A/N: Sooo. I mixed this up with a prompt my friend Alex gave me for Balthstiel AND I WILL NOT APOLOGISE FOR THE AMOUNT OF SPN ITS AWESOME but I will mix it up again soon. Anyway, Prompt 33: Too much

DEDICATED TO ALEX

I'll always stay for you.

Castiel ached. His legs ached, his arms, his whole body ached with exhaustion. And then there were the insults. It was one thing to fall from Grace, to be stripped of your dignity, but it was another to have your siblings jibe and taunt you about it in your ears. Castiel tried to tune out, to 'turn off the angel radio' as Dean would have put it but he couldn't. It's hard to tune out the voices of your family abusing you.

Fallen. Worthless. Like Lucifer. Knew you couldn't be trusted. Stupid. Disloyal. Disobedient. A disgrace. I thought better of you. Childish. Naïve. Useless. Helpless. Hated.

"Enough! Enough, please!" sobbed the young angel, clutching at his head. He couldn't hear them, no, they weren't there, no. But the voices of his siblings continue.

Such a disappointment. Brought shame on all of us. The least of us. We're glad you're gone. A burden.

Castiel curled up on himself as he cried, rocking back and forth. He believed the voices of his family and they hurt him right to his core. He had nowhere to go, no one to talk to.

Then another voice, soft, sibilant with that lilting British accent.

I will always believe in you, Cas.

There's a hand on his shoulder, comforting and when Castiel turned to look, he saw the smile of his best friend, Balthazar.

"I will always stay for you," murmured the other angel, pulling the younger angel into a tight embrace whilst he cried.

"M-make them s-stop, Balthazar. It-it hurts too much…" There's a roar in Castiel's head

LEAVE HIM ALONE YOU VULTURES

And the voices stop. The only one voice that the fallen angel can hear is that of the British angel muttering soothingly in his ear.

"Don't listen, Cas. It's okay, it's not true, any of it. You are amazing; you're the best friend I could ever wish for. Shhhh. Don't you worry, Cas. I'm here." Balthazar's words soothed the other more than he expected and soon Castiel had stopped crying and was just clinging on to Balthazar. The older angel began to hum calmingly, rocking the other. After some time of cuddling, Castiel had calmed down enough to release Balthazar slightly so that he could lean back and gaze deep into the others sky-blue eyes.

"Thank you," murmured the fallen angel, reaching up to gently wipe away a single tear that rolls down the other angel's cheek. "Why are you crying, Balthazar?"

"They have no right," muttered the Brit angrily. "You are wonderful and… I don't even have the words, Castiel."

"Please, try?" requested Castiel, softly. Balthazar sighed,

"You mean a damned lot to me. I want to protect you from the cruelty of the world because… because you are so beautiful, Castiel. Your wings are a gorgeous black, your eyes so blue..." He ran a hand through his short-cropped mousy hair. "I think I fell in love with you, Cas. I fell so hard for you."

That left Castiel speechless for a few moments and when he did speak, his voice was reverent.

"You love me? You… you fell for me like I fell for you?" Balthazar's head snapped up and he gazed at the other.

"Yes…" And then all Castiel knew was the intense heat of Balthazar's lips against his own, like a morning sun rising in winter with too much power, too much light but so perfect and so bright. He kissed back with the same passion, clutching at Balthazar, never to let him go.