Sam and Dean pulled up to the bunker in the Impala late one Wednesday night. Dean turned the key in the ignition and the engine stopped, and the two brothers sat in mutual silence for a few moments. The case they had just finished working on was probably one of the weirdest they have experienced to date, especially considering the story of their actual lives was somehow involved...again.

Without speaking a word to each other, they both got out of the car, grabbed their duffle bags full of monster-fighting weapons, and trudged inside the bunker.

After Dean flickered on the lights and walked down the stairs, he tossed his duffle bag onto the big banquet table in the foyer, immediately making his way to the kitchen to make himself a midnight snack. Sam, on the other hand, quietly made his way down the hall to his bedroom, where he remained for the rest of the night.

Two hours later, Dean was sitting on the couch in their TV room, an empty plate that once held a cheeseburger sitting on the coffee table, a beer in one hand, and a bag of potato chips in his lap. As he munched, he flipped through the channels to find something decent to watch, even at this late hour. He chuckled when he noticed that three channels in a row were showing commercials for sex hotlines. As if horny people are only around at night, he thought to himself with a smirk on his face.

Just as he found something remotely watchable, his cell phone buzzed in his pocket, which made him jump. Pulling it out, annoyed, he noticed the name on the caller I.D. and his face immediately lit up.

"Hey, Cas," he said warmly into the receiver.

"Hello, Dean," came Cas' typical reply. Dean smirked at the familiar greeting.

"So how have you been?" Dean asked.

"Things have been a bit rough, but I'm a lot better now. I was able to obtain another grace."

Dean sat up. "Really? It's not yours, is it?"

"No, but I can't imagine it will be long before this one starts to wear out like the last so I must use my time wisely and try to find mine soon," Cas replied, a hint of stress in his voice.

"Alright, buddy, well if there's anything you need, you know you can just ring me up." Dean had muted the TV; he was fully focused on Cas now.

"I need to ask a favor," said Cas. He sounded apprehensive.

"What's up?"

"Is it alright if I stay with you for a few days? I need to lay low for a little while. I'm constantly dodging angels that want to kill me. I won't be there until tomorrow, though. Do you think Sam would mind if I stayed?"

Dean stood up. "Of course you can stay, Cas. And you know the only reason why you couldn't the last time was because Gadreel threatened to exit stage left if you stayed, and I couldn't risk that. Not with Sam's life on the line."

"I understand, Dean. I just want to make sure I don't overstep my boundaries with you two," Cas replied.

"What the hell are you talking about, Cas?" Dean expressed, almost angrily. He was pacing now, his footsteps falling heavy on the concrete floor. "You know that you are always welcome to stay with us if you're in trouble. This was just a weird circumstance that I had to abide by. Believe me, I would have tried anything to get you to stay." He stopped dead in his tracks at those words. Did he really mean that?

"Alright, Dean, as long as I have your approval I'll gladly take advantage of your hospitality." There was an almost hopeful tone to his voice.

"Wait a minute," Dean realized suddenly. "What about that angel chick you said you had with you?"

"Oh, she'll be staying with a trusted friend, she'll be fine, don't worry," answered Cas, though Dean didn't really give a rat's ass about this female angel friend of his. Of course he wouldn't say that to Cas' face.

"Alright, then, buddy, I'll see you tomorrow," Dean said softly.

"Goodnight, Dean."

The next morning, Dean was cooking breakfast for him and a still sleeping Sam when there was a knock at the locked metal door. Dean bolted for the stairs, not caring if he burned the sausage.

He flung the door open, and there was Cas, standing awkwardly on the doorstep. He had a few tears and blood stains in his coat. There were no obvious injuries on Cas' body, but Dean wasn't surprised since he knew Cas could heal himself.

"Jesus, Cas, are you okay?" he asked as he let the angel in.

"I'm fine Dean, I just need to fix up my clothes a little," Cas replied nonchalantly.

"Well, yeah, I can see you're fine now, but what about when that"- he gestured to the tattered coat- "happened?"

Cas shrugged, then followed Dean down the stairs. "It was just a tussle, nothing major. Besides, Crowley had my back."

Dean stopped in his tracks and rounded on Cas.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Crowley? Crowley was with you?"

"It was fine, Dean, he saved me," Cas replied. "In fact, he was the one that got my grace for me."

"Seriously?" was all Dean could say.

"Yes. He killed the angel that attacked Hannah and myself, and gave me her grace. It worked out fine, Dean."

Dean seemed unconvinced at first, but after a second he shrugged and went into the kitchen. The sausage hadn't burned, but it was pretty close to that. He turned the stove off and served the links onto two plates, one for him and one for Sam.

"You don't mind if I eat this in front of you, do you?" Dean asked, sitting down at the kitchen table, where Cas had already found himself situated.

"Of course not. I'm an angel again, so I don't need to eat," Cas replied, gesturing to Dean to go ahead.

Just then, Sam walked in. His hair was reminiscent of a bird's nest, and his eyes were red and puffy.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty, I was wondering when you'd show up," said Dean loudly.

"Oh haha, Dean. Hey, Cas," Sam greeted them as he sat down at the table. He made no hesitation to grab his plate and start digging into his breakfast.

"Whoa, slow down there, cowboy," Dean remarked. Sam didn't reply, so Dean ate his own breakfast in silence.

After they finished eating, Sam finally spoke up.

"So, Cas, what brings you around here?" he asked.

"Well, I called your brother last night and asked if I could stay here for a few days to lay low from some enemies on my tail. I promise, I won't be a bother," Cas told Sam.

"Don't worry Cas, you're always welcome here," Sam said as he stood up to put his plate in the sink. "Oh hey, Dean, did you find any potential cases today?"

"I didn't really see anything that jumped out at me. Just a kindergarten teacher that got busted for fooling around with a few of her students," Dean replied.

"Ugh, that's gross," Sam grimaced as he started the coffee maker.

"Tell me about it," said Dean as he stood up as well.

"So, Cas, how are you feeling? You know, with your grace and all?" Sam asked.

"Well, actually, I have a new one now. Crowley obtained it from an angel that attacked us and saved my life with it."

Sam dropped the spoon he was using to stir his coffee.

"Whoa, Crowley? Cas, what was he doing there?"

"Don't worry, he just showed up, gave me the grace, then took off. He seemed like he won't be bothering us for some time."

"Yeah, I imagine he took his breakup with Dean pretty hard," mumbled Sam.

Cas looked confused. "Wait, Dean, you and Crowley were -"

"Uh, no," Dean butted in. "We weren't a 'thing,' if that's what you're wondering. We had somewhat of a friendship, though mostly I was just his lackey, and I ended it. He thought he could control me."

"You mean when you were a demon." Cas said it as a statement rather than a question.

"Yeah. Dark time. Not many fond memories."

"Well, if you'll excuse me," Sam interrupted, "I'm gonna go and run some much needed errands. Catch you later, Cas."

"Bye, Sam," said Cas.

As Sam started to leave, he noticed that Dean and Cas were staring at each other in their typical way and they continued their conversation, and the memories of last night's musical replayed in his mind. He smirked as he continued to walk out the door, but not before faking a cough and muttering "Destiel."

Right after he left the room, Cas looked at Dean, obviously confused. He noticed that Dean had become incredibly red in the face and was staring daggers at the doorway his brother had just exited.

"Destiel?" he asked. "What's that?"

Dean turned to look back at Cas, a very stiff expression on his face. He coughed once, then started to adjust himself in his seat.

"Uh, nothing, Cas. Just forget about it," he replied, trying to change the subject, but Cas could tell that something was up. He decided to ask Sam about it later at a more convenient time.