The road so far...

Dean felt himself smile as his heart wrenched. "Hey, Cas."

Castiel turned his head, "Hello, Dean. It seems we have much to talk about."


Dean tried to stutter out a breath but it lengthened into a sigh. Dean knew that face, he told himself, he knew it by heart. That was the face he made every time he had to explain to a poor girl that the sex they just had was meaningless, that it would never go beyond a one-night stand, that she was just another notch in the bedpost and she meant nothing to him, and they reacted differently- one cried, one had screamed, and one told him she expected no less of someone like him. Whatever he meant to Castiel, no matter how little, he didn't want it to end right there and then.

"Dean, are you alright?"

"I get it, you're going to tell me that you've sobered up and what happened the other day was a fluke."

"I- I don't understand..."

"You were drunk, and lonely from being holed up in here, I totally get it. You thought you liked me because I was the first you'd seen so-"

"You misunderstand me, I think-"

"How?"

"I wanted to talk to you about our feelings about one another."

"Can we spare the chick moment?"

"Dean, this is important, because I believe that I may have sensual feelings towards you and I thought you may feel the same for me," Dean tried to speak, striding closer but Castiel rose his hand in a yielding manner, "but I wanted to talk about this so we may be on stable ground about the whole situation."

"So you're saying you like me."

"Of course I like you, Dean, it's the matter of me having a deep adoration for you that I wish to talk about."

Dean's face heat up, "Jesus, Cas... when you say it like that-"

"Does that mean you reciprocate those feelings?"

"Let's say that I do, what does that change?"

"Nothing. It just means that our friendship is furthered and the methods used to show affection are no longer limited. I do not expect you to cater to my every whim, nor do I expect you to be unable to exhibit self-control if such a need should arise, and most importantly, I will not replace those you feel close to- whether it be your brothers or Lisa. I wish to inhabit my own portion of your heart, a special place that only I shall reside in."

"Have you ever thought of writing poetry, Cas?" Dean asked with a laugh, trying to mask how moved he had been by Castiel's words.

"I would write poems for you, if you'd wish me to."

"That's fine, Cas, your presence is more than enough... just fine." Dean embraced Castiel, the shorter boy's smile growing as he buried it in Dean's shoulder. Dean felt a bright smile light up his face as he kissed the side of Castiel's head, knowing that not only had Castiel remembered the night before, but he understood the way that Dean's mind worked. Castiel did not see Dean as crass or rude, like most others did, he saw him as an equal.

"Dean, would you like to get back to your history lesson?"

"Sure. Tell me everything you know, Cas."

Dean laid on his back next to Castiel, eyes watching as the younger boy used hand gestures in hopes to truly make point of what he was trying to explain. Castiel reiterated to Dean what he'd told his brother and Adam about the ICE project and he felt a fear rise in his throat, causing him to pause to take a breath. Dean sat up, looking at Castiel with his cloudy blue eyes and mussed hair, sensing the fear rolling off of Castiel's form.

"You okay, Cas?"

Castiel, having mentally been steeling himself for this moment all morning, decided he would tell Dean that he was the angel that Dean had saved that day in the alley- but now he was frozen in fear. If he explained that he was in town, then he would have to explain why he had been in town, he would also have to explain who he had been sneaking out over the past few weeks to see. The boy's anxiety piqued, giving him a shortness of breath, maybe now wasn't the time... just too inopportune a time.

Yes, Castiel told himself, another time.

"I'm alright, Dean, I just became a bit winded from speaking so much. I told you about ZEZ- or World War 3, as the humans called it- and about why angels were created, is there anything in particular you want to learn about next?"

Dean's eyes averted to the chessboard before looking back at Castiel, "Tell me about angel wings."

Castiel felt the muscles in his back tense, the muscles at the base of his wings burning from the sudden strain, "Are you sure?"

"Why not?"

"In a way, it's more dangerous to know than everything else I told you."

"How's that?"

"Wings are the only form of authority and superiority angels have over humans. If humans caught wind, there'd be an uprising."

"If our world is like you say, then wouldn't it be better to have an uprising?"

"For what? Poverty in the streets? Capitalism? Don't give me that look, Dean, I know they taught you what that means in school. The idea of capitalism and democracy is what lead the world to ruin in the first place! Everyone so worried about getting ahead that they were ready and willing to stab each other in the back to get what they wanted!"

"Cas, just tell me about the wings."

"Yes, Dean... I trust you. You will not betray my trust by telling anyone, I know that. I'm just new to trusting people."

"I know."

Castiel sighed, telling Dean everything he knew about wings he'd learned through his research and Dean watched with restrained awe. Neither knew the other was a mutt-blood angel, and both were hiding the exact same secret. They were "freaks" by angel standards.

Yes, they had taken a single step forward, but the road is long and winding. Many more moves must be made before their feelings are en prise by their own secrets. Both knew that if worse came to worse, an initiative must be taken so that no pawns are isolated, and a forced move must be made.

Castiel did not mention his own wings and it's strange mutation, but Dean seemed closer and closer to finding the truth on his own.

"Cas, you mentioned that all wings are the same..."

"Yes, more or less the same-"

"Well, isn't there any genetic mutation? I mean... it's bound to be rare but it has to happen somewhere along the line."

"It does... and it's not extremely rare as you think. It's, from my guess, about 1 mutated angel every one hundred angels."

"What kind of mutations are common?"

"Deformed wings, disproportionate wings, different feather types- although different feathers is one of the most rare mutations."

"What about an angel with only one wing?" Dean knew he was stomping on thin ice but he had to know, he had to.

"I don't have sufficient data for such a thing."

"Why not?"

"Hybrids are killed at birth."