A/N-This is my first fic, reviews are more than welcome my lovelies! This story will be fairly clean to begin with, I'm a fan of slow-build Destiel. I will add a new chapter every week, sorry for any errors, I've tried to correct as much as I can, but no one is perfect!

-Chapter one "Welcome home"-

"So, uh, this is you I guess." Dean mumbled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck with his right hand while gesturing through the doorframe with his left.

"Thank you, Dean, this will be more than sufficient." Castiel, former angel of the lord rumbled in his usual gravelly tone, entering the sparse military style bedroom. Dean clenched his jaw, guilt flooding him. On the advice of an angel he didn't even know, he'd denied a very human Cas sanctuary in the bunker when he'd needed it the most; it was like kicking a dog when it was already down.

It had made it even worse when 'Ezekiel' turned out not to be who Dean thought he was, and instead Gadreel, an angel who'd just busted out of Heavenly Guantanamo Bay where he'd been in solitary confinement for betraying heaven and being the cause of all evil or something along those lines. But that was over now; Dean was determined to protect his best friend. God knows he needed it, Cas had been a kick ass angel before, but now… well, now he was just pitiful, to be frank. Dean could see it in his posture, the way he slumped over slightly, deflated, hunching his back like he wanted to retreat into himself.

When Dean had finally overcome his nerves and approached Cas to propose him taking up residence in the Men of Letters Bunker, Cas' blue eyes had lit up like a Christmas tree, only making Dean feel guiltier. He was determined that if Cas had to suffer being human, he would not have to slum it, and Sam agreed with this sentiment. Yes, Dean smiled to himself, they would make sure Cas was quite comfortable and who knows? One day the fallen angel might become a passable human being.

"I know it's not much, the Men of Letters were real stiffs when it comes to decorating their rooms, but I reckon with a little TLC this place will…" Dean trailed off when he realised that Cas had next to nothing in the way of personal possessions. Nothing to make the sparse brick walls or the small double bed seem a little bit homier. Cas turned to him, a small smile tugging at his lips

"Really, Dean, Thank you" He said genuinely, and Dean rubbed his neck again,

"Look, Cas, you know, I really am sorry about…I wish I could take it back, you obviously, And I-" Dean stammered, trying to get out another apology for casting out Cas on the streets.

"You do not need to apologise, Dean, I understand why you did it, I would have jeopardised the safety of your home being here."

"Our home," Dean corrected "It's your home too now, Sammy and I will make sure your time as a human will be as close to good as a hunter can have, I promise, dude." Castiel flinched slightly at the word human and sat down on the bed, cautiously running his hands over the plain brown bed covers.

"I tell you what, Cas, when we've got a spare minute, Sammy and I will take you to Ikea, maybe get a little something to spice up the room?" Dean proposed

"Why would I have need of adding spices to the room?" Cas inquired, cocking his head to one side and narrowing his eyes slightly.

"It's just an expression, man." Dean chuckled, "Ikea is a furniture store, I thought maybe you might want to get something to, I don't know, personalise your room? "

"Personalise?"

"Ya' know, like I have my gun collection and my magazines and Sammy has well-actually he doesn't have much but you know…" He trailed off, feeling slightly foolish. Cas frowned a little, like he was thinking hard about something.

"That would be…nice." He said at last. Dean smiled.

"Great. You can make yourself comfy here or whatever you want," He gestured around the room, "Was gonna' order a pizza for dinner if you're hungry"

"Dean, I do not believe constant takeaway food constitutes a balanced diet" Cas said flatly in a way that reminded Dean of the old Cas, and he grinned.

"Shut up, Pizza has tomatoes and cheese and bread and meat. See? You got your four main food groups, right there." Dean grumbled jokingly as slapped his friend once on the shoulder and walked out of the room, leaving Cas alone sitting on the, no, his bed.

CASTIEL

Cas sighed a very human sigh, and let his head slump back against the headboard of the bed. Being human, as Sam and Dean would say, sucked. He had newfound admiration for the race, they functioned normally despite all these annoyances that Castiel had not yet gotten used to. They were required to bathe and launder clothes, deal with more primal urges like those of the sexual nature, as well as eat and drink to nourish their bodies. The one that Castiel still had difficulty adjusting to was the seemingly constant need to urinate. Bodily functions were still alien to him, despite being human for almost a month and a half now.

No, Castiel reflected, this was not going to being easy. He reached for the small duffel bag at the foot of his bed, containing all his worldly possessions. A pair of underwear, two pairs of socks, an identical pair of slacks to the ones he was wearing, and a starchy white shirt, In which he'd wrapped his angel blade. He gently unwrapped the gleaming silver blade, running a finger slowly up the edge, flipping it over in his hands. He sighed again. Castiel seemed to sigh a lot as of late. He could no longer summon his angel blade- could no longer have it pop conveniently out of his sleeve. Whereas before it had thrummed with energy in his hand, as if responding to his touch, now it felt cold, hard, and lifeless, like the hunk of metal it appeared to be.

Placing his blade on the nightstand, he stood up and neatly folded his one change of clothes, placing them in the small wardrobe. Nodding to himself once, he straightened his trench coat and exited his new room, following the scent of fresh pizza, one that both attracted and repulsed him simultaneously. Having to eat was truly irritating, and Castiel avoided it if at all possible. But the hunger always came back, and he succumbed every time to the primal urge to eat despite the fact eating reminded him of how human he was.

"Look, I'm just sayin' Sammy, if man wasn't meant to eat Pizza, then it wouldn't taste so good. I don't get you're freaky obsession with rabbit food." Dean grumbled at Sam, who was currently frying some nondescript lump in a pan over the stove.

"When your metabolism finally slows down and you're crappy eating habits catch up with you, don't come crying your morbidly obese ass to me, bitch." Sam said animatedly, waving his spatula around in an exasperated motion.

"Jerk." Dean retorted.

A quiet laugh escaped Castiel's lips as he witnessed the argument in front of him. It was odd seeing the Winchesters in such a domestic setting, but their co-dependence on each other was endearing if not borderline dangerous. The two brothers turned at the sound of Castiel's laugh.

"Hey Cas! Tell Moose over here that Pizza beats, wait, what even is that you're making, Sammy?" Dean said, wrinkling his nose.

"It's fish Dean," Sam sighed, "Cod is good for you, tell him Cas!" Castiel raised an eyebrow, looking between the two brothers.

"During my time as human, I have come to appreciate the taste of food. I must concede that pizza far conquers fish in this area." Cas intoned. Dean fixed Cas with a dazzling smile, exclaiming "Right?" while throwing a victorious look over to Sam, who replied in kind with an equally unamused face.

"Better be careful Sammy or when the wind blows your face will get stuck like that." Dean taunted.

"Shut up and eat your pizza." Sam mumbled, serving his fish and vegetables onto a plate and taking it to the dining table. Dean motioned for Cas to sit down with a tilt of his head, opening the cardboard pizza container, eyes lighting up like the pizza was God's greatest gift to mankind. Castiel wasn't sure if his father had had a hand in creating pizza, but he wouldn't put it past Gabriel to be responsible for such an unhealthy and wonderful creation.

DEAN

Dean inhaled deeply, helping himself to a massive slice of pizza loaded with melted cheese, tomatoes, sausage, chicken, pepperoni and best of all, bacon. Cas did the same, albeit more carefully. Dean took an enormous bite and moaned slightly in pleasure, watching Cas intrepidly nibble at his slice. His face relaxed instantly, and Dean could physically see the effect that proper food was having on him. Another pang of guilt hit Dean as he realised that Cas had probably not been eating enough on the streets. In fact, although it was hard to see due to the bulky trench coat, he could've sworn Cas had lost some weight. His cheekbones and what Dean could see of his collarbones were just a little more prominent than before. Dark shadows painted Cas' undereyes, but at least the pizza had caused the defeat and fatigue that had been previously etched into his face dissipate, he looked almost at peace.

"So, anyone for a movie later?" Dean asked nonchalantly as he leaned back into his chair and swung his legs up to rest on the table.

"Since when do we ever-" Sam began, but stopped as Dean threw him a glare. "Um, Sure, s'not like we've got any cases going. Maybe Cas can pick something?" Sam said instead, smiling slightly at Cas' obvious difficulty handling the drooping melted cheese on his slice of pizza.

"Mmph," Dean affirmed, taking a long gulp of his third beer. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Sam give him a disapproving look. So what if Dean drunk more than he used to? Alcohol helped him deal with the occupational hazards of their job, and it's not like he was an alcoholic or anything. "What do you want to see, Cas?"

"My knowledge of movies is rather lacking, perhaps you two could show me one of those movies you are always making references too?" Castiel replied evenly.

"Great, how about Star Wars?" Dean grinned as he finished the last slice extra large meat feast pizza, speaking before Sam even had a chance to open his mouth. Castiel nodded, and Sam made a face that Dean interpreted as 'oh alright' but could've easily been 'not again'. Oh well, Dean thought, big brother always wins.

Dean leapt up and walked excitedly to the living room, rifling through their surprisingly large DVD collection. Ever since the Winchesters had found a more…permanent base of operations, he had begun 'liberating' certain movies during their travels. He wasn't sure when exactly Sam had noticed, but soon enough some of Sam's favourites began to appear on the shelves. It was nice, he reflected, to finally involve Cas in human things, to show him the things he and Sammy liked. He was also admittedly excited that Cas would finally understand some of the references that Dean made on a daily basis. Cas and Sam soon followed behind him, and settled themselves on opposite sofas. Dean put the DVD into the player and settled down next to Cas as the familiar opening credits began to roll.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…

It is a period of civil war.

Rebel Spaceships, striking from a hidden base…

Dean felt himself relax into the sofa, and about 5 minutes later felt Cas do the same.

'How is it that a tin can on wheels has intelligence?"

"It's R2D2 Cas, roll with it."

"Why are the soldiers fighting each other?"

"Geez didn't you read the introduction?"

"Why does the tall man in black need to use breathing apparatus?"

And so on, for the next half an hour. It turned out, to Dean's annoyance, that Cas was one of those people who needed a constant commentary alongside the movie to understand what was happening. Despite being a little exasperated, he did his best to answer all of Castiel's questions. He really did want Cas to like the movie, after all. He and Sam settled into a rhythm of answering his questions alternately, and had gotten so used to Cas's chattering that his drift into silence was quite noticeable.

"Cas man, you good?" He inquired, watching the blue eyed man's eyelids begin to droop.

"Yes, Dean, I am fine." He replied drowsily. Dean nodded, and returned his attention to the television, reciting Han Solo's lines alongside the movie.

"You are such a nerd." Sam chuckled quietly.

"Coming from you." Dean scoffed. He smiled internally. He was secretly thrilled that Sam had begun to forgive him for letting him be possessed by an angel, and was looking forward to getting back to hunting with his baby brother. Not that he'd ever tell Sam that. He couldn't stand all that mushy feelings crap that Sam and sometimes Cas tried to extricate from him.

He was so engrossed in the movie, he almost didn't realise when Cas started snoring quietly, head pressed against the sofa. No, He thought, snoring wasn't the right word, that would be too masculine for the sounds Cas was making. They were more like the gurgles a baby would make. Dean smiled, exhaling air from his nose.

"Hey Sammy, we should totally record this." He spoke quietly so as not to wake up the sleeping fallen angel. Sam smiled, but his tone was disapproving

"Let him sleep Dean, God knows he's been through enough."

"What should we…" Dean trailed off, wondering what to do about their sleeping friend. He thought about trying to carry him to his room, but quickly laughed that off, Cas was a grown man he could get himself to his own goddamn room. He looked so peaceful though; drooling slightly on to the sofa, Dean almost couldn't bear to wake the poor guy up. He decided to wait until the end of the movie.

The end credits began to roll as Luke blew up the Death Star, and Dean got up and shook his sleeping friend's shoulder slightly.

"Hey, Cas, Dude, Wake up." He said softly. Cas groaned quietly, nuzzling his head closer into the sofa. "Cas, c'mon." Dean said more forcefully. His eyelids fluttered open, lidded with sleep. Then they widened, and upon realising he was drooling on the upholstery, Cas gave an undignified yelp and leapt to his feet.

"I apologise, Dean, Sam. I just felt so tired all of a sudden and…" He trailed off.

"It's no trouble, Cas, sleep whenever you want. It's not like our sleeping patterns are exactly normal." Sam joked, gesturing at Dean.

"But it is a shame I could not stay awake to the movie's completion." Cas said.

"Don't sweat it, since you're a resident at chez Winchester now I bet you'll see Star Wars so many times you'll be sick of it." Dean joked, although how anyone could get sick of such a cinematic masterpiece was beyond him.

"Speaking of sleep, I'm gonna turn in now." he said, yawning. He privately doubted he'd fall asleep within the next five hours, the hunter's mind never knew how to switch off.

"I'm going to do some research before bed, see if I can find us a job." Sam said. Dean could tell he was itching to get back out on in field just as much as Dean himself was.

"I will likewise go to sleep now." Castiel said, bleary eyed. Dean placed an arm on his friend's shoulder. "You rest up, buddy." He said, and with that he turned and headed down the hall towards his bedroom. "G'night." Dean called over his shoulder, disappearing from view. Sam nodded once to Cas before leaving the living room presumably to go do some research, leaving Castiel standing alone.

"Good night." He heard the ex-angel say quietly to no one in particular, his voice reverberating slightly off the Men of Letters Bunker's Walls.

And with that, he heard Cas padding down the dark hallway to his new bedroom.