The Impala roared into Dean's driveway, the sound echoing off the nearby houses. He threw it into park, and killed the ignition.

He turned to look at Cas, noticing the pout on his face. "Hey, come inside. I don't know how long I'll take, but I don't want you getting kidnapped or something out here."

Cas shrugged. "No, I'm fine."

"I wasn't asking, Cas. Come on." Dean popped open the door, crawled out, and made his way to the passenger door, pulling it open, grabbing Cas' arm, tugging lightly. Cas let out a sigh and allowed himself to be pulled out of the car.

Dean ushered Cas forth, both hands pushing his shoulders, Cas resisting most of the way.

"What's the big deal, Cas? You've been here thousands of times."

"I just want to crawl in a hole and die."

"Don't be such a drama queen."

Dean succeeded in pushing Cas up to the door, as he fumbled with his keys, unlocking the door to his house.

"Come on. I'm not gonna bite."

Cas just sighed in response and hesitantly walked inside the door. Dean steered him towards the couch, and plopped him down.

"Here, just relax. You can watch some TV or something. I'm gonna take a quick shower, and we'll be good to go, okay?

"Yeah, okay."

Cas had never felt so awkward in Dean's house before. He'd always felt comfortable and at ease here; one of the few places he could be himself without feeling judged. Now, though, after the events of the night he was fidgety and unsure what to do with himself while he waited for Dean.

He spied Dean's laptop over on the coffee table and headed over for it. Might as well check to make sure Dean hadn't managed to download any viruses like he had a few weeks earlier. It was the only thing Cas could think of to do while he waited, since Dean seemed to be taking his time.

Cas lifted the lid, and the screen flickered to life. He wasn't quite expecting what he saw on the screen, and that's the moment Dean decided to come back, towel in hand. He smiled at Cas, and then saw the laptop on his lap, and his eyes grew wide.

"Uh... What are you doing, Cas?"

"Is this a picture of us from high school? Why is it your desktop background?"

"Must be a glitch or something, dude."

"Uh... Dean? You realize who you're talking to? Glitches don't do this."

"Well, uh... I just really like that picture?" Dean finished running the towel through his hair, and tried to hide his face from Cas, not really wanting to hear his response.

"Yeah, it's a nice picture, I guess. Are you done primping yourself now? Can we go to the bar?"

Dean could feel his body unclench. That wasn't what he was expecting. "I figured we'd stay in, since you wanted to crawl into a hole and die and all that..."

"Aww, aren't you just the sweetest?"

Dean headed to his tiny kitchen, and pulled open his refrigerator door. "So what'll it be? I have a Hungry Man Frozen Dinner... Oooor some leftover spaghetti."

"You did just attempt to take me to an Italian restaurant, so... spaghetti?"

"You sure you're not a Hungry Man?"

"Dean, don't be such a dork."

"Pot. Kettle."

Dean shut the door to the fridge, and scrounged around his cupboards for some bowls, trying to make as much noise as possible to make it seem like he was working harder than he was.

"So, are you going to explain to me why you took me there? And why you were dressed up?"

"Just thought it was a nice change from the bar, I guess... Plus, it was your payment." He plopped some spaghetti in some bowls, and stuck them in the microwave, dialing in a few minutes, and hitting start. The whir of it giving a nice ambiance to their conversation.

"You could have paid me in greasy chicken wings, I wouldn't care."

"I just wanted it to be, I dunno... Special?"

The microwave beeped, signaling the food was ready.

"What? Special? Why?"

"Just to show you I appreciate you, I guess."

"Isn't that what the 'paying me' part is all about?"

He went back to the fridge to grab himself a beer. "You know what, Cas? Never mind. Would you like a beer?"

"I've known you for forever, and I honestly had no idea you owned a pair of khakis..."

He grabbed Cas a beer anyway, and let the door shut behind him as he walked into the tiny living room. "Dude, shut up."

"And now I ruined them..."

Dean placed a plate of food and a bottle of beer down in front of him before he could beat himself up anymore. "Here. Drink some beer. Eat some spaghetti."

There was a comfortable silence that fell upon them as Cas dug into the not-yet-completely-warm spaghetti. Dean was too hungry to notice. Or care.

"So... Dean..."

"Yes, Cas?"

"How long have you 'appreciated' me?"

Dean nearly choked on his noodle. Cas was clearly more perceptive than Dean gave him credit for. "What do you mean?"

"Most of the time, I'm half convinced that you sabotage your computer on purpose. No normal person has that many computer problems."

"When have I ever been normal?"

"Was tonight a date, Dean?"

"Did it... feel like a date?"

"Well, you picked me up, and were dressed up... And took me to dinner, where you had reservations... And then I gave you a hand job in front of the entire restaurant. Sounds like a typical date to me."

"Then yes. It was a date. Is that bad?"

"Nope. But... next time? You don't have to take me anywhere fancy. I'm happy with just sitting on your couch, drinking a beer next to you."

"Wait, really? You're okay with this?"

Cas didn't answer at first... He simply scooped a mouthful of noodles into his mouth, and chewed slowly. "Yeah, Dean. I've liked you for a long time. I just figured you never liked a nerd like me."

"But I love your nerdiness the most." No, that wasn't girly at all...

Cas turned to face Dean and just stared at him, not saying a word.

Dean narrowed his eyes. "What?"

Cas titled his head in response. "Nothing..."

Dean wiped his mouth, making sure there wasn't a stray noodle or something hanging on his face. "If you keep staring like that, you're going to give me a complex."

"Never mind, Dean." Cas reached for his beer, but continued staring at Dean, eyes never moving. He took a swig, and sighed a long drawn out, "Soooo..."

"How's your spaghetti?"

Cas gave him a double-take, and sighed... He waited a moment and let out a fake yawn, and stretched a bit. "I sure am getting tired. Do you think you could drive me home now?"

"Well, I was kind of hoping-"

"I guess I could call a cab."

"Cas, listen to me."

"What?"

Dean took a deep breath, and squeezed his eyes shut. "I like you, okay? A lot. And I'm sorry that this 'date' turned out the way it did... but I want to make it up to you, okay? You can even pick the restaurant. And I don't want you to go home right now, either. I want you to sit here with me, and drink beers as we reminisce about the good ol' days, and then pass out on the couch."

Cas just sat there, silently staring at him... Dean could hear a clock in the distance. Either that, or he was imagining one. Counting the seconds, minutes passing by.

"So... Do we have a deal?"

Cas blinked a few times, and opened his mouth, before quickly shutting it again. He tilted his head, and stared for a few more moment.

"You're freaking me out, Cas."

Another few moments passed by. "Deal. But there's a few conditions we need to establish."

Dean swallowed hard, not sure what to expect. "Oh yeah?"

"Yes. First: no more fancy dates."

He nodded. "That's doable."

"Second: you need to actually ask me out on a date. No 'surprise' dates."

He nodded again. "Alright."

"And finally: no more wine. I don't want a repeat rub down in public again."

He couldn't help but smirk. "What? But that was the best part. We even had an audience. I bet they were getting a kick out of it."

"Do we got a deal, Dean?"

"Fine. Deal."

Cas stuck out his hand. "Shake on it?"

"No."

"What? Why?"

"I seal my deals with a kiss." Dean, grabbed Cas' hand, and pulled him closer.