Coveted Wings [Destiel]

Chapter 8: You Are My Sunshine

Everything was dark again. He didn't know where he was. He managed to move his fingers slightly. He felt...cloth? No, he felt sheets underneath his hands.

He finally managed to pry his eyes open. The light blinded him for a second, making him groan. He brought his shaky arms up and rubbed his eyes before setting his arms back down. He stared at an off white ceiling above him.

Slowly, painfully, he sat up. He looked around the room he was in. It was his old room back at the base. The bed next to him was empty.

He looked out the window and saw the sun shining. The birds were chirping, the clouds were covering the sky, and the house was peaceful.

It was almost too peaceful...

He forced himself up out of his bed, his muscles quite stiff since he was probably motionless for a while. Shuffling to his closet, he picked out a loose t-shirt and some gray sweatpants. He slipped the shirt over his head, and it was indeed very loose. It was a Led Zeppelin shirt.

He walked slowly into the bathroom that was connected to his room. He lazily brushed his teeth and then brushed his hair. When he felt satisfied, he walked back into his room before walking through the hallway.

He slowly emerged into the kitchen. It was quiet. No one was there.

Taeo wasn't running around, yelling obscurities. Nala wasn't chasing after him, since those obscurities were most likely to tease or embarrass her. Siel wasn't sitting at the dining table, reading his newspaper. Asuka wasn't sitting beside him, calmly eating his breakfast as he watched Nala chasing Taeo around with amusement in his eyes. Dean...Dean wasn't there, standing beside him, dragging him over to eagerly claim their breakfast.

Where was everyone?

His eyebrows furrowed. He didn't like the silence. He hated the silence. It wasn't normal to him!

He walked over to the mud room and slipped some shoes on before making his way outside. He slammed the door behind him, the sound echoing as it reverberated off of trees. He remembered the lake that was by the base. The team would always go there during the summer to swim or fish. Could they be there?

He walked around the house so that he was at the back. Soft noises of splashing water hit his ears, and it slowly became louder as he neared the lake.

Then, finally-finally-he saw his friends.

Siel and Asuka calmly sat in lawn chairs that were placed on the dock where everyone would normally fish. The two of them had sunglasses on and were carrying out a civilized conversation.

Nala and Taeo were splashing each other in the water. Taeo was laughing his head off, and even though she seemed slightly annoyed, Nala was having a bit of fun as well.

He shifted his gaze, and he finally saw the person he wanted to see.

Dean.

Dean and Sam were playing in the water as well, though he could tell that Dean's smile wasn't completely reaching his eyes. Sam was trying his hardest to make his big brother give him a genuine smile-he even went so far as to slap mud on his own head-but it just wasn't happening.

He slowly forced himself to break out into a stumbling run as he called out with a hoarse voice, "Dean!"

Dean's head immediately snapped up, and he broke out into a teary-eyed smile. He rushed forward as well as he called out in relief, "Cas!"

When they were close enough, Castiel launched himself into Dean's arms. He wrapped his arms around Dean's neck as his legs went around Dean's waist. They would have fallen to the ground if it weren't for Dean's quick reflexes. Dean stumbled a bit but managed to catch Castiel in his arms.

"Cas, are you-"

He didn't have time to finish as Castiel crushed his lips against his own. Dean was slightly taken aback, but quickly returned the kiss. Dean closed his eyes and leaned into the kiss, happy that he finally had the chance to convey his feelings to Castiel.

When they pulled away, Castiel was in tears and he tried to croak out, "Dean, I-"

"Woah, hang on there, bud," Dean said gently as he rubbed Castiel's back.

He set Castiel on the ground before quickly grabbing a bottle of water and handing it to him. Castiel eagerly took it and drank some of the water, letting it wash down his dry and scratchy throat.

"Man, am I happy to see that I could actually help! I figured out how to use your grace and I healed you," Dean said with a proud smile.

When Castiel finished drinking, he smiled up at Dean and set the bottle on the ground. He wrapped his arms around Dean's neck. "Dean, I love you," Castiel finally said.

Dean blinked in shock for a moment before a bright smile took over his features. He pulled Castiel close and nuzzled his face in Castiel's hair. "I love you too, Cas..."

"Cas, you're okay!" Sam called as he ran up as well, quickly followed by everyone else.

Dean and Castiel broke from their hug so that Castiel could greet everyone else. Sam gave Castiel a hug along with a bright smile. Taeo also gave Castiel a hug, but instead of a smile he had over exaggerated tears. Nala gave Castiel a small smile with a pat on the shoulder. Siel gave Castiel a side hug, which was quickly followed by another side hug from Asuka. When everyone was finished, Castiel's clothes were all wet, but he could care less.

"You should come play with us, Castiel!" Taeo exclaimed happily as he bounced with joy. There were multiple sounds of agreement.

"We'll be there in a minute," Dean replied for Castiel. Everyone nodded and went back to what they were doing earlier.

Dean stood behind Castiel and wrapped his arms around his waist. He set his chin on Castiel's shoulder as he murmured in his ear, "You're wearing my shirt, you know that?"

Castiel grinned and turned around in Dean's arms. His arms went around Dean's neck and he pulled their bodies flush together.

"Yeah, I know."

They leaned in for another kiss, which was just as perfect and just as passionate as the last one.

Castiel finally felt like a heavy weight was lifted off of his shoulders. He no longer had to search for the man that stole his wings, and he also didn't have to search for the man that had received his wings. He thought that he would want them back at first, but he slowly accepted that Dean now had his wings.

Well, he was more than okay with that fact.