Purgatory

Vulnerable

Dean Winchester is many things; an ex-demon, a vessel, a big brother, a porn-addict, a pie-addict, an adoptive dad to the son of Satan, but the one thing he's tried not to be is vulnerable. John raised him to be a warrior, to be both a mother and a father to Sam, John did many things wrong as a parent but the worst thing he did was instill the idea that emotions make you weak. Even when he was with Lisa, Dean's guard was never down 100% and maybe it never would be but in this moment, spilling his heart out to the man he's loved for over a decade. The one who saved him from hellfire because it was his duty and who continued to save him because he grew to like Dean so much. Dean Winchester may be a stubborn bastard with daddy issues but he grew on Castiel like moss.
The angel was silent for a while as he processed things and Dean took his silence as rejection. He turned away to hide the gleam of pain and tears in his eyes and just as he was about to get up and leave the kitchen to go to his room, Castiel said, "Wait," in a firm tone, "Dean I feel the same." He grabbed the human's scarred hand and gripped it tightly in his own. "I thought I was doing you a favor not to complicate things between us but it only cost us both, I hope you'll forgive me but I didn't know if it was possible for an angel to feel love, or if that's even what I was feeling." He got up from his seat to stand face to face with Dean. They both had a tired weary look in their eyes but it was joined by a new glimmer of hope they both had for the future. For themselves, for the fight against Chuck.
"You know I forgive you, always, Cas."
Castiel gently held each side of Dean's face in his palms until their noses and foreheads touched and they shared a moment more intimate than anything either had experienced before. Slowly turning their heads, their lips touched ever so slightly. Both were careful with each other as if they were afraid either was made of fine china and could break into a million pieces at any instant. They began to kiss, at first softly, then more passionately as they eased into the kiss. Dean had been in love before but it'd never been like this, and Castiel? He felt like melted butter, there's no other way to describe it.
They snuck into the long hall of the Men of Letters bunker, looking out for Sam but not being too cautious, as they were still holding hands. The two made their way to Dean's man-cave full of vinyl records, a certain favorite magazine collection, and various weapons. Dean never had a problem with his room before but now that Cas was in it he felt self-conscious, like a teenager having their crush over for the very first time. I guess in a way, he was, since Dean had never had a real room of his own until the boys set up shop in the bunker.