Castiel stood in the dingy motel room doorway. Dean was sitting on the bed, his legs stretched out in front of him. "Hello Dean", he said in a gravelly voice. Dean looked up from the dirty magazine he had been flipping through, and his breath caught in his throat as he saw the angel.

"Hey", he began but choked on the word. Embarrassed, he cleared his throat and tried again. "Hey Cas, what's going on?", he asked as he hastily stowed his magazine, Busty Asian Beauties, under his pillow.

"The apocalypse", Cas replied dryly. "You know that".

"Yeah, Cas, I know. It's just an expression", Dean replied, rolling his eyes. "I meant why are you here?". Castiel stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. He was looking at Dean in that way again. He shifted uncomfortably under the intensity of the angel's gaze. He cleared his throat and stood up, glancing at the closed bathroom door.

"Sammy" Dean called.

"Dean", Cas said. "I'm not here to see Sam. I'm here to talk to you". The words had barely left his lips when Sam emerged from the bathroom.

"Cas", Sam said, surprised. "Is something wrong?".

"No." Cas strode quickly toward Sam and before anyone could react, pressed two fingers to Sam's forehead and then Sam was gone.

"Cas! What the hell?" Dean said, surprised.

"I needed to speak to you, Dean. Alone". He didn't come any closer to Dean, still standing by the bathroom door where he had zapped Sam to who knows where.

"Where's Sam?"

"He's at Bobby's. We needed some time... alone".

"Okay, well what is it?" Dean demanded. "Come on, Cas. You're being weird. Even for you". Cas didn't answer. He just looked at Dean and slowly took a step toward him.

"Dean. This is the end of times. We both know that Sam is going to say yes to Lucifer". Dean looked at the floor.

"I know", he said quietly. Emotion choked his voice. "What are we gonna do, Cas?". Dean collapsed back on to the bed, his head in his hands.

Castiel stood awkwardly watching Dean. He wanted to ease his pain, but human emotions were so foreign to him. "Dean..."

Dean cleared his throat and looked up at Cas. "So what did you need to talk to me about that you had to zap Sam all the way to Sioux Falls?"

Cas walked carefully over to Dean, as if he were afraid he was going to jump up and run away. Slowly, he sat down on the bed.

"Sam is going to say yes. You know as well as I do that his plan to take control once Lucifer has possessed him will almost certainly fail. There's nothing we can do. Armageddon will begin." Cas stated plainly.

"Jeez, Cas. You're a real glass-half-full kind of guy", Dean replied.

"Dean", Cas said, very seriously. "When I pulled you out of Hell, it created a... bond between the two of us. You feel it". Dean's hand unconsciously went to his shoulder, where Cas' hand print was seared into his skin.

"Sure, I guess. You're like a brother to me. What are you getting at?"

"Am I really like a brother to you? Now is the time for truth".

Dean swallowed and cast his eyes to the floor. He knew exactly what Cas was talking about. No matter how hard he tried to deny it to himself, he was drawn to the angel. He had never felt about anyone the way he did about Castiel. Not any woman, and there had been a lot of women. No one. It wasn't lust, not exactly. It was, however, a pull toward Cas. Like they were a pair of magnets, always drawn together.

"Cas", he croaked. He looked up and Cas was now sitting so close to him that they were almost touching. Cas very slowly reached over and lifted the sleeve of Dean's t-shirt, exposing the hand print he had left on Dean's flesh. Then he placed his hand on the mark.

Dean was caught completely off guard by the explosion of sensation that overtook him. The warmth that radiated through his body was overwhelming. He felt an incredible sensation of loving and being loved; he felt safe and whole in a way he never had before.

He realized with a wash of embarrassment that he was also feeling just how much Cas was not like a brother to him. He couldn't deny it anymore, not when he was growing harder and harder under Cas' touch.

Castiel was watching him carefully. He showed no sign of being affected by the contact between them. His face was a mask. He lifted his hand from Dean's body and moved a few inches backward on the bed, away from Dean, who was breathing heavily now and staring at Cas.

"What, what the hell was that?" Dean's eyes were wide and he sounded slightly upset, but he didn't move away.

"What I did, when I raised you, was unprecedented. No angel had reached into Hell and pulled a soul out before now. Even though you don't remember, you were touched by my true form. You've been marked by my Grace".

Dean said nothing. He was trying to listen to Cas, but it was difficult to focus. His mind was spinning, trying to process what had just happened. He wanted to push Cas away, drive to Bobby's to get Sam, and spend the night drinking and talking about how to resist Lucifer. Somehow though, he couldn't quite act on these panicky feelings and so he sat, torn between needing Cas to touch him again and wanting to get as far away from him as possible.

"Your soul is now connected to me. Forever", Cas continued. His eyes flitted down to the evidence of Dean's arousal. "And the connection is the reason for that". Dean's eyes widened and then he shut them tight. He started to move away and shook his head.

"Cas I don't know what the hell you just did to me, but that don't mean squat. I, I was just looking at a magazine when you came in..." Dean was silenced abruptly by Cas taking his hand and placing it on his own erection.

"It's okay, Dean. I feel it too. There's no point denying it any longer". Cas released Dean's hand, but Dean didn't remove it from Cas' lap. He looked into the angel's eyes. They sat there for a long moment. Neither one spoke. Slowly, very slowly, Dean leaned forward and pressed his lips very lightly to Castiel's.

At first Cas remained frozen. Then he reached up and put his hand on the back of Dean's head, running his fingers through his short hair. They kissed in earnest, their lips moving together. Cas' careful control began to slip, kissing Dean with bruising force. He placed his hand on Dean's shoulder once more and Dean moaned into his mouth. Their connection flared and shone brighter than the sun.

Dean's world slipped away from him as he kissed Castiel. He was surrounded by Cas, filled up with Cas. Nothing else mattered. Not Lucifer, not Sam, not the apocalypse. He was hungry for more contact. He slipped the trench coat off of the angel's shoulders. Castiel broke the kiss to take it off the rest of the way, and slipped his tie off as well. Dean watched, stunned, as Cas stood, unbuttoned his shirt, never breaking eye contact, and slipped it off. The body he revealed was hard and warm and Dean needed to touch it.

Cas reached down and pulled Dean's t-shirt up over his head, leaving him bare from the waist up as well. He pulled Dean to his feet and held him close. He traced over the many scars on Dean's body with his finger, healing each one as he went. It somehow felt even more intimate than the kissing had been.

"Dean, I need you", Cas whispered. "I've never experienced anything like this before. It's incredible. Is this what being human feels like?"

"Kind of", Dean breathed. "But it's never been like this before". Dean reached between their bodies and slipped his hand into Cas' pants. He found what he was searching for and gripped Cas firmly.

Castiel closed his eyes and groaned, kissing Dean again and running his hands over Dean's broad back.

Dean began to move his hand back and forth, deeply enjoying the cacophony of groans and moans that his angel was making. He moved his hand up to unbutton the belt and pants that were in his way, allowing Castiel to spring free, and Dean began moving in earnest. Castiel stopped kissing Dean and instead gripped him so tight that Dean was sure he would be left with more angelic hand prints. Castiel began murmuring in Enochian. Although Dean couldn't understand the words, the meaning was clear. He moved faster and faster, Castiel urging him along, thrusting himself into Dean's hand.

Cas suddenly stiffened and, letting out a cry of ecstasy, erupted.

"Dean", Cas began, but Dean silenced him with another kiss. The two men sunk to the bed. Dean was becoming frantic with need, and Castiel didn't make him wait any longer. He placed his hands on Dean's shoulders and gently pushed him back until he was lying down, with Cas hovering over him.

"Cas... please", Dean begged. His erection was raging and he thought he would go crazy if he didn't get relief soon. He felt his pants being unbuckled and then pulled off. His underwear was quickly removed and he felt the cool air for just a second before it was replaced by Castiel's hot breath.

When Cas took Dean into his mouth, Dean arched his back and put his hands in Cas' hair, gripping him so tightly that Castiel thought he'd never let go. The Dean felt as though his blood was boiling in his veins as Cas moved his lips up and down on his length.

"Cas", Dean said shakily, "I'm not gonna last much longer".

Cas looked up at Dean and redoubled his efforts, making Dean lose himself in a fog of pleasure, lust, and Castiel. It was Dean's turn to explode now, and Cas moved up Dean's torso to kiss him deeply while he came, using his hand to bring Dean to his climax.

The two men lay on the bed quietly together, arms wrapped around each other, breathing heavily, trying to come to grips with what had happened between them. They didn't say a word, but Dean fell asleep while Cas lay awake, waiting patiently for Dean to awaken.

The next morning, Dean woke up and found himself still in Castiel's embrace. He jumped up and immediately dressed himself. Cas raised himself onto his elbows and watched as Dean went around the room, picking up clothes and studiously avoiding Cas' gaze.

"Dean", Cas began.

"Rise and shine", Dean said, still not looking at Cas. He threw Cas his trench coat. "Get dressed". He headed for the motel room door.

"Dean, where are you going?" Cas asked, confused.

"I'm going to get Sam. You zapped him to Bobby's, remember?"

"I can get him for you".

"No", Dean snapped. "I need some time". With that he left, slamming the door behind him.

Cas understood that Dean needed to process what happened last night. He normally wouldn't, but somehow Dean had become comprehensible to him. He supposed it was from allowing their connection to grow. He knew Dean wouldn't stay upset for long.

Remembering last night, Castiel put his hand to his lips, smiled, and disappeared to Bobby's house to wait for Dean.