When he woke up, it was night. The moonlight was pouring through the distant window, illuminating the white sheets and Cas' flesh that was currently Dean's pillow. He moved to sit up and felt his skin pull from Cas' back like they had gotten a little stuck together there. He looked down and saw that he had also drooled on Cas. "God, sorry 'bout that." Dean rubbed away the evidence.

Cas laughed and only coughed a little. "Did you sleep well?"

"Like a baby. Really didn't mean to drool on you though. Pretty sure that was not what you were signing up for when you asked me to stay." Dean rested his hand on Cas' back.

Cas still had his head pressed to the pillow, but he was looking up at Dean. "I have no complaints." Dean noted the way that Cas' lip curled up a little. Dean thought that it looked like Cas was thinking deep, mischievous thoughts. He would pay money, go to Hell and back, fight armies full of evil for a peek into Cas' inner workings right at this singular moment.

So, because Dean was still just waking up, and he would argue, had not quite gotten his mind up to speed, he asked, "What are you thinking right now?" So much for living in a world of wonder.

"Do you really want to know?" Cas rolled onto his side a little and scooted closer to Dean, causing Dean's hand to slide slowly around to Cas' hip. Cas moved his own hand out and settled it on Dean's leg.

Dean felt himself choking on his words a little, but he managed to say, "I really want to know."

Cas propped his head up on his arm and moved his hand farther up Dean's leg. Dean shivered and was unable to move, to respond. "Do you?" Cas pushed himself up a bit more, and now he was practically leaning into Dean's lap.

Dean couldn't find words. He just nodded slightly and felt himself leaning toward Cas like the answer was gravity or motion and not words at all. Cas was his center. He could feel himself orbiting like this forever. He could imagine a world where it was just them living like this, Cas half-clothed lying next to him. How easy would it be to just live in a world where they could touch each other without having to label it all. Cas wasn't getting any closer though, and maybe words were necessary. "Tell me what you're thinking, Cas. I've never wanted to know something so much."

Cas smiled at that, and it ran up to his eyes. His other hand held him up by planting itself on the bed near Dean's hip. He tipped his head back just a little more, and the moonlight made him glow. Beautiful. Cas brought his head up close to Dean's chest and pressed himself to Dean. He dragged his cheek along Dean's body until he was nestled in the space between Dean's shoulder and ear. It would have been odd from anyone else, but from Cas it was a moment of intimacy that Dean wanted to repeat. Cas' words came out in a whisper, slipping smooth and sweet into Dean's ear. "I want to learn more of what it means to be human. I want you to teach me everything." Dean felt himself shake again as Cas nosed into his neck a little.

"What could I possibly teach you? You're infinite." Dean finally got his own hand back onto Cas, somewhere near his waist. He breathed into Cas' hair and concentrated on the way that Cas was pressing his mouth to the shell of his ear.

Dean thought of pressing his mouth into Cas, just leaning in and tasting him. He also considered just leaning back and holding Cas so that he would sink down into the bed with him. Cas leaned away from him though. He dragged his hand slowly up Dean's side to his shoulder, then to his cheek. His thumb stroked a slow path back and forth there. They were close and there was heat in the air. Dean sucked in a big lungful of it and his eyes fluttered a little in anticipation of what seemed to be coming. "I want you to teach me what it is to love moments, because there are so few of them. I want you to make me live in them. I want you to make me taste the fullness of life in all of its minute details. I want…." Dean was pulling him now, leaning back into the bed. Cas managed to keep himself from sinking down onto him entirely.

Their bodies though, slotted together. Dean spread his fingers wide on Cas' lower back. He smiled up at Cas in a way that was all bravado and charm. It belied the truth that Cas could surely hear beating away in Dean's chest. He was nervous. He was excited though too. "I'm afraid I interrupted you. What was it you wanted?"

"You, Dean. I want you, just you, always you." And that did it for Dean. The kiss was not his finest. It was a crash of movement. He pulled Cas in closer. Their mouths moving over each other. Cas was kissing his chin, his jaw. Dean kept moving to catch him with his own lips. He sucked in Cas' bottom lip once he caught him. Their kisses were teeth and tongues. Their kisses were messy and frantic. It was as if they each wanted to capture everything in an instant for fear that it wouldn't be there later.

"I want you too." Again he couldn't stop with the sharing. He didn't care though. Cas wanted him, and he wanted him right back. Cas' hands wrapped around his waist and pulled him up into an arch. Dean reached back to pull off his own shirt when there was a knock on the front door.

"Ignore it," Cas rasped out as he tried to help Dean finish the job he had begun with his shirt.

The knock was louder, more insistent. Dean pulled his shirt back on and began to sit up. Cas gave up and slid off of Dean. Neither said a word about it. The air was cold now. Dean turned to the other room calling out, "On my way," as he moved. Cas was not following him. He didn't have his clothes with him in the room, so Dean understood. He opened the front door just as another volley of knocks began. "Leif?"

"Is Earl here? Tell me he's here." She looked scared, and Dean pulled her into the room.

"He's not here. When was the last time you saw him?" Dean pushed the door closed behind her to keep the cold out.

"When we went to bed. He told me the story about the Skoffin. He told me what really happened. I didn't know. I had know idea what he had been carrying all on his own. What was he thinking?"

Dean didn't know where to begin. She needed comfort, explanations, and to find her husband, and not necessarily in that order. "Where do you think he went?"

"I think he went to the mountains to confront the Skoffin." She was shaking now beyond what she had been before. Her hair had come loose from her braid and was sticking out around her temples, like a little electricity was coursing through her. "He'll die up there Dean."

Cas chose that moment to come into the room, still shirtless, lips flushed with the kisses he had been having moments before. Dean wondered if he looked the same, disheveled and kiss swollen. "He won't die," Cas said matter of factly. "We'll get him back."

"We will?" Dean said and was cut off by Cas' expression. "I mean, we will. Go wait at your house in case he comes back. Cas and I will go find him." Dean rummaged through his bag for some clothes that Cas could wear. His outfit from the other day was not going to work. He tossed him a sweater and a pair of jeans. "Here, Cas. Go get dressed." Dean sent Leif back to her house and tried to sound encouraging as he did so.

Dean turned back to get Cas and found him right on his heels. "Ready." Cas was scooping up the bag from the floor and putting it onto the other bed. "You need to arm yourself."

"Hand me the gun and the silver bullets." Dean reached out and took them after Cas loaded the gun. He had a silver blade already tucked into his jacket.

"I don't think that silver will kill it." Cas marched over to the door and Dean followed.

"And you thought that these were just animal attacks too."

"Is this another I-told-you-so moment? I must say that I never grow tired of those." Cas' stride was quick and although Dean was marginally taller than him, he had to consciously kick up his pace to keep up.

"So you nearly die on me and then come back as the snarkiest angel to ever live, huh."

"Are you complaining about my personality?"

Dean rolled his shoulder and smirked. "Well, it wouldn't hurt you to say I was right."

Cas just glared at him and strode on faster. "I am much more interested in getting this done with speed and efficiency."

"I support that plan. You could still say I was right." Dean couldn't help but laugh with his words.

"The faster we solve this, the faster we will get back to the cabin." He gave Dean a softer look. "Then you can be right and hear me say it."

When they got to Eddie's and asked for another snowmobile, Eddie did not seem surprised. "You following Earl up there?"

"Yeah, when did he leave?" Dean asked.

"I heard the vehicle start up about an hour ago. I looked out and saw Earl there. If it had been anyone else, I would have called the police, but Earl's a friend. I'm trusting that he'll bring it back." Eddie handed over the keys to the snowmobile. "Take good care of her. It also wouldn't hurt to, you know, maybe return the vehicles after you rent them."

"Will do, Eddie." Dean and Cas got on the vehicle. Cas held onto Dean's waist right from the start, and they raced off into the hills. Cas pressed in close, and Dean soaked up the heat of him. His fingers were splayed out on Dean's stomach like he was trying to sent out as much warmth as he could. They raced on; the air biting into Dean's flesh, what little of it was exposed.

Cas found his ear and asked, "Do we have a plan?"

"Yeah, not dying." Dean turned his head just a little and gave Cas a grin. "That and saving Earl so that we can pick up where we left off before."

"Is this another moment where we'll be making it up as we go?"

"Yep, those are the best plans, the kinds that heroes make. Now let me know when you come up with something better."

Cas tipped his head to see Dean just a little better, then he said, "Your plan is fine. I'm fine with the part where we don't die, save Earl, and return to our cabin activities."

Dean brought the snowmobile to a halt alongside the other vehicles. Earl's was parked alongside the one that Dean and Cas had abandoned before. They saw the tracks made by his snow boots. He had wandered off in much the same direction as Dean and Cas had before.

They got off of the vehicle and strode off to find Earl. Cas had out his angel blade. Maybe that would work. Dean had pulled out his gun. Here's to hoping. Cas looked at him as they crested the top of the rocky ridge. "Be careful, Dean."

"You too." Dean reached over and gave Cas' hand a slight squeeze, then dropped it to focus on the path ahead.

In the midst of the charred earth, near the cave, stood Earl and the Skoffin. It was an odd meeting. The Skoffin stood on its haunches wings spread wide at its back. Earl stood in front of it, staring up steadily. Earl had no weapons. Dean made his way down the slope, Cas at his side. Some of the rocks slipped free and tumbled down the ledge. The Skoffin heard and tipped its head to them.

They froze and had moments to wonder what would happen next before the creature launched up into the air. It soared up high making at first wide circles above them. Then the circles began shrinking. Earl was running to them. "Why are you here? You have to run."

Dean was still staring up, but he understood the message, and when Earl grabbed his arm, he let the man pull him along. He got to the top of the ridge before he realized that Cas wasn't with him. The creature was barreling down toward them. Dean turned and saw the creature's target. "Cas!" His shout stabbing out at the cold air between them. He broke free of Earl's grip and raised his gun. He fired off a shot. It went high, missing entirely. He shot again and hit the creature square in the chest. It let out a loud bellowing scream.

It did not die though. It instead redirected its path for Dean. Its wings beat once, twice and it was gusting toward them. Earl shoved him back to the ground and stood between Dean and the talons that were piercing the air ahead of it as it plummeted toward them. The creature pulled back, but not before it had knocked Earl to the ground. The creature rolled through the snow several times before coming to a stop. Its body huffed up and down in a strained effort toward breathing. Cas moved to Dean's side. "Silver didn't work."

"Thanks Captain Obvious. Worked better than your plan. Were you gonna just stare it to death?" Dean was watching the creature warily while he spoke.

"I'm going to speak with it." Dean's head whipped to Cas in an instant.

"Uh, what?"

"Stay here, and don't do anything stupid." He looked past Dean to Earl and came to the man's side. "Are you okay?"

"Little banged up, but I'm okay." Earl slowly pulled himself up. "He still wants to die."

Cas nodded, reached up to squeeze Dean's shoulder, and said, "I think I can fix this."

Dean felt a nervous energy twist about inside his stomach. A warm wash of grace spread through him for a moment and then was gone. "Cas?"

"Don't worry, Dean."

"What was that?" Cas' hand was still on his shoulder and his words did little to alleviate the worry he was feeling.

"I just wanted to while I still could." Cas smiled at him then and stalked off to the Skoffin. Dean stood frozen. He didn't know why he let Cas go. Maybe it was the confidence that laced his voice. Maybe it was the way that he looked at Dean like he would never leave him. And maybe it was because sometimes, just sometimes, you have to love someone enough to just trust them to do what is right. He trusted Cas completely. He trusted Cas with everything.

Cas moved to the creature's side and settled a hand on its neck. It let out a long high-pitched shriek. It sounded sad somehow. Cas came down into a crouch and seemed to be speaking to it. The creature let out another sound, softer this time. The moan and huff of smoky air blew some of the snow out in a whirl past Cas. Dean felt himself moving closer. Cas must have sensed him, because he held out a hand signalling that Dean should come no nearer.

The creature's long black scaled tail flicked up into the air a little and came back down to the snow in an earth shaking thump. Cas still ran his hand up and down the creature's neck, gently like he wanted to soothe the thing. Despite Cas' wishes, Dean circled around the creature. He could see its face better now. Its eyes were open and glassy. They were dark even against its jet black scales. It moved one of its wings over itself like a blanket, and Dean became nervous. The end of the wing held one long talon, deep red and dripping with poison.

He could hear Cas speaking now, but the words were not in English. They were the words of the old ones that Earl had mentioned in his story. The wing was too close to Cas. He was growing more and more nervous. The wing twitched and Dean sprang forward a step. Cas held out his hand to him again and this time said, "Stop, Dean."

The Skoffin turned its head minutely and looked at Dean. He could see himself reflected in the creature's eyes. Cas said something more to the creature as he motioned to Dean. It seemed like Cas was explaining something that involved him. The creature looked back and forth between them both. It gave Cas a nod. "What's happening, Cas?"

"I can kill him." Cas turned to Dean as he said it. "I tried to convince him to live, but he doesn't want that. I told him that I understand, that I wouldn't want to go on without you either." Dean took a step closer. "No, Dean. Stay there. I don't want you to get hurt."

"What are you doing?"

"It'll be fine Dean. I want this, and he does too." Dean felt the same fear rising in his chest again, and then the wing flicked up from the dragon, just barely grazing Cas' chest. Dean ran to him, but it was too late. Cas sank to his knees.

"No!" Dean was yelling.

Cas turned his head to him and somehow with a mere look, Dean knew to stop. "Don't be afraid for me. Everything will be fine." Cas turned back to the Skoffin and cupped its face in his hands. A brilliant pulse of grace filled the space all around him. Dean shielded his eyes and the space burned bright and hot. He fell to his knees now too. The heat passed and the brightness slipped away.

Dean opened his eyes and the Skoffin was still, his face lovingly cradled in Cas' hands. Dean crawled over to Cas. He released the creature's face and reached out to Dean. He pulled Dean up into his arms. It seemed to take all of Cas' strength to do just that. Dean's hand was a fist, and he punched at Cas' chest. "Don't do that. Don't you take risks like that. I could've lost you." Dean was equal parts angry and relieved. Cas just held him and pressed his face down into Dean's hair. Dean could feel him breathing him in. The tickle of air from Cas trailed along his scalp.

Dean pulled back suddenly, "I told you not to be afraid."

"You're breathing." Dean reached up to him, pressing his palm to Cas' chest where he found a steady heartbeat.

"I suppose I'll be doing more of that from here on out." Cas just kept looking at him, a slight smile playing out at the edges of his lips.

"You used up your grace."

"I did. He had to give me some more poison first. I pushed it around inside of me a bit, and when I shared with him my true form, it was poisoned enough with him that it was like looking at one of his own. It burned up the last of the grace though."

Dean reached up to him and held his face in his hands. "This make you human?"

"Not quite, but human enough." Cas leaned down and pressed his forehead to Dean's.

"Guess you got what you wanted." Dean stroked the edge of Cas' face with his thumb.

Cas raised an eyebrow saying, "Well, two out of three." He smiled at Dean's look of confusion and added, "Let's head back to the cabin now, and I can tell you just how right you were about everything."

Dean smiled back and helped him up, "Sure Casanova, but first we need to take care of all of this." They stood for a few moments and regarded the creature before they moved off toward Earl to plan a way to dispose of the body.

It took some time to get what they needed. The body was dealt with through a simple burning, if one could call burning something of that size simple at all. Dean had contacted the forestry service to assure them that it would be a control burn and not to worry. It took a lot of convincing. The cold light of day had faded into night by the time they had started the fire. The flames licked the sky in orange forks. They moved back up the hill from the fire and watched as it raged and eventually burned down to embers and ash. While it burned, Dean reached out to Cas and took his hand. Earl stood off to the side with Leif. He had gone home and gotten her, so that she wouldn't worry.

"What did he say to you at the end?" Dean leaned in and asked.

"He said thank you." Cas leaned his head over and rested it against Dean's.

"You knew that you were going to use up your grace before you even approached it, didn't you?"

"I did."

"That's why you wormed your way through me one more time?" Dean felt Cas' thumb moving over his knuckles and he turned to him a little.

"I wanted to make sure that there was nothing that needed healing one last time. I also just wanted to see you once more like that, like an angel, before I spent the rest of my life looking at you like a man." Dean brought his other hand up to Cas' face and settled a kiss on his brow. "What was that for?"

"For everything, for you, for that." They stayed like that in the glow of the fire until it seemed safe enough to go. The embers would glow long after. Eventually the land would produce life there again. The wind would blow through the valley, and the ashes would scatter. In time, no one would know what had taken place in that space.

Dean, Cas, Leif, and Earl made their way back to the vehicles in silence. They returned all three of the snowmobiles back to Eddie, who was quite happy to have them all back, if not a little surprised. They walked arm in arm, back to the cabins, said goodnight to each other, and parted.

Dean stood in the center of the room for a moment and cast a glance around the space. Cas closed the door behind him and leaned back against it. "You think we should start heading back to the bunker tonight or tomorrow?" Dean tossed off the question as he pulled off one of his outer layers.

He barely got it over his head before he felt Cas' body rush him, tossing him back onto the bed. "Like I said before, two out of three. I'd like to have a complete victory." Dean laughed up at him as he pulled the shirt the rest of the way off of Dean's arms.

"I think you were going to tell me that I was right or something too." Cas shut him up with a kiss of such force, that Dean was certain that Cas had forgotten that breathing was now a thing.

He leaned back and positively gasped for air. Dean laughed at him again. "You are everything that is right, Dean Winchester."

"Not the same thing, Cas." Dean waggled his eyebrows a little.

"Close enough." Cas kissed him again, and Dean temporarily forgot what it was that they were talking about.

"I was right," he managed to whisper. Cas ran his hands up his sides, sending out shivers over his body.

"Next you'll be telling me that I have to buy you dinner first again, because you are a classy guy or something."

Dean felt his body buck up a little involuntarily. Cas grinned at that. "I'll take a raincheck for now. After all you did get me breakfast the other day." Dean slipped his hands past the waistband of Cas' pants and kneaded at the flesh and muscles there.

As they settled into each other's rhythms and movements, clothes found their way to the floor. They climbed up the bed to scurry under the sheets. Dean wondered when he had gotten so comfortable with this, with Cas. The kisses gentled and spread out over their bodies. They took their time learning the new landscapes and pleasures that each had to offer. Dean found the place low on Cas' ribcage that he could graze over with his lips. It caused Cas to twitch a little and then laugh. "Weird," he had said.

"Ticklish," Dean had corrected, and did it again and again, until Cas figured out how to stop him. At first it was just a slight touch, a graze of fingers, and then Cas' hand fisted around him. And Dean was lost. His eyes closed as he gave his thoughts over fully to the pleasure in that moment. Cas nuzzled into his neck, and sucked a mark there. Dean wondered how he knew what pleased. He opened his eyes and let his gaze wander over Cas' body. His skin tanned and smooth when viewed next to the piles of snow white sheets pooled around them.

Cas pulled himself up and looked down at Dean, never ceasing in his efforts toward Dean's pleasure. Dean arched back a bit into the pillows and felt Cas speed up his movements. He looked down and saw how much Cas wanted this too. He started to reach out to him, but Cas guided his hand away. He settled it onto his hip. "Not yet."

"So close." Cas pulled Dean up to him and kissed him through it all, kissed him past the moment of shudders and gasps. He kissed him back to his pillows, raking his hand through his hair.

He pulled back and whispered close to Dean, so close that their air belonged to each other. "I love humanity a great deal."

Dean rolled them both over and looked down at Cas now, feeling the want and need pressed against him. "Same." He dipped down and kissed him, and thought that he would never grow tired of this and of all of the ways that he would get to be with Cas. He hoped that Cas would not regret his choice. He hoped that he would have enough of humanity to give him. He hoped that Cas would know what it meant to him, what it would always mean to him, to be chosen. Most of all he hoped that Cas knew what it meant to him that he just wanted to stay, because in all the world, there had been nothing that Dean had wanted more.

With a gentle grind of Cas' hips and a warm smile sent upward, Dean knew that regret would not enter into their future. They had regrets enough in the past for a lifetime. Their hips were pressed tight to one another, and Cas was moving beneath him slow and languid at first. Dean focused on this movement and on the friction that he was giving to Cas. Their breathing seemed to sync up as Dean leaned over him, rocking gently with each grind of their bodies. Cas' voice husked out just one word on repeat, "Dean," and with the first utterance, Dean leaned down closer, letting his chest fall across Cas. He matched Cas' movements and the pace picked up. "Dean," he said again, and that one word was intoxicating when spoken in Cas' low tones. It was a prayer set to repeat, and the sound of it coursed through Dean like Cas' grace had mere hours before.

Dean had prayed to Cas a million times it seemed. He had prayed for help and also to just connect, to feel that they might be in that moment occupying the same space. In those moments Dean had felt that his own prayers had moved through Cas, had become a part of him. It was for Dean and likely for Cas too, an act more intimate than anything physical they could have accomplished. Yet here they were, Dean's name falling between them with such reverence. Their bodies rocking together, a frenzied bit of worship between them.

And though Dean was already satisfied, Cas' movements, his focus on Dean's face, the way that he called out his name, made Dean feel so much more than he had before. The friction between them was propelling Cas to the end. Each breath now was Dean's name. Dean pulled him up in the last moments. Cas pressed his face into the crook of Dean's neck and trailed kisses down his shoulder. He bit down a little into Dean's flesh there. Dean smiled at the rush of pleasure that he gained from that. Cas was shaking now with the moment. He said Dean's name against the space that he bit. Dean pulled him back with him as he settled onto the mattress. Cas was on top of him now, their bodies a sticky mess between them.

Cas rested his head just beneath Dean's chin, his ear pressed to Dean's chest. Dean leaned toward him and kissed into the mass of messy brown hair. This was his and theirs. This was what had been missing and also there all along. A little contented hum came from Cas. It might have been Dean's name again. Dean ran his hand up Cas' back, letting it come to rest between his shoulder blades. His thumb moved lazily back and forth. Dean kissed him again, and let his thoughts flow onward to all that lay ahead of them and the pleasure at hand.

AN: Well, that is the end. I hope that you all enjoyed it. Special thanks to my readers here, Igniting and rainystv, for always saying the nicest, most thoughtful things. To all of you, I wish for you happy holidays and an even better new year. Thank you for always lifting up my writing and making me feel like a million bucks here.

*If you didn't see it before, this fic has a tiny cover that I made for it. It's posted on my Tumblr blog at spearywritesstuff.