Thank you so much for the positive response! I hope you guys like this fic. I think it's going to be fun, so I hope I don't let us down.

Here's the second chapter for you:


Loki forced himself into the front seat of Castiel's car. He had no weapons that Castiel could see, and was quite small, and yet Castiel couldn't bring himself to start fighting the god. Mostly because he was a god.

"Who sent you here?" Loki demanded. "Michael? Lucifer?"

"Wh-what?" Castiel gaped ineloquently. "Who? What are you talking about?" Surely he couldn't mean his friends, Mike and Lu?

"Did they send you after me?"

The god was angry, his face taut, making his sharp cheekbones stand out even more. "Loki, I swear to you, I don't know what you're talking about. No one has sent me after anyone."

"Then what were you doing at The Roadhouse tonight?"

This was ridiculous. "I just went there! It's not a crime or a human to go to…to…one of your places."

Loki sank back against the door and crossed his arms. Castiel sighed.

"Okay, three days ago, my best friend was kidnapped by her girlfriend who turned out to be a Fairy. The Fairy cursed me with Fairy Sight and ever since then, I've been going nuts. I saw The Roadhouse and decided to go in because I thought I might get some answers. Okay?"

The god relaxed just a bit. "Someone cursed you to See?"

"Yes!" Castiel insisted. "Yes, someone cursed me! Do you know how to remove the curse?"

Loki looked at him a little sadly. "What's your name, kiddo?"

"Cas."

"No, what's your real name?"

"Castiel." He figured it was stupid to try and hide it now.

"Castiel. The angel of Thursday. No wonder Thor liked you so much."

Castiel raised an eyebrow. He knew what his name meant, but he hadn't thought much about it. Loki's parallel, however, gave him pause. It was sort of funny in an ironic "my life is ending just kill me" sort of way. Thor. Thor's Day. Thursday. His appointment with D.W. was on Thursday. Tomorrow was Thursday.

"Well, Castiel, your life is about to get a whole lot more interesting," Loki declared. "I'm sorry, but the curse can't be removed. What you're going through is called Awakening, and it can't be undone. Not for you."

Loki started to get out of the car, but Castiel stopped him. "Wait! Can't you tell me…anything?"

Loki sighed. "Sorry, kiddo. This is where we part. Your friend is fine. Fairies are generous mates, she'll want for nothing." Loki paused as he stood outside the open passenger door. "Beware of Hunters, too. Some of them, like Sam and his family, are okay. But the ones like the guys in the corner of the bar…be careful. They'll try to bind you."

"Bind me?" But Loki was already gone.

His brain was full when he got home, only to run into Mike as he got off the elevator. To his shock, Mike also had a halo of light and something dark at his back.

"Castiel," Michael said. "You look…a little harried. Are you well?"

Castiel swallowed his building panic. "I'm just a little off, Michael. I think I'd better go to bed."

Michael put his hand on Castiel's shoulder. "That sounds like a good plan. Sleep well."

Castiel practically ran to his apartment and stripped, then buried himself under his blankets. He just wanted tomorrow to come. His hope was all resting on D.W. to help him.

}O{

The office was a tiny little hole in the wall, though neat and organized. The walls were a basic white, the carpet a blue-grey low pile. It smelled like coffee and bubblegum, and the woman sitting behind the welcome desk was a sprite. She had to be a sprite.

"Hi there! Are you the two o'clock?"

"Y-yes," Castiel stammered, eyes on the four iridescent wings lifting from her back like a dragonfly's.

"I'm Becky," the sprite said. "I'll just let the boss know you're here."

Castiel sat down in one of the chairs by the wall because it seemed expected of him, waiting for whoever this D.W. was. He looked at the magazines on the low, square table in front of him, surprised at the names. Supernatural Life, Monster Week, Hunter Times, and of course a copy of Maxim's Hot 100. That seemed to be a ubiquity in every office.

"He'll see you now!" Becky chirped happily, indicating the door behind her.

Castiel stood, smoothed his coat, and walked through the door.

Sandy hair, carefully arranged in spikes. Green eyes swirled with amber, framed by brown lashes, large and liquid. Cheekbones so high they practically held up the ceiling. Clothes clearly bought from the Army/Navy surplus store. Broad shoulders that tapered into a narrow waist. Long legs, slightly bowed. Thick boots. Castiel was pretty sure he was staring at the textbook definition of Alpha Male.

Said Alpha Male was currently balking a little at Castiel.

"Um…hi?"

Castiel did a double take. Men like this didn't usually seem unsure of themselves. "Hello," Castiel responded. "Are you D.W.?"

"I am," D.W. responded. "But you can call me Dean." He indicated the chair in front of his desk and Castiel sat in it. "Um, no offense, but…why do you need my help?"

Castiel sighed. He relayed his story about Charlie and Fairy Sight. "So, I just need to find my friend and get this curse lifted."

"Okay," Dean breathed. "But…why do you need my help? I mean, you're…" he held out his hands. "You're you. Can't you just mojo your way into the Fairy Realm and take your friend back?"

Castiel squinted his eyes and tilted his head to the side. Charlie always said he looked like a bird when he did that. "How would I be able to "mojo" my way anywhere? I'm just a human with Fairy Sight."

"Huh," Dean said, holding his plump lower lip between his thumb and forefinger as his elbow rested on the desk. "So…you're a human…"

"Obviously."

Dean stared at him the same way Gabriel had, as though he felt sorry for him. "I can't help you find your friend," he said. "But it's okay. She'll be back. You'll see her again."

Castiel perked up at this. "I will?"

"Of course. Fairies live in this Realm too. Didn't she leave all her stuff?"

Castiel suddenly felt a little foolish. "Well, yes, she did. I just…the letter she left me made me think I wouldn't see her for a while."

"Time in the Fairy Realm moves differently than our time. It will seem to her that months or years had passed, but in our world, only a week or two. Her girlfriend will be feeding her Ambrosia and Morning Dew to keep her young. Your friend is still mortal, but she'll be able to live for centuries, maybe even a thousand years as a Fairy's mate."

"But…but…she just left…" Castiel gulped. "Look, I don't make friends easily," his voice cracked, "and she was like a sister to me. I can't just leave her."

Dean stood up from his desk and came over to Castiel, kneeling down in front of him. Castiel thought for a moment that the man might give him a pep talk or say something kind. He placed his hand on Castiel's shoulder and looked deeply into his eyes, and Castiel even started to hope that the man might kiss him.

"Hey, snap out of it!" He said with a shake to Castiel's shoulder. "You're really going to tell me that you're going to stand between your best friend and the chance of eternal beauty and happiness with a fairy mate? Those guys are amazing from what I've heard. Centuries, man. Centuries of great Fairy sex. Don't be a selfish dick."

Castiel gaped at Dean. "W-well…well, if it's so good, then why don't you try to get yourself a fairy girlfriend?" he shot back a little petulantly.

Dean chuckled. "For one thing, I'm a Hunter. We don't do Fairies, and Fairies don't do us. For another, it wouldn't be a girlfriend, smartass."

Castiel blushed and averted his eyes. "I just miss her, is all."

Dean gave him a smile. "I know. I'm sure you do. But I mean it when I say you'll see her again. Now, I can't help you find your friend, but I can help you. You need me."

Castiel turned back to Dean, suspicion etched all over his face. "What can you help me with?"

"I can help you with your Awakening. I'll be your…your guide as you discover the ins and outs of living with Fairy Sight."

"Why would you want to help me?"

Dean shrugged. "It's a job, right? No job too bizarre. That's what I promise."

Castiel narrowed his eyes. "How much?"

Dean leaned back onto his desk, stroking his chin. "Let's see…it's probably going to be several weeks. You won't need me all the time, mostly evenings and weekends. I'll take other jobs, too, you know. Just to be clear. You might want to help me with some to further your Awakening…"

Castiel kept quiet and let Dean talk to himself.

"Okay, five hundred, you can pay me in installments, plus your full name. That will come with access to all of my libraries, my time, my personal phone, my friends, and my home, for as long as it takes."

"You want my full name?" Castiel felt panic. His research, while limited, said that giving out one's full name was akin to giving away one's soul.

"Hey, I'm not going to sell it to anyone, it's just for my own use. In time, I'll let you know exactly what I did with it. I won't give it away or speak it out loud. But I need it."

Castiel squinted. "O-okay. Okay. I'll…I'll do it."

Dean smiled and held out his hand. "Dean Henry Winchester, at your service."

Castiel took his hand. "Castiel James Novak. Nice to meet you."

Dean opened his arms. "So, what do you want to know?"

}O{

An Angel. An angel walked into his life. An honest to god Angel. And the weirdest part was that he didn't know what he was yet. He was beautiful, that was for sure. Pale skin, eyes so blue they could put cobalt to shame, and hair that seemed perfect for grabbing onto. And his lips…good god, his lips were made for sin.

Dean picked up his phone and called Sammy. "Hey, I need a full work-up on a Castiel James Novak, born in Pontiac Illinois, November ninth, nineteen-seventy-four. He's an Angel, Sammy. A goddamned Angel. Call me back."

Dean had never cared much about Angels. He knew that a few members of the Wild Hunt had taken them for mates, but he never figured himself for that. He loved his freedom, loved being able to pick up and go when he wanted, to follow a lead on a monster for weeks on end without needing to check in on anyone (though he always checked in on Sammy), but when faced with an unattached, Awakening Angel, he found himself intrigued. What if this was his Mate? What if this was The One his mother had always told him about?

"What is a Hunter?" Castiel had asked.

"Well, it seems that way back in my history, one of my ancestors was descended of Woden, which is the German equivalent of Odin, the leader of the Wild Hunt. We're not supernatural per se, but we have excellent senses, agility, strength and stamina."

Castiel had taken that in stoically. "And why would a Hunter be a danger to me?"

Dean's brow had furrowed. "Who told you that?"

Castiel explained briefly about his encounter with Loki. "He said they would want to…bind me? Is it because I can See?"

Dean had to choose his words carefully. When a being was going through their Awakening, someone coming out and telling them what they were could upset the balance of learning, and they could go mad. He had to introduce Castiel to everything slowly and carefully to avoid that. "Well, in a way it is because of your Sight. You have a Gift now and there are those that will want to exploit it. As Hunters, we can See, but as you'll learn during your Awakening process, there is a lot that you can do."

Castiel hadn't fully accepted Dean's explanation, that much was clear, but he had accepted most of it.

"Will you accept that there are some things I just can't tell you right now? You have to experience them for yourself and grow into yourself…there are reasons for that, Cas."

Castiel had nodded openly then, and Dean had relaxed a bit, glad that Castiel trusted him this little bit.

His phone rang then, pulling him from his memory suffused haze. Figuring it was Sammy, he pressed the "Accept" button and grunted, "Hey, Sammy, whatcha got?"

"D-dean? It's Cas…Dean…you have to come and help me! It's Mike, my neighbor! He-he said he smelled a Hunter on me, and that I was his to claim, and now he's trying to break into my apartment!"

Dean grabbed his car keys. "Your neighbor?"

"Yes, and he's one of the Supernatural, Dean. I don't know what he is, but there's a halo of light around his head, and he has these dark things at his back, like shadows. I think they're wings, but I can't fully see them."

Dean cursed. "They're wings, Cas. Your friend Mike is an Angel." And he wanted Castiel for his mate. "Hold on, I'm coming."

"Why is he doing this now, Dean?"

Dean huffed into the phone. "Because I'm a Hunter, and…well, he's apparently targeted you as his mate, and he thinks I've done the same thing."

"But he's my friend, Dean," Castiel said in a small voice that made him sound like a lost child. "I don't think of him that way."

Dean made his way to Castiel's apartment building, keeping the Angel on the phone the entire time. It took him about ten minutes to get there and get up the elevator. At Castiel's door, he found a tall, good-looking dark haired angel with hazel eyes being restrained by two blonds and talked to by a female with red hair and large brown eyes.

"He's still waking up, Michael," the redhead said calmly. "You know you can't rush him."

"He's mine!" Michael insisted. As Dean approached, Michael turned to him, snarling. "You threaten my mate!"

Dean held his hands up in surrender. "I'm just trying to help him with his Awakening," he said calmly. "Cas reached out to me. I told him I would help."

"You," Michael sneered. "What could he want with you?"

The redhead huffed, "I could think of a few things," low, but loud enough for them all to hear. The angel with the light blond hair laughed and the strawberry blond gave them both a stern look.

"Michael," the strawberry blond said kindly, "you know that Castiel has free will. He can choose either you or the Hunter, or he could choose neither. It's up to him. But I can promise you that he absolutely will not choose you if you continue acting this way."

That got Michael's attention.

"Look, I'm not here trying to bind him," Dean lied, not fooling the four angels who were currently giving him Stink Eye for the blatant fib. "Okay, I'd do it if he wanted to, but…I'm mostly trying to help him out. Do you know he went to The Roadhouse last night by himself? And he's scared to death of you guys. He doesn't know what's happening to him, and I'm a friendly Human face for him. Could you back off and give him a little time?"

They could see the truth of his words, and slowly they all, including Michael, nodded.

"I'm Anna," the redhead said. "And this is Balthazar and Lucifer."

Dean nodded to the pale blonde and strawberry blond respectively. "Nice to meet you. Can I talk to Cas now?"

"Be respectful, Hunter," Michael warned.

Dean rolled his eyes at the angel. "I know, and I already told you that I am only going to do what he wants. But if he wants me, sorry man, I'll take him."

Michael narrowed his eyes. "I will win him in the end."

Dean sighed and knocked on the door. "Cas? It's me. Let me in."

The door opened just a crack, and he slipped in, leaving the Angels in the hallway. Inside the apartment, Castiel attacked him, curling against his chest and seeming small and frail to Dean as he held him close, and Dean had to admit that he felt good in his arms.

"You okay, man?"

Castiel nodded against his chest. "I was just so frightened and confused. He's not human, he could have done anything to me and I couldn't have stopped him."

Dean indulged in burying his hand in Castiel's hair, stroking him lightly. "He wouldn't have, Cas. He wants you to be his mate. He'd actually take care of you."

"I don't want him taking care of me!" Castiel insisted, blushing slightly and not making eye contact.

Dean felt something warm in his chest. "You might change your mind about that later, Castiel. After you're done with your Awakening, you may view him differently. He's promised to back off for now so you can continue your education."

Castiel shook his head again. "No, I'll never want him. I don't think of him that way."

Dean pulled away a little and set Castiel back, his hands on the Angel's arms. "Try to keep an open mind. Remember I told you that there are things I can't be honest about right away?" At Castiel's nod, Dean continued. "Well, this is one of those things. You could find that you like the feathery little bastard sometime in the near future."

Castiel grinned. "He was a good friend."

"He still is," Dean said. "Really, he's just…feeling a little possessive."

Castiel narrowed his gaze. "Over you?"

Dean nodded. "Over me. I'm a hunter, remember? My kind likes to bind guys like you."

Castiel blushed a little as he thought that over. "What would binding do?"

"We'd be married, basically. We'd have a sort of soul connection. We'd be able to read each other, our emotions, whether one was in trouble or not. I hear the sex is amazing, too. You just sort of…know…what your partner wants."

"Oh." Castiel frowned. "But, if we're both human, then how can we bond?"

Dean should have known Castiel was too smart to just accept what he said and not question things. "I am supernatural in a way, and so are you. It's one of those things that I can't explain yet, Cas, but your Awakening is a supernatural thing. The reason we can't reverse the "curse" as you call it is because it's something that was already changing in you. The Fairy just sped up the process."

Castiel gaped at him. "I'm a monster?!"

"No!" Dean said quickly, pulling him back to the comfort of his body. "No, you're not. You're very special."

Castiel clung to Dean. "Am I like Charlie? Is that how a Fairy bound her? Maybe it's something in our blood, like with you?"

Dean grasped at that. "Yeah, maybe. I'm still working on it, Cas, but I promise you we'll figure it out together."