They were beautiful. Terrible and beautiful. Great big black wings spread half way opened. They were larger than Dean had imagined. They reached above the top of Castiel's head and dragged gracefully on the floor. Dean was in awe. Castiel stared at him shyly as if unsure what Dean's reaction would be. The feathers were pitch black as midnight with hints of purple and silver and shimmering as if alive. The tops of the wings were like tree branches that came from Castiel's back and stretched as far as they could before showers of the sparkling inky feathers draped down, cascading upon each other. It appeared as if Castiel was suddenly engulfed in the night sky, black with speckles of stars surrounding him, each twinkling brightly. Dean gasped quietly as he stared. There were several long scars in a burning silver color running down several places as if engraved on the smooth surface that the perfectly aligned feathers created.
Dean, struck into a trance, instinctively reached a hand up to trace one of the thicker marks and Castiel flinched as if afraid the contact would hurt him. Dean waited, arm outstretched, like a lion tamer and locked eyes with Castiel as if trying to reassure him without saying anything. Castiel flushed as Dean stepped closer and continued to trace the scars where the feathers had not grown back and several places where it looked as though they had been scorched and had not healed. Dean wondered how they could be even more beautiful because of the scars and found it difficult to take his eyes off them. His heart ached with the raw beauty they had in them. They made Cas seem terrifyingly strong.
He was surprised at how soft they were and cool to the touch. As he ran his hands along one of the outstretched wings, his hand on the top bridge closest to Castiel shoulder, he felt the power in them. Like inky steel wrapped in silk. Dean's stomach did somersaults.
Castiel stood still allowing dean to take his time examining and touching the feathers before he dared look into dean's eyes. When he did he was surprised to find Dean's eyes filling with tears.
"They are flawed." Castiel said his tone full of worry and dismay. His cheeks burned with shame. He quickly folded them tightly against his back and stepped back from Dean. He stared at the ground.
Dean had difficulty controlling his sudden rush of emotion as he struggled to find the right words. "They are just so beautiful. I never knew." His voice was barely a whisper as if he thought it would somehow disrupt to magnificence in the room. Castiel shuffled uncomfortably as if nervous and suddenly very self-conscious. He looked up at Dean almost afraid.
Dean looked Castiel in the eyes, a sudden seriousness burning in his steely green gaze. "How could you ever think they are flawed?"
"They are covered in scars. Such ugly scars, I could never get them to look right. Other angels have used their grace to fix their wings but I never seemed to be able to do it properly. An angle takes pride in their wings and if they cant take care of them properly then.." His voice came out in a rush as if he was trying to get out of the conversation as quickly as possible. He motioned to a particularly singed patch on his right wing, the feathers there looked almost melted. "Some scars I don't mind as much as others because I know they are earned for great purpose." Cas' voice was barely above a whisper. Dean's face burned in shame. He knew the weight of what the angel was saying to him. He just couldn't fathom how had he been the cause of such damage to something so beautiful.
Castiel looked down at the ground again. Dean took a careful step towards him. It was the first time Dean had really felt that Castiel was a different being from himself. "Stretch them out for me. Please." Dean pleaded. Castiel obliged. They almost filled the entire barn sized garage. Dean whistled low. He took a long step around Cas to take it all in. he felt a heat rise up into his chest and he walked towards the still angel in front of him. He buried his face amongst the feathers closest to Castiel's shoulder blades and wrapped his arms around the angel so he couldn't pull away. Castiel's ragged gasp shook the silence. He instantly melted into Dean his wings spreading wider than ever. "I love you Cas. Flaws and all. Forever."
Castiel turned around so he was facing Dean again his eyes blazing. Without a word he pressed his lips to the older Winchester and wrapped his wings around them creating a shelter just for the two of them, his heart wanted to burst out of his chest.