Saved

Castiel had been watching Dean Winchester for most of his life.

When the Righteous Man was born, the word was spread throughout Heaven, but they were told to wait and allow the humans to act as they pleased.

He never approached the Righteous Man, or guided him in any way. Instead, he would -like many of his brothers and sisters- at times glance down, taking in glimpses of the boy-turned-man's daily life. For a long time, he did not understand how this could be the Righteous Man. He seemed to love sinning, and was well acquainted with lust and pride and gluttony. He was susceptible to greed and sloth, envy and wrath.

It was not until the moment he finally touched Dean Winchester's soul that he understood.

His battalion was one of those sent to wage war against Hell, and his commanders had praised Castiel (although not overly much, so as to avoid vanity). Of all of Heaven's soldiers, he was perhaps the most skilled in battle besides the archangels themselves. It was no surprise to anyone when he was the first to break through into the pit and grasp the soul of the Righteous Man. Triumphant, he rose immediately, up and out of Hell.

That was when all of the emotions and beliefs and love of the soul slammed into him. Castiel had never felt so much, all at once. And to feel so greatly and deeply…

The kernel at the very core of who and what Dean Winchester was seemed made entirely of love for anyone and everyone but himself.

It was disorienting to realize that this soul, strong and noble and the best of his time, considered himself worthless and weak and pitiful and broken.

Castiel could not understand.

While no human was perfect, this human strove with every breath to love perfectly. He might hate a person's actions, words, or choices, but he would not hate the person. Even the monsters which he hunted he did not hate. Not truly. What he felt for them was a dark mixture of anger and pity. In the most basic, true way, this was the Righteous Man.

And Castiel could not help unconsciously and instantaneously swearing his allegiance to this soul.

That day, Dean Winchester was not the only soul saved.