"Dean, hey, Dean." Sam moved his hand to wave in front of his elder brother's face, concern furrowing his brow. It was a little after ten in the morning, according to the clock hanging on the motel wall, and way past time the two of them were usually up, out, and investigating their latest hunt. Lately something had changed in Dean's behaviour, his usual ever-ready self ditched at the door in favour of somebody, Sam thought fleetingly, was closer to a hormonal teenager than a fully grown, fully functional man.

Then snapping his fingers in an attempt to capture the sleeping hunter's attention, Sam leaned down so his mouth was mere inches from Dean's right ear. "Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty." The teasing, he hoped, would prompt some kind of witty reply, the kind Dean had always been expert in.

A flutter of wind on fabric and a sudden uncomfortable prickling on the back of Sam's neck alerted him to Castiel's presence before the angel had time to speak. While he was growing more used to the sudden appearances and disappearances, it wasn't uncommon for Sam to be momentarily spooked by them. At least this time he hadn't thrown anything – Cas wasn't too happy to receive a dagger to the shoulder last he came to deliver a message. To settle his conscience, Sam reasoned that Cas never seemed happy, anyway.

"He is still sleeping?" Cas' voice came out the same low, commanding way it always did, the normality providing a second's relief for Sam. It would have been catastrophic to have their angel amiss, too, at least now he had a chance of getting some help.

"Like a baby," Sam replied, shaking Dean's shoulder in a last ditch attempt to rouse.

Cas remained silent for a moment, then taking a step toward the bed Dean had sprawled across. "Let me try." Before anyone had the chance to object, the angel bent down – his trench coat creasing with the motion, tie brushing across Dean's outstretched arm – took a deep breath that made Sam believe he was going to work some angel mojo on his brother, and gave an almighty "Boo!"

It was all Sam could do not to laugh.

Castiel, meanwhile, seemed nothing short of puzzled with Dean's lack of reaction. From his observing the human race, he had seen the scaring technique worked well to garner attention. Maybe if he wore a dark hood like they did in the few movies he had watched to try and understand some of Dean's more obscure references...

A sudden deep, throaty chuckle from the bed had both angel and hunter casting their eyes to the man on the bed. Cas' head tilted a little in confusion, whereas Sam simply rolled his eyes and folded his plaid-clad arms across his chest.

"Dean?" Even as Cas murmured his name, Dean reached out and swiftly hooked a hand around his tie, pulling the angel close to him with such ferocity Cas lost a little of his balance and toppled forward. His angelic grace, and perhaps his Grace, too, had been lacking lately as he grew closer and closer to his favourite dysfunctional siblings. "What-?"

Sam snickered, offering no assistance as Dean quickly went to work yanking Castiel toward him as though he were a child's toy, prevented from moving by shock and the warm arm which was draped heavily over his waist.

"Don't move," the elder Winchester instructed, delving into his pocket for his phone. "I want a picture of this."

As Sam moved to get a better angle, Cas' expression shifted closer still toward innocence and confusion as Dean burrowed his face into the warm skin of his neck. "Why would you want a picture?" While Castiel was learning more about the ways of men day by day, there was still a lot he didn't, couldn't, understand about the things they did. Humour was perhaps the most difficult to comprehend.

"Blackmail," Sam said, distracted by the device at hand. "This'll wake him up."

Sure enough, the tell-tale sound of Sam's endeavour into photography seemed to pull Dean a little out of his daze, though his grip on Cas remained firmly in place. While Sam was sure the angel could have removed himself from the situation with no trouble at all, he was hardly surprised when he didn't. Dean may have been blind to both his and Cas' 'fondness' of each other, but Sam certainly wasn't.

"'Sgoinon?" Dean grumbled, shielding his face from view in the fabric of Cas' coat. "Sammy?"

"Sam is taking a picture," Castiel explained plainly, the barest of flushes colouring his cheeks. Maybe he was a little more aware than Sam originally had thought.

Rolling his eyes at the use of the nickname, Sam pocketed his phone before Dean would have a chance to take it and delete the amusing evidence. Not that it would matter if he did, Sam had already sent it out to a few old friends who, he was sure, would soon have to make good on their bet and pay up. Sam Winchester had officially called it; his brother wanted to be touched by an angel. "Gotta get up."

"Relax, Christopher Robin, Pooh's not goin' anywhere." Dean groaned, choosing then to roll over onto his other side, Sam guessed to hide his face once he had realised the position he had put himself in with Cas. Speak of the angel, within seconds he had upped and disappeared from the room.

Wearing a somewhat smug grin, Sam grabbed the pillow from his own bed and tossed it effortlessly at Dean's back. "Maybe not, but Bobby's expecting us. Unless you're planning on having Cas zap you over and me take the Impala -"

That had Dean sitting bolt upright in a flash, reaching for his discarded duffel from the floor by his bed. "You are not taking my baby," he snapped, wiping over his face with a hand to try and erase the overbearing grogginess he felt.

"I could get you there much quicker," Cas said, having reappeared in the corner of the room without either of their noticing. "And probably safer."

That remark had Dean rolling his eyes and Sam suppressing a knowing laugh. The two of them ignored the angel for a solid five minutes, gathering the few possessions which had strayed around the motel room.

"How'd you know to find us, anyway?" Sam wondered aloud as he stuffed a dirtied shirt back into his bag.

"Bobby told me," Cas replied flatly, suddenly seeming wary of his own personal space where usually he would be within touching distance from Dean at all times. Seeing Sam's raised brow, he glanced away and added, "I had a question for him."

"Question?" Dean said, adjusting his boots.

Once again Cas had fled the room, leaving a very confused Dean and quietly chuckling Sam to finish packing their things. Sam had definitely called it.