A Chevy Impala drove down the road at 6 pm. It housed Dean in the drivers seat, Sam riding shotgun, and Cas in the back. The team was exhausted after fighting a vamp in upstate New York. So they sat in silence while driving to another hunt Sam had discovered in the midst of the previous one.
"Huh" Sam muttered.
"What?" Dean glanced at him, taking his eyes off the road for a second.
"The sunset. It's really pretty tonight."
Both Dean and Cas looked out of the window to see a sky streaked with pinks, oranges, and yellows.
"Yeah. Those orange and yellow colors are awesome." Dean said, admiring nature's beauty.
"What does organge look like?" Cas asked from the back. He was usually quiet in car rides. So quiet it was easy to forget he was there.
"What do you mean, Cas?" Dean said looking in the rear view mirror to see Cas.
"Can you describe the color orange to me? I'd like to know what it looks like, as I cannot see it." Cas said
Dean was very confused by this. "What the hell do you mean you can't see it? Look at the sky!"
"I am." Cas replied. "I only see different shades of what I think is blue and gray."
Sam turned around in his seat. "Cas? Can you see colors?"
"I see inverted color. Angels have superior eyesight to humans. We also have many other senses and reflexes that are greater than human ability." Cas was still looking out the window trying to see the new color. "Though I have heard it is not a pretty as human sight. They say everything is very beautiful and colorful."
"Wait. So you don't see that?" Dean said pointing to the natural phenomenon happening as the sun set below the horizon.
Cas sighed. "No"
Dean and Sam shared a knowing look. That was going to change very soon.
After pulling over to the side of a road just outside a small town in New Jersey for the night, Dean made Cas stay with him in Baby to help him "fix the engine" while Sam went to the closest store and bought the cheapest pair of glasses he could find. He practically ran back to the Impala.
When he got there Dean was sitting with Cas on the hood of Baby teaching the angel how to clean a gun. Dean turned and saw Sam approaching the Impala holding a plastic bag.
"Hey, Cas!" Sam said holding the bag behind his back and waving with his other hand.
"Hello, Sam." Cas answered but he didn't look up. He was too focused on cleaning the weapon in his hand to look up and notice Sam's presence.
"We'll be back in a sec, Cas." Dean said, setting his gun down. He walked to the back of the Impala and Sam set the glasses on the ground while Dean opened the trunk and took out the pitcher of holy oil.
"You sure this is gonna work?" Dean asked skeptically. He handed the pitcher to Sam.
"It should. I mean it allowed us to see stuff we usually can't see. Why shouldn't it work for Cas?" Sam whispered, pouring a little oil onto the ground and handing it back to Dean.
Dean shrugged. With that, Sam lit the puddle on fire and held the glasses to the flame for a second before he removed them and put out the fire.
"Let's see if this works." Sam muttered.
Walking back to the hood where Cas was still tinkering with the gun, Dean announced "Ok Cas. We're better get going before it gets too dark."
"Alright. Let's go." Cas got off the hood and handed the gun to Dean.
They got into the Impala and drove to their next destination.
They drive for 3 hours before the reached the place they were looking for. It was a large field with a few trees that cars could easily park in and the occupants could look at the stars at night. The Winchester brothers had done just that many nights after long hunts. They sun was starting to set so Sam and Dean got out of Baby.
"Why are we stopping?" Cas asked. Now also stepping out of the car. "It is not time for you to sleep yet."
"We know, Cas." Dean said as Sam came back from getting beer and the glasses from the trunk. "We were thinking about what you said about not being able to see colors so..."
Sam held up the glasses. "We figured since putting glasses in holy fire helped us see Hellhounds, these might help you see colors!"
Cas just stared. His eyes flicked between the brothers and the glasses. They had gone out of their way to help home see the sunset. "I don't know what to say." He muttered.
"Uh, turn around and close your eyes and I'll put them on." Sam said holding up the glasses.
Cas did as he was told and felt the cheep plastic slip into his ears and nose. He slowly opened his eyes.
"So? Did they work?" Dean asked. "Does anything look different?"
Cas couldn't answer. His lips were parted in astonishment and his eyes were blown wide behind the glasses. His eyes fluttered from thing to thing until they landed on the sunset. He didn't even notice the brothers next to him anymore. He looked down and saw grass and dirt. Green and brown! He looked up and saw the sun setting in the sky. Yellow, pink, orange, blue! He saw a tree with its vibrant green leaves dancing in the wind in the distance. Cas' throat was closing up at the beautiful vibrant colors of the landscape.
As he pushed the glasses a little farther up his nose, Dean let out an amused laugh. Cas turned towards the noise that broke the silence of the field. Cas' face went slack. He looked at the man before him in wonder. While Dean's expression become one of worry.
"Is something wrong?"
Cas slowly lifted his hand to Dean's face. Dean could feel the soft pads of Castiel's fingers on the skin just under his eyes.
"Green..." Cas muttered
"What?"
"Your eyes are green." Cas said a little louder. Dean placed his hand on Cas' shoulder and smiled. His hand was still resting on Dean's face. It slowly dropped down to his side as he stared into Dean's eyes. He then looked back out at the sky, whichwould soon turn dark and have stars peaking through the dark black sheet of night. A tear slowly fell down his face.
"Hey? You ok, man?" Sam asked. Placing a hand on Cas' other shoulder. They had never seen the angel cry.
Cas looked up at him and placed his own hands on Sam's and Dean's "I- I can never thank you two enough for this." He sniffled. Tears streamed down his face. But they were tears of joy. "I never knew there was this much to be seen. It's so bright! And there's so many colors!" He gripped at the brothers hands. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"It's no biggie, Cas. Your family! Family helps each other." Dean said. "Now. How about some beer?"
So they sat in the field, drinking beer, and watching the sky. The world was now colorful for one, the same for many, but had become a bit brighter for all.