When Dean arrives at the parking lot in the early morning, ready for a long day of driving, there are several things very wrong. And considering the state of affairs Dean has had to deal with in the past years, hell in all of his life, for him to notice a situation and mark it as wrong, was worrisome at least.

The first thing he noticed was on itself almost enough to bring him to his knees while exclaiming words of despair and wondering if there was a God, why he must be so cruel. Fact was that the spot where he'd parked the Impala last night was no longer containing an Impala.

Which brought him to the second cause of his worries. On the place his Baby had rested, were two people. One young girl, absolutely stark naked and a tall, lean man in his forties. Around them, littered on the ground, were the contents of his car; several guns, empty wrappers of burger meals and take-out and a wide array of knives, crossbows and other weaponry. The girl was looking absolutely baffled, raising several of her limbs to examine them closely and poking random spots on her body. When she raised her head, she noticed Dean immediately. Unexpectedly, her first reaction was to jump on her feet and call for him.

'Winchester!'

The older man took his eyes away from the girl and the moment he detected someone else on the parking lot, he started running, transforming into a fox halfway during a step and disappearing in the nearby woods.

Dean blinked his eyes, noting it as another thing that was terribly wrong with this morning. However, before his musings could develop into fullblown panic, the very naked girl came up to him, smiling like a crazy person.

'You mind lending me that jacket, big boy? It's kind of chilly out here, if you hadn't noticed.'

He hadn't, he wanted to say to her, because he had been slightly preoccupied with the fact that his goddamn car was nowhere to be seen and the fact that the assemblage of weapons that by now could probably arm a small army was spread out over the parking lot. He wanted to tell her that she better explain where his car was, right fucking now because if that thing was not back within five seconds, he would go on a killing spree and no one would be save.

Handing her the jacket, he opened his mouth to utter all these things, but when she put on the jacket, a small green tattoo greeted his eye and all the words he wanted to yell in her face died in his throat. On the swell of her left breast, her skin was adorned with a tiny tattoo of a toy soldier.

As he let his eyes slide up her body, he saw another tattoo of two small Lego bricks on her throat.

'Are you done objectifying me, Winchester?' She said, her voice cheery and with a slight tremor from the cold. Although his jacket was warm and long enough to cover the bigger share of her body, she was still standing barefoot in a parking lot in January.
'I could use some coffee. And, yanno, pants.'

'Turn around.' He said, needing just the tiniest bit of extra evidence.

'Wow, you're not really beating around the bush, aren't you?' She giggled, but complied and turned on her feet. Just under the edge of his jacket, on the back of her leg, there were a couple of scars.

S.W. and D.W.

The wheels in his head turned and turned and he knew it had to be true, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't first try to seek any, any other explanation.

There weren't any. The girl in front of him somehow was his Baby. In a terribly strange turn of events, something had turned his beloved Impala into a person.

Dean's eyes widened.

'SAM! SAMMY! GET OVER HERE! SAM, I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU'RE-'

'Shut up, Dean! You're waking the entire motel if you don't-… Who's that?'

Sam turned the corner and quickly assessed the situation in front of him. There was Dean and a strange, raven-haired girl in his brother's jacket and Dean had just screamed bloody murder.

Most logical assumption: the girl is dangerous and needs to be taken down, pronto.

As he sprinted towards the pair, he wriggled the pocketknife from his jeans and the muscles in his legs tensed, ready to jump and to-

Apparently, ready to meet Dean halfway in the air. His brother had jumped in front of the girl, catching Sam's 200 pounds square in the chest. With a small exclamation of pain, Dean and Sam toppled over, landing sprawled over each other on the pavement.

'Sam! Stop it, you don't-'

'What the hell, man!'

He tried to stand up, but Dean had gripped his shoulders, keeping him on the ground. In front of him, the girl rubbed her hands together and breathed some hot air into them.
'You might want to hurry up with the explanation, because I'm seriously worried that I'm going to lose limbs to this cold.'

'OUCH! Sam, stop it, you don't get it.' Dean called, trying to contain his brother. 'She's the Impala and if you hurt one hair on her head, I will end you.'

Sam stopped wriggling and turned to his brother with an incredulous look on his face. He had heard his brother telling him some pretty crazy stuff in the last few years, hell, he'd told Dean some wacked out things himself, starting with, but not limited to Evil Santa, but this took the cake. He briefly considered whether it would be more beneficial to tell Dean that vehicles were not people, no matter how he treated his car or to just knock out his brother and interrogate the girl himself.

Before he could make up his mind, they heard a loud bang and the cheerful sound of laughter. From his position on the ground, Sam could see two jean-clad legs and as he followed those legs up, a black button-up shirt with a jacket, which finally led to Gabriel's smirking face.

'You should consider taking this inside, boys, there might be children watching.'

'Fuck you.' Dean answered without thinking. The moment Gabriel started speaking, in any situation, this was normally his go-to answer and it had yet to be proven an unfit response to any of the crap that came from the archangel's mouth.

'Oh my,' Gabriel responded, dramatically placing his hands on his chest. 'And all this time I thought it was my little brother you longed for. I should have known it was just a way to get closer to me.'

Sam rolled his eyes, pushing his brother off of him before Dean exploded in a fit of repressed emotions and denial. Gabriel offered him a hand, but he knew better than to accept it and returned the gesture with a slightly raised eyebrow that he hoped would bring across the message 'Like hell I'm going to fall for that'. The only response from the archangel was the same delighted look he always wore when something was going to be extremely funny for him and Sam could only hope that this time, it wouldn't end in disaster for him.

'Long time no see, angel boy.' The girl said, an innocent look on her face.

For the first time in, well, ever, Dean saw Gabriel looking a little nervous when he nodded and coughed. Although that was certainly a very nice sight, a more important question rose to mind immediately.

'Were you in my car?' He asked, already reaching in his pocket for anything that could be used as a weapon, because if that douchebag angel had done anything to his car, Dean would find a way to slowly murder him.

'I-It was-…' Gabriel started, looking increasingly uncomfortable until Sam interrupted him.

'What are you doing here, Gabriel?' Before the archangel could answer, however, he turned on his feet to see the shivering, albeit still grinning, girl. 'And who are you?'

Gabriel made a gesture to the girl as to say, you first and she took it as her cue to look at Dean.
'You figured it out first, pretty boy, I'll let you do the honours.'
'Why thank you,' Dean answered from the ground, still glaring at Gabriel. 'Sam, she's the Impala.'

'And I get shit for Evil Santa?' Sam responded, 'From now on, your mocking privileges are revoked.'

'No, I swear, look at her chest, Sammy.'

An incredulous look followed. 'You really want me to look at her breasts, Dean? My god, you're the absolute worst-'

Dean managed to get upright while maintaining his glare, directed towards Gabriel. 'I'm serious, Sam. She has the toy soldier that you stuffed in the ashtray on her chest. And the Lego I dropped in the vents on her throat.'

When Sam's eyes fell on the Lego, Dean saw his eyes soften immediately. As soon as there was no more threat of being ganked by some monster, Sam's caring nature instantly took over.
'Let's get you inside, alright? You look like you're freezing.'
'Finally!' The girl exclaimed, 'Someone who realizes my heating system doesn't work in this form.'

Back in the motel room, Sam had given the girl their duffel bag with clothing, telling her to go crazy, which had resulted in half an hour of ominous silence in the bathroom, only broken by the occasional humming of a Metallica song.

In the meantime, Dean decided that he wanted to address the other huge problem that was Gabriel's presence. After the mandatory bickering between the archangel and the hunter, during which Sam had rolled his eyes so fervently he had given himself a headache, Dean had explained to Sam what he'd seen in the parking lot.

'He turned into a fox?' Gabriel interrupted his story, earning himself yet another filthy look from Dean. 'Must be Rey.'

'Rey?' Dean insisted, adding the name on his list of people he had to kill for messing with his baby.

'Reynard, Reinaert, Reineke, whatever you want to call him. He's a Trickster.' Gabriel explained around the lollipop that had suddenly appeared in his mouth. 'He's known as the Fox in Dutch, German and French folklore, amongst others.'

'If he's known there, what is he doing here?'

'Always asking the smart questions, Sammich.' Gabriel threw the younger hunter a filthy wink, to which Sam responded with a smirk on his own. Dean watched the two with an increasingly suspicious look on his face, reminding himself that when his car was car-shaped again, he would ask Sam about it. Or yell at Gabriel. Yes, yelling at Gabriel sounded fine.

'He and I go way back, not on the best terms however. I think he's boring and unimaginative and he always says it's because I'm an archangel that I keep beating him. So I think it's his way of revenge, messing with you two instead of wasting his time with trying to come up with something good for me.'

'What you're saying,' Dean said, a murderous look forming on his face, 'is that thanks to you, some Trickster decided to mess with my baby?'

'Dean!' Sam called, trying to dim the flare of rage that was undoubtedly building inside his brother at the moment. 'You really want to kill Gabriel before he turns the Impala back?'

'Or at all?' Gabriel insisted, looking a little offended. 'But sorry boys, no can do.'

'What do you mean, you can't turn her back?!' Dean howled, his eyes in a state that Sam would describe as crazy-people-wide. 'You're an archangel for God's sake!'

'Someone's been paying attention.' Gabriel quipped. 'But since I'm also a Trickster, I've had to abide to their rules. Which means that I have to find a counter-curse or have to convince him to lift the curse. By using my angel mojo, I would automatically be cast out as a Trickster, which means that a couple of hundred years of my doing will be undone.'

'So?' Dean yelled, lingering on the edge of madness.

Gabriel lifted an eyebrow. 'As Loki, I've personally stopped a war between the Norse gods, so if you want to see what the world will have become after a nasty civil war between godlike creatures, be my guest and make me turn your car back.'

Dean sat down again, taking a few deep breaths. In the meantime, the bathroom door opened, the girl coming out, dressed Dean's old slacks and an old tank top from a girl Dean had once spent a remotely interesting night with.

'You know that you at least owe me one shopping trip, right?' She said, jumping on the bed next to Dean. 'This won't do, I look like crap.' She turned her head to Gabriel. 'Or you could conjure up something better before I accidentally let it slip that you've once spent a whole hour in my backseat-'

Quickly, Gabriel had snapped his fingers and she was suddenly dressed in jeans, a t-shirt and all-stars, all brand new.

'Okay, I won't tell.' She concluded after carefully inspecting her new outfit, while Dean almost lost it again.

'WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE IN THE BACKSEAT?!' He screamed and Sam rushed to keep his brother from tearing into the archangel.

'Nothing of importance.' The girl said, throwing Gabriel a smug look. 'So, are we going to figure out how to change me back? Because how awesome it is to finally say all those things I could only think, I'm a little more comfortable as a car.'

'Working on that.' Sam said, dialling Bobby's number and walking outside to the parking lot to make sure they hadn't forgotten to take any of their weapons inside during their initial confusion. After glancing at the girl again and seeing she was still throwing him a smirk, Gabriel coughed and quickly ran after Sam.

'Where's the other angel?' She asked Dean. Still a little weirded out by the fact that he was talking to his car, Dean shrugged and called out loud.

'Cas! Your help would be much appreciated right now, so get your holy ass down here.'

'Hello Dean.' A voice immediately spoke from behind his left shoulder. Cas was sitting on the middle of the bed, cross-legged and with his head tilted towards the Impala.

'Hello… Baby.'

Baby answered Dean's quizzical look with a shrug. 'It is what you call me, so yeah, I guess it's Baby now.'

'What assistance is it that you require of me, Dean?' Cas didn't seem all too fazed about the fact that he was now sharing his space with a car.

'Can you turn her back?' Dean asked, suddenly hoping that Castiel wouldn't be bound by the same rules as Gabriel.

'I am afraid I can not, Dean. It is not within my powers to transform a human being into an object.'

Well, there went his last hope. Dean stood up while Baby sent Cas a curious look.

'I'm going to get breakfast and when that asshole brother of yours gets back, tell him that he better have a solution before I find a way to kill him.'

The door slammed, leaving Castiel with Baby in the motel room. She immediately turned around, taking the same position as Cas.

'You've talked to me.' She said, no trace of any malice on her face, just curiosity. 'I remember what you've told me.'

Castiel avoided her eyes, choosing to look at his knees. 'I was not aware that you could understand me. It seemed safe to share my… Feelings with something that would not answer.'

'You addressed me like I were human.'

'I… Dean does so too. It seemed fitting.' The angel cleared his throat. 'Will you tell him?'

'I won't tell.' She assured him, putting her hand on his knee, making him look up. 'But that doesn't mean you shouldn't.'

'Lemme talk to that angel.' Bobby said, pinching the bridge of his nose. Sam handed the phone to Gabriel, who put it to his ear.

'You're an idjit.'

Offended, Gabriel opened his mouth to respond, but a pointed look from Sam shut him up. He handed the phone back, a dissatisfied pout firmly on his face.

'We all know that, Bobby.' Sam said, ignoring Gabriel's offended 'hey!'. 'But that doesn't change the fact that we have to find a counter-curse, or convince that guy that he has to turn the Impala back. What do you have?'

There was the sound of shuffling at the other end of the line, followed by the loud 'thump' of a huge book being dropped on Bobby's desk. 'Reynard, you said? You're in luck, boy, I know someone who's dealt with him before. If you gimme a minute, I can find his letter.'

Sam heard Bobby turn several pages, before he spoke again. 'Here it is. It's not a very complicated ritual, but when he's here, you'll have to bring some serious leverage to the table, if you wanna make him undo it.'

Shielding the mouthpiece, Sam turned to Gabriel. 'You think you can intimidate him?'

His only response was a cocky grin, which made Sam roll his eyes for the umpteenth time that day. 'Bobby, I think the angel and the archangel in our company can think of some tricks. I'll ask them to zap us there, can you start setting everything up?'

'Will do, boy.' Bobby said, before ending the call. Even though Sam couldn't hear it, he could just imagine Bobby right now, scuffling through his house and pulling random stuff from cabinets, muttering about those 'idjit boys and those damn angels of theirs'. It made him think of the angel that was currently next to him, pouting about what Bobby had said to him.

'Feel guilty already, idjit?'

'Shut up, Winchester.' Gabriel said, crossing his arms like a petulant five year old. 'It's not my fault that Reynard has taken it out on you.'

'Maybe,' Sam said, 'you shouldn't have been giving him ideas by bragging about the back seat.'

'I haven't been br-'

'Gabe.'

'Okay.' The archangel said, grinning. 'I have.'

When they had returned to the motel room, Dean was standing in the doorway, his arms crossed before his chest. After Sam's explanation, the angels had quickly zapped them to Bobby's house, where Bobby had almost finished setting up. Sam, Gabriel and Castiel had offered their help, while Baby had dragged Dean to the back porch.

'Come on, Dean.' Baby whined, 'don't you just want to share one beer with your car before I turn back again? How awesome is that?'

There wasn't really much of an argument there, because yeah, that was awesome. So he got them a beer and made sure that he found her a sweater before going outside, because he didn't know whether a cold could have influence on the Impala and he sure didn't want to find out.

A few minutes of comfortable silence followed, until Baby decided that it was time to address the huge elephant in the room-, or car.

'So, you and that angel, huh.' She said, watching in delight as Dean choked on his beer.

'Me and him, what?' He countered, his feigned nonchalance pretty much balanced out by the bright red glow on his cheeks.

'Well, you've only been looking at him like he's your present at Christmas morning for the last couple years, so I figured that had to mean something.'

'You're crazy.' Dean threw back, earning himself a raised eyebrow.

'Oh my, aren't you king of the comebacks.' She pulled up her knees to her chest. 'What I mean is that I've seen some girls come and go, and let's not mention the guy all the way back in Minnesota in… Was it 2000?'

Dean's eyes were sporting a pretty nice deer-in-headlights look already, but Baby knew she could do better.

'He was pretty handsome. Pretty blue eyes, so I guess you have a type after all.'

'Shut up.'

She smirked at him. 'But Dean, all those good times you've had in my backseat, don't you want to discuss them some more? And by good times, I mean that one time. And by that one time, I meant the time were you discovered that dicks can be awesome as well. So don't try telling me you're straight, because I know you're a little bendy and I want to know your real reason for not spending every day making sweet dude-on-dude love to the angel.'

'Problem here being 'angel.' Dean muttered, defeated. There wasn't really any reason to not be honest here, because yeah, he'd always treated the Impala as a human being and that came back to bite him in the ass right now. It had to be slightly depressing that your car knew you better than anyone else.

'What's the problem in that?' Baby had to admit that she was a little impressed with herself. But then again, she'd known him for his whole life, so she still owed the this-is-the-one-and-only-time-I'll-talk-about-my-feelings-ever talk that every important person in Dean's life received one time or less.

'He's… You know, an angel. If there's anything that will give me a one way ticket to drive the highway to hell, it's probably sodomy with an angel.'

Baby's features softened. She remembered all the times Cas had spent the night in her passenger seat, talking softly to her until the Winchesters woke up again. In all those nights, even though she was unable to talk back, she had gotten to know the angel quite well and knew his own reasons for not choosing to confess his feelings Dean. Although they were plentiful (and all utter bullshit, but hey, that was her opinion) this one had never been brought up.

'I think many exits lead to the highway to hell, Dean, but it seems to me that love is not one of them.'

The slight tightening of the muscles in Dean's back told her that although he didn't respond, he had heard her. In his shoulders, drawn up close to his face, lines of worry etched in them, she could read his countless questions. What if he doesn't feel the same? What if he does and I destroy him?

'Many things around you are destroyed, Dean.' She answered his unspoken worries and hurt flashed across his face. 'I'm a prime example. But then you built me up again, because that's what you do. You're not someone who destroys good things, Dean, you're the person that builds them up again after they've been broken beyond repair.'

He looked at her and although she knew she shouldn't expect miracles, the tiny, miniscule spark of hope in his eyes was enough for her. She knew better than to believe that he would accept that he was deserving of love, even if she told him. Dean never let anyone breach the wall he had built around his heart, but for now, she was content to just move one stone and take a look inside.

But because she had also been Winchester property for a long time, she knew that she shouldn't exhaust this heart-to-heart. Customary to Winchester tradition, all heart-to-hearts were to be ended with the sudden change of topic, so both parties could pretend to have not spoken of feelings at all, while still feeling a little better because of it.

'I mean, just imagine that Gabriel gets laid in the backseat before Cas does. That would be horribly unfair.'

'I see no scenario in where Gabriel's dick will be in any measurable proximity to my car.'

'Think harder.' She smirked, seeing the wheels in Dean's head turn slowly. Before they could come to the final conclusion, however, the back door opened.

'We are almost ready.' Castiel said.

'For the ritual?'

'No, Dean. We're ready for dessert.'

'Was that sarcasm?' Dean looked more proud than irked, earning a head-tilt from the angel, the innocence on his face only tainted by the slight pull on the corners of his mouth.

'Well,' Baby said, throwing the empty beer bottle on the pile of broken glass beside the porch. 'I guess my days as a human are almost to an end then. Maybe for the better, seeing I'm so unattractive that even Dean won't hit on me.'

Her grin was answered with a look of confusion.
'It's not… No, I just… I mean, I won't let anyone violate my baby. Not even myself.' He grinned at her, recognizing that she'd just been joking. 'As long as I'm around, you won't be de-virginized, Baby, it wouldn't be right.'

'If I was human for some longer, I would take that as a challenge.' She quipped, sticking out her tongue.

'Well, better luck next time.' He held the door open for her. 'After you.'

After reading the spells and sacrificing the mandatory three drops of blood, Reynard appeared in the circle almost immediately.

'What the-'. He looked around, searching for possible exits. It only took Gabriel a dismissing wave of his hand and all the doors slammed close. Another wave and sigils and symbols were drawn upon them, rendering an escape impossible. Knowing how to admit defeat, Reynard sat down in the middle of the circle, stretching his long legs in front of him.

'Is this about the car, gentlemen? Maybe we could come to an agreement.'

'State your terms,' Bobby said, not a hair on his head considering to fulfil even one of them.

'I want him,' Reynard pointed at Gabriel, 'to give up his position as a Trickster. Everything he has done will remain as it was, except for the fact that we'll no longer have to deal with him.'

Gabriel looked unfazed. 'No can do, oh foxy one. You're stuck with me.'

'Well then,' Reynard concluded, folding his hands on his lap. 'Then I guess your car is stuck as well. Or you'll have to make me change her back.' He laughed, like it was more likely that Hitler would rise from his grave with a message of love and mutual respect than he would ever give in.

Luckily, the Winchesters had some unfair advantage they were planning on using for all it was worth.

'Do your best, angel boy.' Baby said, cheerily and Reynard wagged his finger.

'Don't even think about using your angel powers, Loki. It's not allowed.'

'Nope.' Gabriel countered, 'but I have a little brother who is and I have been dying to learn him some tricks.'

It had taken the two angels only ten minutes to convince Reynard to change the Impala back and by the end of it, Dean had a book in his lap and a whole array of questions to himself, starting with How come I forgot what a badass Cas can be and ending with Why does this turn me on. Baby had thrown him an all-knowing smirk and he silently cursed the car for knowing him so well. But then again, there wasn't any time to dwell on that because he would have to stand up soon and that would be kind of difficult with the raging hard on he was currently spotting.

'Think nasty thoughts.' Baby whispered next to him. 'Think of Gabriel getting laid in you backseat.'

Well, he would have to remember that one in awkward situations, because he'd never seen a boner disappear that quickly. The problem however, was that it reminded him of the conversation on the veranda.

'What did you mean with 'think harder', by the way?' He whispered back. 'Because if that asshole took one of his hookers to my car, I will-'

'Yeah, you've threatened to kill him now enough times today for the point to come across. But I can assure you, there were no hookers involved.'

The hushed 'what's that supposed to mean' died in his throat when Gabriel clapped his hands.

'Wonderful! It was a pleasure doing business with you, my friend.'

'Go die in a hole.' Was Reynard's response. 'I'll undo it, but since the original spell was meant to last a year, so it'll take a while before the transformation starts.'

Bobby looked at Gabriel for confirmation, who assured him that it could indeed take some time for the effects to wear off. They watched Reynard perform the counter-curse, Gabriel keeping a watchful eye on whether it was done right. When Reynard nodded, Gabriel assured Bobby that Reynard had not messed with the spell.

'Good on you, boy.' Bobby said, releasing Reynard from his bonds. 'Now shoo, I have a strict policy on the number of supernatural beings in my kitchen and right now, the limit is already broken by three.'

'Believe me,' Reynard said stiffly. 'There is no place I'd rather not be than this kitchen.'

Bobby muttered 'idjit' under his breath and stomped out of the kitchen, presumably to treat himself to a nice glass of scotch for a job well done. Dean had seen that look in his eyes before and quickly told Baby that if they followed him now, Bobby might share his two-hundred year old, awesome scotch.

'Well then, what are we waiting for.' Baby hissed back at him, pushing Dean through the doorway, but not before throwing Reynard a diabetes-inducing sweet smile.

'Thanks for the fun day!'

Reynard sent her a look that would have killed a lesser developed organism and

raised his hand to snap his fingers, presumably to disappear to Europe again, but Gabriel stopped him for a rare moment of honest friendliness.
'By the way, good job with the BBC.'

Reynard hesitated for a moment, but decided to take praise when the chance was there and grinned. 'Thank you. I had expected some despair, but since I've decided to postpone it again, the reaction has been much better than expected.'

Then he snapped his fingers and disappeared in a cloud of white smoke.

'BBC?' Sam asked, confused as to what a Trickster could benefit from a broadcasting company.

'Yeah,' Gabriel said, 'He's taken place in the board of directors and he's in total control of some show about Sherlock Holmes. He's brought it back to three episodes a season and now he's just indefinitely postponing the new series. I didn't really get how it would affect people at first, but the fans of the show are going absolutely insane.'

He turned his gaze to Sam, who was watching him with a look of pure shock.

'Don't tell me you watch it too.'

A slight nod, followed by the best puppy-eyes Sam could possibly conjure. The archangel tried to resist giving in, but he wasn't kidding anyone. The powers of an archangel were immense, but immunity to the Puppy-Eyes ™ was unfortunately not in his arsenal.

'Okay you big, wet dog. I'll talk to him.' Gabriel said. 'But in reward, I expect at least-'

'Not when Dean is in the house.' Sam quickly warned him. 'I'm going to check up on Baby.'

'Not when Dean is in the house.' The archangel mocked, gathering the things Bobby had left in the room. 'Or in the same state, country or universe.'

'I think we should go to a bar.' Baby offered, after half an hour had passed, in which everyone had waited nervously for the moment she would transform into an Impala again.

'I think that's a splendid idea.' Dean said, 'Especially the part where there's suddenly a car inside a bar.'

'He said it would take a few hours.' Baby pouted in response.

'Actually,' Gabriel offered while giving Baby a once-over to be sure, 'it will probably take at most another hour or so until the spell is completely undone. Not to mention the awful itch that comes before the transformation, so you'll probably be feeling tingly within half an hour.'

'Keep looking at me like that and the tingles will surely come.' She purred, causing Dean to spit his drink all over Bobby's coffee table.

So maybe she thought that Dean deserved a little payback after his whole I-will-protect-my-car's-virtue act. Personally, she thought that since she would only be human for another hour or so, she was hard to blame. After all that those Winchester boys put her through, they deserved a little revenge. And since by flirting with Gabriel, she could make Dean and Sam uncomfortable by the same time, it was hard not to make use of that package deal.

'So,' she said, standing up to settle herself on his lap. 'You're an archangel, right? I bet you can show me heaven.'

An uncomfortable silence settled in the room. Dean looked ready to make yet another threat about killing Gabriel while Bobby just rolled his eyes and stood up, leaving the room to be, for once, not surrounded by idjits.

The real shocker, however, came from Sam, who just stood up, grabbed Gabriel by his collar and dragged him from the couch, causing Baby to topple over on the couch. Sam didn't say a word, just dragged the archangel behind him until he had reached the stairs and slammed the door close. The three remaining people in the room listened carefully as they heard Gabriel starting to protest, only to be cut off by Sam.

'Up.'

'What the hell, Sasquatch! You couldn't have just asked nicely? I swear, there is no one in this house that seems to realize I could put them on fucking Uranus with a snap of my fingers.'

'Gabriel, if you're not up those stairs in three seconds, I swear I will drag you up myself because I don't give a shit about the fact that you're an archangel and you know that.'

'But I-'

'Don't make me make you.'

Cheerful laughter. 'Sammy, I get all hot and bothered when you're being so dominant. You should OOF-'

Loud thumps were audible, sounds that resembled a pain-in-the-ass archangel being dragged up the stairs by a very determined 6'3 hunter. Dean had visibly paled by that moment, his eyes wide in disbelief. 'What the hell was that?' He asked no one in particular. Luckily for him, Cas was always there for him when there was a question that no one dared to answer, tilting his head slightly.

'I believe,' he said after a few seconds of careful consideration, 'that they have left to have intercourse.'

'Thanks, Cas.' Dean muttered and Baby worried for a second that the mental image had actually broken his brain.

But then Dean seemed to wake up again, deciding that his need of cockblocking his little brother was greater than his fear of Gabriel's wrath. He turned around, ready to storm the stairs, but Cas put his hand on Dean's shoulder.

'It is of no use, Dean. Gabriel has locked the door. It would be more beneficial to calm down.'

'So you're saying that my car is a girl, my brother is being defiled by an archangel and I HAVE TO CALM DOWN?'

'I'm sure he was merely making a suggestion.' A voice spoke, from the back of the kitchen. Leaning against the doorpost was Crowley, his insufferable smirk © still firmly in place.

'And now you show up as well. Cas, I beg you, take me back to Purgatory.'

'I'm not here for you, Winchester. Contrary to popular belief, the world does not actually resolve around your lack of emotional wellbeing. Robert invited me for scotch and chess. So, if you would excuse me.'

The demon nodded at the trio in the living room and made his way to the study, where Bobby was waiting for him, leaving Dean sputtering like a fish on dry land.

'Bobby is friends with that son of a bitch? I swear to God, I can't trust anybody anymore.'

Baby rolled her eyes. It was a good thing that she felt an itch come up on her wrists, because she wasn't sure how much longer she would be able to listen to Dean going crazy.

'Oh my god,' Dean suddenly realized. 'You said that Gabriel didn't get laid on the backseat, didn't you? My brother has not had sex in my car, right?'

The pure look of desperation on his face almost made her lie to him, but she was a honest person by nature.
'Yeah, I might have lied because I wanted you to have an extra reason to finally hit that.' She nodded in Castiel's general direction. 'But I'm afraid your brother has robbed you of that milestone.'

'I'm bringing you to a garage first thing tomorrow to get those seats cleaned.' He promised her.

'Aw, you sure know how to treat a gal.' She stood up, scratching her arm.

'If you don't mind, however, I'm going to say my goodbyes before I'm a car again, which should leave you with just enough time for the grand revelation of emotions.' The word 'emotions' was accompanied with a wild gesture of something that should probably resemble a rainbow and made Dean wonder when his suffering would ever end.

They all gathered, a safe distance away from the porch, when Gabriel warned that the spell was almost undone. Dean had felt an urge to protect his little brother's virtue (or what was left of it), but then he the archangel beckoned Sam to crouch down so he could smooth out his after-sex hair and the smile the two had shared was so genuine that it actually made his insides ache with a mixture of happiness for Sam and flares of sharp jealousy.

Then all of a sudden, a hand gripped his wrist gently. When he turned around, Cas was looking at him with a soft look in his eyes.

'They are happy, Dean. They have been for some time now.'

In a short moment where he told his doubts to go screw themselves, he slid his hand up until Cas' hand rested in his.

'And I guess you've just forgotten to tell me?'

Cas shrugged. 'Gabriel asked me not to and I felt that Sam would be able to handle himself.'

'Damn right he can.' Dean said, looking so proud of his little brother that Cas couldn't help but smile as well.

'How I'll miss these diabetes-inducing moments.' Baby said, shaking her head. 'No, but seriously you guys, I haven't had this much fun since Dean finally got rid of that iPod-dock. Thank you.'

'You're welcome,' Dean said, not able to stop himself from throwing a smug smile in Sam's general direction.

Baby hugged each and every one of them (even Crowley, which he accepted under a great deal of whining about the fact that people didn't even seem to care any more that he was the King of Hell) and stepped back, but paused at Castiel, taking his face in both her hands.

'Just tell him what you told me, angel boy.'

She grinned at him and took a step back. Suddenly, there was a flash of light and a loud bang as the Impala's wheels hit solid ground again. Dean took a short moment to rejoice over the return of his baby and looked at Castiel to invite the angel to a shotgun victory drive.

To Dean's confusion, Cas was actually blushing. Which, on an unrelated note, was also a sight he set out to endure much more often, because it looked positively – Dean couldn't believe that he was turning in such a chick- adorable.

Sam rolled his eyes when his brother and Cas were once again involved in an epic staring-off. Seriously, he could swear sometimes that the unresolved sexual tension was actually palpable.
'Guys, this is our cue to go inside and cover our ears.' He exclaimed loudly, urging everyone to not disturb the one and only moment where Dean might actually talk about the weird thing that was going on between him and Castiel.

Crowley and Bobby shared the same exasperated look before heading inside to finish their game of chess, both aware that the chess pieces would sit ignored in lieu of complaining about those awful Winchester boys and their angels. It had been strange at first, when Crowley had just shown up at Bobby's house, whining about there being no one in Hell that could actually take care of their own shit and that he needed a glass of scotch like five minutes ago. Bobby, on his turn, had sprayed the demon with holy water and told him that he could stay if he beat him at chess. Crowley had lost, but he was still allowed to stay for what had turned into a weekly ritual. Shaking his head, Bobby held the door open for the man he begrudgingly called his friend and wondered if Crowley would accept his soul as a wager for their next game.'

The departure of their friends had left Dean and Cas alone on the porch, awkwardly avoiding each other's eyes.

'You… If you don't want to tell me, it's okay, I guess.' Dean mumbled, trying to calm the way his heart fluttered with hope in his chest. Sometimes, he dreamt of an alternate reality where angels fell in love with hunters, but he knew better than to confuse fantasy with the real world. What he had was a brother he loved more than anything else, who fought every day to change his destiny. He had Bobby, whom he sometimes called his father in his mind, wishing he could have had the chance to grow up in the care of the scruffy hunter and he had Castiel, an angel of the Lord who was not meant to return his feelings. It was what it was and it couldn't be more, no matter how fiercely he had prayed to a God he didn't even know for sure existed to just let him have this one thing.

'I think I have to, Dean.' The angel's voice broke his musings. 'I think that she might be right about the fact that I am not meant to keep secrets from you anymore.'

He turned to Dean, his blue eyes bright with determination. 'I think I should probably tell you that I am having trouble to love all of God's creatures equally because I sometimes wonder if I was purely created to fall in love with you, Dean. How else can it be explained that it went so effortlessly? How else can it be explained that since I gripped you tight in Hell, you have not let go of me?'

Dean wanted to answer the angel and tell him of his doubts. He wanted to sit down with Cas and bare his soul and every fear and insecurity that was there, because right now, knowing that the angel loved him as he did, they suddenly weren't pushing on his shoulders anymore like the weight of the universe rested on his back. He wanted to tell Cas that he knew how the angel felt about him, because had wondered the same things during long nights where he silently wished for the angel to be besides him. To confess that he'd spent quick minutes in the shower, trying to think of every girl he'd ever seen, but always releasing with grunted gasps at the thought of the angel's lips.

But Dean had always been a man that relied more on actions than words. So he gripped the angel by the lapels of his trench coat, tugging him closer until their lips met. For a brief moment, the angel froze in his hands, but not a second after that, his hands found their way to his waist, curling into his shirt. Their mouths desperately moved together, every soft bite an unspoken apology for the lost time and every sweep of tongue a reassurance for unnecessary doubts and fears. For a short moment, Dean could swear that time stopped and that there existed nothing outside of the feeling of the angel against his chest and the nails that gently scratched his back through his shirt.

Eventually, he was the one to pull away, resting his forehead against Cas'. A smile was answered with another and hands moved slowly over layers of clothing. For Dean, it would be enough to stand on this porch until the very end of time, until he'd whispered every possible way of telling Castiel what the other man had done for him, what he had given him and how there wouldn't ever be thought of a way to express the love that surged through his chest and clawed at his insides in the most painless and fulfilling manner he'd ever felt.

And he probably would have, were it not for the car that started honking uncontrollably until Cas and Dean were inside again, met with the pretty sight of an archangel and a hunter on the couch, laughing like maniacs.