Dean, Sam, Castiel, and Kevin were gathered at the table in the bunker. It had been about a week since Cas had returned, and he'd stabilized his emotions fairly well considering the short amount of time.

Sam and Kevin were sitting across from Dean and Cas. They were discussing what they had all witnessed that dreadful day. The group had hashed over ways to reverse the spell Metatron had used, but had come up with nothing. Finally Dean dropped his head onto the table in defeat. Sam was leaning on his hand, and Kevin was copying him unintentionally. Cas sat with his hands in his lap.

"I just don't get why it had to be you, Cas. Why not some other angel? You aren't the only one with a grace." Dean grumbled into the wood. Cas and Sam shrugged, but Kevin's face lit up.

"There's a connection!" He nearly shouted, causing Dean to jump and nearly fall out of his chair.

"What?" Sam asked, looking startled at the outburst as well. All three men were staring at Kevin, and the teen fidgeted while he explained.

"The first thing was the heart of a Nephil. The heart is a symbol of love, and Nephils are born from love. Then the second thing was a cupid's bow, which was also a symbol of love. So Cas' grace has to be connected through love. Right?" Kevin glanced between the three of them, looking for acceptance.

"That makes sense." Sam agreed. Dean nodded. Cas, however, was completely frozen, and his face paled considerably.

"Cas? You okay?" Sam asked, noticing the change. Cas blinked, and his blue eyes flitted between Sam and the table. Then his eyes fixed on the table as he spoke.

"You are implying that Metatron," He nearly snarled the name, "took my grace because I'm in love?"

Kevin nodded. "It would explain why no one else could help him. Somehow he knew that you liked some other angel and since you were around he used you."

Dean shot Kevin a death glare, making the teen wince and look at the table, like Cas, who didn't say anything.

Sam shook his head. "I don't think that's right."

"It sounds right to me." Dean argued for the sake of arguing.

"Not quite. Nephils are the children of angels and humans, and cupids' bows are used to make humans fall in love. I think the third step was the grace of an angel in love with a human. Then it adds up."

Sam explained.

"Oh." Dean whispered. They all looked to Cas, who's eyes shifted from person to person before falling back to the table.

"That does 'add up'." He said in almost a whisper.

"Cas, who is it? We can bring them here and keep them safe." Dean said quietly, trying to keep his voice steady. He never would have guessed that Cas was in love; Meg hadn't been gone more than a month. And why hadn't Cas mentioned this earlier?

But Cas shook his head. "No."

"Anyone out there is in danger. We can bring them here, it'd be easy." Sam reassured him, but Cas shook his head more vigorously.

"Really, it's fine."

"Just tell us, Cas. We'll go get them. We've been in love too, ya know. We know the feeling." Dean said, glancing at Sam, who glanced back, then nodded at Cas.

Cas stood up suddenly. "I can't tell you!" He snapped, and started to walk away. Dean snatched his wrist and pulled him back. Cas glared at his feet.

"Fine, Cas. Don't tell us who it is. Whatever. But sit your ass back down." Dean growled. Cas meekly sat in the chair, but he turned his back to the others and clutched the back of the chair until his knuckles whitened.

The others went back to looking for a reversal spell, or some other method. After nearly half an hour, Cas turned around so that he was directly facing Dean. Dean turned his head to find Cas watching him.

"Yeah?"

"I don't want to tell you. I...I'm afraid you would hate me if I did."

Dean scoffed and shook his head. "Cas, you've done worse shit than fall in love, and yet here you are. Try me."

Kevin glanced up from the book he was reading, his teenage-curiosity peaked.. Sam ignored the exchange altogether, too absorbed in his research. Cas opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly his throat closed up and he felt as if his heart was going to jump out of his throat. He coughed roughly, trying to breathe again.

"Cas?" Dean turned and put his hand on Cas' shoulder, shaking him slightly. The coughing caught Sam's attention, and he watched Cas, concerned.

"I'm okay." Cas' voice sounded strained.

"What happened?"

"I...think it was nerves." Cas said, recognizing the human emotion. Dean gave him a sympathetic look.

"If it's such a big deal to say it, you could write it down." He offered. Cas shook his head. He locked eyes with Dean, knowing Dean would eventually get the message. After over a minute passed, the hunter's eyes narrowed as he realized what was going on. When Cas had said Dean meant more to him...Dean had guessed right. Cas loved him.

"Me." He stated. Cas nodded slightly.

Sam suddenly made a "whoop" noise and laughed.

"I knew it!" He crowed, grinning. Kevin simply stared at Cas, stunned. Cas and Dean ignored them, and continued gazing at each other. Finally Dean spoke. Or, tried to.

"I...Cas, I..."

Cas nodded as if he understood. He had never expected Dean to feel the same way. But then, Dean leaned forward and wrapped Cas into a tight hug, and for the second time in his life, Cas hugged him back, overjoyed that Dean wasn't rejecting him.

"Dammit Cas." Dean whispered into the ex-angel's ear. Cas chuckled.

There was nothing he could do about his feelings. Cas had fallen for Dean long before they had ever known the names Metatron, Meg, or Naomi. He couldn't remember when he'd started feeling the way he did about Dean, but he did remember the time he'd recognized his feelings for what they were. The brothers had finished a hunt, and Sam was out buying food. Dean was bored, and called for Cas. Cas had been in the middle of searching for information to defeat Rafael, but he'd dropped everything when Dean called. They had simply 'hung out', as Dean had said, but Cas had truly enjoyed that day. And as he'd sat in the motel with Dean, Cas realized he could have happily spent the rest of his life 'hanging out' in motel rooms with Dean. When Cas had left, he had wanted to go back. In fact, he wished he hadn't had to have left at all. Later he wondered if he was in love with Dean, since he was acting like a lovesick puppy. Cas decided he was. And that was that. In these recent weeks, Cas had wondered, 'why me?' over and over again. Now he knew why. And he...he didn't know how he felt about that. But at least Dean knew. Dean's acceptance meant more to him than anything.

"Seriously, though? Dean? He's such a dick." Kevin finally said. Dean shot him another death glare, but this time Kevin ignored him.

Cas chuckled. "There are somethings that just can't be explained."

"True that." Dean said, and as he pulled away from the hug, he planted a light kiss on Cas' lips, making the new human blush. Dean grinned, and fought a blush of his own. He knew Sam was going to get him for this soap-opera moment later, but for once, Dean really didn't care.

-end-