Author's Note: Written because mkhunterz on tumblr was having a bad day and I had a plot bunny that turned from an askbox short fic into something quite a bit longer than planned...

Also, in this universe, Sam never found out there was an angel inside him because it all went according to plan, Kevin never died, and everything turned out hunky-dory rather than all going to shit, because I needed to write something happy.

It had been a typical salt-and-burn, nothing extraordinary, but they went out to celebrate the win anyway, since it was their first hunt since they were all back together again. Dean knew a bar that had what he swore was the best bacon cheeseburger in the state of Kansas, and so off they went to drink to being a family again.

The Winchesters and company came back from the bar that night more than a little drunk and in particularly good moods - in fact, Dean had even progressed to telling god-awful jokes.

"... and THAT's why the angel sits on top of the Christmas Tree," he finished, with a smug grin on his face.

In response, Sam just groaned (because seriously, even on his best day, he could only take so many bad punchlines without being considerably drunker than he was right now), and Cas looked confused.

"I don't understand, Dean - angels are much too large to sit on trees that small, even if they wanted to, which I am sure they would not…"

Kevin, on the other hand, was either drunk enough or had a bad enough sense of humor to appreciate Dean's never-ending succession of horrible, not-even-really-funny jokes, as he'd been cracking up at every single one (which wasn't helping Sam to convince Dean that he really should stop already).

Sam vanished into his room as quickly as possible once they got back, muttering a vague excuse about needing to check something case-related in some old book. In reality, he just needed the peace and quiet, but he didn't want to spoil Dean's happiness at having everyone back together by ducking out early without a reason.

The other three collapsed into chairs around one of the long tables, still chuckling (or, in Cas' case, looking bewildered) at Dean's latest punchline. It wasn't long before Kevin conked out on the table, snoring slightly. Turned out the kid was a lightweight when it came to beer. Dean and Cas were both far from sober themselves, and it took both of them to get Kevin semi-coherent and up out of his chair.

They made quite a sight, weaving drunkenly down the hall with Kevin between them, Dean laughing uproariously at Kevin's protestations (he didn't need their help, he wasn't a kid, he could drink with the best of them, just give him another bottle and they'd see…), and Cas chuckling because Dean was laughing.

After dropping Kevin unceremoniously onto his bed and tossing a blanket over him, they wound up in the hall, Dean leaning on one wall, while Cas used the opposite wall to steady himself. The sudden silence felt more than a little awkward, and neither of them was sure how to regain the evening's earlier levity.

Dean was the first to speak, repeating words he'd stated several times already that night.

"'m glad you're back, Cas."

A small smile formed on Cas' face, and he raised his gaze to meet Dean's.

"So am I."

But Dean, having consumed copious quantities of alcohol, didn't stop there.

"I shouldn't've made you leave. 'm really sorry, Cas, I wanted you to stay but it was Sam and I couldn't and I never wanted you to go and…"

There were tears forming in his eyes as he tried to convey exactly how much it had hurt him to drive Cas away, how much he regretted letting him down like that. And then it spilled out, four little words that he'd planned to take with him to his grave, because how could an angel ever feel the same?

"I love you, Cas."

A complete hush fell in the hallway then, as Dean realized what he'd just said and wished that he could take it back (but it was too late for that). Cas was staring at him with a look on his face that Dean had never seen before, and he knew, just knew, that Cas was going to leave him now, was going to walk away in disgust.

So when Cas took two steps across the hall and kissed him, Dean's brain completely quit functioning. The kiss only lasted a few seconds, and when Cas pulled back, Dean began to stammer out something unintelligible, but Cas quickly interrupted him.

"Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for you to say that?"

Dean stared at him in shock, because it had never occurred to him that Cas could possibly return his feelings.

The smile on Cas' face only grew wider as Dean gaped at him, and he leaned in and planted another quick kiss on Dean's lips.

"How about we talk about this more in the morning, when we're sober?"

Still unable to find his voice, Dean nodded, and then Cas moved back and started slowly down the hallway to his room, but Dean heard his next words very clearly, as the bunker acoustics carried Cas' soft voice to him.

"I love you too, Dean Winchester."

And Dean's face broke into the biggest grin possible, as it finally sank in that his angel, his best friend, the man he loved desperately, loved him too.