The air was heavy and sultry that night. It was the night after a hunt, and Team Free Will had spent all their energy on digging up twenty different unmarked graves to find the bones of an old grandma who was on a murder-spree. Long story short, there weren't any bones and they had just needed to burn the cane Dean was fighting with.
Sam, Dean, and Castiel trudged into their two-bed motel room with sore muscles and groggy minds. Sam sank onto one of the two, not even bothering to remove his jacket.
"Move over." Dean ordered, pushing Sam half-heartedly.
"No. Get your own bed." Sam groaned, waving his brother away.
"Wow, thanks for the great idea!" Dean replied, sarcasm dripping with his every word. He turned dramatically to look at the bed adjacent to Sam's, where Castiel had collapsed. He shrugged off his trench coat and stared at Dean.
"I do not mind you being in the same bed as me," Castiel admitted.
"Y'see, Dean?" Sam mumbled, face pressed into the pillow. "You've been invited to bed."
"Don't make it sound dirty." Dean grumbled, trying to push his Sasquatch of a brother to the side. Needless to say, being the much stronger of the two, Sam was going nowhere.
"I don't understand." Cas said. "Why can't you sleep with me?"
"Because, Cas, I don't swing that way." Castiel cocked his head.
"What?"
"Nothing, move over."
Cas obediently moved to the side, to the point where he was half-hanging off the bed. Dean rolled his eyes and slipped under the covers.
"Do you have enough room, Dean?" Cas asked gruffly.
Dean nodded mindlessly and flipped over to look at Cas. He was struggling to keep his balance as he teetered on the very edge of the mattress.
"Dude, you don't have to kill yourself trying to give me room," Dean said. "Just make yourself comfortable."
"I am comfortable." Cas deadpanned.
"Whatever." Dean closed his eyes and yawned. "As long as you can sleep." In a few moments, he was out. Cas bit his lip and watched the hunter. He looked so relaxed - his mouth open just slightly, chest rising and falling, eyelashes fluttering every few minutes. Castiel had to wonder; how did he fall asleep so fast?
Cas took a deep breath that tipped him off the edge of the bed. He grabbed for the sheets, but much too late - Cas hit the dirty motel floor with a yelp.
"Ow," he mumbled, rubbing the back of his head. Pain was something entirely new to him, just as sleep was. How was he supposed to sleep?
Cas stood up and sat on the bed. He stared at Dean, who was completely oblivious to Castiel's ungraceful fall.
"Just make yourself comfortable." Cas repeated quietly. "Comfortable..." Cas lowered himself into the same position as before. But each breath he took was bated in his fear of falling again. Reluctantly, Castiel inched further away from the edge and closer to Dean. The hunter rolled onto his side, facing the ex-angel unknowingly. Castiel licked his lips and slid a little closer. He already felt more comfortable. It felt warmer, safer, and more pleasurable to lay next to Dean like this. A smile tugged on his lips as Cas drew his knees up to his chest. In the process, he accidentally hit Dean.
"Sorry," Cas said as Dean shifted. "I kneed you."
"Mm?" Dean mumbled, squinting when he heard a voice. "Y'what?"
"I kneed you."
In a matter of seconds, Dean went from half-asleep to wide awake. He laid frozen on the bed, eyeing Cas suspiciously.
"You... Need me?" He asked. Cas nodded.
"I kneed you very hard, it seems. Enough to wake you up. I'm sorry."
"No..." Dean sat up and faced the man beside him slowly. "That's okay."
"I thought I would be more comfortable if I slept closer to you. It appears that my theory was correct. But, in the process of making myself comfortable, I realized that I kneed you." Castiel sat up as well. His eyes were bright and wide. "I'm very sorry."
Dean chuckled nervously. "That's fine. I mean... I guess I kind of need you, too."
"No." Cas shook his head.
"No?"
"No. You've never kneed me before, Dean."
"What are you saying?" Dean flopped onto the bed, using his arm to support himself. "Of course I've needed you. Since we first met, I've needed you."
Cas tipped his head, studying Dean with curious eyes.
"I do not recall any of those moments."
"Come on, Cas!" Dean sighed. "The last thing I need on my hands is a weepy, depressed ex-angel. I always need you. From pulling me from hell, all the way to today - I need you." Dean lowered his voice to a whisper and grabbed Cas's hand in his. "I need you."
Castiel flushed and laid his head next to Dean's.
"I think there's been a misunderstanding." He swallowed roughly and averted his eyes.
"No, Cas. I'm not kidding." Dean bit his lip and fell silent for a moment or two. "In fact, I'd go so far as to not just say that I need you,"Cas looked back at him, eyes twinkling, "but maybe I kind of want you a bit, too."
"I-" Cas hesitated. He looked up at Dean, whose cheeks were dusted a light pink.
"Castiel," Dean gripped the human's hand tighter. "Do you...?"
"Like you?" Castiel asked. Dean nodded uncertainly. "Of course."
"No, I mean..." Dean frowned and tipped his chin down, a blush now burning on his cheeks. "Not like that."
"What do you mean?" Castiel asked. Dean shook his head.
"Forget it," he mumbled and began to turn away, but fingers met his cheek before he could.
"Like this?" The ex-angel inquired. He leaned down and brushed his lips softly against Dean's.
The hunter laid stunned under Castiel, who was smiling foolishly.
"Kind of," Dean grinned and lifted his hand up to trace Castiel's lips. "But a little more like this." Dean pulled Cas down and pressed their lips together. He could feel the catch in Cas's breath and the way he didn't hesitate to kiss back.
"Dean," Castiel said breathlessly.
"Shut up." Dean's fingers stumbled to undo the buttons on the other man's shirt, not breaking the kiss. Castiel did the same to Dean, and soon they had thrown their shirts carelessly to the side.
Dean ran his fingers through Castiel's messy hair, loving the way that Cas melted into him.
Dean was met with a short gasp when he rolled over to top Castiel.
"Just go with it," Dean smirked and stooped down, starting to undo Castiel's belt.
"You're better at this than April," Cas admitted, voice deeper than usual.
"Better at sex than a reaper? God, I hope so." Dean gave a short laugh, starting on his own belt.
"And Meg," Cas said, kicking his pants off. "I think you're even better at this than the pizza man." When Dean had finished undressing, he tipped Castiel's chin up and whispered deeply.
"Let's see." He closed his eyes and gently bit Castiel's lip.
"Definitely better than the pizza man," Castiel panted softly, smiling at Dean, who lay beside him. A sheen of sweat glistened on his forehead, and he radiated heat.
"Thanks," Dean draped an arm across Castiel's shoulders and smiled. "Now whenever you have sex, instead of saying 'I learned that from the pizza man', you can say 'I learned that while in bed with Dean Winchester'."
He chuckled exhaustedly.
"Was that supposed to be funny?"
"Not really, no." Dean said. "I'm just reeeeeally tired."
"Goodnight, Dean," Cas tried to say. But Dean was already fast asleep, cradled in Castiel's arms.
Castiel buried a kiss and simpered into Dean's fluffy hair. Only a snore replied.
Castiel didn't even think about it before he fell asleep.
When Sam woke, he did so in an unexpected tangle of clothes. Well, partly expected. He did sleep in two jackets, a shirt, and an undershirt, after all. But it was more than just that. There was a trench coat, a crumpled suit, Dean's leather jacket and his denim vest, and two pairs of jeans tangled haphazardly around his limbs.
"Dean, Cas!" Sam groaned, shaking the blood-and-dirt stained clothes off of him. He stood up, about to shake the two awake, when he stopped.
Sam never thought about what it meant when he woke up in a pile of clothes. Dean and Castiel were naked in bed, the former nestled comfortably in the latter's strong arms. They both appeared to be passed out, and beads of perspiration still glittered at their hairlines.
Sam's eyes widened almost comically.
"Oh my god," he muttered, running a hand through their hair. A small smile grew on his face when he saw how Cas was still kissing the top of his brother's head. "It took them long enough."