Title: Attempting Happily Ever After
Author: castiel-thepizzaman
Pairing: eventual Dean/Castiel
Rating: M over, this chapter PG
Warning: None

A/N: A week later and another chapter. Enjoy reading!

Once again feel free to comment on anything good, bad or in-between!

Chapter Nineteen

Two beers slammed down on the counter, the bartender giving a quick smile before sliding down the table to the next customers who arrived. Dean wrapped his hand around his beer, fingers slipping slightly from the condensations. Sam glanced over, taking a sip from his beer, newspaper open in front of him. Noticing the look on Dean's face, "it's only been three weeks, calm down, Cas can handle it."

'Cas might be able to, but I can't', Dean took a small sip of his beer, swishing the bitter liquid about his mouth before he swallowed wondering when had he become so transparent. "I know. But do you get the feeling that he's hiding something from us?"

Sam just shook his head before returning to browsing the newspaper, his eyes flickering over the words. "I get that feeling often."

"Yeah..." Dean murmured, wiping the drops off the glass, drawing random figures in the mist. There was something off about Castiel ever since that night. But whenever he thought about what had happened between them a red flush appeared on his cheeks. Ever since the first realization dawned on him when the witch cursed him, things that were out of his control began happening between him and Castiel. Well, maybe the alcohol could have been in his control but it had lead to a pleasant ending.

With a slightly annoyed sigh, Sam ruffled the newspaper shut, creasing it on the edged before he turned towards Dean with a patronizing look on his face. "You wanna talk about it?"

"Hell no, there's nothing to talk about." Sam let out a snort and Dean was sure he heard a muffled 'sure'. "You ready, Sam?"

Nodding his head, Sam stood, his tall frame seeming to block out the dim light as he left the newspaper on the counter before he pulled a machete out of its sheath.

Seventeen heads turned towards the noise of metal on leather and sharp teeth grew from the gums of them, barring their lips as they smelled the start of the attack. Jumping up on the bar table, Dean stretched out his arm and slashed at the bartender, severing her head form her shoulders. "Shame." Dean murmured before he turned only to have a fist collide with his sternum flying him back against the wall, shattering the mirror behind the bar.

The hunter landed on the ground with a thud, the shards of the mirror cascading down around him. Winded for a second, Dean glanced up seeing the lifeless head of the bartender only a few inches away from him. A shudder ran through him as he pushed himself up and spun around, slashing at the vampire who had hit him. Blood spurted from the neck wound as it stared at Dean with surprised eyes before he brought the machete down, finishing the job. Vaulting over the counter Dean beheaded a vampire from behind, joining Sam in the midst of over turned chairs and broken tables.

"I thought there were a few less than this." Dean grunted as he dodged the teeth of an angry vampire, slashing upwards as he stumbled over a table leg. Blood flew onto his clothing as the cool metal of the blade made contact with the skin.

Trying to keep his balance, Sam smashed into the wall, ducking under the fists of two creatures. "This is what you get for going in 'guns blazing.'"

Dean used so much force that the machete stuck in the wall as he separated another head from its body. Sam tackled the other vampire to the ground, holding it still as he hacked away. Pulling out a second knife from his boot, Dean left his machete in the wall and slit the throat of the nearest vampire and finished it off with a blow to the back it's neck as Sam stood and stabbed a smaller knife into another vampire watching it's face turn pale from the dean man's blood before he beheaded it in the next swing.

Turning, Dean came face to face with a vampire, pupils dilated and the extra teeth gleaming in what little light illuminated the bar. "Shit." Dean muttered as a fist collided with his jaw, dazing him for a few seconds as he staggered back a few steps. Leaning over him, the vampire barred his teeth and growled. Dean scooted away, pushing his feet against the floor as he attempted to get away from the looming mouth. Grabbing something off the floor, Dean whipped the chair leg at the vampires head, watching as it made contact and left it momentarily stunned. The hunter stumbled over to his machete and grabbed the blade, giving it a good yank to try to free it from the wall. He groaned when it wouldn't give way trying another pull to dislodge it.

The vampire regained it's balance and charged after Dean as he frantically tried to pull his machete out of the wall. With one final tug the blade came free and Dean sent it flying into the vampire, slicing deep into his vertebrae. As the vampire thrashed on the floor, blood pooling beneath it's body, Dean stepped on his chest to hold it still and leaned down, digging the blade deeper into the flesh and severing the head. Breathing hard Dean stood up and wiped the blade on the side of his pants, the blood sinking into the denim and staining it bright red.

Sam pushed his hair back, trying to catch his breath as well. "Not the smartest plan we've had."

"At least it worked, come on, lets clean up the mess." Dean groaned, wiping some sweat of his forehead from the exertion, his jaw aching from the blow it had received.

The Impala rumbled up to the parking lot at the sprawling motel as the sun was turning the sky a light orange. The doors creaked as the brothers opened them, stumbling out of them, eyes tired and brains sleepy. Dean fumbled with the key before he was able to get it in the hole and turned. Sam went straight to the nearest bed and flopped down on the bed, once again muttering, "not the smartest...plan..." Before he drifted off to sleep.

The older brother watched Sam for a few seconds before he turned and slowly made his way to the bathroom. His jaw was throbbing and he couldn't sleep with the stench of blood all over him, causing his clothes to stick to his skin. After closing the bathroom door after himself, Dean shrugged off his coat and let it fall to the floor. Grabbing the hem of his shirt he pulled it over his head and deposited it on the floor next to the coat. Reaching for his belt he undid it and pushed his pants down over his hips and stepped out of them, moving over to the shower he turned the knob on trying to make the water as hot as possible. Rubbing his now slightly damp hand over the fabric of his tight boxers Dean moved over to the sink, looking at his reflection in the mirror, noticing the swelling of a bruise spreading across his skin.

Opening the cabinet, Dean grabbed out some Tylenol and closed the mirror again. As he swallowed the two pills Dean looked back up in the mirror and jumped at the second person in the reflection.

"Dean." A low voice rumbled.

Dean grabbed the edges of the porcelain sink, "Fuck, Cas. You scared me."

"I'm sorry." Castiel paused, his mouth hanging open as if he wanted to say more. Finally he continued on, "for a lot of things." The hunter turned to look at the angel, green eyes inquisitively looking for meaning behind the words. "It was wrong of me to indulge in everything that has been happening these past few months. I thought it was what you needed but it seems as if I have hurt you and damaged the fragile friendship we had." Castiel's brow furrowed as if he wasn't used to apologizing and admitting his fault. "After what happened, I realized that everything has not been in your best interest. I apologize for being so selfish, I hope I can fix this eventually."

Taking a step towards Castiel, Dean shook his head, "No, there's nothing you need to apologize for. We're cool. Alright?"

"Alright." The angel replied, hesitantly.

Rocking onto his heels, Dean raised his eyebrows and glanced at the shower, gesturing to it, Dean asked, "Do you mind?"

Glancing between the shower and the mostly naked hunter Castiel nodded. "I found the item. We need to leave right away."

"Cas, I'm exhausted. I need just a few hours of sleep. And all I can smell is highly ionized blood. Just give me a little time." Dean pleaded. Ready to enter the shower with his underwear on despite Castiel's presence.

Anger flashed through the angels eyes so quickly that Dean couldn't be positive that it had been there. "Remember what happened last time, Dean. I will not let that happen again."

"Roger that." Dean said, turning away from Castiel and pushing his boxers down, not caring if the angel was sill in the room or not. Stepping past the curtain, Dean felt the hot water pelting his back, turning his skin a bright pink. The warmth and water felt great against his cold and tired body and he stood under the stream of water for a few minutes.

"Are you done, yet?" The voice startled Dean out of his reverie and he grunted in response surprised he was still there and wondering how much of his backside the angel had seen. "How does your face feel?"

The warm water and pain medicine had soothed some of the ache, but the pounding was still there. "Fine." Dean replied curtly, ready for Castiel to leave him alone. The curtain was pushed back and Castiel was standing right outside the shower. "What the hell, man?" Dean yelled trying to pull the curtain back. "Personal space! We shouldn't need to have another talk about this!" But before Dean could say anything more the angels fingers were running down from his temple, leaving a cooling sensation that spread throughout him. By the time Castiel's fingers had dropped from his chin all pain and weariness had left his body. Clearing his throat uncomfortably he muttered, "thanks, Cas."

"You're welcome, Dean. May we go now?" The angel asked, his blue eyes watching Dean carefully.

The hunter's face showed how uncomfortable he was, once again trying to pull the curtain back, this time succeeding as he blocked himself for the angels view. "Just give me a few second. I need my privacy."

"I raised you from the depths of Hell. I rebuilt your body. Don't think for a second I don't know what you look like." Heat rose to Dean's face at those few sentences from Castiel but he shrugged them off and lathered his soap over his body, scrubbing to get all the blood off himself. While rinsing off he began to feel like a normal person again.

After turning off the water, Dean reaches one arm out of the shower, his fingers gliding along to wall to find a towel, when his hand comes in contact with one he pulls it in and wraps it around his waist before stepping out. Glancing around he notices that Castiel is nowhere to be found and Dean quickly brushes his teeth and gargles some water before leaving the small bathroom. Dean can hear Sam's soft breathing from the bed and turns to his duffel bag to grab out some clean clothes. A shadow is silhouetted by the streetlamps passing through he thin curtains, Dean can almost make out Castiel's figure sitting in one of the green armchairs. The angel's back towards Dean, facing the motel parking lot outside, sitting perfectly still. Changing quickly Dean moved to stand beside the angel looking at the same bland view.

"How old do you think you'll live to, Dean?" Castiel asked, finally breaking the silence between them.

Crossing his arms, Dean shrugged, "not to long, I would assume, at the rate I'm going."

When Castiel stood, his trench coat ruffled around him, "then is it worth it, Dean? Is any of it worth it?"

"Whoa, having an existential crisis, there Cas?" Dean asked, reaching out a hand to touch the angel's shoulder before he stopped and drew it back.

"As time has passed I find myself with more questions than answers. Has that ever happened to you?" Castiel's stoic face turned to look at Dean's face dimly illuminated by the streetlamp and the rising sun.

Turning to collect his belongings, Dean nodded, "more than I would like to admit." Tossing his bag over his shoulder Dean turned back to Castiel."Alright, where are we heading?"

"Seattle. Don't wake Sam." Castiel said as he noticed Dean moving over to roust his brother. A confused look passed over the older brother's face as he moved towards the table, scribbling a quick note on a paper and leaving it for Sam. "And you won't need that." The angel motioned to his bag. "We should be back soon enough."

Dropping his duffel on the ground Dean glanced at Castiel warily, something felt off to him in the way the angel was acting. He knew it really was Castiel, but the air between them felt different, as if Castiel knew something was about to change, Dean only hoped it wasn't between them.

Reaching out, Castiel grabbed Dean's shoulder and everything went dark, the wind was rushing by him and he felt dizzy, his sense confused and his direction lost. When his feet hit solid ground it took everything Dean had not to crumple, he swayed slightly as the ringing in his head ceased and he regained his bearing. "Where are we?" Dean question, his eyes focusing on the dingy street around them before he looked at the flashing signs waving in the window before them. A neon light of a girl laying in the prone position propped up by her elbows with her leg flashing in and up and down movement as another sign of a woman spinning around a pole practically spelled out the location for him. "Cas, no. Remember what happened last time."

"This time it's for business." Castiel growled, leading the way as he pushed the door open to the brothel.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who is reading this story and supporting me, I couldn't do it without you guys.

And to Last Chance, Guest, and SerasKucheki for commenting! You get a fun flight with Castiel! Make sure to grip him tight! If you get airsick you might want to sit this one out.