Castiel had been acting weird for weeks now. Dean liked to brush it off as angel stuff while Sam had rather tried (and failed) to get answers several times.

He wouldn't sit still. That for one.

Cas would twitch and shift like some kind of bad itch was torturing him.

He looked miserable to put it blunt.

Got all defensive for the smallest of questions related to either his behavior or persona.

But Sam didn't got answers and Dean refused to ask. If Castiel didn't want to tell them then he was fine there was no reason to go worrying around.

And then Castiel stopped acting weird.

The brothers thought he was fine.

Then he locked himself in his room.

For eight hours.

The brothers at first had let him be. I mean, last night he got dragged all across the woods by a wendigo he had all the right to be upset but this had gone too far.

-Cas you still alive in there?- Asked Dean as he knocked at the door. Sam at his side gave him a dirty look.

-Why wouldn't I be alive?- Came the muffled question from the angel. His voice made both Dean and Sam frown, it sounded oddly strained.

-What Dean means to ask is if you are okay. You haven't come out of your room all day.- Said Sam. There was the sound of shuffling around. No answer.- Cas?

-I'm fine.- Snapped Cas. His voice harsher. Almost frustrated which just made their frowns deepen. He didn't sound fine and the fact that he had been acting odd lately did nothing but increase their concern (even if Dean would rather die than admit it).

-Cas open the door.- Demanded Dean firmly.

-No. I said I'm fine.

-If you are fine then open the door.- Said Sam. Voice gentle as if speaking to a child who was making a tantrum. Dean though was already pulling something out of his pocket.- Dean!- He hissed as he watched his brother begin to pick the lock.

Castiel seemed to hear what Dean was doing because his voice came out almost panicked.

-Fine! I will do it you don't have to- just give me a second!

But Dean was having none of it, he was tired of this and he wasn't about to give Cas time to hide a potential injury.

-Cas we are coming in.- Warned Sam lamely because despite all it felt wrong to just barg into Castiel's room. It had been so hard to make him understand this was his room for Dean to go now and invade his privacy by picking the lock.

-No!

The sound of panicked shuffling was followed by water spilling and a low thud. Then the door was pushed open.

Hunters and angel froze.

Dean and Sam stared at the sight infront of them with unreadable expressions. Castiel staring back at them like a deer caught in the headlights.

The angel was half kneeling on the floor, hands towards an empty bowl as if he had been in the middle of picking it up and bolting. There were broken/dirty feathers scattered all across the floor along with twigs and leaves. Water adding to the mess.

But what took the brothers' absolute attention were the massive wings sprouting from the angel's back. Angel who was wearing nothing but his trousers.

The feathers though were for the most part pointing at all the wrong directions. They looked like they had been white at some point.

-I... I promise I will clean it.- Castiel's voice seemed to snap the brothers back to the present. Castiel who was looking like he just got caught doing an unforgivable sin and was about to get an agonizing penance for it.

And still all Dean could say one was stupid thing.

-You have wings?

Castiel frowned.

-Yes? I believe I showed them to you at the barn... or well their shadows... and you have seen what happens when an angel dies...

-You have wings. On your body? Can angels have wings with a human body?

Castiel didn't answer. He just looked down. Avoiding Dean's gaze as he got up.

It was then that Sam noticed something.

The feathers on the floor weren't just dirty and that cloth near the mirror wasn't naturally red.

It was blood.

Dean seemed to notice it too.

-Cas. Where is that blood from?

No answer.

-I'm fine. I... I promise I will clean the mess on the floor just...- Castiel didn't want them here. The longer they stared the longer he had to wait. He still had a lot to do.

-Cas. Where is that blood from?- Dean stepped into the room with the stance of a soldier. Castiel's wings twitched.

-Please leave.

-We can't leave. If you are hurt-

Sam's words caught in his throat as Castiel stepped back, leaving his back within reach of the mirror's reflection.

There was a lot of dried blood covering the angel's back.

-Cas what happened to your back?- Asked Dean when he also caught sight of it. His voice came out strangled rather than threatening as he had intended.

-... I... needed to make them corporeal... It wasn't pleasant but I'm fine now. Please leave.

-Corporeal...?

The second Dean said that the second he felt bile rose. Now that he looked closer he could see some feathers were bloodied.

-I had to use my grace in order to temporarily modify this body's tissue so it would be able to solidify my wings.

-What...?

It was disturbing how okay Castiel looked with what he was saying.

-I'm fine. Can you please leave now?

-Hell no!

-Dean-

-No! You can't expect us to just leave when you look like-- Dean cut himself off as realization hit him.- Did the wendigo do that?

-...No...- Now the angel looked uncomfortable. And as the wings twitched a few more feathers fell on the ground.- I'm... It's...

At the end Castiel hung his head in defeat at the lack of ideas for a lie.

-Yes.

He sounded so miserable and upset it gave a pang to the brothers' heart.

-How do we help?- Asks Dean glancing around the mess on the floor, water, twigs, blood, feathers, leaves and even dirt.

And the wings still looked so dirty.

-You don't need to-

-Castiel. We want to help.- Cut off Dean, his voice leaving no room for discussion.

-I...- Castiel wanted to protest but the idea of another pair of hands sounded so tempting. It would make things so much easier.- Fine.

-Good.

That's how Castiel ended up standing outside. No soul knew of this place so there were no worries about someone catching sight of a dude with wings Dean had pointed out when Sam and Castiel started protesting.

After all cleaning those wings with a pair of wet rags would take forever so Dean thought a hose was a better option.

And Castiel kinda agreed with him.

Thus feeling the warm water on his itchy wings felt too good to care about anything else, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to enjoy the feeling. He had removed the twigs and leaves earlier along with most of the broken feathers but the dirt and blood had been...

Difficult.

It annoyed him to great extent how ruined his wings were. Right when he thought he could finally take a break after the nightmare called molting the wendigo went and ruined his wings.

Now the dirt and blood were leaving his wings and that felt so good.

Dean for his side was the one holding the hose and controlling the flow of the water, making sure to take on every speck of dirt or blood that dared to corrupt the whiteness of the feathers. It felt like washing a bird, a big ass bird.

Meanwhile Sam stared at the wings. Taking in on every single detail, how well they connected to Castiel's shoulderblades, their movement. How white the feathers actually were beginning to turn out to be the more the water cleaned through the dirt and blood.

The feathers closer to his shoulderblades though were dark grey.

Almost black.

Those with the sunlight hitting on them along with the water seemed to hold a rainbow-like shimmer that took his breath away.

An angel's wings were more beautiful than he could have ever imagined.

-Close your mouth Sammy.- Dean's mocking voice got Sam snapping back to attention and he gave Dean a bitch face.

-Jerk.

-Bitch. Hey chicken wings watch your back or Sammy here may go handsy on those feathers.- Teases Dean as he went on and sprayed water on the angel's back as part of him grew annoyed at the sight of blood on his friend's back. Castiel frowned as he looked over his shoulder.

-My wings are nowhere similar to those of a chicken Dean and... I don't mind if Sam wishes to touch my wings.- Tells the angel, he wasn't used to having his wings touched but he trusted Sam wouldn't hurt him nor damage his wings.

His answer was a spray of water to the face that got the angel jerking his head back with an odd noise that sounded strangely like a yelp.

-Dean!- Reprimanded Sam giving his brother a "Are you mad?" look. Did Dean forgot that Castiel was the type of person who pondered murder whenever someone hit him on the shoulder affectionately?

-Sorry Cas couldn't resist.- Smirks Dean as the angel keeps rubbing at his face for a bit longer before giving Dean a kicked puppy look, a dripping wet kicked puppy look.

-Dean that's mean.

-It's just water Cas.- Dean's still smiling as he holds the hose in a way that makes the water flow get Castiel's head as landing zone, making his hair stick to his forehead and forcing the angel to blink rapidly as water catches on his eyelashes and makes his eyes sting.

Castiel steps back rubbing at his eyes, Dean's relaxed smile told him this was a harmless thing the hunter was doing for fun.

But Castiel wasn't in the mood for it.

His wings were clean now but the feathers were in total disarray which made his wings itchy.

-Dean stop bullying the angel.- Scolds Sam as he snatches the hose from his brother and switches it off which gets Dean pouting.

-Fine. I'm sorry.

Castiel gifted Dean a glare as he stood there now dripping wet and looking all miserable and upset.

-Here.- Offered Sam handing the angel a towel and still giving his brother a disapproving look, they were suppose to be helping Cas.

-Thank you...- Castiel used the towel to dry his hair off which left him with such a spiky hair that it reminded Dean of the first time he met him at the barn.

-How do you dry those off?- Asks Sam motioning towards the wings.

-I can do it on my own though you may want to step back.

Sam and Dean do step back and watch with plain awe as the angel stretch his wings out to their fullest, they were huge, had to be nine feets long at least and one blink later the feathers are dry.

And the sight holds such a static beauty it makes the hunters' breath catch in their throats.

Because the sun reflecting on the white feathers gifts them an ethereal shimmer of specks of silver and gold too beautiful to be real. Such gorgeous sight felt almost too good and pure for their presence.

And as Castiel turned to look at them with that stoic face of his part of Sam felt the sudden need to apologize and confess his sins while Dean felt his heart skip a beat and his hairs stand on end.

But just like that Castiel folded his wings behind his back and the feeling was gone.

The angel gave them a puzzled look.

Dean cleared his throat.

-Now what?

~~~~~~

After Castiel changed into dried clothes he was made to sit at the map table, Castiel then had explained to them what to do and despite the fact that he didn't felt that happy about it there were still a few broken feathers that had to go.

Now he sat there feeling the fingers threading through the feathers, smoothing them back into place and sorting out patterns, each time a broken feather was pulled his shoulders would grow stiffer. The brothers kept a careful and steady pace, warning him whenever they were about to pull a feather.

It was almost like they knew he'd spook and try to run if they went any faster or did something without his knowledge. He wondered how they would know that.

Sam's movements were calm and oddly smooth, as if he had worked with grooming feathers at some point in his life a long long time ago.

Dean on the other hand was less calm but he seemed to be trying to be as gentle and careful as possible.

Castiel found himself relaxing a bit as his mind came to the same understatement as his logic about the fact that no one would be pulling at his feathers for fun. Thus he rested his head on his crossed arms on the table out of nothing better to do.

He soon folded up his left wing neatly against his back, a lot more comfortable than it had been in a while as the brothers shifted to work on the other wing.

Castiel had completely forgotten how comforting and good it felt to have someone else doing the grooming. In heaven once one stopped being a fledgling the grooming became something one had to learn to do on their own. As a warrior of God one had to learn to be independent in that aspect.

But Castiel had never once in his life liked that.

He doubted the brothers would ever begin to understand just how grateful he was and just how much trust he put in them.

How safe and comfortable he felt around them. In this place.

Home.

~~~~~~~

Castiel's feathers were the softest thing the universe could ever offer to a human touch. Dean and Sam were careful and mindful as their fingers threaded through the beautiful feathers, neither of them oblivious to how tense the angel was at first, how he would flinch ever so slightly whenever a broken feather was pulled.

But soon he had seemed to relax.

Working through the feathers the brothers couldn't help but ponder on how far they had come. To ghosts being their main problem to becoming friends with an angel.

Even to this day it was a bit challenging to remember what Castiel really was under that permanent awkward trench coated dude.

Dean sometimes wondered how would his father react to Castiel and at the same time he also found himself not wanting to know the answer.

Because if there was something he knew was that John Winchester was a simple man.

If it wasn't human it had to die. No questions asked.

And once upon a time Dean had believed the same but now not much.

He had come to learn that there was more to monsters than hunters cared to admit.

Ghosts who couldn't leave their mother alone, vampires who tried to live a life without hurting others, demons who could be redeemed to a certain degree.

The best one was that angels were dicks.

Or at least most of them.

Anna, Balthazar, Gabriel and Samandriel hadn't been half bad despite all.

And Castiel despite their ups and downs wasn't that much of a dick either.

While Dean pondered about life Sam just stared at the feathers he was working on. Fixated on their golden/silver shimmer as he did so. Angels were something Sam had always known to exist, even before finding out that an angel was the one to save Dean.

He had been so excited to meet one and then the truth came crashing on him.

The truth about just how cruel angels could be, not righteous, not merciful.

Not a single care towards humans.

Angels he had prayed to turning out to be total dicks.

Finding out that he was nothing but an abomination at the eyes of the angels was something that even to this day part of him hurt for it.

But there was something about this right now.

Of being entrusted into touching something so pure and beautiful that made him feel at peace with the world.

Like heaven was forgiving him for all his sins.

~~~~~~~

-I thought angels didn't sleep.- Says Dean as he stares at Castiel's sleeping face.

The brothers had finished not even a minute ago just to find out that Castiel had apparently fell asleep at some point.

The only time they had seen the angel sleep was when he was human after carving that banishing sigil on his chest.

But he was at full power now.

-Maybe touching an angels wings is like when someone plays with your hair.- Suggests Sam as he stares at the angel in question, having him sleeping while also having such corporeal proof of his nature felt odd and kinda wrong.

Like something people shouldn't see.

-Dean no.- Warns Sam when he notices his brother pulling a marker out of God knows where.

-This is my only chance Sammy. A golden opportunity I will never get to exploit again.- Tells Dean as he approaches the angel, the second the marker comes close the second the angel's eyes snap open.

One second Dean is leaning over the angel and the next thing Dean knows is that he is being pressed against the table, left arm twisted behind his back and right wrist caged into a deadly grip against his chest.

The marker he had been holding got snatched by an invisible force.

And the marker drew on his face.

Meanwhile Sam stared in shock, his heart still beating at the speed of light at the prior thought that Cas was gonna smite his brother thinking it was a threat.

And now the marker Dean had intended on using against the angel was being manipulated by an invisible force. Scribbling all over Dean's shocked face as Castiel held him.

Then the marker dropped and Castiel released Dean, stepping back with an amused gleam in his gaze, wings twitching behind him.

-The hell?- Whispered Dean bringing his hand to his face and staring at the angel like he had grown another head. He scrambled to get his phone and see his reflection on the screen.- The hell Cas?- Repeats Dean as Sam began fighting off his laughter.

He failed.

Spectacularly.

The turn of events being something he never expected.

Dean just kept staring at his reflection on the screen.

Stripes ran all across his left cheek and five huge circles on the right side of his face, an inverted triangle on his forehead and Enochian written as a moustache that spread around his mouth like a goatee.

His handsome face had been scribbled on by an angel.

The angel in question was staring at him with an amusement Dean didn't thought the guy was capable of.

-Sammy stop laughing before I cut your hair off in your sleep.- He warns his brother who snaps to attention at that looking alarmed.- What does it says here?- He asks now pointing at his face.

Castiel stares.

-You breathe with the mouth of a goat.

-Your sense of humor is as bad as Sam's sense of style.- Deadpans Dean as he remembered the angel's same words during the case with the whore.

Sam gave Dean such a bitch face at that though.

-It sounds better in Enochian.

-Doubt so.- Tells Dean as he walks past the angel to go and clean his face. Swearing upon his soul that he would get his revenge even if it took his life.

Sam and Castiel watched him leave.

Castiel smirked.

If Dean was an angel that goat joke would be more than just a joke.

It was a spell Gabriel came up with.

Whoever spoke it in Enochian out loud would end up making goat sounds for an entire week.

And if written down it would turn you into a goat.

Such a shame the Winchester wasn't an angel.

If Dean thought Castiel had no sense of humor nor knowledge about pranks it was because he forgot that Gabriel was his elder brother.

And when he had said Uriel was the funniest angel in the garrison he hadn't lied.

After all Uriel was the one who fell the most into reading that goat spell out loud.