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Dean awoke to the soft puttering of Sam in the kitchen and the dull, comforting weight of a wing splayed out across his side. By the time that he had untangled himself from the mass of feathers threatening to smother him in their softness, Sam had already left for his usual morning run, leaving a simple pot of coffee in his wake. The delicious smell of the freshly brewed liquid wafted in from the kitchen, drawing the hunter in as he followed the bittersweet aroma to the wooden kitchen counter.
Dean grabbed two mugs from the cupboard above the sink, setting them down next to the pot just as a sleepy-eyed Castiel shuffled into the room.
"Hello, Dean," he yawned, rubbing drowsily at the corners of his eyes. "I was wondering where you went." Cas ruffled his wings, stretching them out as the shiver of movement caught on the light.
The sight always made Dean stare in awe, transfixed by every shadow, every highlight. Every minute detail that the graceful appendages consisted of. Castiel's wings were beautiful, and Dean still hadn't grown used to them yet. He doubted he ever would.
The feathers shimmered blue, purple, green in the light, a never-ending mirage of colours dancing on a surface weaved of the delicate night sky. They were simultaneously the colors of Earth's oceans when viewed in the silver light of the moon and the shades of the all the galaxies hidden away in the far reaches of the universe, the light of falling stars and the gleam of obsidian stone.
They took Dean's breath away.
Dean paused, momentarily too stunned to speak. It was only when Cas tilted his head in that questioning manner, eyebrows furrowing and asked, "Dean?" did he register the odd heat dribbling down and over his fingertips.
"Dean, the mug is overflowing."
"Wha?"
"Dean!"
"Oh shit!" Dean set the pot down hastily, grabbing an old tea towel and draping it over the spilt coffee. "Aw crap. That was decent coffee."
"You should pay more attention." Cas smiled cheekily, before shuffling over to the counter-top and taking one of the two mugs.
"Yeah, well, I can't when you're in the room." Dean turned to grin at the angel, other arm reaching out to ruffle the angel's already bed-messy hair affectionately.
Cas took a slow sip of the caramel colored liquid, wrapping his hands around the mug and lifting it up to his lips. The angel closed his eyes as he savored the taste - a tart bitterness eased by the gentle sweetness of sugar flooding his taste buds. Castiel hummed happily.
A fond smile crossed Dean's face as he watched him like this. So content, so... human. It suddenly occurred to Dean who the man stood in front of him was. The man with the dark hair, the one with the eyes as blue as the sky on a crisp spring morning and a will as strong as the strength of a thousand soldiers. He wasn't just any ordinary man, or angel, for that matter. No, far from it.
That man was the one who pulled Dean free from the claws of Perdition, the fearless warrior who fought both Heaven and Hell for what he believed in, the righteous angel who rebelled against the Holy Order, who went to Purgatory and made it out alive and kicking - the one who gave up everything for a simple human named Dean.
And he loved him.
"Dean, you're staring again."
"Huh? Am I?"
"Yes, you are." Castiel stated matter-of-factly. "Why? Is there something on my face? Tell me, Dean."
"Oh, it's uh, it's nothing. It's... Fine." Dean started, blushing a little.
"Don't lie to me, Dean." Cas' gaze was unwavering, the deep azure blue of his eyes fixed solidly on the bottle-green of Dean's.
The hunter sighed. "It's just..." Dean cast his eyes downwards, his mind frantically grasping for words.
"You've always done so much for me, stuck your head out even when I didn't deserve it, when I didn't deserve anything. I just... Man, I always wondered why you did it, you know? Then I figured, I'd probably do the same thing if it were you. I... I guess I don't just need you, Cas,"
Dean's eyes flickered up to meet the angel's.
"I love you, alright? he finished. "I always have and I always will." There, he said it.
Castiel smiled, the warm expression lighting up his face. Placing his cup down on the tabletop, Castiel stepped closer towards Dean, laying a hand on the weary hunter's shoulder.
"I think you should know that I did this, all of it, for you, Dean," he said, closing the distance between them.
"...because I love you too." he breathed, soft feathery wings cocooning them both as Castiel's lips met Dean's in a slow, sweet kiss.