Chapter 1

Dean Winchester was tired; exhausted in fact. He worked two jobs and on top of that he had a house to keep, and a kid brother to take care of. Every day he made Sammy breakfast and dropped him off at school, then he'd head straight out to Bobby's. Bobby had been a lifeline for Sam and Dean when their Dad stopped paying the bills and started drinking; he gave Dean a job at his Car-Repair (and probably paid him a little more than what anyone else with the same job would get). Dean showed his thanks by working his ass off. He sort of loved working on the cars and he was damn good at it too so he kept busy and did his best not to be an inconvenience. Later he would pick up Sam, take him home and cook him dinner, and once he was settled and getting on with his homework Dean would head out to Ellen's bar where he'd work until 1:30am. Although now he was trying to save up for Sammy to go to college, he was practically begging her for overtime. Money was always a little tight but God knows Dean was trying his best to keep on top of it. That was Dean's life and he was tired.

"Kid, get your face out of that engine and let's get us some coffee." Bobby's gruff voice interrupted Dean's train of thought so suddenly he spun around in shock, knocking a box of tools onto the ground and spilling the contents.

"Jesus Christ, Bobby, don't sneak up on me like that." Dean spluttered, cheeks reddening slightly at his jumpy reaction. Bobby grumbled something unintelligible about daydreaming on the job and wondered towards the kitchen, gesturing for him to follow. Dean quickly shoved the tools back into their box and rushed to follow Bobby, who was sat down at the small wooden table while Rufus was filling the kettle with water. "Here, let me." Dean said instinctively, taking the kettle from him, putting it on to boil and setting out mugs.

"You baby us boy." Bobby grunted with a slight smile playing at the corner of his mouth. Dean snorted in response and began spooning instant coffee into the mugs. "Kid, stop fussin' for a second and sit down." Bobby instructed. Dean quickly did as he was told, concerned by the nervous edge to Bobby's voice.

"Uh.. So, what's up?" he asked hesitantly. Bobby threw Rufus a look and got a nod in response. Bobby sat up straight and cleared his throat, "Listen, Dean –". This was not happening. Dean could not be getting fired. No way, he could not afford this. He started to panic, heart beating faster and palms sweaty, he let out a false laugh "Hey, Bobby, if this is about me daydreaming earlier I'm real sorry. But I was still working I swear I just wasn't thinking about my surroundings. And I know that's not right but I'm just –"

"Will you let me finish, ya' idjit?" Bobby interrupted, rolling his eyes. Dean lowered his head slightly to allow Bobby to continue but Rufus took over instead.

"Listen Dean, I'm getting on a bit now and I got some money saved and I was thinkin' maybe it's time for me to... Well you know, retire." Dean stared at them both, frowning in confusion. It didn't seem like he was getting fired but why in hell's name were they telling him Rufus was retiring. Shouldn't they tell everyone, make a thing of it? Hell, maybe Chuck would even get Becky to bake a cake. Dean was suddenly aware that this awkward silence that had taken over was due to them expecting him to say something.

"Uh, wow man. That's, I mean, good for you. We'll miss you round here though, don't know how Bobby well cope without you." Rufus shook his head and laughed and Bobby snorted, Dean raised his eyebrows, bewildered as ever.

"Man, you really don't know where we're going with this do you?" Rufus asked, with a grin. Dean shook his head and Bobby leaned forward to address him.

"Kid, you're the hardest worker in this place and seem to be the only one with a half-ass idea of what you're doing." Dean continued staring blankly and contemplated saying thank you before Bobby breathed an exasperated sigh and continued "You idjit, do you want Rufus's job or not?" Dean's mouth dropped open.

"Uh, I uh.." he stuttered "Oh my God, Bobby are you serious? I mean, wait, don't answer that. Yes. Thanks, yes I would love the job." Dean rambled, waiting for someone to cut him off so he would stop embarrassing himself.

"Alright, alright." Bobby grumbled, looking away from Dean and avoiding his thanks. "Obviously the pay'll be better. You'll work the same hours and you'll still spend a lot of time fixing the cars. Only now you'll have some things to take home with you, customer's paper work and that sort of crap. Mostly it's the same job... Also you'll have to start takin' charge and setting the rest of the guys in line when they ain't workin'." Dean's wolfish grin spread across his face.

"That sounds fantastic Bobby, thanks so much."

"Yeah, don't go screwin' it up." Bobby said gruffly, an affectionate huff punctuating his words. "Now what happened to that coffee?"

Dean jumped up "None of this instant crap, not today." He said, still grinning "This shit tastes like dirt and oil most of the time. Why don't I and get us some proper coffee, you know, to celebrate? Just this once."

Bobby and Rufus rolled their eyes "Can't argue with that." Bobby shrugged "Be back by quarter past."

Dean nodded and walked out of the kitchen, still grinning and not bothering to ask what they actually wanted to drink. He checked his watch and grabbed his coat, waving at Chuck on his way out. It was freezing and Dean wrapped his jacket around himself to shelter against the biting cold. He glanced at his watch and realised Bobby had given him half an hour. What, did he think he was going to the next state over to get it? Dean huffed a laugh, his breath creating steam in the icy air, and wondered up the road. The nearest coffee shop was a Starbucks which Dean ignored. He's always found Starbucks pretentious, with their fancy creamy coffees and insistence that you order everything in Italian. It was packed with Christmas shoppers anyway and he hated the crowds and queuing. There was plenty of time for him to keep looking for an alternative.

About three blocks away Dean spotted a small coffee shop. Snow was starting to fall and the soft glow of light coming from the front windows looked welcoming and warm so he made his way across the street and inside. He was hit with the mixed scent of coffee and fresh apple pie that made him grin from ear to ear. Perfect. The coffee shop wasn't crowded but it was busy. There was a low hum of relaxed conversation that made the atmosphere comfortably quiet rather than awkwardly so.

"Hello, handsome!" Dean turned to the counter to see a short man with fairly long hair and a candy cane hanging out of his smirking mouth.

"Uh, hi." Dean replied, a flustered blush spreading over his cheeks "Can I get a –"

"Oh hello, who is this?" A tall blonde man with a British accent chimed in "I'm Balthazar, and it is a pleasure to meet you."

Dean looked down to repress a smile. Balthazar? Quickly composing himself he looked up again "Hey, I'm Dean."

"Gabriel, Balthazar, behave yourself! You'll scare away all my customers at this rate." A deep growling voice pleaded. Suddenly, Dean found himself staring into the most amazing eyes he had ever seen. They were a stunning shade of blue, with intricate patterns in silver and navy that gave the iris's the illusion of looking remarkably like ocean waves. "I'm sorry about them." The man said, pulling Dean's focus away from his eyes and allowing him to notice the rest the stranger's appearance. The man had a thick and dark mess of hair that he wanted to run his hand through so much, his fingers actually twitched. His skin was pale but healthy and smooth with delicate colour in the cheeks. His lips were full but chapped to the extent that Dean wanted to wet them with his own tongue. His body was slender but you could tell that he was muscular. Not brawny like himself but obviously strong and toned. Suddenly, Dean became very aware that he had just shamelessly checked out this guy without so much as an attempt at subtlety. His eyes darted up to the man's face to see his head tilted slightly to the side, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. Dean's cheeks burnt hot. "It's fine." He said "Can I get three large black coffees to go please."

"We'll get them!" Balthazar smirked; pulling the man Dean assumed was Gabriel towards the coffee machines.

Dean look backed toward the blue eyed man. "I really do apologies for my brothers. They're visiting and they wanted to help but uh.. Anyway I'm sorry." The man said. His voice sounded tired as though he'd had to explain this to several people already today.

"Hey, really it's no problem." Dean laughed trying to put the guy at ease "I'm Dean by the way."

"Castiel." The man said smiling gently.

"Huh, so angel names, is that a family thing?" Dean asks keeping his voice casual, but cautiously looking up at Castiel to try to catch another glimpse of him. He really was fucking hot.

Castiel looked slightly surprised and quirks his head again "Oh, well yes we all have angelic names, it's a family mannerism." He parted his lips to continue but was interrupted by a loud smash from behind him.

"For fuck's sake Gabriel!" Balthazar scolded.

"Don't blame me butter fingers, you're the one who dropped it." Gabriel's teasing voice returned.

"Excuse me a moment." Castiel said, sounding exasperated. Rather than stepping between the brothers bickering, Castiel simply continued making the coffees they had abandoned and is back within seconds to give them to Dean. "Here, on the house." He says shrugging.

Dean raises his eyebrows "No, dude seriously how much is it? It's fine."

Castiel raises his hand to stop Dean from insisting "Consider it an apology for.." He gestures towards his brothers and Dean notices how elegantly his hands move "all this."

A genuine laugh escaped from between Dean's lips and took the coffees with a grin "You sure?" he asks and Castiel nods with another gentle smile. Something about those smiles seemed precious, as though they were rarely given out and it made the inside of Dean's chest flutter when he received them. "Well, thanks man. Hope your brothers don't cause too much trouble." he says, throwing one last smile at Castiel and leaving with the hot coffees.

A thin layer of snow is covering the sidewalk when Dean steps out of the coffee shop. Wary of the hot drinks he's holding, he walks carefully back to Bobby's, trying not to slip.