Chapter Text
Only when the first light of dawn broke through the smoke lingering over Lawrence did the full scale of the attack really hit Dean. The attack hadn’t lasted long and still the entire northern part of the town was simply gone, only the church remained standing, the surviving people huddled in it.
Dean managed to find Sam in the dark and together they had walked around, looking for enemies, but to their astonishment every demon and monster had met the same fate: they were dead, eyes burned out. With no monsters to kill, they then turned to the grim task of gathering the people who died.
Neither of them spoke, Dean didn’t think he could have, had he even wanted to.
Anna found them when they made their way towards the church. It looked like someone had given her jeans and a hoodie covered in washed out rainbows to wear.
“Guess you crashed into the 21st century,” Dean managed to say, giving her a once over. She was pretty hot, even with her hair a mess and her face stained with dirt. Anna’s serious expression changed to surprise and she looked down at herself.
“I suppose so,” she said. “I’ve been asleep for a very long time.” She then studied them both. “I am sorry that we are meeting under such dire circumstances. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Anna. I used to lead the garrison that was stationed on earth before Purgatory was opened.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Anna,” Sam said politely. “Thank you so much for-“ Dean had to push him aside, too impatient for this.
“What happened to Cas?”
“Now, or before?” Anna asked and there was a little bit of a cheeky smile tugging at her lips. “Don’t worry, Dean,” she added gently. “He is alive… Though he’s back in the forest.”
“What did he do? That light we saw…,” Sam said.
“He released a big portion of his Grace to smite every monster and demon in the vicinity,” she said.
“And burst every single light bulb in a 500 kilometer radius,” a voice spoke up. Dean and Sam looked past Anna, to find a man walking up to them. He was impeccably dressed in a black suit and a gray t-shirt with a deep v neck. He looked extremely out of place. “Not that it really matters, considering there are so few people living here.” He studied Sam and Dean, but didn’t look particularly impressed with them. “The name’s Balthazar. Which one of you woke Cassie up?”
“Uh, I don’t think I woke him up,” Dean said and couldn’t help but bristle at the assessing look Balthazar gave him.
“Balthazar, what news of Heaven?” Balthazar looked away from Dean to study Anna again.
“Oh, you know how they are, darling. They’re not taking my word for it.”
“Of course they don’t, neither of our words amount to much,” Anna said, but she seemed more amused than angry. Balthazar shrugged.
“Naomi is sending a reconnaissance team. If they are pleased they’ll open the gates again. Since I won’t ever be on my best behavior around Naomi, I’d rather go smite things, if that’s alright with you.”
“Of course,” Anna said. “Though as long as you still have Grace, you’re on hospital duty.” Balthazar groaned, but then he turned to Sam and Dean.
“Gentlemen. It was not a pleasure but I fear we’ll be seeing each other again,” he said, then he winked at Anna and he walked away into the direction of the clinic.
“Hospital duty?” Sam wondered, then followed Anna into the church, where there were tables set up, handing out breakfast. “And Grace?” Anna declined the food but followed them to an empty table.
“Grace is our source of power. With it we can fly, smite, resist ordinary wounds and we can heal. I told Balthazar to heal the wounded in town, while he still can. The issue with Grace is that while it will eventually recharge naturally, this process will take a long time especially if we keep using it up. Usually, Graces flows freely from Heaven, but not now. Heaven has long since closed its gates,” Anna explained. “Which is why I had Balthazar reach out to Heaven. If they open the gates, we get stronger even if they do not send reinforcement.”
While Dean would usually find this information fascinating, right now he had a hard time really taking it in. As Anna patiently answered Sam’s questions, he tuned them out, quickly finished his breakfast and then got up.
“Dean! Where are you going?” Sam asked, his voice alarmed.
“I’m going to look for Cas,” he said. When Sam made to rise, he held out his hand. “I got it. You stay here, stay safe.” Sam wanted to protest, but Anna got up from her seat.
“I will accompany your brother. He will be safe with me,” Anna promised. Dean scoffed but then he reminded himself that she was an angel and that he would probably be safe around her. Sam seemed reluctant to let them go, but eventually he had to nod.
“I’ll let Bobby know.”
Anna followed Dean out of the church, making no complaint as he needed to detour to his house to grab a better jacket and his kit.
Once they walked out of the settlement, all the warding still broken and the fields smoldering, Dean allowed himself a tired sigh.
“I don’t think you can fly us to the forest?” he asked, looking at the snowy landscape beyond their settlement. No trains would depart and his car couldn’t manage the deep snow.
“Unfortunately, I need more Grace for my wings to work,” she said apologetically, though she didn’t seem bothered at all by the prospect of walking. Which shouldn’t be a surprise, considering that she was not wearing a jacket against the biting cold and still seemed completely fine.
Anna had been severe during the attack but now as they walked in the freezing morning air, she seemed… young, delighted. She was smiling, swinging her arms and stomping through the snow. Dean watched her curiously, trying to make sense of just what angels were. According to Cas they were soldiers, but Anna was not as weighed down as Cas seemed to be. But then again, she wasn’t a monster trapped in Purgatory. Just… Cas wasn’t trapped, he clearly managed to leave.
“Anna,” Dean started. Anna continued walking but turned her head back to look at him, her hair wiping around her face in the wind. “Just what happened back then? When Purgatory opened.” Her smile slipped and she took a deep breath.
“From Heaven’s perspective?” Anna wondered. Dean shrugged. “There are lots of places on earth that touch upon the other spheres and other worlds out there. Gates to hell and pathways to Purgatory, tears in the world that make you slip through. Humans found a tear and tried to harness it and then it… well… it burst, pulling a big part of Purgatory into the world of humans. Of course we tried to fix it but it was merely damage control, dedicated to make sure the barriers wouldn’t all break…” She looked towards the horizon but there was nothing but white around them. “We didn’t have enough angels on the ground to deal with the monster population, we had to focus on the hell gates that had also been damaged.”
“And God couldn’t just… I don’t know, snap his fingers and fix it?” Dean asked, not sure if he should even be asking that. Who knew, maybe Anna was the kind of angel to strike him down for blasphemy or something. But Anna smiled at him.
“No. I’m sorry, this is not how God or how Heaven works,” she apologized. “You have seen the forest surrounding the portal, haven’t you? It’s a place that must feel wrong to humans.”
“Of course it feels wrong, it’s Purgatory!” Dean said with a snort. Anna shook her head.
“Have you ever heard about Sodom and Gomorrah?” Anna asked and Dean lifted his eyebrow in confusion. “That’s what happens when Heaven decides to make a statement. The forest, as it looks now, is what happens when Heaven tries to ‘fix’ something.”
“What do you mean?” Anna looked into the distance, her expression grim.
“I told you that Heaven wasn’t particularly worried about purgatory opening?” Dean nodded. “Well, that changed when the Leviathans got out. They started eating their way across the human world. And when Heaven realized, they sent more garrisons down, just to learn that Leviathans can kill us.”
“Cas mentioned that. He said he had to guard the lake just in case a Leviathan got out,” Dean said. “So you… what? Tried to smite them?”
“Yes… Heaven was worried that once they had destroyed earth, the Leviathans would find a way into Heaven,” Anna said. “So they decided to smite the Forest, to try to destroy them at the source. But while it destroyed some monsters and poisoned the earth for centuries to come, it did not solve the Leviathan issue. Not wanting to risk it, Heaven ordered every angel on earth to abandon their post.” Anna seemed angry now. “They wanted us to abandon humans to their fate and then they were going to close the gates to Heaven.”
“I get the feeling that you weren’t okay with that decision,” Dean suggested. Anna laughed.
“Not at all. But I had no plans, no idea what to do but let myself be locked out of Heaven and fight until I died,” she admitted. “It was Castiel who came up with the insane idea to look for answers in the strangest places. That’s how he got the information on how to kill their leader and trap the rest. We knew it was a suicide plan and yet, we wanted to try. Both Cas and I chose to be sacrifices for the spell – we needed the blood of a fallen angel and while we were all in the slow process of falling due to being cut off from heaven, we didn’t have the time to wait. I cut out my Grace, Balthazar assembled the weapon and Castiel absorbed Eve’s power to fight the Leviathan king.” Dean saw a small smile appear on Anna’s lips. “I didn’t get to see what became of Cas, but he must have succeeded.”
“Yeah… I guess he did,” Dean said. “He saved us, all of you did. And I’m sorry it took such a great sacrifice.” Anna smiled for real this time, warm and kind. She didn’t say anything, instead she just turned to look ahead. And while Dean couldn’t see anything ahead, he knew that they were walking towards the forest, where – hopefully – he could meet Cas again.
The Forest was very silent, eerily so. Of course, it had always been quiet when Dean travelled with Cas, the monsters avoiding coming too close. Everyone in Purgatory must have understood that Anna was dangerous too.
Other than Cas and Dean, she didn’t seem to lose herself in the forest, a spot of bright colors and sparkling halo in the otherwise grey surroundings.
“It seems like nobody is eager to greet us with their fangs out,” Dean observed, studying the empty forest.
“There are monsters, I can see and hear them. But they know not to cross me,” Anna said then she looked around. Dean did the same. Even though he didn’t know what to expect, he had been hoping for Cas to appear. He couldn’t help it. He worried.
“Is Cas really alright?”
“He is alive,” was all Anna said, then she squinted before she grabbed Dean’s hand and tugged him forward. “Stay close.”
“Uh, okay,” he said, stumbling after her. “Where are we going?”
“I’ve got an idea where he is,” she said and looked over her shoulder. “We’re going to the Lake in the center of Purgatory.” Dean’s stomach dropped. That was where the portal was, the place where monsters still crawled out of Purgatory. Anna looked at him. “It’s probably not a place where humans should go… If you want to stay behind-“
“No,” Dean said. “I want to see Cas. And if possible drag him out of this damn place.” Anna nodded.
“Good. Then let’s go. It’s a long walk.”
Dean had spent far too long in this forest before, but travelling to the center made him miss the vibrancy of life in ways he didn’t even think he could miss it. Of course, the world outside was shit and now with Lawrence in ruins, there wasn’t much to look forward to either. Dean didn’t even know if his house still stood, he didn’t know who had survived, he didn’t know how they’d manage a winter in this situation, the walls down, with only Balthazar there to make sure the rest of Lawrence wouldn’t be taken off the map either.
And yet, he missed the feeling of wind on his face, of seeing the sky change, of the weak warmth of sun on the crown of his head. But all memories of it seemed to fade the further they got on their way to the middle of the forest. He tried to think of the exact shade of Sam’s eyes and found he couldn’t. The only thing he could see in the dark and grey of the forest was Anna, her hair as bright as freshly spilled blood, her skin pale like bones. She too seemed to Dean to blend in with this timeless place of death.
Dean felt himself become brittle, too thin and stripped down of the outside. Why was he even stumbling after her, never looking back, not even looking ahead, following her wordlessly, numbly. Even the anxious thrumming for a fight had been worn down. Dean wasn’t even sure where he was going anymore.
“We’re nearly there.”
The words startled Dean and he looked up to find Anna looking at him. Over her head, the bright light of her halo was shining at him. Anna’s eyes were compassionate.
“Just hold on a while longer,” she asked. “I don’t know if I can get Cas back without you.” Dean gasped. Cas! That’s why he was here! They needed to find Cas! Dean needed to make sure that he was okay, the image of Cas simply fading away into nothing, burned into his brain. He wasn’t gone, Anna said so, Cas was out here somewhere, still chained to this prison. Dean needed to get him out of here, somehow! Anna smiled at him, seemingly pleased.
“Yeah, okay. Lead the way,” Dean said, even though Anna hadn’t been doing anything else but guide him for… how long had they been in here anyway? Dean looked around, at the dark trees. There weren’t even monster eyes blinking back at them. It seemed liked they were the only beings in the Forest. Which couldn’t really be true.
“We’ve been in here for about ten days,” Anna answered his unasked question. Dean sighed. Ten days and then they’d have to walk back for just as long. Great.
“So… how exactly do you and Cas know each other? You were work buddies?” Dean asked, desperate to cling on to this moment of clarity. Whatever kind of catatonic state he had slipped into, he preferred to stay clear of it now. Even though he felt oddly… queasy. He grimaced, patting his stomach.
“We’re getting closer to the target of the smiting. You might still feel a bit of smiting sickness as we get closer. But you shouldn’t turn into salt,” Anna said lightly. Dean frowned. “And I suppose… He’s been serving in my garrison for millennia. He’s always been different… He asked questions, he doubted orders, he had his own head. Which I’ll let you know isn’t exactly a quality that is particularly appreciated in Heaven. He tended to get into a lot of trouble for choosing compassion over mission and eventually I heard about it and put in a request to have him fight for me. Because even though he was… faulty by Heaven’s standards he was incredibly good as a soldier. If he just fell in line a bit more, he might have been a garrison leader himself, or even gone beyond that, to take orders directly from Michael.” Dean couldn’t help but smile when Anna grinned at him.
“Seems like a cool guy,” he said and Anna nodded. “For the longest time I had no idea that he even was an angel. Never mind that he could have a human form like you and Balthazar.”
“Of course… I saw him during the battle of Lawrence… The form he had… I was surprised,” she confessed, sounding thoughtful. “He was changed by Purgatory, that was to be expected… And his human form too…”
“Cas said he had never had a male form. But you’re using male pronouns for him so…” Anna laughed at that.
“I just match what I’m perceiving on Earth. We don’t have the same concepts you have and our language doesn’t use the same terminology,” she said. “But yes, the last time I saw him, before I fell, he had a body like mine. He always had in the centuries I’ve known him.” Dean tried to picture Cas, as he knew him, dressed in the fashion of the 16th century but spectacularly failed, especially since his usually quite prolific imagination refused to supply anything but the shape of him that he’d seen before. He snorted.
“Well, I’m glad he looks how he looks. He’s kind of cute,” Dean admitted. And hot, but that was probably not something he should admit to Anna. She smiled knowingly and Dean worried that angels might be able to read minds.
When Dean finally made it to the Lake, he stared at it in surprise. He had expected something vast, a huge, terrifying body of water, probably surrounded by forbidding vegetation with poisonous thorns that would kill him dead if he even looked at it weirdly.
But no. It was a small lake with a sandy shore, the water unstirring.
“That’s… that’s the damn portal that started this shit?” Dean asked incredulously. Anna nodded, her expression far too severe for this laughable puddle. Dean walked towards it but Anna reached out and grabbed the back of his shirt, yanking him back. Dean stumbled over his feet and fell into her but she didn’t budge, firm as a statue. Dean stared up at her but then he looked to the lake. It had started glowing bright and a moment later the earth quaked and something broke through the surface. It was a glowing thread of light, winding itself upwards slowly. It hovered above the surface of the lake, almost indecisive but eventually it rushed upwards, disappearing.
“What the hell?!”
“That was a soul from Purgatory, facing the judgment of Anubis,” Anna said then looked down at Dean. “This portal will have to be closed, but I am sure they will be other cracks in time.” Dean was still stunned, staring at the lake, still half lying against Anna’s legs.
But then he saw something small, something dark flickering on the shore. He gasped and scrambled to his feet.
“Cas!” he called and Anna let him go this time.
Dean ran around the lake to where he saw the little black cloud. It looked like it was lying on a big stone, flattening as Dean came closer, like it was a semi transparent pancake or… or some sort of goo dripping over the stone.
“Cas?” The goo didn’t react at all and Dean felt a pang of fear. What if Cas was dying? Dean kneeled down but didn’t dare touch it, so instead he took some of his PB and J sandwich out of his backpack. The preserving spell was probably going to make it somewhat dry, but still he broke off a bit and held it out to the Scavengoo Cas. While Dean didn’t dare touch Cas he did nudge it with the bread.
“Hey, Cas. Here’s some food.” A little ripple went through the goo and eventually a part of it lifted, blue slits becoming visible. The goo stretched to touch Dean’s fingertips. The food disappeared but the goo plopped down right again, dark smoke fanning out as it connected with the stone.
“Aw, Cas… What’s going on?” Dean asked, worried. He did reach out this time, trying to touch Cas. Touching him tingled and his finger sunk into Cas’ gooey body. Dean startled and pulled his hand back.
“I don’t think you can hurt him,” Anna told him gently, kneeling down next to Dean. “It’s fascinating. That an Angel who absorbed Purgatory’s power can be changed like this.” She held out her hand. Her palm started glowing and Cas gave a start when she touched him. He burst apart, startling Dean.
But once Dean opened his eyes again, Cas sat in front of him, in his human form. He was wearing his feather coat again, his mask nearly slipping off his head. He looked at Dean with his big blue eyes, the prism of his halo sparkling above his head.
“Dean?” he asked and Dean laughed in relief. He pulled Cas towards him, giving him a firm hug. Castiel still seemed surprised, but he hugged him back.
“Damn, I thought-“ Dean started but shook his head stubbornly. “I’m glad you’re okay, Cas. Thanks for saving us.”
“Of… of course,” he heard Cas say. He fidgeted slightly in Dean’s arms and even though Dean was reluctant to let him go, he eventually did. Castiel still looked at Dean in wonder, but then his eyes were drawn to the side.
“Anna,” he said breathlessly. Dean helped Cas stand up and watched the two angels stare at each other. “You really are alive…! I thought…”
“I’m fine. Well, as fine as we can be fallen,” she admitted. Castiel ducked his head and Dean got the impression that he was embarrassed. “What is it, Cas?”
“I… I failed, Anna. I couldn’t honor your sacrifice,” he admitted, shame clear in his posture. Dean frowned but before he could argue on Cas’ behalf, Anna reached out to put her hand on Cas’ shoulder.
“No. You did. You killed the Leviathan king, you banished them and helped Eve gain control. You saved humanity,” she insisted. Cas shook his head.
“Dean said that it is horrible out in the world of humans. They are barely surviving,” he admitted. Dean put his hand on Cas’ back, rubbing it softly in what he hoped was a supportive way.
“We’ll be fine,” Anna said. “Even weakened, a garrison of three fallen angels is better than nothing.” Castiel looked at her. “But first we need to get rid of this place.”
“What?” Dean asked. “Get rid of the portal? The forest?” Anna nodded. Dean stared at her incredulously, not daring to reach out for the desperate hope that bloomed in his chest. “But how?” Anna looked from Dean to Cas.
“Cas has to leave it,” she instead.
“No… I can’t,” Cas told her. “I’m bound to it.”
“Exactly,” Anna told him. “This place only still exists like this on this plane because you are holding it together and anchoring it here. You leave and Purgatory will flow back where it belongs.” Dean and Cas looked at each other, both obviously doubting Anna’s words. Anna sighed. “You absorbed Eve’s power, a part of Purgatory lives in you. But you’ll have to let it go. The power, the duty. Return the balance.”
“How…?” Castiel asked and Anna pulled out her blade, pointing it towards Cas. Dean startled and put himself between them.
“You’re not killing Cas!” he argued and Anna frowned.
“I’m not killing Cas. It’s a blood ritual. All of us need to give blood to seal the gate properly,” she said, sounding annoyed. Dean looked at Cas but then he stepped to the side. “Alright, Cas. We need to draw the sigil on your chest and then you’ll have to step into the water.”
“And you’re sure you know what you’re doing?”
“I’m not, but I trust that Balthazar does. He’s had centuries to figure out a solution,” Anna told him. Dean didn’t think to avert his eyes as Castiel took off his cloak. Of course he was completely naked under there. He hoped that none of the angels had realized him looking but they probably did notice his red face.
Anna cut all of their palms, then used their blood to draw a complicated looking sigil on Cas’ chest. She then held her hand over Dean’s palm and the cut healed on its own. He stared at it in surprise.
“Alright. Step into the water,” Anna said and Castiel followed her order without hesitation. He did look over his shoulder once the water reached his hips. He looked worried.
“Everything will be fine,” Dean promised even though he wasn’t sure it was true. Still, he kept eye contact with Cas while Anna started reciting the spell. The moment she finished speaking, a bright light erupted out of Cas. It flew across the surface and then plunged down. The entire lake started to glow, a burst of golden light in the black and white world. And then a blast threw Dean off his feet, the roaring noise intense and bright light washing over him.
“Fuck!” he exclaimed and then felt Anna’s hand on his back.
“Stay down!” she ordered. Dean doubted he could get up even if he wanted to. The power continued washing over him until it suddenly changed direction, flowing backwards. Dean was being pulled with it until Anna grabbed him and held him into place.
This continued for a good five minutes until finally it stopped. He looked up and instantly saw a yellow leaf dropping down in front of him. He sat up and looked around. The clearing they were in was lined with trees, their yellow and brown leaves starting to drop. Wind rustled through them and he heard the sound of water splashing.
“What the hell,” Dean said, then turned around. Anna had left his side and was helping Cas walk out of the water. He was still pale, but not as white as he had been before, but it was clear that he was shivering.
“It’s… it’s cold!” Cas said, his teeth chattering. Dean rushed to grab the coat he had dropped and put it around Cas, pulling his wet body close. He could feel Cas shivering.
“Almost all of his power is gone,” Anna said regretfully. “He’s nearly human. And he will need time to recover.”
“And how are we going to get him to safety? It’s a ten day walk in winter!” Dean argued. But just as he said that there was the sound of wings and a moment later Balthazar was standing before them.
“Good god, Cassie! Look at you!” he said, not reacting at all to Dean nearly jumping out of his skin. Castiel pulled back slightly from Dean’s chest to be able to look at Balthazar. Dean felt Cas relax under his palms.
“You’re alive,” Cas breathed and Balthazar grinned at him.
“And here to transport you all back to the questionable civilization that Lawrence provides,” he said. “My power should last for all of you, if not, we’ll just drop Dean mid-flight.” He winked but Dean wasn’t entirely sure the angel was joking. But before he could worry too much, Balthazar dropped his hand on Dean’s shoulder and the next moment they stood in Dean’s living room and it felt like Dean had left his stomach back in the forest.
“I trust that you’re going to take care of Cassie for a while,” Balthazar said and it was more an order than a question. Dean looked at Cas, who seemed to look a bit queasy too. “While Anna and I get a garrison going again.”
“Uh… Yes, of course,” Dean said. Balthazar clapped Castiel’s shoulder and Anna smiled at him, then they left without another word.
Dean took a very quick stock of his house, which seemed to have escaped the attack, then he felt Castiel pull at his arm. Or less pull, but started to faint.
“Woah!” Dean said and quickly helped Cas onto the couch. “Are you okay buddy?”
“I don’t think so,” Cas said gruffly, letting Dean help him lie down and put his feet up. “I feel… horrible!”
“Yeah, sorry. Anna said you are as a good as human, so you’re going to have to deal with some of the indignities that we deal with. Like wanting to puke when angels fly us places.” Castiel made an undignified sound, somewhere between a whine and a growl.
Somehow, instead of feeling sorry for Cas, Dean felt giddy. Not only was Cas out of the forest, finally freed from his prison, but the Forest of Souls was… changed. Of course, that wouldn’t solve all of their problems, because he doubted that this strange shock wave pulled in every monster that was in it, but if the forest was just a forest and if no new horrors could come out of it? And if angels were going to start protecting them?
Maybe they had a chance.
But Dean didn’t want to get ahead of himself. Right now, he had a depowered angel on his couch, who had spent the last centuries as a little cloudy goo. Surely, this would take a lot of adjusting. Dean looked at Cas, and found that his coat had been jostled during the movement and was now revealing a tantalizing sliver of skin, from his leg across his sharp hip towards his belly. He looked further up and found Cas looking at him. Dean blushed at once at being caught ogling the angel.
“I’ll get you something to wear,” he said, then hurried to grab Cas some of his own clothing. He diligently helped Castiel into his clothes, the angel not commenting on any of it, but he seemed happy about the socks, wiggling his toes. Now that he was finally warm, he seemed to be fascinated by his hands, looking at them, turning them over, then looking at Dean.
“What will happen now?” Dean asked. “You’re out of power?”
“Yes, it seems so. But Grace will regenerate, eventually. I don’t mean to be a burden, so-“ Dean lifted his hands at once.
“Woah, stop right there. You are not a burden! Dude, you saved us! I’d be very happy to have you as my room mate for as long as you want to be.” Dean of course only had a two bed-room house which he shared with Sam, but he was sure they’d figure something out. Not like Dean would be adverse to letting Cas sleep in his bed, though again, Dean was doing his thinking with the wrong brain.
“Oh,” Cas said, though he seemed pleased. “Thank you. I will try to make myself useful, though I’m not used to being human.” Dean sat down on the couch next to him and, daring, put his arm around Cas shoulder. “It is nice though, to be touched,” he admitted. Dean was happy to pull him closer into a hug.
Epilogue
The world didn’t immediately change for the better. Still, reports about losses came through the radio far too often, the monsters seemingly in disarray and panicking about the sudden change.
But there was hope that things could eventually get better, instead of them just trying to buy themselves a little more time before the inevitable end.
The rebuilding of Lawrence was going well and by Spring Cas had grown into being nearly human well enough. All the sitting out on the porch, soaking up all the feeble sun he could get, had started to give his pale skin a nice color and his eyes a renewed sparkle.
He helped where he could, he was grumpy in the mornings and he scavenged. Pens, shirts, books, mugs, Sam’s good shampoo and don’t ask Dean where Cas got his collection of raunchy fiction from. Dean was sure it was banned in most of the more church fearing settlements (Charlie insisted she was innocent, at least when it got to the thing that Dean had found in Cas’ drawer. Dean didn’t want to know.) He stole whatever people, especially Dean, left unsupervised.
And Dean was pretty sure he was kinda, a lot, pretty certainly, in love with the guy.
“Since you’re such a thief,” Dean told him on the first warm evening of spring, when both of them had returned from helping on the farms and were now enjoying a cup of tea and the bright starry sky out on the porch.
“I’m not a thief,” Castiel insisted, though he seemed pleased with himself, taking a sip out of a cup which he was pretty sure belonged to Bobby. Dean rolled his eyes fondly.
“Have you ever heard of the expression ‘stealing kisses’?” Dean asked and the moment the words were bravely out of his mouth, his heart was hammering nervously. Castiel looked at him, then his eyes dropped to Dean’s lips.
“Maybe you should,” Cas said, still looking at Dean’s lips. “Do the stealing for a change, just so I know...” It took Dean a moment to realize what Cas was saying, but then he smiled and moved into Cas’ space. He pressed his mouth to Cas’ soft lips, then he pulled back a bit. Cas smiled at him and Dean kissed him again, longer this time.
“That is very pleasant,” Castiel decided and Dean had to laugh. He put his arm around Cas, keeping him close.
“That’s the idea, buddy,” he insisted, feeling warm and giddy. Castiel put his head on Dean’s shoulder, both looking up at the stars.