Dean was speechless. Literally speechless, which was a rare occurrence with Dean. He didn't even make a joke, or a snide remark – nothing, which was even rarer.

"Are you going to talk sometime, Dean?" Cas asked nervously. He had absolutely no idea how the hunter was going to react to his confession. He was actually a little but scared that it was going to be bad.

After what seemed like hours, Dean finally spoke.

"Wha…?" he muttered. His voice small, making him sound nervous.

"What…what?" Cas asked, a bit confused. Dean could tell that the angel was on edge. He had, after all, just confessed love for Dean. This was big, and Dean didn't want to hurt Castiel.

Dean rubbed his forehead, obviously deep in thought. He was trying to think of what he should say. He looked at Castiel, who immediately looked away, avoiding eye contact. Dean studied the angel for a moment.

"Please stop staring at me like that, it makes me feel uncomfortable and vulnerable," Cas said, feeling a bit awkward. There was obviously tension there now. Dean looked away, and Cas immediately loosened up a little bit.

"Cas, I…I don't…know what to say, honestly. I don't know what I'm supposed to say. What do you want me to say, I mean…" His voice trailed off as he ran out of breath. He was flustered, and he felt heat rushing to his face. He looked away from the angel.

"I want you to say that you feel the same way, but I know that my expectations may not come true. I just…I don't want this to make things awkward between us now, and if you want, I will wipe your memory, but please, just take a minute to think about it…" Cas was talking fast. He was obviously nervous. Dean chuckled softly, which made Cas more uncomfortable.

Dean was quiet for a couple minutes.

"Okay," he finally responded. "Cas, okay. But just let it be known that I never open up to anyone, so you should feel privileged right now…" Dean trailed off. Cas nodded. "Okay, anyways," dean cleared his throat. "Well…I like you too, Cas. But I'm not sure if it's genuine or if it's because you just told me that you like me. So…"

Cas looked up. There was a small smile on his lit up face. The expression made Dean smile.

Just then, the door to the motel room opened up. Sam came out.

"Everything okay out here?" Sam asked. "Oh, hey, Cas."

Castiel nodded a 'hello,' avoiding eye contact with the taller Winchester.

"Y-yeah, Sammy. Everything's fine," Dean sputtered. Sam didn't need to know about their conversation.

"You've been out here for like three hours, you know," Sam said. "Just making sure you're okay."

"You find a case, Sammy?" Dean asked, trying to change the subject.

"No, nothing that some other hunter can't take care of. All minor stuff. You still wanna go do something?"

"Uh, n-no. Thanks. I'm not bored anymore, I got Cas," Dean said, a small hint of sarcasm in his voice. Sam looked at his brother, then at Castiel, seeming a little bit suspicious.

"Okay. I'll be in here if you need me." He turned to go back inside, then stopped and turned back around. "By the way, Dean, happy birthday." Dean smiled.

"Hey, thanks, Sammy," he said.

Sam stepped back into the motel room and closed the door. Cas let out a heavy exhale, and Dean shifted in his seat.

"Thanks for not saying anything to Sam right now," Cas said. Dean smiled and nodded in acknowledgement.

"I wouldn't have told him. Not now, anyways. We aren't done talking yet." Cas eyed him curiously.

"What else is there to talk about, Dean?" he asked.

"I don't know, Cas. I've never had to exchange feelings before. I'm not good at this," Dean said. Cas shrugged. It was true, though. He had never had anyone who he could really open up to.

"Look at me, Cas," Dean said. Cas eyed him through the corner of his eye.

"No, Cas. Eye contact. Come on." Cas did as Dean asked, as much as he didn't want to at the moment. Looking into Dean's eyes made him fill with a kind of embarrassment. His face was getting hot and he was on edge. Dean's eyes were such a perfect color of green, it actually pained Cas to look at them for a long amount of time.

Dean felt the same way looking at Cas. The grey-blue color of Cas's eyes was one that Dean had never noticed before. It may have been because he had never looked. Dean bluched a little bit thinking about it.

Dean leaned in a little bit, making it so that there was less space between their faces.

"Look into my eyes, Cas. Is there really something worth your time in there?"

"Yes," Cas whispered as he closed the gap between them, softly locking his lips against Dean's. Dean sank into the kiss, taking Cas's face in his hands. When they broke apart, Cas leaned their foreheads together.

"Okay," Dean whispered softly. "Okay."

Cas smiled, lightly kissing Dean again. Dean kissed him back through a wide smile, happy to have finally found something worth living for.