Chapter 4: Little Wonders

Our lives are made
In these small hours
These little wonders,
These twists and turns of fate
Time falls away,
But these small hours,
These small hours still remain

-Little Wonders by Rob Thomas

Sam Winchester could fill a very long, very heavy book with the ways in which his brother Dean drove him crazy. Right now, on the front page it would be that this morning his brother was sleeping with Blue Eyes in his arms.

The first three words that came into his mind: WHAT THE HELL? Seriously, what the actual hell? He knew Dean was a bit of a player- okay, it was more than a bit- but toying around with this particular angel was not okay. He swore, if Dean was using Blue Eyes as a cheap fling, he was going to beat him to a pulp.

He was actually resisting the urge to do so now because he was totally and completely jealous. After all, he had been the one taking care of the angel, not Dean. They just met yesterday for pete's sake!

He supposed this was at least partially his fault though. He had meant to put the angel in another room, but he just seemed to like it so much in here that Sam decided to let him stay. He figured Dean would come talk to him about it though, instead of just hopping in bed anyways.

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. It was no use getting upset about it now. He could just talk to Dean about it later, For now, there was a kingdom to run.

"Dean," he said, giving his brother a not so gentle shake, "Wake up."

The older man grumbled incoherently and squeezed the angel in his arms tighter, thus waking said angel.

Castiel's eyes fluttered open before blinking confusedly at the sight of someone's chest directly in front of him. Then he remembered whose chest it was and why it was there. He flushed at the memory, embarrassed he'd cried so hard on some stranger's shoulder. Sure, the king was nice, but he was still a stranger. This revelation made Castiel uncomfortable at their new position. It was entirely too familiar for a pair of people who had only been introduced the day before.

Finally he noticed Sam, who was still attempting to revive his brother. He sent the tall human his most pleading look, begging him silently to get the king off of him.

Sam for his part, couldn't resist when the angel did that and immediately set to prying his brother's fingers off of him. As soon as this was accomplished he plucked Blue Eyes out from under the covers and cradled him in his own arms. He felt a spurt of happiness when the angel snuggled closer into his embrace. He supposed he could forgive Dean for sleeping- just sleeping- with the angel in his bed if Blue Eyes reacted like this every time. He wouldn't mind staying like this for a while longer.

Of course Dean chose that moment to finally wake up.

"Sammy?" he muttered groggily, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

Sam heaved a sigh. His brother hadn't even been home for a full day, and here he was already wishing he was gone again. That was probably a terrible thing to think, but they were brothers, so whatever.

"Yeah, Dean, now will you please get up? You may be king, but you can't put everything on hold just because you want some shut eye."

There was some half-hearted grumbling from his brother, but he eventually complied.

Hours later Dean found himself scarfing down food in the hopes to sate his gnawing hunger. Ellen, the head cook, snorted at his behavior but continued to shove more fod onto his plate. Man, he loved that woman.

Once he finished eating "enough to feed a small army", as she so kindly put it, he rushed off to find the angel. No, he couldn't just continue thinking about him as the angel anymore, he was Blue Eyes now. The thought made him smile.

And for the second time in under 24 hours, he nearly ran his brother over.

"Dean! Seriously, slow down! You're 30 years old- can you please act like it?"

"Oh, quit your bitching, Sammy, you're fine," he said, stepping around his giant moose of a brother.

"Where do you think you're going? Don't you have an important meeting in like twenty minutes?"

"Well, yeah, sort of...but I toldBobbyyou'ddoitformeinsteadgottagobye!" he blurted out as fast as he could before booking it down the hallway.

"Wha- Dean!" Sam bellowed behind him. He felt a little guilty about saddling his brother with his duties, but what could he say? He really wanted to get to know him.

Luckily he didn't have to look far. Blue Eyes was exactly where he was yesterday: by the pond.

Just looking at him brought a smile to Dean's face. The angel was resting on his stomach, feet raised behind him as he poked gently at the goldfish in the water. His wings lay tucked in across his back and around his legs. When Dean got a little closer he saw the most adorable look of fascination splayed across the angel's face. All in all, he looked very much like a child on their birthday.

"Hey there," Dean greeted casually, startling the angel out of his reverie. His heart began an erratic little dance in his chest when they made eye contact. He didn't regret his seemingly pathetic excuse of a name for the angel anymore- his eyes were the most captivating blue Dean had ever seen. It was the most dominating feature aside from his wings perhaps, but he'd have felt even dumber if he'd named him "Black Wings".

Castiel watched the king warily, still feeling a little embarrassed at their oddly intimate night. He had scrambled to a sitting position at the man's arrival, and now he proceeded to curl his wings into a more protective position.

Dean however, took no notice of this and continued as he usually would with anyone else.

"So I was thinking we could take a little field trip today. I mean- only if you're up to it. I don't want to pressure you or anything- it's just a really nice place- you don't have to. It's not far though. You know, if you want to. You don't have to," he rambled, face heating up slightly. He felt very much like the dewy eyed village girls he sometimes flirted with. It was not a good feeling.

Castiel blinked a few times in surprise at the king's sudden outburst. The gist of it seemed to be that the man wanted to take him somewhere nice. He wasn't really opposed to the idea…he supposed it would be okay. The king seemed trustworthy enough, though he briefly wondered if Sam would be joining them. It would be comforting to have him there. He nodded slowly, hoping the man would understand his silent agreement to his invitation. The king's face lit up immediately and he directed a dazzling smile at him. Now it was Castiel's turn to blush and break eye contact.

"Great!" Dean exclaimed, "I already requested for some horses to be saddled for us, so we should be all set." He almost ran off again towards the stables, but thankfully he remembered the angel's weak state before he did. That would have been extremely embarrassing.

"Oh, would you like some help?" he asked, offering the angel his hand. Blue Eyes peeked up shyly from under his long, dark eyelashes and timidly took his hand. The blonde gently pulled the angel to his feet, slipping an arm beneath the other's to hold him upright as they walked to the stables.

Dean set Blue Eyes down on a bench after they reached their destination. The angel hadn't been strong enough to reach the stables on his own. It was rather worrisome to Dean how easily the other tired. They'd only made it inside the building before he became too pale and shaky to continue. Sam had described it all to him before, but seeing it himself was something else entirely. Only now did the thought occur to him that the angel might not be strong enough to ride. Or if he even knew how to.

"Uh, Blue Eyes?" he asked, "Do you know how to ride?"

Castiel shook his head, eyes drifting over to the horses. He wasn't entirely unfamiliar with the beasts. He knew how to brush them down, wash them, saddle them...slave work. He liked them well enough. Sometimes he'd even give them extra oats or an apple to munch on. It seemed a little silly to feed them what he ought to be eating instead, but stealing the horses' food had severe punishments. In the end he figured that at least one of them deserved to eat well, and since he couldn't, it might as well be them. No, he certainly wasn't unfamiliar with them. He'd never actually ridden one before though. That just wasn't what slaves did.

"Okay...well… I guess you could ride with me then, if that's okay with you," Dean said, sending him a questioning look.

For goodness' sake, did every moment he spent with the man have to involve them being pressed together? Last night was bad enough, and even then he'd had the excuse of being deliriously sad. He didn't really have much choice in the matter though, did he? After all, it's not like he was going to refuse after the king had carried him all the way here. He nodded hesitantly at the king.

"Up we go then!" Dean sang as he lifted the angel onto his baby, Impala. Castiel found himself blushing again at the king's antics.

Dean hopped up in front of him, wrapped the other's arms around his waist, and they set off. For obvious reasons Blue Eyes couldn't sit in front because their was no way he could steer Impala around those wings.

"Welp, here we are! Well, almost anyway. We just have to walk through here," Dean gestured at a crevice in the mountainside The angel eyed it cautiously, inwardly calculating how well he'd fit through the opening. Dean grinned as he helped the other down from the horse, He lifted Blue Eyes off Impala by his hips and felt the angel's arms wrap timidly around his neck.

Their eyes met and Dean momentarily forgot how to breathe. He didn't know how to explain what it was those eyes did to him. It was always a sort of shock to him, staring into those deep blue orbs. In that moment the angel was the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen- sunshine parting around him in a halo of light, cheeks slightly flushed and hair and feather lightly tousled by the was some mighty fine sex hair if he ever saw one.

Castiel was equally mesmerized by the king. His eyes stared right into Castiel as if the man could see straight into his very essence. They were such a beautiful green too, like spring itself had been planted inside them, giving them a color that was just so unmistakably alive.

He was also smiling again. He was always smiling at Castiel. It seemed involuntary and full of wonder- so unlike the condescending leers he was used to. It was the strangest thing. Yet every time, without fail, it warmed him right down to his bones and made his heart give a nervous flutter. Well, his heart and his wings.

It was the small movement that snapped Dean out of his trance, making him realize he had probably been holding the angel in this position for far longer than was necessary or appropriate. He cleared his throat and gently lowered the angel to the ground, eyes still glued to the other's. Part of his brain registered that he should let Blue Eyes go, but his body ignored this and kept his hands planted firmly on the angel's hips.

Blue Eyes tilted his head in confusion, and damn it all if that wasn't the most adorable thing he'd ever seen. The angel looked away, then back, then away again. he was staring so intently that the king turned his head to follow the angel;s eyesight. He was looking at the crevice.

Oh. Right. Field trip.

"Right. Um, let's go then," he said, finally removing his hands from Blue Eyes' waist and taking his hand instead.

Castiel brought his wings as close against his back as he could when they entered the mountainside. It actually wasn't that bad for the most part- there were a few places that were a bit tricky to maneuver his wings through, but other than that things went well. In fact, he kind of liked having the walls so close. This way he didn't have to lean on someone else for support.

He was still rather tired by the time they reached their final destination. His weariness melted away in an instant at the sight before him.

The close packed walls of dull colored rock opened up into a stunning rainbow cavern. The walls were great streaks of blue, red, and gold of all sorts of shades, making uneven lines across the expanse. Iridescent crystals sprang out at the edges haphazardly, giving off a gentle glow. There were even flowery vines draping down from the ceiling, vibrant green vines contrasting with delicate, pale amethyst blossoms. The plants crept down from an opening high above them that let in enough sunlight to illuminate a small pool of perfectly clear water and kept them from straining their eyes. It was amazing.

Castiel stared in a wide-eyed wonder, trying to soak everything in at once. He had never seen anything so awe-inspiring in his entire life. Guaranteed, the majority of his experiences were drab and boring anyway, but he found it hard to believe he'd ever find something more beautiful even if he traveled the world for spectacular sights.

"C'mon, let's go sit down over there," the king smiled at him, breaking him out of his reverie and leading him to the edge of the pool.

Castiel sat down gratefully, suddenly reminded of how easily he tired. For once, he didn't mind it because it gave him a chance to rest and relax in the serenity the space provided. He still couldn't wrap his head around how gorgeous it was here.

Dean chuckled as the angel ogled his surroundings.

"Here," he said, "Let me show you something." Blue Eyes stared curiously at him, tilting his head in that entirely too adorable way again, making Dean grin from ear to ear. Carefully he reached out for a vine that hung down nearby and gave it a light tug.

He watched the angel's face light up as purple blossoms drifted down in spirals around them. Blue Eyes turned towards him and gave him the most radiant smile. His heart nearly stopped. Forget what he said earlier about seeing the angel outside being the most beautiful thing he'd ever set his eyes on- this moment now, this one smile, was more breathtaking than all the riches in the world. It was then that Dean decided he would do anything to preserve that smile and the angel that gave it. Nothing else seemed nearly as important in his life. He would never let that smile fade for good on his watch.

A/N: I am so sorry that this is so late...it's been like 3 months. But if you're still reading, then kudos to you! I really am sorry. I really wanted to get this done in an actually reasonable amount of time, but then I got sick , and then I had make up work, and then I had a lot of tests, and then I was just kind of like shoot me now. But it's finally done! You guys are great, I can't even believe there are still people following this haha! I wish I could tell you this wouldn't happen again, but frankly I don't know, so we'll just have to wait and see :)