Collection of Destiel

Unconditionally

"Dad, why do you love Daddy?"

Castiel paused at the question as his eyes dropped to the small girl cuddled up against his side. It was a regular Wednesday night with the two of them watching some TV before Dean came home from work. There was nothing that would make it spectacular except the question that now hung on Cas' heart.

"What do you mean?"

Mary sighed deeply with a concentrated look upon her face. "I mean... this girl in my class today asked me how I can have two dads. She said that it was weird... and unnatural. She said that everybody has one mommy and one daddy. So... why do you love Daddy? Why don't I have a mommy?"

All of the fears came crawling up Cas' spine as he realized this was the question he had dreaded since they brought the newborn into their home all those years ago. With every passing day the question had left his mind as he settled into a happy life with his husband and daughter. He almost forgot that someday Mary might ask this question to him and that he would need to give her an honest answer.

"Remember how Daddy always gives me a hug when he gets home from work?"

"Yeah."

"And how Daddy will smile at me when he thinks we aren't looking?"

Mary giggled a little bit. "His eyes get all gooey."

Castiel smiled with a tear teetering on his eyelid. "And how Daddy tells me every morning before he leaves for work that he loves me?"

"Yeah."

"And how Daddy always comes home. Every day he walks into that door because he loves us. No matter if we are mad at each other, or if we fight, or if he had a bad day at work... he always walks through that door and gives us both kisses on the cheeks?"

"Yeah."

Castiel gripped his daughter a little tighter against him as if he could trick himself into thinking he would never have to let her go. "Those are some of the reasons I love your Daddy. I love him because he loves me unconditionally. I know that you might not understand yet, but 'unconditionally' is a very powerful word. Your Daddy has loved me through everything bad and good that has happened. He has held me when I was sad and has carried me when I thought I would give up.

"I asked him to marry me because I didn't ever want to have a day when he didn't walk through that door and give me a kiss on the cheek. I didn't ever want my home to go a day without his laughter. All my life I wondered what people meant when they said 'love'. I found that meaning in your Daddy. He is everything that I love in this world. And he gave me you. This family... the three of us, and maybe someday soon there will be four of us, is where my heart belongs."

Mary stayed very quiet through Cas' words. Her little head lifted to meet her father's eyes with an understanding that took his breath away. "I'm glad that I have two daddies. I would rather have you two then anyone else."

The tears started to flow down Castiel's face as he smiled with a short choked sob. "Me too, Mary."

"Don't cry, Dad." Mary untangled her little arm and reached up to wipe some of the tears. "We're happy. I love you and I love Daddy and we are happy."

Castiel clung to his daughter as he let himself cry with a joy that felt as if it would burst from his chest. The weight of never being enough in Mary's eyes fell off of his shoulders in heaping pounds. Just as he swallowed down the last of his tears he heard the familiar roar of a car pull into their driveway.

"Daddy!" Mary jumped down from Castiel's lap to sprint toward the door.

Castiel watched with awe as Mary waited patiently till the door swung open. Dean's eyes looked sad until the exact moment they met their daughter's eyes. A warmth overtook those green eyes and it made Castiel's own heart stutter rapidly.

"Pumpkin pie!" Dean didn't waste any time bending down into a crouch to pull his daughter into his arms. "How was your day?"

"Okay." Mary wrapped her small arms around Dean's neck and buried her head against his shoulder. "Dad told me why he loves you."

"Is that so?" Dean peered up at his husband with a smile drenched in sweetness.

Mary nodded. "He loves you 'unconditionally'."

Castiel flushed. "Well-I didn't exactly-"

"I love him unconditionally, too." Dean stood, bringing his daughter up with him, and started to walk carefully toward his husband. "Have since day one."

"Day one? That's a little-" Castiel was about to dispute it but he was cut short when lips pressed against his chastely.

Dean pulled back with a light smile. "Day one, Cas."

"Yeah, Dad. Day one." Mary leaned away from Dean to hook one of her arms around Cas' neck, bringing the three of them close together.

Castiel felt more tears slide down his cheek. He didn't have time to consider that this was one of the happiest moments in his life. People rarely know that until they are looking back at it years down the line. The moment was a memory as the three of them made their way toward the kitchen for dinner. And as the night came to a close, after Dean tucked their daughter into her bed and made sure to check for monsters under the bed, the two men curled around each other under their covers with chaste kisses filled with unconditional promises.

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