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Content: In which Dean learns a thing or two.

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Author's Note: Without further ado, have fun :D

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"I heard you've been a huge and massive dick yesterday."

Sam's grin is wide and highly inappropriate for barely 6.30 in the morning and Dean just glares at him when he shuffles into the kitchen and is forced to listen to these welcoming words.

"Three weeks," Dean grumbles, rubbing sleepily at his eyes. "It's been three weeks since we last saw each other and you chose that to celebrate our beautiful reunion?"

Sam rolls his eyes. "Oh please. When I went to Stanford we didn't hear from each other far longer than that. Remember those wonderful six Dean-less months 2004?" His face turns into something that almost looks like melancholia. "It had been so freaking long that I even started to miss your stupid face. And the first words you said to me when we saw each other again after all this time? 'Hey Sammy, two important things: First, get a fucking haircut. Second, where's your beer?'"

Dean scoffs. "Two very important things."

And he certainly won't apologize for that.

Sam smiles his You-will-never-change-and-I-kinda-like-it-though-I'd-never-say-that-out-loud smile and continues to sip his coffee carefully while at the same time balancing a huge newspaper in his hand like it's the 20th century and he never heard of the internet before.

Dean watches him fondly for a few seconds, once again being thankful for his decision to stay in Lebanon so he can be with his younger brother at least from time to time instead of a few times a year on holidays and birthdays, before he steps toward the kitchen counter and loads several pancakes on a plate.

"Don't take too much," Sam warns. "Cas and Anna already ate, but Balthazar and Garth aren't up yet. And you know how grumpy they become when there is no breakfast first thing in the morning."

Yeah, Dean knows that way too well. Balthazar gets cranky and starts to speak in multiple languages all at once while Garth looks like a disappointed kitten with his big eyes and his wobbly bottom lip.

"As a former dentist you'd think Garth would eat something healthier than pancakes and syrup," Dean mumbles.

Sam nods in acknowledgment. "He's a very weird guy."

Dean couldn't agree more, but instead of losing himself in a monologue about Garth's strangeness he focuses on his breakfast. Sam leaves him in peace, only glancing at him once or twice, while Dean wolfs down his breakfast as if he hadn't had any decent to eat for days.

And well, there is nothing better than a homemade meal, so it is kinda true.

He stretches his legs, feeling himself relax. Thanks to his wonderful memory foam and the absence of any immediate danger he slept better than in weeks. Back in the day it didn't matter that much – he could even sleep in the Impala for several nights in a row without being afraid of muscle cramps or cricked backs –, but recently he noticed that his body craves for a mattress at the very least. Apparently the times when he napped on the floor and didn't give a damn are officially over and Dean's got no idea how to feel about that.

So he tells himself to train his attention to something else and hears himself saying, "So, has that hunter been around again? You know, that cute lady who always makes you blush like a teenage girl?"

Sam starts to pout. "I don't blush," he says vehemently while at the same time apparently busy to fight back an intense flush.

Dean smirks. "Well, I can get you a mirror if you want."

Sam attempts to kick his brother's shin, but Dean's hunter instincts come to life immediately and he gets his legs out of harm's way.

"Don't be angry, Sammy," Dean teases. "It's kinda adorable, you know? The last time I saw you with Eileen you ran straight into a door frame when she smiled at you."

Sam ducks his head, obviously keen to hide his embarrassment. "Those two incidents are totally unrelated," he argues.

Dean laughs aloud. "Sure thing, Sammy."

But of course Dean knows better. Since the first time Eileen turned up at the bunker Sam can't really help himself around the girl. He gets awkward and flustered and it's kinda nice seeing him this way again after all his relationships before failed, mostly due to his job. He always had dreamed about the white picket fence or whatever, but it's not exactly easy to have some allegedly open and honest connection with a woman while at the same time guarding the most important supernatural secrets on earth. Sure, Sam is not a hunter, so the chances of him being killed in some deserted alley are significantly smaller than Dean's, however, his job can be quite dangerous at times and he operates inside a world regular people have no idea about.

It's a heavy burden and Dean knows that way too well. His only attempt of a somewhat stable relationship had ended with Cassie kicking him out after hearing the truth about his job. It's never been easy.

Most of the time it only works between people who know what the other is up against. Like Mary, descendant of a famous hunter family, and John, the Man of Letters. They never had any secrets (well, at least big ones' – till this day Dean is quite convinced that Dad never once said a word about how the vacuum cleaner really got destroyed ten years ago) and in the end that mattered the most.

So yeah, the thing between Sam and Eileen – and there is definitely a thing, Eileen seems as interested about pursuing something more as Dean's tall, lanky brother – could work out eventually.

"You're a dick, Dean," Sam grumbles, obviously not happy about Dean's light teasing.

"Oh, c'mon, Sammy! I'm a joy to be around."

"Are you seriously telling yourself that?"

"Well –"

"I mean, what's the whole deal with you and Cas, huh?"

Dean blinks a few times, looking at his brother in surprise. "Um – what?"

"Why did you behave like an ass yesterday?" Sam folds his massive arms over his chest. "Balthazar told me since you two obviously weren't very subtle. Why do you always need to pick up a fight with him?"

Dean releases a relieved breath. After all the talking about blushing and walking into door jambs he actually thought Sam was insinuating that Dean and Castiel …

Yeah, that's something Dean seriously doesn't need to think about.

"I already said I'm sorry, okay?" Dean grimaces at the reminder. "I jumped to conclusions like the asshole I am and that wasn't alright! And believe me, Cas already used his chance to get some payback."

Sam lifts an eyebrow and seems quite curious all of sudden. "Yeah? How so?"

Dean pulls a face. "At first he forced me to rub some lotion into my skin that smelled like a whole flower garden. Balthazar had the time of his life." Dean is pretty sure he never before heard so many creative synonyms for 'princess'. "And then he dragged me to your doctor and told him to examine me everywhere. Like seriously EVERYWHERE!" Dean tries to suppress a shudder and fails. "The guy poked at places where the sun doesn't shine and that's – that's really horrifying!"

For the first few seconds Sam attempts to stifle a laugh, but somewhere along the way it obviously strikes him that he doesn't need to be polite about this and immediately roars with laughter.

Really fucking loud.

Dean pulls the corners of his mouth downwards while glaring at his brother in clear displeasure. "I hate you," he grumbles. And for good measures he adds, "And I hate Cas, too."

Sam wipes at his eyes, chuckling. "No, you don't, Dean."

Dean scoffs. "Right now I do."

He takes a big gulp of his coffee in a pathetic attempt to look kinda cool or whatever, but he regrets it almost immediately when the hot liquid burns his throat and makes his eyes water.

Really fucking smooth, Winchester.

"I know you don't like the guy because you got it into your thick head that he 'stole' me all these years ago." Sam even uses freaking air-quotes like Castiel tends to do and Dean feels his stomach churn uncomfortably at the sight. "But guess what: He didn't force some kind of decision onto me, I did that all by myself. I'm a big boy."

Dean snorts. Though he's quite aware that Sam honestly has got a point, he can't really help blaming Castiel.

And he knows it's stupid because deep down he's actually kinda relieved that his younger brother chose the way of the Men of Letters, most of the time sitting in some libraries, doing the things he loves and being generally much safer than a hunter could ever be. And yeah, it sucks majorly that Dean needs to work with hunters he doesn't exactly have a connection with like with Sam, but he got used to it over time and the last few months with Garth by his side honestly hadn't been too bad. Admittedly, the guy is all kinds of weird and lanky and clumsy by default, but he's actually a surprisingly capable hunter and a far better company than Dean's hunter cousins who most of the time just scowled and complained.

Sure, Dean would have liked Sam with him all the time, however, he can't really be be mad at his brother for choosing a different path.

But at the same time – irrationally – he isn't exactly happy about it either, so at some point in the past he chose to be angry with Castiel instead since he worked very closely with Sam – and still does – and seemed to have an immense influence on the younger Winchester. It kinda felt like Castiel had been eager to make Sam his best buddy and replace Dean in his role as big brother and role model – so yes, Dean didn't feel the urge to be overly nice to the guy back then.

And although Dean realized over the years that his fear – losing Sam to this big, secret society – had been unfounded, his relationship with Castiel never really improved along this revelation. There is still this tension between them – Dean too much of a stubborn ass to apologize for his stupid behavior in the past and Castiel not the kind of man who is able to just forgive this sort of thing without someone making amends.

So yes, they kinda got stuck and somewhere along the way they forgot that it could be different.

And that will probably never change.

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"Hey, Dean, wanna go out?"

Sam is standing at the doorstep of Dean's bedroom, looking expectantly at his brother who has been lying on his bed and hogging Sam's Netflix account for the better part of the day, just enjoying his free time and the chance to catch up on some of his shows. In the past Dean more often than not felt kinda bad for lazing around, doing absolutely nothing and having a blast, but over the years he got rid off that attitude quite quickly. He's saving people's lives, for Christ's sake, he's allowed to have some leisure time once or twice.

Dean takes his eyes off Jessica Jones kicking some ass and blinks at his brother, feeling a bit like waking up from a stupor, before he glances at his phone's watch and notices that the day obviously decided to turn into evening without consulting Dean first.

"If there's gonna be food," he eventually says. "I'm fucking starving."

Sam rolls his eyes, but his expression is fond. "It's not like this place isn't filled with food or whatever."

Dean snorts. "You can't expect me to think about something like that when I'm having my free day, Sammy."

For a moment it seems like Sam wants to argue some more, using the usual phrases like 'learn to take care of yourself', but in the end he merely sighs and answered, "There will be food, yeah."

Dean grins triumphantly. "Awesome."

He grabs his jeans, which he threw into a corner many hours ago in favor of some comfy sweatpants, and makes himself decent enough for a semi-shady bar just outside of town. He even ruffles his hair a bit since you never know if you'll be lucky by any chance while Sam simply grumbles in the background that he should hurry up.

But when they're finally on their way to the garage it's suddenly Sam who stops abruptly.

Dean comes to a halt right next to him, eyeing his brother confused, before he realizes that Sam's attention is trained on a single figure in the library, hunched over a book and totally unaware of his surroundings.

"Hey, Cas," Sam calls and sound inappropriately cheerful.

Castiel looks up and offers Sam a tentative smile which vanishes immediately when he notices Dean at his side and changes into something wary instead.

"We're going out," Sam explains. "Wanna come with us?"

Dean shoots him a betrayed look, but Sam simply ignores him, probably knowing way too well that Dean doesn't approve and not giving a flying fuck anyway.

Castiel visibly hesitates. "I don't want to intrude …" he replies, his eyes still on Dean.

"Oh please, you won't," Sam says good-naturedly. "C'mon, it's gonna be fun. I know you've been down since Claire went back home."

Dean can't help listening up instantly.

Claire?

He never heard that name before, but it apparently seems to be someone close to Castiel. An old friend? A girlfriend maybe?

Dean's chest tightens suddenly at this thought and he's got no idea how to interpret this odd body reaction.

In the meantime, Castiel sighs deeply. "Well, I am," he confirms. "I miss her."

And yet again Dean's stomach is curling up unpleasantly and he needs all his willpower to not pull a face.

"Then come on, man," Sam urges. "We'll help distracting you."

For a moment Castiel still seems unsure, but then he starts to nod and even a small smile tugs at the corners of his mouth. "Alright."

And that's how Dean ends up in the car with his brother and the guy he kinda-maybe hates. It should feel weird, highly uncomfortable even, but for some very strange reason Dean finds himself relaxing instead while he navigates the Impala over the rain-soaked roads and listens to his two passengers talking animatedly about some Greek text a few hunters accidentally stumbled upon in a victim's house during a job. They're quite passionate about it, even Castiel who normally can't really forget the stick up his ass, and Dean can't keep himself from smiling slightly.

Very weird.

At the bar Sam immediately orders three beer before he heads right back into the conversation. He makes some kind of effort to include Dean and Dean really appreciates that by nodding at the right times and feigning interest. Years ago he would've been rather jealous of his brother paying more attention to his job and Castiel than Dean who he hadn't seen for some weeks, but Dean learned to deal with the whole thing at some point and be an adult instead of a five-year-old with a tantrum.

He even enjoys it, listening to his brother's rambling like he used to so many times before. It just feels familiar.

Eventually the subjects change and Sam all of a sudden is more than eager to hear about Dean's latest adventures. Dean doesn't even hesitate and gives a full report of his long and excruciating hunt, involving more witness interrogations than he ever thought possible, Garth falling in love with some Bee Gees song that he hummed day in and day out, much to Dean's chagrin, and finally finding that annoying son of a bitch worm-thing ("Olgoi-Khorkhoi," Castiel corrects immediately) after almost losing hope.

"Why would someone even smuggle something so fucking ugly across the border?" Dean asks, shaking his head in incomprehension.

"Money," Castiel offers quite bluntly. "There seems to be a thriving market with wealthy customers interested in pursuing rare, supernatural creatures."

Dean grimaces. "That sounds like the stupidest shit ever."

Castiel actually seems to agree with him and once again all three of them are lost in a lively conversation that Dean enjoys way more than he ever imagined. Even when he notices a hot woman at the bar counter eyeing him with obvious intent Dean can't really bring himself to move away. No, strangely enough he'd obviously rather talk about disgusting worms and people being stupid enough to buy them.

When Sam eventually excuses himself and walks toward the bathroom a strained silence stretches between Dean and Castiel all of sudden and it seems kinda deafening compared to before.

Dean begins to fidget awkwardly and chides himself for feeling so out of place.

Castiel, however, appears to be perfectly happy to simply stare at Dean way too closely and forget anything he ever learned about social customs and personal space.

And that's seriously not the way to go to make a guy feel relaxed.

So Dean begins to desperately search for some safe and harmless topic and in the end hears himself ask the question that is bugging him for hours now.

"So, who's Claire?"

Castiel blinks a few times, apparently surprised by Dean's interest.

Dean fights a blush that's coming his way and mutters, "Uh, I mean, is she your girlfriend or something? 'Cause, well …"

Dean doesn't really know what he wants to say, so he falls silent eventually before he makes a bigger fool of himself.

In the meantime, Castiel started to smile and that fond expression on his face does something very odd to Dean's system. He doesn't like it one bit.

But when Castiel announces, "Claire is my niece," Dean releases a breath he doesn't want to interpret too thoroughly.

Instead he asks, "Really? I didn't know you had a niece."

"She lives in Illinois with her parents, so unfortunately I don't see her that often," Castiel explains. "Most of the time I visit them, but this year she insisted on coming here, all by herself. Of course they had to compromise since Claire is still fairly young, but in the end Jimmy and Amelia decided to drop her at my doorstep for two weeks and enjoy some kind of road trip before collecting their daughter once again on their way back."

Castiel's voice is suddenly very soft and his eyes glint in a way Dean never witnessed before.

"And it worked out?" he asks.

Castiel nods. "I wasn't exactly sure at first since two weeks are a really long time and there isn't that much excitement around here for a young girl, but Claire is quite uncomplicated. Sometimes she spent a whole day just reading books."

Dean finds himself grinning. "Just like her uncle, huh?"

It's obvious that Castiel is struggling not to smile back. "Well … maybe."

But suddenly a thought crosses Dean's mind and he frowns. "And the Men of Letters were okay with your niece staying at the bunker?"

Castiel throws him a pointed look. "You think I brought Claire to the bunker full of weapons and cursed objects?" He snorts. "There are guns hidden underneath every single surface. It's seriously not a place for a girl. At all."

Dean couldn't agree more, but he's still confused. "So where …?"

Castiel narrows his eyes and studies him for a moment, apparently determined to read the other man's features. "You are aware that I own a house in town, are you?"

Dean looks at him in bafflement. "Um … no?"

Castiel chuckles at the sight of Dean's face. "Outside, at the lake," he states. "You might assume that I spend all my time in headquarters – 24/7, as young people fancy to say -, never once seeing the daylight, but I actually crave nature more than anything. I bought the place some time ago since I like to have at least two days every week where I stay away from ancient texts and enjoy the luxury of windows instead."

Dean relaxes a bit hearing that sarcastic and somewhat cheeky tone back again. "Oh, forgive me for not knowing," he mocks. "But I didn't get a memo or anything and that kinda hurts, Cas. Wasn't I welcome at the housewarming party? Or did my invite just get lost in the mail?"

Castiel rolls his eyes. "I bought the place over ten years ago. I didn't even know you back then."

Over ten years? Damn, Dean seriously didn't have a clue!

Every time he shows up at the bunker Castiel is there, most of the time sitting in the library and reading books older than God or arguing with Balthazar about tea or boring stuff like the stock market. Dean never once assumed that the guy could have a home outside of these immensely warded walls.

"Still." Dean shrugs and tries not to look as dumbfounded as he actually feels. "It'd have been nice to know nonetheless. What other secrets are you keeping from me, huh? I mean, I didn't even know you had siblings, man."

"A brother," Castiel offers. "Claire's father, obviously. You even met him once."

Dean stares at him incredulously while hurriedly trying to remember if Castiel ever introduced him to some guy who could have been a relative. But he comes up blank.

"I did?"

Castiel nods and he seems highly amused all of a sudden. "Jimmy was visiting me at the bunker at the time when you suddenly burst in, right after a hunt all dirty and bloody, walked up to Jimmy, called him an 'entitled and big-headed jackass with horrible fashion sense' and stormed out immediately after that."

Dean's eyes widen. "What?" His jaw feels very slack all of a sudden. "But, I wouldn't – why would I –?"

Sure, Dean is honestly not the nicest man on earth, but he would never insult some guy he never met before.

Castiel laughs quietly. "Jimmy and I are identical twins. You seemed to think he was me at the time."

Dean merely stares at him, not sure how to react to this information, but before he's able to come up with something remotely witty and genius, Sam returns from his bathroom break and drops his giant body onto the poor bar chair right next to Dean.

"Did you know Cas has a niece and a brother that looks exactly like him?" Dean asks, gesturing at the man in question with his arms flying wildly around. "And a house at the lake?"

Sam furrows his brows, studying his brother pensively for a while as if he's solving some complicated equation, before he hesitantly responds, "Um … yes?"

Dean scoffs and looks back and forth between Castiel and Sam, feeling left out once again. It's absolutely stupid, he knows that, since he's actually the one who never made any kind of effort to get to know Castiel better, perfectly happy with how things were, so there is no reason whatsoever to feel snubbed. But he can't stop these inconvenient thoughts racing through his head.

"I never kept these information a secret," Castiel says, matter-of-fact. "You could have asked anytime."

But Dean never did. It didn't even cross his mind, if he's being honest.

And that's kinda strange because it's part of the job to know stuff. So it'd have been totally plausible to gather some info about the guy he works with for so many years now, right? Especially if it's a guy he isn't exactly best buddies with, so he's able to avoid any kind of unpleasant surprise.

It would have been the reasonable thing to do.

But now, contemplating it a bit harder, Dean can't help but think that he maybe refrained from doing so due to some irrational fear that he might have gotten too close and personal with Castiel. That it could have changed his point of view completely.

And that would have been, once again, very dangerous territory.

But instead of acknowledging these facts and making it pretty clear that he's a rude asshole with some major issues, he simply says, "Well, I bet your personal life isn't that exciting anyway. Why should I have bothered to ask you in the first place?"

Castiel seems offended for a millisecond, ready to start an argument, but in the end his lips curl up into a smile that makes Dean feel shivers running down his spine.

"You're as charming as ever, Dean," Castiel says in that tone which promises nothing good. "But let me tell you that there are a lot of things you don't know about me. Some may surprise you."

It sounds like a fucking challenge.

And well, Dean never backed off from a challenge.

The game is on.