Sam sighed and closed his computer. Research was getting him nowhere on this case and he was losing patience. He looked over to where Dean was snoring gently on his bed in the dingy motel room they had picked for the night. "Damnit Dean." Sam said to himself. "You choose now of all times to actually sleep?"
"Dean has obviously over-exerted himself."
Sam jumped as Castiel suddenly appeared before him. "Cas, man, I told you to stop doing that!"
"My apologies. I got some information on the creature you're hunting. I thought you would like to hear it." Cas said, sitting on Sam's bed.
"Yes, please, let's hear it." Sam encouraged, turning to face the angel.
"I would like Dean to be awake for this."
Sam sighed and stood, walking over to his brother. He leaned down and clapped loudly in Dean's ear. "Wake up sleepy head we have a case to work on!"
Dean jolted awake, springing up from the bed into a sort of ninja pose. "What the hell, Sammy?"
"Your boyfriend's here to give us information."
Dean scowled, straightening his jacket. "Cas is not my boyfriend."
"But Dean, I am male, and your friend, so wouldn't that in fact make me your boy friend?" Castiel pointed out, tilting his head confusedly.
Dean glared at Sammy in an accusing manner before turning to Cas. "Just tell us your information."
Cas blinked and nodded. "I found the prophet. He says that he has seen the creature you are fighting in a vision."
Dean and Sam waited for a second but Castiel didn't continue. "And?" Dean prompted.
"And it's something that you only thought was a legend. Nobody alive as seen it, and very few believe in its existence."
"What's it called?" Sam asked, instantly moving to his books of lore.
"It's called the Lar. It kills by seducing its prey, then feeding on its internal organs before skinning the carcass and feeding it to it's multitude of cats."
"Cats? Are you being serious right now?" Dean asked.
"Deadly. The Lar is dangerous. It's highly seductive and can appear as anyone depending on the prey's preferences. Felines are extremely fond of it and it cares for them and is highly protective of the ones that choose to follow it for long periods of time."
"So, Crazy Cat Lady seduces men and then eats them?"
"Not just men. Women are known to have fallen prey to the Lar in the legends as well."
"Great. Well, that narrows down our possible victims a lot." Dean said sarcastically.
"Hold on." Sam said, a large leather-bound book open in his lap. "It says here that the Lar only feeds on preys that are 'aesthetically pleasing'."
"Okay, so we find all the hotties in the area and watch their houses."
"But how do we determine who is a, as you say, 'hottie'?" Cas asked.
Dean chuckled. "Well, I think I got the chicks covered." He grinned suggestively.
"Right." Sam said. "Well, since Dean isn't coming out of the closet anytime soon, I'm comfortable enough with my manhood to say that a man is hot."
"I'm not gay!" Dean exclaimed. His proclamation was ignored as Sam flipped a page.
"Okay it says that to kill the Lar you need to…wait. Am I reading this right?" Sam held the book out to Castiel who accepted it and skimmed over the paragraph.
"It says to kill the Lar it needs to be so overcome with positive emotions that its heart explodes."
"How the hell do we manage that?" Dean demanded.
Sam took the book back from Castiel. "Legend says that the Lar experiences intense emotions while watching two people who are genuinely in love…er…'mate'. It says the more in love they are and the more passionate it is, the more intense the emotions and the quicker the death."
Dean stared at Sam, mouth open. "Are you being serious right now? This is all some sort of prank, isn't it? Well congratulations Sammy, you got me. I just want to know how you got Cas to go along with it."
"This isn't a prank, Dean." Castiel said seriously. "You are in danger. Both of you are. You are both what is considered very attractive on Earth and the Lar could easily come after either one of you."
"Well if the Lar can appear as anyone, how to we protect ourselves from it?"
"You can't. That is why I have asked Gabriel to help."
At the mention of the Archangel there was a flapping sound and suddenly Gabriel was standing next to Castiel, arms crossed and smirk firmly in place. "What's up, Winchesters?"
"Help with what, exactly?" Sam asked.
"Watching over you. Making sure you don't do anything stupid. We all know how guys think, with our little heads instead of the ones on our shoulders." Gabriel grinned. Dean shrugged, not disagreeing with the Archangel's statement.
"We know you can't be together at all times, so when you must be separated, I will stay with Dean and Gabriel will follow Sam." Castiel explained.
"Like guardian angels." Dean chuckled.
"All angels are guardian angels, Dean that is our purpo-"
"It was a joke, Cas." Sam interrupted.
"Oh."
Dean flashed Cas a small smile, making the angel blush in embarrassment.
"Anyway, you two are to stay with us at all times. Do not trust anyone, even people you think you know."
Sam and Dean shared a pointed look and a shrug.
"Cool. So you guys just going to hang here while we sleep?" Sam wondered.
"Yeah, some quiet time with the Winchesters and my little brother sounds wonderful right now." Gabriel said sarcastically.
"Right. Well, beer's in the fridge if you want some." Dean said, plopping down onto his bed.
"Please don't just stare at us while we sleep." Sam added, crawling into his bed as well. "Find something to do."
"Watch some Casa Erotica." Dean suggested.
Gabriel shrugged at Castiel, who shook his head no before turning out the lights.