Author's Note: So, remember when I said I may eventually be brave enough to write smut? Well, it happened! It's light, but it's totally there. Oh, and chapter 1 can be read as a stand alone for just a healthy dose of fluff. Chapter 2 is where the smut is. Happy reading!

Dean's keys jangled as he picked them up from the bowl by the front door. "I'm gonna head over to Cas' place," he called.

Sam glanced up from where he was sitting on the couch, popcorn halfway to his mouth, a Law and Order episode playing on the TV. "Yeah, okay. Thanks for sharing?"

Dean nodded tersely and reached for the door handle, cringing when he heard his brother jump up from the couch. There was also the crash of the popcorn bowl onto the floor, though Sam obviously ignored it in favor of running after him. Dean braced himself.

"Hey, wait! How're you gonna get in this late?" Sam asked curiously and, if Dean didn't know any better, knowingly. Sam's smile widened considerably. "Oh my God, he gave you a key, didn't he?"

Dean may or may not have felt color rising in his cheeks.

"He did!" Sam crowed, clapping Dean on the back. "Good goin', dude! Been long enough."

Dean half-heartedly shoved his brother away and toed the carpet of the entryway. "It's not that big a deal, man. Chill out."

Sam scoffed. "You've been dating for eight months, Dean! This is the definition of a big deal. If I was allowed to have a key to Jess' dorm, I would, but college rules and all that crap. It's a step in a good direction."

Trying hard to stare blankly at his brother, Dean pulled at his jacket sleeves. "Yeah, well, I'll be back sometime tomorrow. Cas asked me to come by after I got cleaned up from the garage."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "That was hours ago. It's nearly ten-thirty now."

"I fell asleep after a shower."

Sam nodded understandingly. He didn't need to be told how hard Dean worked to support them both as best he could. Sam was in school on scholarships and student loans and tried to help out as much as he could with his part-time job, but Dean still footed the bulk of the bills.

During Sam's musings, Dean had opened the door to the apartment and stepped into the cool October air. "I'll see ya later, Sammy. Invite Jess over or something." He glanced over at the living area. "But maybe clean up your trash first."

He shut the door, leaving Sam to fish his phone from his pocket and text his girlfriend.

The door to Cas' house unlocked noiselessly, much to Dean's relief. Then again, the Impala wasn't exactly a quiet car, so Cas probably heard him pull up anyway.

Shutting the door behind him, locking it back, and stepping into the brightly lit living room, Castiel's orange and white cat, Vega, jumped off the couch to twirl around his legs, purring loudly. He nudged the creature away before he tripped over her and poked his head around the corner to the kitchen. Lights were on, but Castiel was nowhere in sight.

"Cas?"

Frowning, Dean turned back to the living room and finally noted the papers spread about. Some were obviously in the 'graded' pile, while others seemed to be strewn randomly. Figuring Cas would need them sometime soon, Dean started gathering up the haphazardly thrown papers. There were a lot of them today. Glancing over one, he saw that one of Cas' third graders had missed some of the English rules they had recently learned, but Cas had taken the time to write in the correct answers and explain what the kid had gotten mixed up on. Dean smiled. Castiel worked so hard for those kids. It was funny how he had no desire for his own, but Dean figured Cas felt like he had twenty or so already. He didn't need to take them home at the end of the day. Dean got that. Practically raising Sam had been enough for him, too. He wouldn't trade it for anything, but he thought he could see where Cas might be coming from on that front.

Vega suddenly jumped up into his lap, demanding attention, scattering more papers in her wake, mewling loudly. Rolling his eyes, Dean relented and scratched behind her ears as he grabbed up the remaining graded assignments and stacked them neatly on the coffee table in front of the couch. The room honestly didn't look much tidier, but it would have to do for the time being.

Lifting Vega off his lap and giving her one last scratch under the chin when she settled herself happily in the warm spot he'd vacated, Dean took himself straight to the bathroom to wash his hands. Petting Vega wasn't an issue. Rubbing his eyes after said petting was the problem. He'd learned that the hard way. The amount of Benadryl he'd needed after that had been horrid.

Wiping his hands on the towel next to the sink, Dean headed back out to the main living area, shutting off lights as he went. He left the small light over the stove on though. He knew Cas liked to leave Vega with a bit of light at night. Though Dean suspected it was actually for himself, since the cat loved to walk directly into and around his pathway. A sleepy Cas, plus an excitable cat, was not a good combination.

Smirking at this train of thought, Dean made his way towards Cas' bedroom. The door was ajar, so he quietly pushed it further open. The low beam of light from the hallway swept over the bottom half of the figure sprawled out on the bed. Dean sighed and leaned against the door-frame.

Cas was still in his slacks and socks, and Dean was pretty sure he saw the glint of the man's watch still on his wrist, too. He wasn't even properly on the bed. Instead, his limbs were thrown over the mattress horizontally and in what had to be uncomfortable positions.

Still suppressing a chuckle, even though the fond smile refused to go anywhere at this point, Dean tip-toed to the side of the bed, gently nudged Castiel onto his back and begun quick work on removing the man's pants and socks. Thankfully, Cas was accommodating, letting his limbs be moved about without much fuss. Dean leaned over and snapped Cas' watch off and put it on the bedside table, then set to the task of lightly pushing Cas here and there to get him to move into a more suitable position on the bed.

With his head finally connected with a pillow, Cas immediately cuddled down into it and sighed contentedly. He murmured unintelligibly for a moment before settling again.

Dean turned away after a minute of watching Castiel to shut the bedroom door and undress. He had folded Cas' clothing and placed them on a nearby armchair, but Dean just threw his own over them, not caring if they wrinkled.

Left only in his boxers, Dean slipped into the bed, gathered a pliant Cas to him, and pulled the sheets over them both. Running his fingers through his lover's hair as Castiel nuzzled his chin into Dean's shoulder, breathing softly, Dean fell asleep in no time.