Dean sat at the kitchen table in the bunker. Sam had left two hours ago to go do research for a case they were working, so Dean had been left alone. Normally at times like these, he would blast AC/DC and order pizza to distract him from his thoughts, but for some reason, that wasn't working tonight.

It was in moments like these, the quiet moments, that Dean thought of him the most. Of Castiel. Dean couldn't understand why he kept thinking of him. It had been like this for years, and he thought that eventually it would stop, but instead it just got worse. It was like the closer that Dean and Cas became as friends, the more Dean wanted them to be something more.

What if I love him? Dean thought, What if this whole time I've been trying to understand why I feel like this, the answer's been right in front of me, and I love him? For some reason, the thought didn't scare him at all. It definitely explained why Dean thought of Cas in the way he used to think of Lisa, but even stronger. Dean knew he didn't know all that much about love, but what he did know is that he'd never felt the same way about anyone as he did about Cas. And it was in that moment that Dean admitted it to himself. Dean was in love with Cas.

"Dean?" he heard a familiar voice behind him and couldn't stop himself from smiling.

"Hey, Cas, what's up?" Dean asked, trying his hardest to sound like he didn't just realize that he was in love with him.

"Didn't you just call for me?" Cas asked, his usual troubled, oblivious look on his face that he had when he didn't understand something.

"What? Uh, I guess I did...I really don't know why though," Dean stammered, looking at the floor in embarrassment. Cas smiled.

"It's okay. Do you want me to stay here until you figure it out?"

"Yeah, that'd be great," Dean answered, relieved to have Cas there for him. Cas took a seat next to him, and Dean looked at him. Their eyes locked for a moment as if there was something they were both trying to say that they couldn't find the words for.

"Hey, Dean?"

"Yeah?"

"I've been wondering. This...bond we have, what would you describe it as?" Cas asked nervously, his piercing blue eyes moving back and forth anxiously from Dean to the floor. Dean took a deep breath before answering,

"I've been thinking the same thing lately. I really don't know to be honest."

"Well, I can't read minds, but I can usually sense when people are calling for me. I don't know if you realize it, Dean, but I hear you calling for me every second of every day. It's like there's always something in your head that's trying to reach out to me but can't... it's like…"

"Cas…"

"It's like, I know that we feel things in very different ways, angels and humans, and

don't know if this means the same thing for you as it does for me, but do you think...is this...love?" Cas asked, his eyes locking with Dean's as he said the word 'love."

"Cas…" Dean stood up and shook his head. "Cas, please don't make me admit this to you."

Cas reached out and wiped a tear from Dean's eye that Dean didn't even know had escaped.

"It's okay, Dean," Cas said peacefully, standing up and nervously locking Dean's fingers with his. "You can tell me."

"Cas, I think I love you."

A wide grin spread across the angel's face and he stepped closer to Dean, allowing their noses to brush against each other.

"I know I love you," Cas said, slowly bringing his lips onto Dean's and pulling him closer. Dean sighed against Cas' lips.

"I've wanted to do this for so long."

"Me too," Cas whispered, pulling Dean in for another kiss. He slid his arms around Dean's shoulders, closing any space that remained between them. "I love you, Dean Winchester."

"I love you too, my angel," Dean whispered back. They kissed each other for a long time before Cas pulled away.

"Dean, can I show you something?" he asked.

"Not yet. Let's not move too fast."

"No, not that. I mean my wings," Cas said, grabbing Dean's hand and pulling him towards the door. Dean followed in excitement. He had always wondered what Cas' wings looked like. He had only ever seen the shadow of them on the first day that he and Cas met. And at that time, of course, he had never realized that they would get to this point.

When they were outside, out in a wide, open field where the stars shone unadulteratedly, Dean brought Cas close and kissed him one last time. When they were done, Cas pulled away, and closed his eyes in concentration. Cas took off his trenchcoat and button-down shirt so that he could reveal his wings properly.

Sure enough, a pair of sleek, black, feathered wings emerged from behind Cas' shoulder blades. Dean ran his hand briskly across one of the wings, a look of pure awe on his face. In his wildest dreams, he had never expected this.

"Get on my back," Cas directed.

"What?" Dean asked, taken aback.

"I'm taking you flying."

Dean hoisted himself between Cas' wings and found it was surprisingly sturdy. When he was secure, he leaned down and planted soft kisses on the arches of Cas' wings.

"You ready?" Cas asked. Dean sat up, gripping tightly onto Cas' perfectly sculpted back.

They smoothly took off from the ground, soaring high into the air and watching the trees and roads grow smaller and smaller below them as they grew closer to the stars.

Dean didn't believe in soulmates, and he knew that angels didn't exactly have 'souls,' but it was moments like these when Dean wanted to believe all of it. Cas made him want to believe that the world may not be so cruel after all, he made him think that there could be something more to life than just killing demons. Cas made him feel so calm and so nervous at the same time, so strong and so weak, so big and so small. And he loved it more than anything.

"I feel like I can touch the stars," Dean said as they soared through the air. They were thousands of feet in the air now, almost as if they were on an airplane. Only this time, Dean wasn't afraid to fly.

"I've never really appreciated flying until tonight," Cas stated, whirling them around in the air before starting to descend.

A few minutes later, Cas' feet touched the ground and their flight was done.

"The one downside to flying is that I can't kiss you," Cas pointed out, a goofy smile growing on his face.

"You can kiss me now," Dean replied, and they did, lingering for every possible second that they could.

Dean and Cas walked back into the bunker hand in hand, kissing passionately after they closed the door.

"Hey, Cas?"

"Yeah?"

"Will you watch over me tonight?" Dean asked, his green eyes locking on Cas' blue ones.

"Always," Cas replied.

Cas sat at the foot of Dean's bed, listening to him breathe steadily as he began to drift off to sleep.

"I love you, Dean," Cas said.

"I love you, Cas," Dean replied. Cas walked over and planted a soft kiss on Dean's forehead, and by that time, Dean had drifted off to sleep.