Charlie let out an unimpressed grunt as she glanced around the bunker, folding her arms across her chest. "This is so old school… and not in the cool way! Do you guys even have a tv?"

Dean rolled his eyes, pulling out a chair and collapsing down onto it. "We just use Sammy's laptop."

"Lame. You expect us to have a Star Trek marathon on a fifteen inch screen with tinny speakers? Yeah, don't think so, big boy! Come on, I'll help you pimp out your crib!"

"But I've just sat down! Take Sam!"

"No, he'll want to talk about lore on the way, I'd much rather discuss the overuse of lens flare in JJ Abrahms revamp."

Dean groaned, pulling himself to his feet, grabbing his keys from the table and following Charlie back out of the bunker. They drove to the nearest radio shack, Charlie rushing around grabbing a whole manner of tech; speakers, a projector, miles of wiring, cables, and loads more. Dean grumbled as he slid his credit card across the counter, earning him a sharp elbow from Charlie.

"It's not like it's even your money, stop whining."

When they returned to the bunker Charlie wasted no time setting everything up; putting up the screen, setting the projector on the table, wiring everything up to the speakers and to the laptop. Sam wandered in halfway through with three beers, sitting opposite his brother to watch Charlie work.

"So… Star Trek marathon, huh?"

Dean rolled his eyes. "Shut up."

"Just sayin'… After all the times you've called me a nerd, and you're spending your day off watching Star Trek?"

"No. I'm spending my day off relaxing! With a friend! Okay?"

Sam held his hands up in self defence, lounging back into the sofa. "No, that's fine."

"You're not planning on joining us, are you?"

"So what if I was?"

"Three's a crowd, dude! And I'd rather you didn't sit through the show asking questions and muttering under your breath."

"I won't! I promise! And if three's a crowd, you can always call down Cas? You know how much he loves television."

"I don't think this would be Cas' thing."

"How do you know until you ask him? Go on, I'll go get some snacks ready, it looks like Charlie's just about done."

Dean looked up just as Charlie was climbing down from the chair she'd been stood on to reach the white screen. She grinned over at him and went to Sam's laptop, pulling up YouTube to check the sound and projector were working.

"What was Sam saying?" Charlie asked, shuffling over to her bag. Dean shrugged, rolling his beer bottle between his palms.

"Just suggesting I invite Cas to come watch with us."

Charlie grinned. "Yeah! That's a great idea! I'd love to meet him… finally!"

Dean huffed, standing up and marching over the sofa. "Shut up."

"No, stop putting it off! I want to meet the guy who could be the one… the exemption, the one that started it all, the one that-"

"I know what Cas is to me, okay? And he's just a friend."

Charlie laughed cruelly, pulling her Star Trek boxset from her bag. "Sorry, Dean, but I have to call bullshit on that one. You've never called me to worry about anyone but Cas. Not even Sam! Your brother! But this Cas? He's special… Plus I have a finely tuned gaydar and you set it off like crazy, dude."

"Thanks."

"Go on, call him down. I bet he'd love Star Trek."

"Only if… you don't say a word to him."

"A word at all? Or a word about your big crush on him?"

Dean glared. "Is this your thinly veiled attempt to get me to admit I like Cas?"

"Is it working?"

"No! …Dear Castiel, who art not here. Come on over, buddy, we're having a Star Trek marathon, and we think you'd like it… Also Charlie wants to meet you. You know? The ginger one with the issues?"

"Hey!"

Dean chuckled, cracking his eyes open. There was no Castiel. Shrugging, Dean took a quick sip of his beer before grinning at Charlie.

"Guess he's not coming."

"I'm here, Dean."

Dean spluttered, spinning round to look at Castiel. "Dude! Have you gotten quieter? I usually hear you."

"No."

Charlie suddenly skipped over to Castiel, offering her hand. "Castiel? Nice to meet you finally. Dean talks about you. A lot… All the time really. Every time he calls me he talks about how he-"

"Okay, Charlie, thank you. Go put the DVD on," Dean said through clenched teeth, hurrying over to drag her way. Castiel watched them bemusedly, his eyes following Dean's movements. He walked back over to Cas, grabbing his elbow, steering him towards the sofa.

"What's Star Trek?"

"It's awesome!" Charlie replied. "It's a sci-fi tv show from the sixties, all about the adventures of the Starship Enterprise and its crew."

Castiel nodded, looking to Dean. Dean shrugged, sitting himself beside Cas on the sofa.

"That's pretty much it. Every episode is different, but it really is freakin' awesome! Especially Kirk. Though you'd probably identify more with Spock."

Charlie let out a quiet snort as she loaded up the DVD, not bothering to glance back, she knew Dean was glaring at her. Sam finally returned from the kitchen with more food and drink and sat himself down on the far end of the sofa, leaving a space for Charlie to sit between himself and Dean, Castiel squished on to the other end.

The lights were turned off, the volume turned up, and the show started. On occasion, Charlie and Dean would start quoting, sniggering to themselves when either Sam or Cas hushed them. In response, Charlie and Dean would loudly hush Sam when he rustled his bag of chips.

During the course of the marathon, everyone shuffled about to get more comfortable, and to ensure their blood didn't cut off from their weird positions. Charlie ended up pressed against Dean with her legs draped over Sam's. Castiel ended up tucked under Dean's arm, curled up to Dean's chest.

After several episodes, Sam left to go get some food, leaving Charlie and Dean to try and explain parts of the show to Cas.

"But Spock is half human, surely human emotions shouldn't be as alien to him as they are. Especially with his prolonged exposure to humans. Why is constantly puzzled by Kirks reactions and decisions?"

Dean shrugged, seemingly comfortable enough to leave his arm draped over the angel's shoulders. "It's like you and me, Cas. I thought you'd understand by now, but you keep asking why I make some of the decisions I make."

"Only when they seem reckless."

"No, Cas… all the time!"

"The way I see it," Charlie interrupted, "is that Spock just refuses to accept human emotions. His life's dictated by logic. It either makes sense or it doesn't. And humans just don't make sense, especially when driven by emotion, yes? But Spock does feel emotion, he is half human after all. But it scares him! The things he feels. Confusion, doubt, regret… love…"

"Love for whom?"

"Everyone! Chekov, Sulu… I bet even Bones… And Kirk! Though that's a different type of love."

"Perhaps that's why he's confused. There are so many types of love and he doesn't understand how they apply to different people."

Charlie smirked, wandering over to the table, smirking even more when Dean and Castiel didn't pull away despite having ample amount of space. "Well… take you guys for example. You love Sam, right? And you love Dean. But you love them differently."

Castiel frowned. "Yes."

"The love you feel for Sam, it's familial. He's like a brother. You care for him. That's how Spock feels about the crew, and that's fine, he's fine with that. But the love he feels for Kirk, it's… deeper. They have… a more profound bond, y'know?"

Dean scowled at Charlie, regretting even mentioning Castiel to her. Castiel looked up, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth.

"Like… the bond I share with Dean?"

"Exactly! And it's terrifying, right? It's not just a nice feeling of warmth, it's in your gut! It physically hurts sometimes!"

Castiel nodded. "So… Spock is afraid of loving Kirk?"

"Yes! If Chekov died he'd be sad, of course… but if Kirk died, it'd be like a piece of him died too. They're one person. Incomplete without the other. Sure, they fight, and bitch, but they're a total married couple! If they starting boning each other right there on the bridge I don't think anyone would bat an eye!"

"Boning… is a euphemism for fornication, yes?"

Dean could feel his cheeks burn. He tried to start retracting his arm but Castiel had it pinned against the sofa. Charlie grinned at them.

"Yeah… And you know, they way I see it: I'm Uhurah crossed with Chekov. Sam's Bones — the bitchface, guys, they're twins, I swear! Dean's Kirk. And you, my angel friend, are Spock."

Cas' eyes narrowed. "Are you implying that if Dean and I were to start fornicating, neither you or Sam would notice?"

Dean spluttered, futilely yanking on his arm but it was still trapped. Charlie grinned wickedly.

"Not so much not notice… but we'd definitely wonder what took so long. I mean, you two give each other bedroom eyes all the time! …So I've heard."

"Dean doesn't feel that way about me."

"Excuse me? Does he ring you up at four in the morning complaining he misses you and wants to bang you? No!"

"I do not! And I'm right here! Stop talking about me!" Dean snapped. Charlie rolled her eyes.

"Shut up, Dean, I'm trying to get you laid here."

"I didn't ask you to!"

"Charlie, would you please leave so Dean and I can talk?"

"Certainly!"

—

Sam eventually returned burdened with bags of take-out, not expecting to run into Charlie sat on the steps. "What are you doing out here?"

Charlie looked up, grinning. "Marathon's been cancelled."

"Why?"

"Why? Because I have successfully managed to do in five minutes what you failed to do in five years!"

Sam narrowed his eyes, sitting down beside Charlie. "What?"

"Let me sing you a song… Dean and Cas, sitting on a couch-"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"How?!"

Charlie laughed, giving Sam a hefty pat on the shoulder. "Fear not, young padawan, I shall teach you the ways."

"But they're definitely-"

"Oh yes! I had a quick peep a few minutes ago. You know, Cas looks pretty good with his shirt off! And I'm a lesbian! That's saying something!"

Sam nodded slowly, his eyes trained on the bags of food at his feet. "Nice. Didn't need to know."