Dean gasped into consciousness and blinked away the darkness. His heart was pounding, trying to make up for the past ten minutes. His vision was blurry at first, but the world came back into focus soon enough. He lifted himself up into a sitting position, though his head felt heavy and his stomach hurt. He felt as though he'd been hit by a bus. And then he remembered it. Lucifer's hand sliding into his belly as though it was made of butter. The Devil wiggled his fingers around inside Dean and left him to die.

"Dean?" The quiet whisper that came from behind him was almost unrecognisable. Castiel sat behind him. His usually white shirt was stained with blood and his eyes were red. Tears ran down his cheeks and he was chewing on his bottom lip.

It was an unusual sight. He never thought he'd see any angel like this, let alone Cas. Dean looked down and saw that the angel's trench coat was sitting, crumpled up and covered with blood on his stomach. He picked it up and held it out to Cas.

Cas stared at it for a moment before taking it and letting it fall to the floor beside him. "You were dead… I didn't think it had worked…. I didn't know… Dean…" Cas couldn't finish what he was trying to say. He just looked up at Dean, sniffing and hiccupping in an almost funny way.

Dean frowned and shifted around so that he was up on his knees. He was merely three inches away from the angel but he didn't move away. He reached out and gently placed his hand on Cas' cheek, brushing away the tears with his thumb. "It's okay now Cas," he said softly and moved his hand to grip the man's shoulder.

Castiel crumpled forwards.

Dean caught him and held him.

Cas had his arms limp by his side and his head was on Dean's shoulder. He was tired. He couldn't even muster up the energy to move away from Dean. Not that he wanted to move away from the man…. He suddenly found himself wondering if he was making him awkward. He probably was. He was good at that. Castiel was panting, tears soaking into Dean's shirt where his head rested. He was shaking slightly and oh so tired. Cas closed his eyes. Everything was alright now.

Dean put one hand in Castiel's soft hair and the other around his waist, keeping him from tumbling to the floor. The angel seemed so… fragile in his arms, so breakable and vulnerable… Dean leaned back and carefully pulled Cas upright to get a good look at his saviour's face. "You look like hell,' he said and Castiel's mouth quirked up into that funny half smile of his.

Castiel nodded.

"You saved me again…" Dean wiped away the last of Cas' tears and planted a soft kiss on the top of his head. "I owe you. Big time."

Cas didn't reply. He just reached up with an arm that felt like led and covered Dean's hand with his own.

Dean smiled softly and kissed Castiel again, this time on the mouth.

Cas froze in surprise. This was the last thing that he had expected. When Dean pulled back, Cas felt a smile on his lips.

Dean wasn't smiling, just staring with a twinkle in his eyes.

Castiel was glad that he wasn't smiling. The only smile that ever seemed to grace Dean's lips was a cheesy one. A fake one. Cas didn't like that fake grin. It only hurt to know that Dean was hiding something. To Cas, the fact that Dean wasn't grinning, meant that he wasn't hiding.

Dean's mouth twitched up at the corner and he leant in again, brushing his lips lightly against Castiel's.

Cas closed his eyes, holding onto Dean to keep from falling.

"You're okay, right?" Dean mumbled quietly, resting his forehead against Cas'.

"Bringing someone back to life isn't easy."

Dean softly ran his hand down Castiel's back. "Then why'd you do it?"

Cas' breath came out shaky and he shivered. "Because you're Dean…" He said as though that was the obvious answer. "I've done everything for you… I couldn't have it all be for nothing."

Dean pulled back again. "That's all you care about?"

Cas frowned in confusion. "No."

A real, genuine smile flashed across Dean's face then and he pulled the angel towards him, kissing him gently.

Cas was still freaking out slightly when they broke apart.

"So," Dean said moving back slightly, "Lucifer's going to get Sammy?"

"It would appear so…" Cas stared down at the blood soaked carpet, a blush spreading through his cheeks.

"That scumbag!" Dean grumbled and lifted up his shirt to look at the new skin. It was slightly pink and it still kind of hurt.

Cas looked up and Dean grinned at him, back to his normal self. Cas frowned. "I don't like it when you smile…"

Dean 's smile vanished and he raised an eyebrow.

Cas sighed quietly and looked Dean in the eye. "It's not a real smile. It's fake. When you smile, you aren't you anymore," he was so quiet that Dean almost couldn't believe what he was hearing. Cas crossed his arms defensively and shrank back slightly, embarrassed by the little outburst.

Dean licked his lips and reached out to hook his fingers into Castiel's shirt, yanking him forward.

Cas' eyes widened in surprise as he toppled forward, unfolding his arms to hold himself up.

Dean lay back on the floor and chuckled as Cas let his eyes wander around the room awkwardly. "Dude, relax."

The red of Cas' cheeks got impossibly darker and he stared down at Dean.

Dean rolled his eyes and pushed Cas back up again though he held onto his tie to stop him from getting too far away.

"Dean…. I don't," Cas began, but he never got to finish that sentence because Dean tugged on the tie and kissed him, hooking his fingers in the soft brown hair and pinning Cas to him.

Cas sighed and wound his arms around Dean with only the smallest amount of reluctance.

Dean smiled around the kiss and pulled away for a second to whisper, "it's okay, Castiel."

Cas hooked his fingers into Dean's t shirt, not really knowing what to do. He felt Dean's hands move from his hair and run down his chest, undoing the button's expertly. Cas opened his eyes suddenly and pulled away, unsure of what was happening.

"Cas, calm down," Dean smiled a genuine smile and pulled Cas forward again.

Sam knocked on the door of room 142 and waited. He'd been driving past when he'd seen the Impala in the car park. Sam knew that Dean wasn't the only one with that type of car, but a few questions at the reception desk had proved him right. A man with dark hair and a light brown trench coat had walked in and just taken a key. Sam tapped his foot impatiently and rapped his knuckles on the door again.

The door opened about a minute later and Sam stepped back in surprise.

Castiel was standing there, shirt bloody, unbuttoned and tie hanging around his neck. His hair was ruffled and hanging in front of his eyes. Cas glanced behind him, chewing on his bottom lip.

From the door, Sam could see the bed. He could see his brother, fast asleep and tangled in the sheets.

"What's going on?" Sam asked, raising his eyebrows.

Cas' ears turned red. The blush spread to his cheeks and he reached up a hand to rub the back of his neck. He looked at the ground, eyes wide, avoiding Sam's gaze. He ran the hand forward, through his hair, messing it up further. Castiel stepped back and closed the door in Sam's face. He had no idea what to say or do. Not wanting to wake Dean, Cas sat down in the chair in the corner and tried to calm down.

There was a loud pounding at the door. It wouldn't stop.

Dean grunted and his eyes flew open. He pushed himself up and narrowed his eyes at Cas. He looked at the door and sighed, throwing on a pair of jeans and tugging a new shirt over his head. Dean glanced at the angel once more before staggering over to the door and yanking it open. He blinked in surprise at his brother before turning around and kicking the door closed as he stalked back into the room.

Sam's huff of frustration could be heard from inside. The door swung open a few seconds later, smacking into the wall as Sam entered.

Dean's cheeks were flushed. He shoved his hands onto his pockets and leaned back into the wall by Cas' chair. He turned towards the angel slightly. "That shirt's going to need ironing you know," he said quietly. The shirt in question was creased and the sleeves were rolled up to hide the splatters of blood from the younger Winchester. Cas had obviously managed to clean out the majority of it somehow…

Castiel looked up at him. He pulled the tie from around his neck and twisted it in his hands nervously. "I never iron it… the crinkles don't bother me," he mumbled and slowly did up the buttons.

Dean chuckled and ruffled a hand through the man's hair. "Well Sammy, nice to see you're safe."

Sam frowned. "Yeah… never even found Lucifer…"

Dean kept his hand in Castiel's hair as he looked his brother up and down. Why hadn't Lucifer found him? Did Sam get out of Detroit before he got caught? "Maybe he found another vessel. You know, like Michael did."

"I find that very hard to believe," Cas grumbled shaking his head slightly and trying to look up at Dean from where he sat. "This isn't over for Sam. He still has a part to play."

"Ever the optimist, hey Cas?" Dean rolled his eyes.

Sam frowned again. This wasn't happening… only it was…. Sam rubbed hand over his eyes and gave himself a little pinch just to make sure that he wasn't dreaming. He squeezed his eyes back open. There they were, Cas and Dean, staring at each other all affectionate like. "What the hell happened while I was gone!?"

Dean grinned. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

The End