"Well," Gabriel said, "That was probably the most eventful day of my life. I'm pretty tired after losing my centuries-old grace. I don't know about you guys, but think I'll hit the sack early." "Yeah, me too," Crowley added, looking pointedly between Dean and Castiel.

Castiel readjusted himself in his seat on the wooden log, and Dean cleared his throat. It was hard to remember they hardly knew much about each other truly. The ecstasy from earlier had since faded slightly, and more awkward, vulnerable moments awaited the two. The two animals seemed to know that.

Cas opened his mouth to say something, but Dean suddenly spoke first. "Cas- I need to tell you about me. Okay? I need to tell you about why we met, and why I was working at that place." Cas nodded.

"My family," Dean said, taking a deep breath, "Died when I was fifteen. In a house fire, started by Farquad's army of douchebags... It was horrible… I couldn't save them, and I shouldn't have been the one to escape. It should have been little Sammy. He was my brother."

He bit his lip. He would not cry- not now. He could do this. "Anyway… w-when they died, I didn't know where to go. I ran- and found this place-" "The Poison Apple," Castiel intervened softly, nodding.

Dean looked up, and nodded as well. "Yeah. And the stepsisters, they took me in- they let me work, sometimes stay the night, even though the job usually required it anyway," he huffed with a tinge of sadness behind his eyes. Cas looked at him with quiet understanding, and placed his hand gingerly over Dean's.

Dean continued. "The thing was, they gave me a life, right? They gave me something when no one else was there for me, and yeah, it was a pretty shitty gig, but I got used to it, you know? I even enjoyed it sometimes." Cas looked at him, and Dean swallowed.

"I got used to being used. Selling myself for money, to earn my keep. A few gold pieces would go to the sisters, and went into up keeping the place, but they let me keep a lot of it. I didn't know any different, so I thought it was the best I could do." He laughed, wiping his eyes as he looked down. "Hell, I was good at it, too, everyone knew that."

Cas hated to see Dean cry, but he knew it was hard for the young man, who had suppressed all this for his whole life, to finally open up about it.

"And then you came along," Dean sniffed, trying to hold back any further tears, "And you changed everything, man! You were so… I don't know… nice to me. You respected me. You saw me as a person! And I hadn't felt like I was worth shit since before my family became burnt corpses!"

Cas was frozen in silence. He was looking at Dean, but didn't dare speak as he shook his head. "I wish I was stronger. I do. I wish I could just say, fuck the past, I don't care, but I can't forget what I was… I didn't think much of it at the time, but I just wish I was stronger now."

Castiel raised his eyebrows kindly. "Dean… how do you think you got through this quest? You journeyed for days across the kingdom, and saved me from a tower. You don't think that's strong?" Dean looked up, and sniffed again.

He leaned in, and Cas placed a small, loving kiss on Dean's lips. "If it's worth anything, Dean Winchester…" he whispered, "You're the strongest man I know. Never doubt that." Dean gazed back at him, letting Cas lace his fingers through his short hair in a sweet gesture of affection.

Just then, Cas' eyes darted past Dean, and they clouded over suddenly. "I… I have to, um…" he stuttered, losing all of his composure. Dean frowned, looking behind him. All that was in view was the expanse of woods, and the sun going down over the hill.

"What is it? You okay?" Dean asked. Castiel began to panic about the curse. He was going to tell Dean, he was, but… he was so scared. And he felt guilty as all hell that he wasn't going to stay, and let Dean see who he really was- after Dean had just told him everything there was to tell about himself.

But he got up clumsily, tripping over himself. "I'm… very tired, Dean. Do you think I could sleep in private tonight? Because… I feel if I sleep with you, well… I wouldn't get much sleep," he shrugged with a tiny wink, opting for the sexual excuse.

Dean nodded slowly, looking slightly disappointed. "Uh, whatever you need, man. I think there's a little cave over there, by those trees. It looks dark, probably a good place to crash-" "Thank you, Dean," Cas said quickly, giving a short smile before going off in that direction.

The golden haired man was left, curious and dumbfounded, sitting out by the dying campfire as the darkness enveloped the sky.

Cas sat in the dark cave, alone. He hated himself for keeping this secret- and he knew he couldn't keep it for much longer. He felt his wings appear behind him, dimly illuminating the space he was in. He would tell Dean... he would tell him on their wedding night.

The sun rose, the forest seeming much brighter than it did when the three were on their initial way. Hell, life seemed brighter, now that Dean had Castiel.

Dean got up, and decided to go find Cas in the cave. Then he found Cas gone. "Uh... Castiel?!" he called. A automatic pang of worry took him over, and Crowley and Gabe roused behind him.

"Did the Prince run off again?" Crowley mumbled, and they all heard a voice behind them, coming out of the woods. "Run off?" Cas smiled, "You don't really think I would do that, do you?" He was carrying a basket of small, blue eggs.

"Breakfast," he commented, nodding toward the eggs, and Dean grinned as they all gathered to eat. It was as if they were domestic already.

"Y'know, for someone who doesn't get out much... you sure know your way around an adventure," he smirked. Cas laughed, a merry sound that made Dean swoon, "I suppose. Though, despite my undying thirst for one not two weeks ago, I'm thoroughly ready to get back to the comforts of the kingdom."

Dean stiffened a little at this. "Uh... Cas?" Cas looked over cheerily. "Yes, Dean?" First of all, Dean was wondering why the sudden mood change had occurred since last night's... whatever that was, and also, he had his doubts about their return. He decided to skip the mood part.

"Um, about the kingdom... are they really gonna go for a guy like me?" Cas shrugged a little. "Dean, my parents..." he sighed, rephrasing his response, "It may take some... or, possibly extensive, convincing, since they sort of... know about you," he finished, rubbing his neck sheepishly.

Dean raised his eyebrows. "You told your parents you slept around at a brothel?!" Cas suddenly glared back. "I didn't 'sleep around.' I slept with you. And no, I didn't tell them. How they know is irrelevant. But I'm prepared to stand up to anything they wish to say about us being together."

Dean smiled back. "Good- cause I won't lose you again." Cas blushed, and tended to the eggs on the fire.

It turned out Castiel's way back was way faster than their way of getting to the Keep. The grand, white castle was already in sight within the next few hours, and Dean was beginning to get nervous butterflies.

"Uhh... I don't know if I can do this," he mumbled, and Cas put a hand around his waist. "We can do this." The Prince then went to plant a kiss on Dean's cheek, when Dean sneakily turned just in time to land the kiss on his lips.

Cas' eyes went wide, but softened to crinkle at the corners as he kissed back in full. Cas started mingling their tongues, and a light pink spread across Dean's cheeks as Gabriel whistled. "Gettin' freak-ay!" the horse laughed, and Dean ripped away to send him a death glare, basically conveying a, 'shut-the-hell-up-or-I-will-murder-you' look.

They found the path into the village, and Dean gulped, finding confidence only in Cas' tight grip on his hand.