A/N: I'm so sorry this is up so late! I was working on something all day and I got sidetracked. als;kfdj. Please forgive me if you've been waiting!

Wow, here we are. The final chapter.

First of all, thank you so much to all of you who are reading this, and an extra-special thank-you to those of you who have been here from the beginning of the story. It means so much to me, to have people enjoy this thing I made. Thanks again to blueMinuet, without whom this story would never have begun, and to ittybittytoostormy, without whom I may not have felt compelled to finish it. I am so lucky to have you both encouraging my madness. Thanks also to my two favorite non-Destiel-shippers who supported this story anyway: My boyfriend and my mother. You guys are the tops.

Second of all, I do have another Destiel fic waiting in the wings (no pun inte-oh who am I kidding the pun is totally intended) to be written, so I hope to see you all there for that one when it's up too, hopefully. ;)

Castiel thought to himself the next morning that he was really going to kind of miss this place when they left later today. He'd miss the quiet atmosphere and that too-bright motel room and this bar. And Kelsey. Mostly Kelsey. She had become like an old friend to him, her soul bright and familiar and startlingly clear when most humans' were dull and only visible if you looked closely. Though he was far older and more powerful than she was, she didn't seem intimidated by him. Instead, she treated him as an equal, which was odd. What was even odder was the fact that Castiel didn't really mind it.

He figured he owed it to her to let her know how the case had panned out after everything he'd been telling her, so he was just finishing the story. He had a glass, but it was filled with water. He didn't feel like drinking today. Especially not before 2 PM.

"So it sounds like Dean doesn't always see things for what they are," she mused, sitting down on her stool and holding onto it with both hands. There weren't many patrons yet, as it was only 1 in the afternoon, so she could afford to rest her feet for a moment. She smiled, flashing those not-quite-perfect, but still attractive, teeth. "But it also sounds like you help him a lot with that."

"I suppose I do sometimes," said Castiel in response, and she rolled her eyes at his noncommittal answer.

"So," sighed Kelsey, brushing a strand of dark-chocolate hair behind her ear. She was wearing small pearl studs for earrings, and they looked good against her brown locks. "I guess the cat's out of the bag, huh?" He looked confused for a moment, so she clarified: "I mean I guess your secret's out."

"My secret?"

"Yes!" she said, widening her hazel eyes at him. "Didn't you say the Deer Woman shouted something about you loving Dean?"

"Oh," said Castiel, a spark of uncertainty fluttering somewhere inside him. "I, uh, I believe that was the case, yes."

"So?" Kelsey said, leaning in eagerly. The angel sighed, somehow having known she would focus on that part, considering her avid interest in his relationship with Dean. "How'd he take it?" Her eyes were sparkling hopefully, and Castiel dropped his own to stare at his hands.

"Uh," he said, because even Angels of the Lord got bashful sometimes, "I don't know."

"You don't know?" she echoed, scrunching up her face.

He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I…may have left the motel room before the Winchesters woke up this morning."

She looked at him like he was a child who had broken his mother's favorite vase. Or at least, how a mother on television had looked when the same thing had happened. "Cas…" she started.

He sighed again. "I'm fairly certain he can't return my feelings, and in any case he didn't say anything about it last night, so I didn't want to bring it up."

"You mean you ran away," she amended flatly, crossing her arms. When the angel merely took a sheepish sip of water, she leaned forward and rested her elbows on the bar. "Castiel. Why do you think Dean could see the Deer Woman, if only people who are being dishonest about love can see her?"

Castiel blinked. He hadn't thought of any specific reason; just that Dean tended to be dishonest in other areas, so naturally love was no exception. "I'm not sure. Possibly because he was hiding his relations with women from Sam and myself while on the case?" Kelsey looked unimpressed, and Castiel couldn't blame her: even he didn't really believe that of Dean.

"I think it's because he couldn't get over the fact that he had feelings for you," she stated boldly, with a proud lift of her chin.

"What makes you say that?" he asked, surprised.

"Well, for one thing, Dean gets really talkative when he's drunk," she said in an undertone. The angel opened his mouth to ask her what she meant, but she cut him off with one raised hand. "Don't ask me what he said; it's a secret."

"Dean talked about his feelings…with you?" Castiel asked incredulously. It wasn't that she was not worthy of Dean's secrets; it was just that he couldn't believe Dean had been open with anyone that wasn't Castiel himself or Sam.

Her eyes sparkled joyfully, and she leaned forward to whisper, "Let's just say that people are pretty open about matters of the heart with me, and not just when they're smashed." She winked at him as if she'd just told him a meaningful secret, and he stared at her, tilting his head. There was something there, something he wasn't getting. Her smile, her soul, her affection, they were all so…familiar. That was the word he kept coming back to. Familiar. Almost nostalgic. She was right, too. People were open with her on matters of the heart—hadn't he been, too? Even before he had even felt the light of her soul, he had felt that she could be trusted with his own love problems. She had been a willing confidante and an eager matchmaker, even.

Wait. His eyes widened. Matchmaker. It couldn't be that—

She watched the realization flash across his face with amusement, and sat back, satisfied. "Finally recognize me, brother?" she said softly, her tone suddenly shy.

"You were a cherub once," he blurted suddenly. "A Cupid." It seemed completely obvious, in retrospect. No wonder her soul had shined so brightly, been easier to read than all the others, had such a connection with his own Grace (stolen Grace) that she was able to reach out and touch it without combusting.

Her smile was wide, eyes dancing with mirth. "You gave me back more than just a longer life when your Grace touched me," she revealed.

"What was your name?" he breathed, desperate to know everything all of a sudden.

"I was called Kelial," Kelsey told him, scooting her stool forward so they could speak more quietly without attracting the attention of the (probably around five) patrons in the bar, "before I ripped out my Grace and Fell to be reborn as a human."

"You Fell of your own choice?" Castiel asked, fascinated. He had of course encountered such cases before—Anael being the first to come to mind—but he was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Kelsey—Kelsey!—had been his sister, once. "Why?"

She sighed and fidgeted with her pink sparkly nails. "I was so tired of inciting love in other people, Castiel," she admitted. "I was jealous of humanity. I wanted what they had. And I was angry that I couldn't feel it." She looked up at him and smiled wryly. "Envy and Wrath. Not exactly model angel behavior." She ran a hand through her thick hair, combing it over one shoulder. "It was dangerous. I was afraid." She shrugged. "So I decided to be the agent of my own fate."

He felt a mixture of horror that she'd ripped out her own Grace and a fierce sort of pride in her for doing something so brave, albeit reckless. This human was more like him than most of his brothers and sisters were. "So you didn't remember until my Grace touched you?"

"Yeah," she agreed, nodding and looking thoughtful. "It was like when you healed my brain, you even brought back parts I wasn't supposed to have anymore." She laughed. "It was kind of startling at first, but at the same time, it was like just remembering a family reunion that was so disastrous you decided to forget it, you know?" Castiel didn't. "It felt like the memories had always been there; I just never really wanted to look for them."

"Do you ever regret it?" the angel asked her next, his tone serious. "Do you regret becoming human?"

"Not in the slightest," she said immediately, without hesitation.

"But…your angelic powers," said Castiel, incredulous. "Don't you miss them?"

"Powers?" Kelsey said dismissively. "Who needs powers? I seem to have done pretty well without them. Not that any power would be needed in this situation anyway," she said with a wink, and before Castiel could ask her what she meant, she nodded over the angel's shoulder. "You two really were an exercise in Free Will. No Cupids necessary."

And as Castiel whirled around on his stool, he saw Dean approaching the bar, looking somewhat reluctant. The angel felt a brief but powerful urge to fly away, but of course, he couldn't. And, he thought to himself, perhaps he also shouldn't.

"Hey, Cas," Dean said, not meeting his eyes. So he was still being avoidant, Castiel thought. Or maybe he was just nervous or distracted. "You ready to go? Sam's getting some food for the road, but I thought we could pack everything up."

"Okay, Dean," he responded, and rose from his barstool.

"Hey, you have my number, so keep in touch, all right?" Kelsey said, hitting Castiel on the arm playfully.

"Of course," he assured her.

She glanced from Dean to Castiel. "You two take care," she said, winking at the angel.

"Will do," Dean said, and as they made their way to the door, he added, somewhat suspiciously, "You have her number?"

"Yes," answered Castiel without the slightest bit of guilt. "She has become…" He looked over his shoulder to see her waving at him one last time. "…Like a sister to me," he finished, as they stepped out into the sunlight.

Dean was quiet as they threw their belongings (well, mostly Dean and Sam's belongings, as Castiel had very few) into their bags and cleaned up all the research materials they'd been too exhausted to clear away last night. Castiel was just starting to wonder, as he managed to zip up the last bag (Sam's duffel), if anything had changed, when Dean cleared his throat. The angel stood up straight and gave the hunter his attention.

"Listen, Cas," Dean said, his voice halting. "I think I understand a lot of things I was too stupid to understand before, or too stubborn." He swallowed, and then continued speaking, his voice a little steadier. "And for once, I'm not gonna let things go, because that always ends up sucking for everyone. So here's me, talking about it."

Cas was a bit frightened to hear him continue, but listened anyway.

Dean shuffled uncomfortably in his torn jeans and ran a hand through his light-brown hair. "Okay, uh, I know I'm not the most considerate or thoughtful person, and I can't say stuff as well as nerds like Sam can, but that, uh, that encounter with the Deer Lady really made me think. And so did those girls in the bar. And when Kelsey laid one on me, that made me think too."

Castiel lowered his head and stared at the ground, suddenly remembering the Deer Woman's words, frantically demanding to know why Castiel still loved Dean even when he'd broken his heart. He didn't want to hear what Dean was going to say next, but he supposed he had been dancing around it long enough. Dean had finally seen his hooves, metaphorically, but he wasn't going to run away this time, also metaphorically. "It's okay, Dean," he said quietly. "You don't have to say anything. I'm—I'm sorry that I—"

He was cut off suddenly. "Dammit Cas, would you stop apologizing for once and let me get this out?" Castiel fell silent, prompting him to continue. Dean scrubbed a hand through his hair again, letting out a wry chuckle. "I couldn't enjoy it," he said. "Any of it. Any of them. Not really. I haven't been able to for a long time," he said, looking at a spot slightly to Castiel's right, since looking straight at him was apparently too much. When Castiel merely gave him a confused look, he groaned slightly in exasperation, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You're going to make me say it, aren't you?" he asked, which was an extremely odd question and one which Castiel did not answer. Dean took a deep breath and then spoke resolutely:

"I couldn't enjoy kissing them, or hitting on them, or…or being with them," he said, "because they weren't you."

A long silence stretched out between them.

"What?" said Castiel, sounding nonplussed for once.

"I said," hissed Dean, seeming to decide he had nothing to lose, "I only want to be with you. And…the other stuff. With you."

It was probably the most ineloquent confession the world had yet known, but it was still the most beautiful thing Castiel had ever heard.

"Dean," he breathed, hardly daring to believe it. "Are you saying that you—"

"Just," Dean cut him off, walking closer to him with slow, measured steps. "Don't…say anything." When the distance was closed between them, he stood within inches of Castiel, intent green eyes meeting awestruck blue. The angel found himself holding his breath, though he did not need to breathe.

"Look, man," Dean gritted out after a moment, "are you gonna close your eyes or what? I can't do this with you staring at me like that."

Castiel's eyes fell closed without even really thinking about it, and he felt Dean lay his warm hands on his arms and pull him towards him, hesitantly, slowly, like he was afraid the angel would fly away if he held him too close. Castiel did not fly away, and in fact gripped the fabric of Dean's third layer of shirt, holding onto him like he was the only thing keeping him on the earth. Heck, he probably was. Had been.

Time stopped when Dean's mouth met his. It was shaky and brief, a chaste touch of lips, but apparently it was not altogether displeasing, because Dean kissed him again, surer this time. Castiel had not had many kisses in his immortal life, but he felt quite certain that this was the best one so far. He savored the scrub of the other man's jaw against his own, wondered if his stubble felt odd to Dean, who was no doubt used to soft, smooth cheeks and plush lips; he slid a hand up to cup the side of Dean's face, stroke his thumb over his cheekbone in a gesture of tenderness so human that he wondered how long he had been capable of it. Dean's warmth seeped into him, pressed against his chest, hands solid on his arms, and Dean was stroking his thumbs over Castiel's arms too, back and forth in soothing motions. The sensation, even through the trenchcoat, sent a shiver up his spine, which was odd, because he never got cold. Dean responded to the involuntary reaction by pulling him even closer against him. He wondered how long they had been standing like this, their mouths moving together with as much awkwardness as affection, how long he could have been standing here like this with Dean, how long he could have had this. He wished he'd done this years ago. It all seemed like a tremendous waste, suddenly. The barriers that had been standing between them all this time seemed feeble and ridiculous now. Heaven? His vessel's gender? The end of the world? Nothing could keep him from this forever, nothing could have prevented them from ending up like this, because they'd chosen each other.

"Uhhh," a voice sounded from the doorway, and Dean sprung apart from Castiel so quickly it would appear he had been burned. Sam, holding a pair of fast food bags, was looking from his brother to the angel with the kind of smug, eyebrows-raised expression that just screamed Finally!

"Hey Sam," squeaked Dean, his voice coming out an octave higher than usual, rubbing the back of his neck and looking anywhere but at Castiel, which the angel thought was a bit rude really, considering the kinds of things Dean had said not too long ago. "I was just, uh, me and Cas were just, just—"

"—Making out, yeah, I know, I have eyes, Dean," said Sam briskly. "I'm just glad that's all you were doing, what with the way you two have been looking at each other the past five years. Are you guys gonna help load up the car or what?"

Seeming to decide there was no way to save face after that statement, Dean merely cleared his throat, pink in the face. The color looked good on him. His hunter grabbed the largest bag and carried it out of the room one-handed in an apparent attempt to look as manly as possible.

Sam shook his head and shouldered his duffle and laptop bag. He fixed Castiel with a fond look. "I'm happy for you two," he told him sincerely. "And I know you'll keep each other happy. Just, y'know, if I'm ever gone for a while and you want some time alone, remember to put a sock on the door for when I get back." He raised his eyebrows at the angel in a teasing expression, his mouth quirked on one side.

Castiel was feeling a bit pink in the face now too, unusually. "I…do not think that will be an issue," he croaked. "Not for some time, at least," he added in a mutter, turning around to lift the last bag and avoiding Sam's eyes.

He saw Sam shrug out of the corner of his eye, making a face that clearly said Yeah, right, if you say so. Castiel followed him out and loaded his bag into the Impala's trunk. Dean closed it then, and then brushed off his jeans at the thighs, more for want of having something to do with his hands than an actual need to clean the worn denim. "Right," he said, "That's it. We ready to go?"

"Yes," said Sam. "Wait, no," he decided a moment later. "I'm gonna use the bathroom one more time." He sprinted back into the motel, his long legs covering the distance in seconds.

"Your disproportionately small bladder will lead us to ruin, Sam!" Dean called after him teasingly. When they were alone, he glanced over at Castiel, and then the ground, shuffling a bit nervously. "Uh, Cas," he said, "I'm not gonna lie, that was pretty…um, y'know, good, for a first…thing," he said, apparently still unable to say out loud that he had kissed another guy. Or angel. The distinction was really quite irrelevant. "But we should probably keep it on the DL in front of Sammy, just for, uh…" He flushed a little. "Future. Things." Castiel suppressed a smile. It was almost amusing to see Dean trip over his words like this.

"I agree we should not be demonstrably affectionate in public or around Sam," he said. His expression smoothed out into one of seriousness. He was not sure how Dean would take what he was about to say next, but felt compelled to say it anyway. "But just so you know, that was actually not our first kiss."

Dean looked flabbergasted. "Okay, I'll bite," he said after a moment of confused silence. "What was, then?"

"The first night we were in town on this case," Castiel said, and when Dean just looked more baffled, he explained further: "I was temporarily female."

"You what?" said Dean, mouth hanging half-open.

"Kelsey the bartender had a brain aneurysm which would have been fatal," the angel continued. "I offered to heal it, and in exchange she allowed me the use of her body as a vessel briefly so I could…kiss you." He paused, looking down at his shoes. "It was a selfish thing to do, and dishonest…not to mention cowardly…so I felt I should tell you now, since we are to be more open with one another." He swallowed. He wondered if he was ruining everything by admitting to having done something so foolish.

"So what you're telling me is," Dean said, taking a step towards him, "You took Kelsey the Bartender for a spin, mojo'd her brain thing away, laid one on me, and then didn't tell me about any of it?" When Dean put it that way, it sounded even more foolish. "Why would you do something like that?"

Castiel chanced a look up at Dean. Thankfully, his expression was surprised rather than angry. "I was sure you were incapable of returning my feelings," the angel mumbled lamely. "Because you have always perceived me as male."

Dean sighed, and bit his lip, looking around as if it was really very embarrassing having to have to talk about this. "Look, I know I'm messed up on that front, or…not completely honest," he said very quietly. Castiel wasn't sure what "that front" referred to, but somehow perceived that Dean was admitting that Castiel's vessel's gender was not of import and that doing so was difficult for him, so he didn't question further. "But the fact that you'd hide something like that from me because you thought I'd push you away for it?" he continued, and the hurt in his voice was evident. "I thought you trusted me more than that." His green eyes were shadowed over by his furrowed brow.

"I do," Castiel assured him. "I do, Dean; I do trust you. I was just…" he looked around uncertainly. "Afraid," he decided, looking at Dean again, "to hear how you would respond. I didn't want to give you any more to worry about, not if I could prevent it."

Dean's expression was 20% frustration, 20% wonder, and 60% affection. Or maybe 100% affection. Castiel was not sure that percentages mattered in this context. "Even without…" he gestured between the two of them vaguely, "…all of this stuff… You and me—and Sam—we're friends, Cas. Family, even. We share our problems, no matter how gigantic or stupid or embarrassing they may be."

"I realize that now," the angel told him. Then, in a slightly teasing tone, he added, "If I ever feel the need to kiss you from now on, I'll let you know in-person."

"As long as by 'in-person' you don't mean 'in-another-person', fine by me," Dean said, smiling in a way that made his eyes glint. It was such a natural smile, the worry lines in his face smoothing out and his eyes crinkling around the edges. The angel felt a flutter in his chest. How bizarre.

"I'm back," Sam announced, still drying his hands slightly on his jeans. He approached the Impala's right back door. "I'm feeling generous today. Dean's new boyfriend gets shotgun," he said brightly, folding his large frame into the back seat. Castiel looked at Dean for approval. Dean gave a little shrug and a half-smile.

Maybe Castiel was a lousy angel. Maybe he had made horrible mistakes, done things he couldn't take back, fallen in every way imaginable. But, he thought as he clambered into the passenger-side front seat, as long as he got to keep all this, got to keep Sam and Dean and this old car and this frustrating, monotonous, violent, wonderful, beautiful life…

As long as Dean Winchester needed him and (perhaps?) loved him…

He didn't really care what anyone else thought of him anymore.

THE END

I hope this was worth waiting for. You are all so incredible and I don't want to disappoint!

How many of you saw it coming with Kelsey? I am hoping that the hints I was dropping all along were enough to make you think there was something special about her, but that it was still somewhat of a surprise at the end there. I did not make up the name Kelial, by the way. Look it up! ;)

Anyway, not to get too sappy or rambly, but I hope this left you all feeling fluffy and happy inside, because you all deserve to feel fluffy and happy inside. Thanks again, everyone, and I look forward to hearing from you again when I write more. xo