looking for the right word, "romantic relationship bond." Silence. He continued. "Dean, I can no longer ignore this. I've kept it to myself, tried to ignore it for fear that you won't accept me. But I can't do it. Not anymore. The truth is, I kind of like you."
Dean was shocked. Granted, he had some-what seen this coming but still, actually hearing these words come out of Castiel's mouth was definitely… different. The oldest Winchester blinked, shock riddled across his face.
Castiel could tell that his words had affected Dean negatively. His face fell and the room settled into an awkward silence. Castiel finally spoke after what felt like an eternity of silence. "I'm sorry if what I said made you feel uncomfortable. I understand if you do not feel as I do and I will go if you wish me to do so."
More silence. This time it was Dean's turn to break it.
"No."
"No?"
"No." Dean strode over to where the sad little angel was huddled in the corner, near the window of the crap motel room they were staying in. He cupped the angels face in his hand and stroked it very lightly with his thumb. Blue eyes poured over Dean, looking shocked, almost scared. Dean smiled.
"Don't be. If this is the way you feel, then that's that. Besides, I kind of like you too." Dean winked. Castiel slowly lifted his head. Suddenly, Castiel's face lit up, bright and happy. The corners of his mouth curled up into a smile, something that Dean had only seen a few times on the baby in a trench coat. Dean smiled at the fact that he caused the angel's face to do this. Blue eyes locked on green, they shifted into a short, comfortable silence. Finally, Dean could not take it anymore. He leaned in and shut his eyes. He felt his lips connect with the angel's. At first, Castiel didn't respond. He just sat there, obviously confused, but he didn't pull away. He started to push back, slowly getting the hang of it but mostly letting Dean lead the way because he was obviously the more experienced of the two. He ran his hands through Dean's hair, which made Dean shiver. The kiss lasted for only a few minutes, but it felt like an eternity. They both broke away, gasping for air. Dean shifted, nuzzling into the crook of Castiel's neck. He smiled as he realized how exhausted he was. The warmth in the room soothed Dean, lulling him to sleep. Castiel smiled softly and nuzzled back into Dean's hair, careful not to wake the sleeping Winchester. He could stay like this forever. In fact, I think I might, Castiel thinks.
