Just for the rest of the night. That's what Dean had told himself, what he had mentally promised Sam. He'd search for a way to get Cas back, but only for tonight. Tomorrow they would follow the lead on Chuck, and after that he would set aside everything to kill that sonovabitch, and then he would get Cas back.

He would get Cas back.

But there was no way he was going Chuck killing tonight, and all of them knew it. Sam said they should all try to get some sleep, and they'd start fresh in the morning.

Yeah right. Everyone in the world but the three of them had been thanos snapped, Cas was dead, and Sam and Jack had just found out that Cas had died professing his love to Dean, who returned the feeling.

It'd be a fuckin miracle if they even attempted to shut their eyes tonight.

So rather than wasting time laying on his bed in pointless mourning, Dean decided to do something productive with his time. Sam had told him to quit it with the research- they hadn't found anything on the Empty before- but Dean wasn't giving up.

So one more night. One more night to try for Cas, and then he would focus on Chuck....

....If only focusing on Chuck would get those words out of his head.

But after six more hours of nothing, nothing, NOTHING- Dean got something. He would've called it a miracle, but there were no such things. Not in this world.

Not in a place where he'd had to watch Cas die like that.

It was a spell that, if he had read the lore right, should drop him into the Empty. It wouldn't summon it here, it wouldn't bring Cas back or wake him up, but hey, he had much better chances of negotiating for Cas's life in the Empty than out of it.

So he gathered up the stuff for the spell and got to work drawing a fancy sigil on the floor.

There was probably a 50/50 shot of the spell killing him, but Dean didn't really give a shit. It had equal chances of bringing Cas back to him, even for a moment, and he liked those odds.

Unfortunately, the spell took longer than he'd thought to put together, and by the time he'd finished, Sam and Jack had given up on sleeping as well, slowly wandering into the library as Dean began the final step.

"Dean?" Sam said, suddenly alarmed as Dean stood in the center of the sigil circle, cutting his palm with a knife. "What are you-" Dean looked up at him, desperate.

"I need him back, Sammy." He said, letting his blood drop to the floor.

"Dean-"

There was a flash, and Dean vanished from the circle, leaving Sam and Jack staring at the spot where he'd been with wide eyes.

"What do we do now?" Jack asked. Sam looked towards the books and ingredients left abandoned on the table.

"Figure out what the hell he just did first, then how we get him back."

*****

Dean crash landed in an empty black space and immediately started looking around.

But there was nothing to look at. There was nothing. It's called the Empty for a reason after all.

"Hello?" He called, getting to his feet. "CAS?"

There was a noise in the distance, like a slamming door, and the Empty appeared before him.

"YOU-" It started, furious. 

"I want Cas back. Now." Dean snapped back. The Empty let out a long suffering groan.

"Castiel, CASTIEL, it's ALWAYS CASTIEL!" Its voice seemed to rattle the space. "Why won't anyone just let that angel stay dead?"

"Because he shouldn't be dead!" Dean insisted. "Give him back."

"Why would I do ANYTHING for you? Do you have any idea the chaos I've been forced into? By that angel? By Death? By the ticking time bomb you unleashed in here? By GOD?" The Empty glared at him. "I just want sleep. That's all I've ever wanted, but none of you will let me sleeeeeep. And I'm tired!"

"You're tired?" Dean echoed, staring right back. "YOU'RE tired?" Rage boiled up inside him. "Well I'M FUCKING EXHAUSTED. Cause while you've been sitting on your ass snoozing away, I've been the one cleaning up all of this crap! I've been Chuck's pawn, I've been fixing all the messes in the universe for over FIFTEEN YEARS while YOU TOOK A CAT NAP! I DON'T GIVE A SHIT IF YOU'RE TIRED. You think you want sleep? I haven't slept in DECADES because of all the crap I've put up with, all the crap Cas and my brother have put up with, and we didn't deserve ANY of it! But after all the hell we've been through, I deserve to see it through to the end with Cas at my side because that's what I want, and if it'll get you to bed faster then THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT. So give him back, or mark my fucking words, you will not so much as shut your eyes for the rest of eternity." The Empty stared back at him.

"You're a human. You know nothing about eternity. You can't-" Dean stepped forward, murder in his eyes.

"I'm the human that killed Cain and Hitler," He said. "I'm the human that killed Death, and would've killed the second one if you didn't beat me to it. I'm the human that God himself fears." He took another step. "And believe me when I say my threats are promises I always keep."

The Empty stared at him for a moment, just a moment, and then a crack echoed through the Empty.

And then Cas appeared.

Cas appeared, trenchcoat and all, and his eyes widened at the sight of Dean, and then at the sight of the Empty.

"Dean-" He started.

"You want him back? Fine. He's back," The Empty snapped. "But I want sleep, and I want my deal." It paused, looking at Dean. "Castiel will return to Earth, but it would be interesting to add a human to my collection here." Cas stiffened.

"No," He said instantly, grabbing Dean's shoulder as the Empty snapped its fingers, sending them both back.

"Winchesters aren't worth the trouble," it grumbled before going back to sleep.

*****

"Maybe if we reverse this, it'll bring Dean back-" Jack was saying, but then there was a crash, and Dean and Cas fell to the floor and Sam and Jack ran to them.

"CAS!" Jack yelled, knocking over the angel once more with a giant hug.

"Dean!" Sam grabbed a bewildered Dean, hugging him fiercely. "Don't EVER DO THAT AGAIN-"

Dean, as usual, stopped listening to his brother's ranting as he looked across the room.

Cas.

Cas was laying there, smiling as Jack released him and started rambling.

Cas, who loved him.

And that made everything else fade away.

Dean shoved out of Sam's arms, staring at Cas. They were both on the ground still so it seemed pointless to stand. He crawled over to the angel, hands clinging to trenchcoat until those damning blue eyes were locked on him.

"Dean...." Cas began, his face stunned.

And then the angel's expression turned to anger.

"How could you DO that?" He demanded. "Do you have ANY IDEA how DANGEROUS that was? You could've died! The Empty could've-"

"Cas."

"When will you quit sacrificing yourself for plans you don't even think through all the way and-"

"Cas shut up."

"ESPECIALLY with the EMPTY, Dean! Nobody goes there, it's-"

"Cas, seriously, I need you to shut up-"

"And I hate it when you don't think of yourself when you-" Dean grabbed the angel by the neck and kissed him. 

It certainly did the job of shutting Cas up, but that wasn't why he did it. He kissed him. And he kissed him, and it was rough and definitely not one of the more refined, movie worthy kisses of Dean's life, but he really didn't give a crap because it was CAS.

Cas was here.

Cas was alive.

Cas loved him, and nobody, not even Chuck, could take that from him.

He pulled back finally and Cas stared at him, the angel's face unreadable.

"I love you too," Dean declared.

"Wha-What?" Cas whispered.

"I LOVE YOU TOO, DAMMIT." Dean yelled. "I didn't get a chance to say it, and I needed to say it and I just..." He shook his head, staring at Cas. He still sucked at words, so he just pulled the angel close and hugged him and didn't let go. "I love you too."

And Cas held him back. Against the ruins of the world, Cas held him back.

At some point Sam and Jack had left the room. Dean didn't know when. He found himself not caring much, thankful that they had had enough common sense to know when people just needed a moment.

They didn't move for awhile. Dean couldn't bring himself to. He just sat on the floor of the bunker library, the remains of the spell and the sigil scattered around them as he held onto his angel and just let it sink in that he was here, that Cas was here, that they were alive and they loved each other, and Chuck could murder the world and no one would care because he had everything he needed in this bunker. 

They kissed a couple more times. They said a few more "I love you's."

And they were together. The way Dean and Castiel were always meant to be.

"I love you."

"I love you too, dammit."

And I'll never hesitate about saying it again.