Bent.

Spoilers up to 10.02 Reichenbach.
Note: this is a oneshot, broskis.

+

"Cas, I can't thank you enough," Sam says and moves in to hug his friend. "I don't think I can ever repay you."

"That's alright," Castiel replies, "Having the real Dean back is the best thing I could ask for, all I needed was my stolen grace."

"But you're human now."

"I know," Castiel smiles, "I am human, yes, but I'm tired of being an angel, and I'm shamelessly happy to spend the rest of my short lifespan with the both of you."

"We could stop hunting, for a while, we deserve a break." Sam suggests.

"We could."

Dean wakes up a few minutes later. The first thing he sees with his green eyes are the his brother and his best friend, and they are smiling as Sam frees him from the chair. He smiles back. He's cured.

But then the memories flooding in. He rushes out of the dungeon as soon as Sam's done with the cuffs and locks himself into his room, ignoring their pleas for him to come back.

+

"Dean, we can fix this," Castiel pleads through the door, "Let me in."

"I don't expect you to understand," Dean replies quietly, "The things I did, Cas, I did things that I told myself that I would never do, how do you expect me to be okay with that?"

Castiel was silent for a moment. "Me and Sam have screwed up more times than we could ever dare to count," He admits, "But we pushed through it, and you can do the same, please, let me in."

"You fucking thought that what you were doing the right thing! I knew the shit that I was doing was bad, believe me, and guess what? I didn't give a damn! I'm not as good as you and Sammy, never will be."

Castiel slammed the door, "Dean Winchester, do not dare to ever think of yourself in such a self-depreciating way ever again!" He yells, "I did not give up the last ounces of my stolen grace so you could lock yourself in your room and sulk."

"What, did you think that I'd be okay after I was cured? That I'd be just fine and that we could all go out for ice cream and strippers to celebrate? Well, I'm sorry, Cas, but the world just doesn't work that way."

"Dammit, Dean! I didn't expect you to be okay," Castiel says, brokenly. "I expected you to let me in so I could help you. Dean, you took on the mark because you knew you could kill Abaddon and Metatron, there was no way that you could have known that it would turn you into a demon. It's not your fault. Me and Sam, we'll help you. Please, open the door."

Dean doesn't reply for a while, and Castiel slides his hands down the door in defeat.

Just as he's about to go, the door opens. Castiel rushes in. "You mean that?" Dean asks from where he's sitting on the edge of his bed. His eyes are rimmed red, and is drinking a bottle of Jack.

"We're family, you and I," Castiel smiles, "I need you too, Dean."

"But you're human."

"Yes, but it is a small price to pay to get my friend back."

Dean sniffs, but he's smiling. He places the bottle on his nightstand, "Thank you, thank you so much," Dean stands up and wraps his arms around Castiel's torso, "I'll make it up to you," He buries his head into Castiel's shoulder.

"You already have."

They're silent for a while, but in retrospect, it's the best silence that they've had in a while.