It was just another Monday morning in the Men of Letters bunker, also known as The Batcave. It was a sunny morning, they'd just finished a successful hunt the night before (freaking werewolf three hours away, killed four people before they ganked it) and Dean was the first to wake up. It wasn't anything unusual, Sam was a heavy sleeper after hunts and Cas apparently liked sleeping in most days, though he'd usually wake up when Dean started making breakfast.

That Monday morning, Dean was in the kitchen making pancakes for everyone (he'd always bitch about Sam and Cas not making their own breakfast but still make it for them the next day – cooking was a newfound hobby of Dean's) when Cas quietly walked in. He may not be an angel anymore but he never lost the ability to make Dean slightly jump, Dean was beginning to think it wasn't all about his angel mojo, that it was just a Cas thing.

"Good morning Dean." He muttered sleepily as he hopped on the counter beside the sink. Dean smiled and gave Cas a plate with a pile of pancakes covered with syrup on it, just like Cas liked it. Cas returned the smile, thankful, as he began to eat.

They both ate their pancakes in a comfortable silence, sitting next to each other on the counter with their thighs almost touching. Lately, the lack of personal space wasn't an issue, Dean didn't comment on it. In fact, he encouraged it, standing closer to Cas than usual, their hands occasionly brushing and sometimes – like now – they sat very close to each other.

When Dean finished his pancakes he tried to lean over Cas to put his plate in the sink but leaned a little too forward and landed on Cas, lips on lips. Both their eyes widened in shock and they heard a cough from the doorway to the kitchen. Dean and Cas lunged backward, Cas falling into the sink and Dean off the counter, much to Sam's amusement.

"We weren't kissing, it was just lips touching…" Dean's murmur was barely audible as he stormed out of the kitchen, leaving a chuckling Sam and a confused, blushing Cas behind him.

That was the first time Sam caught Dean and Cas 'lips touching'.

The second time happened three weeks later.

The first time Charlie met Cas she was shocked by his lack of understanding when it came to pop culture references, and every time she'd visit since then she made everyone have a movie night.

This time when she was visiting they were having a Lord of the Rings marathon. Dean and Cas were in the kitchen, making popcorn and other snacks while Sam and Charlie sat in the living room and Sam told Charlie about the incident from three weeks ago.

"…and Dean just said that they weren't kissing, it was just 'lips touching'!" Sam laughed as Charlie's jaw dropped.

"He seriously said that? He's an idiot. Everyone can see he's in love with Cas, he doesn't need excuses…" She said frowning. "But," a mischievous smile began to form on her lips. "We might be able to do something about it…"

When Dean and Cas returned with the snacks they found Sam and Charlie sprawled over the big couch, leaving no space for them. Only the small couch was left and they reluctantly sat down after setting down the bowls of snacks. There wasn't much space and they were pressed up against each other, not that any of them seemed to mind, lack of personal space wasn't unusual.

Halfway through The Two Towers Dean and Cas fell asleep, leaning against each other much to Sam and Charlie's amusement. By the time Return of the King was over, Dean and Cas were lying on their sides, facing each other, their foreheads, noses and lips touching. Charlie, although sleepy, didn't forget to snap a picture of the two of them on her phone. Sam just rolled his eyes and smiled before falling asleep as well.

The next morning Dean and Cas woke up first, as usual. Neither of them jumped or pulled away, even though Dean had his arm around Cas' waist and Cas' hands were on Dean's chest and their legs were completely intertwined. They stayed on the couch quietly, looking into each other's eyes without saying a word.

So naturally, someone else had to say a word.

"Good morning lovebirds! Sleep well?" Charlie chuckled as she stood up and stretched, breaking the moment between the two men. Dean pulled away as quickly as he could in surprise, falling off the couch in the process. "Shut up Charlie." He grumbled.

Charlie smiled fondly as she pulled out her phone and unlocked it. She fumbled with it for a few moments before crouching next to Dean - who was still on the floor – and Cas and showed them the picture from last night. Dean's face turned a deep shade of red and Cas' eyes widened.

"Tha- We- We were asleep Charlie. It's just- It's just lips touching, shut up!" He stuttered, quickly getting up and pushing the phone away from him. It didn't matter if he thought it was a nice picture, Cas had some innocence on him when he was asleep and they did look good kissing – no, not kissing, lips touching! – it didn't mean Cas thought so too. So why risk it anyway?

That was the last time Charlie and Sam saw Dean and Cas just lips touching.

It happens after a not-so-successful vetala hunt. One of them managed to knock out Cas and take him. They fed on him twice already before Dean and Sam found them and killed them. Cas was weak and bloody as Dean knelt down next to him and began to untie him.

"Dammit Cas… I told you not to go off on your own… You can't just do that man…" He murmured before picking up the ex-angel and wrapping his arm around his shoulders, assisting him to walk. "Don't worry, you're fine… I got you. Sammy's gonna clean up here, burn the bodies and we're gonna head back, get you bandaged and cleaned up…" All Cas could do was nod in response, he was still weak from the venom.

When they got back to the motel they were staying at (some cases were just too far from home) Dean began to clean Cas' wound gently, careful not to hurt his friend even more. He brushed his thumb over Cas' face absentmindedly after Cas winced in pain, trying to soothe him. "You're fine Cas, you're gonna be good as new in a few minutes, promise." Dean smiled softly at Cas. If it had been anyone he wouldn't have been so gentle, but with Cas… It was different. His ex-angel still wasn't used to pain like this, being hurt by 'small' things and Dean couldn't stand that pain on Cas' face.

Cas leaned into Dean's touch and before either of them knew what was happening, they were both leaning in and then their lips were pressed together and they were kissing each other softly, careful not to move too much because Cas was still injured and Dean didn't want to hurt him.

A chuckle from the doorway interrupted them and this time, they didn't jump away. Dean pulled away slowly and smiled at Cas before turning his head to the door to face Sam.

"So, was that lips touching or…?"

"Shut up."