6. I'LL ALWAYS CHOOSE YOU
Dean began to notice a change in Castiel's behavior. It wasn't immediately obvious; it was more like a gradual change over time. He became aloof, distancing himself from Sam and Dean whenever possible. Often he would give Dean sad, longing looks. Dean couldn't help but wonder what had gotten into the former angel.
After about a week or so of this, Dean decided to finally confront Cas.

Dean walked into the room he usually shared with Sam, to find Castiel sitting on the very bed he slept in every night. Cas looked out the window wistfully, as if he was looking for something just out of his reach.
Dean cleared his throat. "Um, hey there Cas, mind if I sit?" he asked.
Castiel turned to him, trying to hide the emotion brimming in his eyes.
"Dean," he said, "I've been thinking."
Dean sat down on the bed, next to Castiel. "Oh yeah? You have? It's sure seemed that way for the past couple of days. What's on your mind?"
"Since I've become a human I've discovered that I'm feeling this strange emotion towards you. It reminds me of being shot by one of Cupid's arrows...metaphorically, that is."
At first Dean looked at him, confused. But suddenly, it was all too clear what Cas was trying to say.
"I see now," said Dean, "you're in love with me, aren't you, Cas?"
At this Castiel's blue eyes brightened and he gave a barely perceptible nod.
Suddenly, bits and pieces of his recent bizarre actions made sense.
Dean smiled. "Well, that's the best news I've heard in a long time."
"I still don't fully understand the concept," admitted Castiel, "and I wasn't sure if you felt the same way about me, but I had to let you know."
Dean sighed, noticing Castiel's encouraging look. It was almost as if Cas could already tell what he was going to say, before he even said it.
"It took me awhile to be okay with it," said Dean, "but I was just about to tell you. Well, looks like you beat me to the punch line, for once. It's good to know."
A blatant look of joy and understanding crossed Castiel's face. "Do you mean that you..."
"Yeah. I love you, Cas. Sorry it took so long for me to say it."
Castiel grinned and then, without warning, turned and threw his arms around Dean. This startled the hunter, but he soon reciprocated.
They pulled away from each other after awhile, but Castiel let his hands rest possessively on Dean's shoulders. They looked at each other a bit shyly, as if they were meeting for the first time once again.
"Does this mean I can show you some of the things I learned from the pizza man?" asked Castiel, eagerly. "I've wanted to show you how much I remember."
Dean chuckled. "Sure, of course you can. I'm surprised you still remember that. You don't have to ask."
Castiel leaned forward a bit hesitantly, until his face was pressed close to Dean's. Then, without warning, he gently put both his palms against Dean's cheeks and kissed him.
Dean returned the kiss, noting with surprise that Castiel was actually a good kisser. This was drastically different from all the other times he'd hooked up with women in the past. To his surprise it didn't feel wrong at all, kissing someone of the same gender. Angels didn't even have genders, after all, though Cas was a human now.
Dean had never considered what it would be like to kiss Castiel before. Although there was that one time when he and Sam had witnessed firsthand Castiel kissing Meg, and even then Dean had only slightly entertained the thought in the back of his mind of what it would be like if he was in Meg's place. Well, he mused while deepening the kiss, he knew what it was like now.
"Um..." said a voice, uncertainly. Immediately, Dean and Cas broke apart and exchanged a sheepish glance when they saw Sam standing in the doorway.
"I'm sorry; was I interrupting something?" Sam asked, gesturing between the two of them. He sounded just as embarrassed as they felt.
"Look, Sam, I can explain," said Dean. "This isn't what it looks like."
"Dean and I are in love," explained Castiel, pride unmistakable in his voice.
"Oh," said Sam, "well, I'm happy for you and all, and, um, I'll just...leave you two alone now."
With that Sam left the room, and in the next second a loud, triumphant "Yes!" could be heard from just outside the door.
Castiel looked at Dean, clearly confused. "What was that about?" he asked.
Dean smiled. "I think I know," he said. It was obvious that Sam had been anticipating this, and for some time now, too. "He must've been reading fanfiction again."
Cas had clearly stopped even trying to understand Dean's references to pop culture. "He's very supportive of you," he observed.
"No," corrected Dean, "it's not just me. He's supportive of us, Cas. You and me together, you know?"
Castiel smiled as Dean reached out a hand and slipped it into his, as if to emphasize his point. He looked down at their joined hands in what seemed like wonder.
They stayed like that for awhile, sitting together in silence while lost in their own thoughts.
"Hey; promise me something, will you, Cas?" asked Dean, suddenly.
Castiel nodded. "I'll do my best," he said.
"Don't leave me, okay? Everyone always leaves..." Dean blinked, clearly trying to hold back tears. He could count on one finger the number of people who hadn't wound up leaving him for one reason or another. It was one of the many reasons why he had been hesitant to admit his feelings for Cas in the first place.
"Dean," said Castiel, "I'm not going anywhere this time; I'm happy right where I am. And even if I do go, I'll always choose you."
Dean smiled, comforted by the former angel's words. "Good," he said, "'cause...you want to hear my choice?"
Castiel didn't need to hear what Dean's choice was; he already knew. Still, he nodded enthusiastically. Unspoken confirmation was one thing, but spoken confirmation was another thing entirely.
"It's you, and no one else."
Cas smiled, practically glowing with happiness. "Thank you, Dean," he said, "for everything."
In answer, Dean gripped Castiel's hand just a bit harder for a moment. "I hope you don't regret this, whatever...this...is," he said.
"No," said Castiel, his voice steady with confidence, "I regret everything I've ever done to harm you, but I don't regret this. Dean, I...I love you."
"I know," said Dean. He smiled, thinking of Charlie and how only she would understand the little inside joke.
Castiel tilted his head, as if asking a silent question, but still smiled back at his hunter and leaned his head against his shoulder, as Dean wrapped an arm around him in a comforting half-embrace.
There was nothing standing in their way now; there was nothing to prevent them from being together in every sense of the word. They both knew that the nature of their relationship hadn't changed with their feelings for each other, not really. They would get through whatever was to come next just as they always had. There would be, as Castiel had once said to Dean, just more of the same. And for the first time in a long time, they could both be happy.