When Dean thought carefully, he could pick out at least fifteen individual examples when he should have admitted Cas could be more than his friend. Neither of them was ready, or at least never at the right time, and there were too many mistakes built up between them to ignore. Dean didn't see him for a year, his life drifting nowhere, enough time to cut through the brambles on his own. Meeting Cas again was a relief, and Dean hugged him quietly when Sam was preoccupied. Whatever they decided next, friends or more, he wouldn't make the same mistakes again.