Castiel can understand how it might be a sensitive subject. Having been changed into what he is.. Dean doesn't necessarily seem proud of what he has become, has holed himself away in a dusty, decrepit old castle, so he knows better than to push, even if he has a thousand more questions lining up behind the first. In time, perhaps, he can learn more, but for now he'll have to satisfy himself with this.

So Castiel clears his throat and glances toward his plate, but he hardly has a moment to reroute the conversation before Dean's doing it for him. Inhaling deeply, Castiel shakes his head. "I.. haven't been given permission to marry, no," he says, eyes down, expression smooth but hard. "I'm not sure I ever will, at this rate. But it's no matter, I'd rather study and travel, anyway."