Two days later and they had put the damned witch hunt behind them. The seashell was destroyed, Cas' grace was fully restored and Gabriel promised to wipe the memories of everyone involved. They were back in the bunker until the next hunt.

Only things hadn't quite returned to normal. Dean had found himself lingering whenever he spoke to Cas, opening and closing his mouth to say more, to ask if there was a possibility for the two of them to become an 'us'. But he never found the courage to really do it.

He had tried. Twice. Cas hadn't understood him. Because Dean was a fucking coward that couldn't just come out (heh) and say what he wanted. No, he had to beat around the Bush and use metaphors regular humans would have trouble understanding.

Bottom line, he was an idiot.

A very lonely idiot.

It was the second night since their return and Dean was once again tossing and turning, falling asleep then waking up minutes later, unable to find rest. At one point he dozed off and was startled awake by his bed shifting. He opened one eye and noticed the Cas-shaped figure sitting on his bed. Dean reached out and turned the light on, glancing at his alarm clock.

"Cas? It's three in the morning, what are you doing here?" He mumbled, mind too foggy to form any deeper thoughts.

"I… I couldn't sleep."

"Wha…" Forcing his mind to wake fully, Dean took a moment to consider what Cas just said. It took him more than he was willing to admit, but that was because Cas wasn't making any sense. "Sleep? But you don't need to sleep, not when you got your mojo back. Wait, is everything alright? Did it–"

"Yes, my grace is fine. It's just–" Cas paused, letting out a deep sigh before looking away from Dean, down to his hands that were currently in his lap. He seemed so small all of a sudden.

"I have found that I really like sleeping. It not only helps my grace regenerate, but my vessels muscles aren't so tense afterward and I… I find it easy to process some things during my sleep. I have found a way to put myself to sleep despite not needing to, and it sort of worked last night, but tonight…"

"Oh... Okay… Well have you tried–"

"I tried everything. Except… Except this one thing. But I can't… I have to ask for permission about this one thing and I am not sure I will be granted, but I tried to do it without it and it wasn't working, so I figured I might as well ask–"

"Come here." Dean interrupted his rant, smiling as he pulled back the covers. The smile Cas gave him simply lit up the whole room. The angel quickly scrambled to lie down next to Dean, turning his back towards the hunter and letting Dean spoon him.

Dean smiled against Cas' back, delighted to have the angel in his arms again. He didn't want to think what this might mean, or if he should get his hopes up, he just wanted to enjoy this. To revel in this warm, cozy feeling that boomed in his chest. He fell asleep within seconds.

When Dean slowly came to, the alarm clock's big red numbers claimed it was half past seven. Or so he thought, he couldn't really see the whole thing from the mop.of dark hair that obstructed his view. Not that he minded. His arm was still thrown over the angel, his front pressed snugly against Cas' back.

Dean had the ridiculous notion that he had died and went to Heaven.

He wasn't sure if Cas was still asleep or not. And he wasn't sure if his action would be welcomed, but he had the strong urge to brush his lips against the back of Cas' neck, just like they had done on numerous occasions during their time on the island. Just one little kiss, just like before.

Dean leaned in, slowly, hoping not to startle Cas awake, or if he already was, to give him time to stop Dean. But eventually his lips reached Cas' skin and pressed a light touch, something in Dean's chest clenching with overwhelming need for more.

Cas gasped, startling Dean who quickly moved out of the way, heart beating rapidly as his eyes widened with fear. Time stopped when Cas turned and their eyes locked. The moment stretched into infinity and yet it passed within a fraction of a second.

Because in the next beat, Cas had his hands on Dean's face and was pulling him in for a real kiss. The first brush of their lips had fireworks exploding in Dean's mind, causing a full body shudder. His breath caught, mouth parting with a sudden moan and Cas took the opportunity to seal his lips over Dean's lower one, gently playing with it.

It was the best damn kiss ever and it was over too damn soon. They parted, both staring at each other, both probably fearful of the other one's reaction. It was Cas who eventually spoke first.

"Since the invention of the kiss there have been five kisses that were rated the most passionate, the most pure. This one left them all behind."

Dean burst out laughing, managing to snort and then even choke. When he finally calmed down, he wiped the tears out of his eyes. "Did you just quote Princess Bride to me?"

"It made you laugh, so…" Cas shrugged, blushing, still looking as uncertain as Dean felt. Warmth bloomed in Dean's chest as the grin lingered on his face. They could do this. They could talk. Say what they want. It seemed as though there was a good chance they might want the same thing.

As soon as he came back from his morning run, Sam took shower and then went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for them. He felt guilty for not being able to find Dean and Cas sooner, for making them dig through the witch's lair in the first place. And they had both been off since they came back and he wasn't sure what happened, but he had no idea how to find out. Dean sure wasn't going to tell him if he asked and Cas claimed that nothing happened.

After he made them bacon (extra chrispy) and eggs, he went to find Dean. He was probably still asleep and as much as he didn't want to wake him as he knew Dean had trouble sleeping since the island, Sam figured Dean wouldn't want to pass up on his favorite breakfast.

Reaching the door, Sam lifted his hand to knock, but stopped short when he heard voices coming from the room.

"Are you sure about this, Cas?"

"Yes, Dean. I am sure. I want this, I want… I want you."

O–kay. Yeah, not stepping in whatever that was, Sam would like not to have to bleach his eyes, thank you. But he was still unable to keep the smile of his face. He was happy for them. And hopeful they would deal with whatever comes next as adults and ot as Dean and Cas, meaning avoiding any issue that might come up.

Sam turned to walk away, but he didn't make three steps before the doors of Dean's room swung open and Dean and Cas walked out of there, fully clothed.

Huh. Guess Sam wouldn't have needed the bleach. Why would he even think they were having sex in the first place?

"Sam?" Dean called out, looking back at his brother curiously. He was smiling and holding Cas' hand, the angel looking at him with a kind, happy smile.

"Oh, hey. I, um… I was just coming to get you guys. Made breakfast."

"You made breakfast? Great, means I gotta make more 'cause you probably made spinach egg whites or something. " Dean groaned.

"Actually I made bacon and scrambled eggs. And some more bacon," Sam replied, his lips growing into a smile of his own.

"Oh. Guess it's just my lucky day, huh?" Dean chucked.

"I believe it is our lucky day, Dean," Cas corrected and Sam was seconds away from giving them the 'aweeeeee' when Cas decided to add "I believe I have found a spell that might allow me to actually taste the food, so I am really looking forward to–"

"Oh, hell no. No more witches, no more spells, I am done with…"

Sam chuckled as he watched them walk toward the kitchen, bantering like they always did, but still holding hands and being closer than he had ever seen them before.

He was glad they finally worked it out. He was truly happy for them.

The end