A/N: I skipped over the explanations since I figure if you're reading this then you know all that stuff.
As glad as he was to be reunited with Sam, it was a relief to Dean when Samuel insisted that Sam find Dean a place to sleep. He was sitting on the small cot, pulling off his boots when a flutter of wings announced Castiel's arrival in the dingy room.
"Hey Cas," said Dean, not looking up.
"Dean." Castiel stood in silence for a moment. "Are you alright?"
"No, but now I think I just might be."
"Good."
"So you sticking around?" the hunter asked, setting aside his boots and looking up at the angel.
"I wish I could, Dean. I owe you my life."
"Hey, right back at you."
"You owe me nothing, Dean," said Castiel quietly, lowering his bright blue eyes to the ground.
"Cas."
"Dean, I have to leave you. I'm sorry, but since Michael fell into the Pit, I have to return to Heaven. It's my duty. Just as your duty is here."
"Whoa, this mess is not my duty. Gettin' Sammy the hell outta here and back on the road, that's more my thing."
"So you understand then?"
Dean nodded slowly.
"I don't want you to leave, Cas," he quietly told his boots.
"I'm sorry, Dean. I wish I could stay."
"I know. It's Okay. Just don't stay away too long, alright?"
"Of course."
Dean expected Castiel to simply vanish as always, but instead he did something he had never done before. As the angel's wings lifted him away into a realm Dean could not see, he felt soft, warm feathers brush against him and he somehow knew it was no accident. He also knew that what he'd felt was something deeply personal and sacred, something no one before had ever been allowed to feel. He hoped Cas's idea of not too long was short.