Dean hopped after his prospective mate, momentarily forgetting about the human nestlings running around the grass. He puffed his neck feathers out and bowed, fanning his tail in an attempt to command the attentions of the other bird.
Benny pulled his wings back and stood tall, pecking sharply at Dean before fluttering a short distance away from him.
"Alright, I can take a hint!" Dean hooted after him angrily. There was no need to get violent.
"Dude, that's a guy!" Sam's words were followed by a deep, throaty chortle.
"I know it's a guy," Dean huffed.
"You... What?"
Dean ruffled his feathers so that he didn't have to answer his brother and twisted his neck round, preening his wing and pretending to straighten out a stray feather.
Thankfully Sam's attention was caught by a pale-coloured female who had just joined the group, and was pecking at the leftover breadcrumbs of a human's lunch. He watched his brother run along beside her, alternating between bowing and dragging his tail as he followed her around the swings as she led him on a merry dance. Disheartened, he stopped to eat a peanut.
She wasn't uninterested, Dean realised as she subtly closed the distance between them once again - just playing hard to get. He cooed softly at his brother, who glanced in his direction before noticing the female watching him closely.
Sam puffed his feathers out and cooed deeply, bowing and spreading his tail feathers in a wide fan. She continued on her way, pretending to pay him no notice, but Sam followed her everywhere.
That's my boy, Dean thought to himself as he successfully navigated her away from the other males.
His brother turned in circles, striving to keep her attention on him. When she hopped onto a bench Sam followed her across its length, bowing and cooing until they reached the end of the wooden surface. When she flew away, Sam cast one final glance back at his brother before following her through the trees.
Dean sighed. Spring sucked. Females everywhere, wanting to find a mate and build nests and start families, and all the males were interesting in was finding a female. All except him. He scratched at the ground in irritation, unearthing a stray seed that he gobbled down. He paid no attention when another bird landed nearby with a soft flutter of feathers, until a hesitant cooing seemed to be directed at him.
He glanced at the male, who cocked his head to the side. He'd seen him earlier, Dean realised, looking down at all the other pigeons from the chimney tops. Unsure if the bird was talking to him, Dean checked over his wing, but there were no other birds nearby. When he turned back, the pigeon was right in his personal space.
He hopped back with a start, cooing inquisitively.
Embravened, the other male puffed his neck feathers out and bowed. It was an impressive performance - beak almost touching the ground, tail spread wide, eyes never leaving Dean's - but though Dean had slim pickings when it came to a mate he wasn't easy. So, turning his back on the other bird, he strutted away, beak pecking at the ground for something to eat.
The other male ran after him, hopping once he reached the corner of Dean's vision. He twirled on the spot, ran after Dean, then twirled again. Dean couldn't help himself. He cooed encouragingly, and the other pigeon increased in his courtship efforts.
Eventually Dean settled down on the ground, the sun-warmed grass heating his underbelly nicely. Almost immediately the other bird hopped on his back. Hunching forward to make it easier for him to balance, Dean moved his tail feathers aside to expose his cloaca. On top of him, black wings fluttering as he wobbled slightly, the other male arched his body and touched his swollen cloaca to Dean's.
After two lonely summers, Dean had finally found a mate. When the other bird dismounted he cooed happily and told him his name.
"Castiel," the other pigeon crowed deeply, leaning closer to rub his beak against Dean's.
Thwump!
They both took flight in a frantic flutter of wings as a ball was kicked in their direction, Castiel flying behind Dean as he led the way to a nearby rooftop. Once they'd landed and their heart rates began to slow, Castiel nestled down comfortably on the sun-warmed metal.
Dean cast a glance at the dark-feathered bird beside him, the iridescent feathers around his neck glinting blue in the sunlight. He side-stepped closer and cooed hesitantly, unsure of the boundaries in this new relationship. After receiving a reassuring coo in reply, he leaned closer and began to groom the feathers at the back of his mate's neck. Castiel's eyes narrowed until they were almost closed as Dean groomed him, and the other birds left them undisturbed as they sought their own mates.