Castiel needed sleep, now that he was a human again. At least that was what Dean had told him earlier. Yet for some reason he didn't feel in the least bit tired.
It had been only yesterday that Dean had come to him in the Impala, and Sam had been surprised-if slightly less accepting of Castiel's story than Dean-to see Castiel. The positions in their relationship had been reversed; for once, Dean had been the one coming when Castiel called instead of the other way around. He had felt the change; there was something different about Dean, although he couldn't quite place it. Human emotion was still a new and very much foreign concept to him. It had been keeping Castiel up all night, pondering over this side of Dean that he had somehow failed to notice before.
"Cas, is that you?" said a familiar deep voice that was somewhat laced with sleep.
Castiel turned around to see the very person who had just been occupying his thoughts.
"Yes, it's me, Dean," he said, aware of the lack of sleep which no doubt showed in his voice.
Dean walked over to the sofa where Cas was sitting and sat down next to him.
"You can't sleep either?"
"My thoughts are preventing my body from fulfilling its natural requirements," Cas explained.
"Yeah? I know what that's like." Dean gave him a look of understanding. "Want to talk about it? Maybe that will help."
Castiel thought about refusing Dean's offer. After all, he knew that Dean didn't like to talk about feelings, least of all his own. But, he mused, it would do the hunter good to do this once in awhile.
"Someone I know has feelings that confuse me," he admitted.
Cas thought he heard Dean sigh. He had known that this might be the hunter's reaction.
"So, you want to talk about feelings, is that it?" Dean asked. " Is someone sending you mixed signals? Who's the lucky girl?"
Castiel shook his head. He hadn't understood exactly what Dean was asking but he had gotten the gist of it. "No, Dean," he said, being blunt as always, "it's you."
"Me?" Dean asked. "You're confused about my feelings? Why?"
It was more complicated than that. Castiel could sense that there was something that Dean wasn't telling him. Whenever he looked into Dean's eyes, as he did now, he saw everything that made Dean who he was. He saw the pain Dean felt from having lost so many loved ones, the anger and rage that was usually saved for battling supernatural creatures, and the protectiveness that Dean felt towards Sam, left over from when they had been children. But there was something else...something that Dean Winchester was hiding, or else it was something that he'd refused to completely acknowledge just yet.
Cas was distracted from Dean's gaze when he suddenly said,
"Cas? Are you alright? You've been staring at me for a long time, even for you."
Castiel blinked and then looked away for a second before looking back at Dean.
"I can see into your soul," he said, "and I see how troubled you've become."
At this a pained look passed over Dean's face, as if he knew exactly what Cas was talking about. A single tear rolled down his cheek, barely noticeable. Castiel wanted badly to reach over and wipe it away but forced himself not to. He didn't want to invade Dean's personal space, as he had done so many times before without realizing.
"You noticed," said Dean, choking back a sob. "I try to keep it from everyone, I try not to think about it, but you...you actually noticed. Thank you."
Carefully, gently, Castiel reached out a hand and placed it on Dean's arm in an attempt to be comforting. He looked at the hunter as if seeking confirmation.
"Is this...okay?" he asked, hesitantly.
Dean glanced at Castiel's hand on his shoulder-in the same place where he still had the remnants of the burn mark from when Castiel had first rescued him from hell-in confusion.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"This doesn't count as...personal space, does it?"
"No, Cas," said Dean, "this is okay." A small smile formed on his lips, and he rested his head against Castiel's shoulder. Castiel counted this as one more step towards success in understanding humans, and, most importantly, Dean.