The sound of giggling drew Castiel's attention away from the book of lore Sam was trying to show him, and towards the kitchen. From where he sat on Bobby's couch he could see Jo, eyes crinkling as her smile took up more than its alloted space on her face. Dean's back was towards him, but from his stance it was obvious he was trying to make himself seem larger than he really was - a subconscious action, Cas noted, something human males did to make themselves seem desireable to the opposite sex. Dean was showing off for Jo: laughing loudly, holding himself at full height, placing himself in her space in a way that could have been intrusive, but Jo didn't seem to mind too much. Her body was leaning in a concave shape, putting a small amount of extra distance between herself and the hunter, but she showed no signs of wanting to escape, or attack, and when Dean reached out to run his fingertips down her arm, she didn't protest or move away.

Castiel felt his jaw clench.

Dean said something, and from the swarmy, cocky way he adjusted his shoulders, he thought whatever he had just said was pretty clever. Jo rolled her eyes in an affectionate jest. Not so clever then. Then, Dean brought his hand up to cup Jo's chin, and the girl's smile vanished. Then Dean was leaning in closer to her.

Cas jumped as Sam's knee nudged his. He turned, and saw Sam was watching him with a knowing, amused expression on his face.

"What?" Cas demanded.

"Dude I'm pretty sure you just growled."

"I- I was just -" Cas stuttered out, and Sam looked past the angel to the scene he had been surveying so intently. With a coy smile, he nodded for Cas to look back, and Cas did, in time to see Jo playfully shoving Dean away from her and slipping out of his reach all in one smooth motion. Dean clutched his hand to his heart in dramatic agony as Jo walked away, swaying her hips tauntingly, but without promise.

"Looks like you're getting worked up over nothing," Sam said gently.

"I wasn't getting worked up," Cas retorted, looking intently back at the books laid out in front of him and refusing to meet Sam's eyes.

"Uh-huh." Sam sighed and shook his head. "Whatever you say."

Later, they sat around preparing to watch some chick flick that Sam had picked out. Dean had invited Bobby to join them, and was met with one of the most withering looks Bobby had to offer before the older man thumped up the stairs muttering something about "Idjit kids taking over my house." Ignoring him, Dean flopped down on the couch between Castiel and Jo, and opened a beer.

"Now the important thing to remember when watching these rom coms," Dean said quietly to Cas. "Is that they are written by dudes who spend their time writing rom coms. This is not solid dating advice."

"I will keep that in mind," Castiel muttered.

They sat in silence as the opening credits rolled. The lights were out, and the glow from the television was soft, but it gave off more than enough light for Cas to watch as Dean's hand slid over to rest on Jo's thigh. Jo tried to pull her leg away discreetly, and Dean responded by sliding his fingers down the inseam of the denim and giving her leg a gentle squeeze.

"You have ten seconds before you lose your hand at the wrist, Winchester."

Sam glanced over to see what was going on just as Dean jumped nonchalantly up from the couch, mumbled something about making popcorn and disappeared into the kitchen. Jo met Sam's eyes and the both of them laughed quietly.

"Your brother is a doofus," Jo commented with a characteristic roll of her eyes. She leaned forward to grab a beer from the six pack on the table. She was going to grab one for Cas as well, but then thought better of it and handed him the bottle of whiskey sitting next to it instead.

"Dean seems to be quite taken with you," Castiel commented, trying to keep the edge out of his voice as he took a long swig from the bottle she'd offered.

"Yeah he's trying awfully hard isn't he," Jo agreed. "Almost like he's overcompensating for something."

Sam sniggered into his beer and Castiel cast a confused look between his two friends.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I just don't think I'm the one Dean really has his eyes on, is all." Castiel couldn't figure out why Jo's eyes were sparkling so wickedly.

"Popcorn!" Dean announced. He reclaimed his seat on the couch and placed a large bowl of warm, freshly popped kernals on Castiel's lap.

The movie wasn't terribly good, by Castiel's estimate. The main character was a plain looking girl who was in love with some pretty boy jock type who only saw her as a friend, so she started dating his best friend to make him jealous. The friend ended up being the one she ultimately fell in love with and married. Dull, predictable, and Cas was only really paying half of his attention to the feature. His mind was working at deciphering the silent communication that seemed to be happening between Sam and Jo. They knew something he didn't, and the anxiety of the situation was causing an unpleasant curling in his stomach.

But as the movie went on, Dean's hands bumped against Castiel's in the popcorn bowl a little more frequently. After his third or fourth beer, Dean shifted so his weight was supported more by Castiel's shoulder and less by the back of the couch. The presence was soothing to Castiel, and like a cat being pet into complacency, the restlessness in his gut slowly relaxed into a dull purr.

When the movie ended, Sam hopped up and turned on the lights. Jo made a mewing sound as she stretched out her sore muscles, and then laughed softly. Castiel looked at her curiously.

"Looks like Sleeping Beauty didn't get to see the happy ending," she explained with a smirk, and Castiel looked down to find that Dean had dozed off against him. Jo laughed again and stood up off the couch.

"I think Dean's got the right idea, I'll see you guys in the morning." She sauntered towards the staircase, and Castiel frowned after her.

"Females are very confusing," he commented to Sam, who was taking the DVD out of the DVD player and returning it to its packaging.

"Jo especially," Sam agreed. He looked over his shoulder at his brother and Castiel and grinned. "Although in this case I think she's just surprised to find out Dean is a cuddler."

Castiel tilted his head at this, but only for a moment, and then in the time it took him to narrow his eyes he had disappeared from the room. With his support gone, Dean's sleeping form started to slump downwards, and Sam watched in amusement as Dean's head hit the armrest of the couch and he jerked up with a violent start.

"Wasgoinon!" he yelped, his hand groping around instinctively for his gun. "Weinnafight?"

"No, you were just catching up on your beauty sleep."

Dean groaned and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Did the hot chick marry the fat dude?"

Sam smirked. "Well maybe you'll just have to watch the movie again and find out."

Dean pursed his lips in a stunning imitation of one of Sam's bitchfaces. "I will shoot you, little brother. Don't think I won't. Where'd Jo go?"

"To bed, why?"

Dean yawned and stretched at the thought of going to bed. "Thought I should apologize for feeling her up earlier."

Sam quirked an eyebrow at that. "Really? You? Apologize for getting handsy? If Jo gets a 'sorry' I want a ten page notorized letter for that summer before fifth grade when you -"

"Hey!" Dean cut him off. "You wanted to learn how to swim. And you promised never to speak of it again. Does the sanctity of a pinky promise mean nothing to you?"

Sam rolled his eyes. "If you go now you can probably catch her before she falls asleep."

There was a spare bedroom at Bobby's house that Jo claimed as her own whenever she found herself needing the crash space during a hunt, and Bobby hadn't argued. He had even pulled out an old pink bedspread that used to be Karen's years ago, and laid it out on the bed to give the room a bit of a feminine touch. Jo was just pulling back the bedspread, eager to crawl underneath it, when Castiel appeared suddenly at the foot of her bed. She gasped and stumbled back a few steps, before fixing her hand on her hip and channeling her genetics to give Castiel the best unamused look she could muster.

"Privacy, Cas?" she admonished. "If you were trying to catch me changing you should've zapped up here about forty five seconds ago."

"Why would I want to see that?" Jo pretended to look insulted but the jest went over Castiel's head. "You think Dean has affections for me."

It wasn't a question, but Jo nodded. "Well..yeah. He does."

Catiel's expression was grim. "And you and Sam find this...humorous."

"No Cas," Jo sighed and chewed on her lip. How the hell was she supposed to explain this? Humanizing the angel wasn't usually her responsibility. "It's not the idea of Dean having a thing for you that's funny. It's just watching him try to deny what's so obvious to everyone else. It's kinda cute to see him struggle. He's like a stubborn kid."

It took a moment for Castiel to process this new information, during which time he seemed to be staring off into space. When he came back to reality, something flashed in his eyes that sent a pain straight to Jo's chest.

"Oh man," she whispered. "You're really hurting over this, aren't you?"

"It...frustrates me," Cas confirmed, rolling his tongue over the word, trying to decide of it was appropriate. "When Dean flirts with you."

Jo nodded. "Do you understand why?"

Castiel shook his head. Jo smiled.

"I think it's because you'd rather he was talking to you that way. You've thought about it, haven't you? You and Dean?"

Castiel mulled this over. Yes, he had thought about it. He had considered what it would be like to kiss the rugged hunter. He imagined Dean tasted like beer, sweat, and motor oil, considering that's what Dean usually smelled like. That wouldn't necessarily be unpleasant. He had also considered touching Dean, maybe in chaste ways, maybe in ways that could coax out some of those sounds he heard from Dean's room when Dean thought everyone else was sleeping. But most of all he just wanted Dean to look at him, after everything he had done and everything they had been through, like he was the most important person in the room, in the world.

Yes he wanted that very much.

"Ok you don't need to think about it right now," Jo grimaced.

"I may have contemplated the possibility," Castiel admitted. "But I don't understand what you and Sam are implying. Dean seems to have no trouble communicating his desire for sex with you. He's never been like that with me. If you two are so sure Dean is interested in me, why doesn't he say anything? What makes you and I different?"

"Tits mostly," Jo mused. Castiel looked down at his vessel with a disheartened expression, and she scrambled to correct herself. "No no, it's not just that. You're his best friend, Dude. There's boundaries and stuff. Dean doesn't want to make a mistake and screw up what you two already have."

"I'm still not sure I understand."

"Jo?" Dean's voice came from the other side of the door, accompanied by a small rapping knock. "Are you still up?"

"Yeah," Jo answered, and the door creaked open.

"Hey," Dean said, poking his head in. "I just wanted to - oh." He saw Castiel and froze. "Hey Cas." He looked between the two of them slowly. "Didn't uh...didn't mean to interrupt."

"Was there something you needed?" Jo asked. Dean, still standing half in the doorway, shook his head, not looking at her but giving Castiel a thorough staredown, as if he was trying to see something through the trenchcoat.

"No," Dean said finally. "No nevermind. Wasn't a big deal. You two have a nice night."

The resemblance between Dean's face before he walked out, and the expression a recently kicked puppy might wear was not lost on Jo.

"You want Dean to realize his feelings for you?" Jo asked. Castiel nodded slowly. "I think I have an idea that might work."

Ellen had talked Bobby into having a barbeque the next day. It was something so painfully domestic that Bobby was a little out of practice, but he was happy to spend an afternoon standing at the grill, turning burgers, and trying to teach Sam proper grilling technique. Sam nodded dutifully and catalogged the information away for the quiz he knew he'd undoubtably get later, but his mind was elsewhere.

It had been a tense morning. Dean was avoiding Jo and Cas like it was his job, and Sam knew why. When Jo had explained her plan, Sam had pulled her into a big bear hug which, yeah, had been a little awkward, but he was too excited not to. Now he was watching from the sidelines, wondering how everything was going to unfold, if Dean would be pushed into Castiel's arms like they hoped, or if he was going to take a swing at Jo before the day was done. Secretly Sam hoped for the latter. He'd never seen Dean get beat up by a girl before. Not a human one, at any rate.

Bobby slipped a burger onto Castiel's plate, and the angel wandered over to the picnic table that Jo was sitting on top of. She smiled at his approach, and he sat on the bench by her feet, looking glum.

"This is a stupid idea," he murmured. Jo nudged his shoulder with her knee and grinned down at him, hoping to get him to reciprocate the gesture. He didn't.

"It'll be great," she promised. "Just like the movie last night, remember?"

"Dean told me not to take dating advice from movies."

"And I'm telling you not to take dating advice from Dean." Castiel didn't have a response to that.

It was another ten minutes before Dean finally sauntered his way outside to join the rest of the group. From the slope of his shoulders it was obvious he had been sulking.

"You know in the movie this didn't really work out as planned," Castiel pointed out quietly.

"Yeah well, movies aren't real. Anyway, too late to chicken out now." Jo leaned down close to Castiel and watched Dean out of her perifery. As soon as she felt his eyes on them, she leaned down and pressed a kiss to the angel's scruffy cheek.

If looks could kill, Dean would've made her burst into flames.

The afternoon progressed in much the same fashion. Dean stuck close to his brother and tried to get Sam to talk about something, anything other than Jo or Cas. Sam was having none of it.

"It's great they're getting along so well, don't you think?" Sam asked. Dean shrugged and took a mammoth sized bite out of a burger.

"I think it's great," Sam said again, a big goofy smile painting his face. "Cas has never had a girlfriend before."

Dean started choking and Sam half-heartedly patted him on the back.

"Easy tiger."

"Jo's - not - his - girlfriend," Dean coughed out as he tried to free the ground beef lodged in his windpipe.

"She's a girl, and she's a friend," Sam shrugged, his voice just a tad too sing song. "He's been part of the boys club for so long, it must be a nice change of pace."

"Cas wouldn't even know what to do with a girlfriend," Dean muttered.

"Oh I'm sure Jo could teach him a thing or two."

That was all the brotherly bonding Dean could take in one afternoon. He pushed past Sam and sought out a corner of the yard where he could continue to sulk in peace.

Alas, Bobby's yard was only so big. Jo and Cas were talking to Ellen, and from his private patch of grass Dean could see Jo's arms wrapped around Castiel's waist. She swayed as she spoke, and her hips kept rubbing up against Castiel, who wasn't making any moves to shy away from her. In fact his hand was resting rather comfortably on the small of her back. Dean grumbled to himself. There was no reason for him to be jealous. Jo and Cas could be friends. Oh, now Cas was whispering something in her ear. That was fine. Whatever. Cas could have all the friends he wanted. It was none of Dean's business and - oh no that little harlot did not just grope his angel.

Jo could feel Dean's gaze burning a hole in her back. It was obvious to her that the plan was working. Dean was on the edge of losing his cool, and she could only imagine that would entail dragging Castiel upstairs and getting out all the aggression that was simply vibrating off the eldest Winchester right now. To Castiel, however, it wasn't so obvious.

"This isn't working," he murmured in her ear. "I feel foolish and your mother is giving me a look."

"It's working great," Jo argued. She stole a quick glance over her shoulder and saw the smoldering murderous waves Dean was sending her way. "Watch."

Jo moved one hand down and gave Castiel's ass a quick squeeze.

"Ok that's it," Dean said out loud.

A moment later Jo felt Castiel being violently ripped from her arms. Dean had him by the collar of his trenchcoat.

"Excuse us ladies," Dean all but growled. "Me and Cas are gonna have a little chat."

Cas looked at Jo, terrified. She winked at him.

Dean all but carried Castiel around the house to the front where the Impala was parked. Castiel could've easily broken out of his grasp, or just zapped them wherever Dean wanted to go, but it seemed like Dean had a little aggression to work out first, so he let himself be led roughly to the car. Somehow the presence of the Impala meant they were on Dean's turf now, even though they had only travelled about a hundred feet.

"So, you and Jo all of a sudden, huh?"

Castiel righted himself and adjusted his trenchcoat, remembering that Jo had instructed him not to give in too easily.

"I like Jo. I like spending time with her."

"You like - " Dean sputtered. "Dude are you trying to mess with me?"

"I know you and Jo have been friendly lately. I'm sorry if you feel I am encroaching on your territory."

"Jo's not my territory," Dean huffed. "Jo's not my - anything. And she shouldn't be your anything either!"

"Then I must have gotten the wrong impression watching you and her the last couple of days." Castiel's eyes were cold, his meaning was not lost. Dean mentally swore in three different languages.

"I was just trying to work some stuff out," Dean explained evenly. "In my own head. Jo's always been good at telling me where to shove it so I just thought it would be safe - shit man I didn't mean to get you all worked up."

Worked up. There was that phrase again. Castiel wasn't sure he liked that phrase.

"So there's nothing going on between you and Jo?" Dean asked.

"Jo is my friend."

"But the hugging and the kissing and the - " Dean made a sort of grabbing gesture with his hand that Castiel didn't quite understand. " - was just for show?"

"Jo thought it might help you work out your priorities."

Dean narrowed his eyes. "Did she now?" Oh she was going to pay for this one. Castiel set a determined look upon his face and stepped forward into Dean's personal space.

"Was she right?"

Dean barely had time to glance down at Castiel's lips before they were pressed up against his own. A small sound of surprise left his throat, but he didn't pull away. The kiss was soft, Cas was soft, softer than Dean had imagined, and there was no point denying anymore, he had been imagining quite a bit. One of Dean's hands came up to cup the side of Castiel's face, while the other wound itself in the loose fabric of his trench coat. Castiel's hands, less practiced at this sort of thing, simply clung to Dean's biceps as if he was the only thing keeping him tethered to the earth. Their lips moved against each other in a steady rhythm as Dean slowly began to take control of the kiss. His tongue pushed experiementally against Castiel's bottom lip, and the angel eagerly brought his tongue up to greet it. They danced like this for a long moment, mouths lapping, nipping and pressing at each other, until Dean began to slowly walk them back towards the Impala.

The clumsy groping for the door handle lacked all of Dean's usual finesse, but he found in that moment he could have physically cared less about being smooth. After a few awkward attempts his fingers finally closed around the small metal lever, and he pulled open his baby's back door. Castiel slipped in without hesitation, and sprawled out on the back seat.

"Coat off," Dean murmured, and Castiel obediently shrugged out of his heavy trenchcoat. Dean's breath caught at how naked Castiel looked without it, even though he was wearing a full outfit underneath. With a clearing shake of his head Dean climbed in the back of the Impala and slid up the length of Castiel's stretched out body until his lips were back in reach. They kissed languidly, and Dean let his weight bear down on the angel beneath him. Cas didn't mind, if he noticed. He was distracted with tasting every corner of Dean's mouth. It wasn't like he expected, Dean had a taste that was completely unique and simply Dean, and Cas could've stayed there savoring it forever. But then Dean shifted in a way that pressed his thigh tighter against Castiel's groin, and both men bucked needily, plans of slow kisses completely abandoned.

Dean moved down and pressed his nose to the side of Castiel's neck, taking in the smooth, spicy scent there as his fingertips made quick work of the necktie a few inches down. When he was able to work the top few buttons open, he moved the shirt collar aside and placed warm kisses on Castiel's burning skin. Cas made a noise low in his throat and ran his hands down Dean's back until they found their way to his ass. There he gripped tightly and pulled down, while giving a sharp thrust upwards with his hips.

"Jesus," Dean gasped into Castiel's skin. Deciding he liked this response, Castiel repeated the action. Dean groaned and moved his hips encouragingly.

"Fuck, Cas, just a second." Castiel stopped moving and Dean took a few shaky calming breaths before fumbling to get Castiel's belt undone. When the buckle finally let loose, Dean worked Castiel's slacks and boxers down to his thighs, and took a second to admire his newly exposed erection before leaning down and wrapping his lips around the tip.

Cas whined and gripped Dean's hair as Dean worked him up and down. The sensations were new, and overwhelming, and Castiel tried to keep his eyes shut as he tried to process what was happening, but Dean slapped his thigh lightly in protest. Obediently, Cas opened his eyes and watched as Dean bobbed messily up and down on his cock, never breaking his gaze from Castiel's. When the angel began to shudder Dean ran his tongue slowly once more up the underside and pulled off. Castiel made a brief sound at the loss, then watched with wide eyes as Dean flicked open the top button of his own pants and pushed the denim down past his hips to reveal his own straining, leaking dick.

Dean gave Castiel's thigh an affectionate squeeze and moved up for a kiss. He tasted different now, and Castiel shivered as he realized he was tasting himself on Dean's tongue.

"You're beautiful," Dean murmured as he moved his hips down to meet Castiel's. Both men groaned as Dean's erection slid easily against Castiel's saliva-slick cock. Dean braced himself with his forearm on the car seat, and brought his other hand down to Castiel's hip to help guide him into a rhythm. The car was suddenly silent except for the sounds of skin on skin and a chorus of heavy, labored breathing. Castiel's arms wrapped suddenly around Dean's torso, and the angel arched up with a cry. Dean thrust against him strongly once more and Castiel was coming hard and heavy between their bodies. The sight was enough to have Dean following him seconds later.

His orgasm hit like a punch, and Dean found himself collapsing heavily against Castiel and buried his face in his neck. Castiel looked thoughtfully at the roof of the Impala.

"We should probably change our shirts before we go back to the barbaque."

Dean laughed. "If that's your first thought right now I did something wrong."

"No, I don't believe you did anything wrong," Cas mused. Dean looked up at him softly.

"No more flirting with hunter chicks."

"No more groping hunter chicks," Castiel countered. Dean nodded and dropped his head down on Castiel's chest.

"That seems fair."