Cas woke up a day later in a hospital bed, surrounded by white. The whole damn room was white; the walls, the floor, the bedding, even the gown he was in was white. A soft moan escaped his lips and he tried to sit up. Immediately, his head was spinning, so he laid back down and looked to the side.

Dean was there.

Crying.

"D...Dean?"

Dean lifted his head, tears falling down his cheeks. "Shit, Cas, you fucking scared me," he said quietly, chuckling without humor. The boy cupped Cas' cheek in his hand and kissed his forehead. "What...what did you do?"

Castiel looked away, assessing how to answer his question. "I took my father's Valium," he said softly, looking away, ashamed. "He kicked me out of the house...I had nowhere to go. Nobody-"

Dean cut him off. "What, are you crazy? You always have me."

"I couldn't-"

"Cas, I would have taken you into my house in a heartbeat."

"It's not that, dammit." Cas coughed, resting his head back. "Fuck, Dean, I could never live in the house of the man I'm in LOVE with, knowing that nothing would ever happen between us, because god knows you'd never enter a relationship, much less with me, and..."

Dean's eyes went wide. "You...love me?"

"Of course I do, Dean. I've loved you...for ages..." Dean looked down at Cas' hand, a single tear falling onto it. He took it gently, rubbing his palm with his thumb.

"If I had known, I would...I am...so sorry, Cas," he said softly, pressing a soft kiss to his lips.

"Please, don't tease me." Castiel bit his lip, looking away from the man.

Dean ran his rough hand along Cas' smooth cheek. "I'm not."

"W...what?"

"I...I don't want to see you like this. I want you to be happy. I want to be the one who makes you happy. Maybe...maybe I..." He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Maybe I need this, too."

Cas ran a hand through Dean's hair, pulling him into a gentle kiss, a smile flitting across his face. He had no idea where this was going, or what would happen.

But the fun of the chase was always the catch.