Castiel Novak was the hot guy in the sales in The Everyday News. He was amazing in his waistcoats and his matching ties. His big blue eyes, shining with laughter. An old green mug in his hand, always full of hot coffee. Black, two sugars. He was just a couple of months old in this company and he was already doing beyond his targets and was friends with all the hot shots in the company. In short, Castiel Novak was amazing.

Dean Winchester was the one in HR. He had been gifted with amazingly good looks. Everyone in the office wanted him, except the one Dean wanted. It wasn't that Castiel had rejected him, seeing Dean had never asked, but Castiel never seemed interested in anyone. He came to the office, talked amicably with everyone and was single minded about his work.

Dean sighed as Castiel crossed his desk.

"Hey, Castiel," he called to the rushing man.

The blue eyed man turned around and smiled at him.

"Hey, Dean," he said in his gravelly voice that did things to Dean.

"Where are you headed?" he asked, fidgeting in his seat.

"Oh, just gotta submit these reports to the boss," he said, with a small smile.

"Awesome. Wouldn't disturb you, then," Dean said, smiling slightly.

"You didn't disturb me, Dean," Castiel replied, sincerely.

Before Dean could react though, Castiel had turned around. Dean followed up with a sigh, staring at the perfect ass.

"Stop ogling," Jo said from the desk beside him.

"Hey, I ain't ogling," he said, defensively.

Jo rolled her eyes at him. She was a pretty blonde, a couple of years younger than Dean. Her mom and Dean's dad were good friends or well bad enemies. Ellen trusted Dean to take care of her only daughter and so sent her off to New York to work with Dean. Jo had wanted to run the family bar with Ellen but Ellen was too stubborn for Jo to have her own life, beyond the four walls that Ellen loved and hated.

"You know, there's an office party this Saturday for achieving the 'targets'," she said, winking at him.

"I know, Jo," he said, rolling his eyes. "I'll help you get the booze."

"Hey, no!" she said, smacking his arm. "Well, that too… But you get to partaay with Castiel," she added, her eyes twinkling.

"You gotta know two things, Jo," Dean said, turning to face her. "One, never ever say partaay again. Ever. And two, I don't even know which way he swings."

"Well, the only way to find out is by talking, yeah? So you talk to him and find out," Jo said, exasperatedly. "Dean, this is the first time I've seen you hung up on someone."

"Okay, I'll talk to him. No need to go all chick-flick on me. Next thing you know we'd be talking about boy bands and manicures," Dean said, returning to his work.

Snark, he loved it. Made situations avoidable.

Jo slapped his head while going to get some more coffee.

"Hey, Dean," Anna from Editing called over the loud music.

"Hey," he replied.

It seemed like his office knew how to party. There was loud music blaring from the Editor's Room where they usually played the news. The Coffee Room was now the Booze Room. Dean had helped Jo to get in all the booze which she had procured from sources unknown. The table in the middle of the room held a huge cake which said 'Happy Targeting'. Becky, the PA to the head of sales was handing her boyfriend, Chuck, the head of sales, a disposable plate with an awful lot of cake on it.

"Dean," she called, running up to him with a plate and a little smaller serving.

"Thanks," he said with a small smile.

"You're welcome," she said, grinning and dancing on the balls of her feet.

Dean smiled, awkwardly, wondering how the Hell was he going to make it out of her gaze alive. Hid phone buzzed then.

Jo:

Come on up, loser.

"I gotta go," Dean said. "Jo's calling. She needs help."

Without waiting for her reply, he ran for his life. The stairs and the upper floor was milling with life. Pushing through the crowd and shouting out a few greetings he finally found Jo.

"Hey," he said, smiling as she handed him champagne.

"You're late. They already opened the champagne bottles," she said, sipping her own drink which seemed like whiskey.

"Sam called," he said, shrugging.

"How is he? And Jessica?"

"Good, good. Jessica's three months pregnant now," he answered, proudly.

"Oh my God! That's amazing news! Congratulations, uncle," she said, giving him a hug.

"Thank you," he said, rubbing his neck.

Jo took his unfinished cake and empty glass, putting it on the desk behind her. She handed him two beer bottles instead.

"Here," she said, grinning.

"What is this?" he asked, sensing the conspiracy.

"Well, if you look to the right towards the banister, you'll find a certain someone alone," she said, winking and pushing him towards the direction.

Dean saw Castiel then. He had back to him and was dressed in a dark blue waistcoat over a white black-striped shirt and black pants that hugged his ass perfectly. Castiel was leaning on the banister and of what Dean could see he was brooding.

"Hey there," Dean said, going to stand beside Castiel.

Castiel turned to look at him, surprised. Dean felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. Castiel's tie matched the color of his eyes, bringing out his eyes. Under the lighting, Castiel's blue eyes looked like the most beautiful gems Dean had ever seen. They crinkled in a smile.

"Hello, Dean," he replied.

Dean shook himself, inwardly and wordlessly held out a bottle to Castiel. Castiel took it with a curious smile and then retook his previous position against the banister.

"So why are standing all alone at a party?" Dean asked, mirroring Castiel's position.

"Ah, just had a fight with my brother. I'm no good pretending to have a good time," Castiel replied, playing with the label of the bottle.

"What about?" he asked, frowning. "Uh, I mean, only if you want to say, that is."

"Oh, that's alright. He thinks I don't have much fun is all," Castiel said, looking at Dean and smiling wistfully.

"Hey, isn't your brother Gabriel, the head of Editing?" Dean asked, realization hitting him.

Gabriel Novak was the most famous person in company, known for his pranks and his room full of sweet food at all times. He was also the man presently perched on top of the table with the cake and hissing at anyone who came too close.

Castiel sighed at the sight.

"Unfortunately, yes," Castiel replied, burying his face in the crook of his elbow.

Dean laughed. "He's a cool guy, come on."

"So, Dean Winchester, you're saying that I'm not a cool guy," Castiel asked, peeking a look at Dean.

"I never said that," Dean answered, reddening.

Castiel chuckled.

Dean smiled at how easy it was to tease each other.

"What are you smiling about?" Castiel asked, straightening.

"Nothing," Dean answered, returning the smile.

"Ah, cryptic," Castiel said, nodding and sipping his beer.

"Cryptic is my middle name," Dean deadpanned.

Castiel laughed, clapping Dean's back. Dean smiled at him. They stared at each other for a couple of minutes in silence. Dean hadn't even realized that until he heard a loud bang as Gabriel pushed an employee down for trying get a piece of cake.

"Oh God," Castiel said, looking pained.

"Wanna get out of here?"

"Oh, God, yes."

"You're in for an adventure, then," Dean said, dramatically.

Castiel rolled his eyes, taking Dean's and his beer bottles to an empty desk.

Collecting their coats from downstairs, they left.

"So?" Dean asked, drawling the word out as he pulled the coat close to himself.

"So?" Castiel said smirking at Dean as pulled on his gloves.

Dean laughed.

"Where are we going now?" Castiel asked.

"You'll see," Dean said, taking a step in front of Castiel and walking backwards to look him in the eye.

"Dean Cryptic Winchester," Castiel commented, smiling at him.

"Well, yeah," Dean said laughing and falling back in step with Castiel.

He wanted to sling an arm across Castiel's shoulders. He had never been so at peace with anyone besides Sam and Jo, but he had known them his entire life.

As if on cue, Castiel bumped their shoulders together, smiling at Dean. Dean smiled back and slung an arm around Castiel's shoulders.

He led them a couple of blocks down to Ash's bar. They served the best cheeseburgers and the best pie. Well, at least according to Dean. But if Ellen ever asked, everywhere else was Goddamn awful in comparison to hers.

"This is your idea of an adventure?" Castiel asked staring at the door of the small bar, but there was no bite in his words.

"Why, you scared?"

"Very."

"Come on in, would ya? And then judge me?" Dean said, pulling Castiel inside by the arm.

Castiel chuckled and followed Dean.

The bar was small and cramped and smelled like booze and old people. Castiel raised a single eyebrow at Dean.

"Dean!" Ash called from the bar, dropping his rag and jumping over the counter to greet Dean.

"Hey, Ash. Ash, this is Castiel from work and Castiel, this is Ash."

"Hello, Ash."

"Hey, man," Ash replied. "Your usual into two, Dean?"

"Definitely," Dean replied, smiling. "Come on," he said to Castiel, leading him to the booth at the end.

They sat in companionable smiling, both unable to keep their eyes off of each other. They chuckled when the food came, cheeseburger and fries with beer.

"I hope you're fine with is," Dean said, suddenly nervous.

"Are you kidding me? This is good," Castiel said, smiling reassuringly.

Dean huffed a laugh, relieved.

"So tell me about yourself Dean," Castiel asked, taking a bite out of his burger.

"You got some mustard on the side of your…" Dean said, pointing towards the right of his muzzle.

"Oh, uh," Castiel murmured, cleaning it with a napkin. "Clear now?"

"No, uh," Dean said absently, taking the napkin from Castiel and cleaning it up for him.

Castiel reddened. Dean knew he was no better. He could feel the heat exuding from his cheeks. He put the crumpled napkin at the side and proceeded to eat. It felt like they were in a sappy sitcom with the all the stupid romantic moments.

"Uh, so, your life, Dean?" Castiel said, awkwardly.

"Yeah, um, well. Dad was a Marine and Mom was a cop. Mom died when I was four. Some mad guy, a drug dealer who mom had helped get out of jail with a deal or something and. Uh, my dad left the Marines. It took a while but he started a garage and I worked with him till I was nineteen and then he died in a car crash and my brother, Sam, helped me get into college," Dean said, staring at his plate.

He realized he had never talked about his parents, at least not on the first date. But this wasn't a first date, he told himself strictly. Besides, he had still jumped out on the details especially about his brother.

"I'm so sorry about your parents, Dean," Castiel said, sounding pained.

He shifted his hand as if to take Dean's but then thinking better of it, grabbed the salt shaker. He put it down without using it, looking embarrassed.

"So, what about you?" Dean asked.

"Well, my father abandoned us when I was five. I have four brothers and one sister. You know one brother. Mom wasn't, um, you know, the best mother on planet. Actually she was usually busy with my eldest twin brothers. They have a constant feud going on, I guess from their time in the womb. So, Gabriel and I left the nest and came here, to New York. Did our college and MBA and somehow got a job together too," Castiel replied, shrugging.

"So you two, I mean, Gabriel and you live together?"

"Oh, no. Couldn't live with him, ever. Besides he wanted to live in a Penthouse. I was happy in the small apartment I had rented during my MBA. My roommate moved out and with this job, I could only afford that, so I opted to stay there."

"Nice," Dean said, grinning.

"What about your brother? Where is he?"

"He's in California, doing Law at Stanford. He's going to be a hotshot lawyer soon," Dean said, proudly.

Castiel smiled, his eyes crinkling.

"You're really proud of him, aren't you?"

"Yeah, he's my baby brother, y'know. Practically raised him, what with dad… Just sad. I don't think he ever got over mom," Dean said, shrugging.

"Your mother must have been an amazing woman," Castiel said with a smile.

"Yeah, she was. She used to bake me pie every weekend and tomato rice soup for when I wasn't well. Her favourite lullaby was 'Hey Jude'… And you know when Sam and I were kids, her last words before we fell asleep were that angels were watching over us," Dean said, a small smile on his face as he reminisced.

Castiel smiled at him, busying himself with eating. They ate the rest of their food in comfortable silence, each deep in thought. Dean thought about his mother and the fragrance of her hair.

"Up for apple pie or more beer or both?" Dean asked, when their table had been cleared.

"Both," Castiel said, nodding his head.

Dean chuckled. "You're awesome."

"Yeah? I think so too," Castiel said, laughing as picked up the 'Catch of the Day' cardboard lying on the table. "'Veal is my Meal'. Wow, creative place you got me to, Dean."

"I know right! I don't really experiment with food here, what with Ash coming up with the ideas," Dean said.

"Ah, I see," Castiel said, with a twinkle in his eyes.

They moved over to the bar when they were done with their pie. Castiel had loved the pie and he had told Dean that at every bite. Dean had finally told him to eat it in peace or he was going to force feed Castiel the whole of his pie. Castiel had sobered up pretty quickly after that.

"To Everyday News," Dean raised a toast.

"To their fucking targets," Castiel added. "May they not reach their targets and never host boring parties."

They clinked their beer bottles before they drank.

Soon they moved on to harder drinks. Time flew past them, talking and laughing. Dean only used to spend his time with Sam or Jo and even that had been decreasing. Sam was usually busy with college or spending every waking second with Jessica. Jo was flitting between boyfriends and didn't have time for Dean. Dean didn't begrudge any of them but sometimes he'd like to come out with someone without the pressure of spending the night at either's house. He had tried to spend time with his fellow workers at the office but most were married and the unmarried ones were in committed relationships. Dean was neither equipped with enough wife jokes nor with enough patience to handle multiple calls between a dinner or drink.

But with Castiel it was simple.

The night passed in a blur and Dean realized that they were among the last people there.

"Dean! You're drunk, man. I'll call you a cab," Ash said, pulling Dean's face up from where he was resting it on the bar.

"Huh?" Dean asked, looking around at Castiel.

Castiel was holding the bar with both hands and leaning backwards, staring at the ceiling as he sang loudly with the jukebox. Dean couldn't figure out the song if his life depended on it.

Castiel suddenly straightened and looked at Ash.

"We'll go to my house," he announced.

"Okay, man. Where do you live?"

"I don't know," Castiel replied, deflating.

"Hand me your wallet."

"No! You want to loot me."

"No, I don't, Castiel, man."

"Okay, here you go," Castiel said, brightly, handing his wallet to Ash.

There was a note in the wallet that said:

If lost report to me, that is Gabriel(0-1800-iam-cool) or drop him to his house:

2204,

71 Broadway,

New York.

He may bite, be careful.

Ash wondered why Castiel had kept the chit. It was crumpled and pretty old. Ash shrugged and went to the side to call them a cab. Returning, he found that both of them were leaning against each other, singing.

"Come on, dudes," Ash said, prying them away from the bar.

"Mutiny!" Castiel cried, fist pumping the air and then draping that arm across Dean's shoulder.

"Unicorn!" Dean said, looking at Castiel.

Ash rolled his eyes and pulled them outside. The cab was there in five minutes. Pushing them into the cab, he gave the driver Castiel's address.

Dean woke up with a headache and terribly uncomfortable. Oh God, why would he drink so much! As the feelings sunk, he realized that he was not on his bed. He tried to turn a little and almost fell off. He was definitely not on his bed. He flailed his arms out. His arm hit the headrest of a couch. But this definitely was not his couch because his couch was not this comfortable.

He straightened and immediately regretted it, head rush. He tried opening his eyes but there was so much light. One at a time, he opened his eyes. He drank in the details of the room. There was a TV right in front of him and a door beside the TV.

He realized why he was feeling so uncomfortable and so hot, he was still wearing his coat and scarf.

With support from the handrest, Dean got up. He staggered away from the couch. Walking out the door, he found a hallway to right and a door to his left. He heard muffled singing from his left.

He thought of sneaking out of the stranger's house when he noticed a familiar trench coat on the coat hanger beside the door. It was Castiel's home and suddenly everything came back from last night. He just didn't remember anything beyond their fifth beer.

He turned around on his heel. He wasn't sure if it was a good or bad that he had woken up dressed.

Making a decision, he shed his coat and walked towards the door on his left.

It was the kitchen but that's not what caught Dean's attention.

Castiel stood with his back to him, his bare back. He was naked beneath his green apron and Dean could see his perfectly round ass. He could help but ogle but how long before Castiel realized Dean was there and call him out on being a pervert. But if Castiel knew that Dean was over why was he naked? The only explanation would be that Castiel had forgotten.

Dean turned around to walk out quietly pretend to wake up when Castiel came to the room. But as his luck had it, he knocked off a bowl off the counter.

Castiel jumped around, holding out his whip like a weapon.

"Dean?!" he cried out, grimacing and then, "Oh my God-"

Castiel's eyes widened to comic proportions.

"I'm sorry," they both said together.

They stared at each other, both breathing heavily.

"I-I will go… N-now," Dean said, getting out in two tries.

"Wait," Castiel called, a beat later.

Dean turned around, looking expectantly and not looking at anything except Castiel's face.

"Uh, stay? For breakfast?" Castiel asked, biting his lip and frowning. "Let me make it up to you."

"Oh, um, nothing to make… Up for… But… Okay," Dean said, turning towards the TV room and instead hitting the wall the second time in a row.

Wordlessly, he gritted his teeth and hit the wall once, before entering through the right place. He retook his position on the couch. He stared around the room, trying to wipe the picture of a naked Castiel out of his mind but so far he was getting unsuccessful. Sinking his head in his hands, he groaned.

A couple of minutes later, a plate was held out to him by a now, thankfully, dressed Castiel. Castiel was red in the face as he handed the plate with pancakes doused in maple syrup to Dean.

"I'm sorry, Dean," he said, settling beside him. "I had no idea you were here. I had forgotten. I assumed Gabriel had gotten me drunk and dropped me here."

"Oh, that's, um, okay," Dean said, focusing on his plate instead of Castiel.

"You sure didn't help with your ogling," Castiel observed.

Dean turned towards him, spluttering. "I did not… I would never. Hey! That's just-Psh. How can you even think that!"

Castiel looked at him, curiously. "Relax, Dean. I was just kidding," he said, huffing out a laugh.

"Oh," Dean said with a fake laugh.

Castiel frowned at him.

Dean gulped down the breakfast and uttering a compliment and excuse, stood up to leave.

"Uh, Dean," Castiel said, standing against the door as Dean put on his coat.

"Yeah?"

"Can we please not let what happened this morning make things awkward?"

"Of course," Dean replied a beat later with a smile.

Castiel huffed a breath, looking relieved.

"Thank you, Dean."

"You're welcome, Castiel. See you."

"See you, Dean."