AN: Hello, I'm back with another story. This one's AU, as so said in the summary. I intentionally wanted this as a oneshot, but as I continued writing it down, it started reaching 5k word count and I wasn't even on the middle of it yet, so in order to avoid myself from trying to size it down, I decided to make it a multi-chaptered story. I know it would be more tedious to do so but I just couldn't continue writing it as a oneshot and not try to lessen the word count on the process of doing so. Either way, please enjoy and tell me what you think of it. I know there won't be much to suggest as this chapter serves as the introduction, but if you have something in mind, do tell me in a form of a review.

Word count: 1,188

Puzzles

Dean tapped his finger impatiently on the wheel, waiting for the red light to turn green. His face was absent though, his eyes unfocused, staring blindly ahead. Sam was sitting beside him, glancing at his brother through his peripheral vision. He gave a fake cough, trying to get Dean's attention.

"Yeah, Sammy?" Dean turned to Sam distractedly.

"Green. "

"Huh?"

"The light's green, Dean." He explained patiently. Dean looked dumbfounded for a second, and then the car lurched forward, smoothly following the road before them. Sam shook his head resignedly and stared outside. They hadn't been talking for weeks. Sam knew Dean was going through a hard phase right now, but all he did was lock himself up completely. It was like talking to a shell, or a programmed robot, like Dean wasn't really there and Sam tried to reach out to him, God knows he did, but Dean always shoved him away with his shrugs and declarations of "I'm fine." Dean was always stubborn; there was no changing that, whatever happens.

"So… why are you doing this again? It's not like I don't have a job." Dean's voice broke through Sam's contemplation. He noticed the awkward atmosphere, and pretended to be interested in order to delay Sam's confrontations. He knew his baby brother have noticed his distant behavior…it's just not what he needed right now.

"We could really use the extra money." Sam answered carefully, hoping his answer won't make Dean think about the reason why they needed the additional income.

"Uh-huh. So who will you be tutoring, exactly?" Dean asked, ignoring Sam's careful act around him.

"Uh, his name's Gabriel, Gabriel Novak."

"The short guy who's always eating sweets? You gonna make him your salad disciple or something?"

"Ha-ha, Dean, I'm dying of laughter." Sam rolled his eyes and put on a bitch-face clearly reserved just for his brother.

"Hey. I aim to please." Dean quipped.

The engine stopped and both brothers momentarily stared at the house they parked in front of. It looked cozy, and probably actually is: A not-so-small house with a 2nd floor and a chimney to match the suburban spirit. The lawn was freshly cut, the mower left outside the garage, and light spilled out from the windows.

"Huh." Dean absently remarked, getting out of the Impala. He heard Sam close his door too and figured out that his younger brother was also staring.

Ding dong.

The short boy, Gabriel, was the one to open the door, his eyes widening in excitement as he saw Sam's frame. Same gave an embarrassed smile and pointed Dean with his head.

"Hi Gabe. My brother, Dean." Gabriel shook Dean's hand rather stiffly, Dean's eyebrow rising at the act. He turned to Sam with a questioning glance. Sam answered him with a shrug. After the introductions, Gabriel let them in, leading them, Dean mostly, to the living room.

"So, if it's okay with you, Dean-o," Dean glared at Gabriel, already deciding that he did not like the guy, "you'll be staying with my brother for company." Dean stopped in his tracks and stared in front of him. There was a man, sitting on the couch, probably older than him, black hair framing his face as he hunched over the coffee table. The concentrated stare of the man wasn't the one which caught Dean's attention, it was what he seemed to be doing: the man was gingerly fingering what looked like puzzle pieces as a puzzle frame was laid on the coffee table in front of him. It looked half-done, but it was a motherfucking big puzzle, well, not really, just the biggest Dean had ever seen.

"Dean, this is my brother, Castiel, Cassie, this is Dean, Sam's brother."

"Please don't call me Cassie, Gabriel. And hello, Dean." Dean shuddered; the man's voice was gravelly, deep and rich. His eyes never left the puzzle frame as he greeted Dean.

"Sure, Cassie." Castiel winced while Gabriel and Sam proceeded to go upstairs to start the lessons. Dean stared for a minute, before deciding to make himself comfortable on the couch opposite to Castiel. He realized that the other man was not going to invite him to sit, anyway.

10 minutes passed and Castiel never looked at him once, nor gave any indication that he knew Dean was sitting there. He kept comparing pieces, and once in a while, frowning when he got them wrong. Dean stared idly, undecided whether he should feel insulted for being ignored or grateful for the silence. He studied Castiel. His hair was raven and messy, like bed-hair messy. The kind of messy that screamed hours of rough sex. He blushed at the thought. The guy was pale white, in contrast to the black coat he was wearing with matching black slacks. He sighed. Boredom made him ogle a guy. So much for being a good big brother. Now he's just going to rot his eyes out until Sam comes down from upstairs with sweets boy.

He stared at Castiel again. The guy was deeply focused on the puzzle that it bothered him. He swore this was illegal in some states. He shook his head and studied the room. For a cozy looking house on the outside, the inside didn't seem to live up to the standard. The wall was painted dirty white, and now that Dean noticed, there were no picture frames hanging on the walls nor standing on the tables. The only decoration in the room was the empty vase standing on the side table and wall clock above it which was also plain looking. Dean rolled his eyes. Great, even the surroundings wasn't helping him alleviate the boredom.

After two hours, an eternity for Dean though, Sam finally came down, Gabriel tailing him.

Finally. Dean thought, giving a big sigh of relief. He stood up and turned to Sam with a look that clearly said "if-you-wanted-to-kill-me-you-could-have-just-said -so." Sam raised a questioning brow at this and turned to Castiel, who looked like he never even budged from his seat after he and Gabriel went upstairs.

"Had fun, Cassie?" Gabriel asked good-naturedly. Dean rolled his eyes. Sure he had fun. He's doing a puzzle for fuck's sake.

"Of course. " Castiel replied steadily, and for once, he raised his head and stared at Dean, his face impassive. Dean felt rooted as those shocking blue eyes met him, and he knew, at the moment, he had never seen anything so beautiful. The man was definitely attractive, even he couldn't deny that. And there was something in those pools of blue that reminded him of the beach in California he went to when he was young. He absently clenched and unclenched his hands as the memories started playing on his head.

Dean, baby, be careful, okay?

I'll just go and do some baby patrol, you go ahead and take a swim, huh, son?

He tore his gaze away, almost begrudgingly, from Castiel when he heard Sam clear his throat.

"Right. Let's go, Sammy." Sam looked confused but decided to ignore it since Dean was not in a conversable mood for the past weeks, anyway.

To Be Continued