"Once upon a time there was an angel. He was all smite-y and puritanical and holier-than-thou. In short, he acted like he had a stick as big as a redwood tree stuck up his ass – which was possible, I suppose, because his true form was the size of the Chrysler Building. Or so he claimed. All anybody ever saw when they looked at him, though, was a creepy little dude in a trench coat.
"Anyway, this angel met a hunter – in Hell, of all places. He saved his worthless hide from an eternity of damnation. And how did the hunter thank him? Well, first he shot him, and then he stabbed him in the heart. And then... then, as time passed, he made the angel fall in love with him. That was the worst thing that could ever have happened. I mean, when angels fall for someone, they really Fall. Goodbye, Heaven. So long, Grace. Hello, humanity. And all for what? For a man who was too blind, too dead inside, to give a f – uh, I mean a damn – about anyone but himself and his brother. Yeah, it was a pretty dumb-ass move.
"But did that stop the angel?
"No. He saw something in that broken wreck he'd rescued. Something... beautiful. So, he lost his faith in his Father and gave it all to the man instead.
"And was the man grateful?
"Of course he wasn't. He pretended not to see the angel's love. Pretended not to care. Pretended so hard that he convinced himself it was all a lie. In other words, he was a complete dick about it.
"And still the angel loved him.
"Stuff happened. Bad stuff. We're talking the end of the world as we know it. But that's a story for another time.
"The angel died – oh, he died at least three times. But he kept coming back, resurrected almost as fast as he bit the dust. Except for the last time. That time the man really thought the angel was gone for good. And he kinda lost it. Was dead inside himself for a long, long time. Hell was a cakewalk compared to how losing that angel made him feel...
"Of course, the angel wasn't really dead. He came back. He came back all 'cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs' but, hey, there he was, alive and kicking. And you'd think the man would have fallen to his knees and thanked a God he didn't believe in for the angel's return. But he was a dick, remember. And dicks never do the right thing – that's one reason why they're dicks.
"Anyway... more bad stuff happened, blah, blah, blah, leading up to a shit storm of a year set in a faraway land where monsters run the show.
"The man spent the better part of that year looking for his angel – yeah, he'd managed to lose him again. Surprise, surprise.
"But, this time, things were different in the hunter's head. Clearer. Purer.
"Torn away from all he knew – his brother, his car, his world – the man finally saw the truth. He finally admitted to himself that he loved the angel. That he wanted him in his life. Right then and there, he swore he'd tear the whole friggin' monster universe apart to find him. And, if – no, when! – he did find him, he'd never, never, ever let him go again."
Dean's voice trailed off into silence, his eyes losing focus as he stared blankly at a cheerful mural on the bedroom wall; seeing not a garden filled with smiling flowers and busy bees, but a dark and tangled forest filled with despair...
"And did he find him?"
A small hand tugged at his sleeve, returning him to the present. Restoring him to a cozy room overflowing with teddy bears, not monsters; the scent of freshly-baked apple pie, not blood, lingering heavy on the air.
"Did he find him, Daddy?"
"Damned right he did," Dean said, leaning over to tuck the sheets a little tighter around his dark-haired, blue-eyed daughter. "And they lived happily ever after."
"Dean," a deep voice rumbled, as Dean slipped quietly from the room, the door latch gently clicking into place behind him. "Is that a suitable bedtime story for a child?"
"It's the truth," Dean stated firmly. "It's the best story I know."
The hunter wrapped his arms around his angel and held him tight.
"What's the matter, Cas? Don't you believe in happily ever afters?"
"I believe in miracles." Castiel sighed contentedly, his warm breath caressing Dean's cheek, warmer lips tracing familiar paths until their mouths met and melded in a tender kiss.
"So do I," Dean whispered softly, as he took his angel's hand and led him down the hall towards the bed they shared. "So do I."