"C'mon, Cas. We need to go," Dean snapped as he reached for the former angel. This demon hunt hadn't gone as smoothly as he'd hoped and looking at the empty vessel of an elderly man on the floor was proof.

"My, my, my…"

Dean started. He turned slowly to face Cas only to find that he had stopped still in the centre of the room. Castiel slowly lifted his head but, instead of the piercing blue gaze he was normally met with, two pitch black eyes stared at him.

"Cas…"

"Castiel's not here right now," the thing sneered.

"Get out of him!" Dean growled.

The demon laughed and Dean inwardly cursed himself for forgetting that Cas didn't have the anti-possession tattoo since he was human. They began walking around in a complete circle, sizing each other up. Hunter and demon. Dean's hand twitched over his knife and the demon caught it.

"What are you going to do with that?" The demon grinned and rubbed Jimmy Novak's hands over his face and through the raven hair slowly and deliberately. "Wouldn't want to damage this, would you, Winchester?"

Dean ground his teeth together. He couldn't kill it without killing Cas. The walking continued until the demon stopped. He grinned again. A grin far too evil and too cynical for Cas.

"Goodness, the things he's been thinking about you," he mused. Then a pause. "I bet you've been thinking the same," the demon added, leveling Dean with another stare.

"Shut your mouth," Dean snarled.

The demon laughed again and sauntered over to Dean. He stopped inches away from him and looked him up and down. The demon ran his tongue over his lips.

"He's in here," he whispered, pointing to his head. "Screaming." He chuckled. "He's a little fighter, isn't he? Just wants to be useful…"

"I said, shut up!" Dean shouted, grabbing the jacket he had leant to Cas that morning. He turned and slammed the demon into the stone cold wall. "Get. Out. Of. Him."

A hollow laugh escaped the demon. "Do you want to know what he's been thinking?"

"Shut up-"

"He just wants to be useful, Dean," the thing whimpered, imitating a child and sticking out his bottom lip. "Y'know, since he isn't an angel anymore? He just wants to help. He isn't as useful as he used to be with all his powers and those lovely wings, Dean." He paused then continued. "This little angel thinks you won't want him around anymore." Another pause and then another laugh. "Ooooh, it's all gone quiet up here. You know what else he's been thinking?" Dean said nothing so it continued. "How nice it would be to just have his way with you… I bet you'd like that," it breathed, it's lips now millimetres away from Dean's.

Dean let go of the demon and went for his knife, his face burning. He brought it up to it's face and the demon snorted.

"Do you really think you could do that?"

The black from it's eyes evaporated and the innocent blue ones came back. Dean stopped and stepped back. He couldn't do it. Of course he couldn't. So his arms hung defeated at his sides.

"Poor Dean. But-"

"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus-"

The demon and Dean stopped and looked wildly around.

"-omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii-"

"NO!" it cried out, as it coughed out black smoke.

"-omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica… Ergo, draco maledicte et omnis legio diabolica-"

Before the exorcism could be completed, Jimmy Novak's head was thrown back and the black smoke escaped around the room and through the shattered window. Dean looked around to see Sam watching the smoke vanish. He nodded at his brother before turning his attention back to Cas. The former angel's head dipped and then he collapsed completely on the hard ground.

"Dean, I don't think-"

"Damn it, Cas, if you want to come on hunts with us then you're gonna have to get one!"

Cas looked more worried and concerned than Dean had ever seen him and he started as Cas removed the worn t-shirt Dean had given him that morning. Dean averted his eyes and glanced around the tattoo parlour as Cas settled himself in the leather chair bare chested.

"You're not scared are you?" he asked, trying not to look at the fallen angel.

Cas looked up at him and rubbed the back of his neck like he had done before they had met Chastity and learned about the post office.

"You want me to hold your hand?" Dean asked cockily, ambling over to him.

"That would be preferable."

Dean's grin vanished.

"Are you-"

"It may help, Dean."

Dean glanced over at the tattoo artist who had stopped busying himself preparing the needle to glance over at the pair and smile at them.

"Fine," Dean said, trying not to let the other man see his face turning up a few shades of red.

"You ready?" the man asked Cas.

A slightly clammy hand gripped Dean's as the man went to work on Cas' chest. He winced in pain a few times and Dean's hand was squeezed to breaking point but, overall, it went smoothly. Once the tattoo was completed Cas stood and admired it in the mirror, running his fingers lightly around the symbol. Dean smiled at him and headed over to pay the man.

"So, how long have you two been together?" the man asked, grinning to himself.

"Oh, we're- we're not-" But Dean stopped as he looked over at his angel and realised.

He turned back to the man and said, "About five years."