A/N: 15x18 "Despair" spoilers up ahead, though this fic definitely takes place after and it's some of what I imagine for 15x20 "Carry On." Did I take some inspiration from Stydia, and Sciles from Teen Wolf? Yeah.

The world had been saved, but not for Dean.

Castiel was gone.

The angel that had professed his love to him against all odds, the angel that had done so to find true happiness.

And he was gone before Dean had been given the chance to say it back.

The world was nearly right again. People milled about. They talked, they laughed… while Dean tried not to cry. Tears were useless. They wouldn't bring him back. Nothing would.

Then, of all things, Sam cleared his throat where he stood across from him, hands in his pockets.

"What?" Dean questioned, hardly caring.

Sam nodded his head, gesturing behind Dean.

His heart pounded, seemingly knowing something he didn't.

Then he heard what he'd thought was gone from him forever:

"Hello, Dean."

Breath stolen from him from that voice, stomach and heart rendered to gaping holes in his body, echoing the tears through his soul, Dean turned.

And there he was:

Cas.

Castiel.

Dean didn't remember running to him, but there he was, right in front of him now. The space between them was miniscule, barely an inch separating what could be, what they'd chosen and written and fought for. Dean searched Cas up and down, gasping now, not believing it. He tingled, his insides soaring. But this wasn't real. No, it wasn't. It couldn't be.

Something powerful hit Dean, a punch to his entire being. He stared into those loving blue eyes, the realization dancing on his tongue.

"I never got to say it back."

Castiel just smiled at him, smiled at him like Dean was his entire world.

Castiel was his.

Words came to his lips like a song, a song that had lived in him for nearly twelve years, a song that he hadn't had the courage to contemplate or live for or believe: "Cas, I-I… I love you."

Tears were in his angel's eyes, and now Dean's vision was blurring, a slight pinch at the corners of his eyes and his sinuses near the bridge of his nose. The ache in his throat made swallowing near-impossible, and air refused to move in and out properly, starving his lungs. Castiel's mere presence was enough to do that, yet it filled him to the brim with everything he'd ever needed all at once.

Dean had said it.

The world fell to nothingness around him. And now his true world was all he could see: Castiel. Always Castiel.

"You saved me. You-you've always saved me, even when I didn't know it, even—even when I wanted you gone. But I… I never really wanted you gone — not ever. I get mad. You know I get mad. But I got mad because I—because I love you. I don't know when it began, I-I hardly know a thing going on in my head right now. I just know that this thing between us, this profound bond — it's been my life. Before you, there was this soul-sucking vacuum in my chest. Life was... well, it was bad. It was grit, and pain, and death. And then there you were. An angel. My angel.

"You know, my mom always used to say to me, 'Angels are watching over you,' and I didn't know it at first, but she was right. You made her right. You've been family, Cas. You've—You've been my best. Friend. You are. And you're more than that, so much more. You have been for years, even when I hurt you. And I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry.

"But here I am, loving you with—with everything I have, every-everything I am. I'll love you till I can't, till—till there ain't nothin' left. Because you're what keeps me going, what I know, in my heart, is right. You're— Cas, you're my family. I'm sorry it took the end of the world for me to say it. But this thing we have, this love, it's everything. You're everything."

Before Dean knew what was happening they had embraced, holding onto each other as if they could tether each other to the earth, to reality. Dean didn't know how he'd ever let go. But even when he eventually would, Cas would still be there. Cas would always be there. And he kissed him. And Castiel kissed him. They shared their tears, tasting the warmth and salt and reality of their truths.

Finally, the world was saved.