Jensen Ackles at Jus In Bello Con 13 | Rome, June 18th 2023

So, let me emphasize, this wasn't something that nobody saw as romantic until S15. It's that S15 was the first time Misha thought they could actually do something overt with it, the confession. It seems like Misha's really happy that finally it didn't have to be this unspoken layer to Cas, that Cas was going to get to express it and accept his own feelings. It's not just a about a ship, there's a layer that's important to Cas, the self-acceptance theme.

We also know that over the seasons there are various writers who worked it into the story. Destiel grew in textual emphasis over time.

This is not something where there was nothing, and then all of a sudden in the final season it was a thing. It was part of the story for years. Subtly. Writers working it in via subtext, queer coding, or even textual level but unspoken.

And Misha just 100% confirmed that he saw it as romantic for a long while, but Cas repressing those feelings.

It was there. It's been there a long time.