Castiel felt his heart—his vessel's heart, really, but he had spent so much time in this vessel by now that it was almost more familiar to him than his true form—stutter in his chest as Dean's strong arms grabbed his and pulled him close for a kiss. It was surprising, in a way, that even after all the months that Castiel had been with Dean, his physical reactions were the same as they had been in the beginning. That did not mean that Castiel minded.

The kiss lasted uncharacteristically long; Sam and Gabriel were not in the hotel with them, but on another one of their not-dates. Of course, the only reason they weren't actual dates was because both Sam and Gabriel were too stubborn to admit their feelings for one another, but the point was that Dean and Castiel were finally alone together for the first time in nearly a month, which made Dean's enthusiasm excusable.

Castiel returned Dean's kiss just as enthusiastically until he sensed in Dean's mind that the human needed to breathe, a fact of which Dean himself was not yet precisely aware. Castiel had noticed that, while Dean could be very perceptive on occasion, when they were kissing he tended to be extraordinarily unobservant, especially when it came to things like breathing.

The angel made himself pull away so that Dean could catch his breath, though Dean, being Dean, only half let him. He kept his arms wrapped tightly around Castiel, essentially caging him, though of course he could have gotten away in an instant had he so desired.

Dean, resting his forehead against Castiel's, opened his mouth to say something—and instead yawned hugely, his mouth opening so wide that Castiel heard his jaw crack. He raised his eyebrows. "When was the last time you slept, Dean?" he asked, searching the hunter's face.

"You mean, for the whole night?" he said, frowning slightly. He shrugged. "Don't know. Couple weeks?" He caught Castiel's look. "What?"

"Why did you not say anything to me?" Castiel asked, allowing a note of disapproval to creep into his tone. "You know that I could help you sleep."

Dean shrugged again, looking uncomfortable. "Come on, Cas, you telling me you got nothing better to do than put me to sleep?"

Castiel almost rolled his eyes—a very human reaction that he had quickly picked up on during his time with the Winchesters. "Come," he said, pulling Dean over to the bed.

Dean stared at him. "Wha-?" he sputtered. Castiel carefully pushed him onto the bed, though he remained standing himself. Dean sighed loudly, running a hand through his hair. "Cas. I'm fine."

"You need to rest," Castiel replied. He reached out the first two fingers of his left hand, but Dean stopped him, grabbing his wrist.

"No." Castiel frowned, and Dean sighed again, rolling his eyes towards the ceiling. "Look," he said after a moment, "I'll take a nap if you want me to, and you can use your mojo on me if you need to—but only if you come to bed with me."

Castiel's eyes narrowed. "Dean—"

"No, no, I'll be good," Dean finished hastily. "All we'll do is sleep, I promise." He paused. "Well, I'll sleep, anyway." He caught Castiel's eye. "I just want you to hang around, you know? Wouldn't want this to ruin our day."

There was a short silence. "Very well," Castiel answered finally. Dean grinned and tugged the angel down onto the bed with him, pulling insistently at his arm until they were both lying on their sides on the bed, facing each other.

Dean reached forward without hesitation to touch Castiel's cheek lightly, which was uncommon but by no means unwelcome. In response, Castiel let his hand curl around Dean's waist, making him smile, and simply watched him as his eyes slowly closed. "Dean," he murmured softly, almost unconsciously.

Dean's green eyes fluttered open again and focused on Castiel's with some difficulty. "Yeah?" he asked, his voice sounding as if it were coming form far away.

Castiel shook his head. "My apologies," he replied, just as softly as before. "There was no reason behind my saying your name other than that...I wished to. I am sorry."

Dean shrugged, laughing a little. "S'okay," he muttered, his eyes closing again. "Night, Cas."

After a few minutes, when his head had fallen onto Castiel's shoulder and the angel knew he was asleep, Castiel kissed Dean's forehead very gently, being careful not to wake him, and put his hand on Dean's chest to feel his heart beating. "I love you," he whispered, and nothing he had ever said had been truer.

The angel did not move from Dean's side the entire time he was sleeping. After all, someone had to be there for him consistently.