Even to Dean, it was a beautiful night.

People would have thought that after chopping the heads off of vampires and dicing wendigos to bits that he wouldn't be able to appreciate the middle of a winter just outside New York, as midnight dawned across the sky. But on a night like this, the air was crisp, and cold, and refreshing, and smelled like the shadow of autumn still lingering past. Stars poked gently through the deep quilted sky, otherwise surrounding the Earth in a peaceful dark. Snow fluttered down from the misty clouds in small, fluttering clusters as Dean leaned against the hood of his frosted over impala. The only sounds he could hear were his own breath and the breath of the wind against him. Bliss.

"Dean?" A comforting voice echoed out of the darkness. He didn't even have to turn around.

"Hey Cas," He said softly. Cas' shoes crunched in the snow as he walked up to Dean and joined him in the hood of the impala. He followed Dean's eyes into the distance, where the business of New York let off a chaotic but constant glow of a thousand colors and signs. "It's a beautiful city," Cas began, jumping up and sitting on the hood of the impala, slightly higher than Dean. "I mean, we all knew the city would have to exist, as it was the foundation for many important events in the future. But none of us thought humanity could come up with something so beautiful." Dean smiled slightly.

"What, you mean the angels don't have better?" he asked jokingly. Cas shook his head.

"No, never." he said. He paused, looking at Dean. "This is… the day your culture celebrates the new year, right?" He asked.

"Tomorrow," Dean said, glancing at him, his green eyes shimmering in the light of the stars. "No, tonight's New Year's Eve." He looked away again. "Sort of makes you wonder how many more there are gonna be, huh?"

Cas creased his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"Years, I mean. How many more years there'll be. I mean, in my field, you never know." He chuckled to himself, but Cas didn't laugh. He tried not to let it concern him as he looked back forward.

"Hm." He acknowledged.

"Makes me wonder how many I deserve, too." Dean added, a melancholy tone in his voice.

"Well, that's obvious Dean," Cas said, looking back over at him. "If you got what you deserved, you'd get a million New Years." Dean tried to hide a smile, and hoped the darkness would do the same to his cheeks going slightly pink.

"My God, dude, you honestly think that?" He asked casually.

"Would I have raised you from Hell if I didn't?" He asked logically.

Dean crossed his arms. "I thought your boss told you to do that." He said with a slight smirk.

"All the angels were jumping on an opportunity," Cas confessed. "It wasn't me that had to do it."

Dean chuckled softly to himself, more as a nervous thing than anything else. "Ah," he said, looking away. "You… never told me that." Cas looked away too, as if he were just remembering why he hadn't told him that.

"Yeah, I guess I didn't." He said awkwardly. "S-sorry."

"It's fine, really." Dean responded genuinely. After a moment they both decided it was too nice a night to hold onto awkwardness, and looked back to the city, letting the wind pass over them. For at least a full minute, both of them just stood, their thoughts passing mildly through their heads like clouds.

"Dean?" Cas finally said, looking over at him.

"Yeah, Cas?" Dean said, doing the same.

"Are there any New Year's traditions that are customary here? I mean, I'm not really used to the holiday itself."

Dean shrugged casually. "A couple, but they're cheesy and stupid," He said casually.

"No, really, I want to know."

"Dude, I'm telling you they're stupid." He said, a bit more defensively.

"Can't I just know?" Cas responded innocently. Dean sighed.

"Some people count down, some people drink a crap ton. Some dorks at midnight even kiss," He said, getting as soft as was possible without whispering. Dean heard Cas' shoes crunch in the snow as he silently hopped down from the hood of the impala. He turned around, and Dean found himself nearly nose to nose with him. He let off a warmth like a hearth in comparison to the night and he smelled like pine trees and freshly washed blushed, but didn't move back, as Cas' big, blue eyes turned slightly down and he took hold of Dean's wrist. After a moment, he realized it wasn't a romantic gesture, as he slightly turned his wrist to see the face of his watch.

"A minute to midnight." Cas said softly.

"Cas, what are you doing?" Dean whispered, trying to maintain eye contact as if he didn't know.

"How many years do you think you have left?" He asked curiously. His brilliant blue eyes gleamed in the dark.

"As of right now?" He asked. Cas slightly nodded.

"Half a million with you here," Dean sighed, adoration in his smile and his voice. Cas blushed a little, but looked at Dean's watch as an excuse. Dean followed his eyes there, the time was passing fast. They were already at ten seconds to midnight, as Dean could tell, his eyes avidly tracing the second hand.

"Well, there you have it," He said frankly. "10… 9… 8… 7… 6… 5… 4… 3… 2…" Before he could get to one, Cas shut his eyes and stood on his toes, meeting perfectly with Dean's lips. Dean's eyes went wide for a moment, his heart doing a backflip, before they fluttered closed again. Cas' lips were warm and fought back the cold, sending an energy through him, keeping him warm. Dean stood up straighter, wrapping his arms around Cas' warm body. He was an angel and didn't get cold, which made him like a comforting hearth. Cas leaned forward, putting his hands on the impala behind Dean.

Dean knew it was unromantic, but for just a moment, he opened his eyes. Beside Cas and him, he saw their shadow was changed. The figure of Cas, him, and the impala was mostly shrouded out by long arcs of black. Cas' wings, elegantly wrapped around him. He shut his eyes again, smiling through the kiss, and feeling a sense of protection.

Finally, their lips parted, and Cas leaned back. Dean took both his hands and they stood there, foreheads pressed together.

"Happy New Year's Cas," Dean whispered softly, snow falling around them as though they were a single protected entity. He looked at the shadow to see Cas' wings till wrapped all the way around him, and he could almost feel their heat.

Cas closed his eyes. "Happy New Year's, Dean." he said.

And for a long time, the two lovers stood, illuminated by the colored lights of New York City below.