He finally had him cornered in the passenger seat of the Impala out on Highway 20. He may or may not have lured him out of the house and out for a drive with the promise of teaching him how to withdraw money from the ATM. After they'd reached a spot out by the woods as the sun was just settling behind them, he slammed it into park and locked the doors, turning to face the dark-haired, wide blue-eyed man riding shotgun.

Dean watched him glance at the door handle before resigning and turning to face Dean. They were both silent, staring each other down with glares – Dean's in expectation and Cas' with his constant look of disbelief and incredulousness.

Finally, Dean refused to put up with it for any longer, "Alright, Castiel. Spill already."

Cas sighed and looked out the windshield, pinching the bridge of his nose in a very human gesture. "Spill what, Dean?"

Dean leaned forward in his seat to rest his forehead against the steering wheel, closing his eyes and letting it all come out in a rush – the levee finally breaking after suppressing his discomfort for weeks.

"Why the hell do you find it so hard to be in the same room as me, leaving or ignoring me completely? Why do you confide in Sam instead of me? If you really hate being stuck with me so badly then you should leave, and if not it wouldn't kill you to be civil." He pressed his forehead harder against the hard plastic, "I just want to know what the hell is up with you, how you're adjusting, if you hate me for being the reason you had to give up your angelhood. Or, I don't know, maybe you finally got to know me for who I really am and realized how full of shit I am, I couldn't blame you for that. I just need to know why you won't look me in the face..." He'd let his voice fade out, having nothing left to say and regretting the words he'd already spoken. He snuck a glance up from behind his hand gripping the steering wheel.

From the brief glimpse he got of his face, Dean noted that it showed more emotion than he'd seen Cas express so far as a human. He wore a pained look as he studied his hands in his lap.

Cas took his sweet time answering. The silence was enough to set Dean's teeth on edge and he focused on the tightening and untightening of his fingers on the wheel grip. He was beginning to wonder if the man ever planned to answer at all.

Just when Dean was about to give up on getting answers and drive them both back to the bunker in uncomfortable silence, the man spoke.

"How do you manage it?"

"Manage what?" Dean asked without taking a breath.

"Humanity. I constantly feel like I'm being crushed by the weight of it all. The emotions, the messiness. How does anyone live this way, in this fashion?" Cas' eyes stayed forward, as if he was just wondering aloud to himself. Dean answered anyway.

"I don't think anyone really handles it. You just do all that you can to keep it from crushing you. There's not really a right or wrong way to deal. At least not that I've been able to figure out."

"What about guilt? Does it always feel this uncontrollable and unmanageable?" Cas' eyes had finally drifted away from the window and onto Dean's face. They probed his expression, searching for clues and answers. The earnestness of his questions made his soul flicker excitedly behind his skin.

"What do you have to feel guilty about, Cas?" He let his surprise show.

"What don't I have to feel guilty about?" Cas retorted with a very aptly human phrase. "I don't know how you can bear to be around me after what I forced upon you."

Dean felt his face grow even more surprised. Those piercing, blue eyes stayed trained on him, full of sadness and regret - marking Cas' words as sincere and serious.

He was angry for a moment, angry at Cas for being so frustratingly selfless, at himself for not making clear how thankful he was for merely having him in his life.

He grabbed Cas' chin roughly, looking him right in that heartbreakingly beautiful face, getting ready to yell and curse and apologize all at once.

Instead, the anger diminished almost as fast as it had appeared. He closed the small space between their faces with what felt like to him was exaggerated slowness.

Dean pressed very softly against Cas' chapped lips, his fingers still lightly gripping his chin; the whole thing unbearably sweet. Cas' lips remained unresponsive beneath his.

Dean kept his eyes closed as he pulled back and dropped his hand to release the man, half tensed for Cas' confusion, an embarrassingly innocent question, or even a punch in the nose.

Rather than any of the things he anticipated or expected, he felt a powerful hand grip the side of his neck with a thumb resting on his cheek and pressing into his cheekbone. As his eyes flashed open, his own mouth was crushed by the former angel's.

Dean was pushed back to press against his car door while Cas greedily moved against his mouth as if he was afraid they had mere moments left. The window crank was pushing hard into his back and Cas' hands were rough, making the small space seem sweltering all of a sudden. Cas' teeth nipped and kneaded his bottom lip.

It wasn't more than a few seconds before Dean's eyes fluttered closed again and he had both hands cradling either side of Cas' face. His thoughts were no longer coherent enough to revolve around rejection, innocence, or guilt.

A number of minutes passed before Cas slowed his busy lips and a few inches of space materialized between them, their eyes locked while their breathing slowed to its normal rhythm.

"You wanna explain what just happened, Cas?" Dean teased with a smile and a chuckle, planting a peck on his red lips.

"I'll let you know when I figure it out. Plus, you started it," he replied, his smile lighting his face and his eyes completely. "So all that talk about me being 'yours.' That wasn't just a ploy to try and save your life? You actually felt that way, even then?" Cas raised his eyebrows.

Dean rubbed his hand across his face, smiling in incredulity. "You heard all that, did ya?" Why am I not surprised? he thought.

"So you did mean that?" He actually looked concerned, as if Dean hadn't just professed his love by locking lips with another dude under his own free will.

"Of course I meant it," he assured him sincerely, watching Cas' lips turn up at the ends.

Dean's shoulders felt lighter than they had in a long time. He sighed contentedly, laying his head back against his head rest and looking at the roof of the car above him. He drank in the moment; feeling for once like they didn't need to talk everything out and like everything was out on the table at last.

Cas followed suit and they both sat in an easy silence until Cas broke it: "My wings look good on you, by the way."

Dean's head snapped up, "You can see them?"

Cas picked up Dean's hand, examining the lines on his palm, the warmth of his grip very faint, "Of course I can. They were mine, you know." He smiled, looking up to wink at Dean from under his lashes.

Dean just stared back at the man, sure that that the admiration he had for him was more than plain on his face. He couldn't believe he'd wasted so much time feeling tortured and miserable. He should've realized that Cas never ceased to surprise him.

"You, my friend, are unbelievable human. You're far better at it than you give yourself credit for." A delicious pink color tinged Castiel's cheeks and Dean couldn't resist leaning over to touch his lips to the warm skin. When he pulled back, Cas hitched his hand behind Dean's neck, kissing him much softer than he had the first time.

"Friends, huh?" Those blue eyes teased. Another bout of heavy breathing and the smacking of over-eager lips passed before Cas spoke up about heading back to the bunker. "Don't you think you should drive me home? Sam's probably wondering where we are." Dean turned the keys in the ignition and put it into drive, switching on a classic rock station.

He couldn't stop smiling between getting some closure at last and Cas' word choice in calling the bunker "home."

AUTHOR"S NOTE

Tada! I finally updated! (Even though you guys were a bit stingy with your reviews...) On a side note, HOW COULD NO ONE TELL ME ABOUT THE CRAZY AMOUNT OF TYPOS I HAD GOING ON IN THE EARLIER CHAPTERS! Ugh, it was painful to read! Don't be afraid to let me know about things like that, there's nothing more annoying than an extra word or misspelling to interrupt your train of thought. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy!