Dean was shaving in the bathroom. He looked in the mirror and there was Cas, a couple of inches behind him.

"Shit!"

He cut himself on the razor. Angry (and a bit startled, though he would never admit it), he turned around, trying to wipe off the blood.

"What the hell Cas? We talked about this. Personal space!"

"Oh." The angel took a step back.

"I did not realize I was that close."

He was still too close, but Dean just shook his head. Cas just didn't get some things, with angels abiding to different set of cultural and whatever-the-hell norms than normal, human beings.

"What is it Cas?" Dean said, walking out of the bathroom.

The angel was quiet for some time, and when Dean turned, he could swear Cas was checking him out. He smiled, aware of the towel hanging low on his hips and his shirtless torso.

"You like what you see, Cas?" Dean asked with a smile. Cas looked at him blankly, although Dean could swear he blushed.

"The towel you cover yourself with, it reminds me of sheets from Egypt. Tefnut usually made them, when she wasn't in her lion form."

Dean opened his mouth to ask... and then thought better of it. He pulled a shirt from the trunk next to the bed and put it on. Then, he pulled his jeans and put them on too, dropping the towel to the floor after he was finished.

He turned with a smile on his face, and was satisfied to see the angel really blushing now.

"So, what's up lemon drop?"

Dean sat on the bed as the angel scrunched up his face.

"You humans are so confusing, with your limericks and puzzling expressions."

It was so easy, provoking Castiel. And for some reason, Dean enjoyed it much more than an adult demon-hunter ever should.

"What's the deal, banana peel?"

"Stop it."

"Why so glum, sugar plum?"

"Dean."

"Why so cranky, fancy monkey?"

"Dean..."

"What's the word, hummingbird?"

"Please stop."

"Don't flip, French chip."

"Now you're just annoying."

"Better swish, jellyfish."

"You are making that up."

"Not really, water lily."

But then Cas stopped answering, and it wasn't really that much fun for Dean anymore. He did try just once more, just because he could.

"Still upset, clarinet?" Dean said with a shit-eating grin. Then he saw the expression on Castiel's face, and his expression turned serious. He patted the bed next to him.

"I'm sorry Cas. What's the matter?"

The angel reluctantly sat down, still looking straight ahead, avoiding meeting Dean's eye.

"You always make fun of me."

Dean was momentarily taken aback by the hurt he heard in Cas's voice. His fingers twitched in Castiel's direction, but he didn't know how to offer comfort, especially not to Cas, with all the funny feelings he was experiencing. So he tried to explain something he hadn't even voiced to himself.

"Cas, you know how I tease Sammy all the time?"

The angel nodded, still not looking at him. Dean sighed, unsure of himself.

"Well, uh... you know I care about Sammy a lot, don't you?"

Castiel nodded.

"Yes. You sold your soul to the Crossroads Demon to save Sam."

"Yeah, well, you were young and stupid half a millennia ago too," Dean grunted. "Anyways, what I wanted to say was that... uh... well... that's why I tease you too."

Dean could feel his cheeks heating up as he mumbled the last words, but he knew the angel heard him, with his freakish hearing and all. Suddenly, Cas put his hand on Dean's, and Dean looked up.

"Really?"

The look of hope in Castiel's eyes was just... adorable.

"Really," Dean smiled.

"Alright."

The silence was deafening in the room, and they were still holding hands. Dean got a great idea, and he pulled Cas with him.

"Come on, I'm buying you some pie. I know you love pie."

If Dean could read Cas's thoughts in that moment, he would most certainly blush, demon hunter or not.

As they were exiting the room, Sam came around the corner, bringing some more salt (because John Winchester always said 'you can never have too much salt'). He glanced at his brother and an Angel of Lord holding hands as they exited the room, and realized that he really didn't want to know the answer to the question only after he posed it.

"Where to guys?"

Dean and Cas looked at him, and laughed together.

"See you later, Alligator!"

Then they just left him standing alone there in the hallway, with three bags of salt in his hands, even more confused than before.