It took Dean a few moments of blinking at the man in his lap before Castiel's words really sunk in. I remember everything. The hunter opened and closed his mouth as he searched for a response, but was once again brought to silence by the other man's lips. The kiss didn't feel particularly different from before, but it had that sense of familiarity that Dean had been yearning for. As he reached up to the back of Castiel's neck in effort to pull him closer, the hunter felt a soft sigh against his lips.
"I love you," Cas said once more, pulling away to offer Dean a warm smile.
"I… I love you, too, Cas." All Dean could do was breathe a sigh of relief as he realized: he hadn't missed his chance after all. He vaguely wondered whether he'd have ever said those three words if it had not been for nearly losing the angel. Wait… "Are you okay? Are you… Cas, are you human?"
The corners of Castiel's mouth quivered as he struggled to maintain the joyous expression. "Yes," the man confirmed. "I've fallen. For good, this time."
Dean bit his tongue to keep from cursing himself and clung to his friend. "I'm sorry," he whispered against Castiel's collarbone. "Damn it, Cas, I'm sorry."
"This isn't your fault, Dean. It was going to happen no matter what." Cas began stroking the hunter's hair, wiping away the beads of sweat that had begun to form on his forehead. "My grace was running out. There was nothing you could have done to stop that."
"But this whole thing-"
"Dean, I've told you already that I don't blame you," the fallen angel soothed. "And that was when I hardly even knew you."
"Well… Well what about now?"
"Now," Castiel began, lifting Dean's head with both hands to look him in the eye, "I am relieved."
A blank look was all Dean could manage as he asked, "What?"
"I… When I kissed you, I didn't know if you reciprocated my… I didn't know if you loved me the same way I love you." Castiel gave a small smile, blushing as he continued, "And then I fainted, so. I didn't quite get to gauge your feelings for me." Dean chuckled, his mouth widening against Castiel's hands before the fallen angel let go and shrugged. "It would seem that you enjoy kissing me. So, yes, Dean, I am relieved. Because I quite enjoy kissing you."
Dean beamed and leaned forward to press a light kiss to Castiel's jaw. "Guess we'd better do it more often, then."
"I'd like that."
Castiel's smile was so genuine that Dean nearly had to catch his breath. He'd feared that the former angel wouldn't be as expressive when he got his memory back. It was such a relief to be wrong. Dean returned the other man's smile and nodded. "Good."
With a tired smile and a yawn, Cas curled up against Dean's chest and reclined against his pillow. "'M exhausted," he muttered against the hunter's neck.
"That seems to be your new favorite word," Dean said with a chuckle. He wrapped his arms around the other man and pressed his lips to Castiel's temple.
"What makes you think that?" Castiel asked, mindlessly stroking the back of Dean's hands with his own.
"You were really trying to get across the extent of your exhaustion the other day." Dean's fond smile dropped to a frown as he asked, "Do you remember this past week or so?"
Nodding against Dean's chest, Castiel said, "Yes. And, Dean, I really was exhausted."
"That's… You're doing that on purpose, right?" Apparently, Cas knew exactly how much of a little shit he was being and proceeded to crack up as Dean turned off the light. "Dork," the hunter laughed.
Dean had no trouble sleeping the rest of the night.
Waking up in Castiel's arms was awesome, Dean decided. Especially when the guy actually knew who he was and showed no signs of confusion as he blinked up at him. "Mornin', Cas."
"Good morning, Dean." Castiel smiled and sat up, moving to lean over the hunter and tilt his head downward for a kiss.
Dean smiled against the other man's mouth and nodded. "Yup," he mumbled. "Still love you."
"Glad to hear it," Castiel chuckled.
"Hungry yet?"
"Yes." The former angel sat up straight and shifted his gaze to the cat at the end of the bed. "But you go on ahead. I'll take care of Balthazar, first."
Rolling his eyes, Dean reached up and yanked Castiel back on top of him. "Not yet, man. I ain't gettin' out of this bed for another 10 minutes, at least." He smirked, flicking his gaze up and down the other man's face. "It's too early, and I'm not done with you."
Cas beamed back at the hunter and nodded, lowering his head for another kiss.
It took a good 20 minutes for the couple to finally get out of bed. After straightening out his t-shirt, Castiel picked Balthazar up and left the room. Dean threw on a robe and strided into the dining room.
"Cas is up," the hunter said, unable to hide his joy as his lips formed a bright smile.
Sam looked up at Dean from his plate of pancakes and smiled, lifting a brow. "Yeah?"
"Yup."
"So…?"
"So…"
"I remember everything."
The Winchesters shifted their attention to Castiel, who walked up behind Dean and slid his arms around the man's waist. If Sam had any amused thought in his mind, he didn't voice it.
"Pancakes?" Dean asked the former angel with a smile. "They're not chocolate chip, but…"
"That's probably for the best," Castiel pointed out. "I think it's wise to let Sam do most of the grocery shopping, Dean."
Sam chuckled, standing from his chair and walking to Cas's side with widened arms. "Glad you're back, Castiel."
Returning the younger Winchester's hug, Cas smiled and said, "Y'know I was… actually here the whole time."
"I know, I just meant… I missed the Cas that knew us, y'know?" Sam gestured to his brother with a smirk. "And this guy was kind of a sulking pain in the a-"
"Shut up," Dean muttered, elbowing Sam in the rib when the taller man chuckled. "Go make the man some pancakes."
"I'm sure I can make my own, Dean." Castiel frowned at the hunter and began walking toward the kitchen.
"Then make mine, too, while you're at it!"
Sam shook his head, chuckling to himself as he took a seat at the table again.
"What?"
"Just… I am gonna end up resenting living under the same roof as you two, aren't I?"
"Maybe. I dunno. Shut up." Dean tried not to smile as he took a seat across from his brother and waited a few minutes before joining Castiel in the kitchen. "Need any help?"
"I got this."
Dean raised his hands and backed away. "Alright, do your thing."
"Dean?" Castiel looked up, setting down the spatula he'd been holding as he leaned against the counter.
"Hm?"
"Are you going to resume training me?"
"To be a hunter?"
"Yes."
"You wanna be a hunter?"
"Yes."
"Then, yeah."
Castiel smiled, returning his attention to the stove. "Good."
"Any word on Metatron?" Dean asked during breakfast.
Sam shook his head, and Castiel frowned. "What about Crowley?" the fallen angel wondered.
"Oh," the younger Winchester said, sitting up in his chair and pointing in the general direction of the library, "I've been tracking him. I have a whole list of his coordinates from each time he pops up somewhere."
"So… are you saying you can predict where he'll be next?" Dean asked, shoving a generous bite of pancakes into his mouth.
"No, but I figure we could start checking out those spots," Sam suggested. "Y'know, to see what he's been up to."
Nodding, Castiel agreed, "We should do that. It might give us clues as to where else he'll go." Turning to Dean, he asked, "When do we leave?"
Dean nearly choked on his breakfast, raising his brows at the other man. "Uh, Cas, you just got your memory back. And you've just become human. You sure you wanna take that on?"
"We're just following his footsteps, correct?"
"Yeah, Cas, but... Dean's right," Sam said. "Crowley's footsteps are often surrounded by quite a mess. I mean, there could be a nest of demons, or God knows what else, at any one of these stops."
"Then we should hurry." Castiel scooted his chair back and stood. "There could be people in danger. I don't want to wait while they suffer."
"Cas... I need to train you, remember?"
"I know how to fight, Dean."
"There's... no changing your mind on this, is there?" Sam asked. He shifted his gaze to Dean, who rolled his eyes and stood from his chair.
"There's no changing my mind, and you're not going anywhere 'til it's safe, Cas." The hunter's heart pounded in his chest as he practically had to hold himself back from wrapping his arms around the fallen angel and hiding him in his robe. Castiel wasn't going to be able to sneeze without Dean freaking out, the poor guy.
Thinning his lips, Cas gave Dean a sympathetic look and concluded, "You're worried about losing me." When the hunter avoided his gaze, Castiel reached out to place a hand on his shoulder. "You can't worry about that, Dean. And you know it isn't right to ignore those who are suffering in order to keep just one person safe."
"Cas..."
"He's right." Sam was standing on the other side of the table, his arms folded over his chest. "Dean, I get it, and I'm sorry, but Cas is right. And it's not like he can't take care of himself."
Castiel nodded. "I've been trained to fight in various ways, Dean. I can manage without my grace."
"...Fine." Dean sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes for a moment. "I don't like it, but fine."
"Thank you, Dean," Cas said. "Now, when do we leave?"
"You don't."
All three men turned in unison at the sound of a familiar voice.
"Hello, boys," Crowley said, standing at the entrance of the room. "I could use your assistance in stopping a not so heavenly being with an obnoxious god complex that's gotten a tad bit out of hand. Who's with me?"
AUTHOR NOTE: That's all, folks! I'd love to continue this story into an alternate season 10, but my life is getting busier by the day, so I'm not sure that'll be happening. I may or may not write a few one-shots in this AU... but no promises. Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! Reviews are appreciated, as always. :)
