So sorry this took forever to update. I caught a bit of writer's block, and so I started another story to help clear my head (which helped!). So downside, this took awhile to update. Upside, I've got another SPN story halfway done! I don't think I mentioned it in the first chapter, but this story deviates a bit from season 9, but only slightly. So onward...

When Castiel's feet came in contact with the ground again, he found himself in a park in the late afternoon. It was chilly, but the sun was out and there were a decent amount of people out and about. He wandered over to the playground and sat down on one of the benches, and took in the happy sights and sounds going on around him: children playing while their parents kept watch, people jogging with their dogs, couples walking hand in hand. This had been one of his favorite pastimes, just watching humanity. Uriel never had the patience for it, but then again Uriel never appreciated humans the way Cas did. He saw the human race as lower life forms, not worthy of the angels' time. Castiel, on the other hand, marveled at them. Humans were messy, loud, irrational, emotional, unpredictable...and Cas loved it all.

The one thing about humans that Cas loved the most was their family dynamic and how powerful these familial bonds were. How, all for the sake of family, these creatures would abandon all common sense, all rational instinct. He saw it over and over again with the Winchesters. He envied Sam and Dean, really. He wanted...family. Yes, he had family in Heaven, but it wasn't family in the true sense of the word, as Cas had come to know. Family loved you unconditionally, protected you, accepted your flaws, pushed you to try harder, dropped everything to come to your aid no matter the consequences. The angels weren't family; Cas knew that now. They didn't have the emotional capabilities. They didn't have (or weren't allowed to have) wants or needs, other than to follow orders. Cas used to be that way until the Winchesters...until Dean. Now, Castiel knew better, and because he knew better he wanted...needed more.

He glanced over at the bench across from him, and saw a young couple sitting there, bundled up against the cold. They each had a cup of coffee and were splitting some sort of baked good. Cas smiled.

Humans and their sweets...

The thought of sweets and baked goods made him think of pie, which of course brought Dean to mind, and the thought of Dean caused a warm stirring in his stomach. Cas looked down at himself and frowned. He was not exactly new to emotions, but that didn't mean that they didn't still confuse him. He recognized this sensation, though. He always got it when he thought about Dean, however, it wasn't until he had been human, and felt it with April (ok, bad example) and Nora, that he finally understood what it meant. But it was different with Dean. It was always different when it came to Dean; it always left him a little lightheaded, with a strong feeling of longing.

Castiel's thoughts were interrupted by loud laughter. He looked back to the couple on the bench. The woman was pointing and laughing at the man, he had something on his upper lip – foam from his coffee. They were very happy together. Cas thought back to the last time he felt truly happy; he had been with Dean. Actually, all his happiest memories involved the elder Winchester in one way or another. Dean always brought out the most pleasant feelings in Cas, like the oddly pleasant stirring in his stomach. He had felt it in the motel room this morning, but then it was a little different. The feeling was stronger, and there was a new sensation that came with it. A heat, that flooded his entire being, and intense urges. Like the urge to grab Dean and press their mouths together, to kiss him like he and April had kissed. Like the urge to do things, with Dean, that he and April had done (minus the part where she stabbed him, of course).

The couple glanced up and noticed Cas staring at him. He quickly turned away, feeling self-conscious. He didn't mean to stare or, as Dean would call it, "be creepy." He absentmindedly picked at the hem of his trench coat. That was one emotion Cas did not enjoy: self-consciousness. Emotions like that, and embarrassment - like when he realized Nora only wanted a baby-sitter, not a date – were his least favorite things about being human, other than the obligation of going to the bathroom and brushing his teeth and at least the latter two went away when he got his grace back. The emotions didn't, though; becoming human had only made them worse. Back when he and the Winchesters were fighting the apocalypse, he had opened himself to emotion. Now he couldn't stop feeling everything. It was becoming a problem.

Case in point:

Self-consciousness was the reason he disappeared on Dean earlier this morning, back at the motel. He knew what Dean was about to do; he remembered the show with the pizza deliveryman. It was just that Cas wasn't sure what to do. Well...he knew what to do, hell he'd done it before, but this was Dean. He definitely knew what he wanted to do and, judging by the way Dean's body was reacting (he had perceived an increase in heart rate and body temperature, among other things), Cas was fairly certain that Dean wanted the same thing. And yet...his relationship with the hunter was already so complicated, plus now he was an angel again. But he also truly cared about Dean, more than anyone or anything. Cas cared about Sam, of course, but this was different. Dean made him feel grounded, had given him a connection to something, had given him something solid to put his back against. Despite everything Castiel had done, Dean had forgiven him when everyone else wanted to crucify him. And, most of all, Dean was home. Since Metatron closed down the gates of Heaven, Cas felt homeless...except when he was with Dean.

From beneath his dark lashes, Castiel stole a glance at the couple. They had gotten up and were heading towards the park's entrance, walking hand in hand.

Heading home...

The angel suddenly felt his mind become very clear; he wanted more. He wanted what that couple had. He wanted another person to share these happy feelings with. He wanted to sit on a park bench with someone, sip coffee, and watch the world go by. He wanted that someone to be Dean.

And Castiel felt it was time he got what he wanted.

Yes, that wasn't as long as the first chapter. Fortunately the next installment has already been started, and hopefully it won't take me ages to get it posted this time. Thanks for those of you who are sticking with the story; don't give up on me, I PROMISE I won't abandon this! As always, feedback is appreciated.