"Cas! Le' go of me! I said let go!" –Dean screamed as he fought his way through the police officers, running up the stairs and cutting the line of barrier tape.

Everything indicated that a murder had occurred.

Dean didn't think what experience told him had happened. That another friend died.

Finally he arrived at the scene. A pool of blood, crimson red pooling around a body that lay limp on hardwood floor, some men in uniform taking picture, others shaking their head in defiance and finally a tall figure in an oversized trench coat stood hovering above it all.

"Cas!" –Dean sighed the words in relief. Castiel turned his head sharply in the direction of the familiar voice, and Dean saw the puffy, bloodshot, once bright and blue eyes of Cas staring at him with utter sadness.

"Dean..." –Castiel croaked the words, and in an instant Dean was beside his side enveloping him in a tight hug.

Hugging was not his thing, never was. But, the shaking shoulders of Castiel, and the desperate way his fingers clung to his leather jacket, told him that he needed this. And Dean could give that much.

"Dean, I'm so sorry you had to see this." –Castiel raised his head with a startle, as if protecting Dean's (nonexistent) innocence was of grave importance.

"Don't worry 'bout it. Let's get you outta here." –Dean would probably chuckle at Cas' ignorance if it weren't for the given situation.

It was probably very unhealthy that the dead body didn't startle him as much as Cas' crying did.

-/-

"I'm a minor, Dean, I'm not allowed to drink." –And, really, Cas had to be a helluva strong character to deny booze at a time like this.

"Dude, a minor isn't allowed to see a dead body. And we already did that, so, beer is second." –Dean pushed the bottle into Cas' hand and took a seat next to him on the concrete parking lot opposite the liquor store.

Dean sipped his beer in silence, as Cas' joined in soon, popping the cap open with a sizzle.

The night was cold, breeze enveloping Dean through his jacket, while Castiel's trench coat flapped with the air.

But, Dean felt the cold in a different way. He didn't know what to say to condole Castiel, didn't know what to do to make the situation better for him.

He thought alcohol would do it, but, maybe that's just his juvenile way of coping with things.

The first time he saw a dead body was at the age of 4, when his mother died in the fire.

And sharing that story with Cas wouldn't bring any good.

"My mother died while giving birth to me." –Castiel cut his train of thought.

And Dean was left with an even bigger loss of words.

"My father left me and Jimmy at the age of 7. We're living with our aunt now..." –Castiel looked down at his shoes as he spoke, fiddling with the trench coat's sleeve.

"He always blamed me for what happened. I killed my mother. And I broke my brother's heart. And now, when I was supposed to be the one doing the inventory check, Josh got killed." –Castiel let out another depressed chuckle that sent shivers up Dean's spine.

"And then you, you had to see a dead body. I hurt everybody that gets close to me, Dean. I'm so sorry..." –Castiel raised a hand to his face, holding it there, while his shoulders began shaking again.

"Cas..." –Was the only word Dean was capable of speaking, as he wrapped an arm around Castiel's shoulder, while the other took his head and maneuvered it to rest on his own shoulder.

Cas didn't protest, instead he sobbed against Dean's shoulder, and Dean felt the moisture running through his shirt, but he couldn't pick up the nerve to care.

He felt every word Cas said. None of it was said in seeking pity, rather in seeking relief. A way to vent out years and years of frustration.

He wanted to tell Cas, that he shouldn't worry about him, that he'd seen enough dead bodies and monsters to keep the 'Saw' saga running for 50 more movies.

But, he couldn't.

Any truth he had to offer would only rattle Castiel even more. Except for maybe one.

"My mother died when I was four." –Dean uttered the words in a shameful voice. To this Castiel slowly raised his head, and stared at Dean with puzzled eyes.

"After that me and my brother... My dad started traveling a lot. He started changing jobs. We don't go back there anymore..."- Dean found it hard to speak while being looked with those eyes that seemed to urge him to speak more and more.

"Sammy didn't get a chance to remember mom. But, from what I remember, she loved 'im, and me. And, it's... It's nobody's fault, Cas. You have to know this, it ain't." –Dean's voice came down to a whisper as his voice threatened to quiver.

"Dean..." –Castiel whispered the words, and soon he was the one being hugged.

And for the first time in a long time, he didn't mind having a non-family person's hands on him.

In fact he found he relished in it, burying himself in Castiel's shoulders, inhaling the acceptance he found there.

He never realized how much he needed a stranger's support. Somebody that wasn't family, somebody that wasn't pushed into their life, somebody that instead, opened up to the information Dean had to give. Somebody that took in his words without judgment.

And Dean found he could tell these things to Cas without remorse, without fright, without question.

He didn't have to pretend to be strong, to pretend things didn't bother him, that his past was just that.

Cas had his own issues, and Dean had his.

And it was ok.

They were ok.

-/-

Dean came to the motel late that night.

He spent the whole evening with Castiel. Even after their chick-flick moment, Dean still found he needed Castiel's presence, as did Cas need his. It was unorthodox for two people to bond over death, but that's exactly what happened.

Dean turned the keys slowly, careful not to make any noise, as he slowly stepped into the room, and with a quiet squeak shut the door behind him.

The little room was enveloped with darkness, and Sam's light snoring was the only sound.

Dean quickly undid his laces, tugged out of his shoes, and dropped in bed with the jacket and jeans on.

He felt sort of emotionally drained, but like he was refreshed, like the toxins of years of bottling up his emotions came flooding down.

Exhaustion took him quickly, and soon he fell asleep.

But, the silence of the room was soon disturbed as the rapid fluttering of pages promised nothing good was coming their way.

Another cliffhanger! But, yeah, I can tell you that this does bring bad news. :)

So, in the next chapter you will know how Josh died, and the plot will be in full blast mode.

Also, thank you to the people who reviewed, you really make my day, and sorry if I didn't respond to all of you, but this site has been giving me some trouble, wasn't even uploading my stories right, and wasn't sending me notifications to your reviews. So, once again, thank you.

Also, sorry for the short chapter, but it all had to end here, and I just wanted to update real fast. So I hope you liked it, and if you did, and even if you didn't, review and tell me so. And tell me about your favorite comic books, maybe even a villain or two could be incorporated. :)