Chapter 1

Dean was laying down on his back, on the hard, uncomfortable motel bed. He stared aimlessly up at the ceiling, bored out of his mind. He looked sideways at the clock on the nightstand. 11:30 pm. He frowned heavily wondering where Sam disappeared off to again. He noticed he was going out more often lately. Staying out until late and when Dean asked where the hell he was and what he was doing, Sam only shrugged and said he had taken a walk, to clear his mind. Dean rolled his eyes, unable to figure out why he needed 3 hours to clear off that head of his.

This had been going on for a month now. The older Winchester staying alone in their motel room, bored to death, too lazy to get up and putting on his usual facade. He was tired of pretending he was something he really wasn't. Besides, all the bimbos stopped satisfying him a long time ago. He only went along with it this long because he didn't want to arouse any suspicion with his brother. But now that his brother seemed to be busy doing God knows what, he didn't need to pretend. And he was so goddamn relieved too. He didn't know how much longer he could have kept the lie going.

His thoughts were brought back to his brother, Sam. Dean stopped asking where he was going a few weeks ago. He knew Sam wasn't telling him the truth so he decided not to press the issue any longer. But it kept bugging him. Why wouldn't Sam tell him what he was doing? He cursed softy under his breath, closing his eyes, hoping he wasn't back on drinking demon blood. He really did hope he was just banging some bimbo he met at the local bar and he was just too ashamed to tell him. But Dean knew Sam, and things were never that simple. With either of them.

Feeling slightly depressed and not knowing what else to do, Dean got up from the bed and put his jacket quickly wrote a small note, telling Sam he was going for a walk in case he came back and was wondering where Dean was. Dean doubted it. Sam has been growing more distant each passing day and Dean didn't know what to do to stop it. He wasn't sure he even wanted to. They needed to go their own separate ways sometime didn't they?

Dean threw the notepad onto Sam's bed, making sure he would see it as soon as he walked in. Without another glance back at the room, he stepped out into the cold winter air and smiled. He loved winter. Everyone was always so kind and caring during winter time. It almost made it look like all the bad things in the world disappeared and everything that's left is peace and just pure happiness. Not that he'd ever admit this outloud. To anyone. Not even Sam. Especially Sam. With the way things have been going between them, well...let's just say it ain't looking good.

Dean shook his head, cursing under his breath, frustrated that he couldn't help but worry about his brother. He's not that little boy anymore that used to follow Dean everywhere he went. He had his own life and Dean sure as hell wasnt going to intervene this time again.

He walked slowly toward the small park that was a couple of miles away from their motel. He always meant to come and visit it during the day, but between getting bored out of his mind and watching crappy soap operas, well... He just didn't have time. He walked along the path, leading him farther into the park. He looked around, complete darkness surrounding him. Thank God for the moon or he would really have been blind in there.

He noticed a bench by a small lake. That's weird, Dean thought. He wasn't aware that they had any lakes nearby. Especially not inside a park. Dean shrugged, letting it go, not really interested in the lake itself. He walked slowly toward the bench and smiled to himself. Castiel would usually go to the park and sit on a bench and pray to God for guidance whenever he was troubled. He sat down on the right side of the bench, ignoring the cold that was slowly starting to get to him. His thoughts wandered off to when he had seen Castiel last time. They had a fight...which resulted in Castiel zapping away abruptly, leaving him and his brother alone in the motel room. Dean frowned heavily, trying to remember what the fight was about.
"The date..." Dean mumbled softly under his breath, shaking his head. That stupid date!

It was all Sam's doing of course. He kept insisting That Castiel should go on a date with this woman he met at a bar. The thought of Castiel going on a date with a stranger angered Dean to the extreme. He was an angel for God's sake! Angels don't date. Sam and Dean were at each other's throats for a while, while Castiel simply stood there, watching them, his head titled to the side, confusion and curiosity evident on his usually blank features.

Since Dean wouldn't back down and Sam, stubborn as hell wouldn't back down either, they decided it was up to Castiel to decide whether he wanted to go or not. Not really having paid much attention to the angel while they were fighting, they failed to notice that with each passing moment, Castiel started getting angrier and angrier at the scene before him. So when the brothers finally turned to the angel, they found him glaring at them, breathing heavily as if he could barely control himself. And if looks could kill, my God, they would have burned to ashes in less than 2 seconds.

They stood there, taken back by the anger they saw in the angel's eyes. Dean took a step back as soon as Castiel's eyes fixed on his. The angel suddenly appeared closer to Dean then he'd ever been. Their noses were almost touching and Dean had to tilt his head back to look into the angel's eyes even though Dean was slightly taller than the angel. He swallowed hard, licking his suddenly dry lips and shot a quick glance toward his brother, who just sat there, with a satisfied grin on his face. Dean looked at Sam, glaring at him, wanting him to do something but before he could speak, he was being pushed up against the wall, a small hiss escaping his lips as he looked back at the angel.

"What's your problem Castiel? He's the one who wanted you to go on a goddam date in the first place! It's him you should be glaring at, not me!" Dean spoke defensively, pointing a finger frantically in Sam's direction.

He pushed himself away from the wall, desperate to get away from a real angry angel. He's gotten Castiel mad before and the consequences weren't something Dean wanted to relieve anytime soon. Too mad and frustrated to control himself, Castiel pushed Dean back against the wall, stabbing his chest with his index finger repeatedly as he spoke in a low voice. "All of my life I sat back and took orders from anyone I knew. I was a goddamn machine until I met you. Then I started to believe in free will and thinking for myself and all that. And now you're fighting with Sam for half an hour over what I should or shouldn't do without thinking of even asking me first? I may be your friend Dean but that doesn't give you the right to take over my choices just because I'm an angel and I'm not entirely sure how this world really works. I'm tired of people treating me like they know what's best for me. " Castiel took a deep breath, trying to control himself. He pulled away from Dean, putting some space between them then looked down at the floor, feeling all his anger drain away into disappointment. He looked up at Dean, a sad and distant expression on his face. "I just thought you were different..." With that, Castiel zapped away, leaving behind two stunned brothers.

Dean was brought out of his thoughts, thinking he had heard a flap of wings. Looking around, he rolled his eyes as he realised he couldn't see much around him. Then a weird shape caught his eye. He squinted his eyes, trying to make out the shape and realised that it was a person, standing by the lake with his back at him. His eyes roamed over his body, taking in the short hair and the trench coat. He looked at the angel surprised to see him there. Not knowing what else to do, Dean sat up and walked slowly towards Castiel. He didn't think he'd ever see the angel again after their last encounter. Unless they were in real danger, of course.

Dean looked over at Castiel, flinching slightly as he found the angel staring back at him. He looked back down at the ground, biting on his lower lip nervously, hating the awkwardness between them. Castiel was his only friend that he could trust, he would hate losing him over such a stupid matter.

Dean cleared his throat, "I didn't think you'd come back. After what happened last time..." he spoke in a tight voice, suddenly feeling nervous.
Castiel sighed, nodding slowly. "Yes well I came to apologise. I know you and Sam meant only to help me..." He frowned, looking confused at Dean. "Although making me go out with a human female is not much of a help. But anyway, I apologise for overreacting and acting like, what Gabriel has called me after I told him what happened, a drama Queen." He shrugged, looking up at the sky and sighed. "I will really never understand the human ways..."
Dean's face broke into a smile as he looked over at the angel. "So we're good then?"
"Yes, we are Dean."
Dean smiled and nodded, feeling as if a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. He patted Castiel's shoulder as they slowly walked away from the lake back to the motel room, after Castiel insisted that Dean should go back, due to his lips starting to become blue.

By the time they got to the motel room, Dean was shivering and to Castiel's concern, he also looked paler than usual.

By the time they got to the motel room, Dean was shivering and to Castiel's concern, he also looked paler than usual. Much to Castiel's irritation, Dean wouldn't let him just zap them quickly directly inside the motel room. He turned over, looking at Dean, who was now sitting, on the bed, shivering with a blanket wrapped around his body. "You know, you wouldn't be in this situation right now, if you'd just let me bring you here my way." Castiel sighed heavily, sitting down on the edge of Sam's bed, looking slightly irritated with the human before him. Dean rolled his eyes, not bothering to reply to the angel. He threw the blanket off his shivering body. He stood up and slowly pulled his shirt over his head, leaving him bare chested in front of a very clueless and innocent angel. Dean cursed softly under his breath realizing just how wet he'd really gotten. He must have really gotten lost in his thoughts there for a while, he didn't even realize just how much time has passed. He looked over at the watch on the nightstand and gasped softly. According to that watch it was after 2 in the morning. He sighed, suddenly feeling all the energy drain out of his body. He dropped back down on the bed, not having the energy or will to take his drenched jeans off. He crawled on the bed, mumbling sleepily under his breath. "I'm just going to go to sleep now okay Cas?" He sighed contentedly as his head hit the pillow and closed his eyes, almost asleep when he heard the angel move toward his bed.

Castiel frowned in confusion, knowing that Dean should get out of his wet jeans before going to sleep. He moved slowly towards the bed and poked Dean's leg as he sat down next to him. "But Dean, you can't sleep yet. What about your jeans? You'll get sick…Please get out of the jeans Dean." Castiel continued to poke Dean's side insistently until Dean groaned and opened his eyes to glare at the angel who wouldn't let him get his rest.

"Cas, I'm really exhausted and cold and I just wanna sleep okay? The pants will have to wait." He closed his eyes once more and tried to get back to sleep.

A small pout started to appear on Castiel's lips as he stared down at the stubborn human before him. He started tugging at his jeans hard. "You're cold because you want to sleep in wet clothes Dean. Get up and take your jeans off or I'll have to do it for you." Castiel grumbled softly under his breath, Dean would take his threat seriously.

Dean opened his eyes, casting an amused look at Castiel then chuckled, closing his eyes again, shaking his head. "Yeah sure, whatever you say, featherbrain. Just go back to heaven and come back after I've gotten my sleep. I'm sure there's more important stuff that you should be doing right now." He turned over on his side, with his back at the angel, hoping, praying even, to be left alone.

Castiel glared at the back of Dean's head, annoyed that the only person he really cared about wasn't taking him seriously. Without even realizing what he was doing, he pushed Dean on his back, on the bed and crawled on top of him, sitting on his legs. He looked up at Dean and smirked, seeing that Dean was wide awake now and was giving him the attention he wanted. Castiel slowly moved his hands over to his jeans, unbuttoning them slowly, maintaining eye contact for the whole duration of this weird moment between them. Once Castiel finished unbuttoning them, he got off Dean's legs and slid off his jeans slowly, then throwing him down, somewhere in the room, no longer paying any attention to them now that they were out of his way.

Dean was staring up at the angel, shocked out of his mind. He licked his suddenly dry lips and tried to think of something to say, to make things less awkward between them, although by the way Castiel looked at him, Dean had a vague suspicion that Castiel was enjoying all of this. He opened his mouth once more trying to think of something to say but Castiel was already ahead of him. He leaned down, close to Dean's shock stricken face and whispered softly. "Do not take my threats in a joking manner Dean. Because I do not joke, especially when it has something to do with you." Dean shuddered slightly at the feel of Castiel's hot breath on his left cheek then nodded slowly, not really wanting to find out what would happen if he angered the angel even more than he already has.

Dean was trying hard not to notice how close Castiel's lips were to his. He looked away and shifted his body, uncomfortable with the way Castiel's closeness made him feel. He shook his head, pushing those thoughts and feelings away, not wanting to get into something freaky. He stood up; pushing away from Castiel and the feelings he stirred in him. He scratched the back of his head, looking around the room, he noticed the jeans thrown on the floor and a faint blush appeared on his cheeks. If Sam came in right now and saw Castiel in Dean's bed and Dean in only his boxers. Well, let's just say, he'd probably never come back next time he left. He looked over at Castiel, wanting to comment on how funny this all seemed until his bright green eyes caught Castiel's blue ones and he felt the unfamiliar feelings surface once more. He found himself unable to tear his gaze away from Castiel's, his intense blue eyes seducing him. He looked away, clearing his throat awkwardly, trying to think clearly. "Y-You should leave Cas…I'm not feeling like myself right now." He mumbled under his breath. "Obviously…"

Castiel got off the bed, straightening out his clothes, swallowing hard, trying to compose himself, and not knowing what came over him. He tilted his head to the side, looking at Dean in confusion, not understanding why Dean's expression closed off all of a sudden. He sighed and looked down; defeated, realizing Dean closed himself off again. He liked it when he felt closer to his friend. It gave him a feeling of belonging, that he mattered to someone and that someone would always be there for him. But he pushed it all away now, seeing no emotion on Dean's face just made him feel even stupider for having such feelings. He was an angel of the Lord, and angels weren't supposed to get attached to humans. Especially the ones they were trying to protect. It all made the mission so much more complicated.

Dean looked around the room uncomfortably, not really knowing what to say or do under Castiel's scrutinizing stare. Clearing his throat once more to fill the deafening silence surrounding them that was starting to drive Dean crazy, he walked over to his duffel bag, dug around for a clean towel then turned once more to Castiel, looking at him questioningly, wondering why the angel hasn't gone back to heaven yet. "What's wrong Cas? Something you want to say?"

Castiel's attention was brought back to Dean as he heard him mention his name. He shook his head, looking down at the ground confused as if he was unaware until now that he was still in the hunter's room. "I, uh, I should leave now. There is something that I must investigate." Before Dean could ask what he was talking about, or whether he needed any help, Castiel zapped away with a strong but barely audible flap of his wings, leaving the older Winchester alone in the room.

Dean rolled his eyes, letting out a frustrated sigh. "Great. Yet another person leaving me in the dark about their whereabouts or their plans. Exactly what I needed.' He made his way inside the bathroom, shutting the door with a loud bang after him, annoyed at all the secretiveness that was going on around him.