Hello my lovelies! This is the last chapter and I'm sorry it's shorter than the others, but don't be sad. I am still writing The Fate of a Freewill Angel, and I'm sure I'll be writing more fanfics soon. I would just like to ask anyone who wants to help a new writer to give me reviews! They are always super appreciated, and if I know who you are I'll read yours and give you reviews too! Win-win, yes? Well, I don't own Supernatural as we all know, so read and enjoy!

Castiel's face remained unreadable; he was an angel, after all. Inside, though, he was screaming, yelling, dancing even. He had never felt so joyful, so ecstatic in all of his life. And he had lived for a long, long time.

Dean didn't know what to say. He was glad that Castiel finally knew, but he was disappointed that everything they had built up over these years, friendship, brotherhood, love, whatever, would be gone.

"Oh," was all he said, but that one simple interjection held so much more. Castiel knew it, too. He knew how conflicted Dean was. He felt sorry that he was causing it. He was happier that it was happening at all, though.

Although Castiel was overjoyed that Dean felt this way, he didn't know how to put how he himself felt into a few, simple, human words. He decided that Dean had summed it up nicely, and he wanted to go that route.

"Well, that angel might have fallen for a human, Dean," he muttered, just loud enough to be sure that Dean could hear him.

"That angel might've…Oh God, Cas. That is the cheesiest thing I've ever heard!" exclaimed Dean, suddenly finding the whole thing very funny and entering what would be a long laughing fit.

Castiel found the whole ordeal slightly frustrating. What had he said that was so "cheesy?" It didn't seem fair for Dean to laugh at him this way, when he was only trying to express his affection for the man!

Dean broke out of his laughing fit only to see Cas looking very upset and insecure. He realized that Cas might have thought he was laughing at the mere fact that Cas reciprocated his emotions. He didn't want that! But…then it sunk it. Cas loves me back? Cas loves me back? Cas loves me back!

He couldn't stand this perfect, beautiful, nerdy little angel to look so dejected for another minute. He got up quickly, knocking a chair over in the process, and grabbed Cas by the shoulders.

"Dean, what on Earth…?"

"Cas… I love you!"

And at that, they both smiled. Cas was clearly unsure how to show he returned the feelings, and Dean knew that he had to demonstrate the proper way.

He leaned in and kissed Cas on the lips, slowly but with force. Cas was shocked, he had never been so close to anyone in all of his time in Heaven or on Earth. This odd display of affection, which Dean had previously called a kiss, was brilliant. It was so simple. When words ran out, it was there, waiting to express what they couldn't.

Castiel could practically feel the love, the raw energy, radiating between them. He could feel it coursing through his veins, seeping into his mind, infiltrating even his Grace. He suddenly felt complete where he didn't even know he had felt unfinished.

Dean smiled and broke away. He looked down at the hamster. It was still running on its wheel. His smile faded, and Dean pitied Pudding. He would run on that wheel his whole life, never being able to get off and live a true life. Never being able to break the cycle, discover something greater, or find something so beautiful he never thought it possible.

Pudding, even though he was just a tiny rodent, had given Dean something that he would never be able to repay. He looked straight into Castiel's beautiful blue eyes, so stunning they took his breath away every time, and he knew what he had to do. He had to at least try.

Castiel, Dean, and a cardboard box containing Pudding were standing in a golden yellow field. It was so picturesque Dean had to keep reminding himself it was actually happening, that it wasn't just a dream.

"Are you ready, Dean?" Castiel asked, holding Dean's free hand tightly as the other held Pudding's box to his chest.

"Yeah, ready."

Dean put the cardboard box on the ground, and together they knelt down and opened it. The strong, tough, masculine hunter reached in and scooped out the tiny little creature gently, with a surprising amount of affection.

He held the little hamster up to his face, and began to speak to it, to say goodbye to it.

"Pudding, you gave me something more important than money, booze, woman, fame, anything. Before I had this something, I was killing monsters, saving people, sure. But for what? I got avenged Mom, so what was I even hunting for? I didn't have any good reason. Now I have someone I love, someone I need, someone who I feel more for than anyone I've ever known."

At this Castiel broke into a smile, he knew that Dean loved him, but this was more than love. This was devotion. This was…perfection.

"Now I have something worth fighting for. Thank you, Pudding, for giving me that reason."

Castiel kissed the little hamster's head, and stared into its eyes, as if he were saying a telepathic goodbye. The hamster stared back, as if he understood. Dean than knelt down again, and put his hands on the ground. Pudding looked back and twitched his whiskers, a final goodbye, and then ran off into the meadow.

Whatever happened now, the cycle was broken. He didn't have to run on a wheel anymore, and Dean was content, truly happy, for the first time since he could remember.

Walking away from that field, Castiel finally understood why humans have pets. They are simple. Boring, even. But they show their owners more about themselves than any other human can. They show them their faults, their fears, what they need. And they do it all by instinctual actions. Eating, sleeping, running, listening. Bringing them to the basics just to show them that they are capable of more. They show humans that love, compassion, the higher emotions that make humans human, are too important to take for granted. If you listen to your pet, really listen, they will teach you to live.