A/N: See Jen writing for pretty much the most overused AU troupe ever. See Jen not caring that everyone else has done it, because she just wanted to give it a go. See everyone being disappointed in Jen's lack of AU skills.

And continuing the 'see Jen' chronicles. See Jen attempting to be funny. See Jen is definitely NOT funny.

There is actually quite a bit of dialogue in this. I'm not sure dialogue is my strong suit. Also, it's quite long, so I'm going to post it in parts. This gives me the added bonus of being able to beg for reviews at the start of each chapter (it's all finished, but if I don't have a little time between posting each chapter, how are my bribes going to pay off?).

(Also, I'm sorry about using 'mum' instead of 'mom.' I just couldn't do it. Come on, cut me some slack. I wrote 'fries' instead of 'chips,' didn't I?)

Just a heads up, I'm not a John Winchester fan, and it kind of shows. So, rating for mentions of alcohol abuse.

All mistakes are my own and spellchecks'. Reviews are everything good in this world.

Dean hesitated before he answering the phone. The number flashing on the caller ID did not seem familiar, but 14 years of his fathers voice replaying in his head, always reminding him to check who was calling, to leave it if it might be someone asking for the money they did not have, meant Dean missed more phone calls than he answered. But Dean was trying to force himself to study, and the harsh ringing of the telephone would only stay with him in the quiet of the rest of the apartment if he didn't end it soon.

He picked up the phone.

The voice that came through from the other end was deep, like the owner had swallowed gravel with a shot of whisky, but in an entirely pleasant way that shot through Dean like a bullet. "Hello. I would like to speak to Samuel Winchester."

Dean swallowed slowly. No way was someone who sounded like that, and didn't even give a name to go with the phone-sex operators voice, talking to his baby brother. But Sammy would be angry with him if he blew up at one of the few people in this town he actually knew, so Dean decided to go with a more tactful response. "Wow. I don't think Sammy is quite old enough to be talking to you."

The voice on the other end of the line seemed to hesitate for a moment, before saying "I don't follow you. But I assure you, whatever fears you have are unfounded. May I please speak to Samuel?"

Dean had to give it to the guy. He was persistent. "No you may not. Sam is out."

Dean heard what he thought might have been a frustrated sigh, before the voice starts up again, and seriously, how did this guy think he was just going to be able to talk to Sammy, he had to be at least 30 years older than the kid. "Well, can you please let him know that Haven got in a new order of books today if he would like to check them out?"

Immediately, Dean felt mortified. Sam had mentioned that morning someone from the towns bookstore, 'Haven,' might be calling if they got in a new delivery, and now Sam is really going to be angry at him for offending the book guy before he even got to take a look.

Dean let out an embarrassingly high-pitched squeak of "Okay" before he hung up as fast as possible.

-000-

Dean really didn't want to go to 'Haven,' but Sam had looked up at him with his pleading eyes and floppy hair and really, Dean had always been bad at saying "no" to his brother. So he had driven Sam to the bookshop, followed him inside, and was immediately glad he did.

The guy behind the counter was hot. Like, stupidly hot. Like 'I-just-rolled-out-of-bed-and-forgot-to-shave-and-yet-I-still-look-great' hot, and couldn't have been more than a couple of years older than Dean himself. All fluffy black hair and pale skin and big, electric-blue eyes.

Dean's porn-reality filter failed completely, and he blurted out "I'm looking for books about sex" before he realised that, one, his kid brother was right there hearing him talking about sex, and two, it probably was a very, very stupid thing to say.

The man didn't even look up, only asked "school project?" and Dean was shocked and horrified to discover that this guy was the man on the phone a few hours earlier.

He wanted to say "No, this is just my not-very-well-thought-out plan to let you know I'm interested in sex. With you. But it doesn't seem to be working." But what came out was "Yeah. Health classes. Don't you hate them?"

Suddenly, the man looked up, and Dean felt his gaze being caught and held by possibly the most intense stare he'd ever been on the receiving end of. A large part of him screamed to look away, but and even larger part couldn't, even if he tried. "They were never a particular favourite of mine, no."

For a moment there was almost complete silence, broken only by the soft shuffling of Sam's feet as he jumped from foot to foot, before Dean coughed, the sound shockingly loud.

"My name is Dean. We spoke on the phone." The other man hesitated before he reached out to shake Dean's hand. It was a strange handshake, three firm pumps and a tight grip before it was over. Like the guy knew in theory how to give handshakes, but had little practice in actually having them.

"Castiel." The man, no Castiel, said. "Yes, I remember. You seemed convinced that I was involved in some form of lecherous act."

Dean felt himself blush lightly and finally broke Castiel's gaze, looking instead at Sam, who was bright red and looked absolutely horrified. They hadn't been in town for more than a few months, but Dean wondered how many times Sam had come to this bookshop, and why he'd never told Dean about it. "Hey man, I'm sorry about that."

Castiel's expression still didn't change, he just stared at Dean like he wasn't sure what was going on, nor sure if he liked it. "That's okay, Dean. Sam, I've put the new arrivals out the back if you'd like to have a look at them."

Sam nodded his head enthusiastically before dashing off into the store, and Castiel finally looked away from Dean, back down at the piece of paper he'd been writing on before he came in.

Dean wasn't sure what to do. He wasn't particularly interested in looking at books, and he'd already fantastically embarrassed himself trying to talk to Castiel, so he flopped down into one of the armchairs littering the front room of the store and tried to find something to distract himself with until Sam came back.

I didn't work, and every few minutes he found his gaze flicking towards Castiel, but the other man didn't give the slightest indication that he'd noticed Dean's glances.

About twenty minutes later, Dean heard the sound of footsteps, and Sam came jogging back into the front room clutching a small-ish book to his chest. He approached the counter and coughed quietly. Castiel looked up from his work and seemed to smile slightly at Sam, though his expression still did not really change. "Found something Sam?"

Sam grinned. "Yep. I found lots of things. But I'd like to have this one." He spun around to face his brother. "Can I, Dean?"

Dean let out a long-suffering sigh, pushed himself up out of the chair and approached the counter. "Course, Sammy." He said, ruffling Sam's hair. "How much do I owe?"

This time, Castiel answered. "$20. And if you leave your name and number, I can look for those books you requested."

Dean handed over the money, speechless. Had Castiel not realised Dean was joking about the sex books? Surely a guy couldn't take everything literally. But nevertheless, he wrote down his contact details on the piece of paper Castiel passed him.

Castiel nodded sharply, taking both Dean's money and the paper before passing the book down to Sam, who was still grinning. "I will give you a call later then, Dean." and Dean's mouth went dry as his mind conjured up all the hidden meaning there could be behind that statement.

He squeaked out a "Thanks," and seriously, this squeaking thing was starting to become embarrassing, before spinning on his heel to find Sam halfway out the door already, and calling a "See you, Castiel" over his shoulder.

"I'm sure you will, Sam." Castiel called back, then followed with a "It was nice to meet you, Dean." All Dean could think was that he might be in trouble here.

-000-

A couple of day's later, the phone's caller ID displayed a vaguely familiar number, and Dean almost ignored it, before remembering that it might be the number from 'Haven" and that oh wow, Castiel was actually calling him. He didn't know whether to be excited, or feel sorry for the guy who obviously didn't know how to take a joke.

He decided on excited, after all Castiel had said over the phone was "would you like to come into the shop today, Dean? I have some things I'd like to show you." and Dean's mind jumped immediately to sexy outcomes, thinking quietly that he might just have a problem.

Ten minutes later he arrived at the bookshop and opened the door to find that Castiel seemed to be waiting for him, a small pile of books resting next to his hand. "Hello, Dean." Castiel said, passing him the pile. "I thought you might want to have a look at these."

Dean was not at all interested, but Castiel had gone through all the trouble to find these books, so he figured it was only polite to look. They seemed to all be dry and purely biological, until he reached the second-to-last one, a copy of the 'Karma Sutra.'

Dean choked on air for a minute stared wide-eyed at Castiel, who didn't react at all to Dean's shock, only stared, vaguely disinterested, back.

Dean got his vocal chords under control again. "You know, Castiel, I wasn't actually looking for books about sex. I was just trying to get you flustered." he managed to splutter out.

Castiel gave Dean the same not-quiet-there smile he'd used on Sam the last time they'd been in the bookshop, and said, completely calmly "I know. So was I."

Dean let out a loud bark of laughter, and knew he was definitely in trouble.

-000-

It wasn't even a week before Dean found himself outside 'Haven' again. School had just finished for the day, Sam was in one of his after-school clubs, and his dad was having one of those days. Dean really did not want to go home on his own.

There was no bell as the door to 'Haven' opened, only a click as the hinges were forced open, loud enough to catch the attention of Castiel behind the counter. He looked up quickly, face politely disinterested, but seemed to relax a little when he saw Dean enter.

Dean grinned and headed over to the counter, leaning over slightly on his forearms once he reached it. "Hey Cas."

Casteil did not appear to notice the shortening of his name, only looking a strange mixture of confused and heartened that Dean spoke. "Hello, Dean." He replied. "I did not think to see you here again. I didn't realise you were interested in anything we sell."

Dean shrugged. At first, he too had been confused as to why he had wandered down to a bookshop, of all places, when there were perfectly good bars around that didn't bother checking for ID. But he wasn't too fool to know that it had nothing to do with the books. He wanted to reply "Well, I'm very interested in something, but it sure isn't anything you sell," but instead went with "No, I'm not really."

Castiel didn't look disappointed. In fact, his expression did not change at all, only watching Dean, waiting for him to say more.

"Sammy's got an after-school club thing, and I don't really want to go home right now."

Dean cursed himself. Saying that he didn't want to go home would only make people ask why he didn't want to, and he did not feel like explaining that to anyone, especially an almost total stranger like Castiel. He braced himself for the inevitable questions, "what do you mean you don't want to go home? What could be that bad? Everyone's father has bad moods, that doesn't mean you should avoid him. Avoidance is never the key", but they never came. Instead, Castiel only nodded. "You're welcome any time, Dean." and then he smiled his barely there smile. "Maybe I'll be able to tempt you into something."

Dean wanted to run his head into the counter to banish those thoughts. Or at least keep them inside his brain where they belonged.

-000-

Dean pushed Sam ahead of him through the doorway, the click announcing their arrival. After their fourth visit in two weeks, Castiel had been greeting the two of them with his smile, which Dean was beginning to think was as expressive as the mans face got, a slight upturn of the corners of the mouth, and a brightening in the eyes. Sam darted off out the back and Dean made his way over to the counter.

"Hey Cas. How are you?"

"I am well, Dean. And you?"

"Good, man. Good."

There was a short silence, where Castiel seemed to be mulling over something. He was not a big talker most of the time, seeming to try and communicate through intense staring, but Dean had learned that if you gave him time, Castiel would in fact find the words he always seemed to be looking for.

"You have come here a lot for someone who is not interested in these books, Dean."

There was a question attached to that statement that Dean was not touching, so instead he went with avoidance.

"Yeah, it's Sam, man. Kid's a massive bookworm."

Castiel let the topic drop, instead asking about school, but concern had found its way onto his face.

The next time Dean told Sam they were heading to 'Haven,' Sam shook his head.

"No, Dean. I have to go home. I have homework. And besides, I've looked at every book there like a hundred times."

Dean felt the smile fall from his face. If Sam didn't go, then Dean had no reason to go either. Cas was already aware that Dean did not come to the bookshop for its wares, and if he didn't drag Sammy along, then maybe he'd catch on to the real reason Dean was there.

Sam noticed Dean deflating and sighed. "Look, Dean. It's nice that you're making friends with Castiel, God knows you need more friends, but you don't need me there so you can go. So just drop me off at home and go off to the shop on your own. He'll be happy to see you."

Dean was not surprised Sam had picked up on the real reasons for his frequent visits to 'Haven.' Sam was often more aware of his own motivations than himself. But he couldn't let Sam know he was right.

"Did you just say I have no friends?" Sam grinned.

"Bitch."

"Jerk."

The rest of the drive passed in silence, and after Dean dropped Sam in the apartment they shared with their father, he headed back into town, wondering how he was going to explain away Sam's non-appearance.

He needn't have worried. When Castiel saw that Dean was alone, his customary facial quirk widened, until it could almost be called a smile by normal person standards. Dean smiled back.

"You finally decided to stop dragging Sam along here, then?" Castiel asked, and if Dean wasn't sure that the "I'm trying to make you flustered" thing wasn't a one-time, joke, then he would've sworn that Cas was actually teasing him. Dean grinned wider.

"Nah, Sammy loves his books. But, giant nerd as he is, he had some homework to do."

Castiel did not seem at all convinced, but appeared to be attempting to look so. "And you do not, then?"

"No, Cas. I have a lot of homework. But it's never really been my thing."

Now Castiel only looked confused. "Homework is important, Dean, if you want to get good grades."

Dean shrugged. "Grades have never really bothered me, Cas. I just want to finish school and then call Bobby and see if he'll give me a job."

Castiel did not look mollified. "And Bobby is?"

"A friend of my dads. Owns a salvage yard and a small mechanics shop. I've always liked cars."

At this, Castiel's face softened. "Yes, I have noticed. I may not know much about cars, but yours seems very well cared for."

Dean beamed. There was nothing he hated more than people who didn't appreciate the care he put into his car, except perhaps those who pretended they did, and Castiel didn't seem to fit either of those categories. "Nothing but the best for my baby." he said.

Castiel smiled again, and they lapsed into a companionable silence.

After a few minutes, Dean broke it. "So what about you, man? I recon you were one of those kids who turned in every piece of homework right on time."

"You would be correct, Dean." Castiel replied. "School was very important to me. I wanted to be at university by now, but things happened, and here I am instead."

Dean wanted to ask what things were. Castiel did not show it on his face, but he was obviously sad about them. However, a few moments past and Cas didn't seem to be willing to offer up any more information. Dean remembered that Cas hadn't pressed him for details about his home life. If he didn't want to talk, then he didn't have too.

Instead, Dean laughed. "Well, I guess I've got you pegged, then, nerdy little guy. Besides, being here can't be that bad. I mean, you got to meet me. Must make it worth it."

Castiel had a look in his eyes that Dean could only describe as fond. "Yes Dean."

-000-

Soon, 'Haven' became the place for Dean to hang out almost every night after school. While Sam was off nerding it up with his clubs or his homework, Dean found himself leaning over a counter to talk to Cas. Castiel was a good conversationalist, once you got past the staring at the possible attempts at telepathy, and even when Dean was sitting in an armchair and Cas doing whatever he actually did for work, the silences were never awkward.

Sam's nerdiness, despite being an oft-teased aspect of his personality, was actually paying off, so much so that by the time the end of the term rolled around, he was top of his class and getting straight A's. Dean was always proud of his brother, but he didn't often get the chance to show it off, with their dad thinking Sam's academic pursuits a waste of time, and Dean's friends not being particularly interested in talking about his kid brother. But Cas was different, always asking about Sam when Dean visited him at work, so when Sam got his test results back and Dean needed someone to brag too, they headed off to 'Haven.'

Sam seemed just as excited to visit the bookshop as Dean, despite his previous protests against visiting. It wasn't the first time Dean had ever thought Sam was a manipulative little kid, but it was the first time he was grateful about it. Sam always knew the right times to push him. Though Dean was sure that a large part of Sam's excitement came from the fact he had promised Sam he could have anything he wanted from the shop, not because of how long it'd been since he'd been there.

Dean made is usual way over to the counter, and Cas looked up to twitch him his usual greeting. Dean wondered, again, if Castiel could in fact smile like a normal person. But it wasn't Dean that Cas addressed first, instead looking over his shoulder. "It's nice to see you again, Sam. Have you been busy?"

Sam was practically vibrating with excitement. "Yeah, lots of homework. Have you gotten a new order in? Dean said I could have anything."

Cas nodded. "There was a new delivery just yesterday. Take your time." Sam dashed off to the back of the store.

Dean shook his head fondly. "Kid's a genius, I'm telling you. Straight A's in everything."

"I'm sure he just has a good influence." And wow, did that make Dean blush, even as he cursed his skin for being so damn expressive.

"Nah, Cas. I'm terrible at school. Sammy's just a natural."

"Nevertheless, you are very intelligent, Dean. Don't sell yourself short."

There was a short silence where Dean could practically feel his face burning, before the sounds of Sam's running feet broke it. Obviously, there was a book that Sam had had his eyes on for some time.

Sam returned with a large tome on mythology clutched under one arm, and a huge grin on his face. He presented it to Dean, who flipped it over slowly and gaped at the price. "Wow. Umm. That's a little expensive, buddy."

Sam's face fell instantly and he reached out to take the book back. But Cas' voice stopped him. "Have it. For free."

Dean turned his gaping face to Cas instead. "You can't do that, man. This is expensive. Won't your boss be mad or something?"

Cas shook his head. "Touched as I am by your concern, my brother is my boss, and anyway, Sam is our best customer. Seems to me he should get some kind of frequent customer discount."

For a moment, Dean felt inexplicably scared. What Cas was doing was too much, and he himself was doing far too little to deserve it. Cas, however, saw only his hesitance, and sighed loudly. "Just take it, Dean."

Dean swallowed hard around the lump in his throat and nodded. "Thanks. I owe you one."

This drew Cas' eyes back to Dean's face, his eyebrows drawn together and head cocked to one side. He looked, for all intents and purposes, like a curious bird. "You don't think paying attention to me is enough?"

Cas looked so earnest as he said it, as if that isn't one of the most screwed up things Dean had ever heard, that Dean couldn't decide whether he wanted to wrap Cas up in a hug and hide him from the rest of the world, or cry. In the end, he went with neither option, only stared back at Cas, and wondered what the hell is wrong with Castiel's home life if something as simple as a "good morning" and some shallow conversation was worth as much to him as, frankly, the amount Dean would spend in a month on groceries.

There was a silence so laden with something that even Sam didn't move for fear of breaking it. But the moment was over when Cas twitched his smile again. "Besides, I would very much like it if Sam kept coming back."

-000-

"What you looking at?" Dean practically draped himself all over the counter, his hands hanging loosely over the edge as he tried to catch a glimpse of computer screen over Cas' shoulder. Dean didn't usually visit 'Haven' on the weekend, some part of him telling himself that it wasn't okay to visit a bookshop when he could be out trying to snag illegal drinks or a random hook-up, but it had been a while since he had really enjoyed doing that. So instead he wandered off to see Cas. Unfortunately, it seemed as if the weekends were when the man actually did work, and Castiel resolutely ignored Dean for about half an hour.

"The list of new releases." Cas replied, not even looking around at Dean, and Dean was so shocked that his needling paid off that he almost couldn't find a way to continue the conversation.

"Come on, Cas. Is everything you do related to work?" Dean teased.

"It is when I'm working."

Dean couldn't see Cas' face, so he couldn't tell if Castiel was joking with him, or just being is awkwardly literal self. Anyway, he wasn't sure if being able to see more than the back of Cas' head would help him at all. Castiel could say anything with a blank face.

He decided to go with 'not a joke' and snorted in a way he hoped sounded more exasperated than fond. "Come on, man. Wouldn't it be more fun to look at, like Facebook or porn while you're on the job." Dean smirked, but the effect was totally wasted on Castiel, who still hadn't turned around.

"I don't have a Facebook, and pornography holds no particular interest for me." At this point, Cas turned around to level his stare at Dean. Dean felt his mouth fall open, incredulous, and the top of Cas' ears turned pink, but he continued on regardless, as if porn was just something you regularly discussed with your friend at your workplace. "I just don't understand it."

Dean snapped is mouth closed. And then opened it again. Closed it. Open. "What's there to understand?"

A thought occurred. But there was no way. Cas was hot. Really hot. Sure he was a little weird, but people could ignore that for a good lay. But he had said he didn't understand porn. "You telling me you're a virgin, Cas?"

Castiel's ears were definitely red now, but he didn't look away from Dean's face. "No. I never said that."

Dean's whole face turned as red as Cas' ears. They were in an area of conversation Dean know well, but it couldn't help feeling painfully inept to be having a conversation about sex with Castiel. And not even because he wanted it so much.

Cas continued. "I just don't see the point of sex if it's not part of a serious relationship."

Dean shrugged. "It's fun."

For a minute, Dean thought Castiel would disapprove, but the other man simply continued to stare, as if trying to uncover some hidden meaning behind Dean's superficial answer.

"So who's the lucky girl?" Dean asked

Finally, Cas broke his stare, blinking a few times in a way that seemed almost rapid in his strange way. "Pardon?"

A part of Dean wanted to drop the conversation right there and never find out about Castiel's relationships. If he didn't know he had no chance, then he could always pretend there was one. He could easily just tell Cas not to worry about it. But he had to know.

"Well, you said you weren't a virgin, but you also don't have sex outside serious relationships. So, who is she?"

Cas looked contemplative for a moment. "His name was Balthazar."

Dean did a mental fist-pump. He had a mental party, and hugged all the mental guests at the party with a massive smile on his face.

He went for a tone as nonchalant as possible. "Oh, man, I'm sorry."

"That's okay, Dean. You assumed. Most people tend to. I don't mind. Anyway, Balthazar and I were going to live together when we went off to university, but he got accepted into Oxford. He'd never say anything, but I knew he wanted to go home, so I told him to take the spot, and then I put off school for a year so I could pay for my own place."

Dean tried to look sympathetic. He really did. But there was a lot of alcohol at his mental party, and he was feeling pretty buzzed. "That sucks."

Cas nodded in agreement. "It did."

Then Dean's little mental high made him say something he instantly regretted. "Well, I'd say that we should rent together, but I don't plan on furthering my education."

Cas looked confused, but not for the reasons Dean thought. "Why do you not want to go to university? You're very smart, Dean, and surely Booby would appreciate having someone fully qualified to help in his garage."

No one had ever really tried to convince Dean he should continue schooling, and Cas had done that and more. Dean really wanted to kiss him