How many humans had seen an angel's wings? Surely it could have only been a handful. Though angels used to be much more prevalent among humankind, and it seemed to becoming that way again, how many angels had human friends? Friends who were more than just allies, more than just lust driven one night lovers. A hand that had held a lit firework could still count the number of these angels. It was only one.

They sat on the embankment of a small stream; Dean was skipping rocks across the water. It was a couple miles into the woods behind Bobby's house. He and Sam had found the creek when they were kids and spent a lot of time swimming in the surprisingly unpolluted water, trying to catch the little minnows hiding in still pockets in the banks, and trying to build rafts and adventure ala Huck Finn. Dean had rolled his jeans up and his feet were dangling in the cool water, Castiel just sat silently next to him.

"Do you think it's too cold to swim?" Dean asked as he finished his beer and set it near the rest of the left over's from the lunch they'd packed.

"I've never been swimming."

"Seriously? That's weird. Angel's have no fun. Come on, I'll show you."

"We don't, I agree."

He followed Dean's example of standing up. He loved the way his hunter's body looked as he stretched to take his shirt off. The fabric sliding over the smooth muscles Castiel had spent so many nights tracing with his fingers. He couldn't stop watching the other man strip down to his skin, he was breathtaking. Castiel had seen every wonder of the world, every perfectly sculpted statue, and masterpiece in the universe, but nothing compared to the stark naked hunter in front of him. His chest spattered with freckles, tanned skin looking buttery smooth in the warm sun, the V of his hips that Cas had spent so much time kissing.

"What are you staring at?" Dean looked down at his body self consciously and then back at the fully dressed angel. "Come on," he gently pulled on the angel's tie to bring him closer and kissed him. Castiel deepened the kiss, snaking his arms around Dean's waist. "Hey now, I'm trying to get into the water, not your pants…For once."

Castiel sighed and his hands slid down and gripped Dean's firm ass playfully, "Fine." He placed fierce kiss on his hunter before detaching and ridding himself of his clothes. "Aren't we supposed to have swim clothes?"

"Who says swim clothes?" Dean said as he walked into the water. "Come on, its warmer out here in where the sun is really shining. He clumsily jumped and ended up falling and going under the water. He came up with a big grin. Castiel slowly walked out to him. By now he'd taken plenty of showers, but he'd never submersed his body in water entirely. It felt good; it felt a little like being in heaven. The gentle force of the water flowing over his legs reminded him of the constant flow of grace in heaven, except this felt smooth and that felt stiff and starched. Dean was up to his chest, but his feet were still on the sandy bottom, the angel waded out looking a little unsure. Dean held out his hand. "You'll be okay, I promise." His hands dipped under the water and he picked Castiel up. He could do it on land, but in the water it was obviously a lot easier. Castiel giggled, he wrapped his arm around Dean's neck.

"It feels like I'm floating in the air."

"I could let you go, if you relax and stretch out you'll actually float."

Suddenly Cas was horrified and held fast to his human, "No!"

Dean smiled, "Don't worry, babe. I got you."

"Isn't this how people carry brides? Why do that do that?"

"I have no idea."

After a while Dean set him back on the sandy bottom, and walked out a little further. Castiel tried to follow him but was suddenly scared when he realized he soon wouldn't be able to touch the bottom with his feet anymore.

"Dean?" He brought out what Dean called "puppy dog eyes."

Dean came back over and put his hands on the angel's waist again, "To tread water all you have to do is gently move your feet back and forth and put your arms out like you were pretending to fly. You have to move them a little too, kind of in small circles or back and forth, it'll help you stay afloat. Now I'll hold onto while you try it." Castiel was scared, but he trusted the man with everything. He let him move them into deeper water, "Okay , Cas. Now do like I told you." It took a few minutes but he finally got it, Dean let go of him, and he stayed up on his own. The hunter grinned at his angel, "Look at you! Top of the class!"

"This is wonderful!"

Dean spent a while teaching the angel how to float on his back, and how to doggy paddle. The angel was really enjoying himself, and it made Dean's heart swell. The way Cas looked sparkling with beads of clear water, hair all mussed up and wet, smile spread across his face made other parts of Dean swell too.

After a while they retreated to the shallow water, watching little schools of shining fish dance in the gentle current, and splashing and dunking each other like teenage boys. Dean came up behind him, wrapping his arms around him and kissing his sun warmed shoulders.

"Cas?"

"Yes, my love?"

"Are you fully healed from the mermaid?"

"I am. Why?"

"When I found you, your wings were out. And it was raining," he paused, sorting through the memories and trying to find the right words. "The way the water dripped down them was perfect. They were so beautiful."

"You'd like to see them again, is what you're saying?"

Dean laughed; he was a straight forward guy with everyone except for Castiel. "Yeah, man."

Castiel pulled away and walked a few feet forward. He took a deep breath and held it, his eyes closed as he concentrated. Dean watched the skin on Castiel's shoulders twist sickeningly for a moment before his body seemed to be enveloped by a sparkling haze. It looked like a magic trick, but Dean knew it was real. The dark shape of wings unfolding was juxtaposed against the shining mist which seemed to fall away and roll over the water like smoke. The golden brown wings spread out, each one of them was as long as Castiel was tall. The tips of them dipped into the water. Castiel lifted them out, and Dean watched a bead of water roll off the feathers, it looked like pure gold in the sunlight.

"Holy hell…" he slowly moved towards them and reached out, "Can I touch them?"

"Yes." There was no hesitation in the angel's voice. He trusted Dean with everything. Dean reached out and ran his hand along the top arc of Castiel's left wing. The soft feathers felt like silk over the hard bone. It felt good to Cas, like someone was stroking his hair and scratching his scalp. He rolled his shoulders and the wings stretched and shone in the sun.

"Wow…" Dean ran a finger down across the bottom of his wing. It was razor sharp and a thin line of blood appeared on the finger. It was if a scalpel had cut him, it was so fine it didn't even hurt. "Whoa…"

"They are made not only for flight, but for battle."

"Angel's are fricken' cool," he said as continued to comb his fingers through Castiel's wings. "What does it feel like when I touch them?"

"Very odd. No one has ever touched them gently before. It kind of feels like you're running your hands through my hair. It makes my whole body shiver."

"I want some wings. In jet black."

"I like you human, angel's are dull."

"All of them except for you."

Castiel said nothing. Dean spent another fifteen minutes examining every inch, occasionally asking questions or mutter about how cool the wings were.

"Thank you, Cas. That was really awesome. You're so beautiful. And deadly. Like a cobra or a tiger or something," Dean said looking wistful.

Castiel laughed, "You're welcome, and thank you for that very Dean compliment."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he frowned.

"Nothing," Cas said kissing him on the cheek. The wings folded into his back and seemed to melt away.

"That is just so fucking cool," Dean muttered to himself under his breath as he walked towards their discarded clothes and began to dress.

"Thanks for teaching me how to swim."

"Thanks for letting me! Sammy was always positive I was going to let him drown, wouldn't let me teach him until he was taller than I was."

"Of course, I trust you with my life, Dean."

Dean stopped dressing; it was a heavy statement for the lighthearted mood. He stepped forward and quickly pulled the other man to him, kissing him passionately.

"I love you, Cas. I always have."

"and I you."

They smiled at each other and finished dressing and gathered their things and trekked back to Bobby's.

"I thought you guys said you were going fishing? Where are the fish you idgits?"

Author's note: So originally this WHOLE FIC was going to be just a silly little drabble one off about Dean trying to get Cas to sneak candy into the theater. 26K words, 20 chapters later, and I've still got a lot of story to tell. it's amazing haha. thank you all for the wonderful reviews and subscriptions. it means a lot to me! I hope you love it all so far.