When Dean awoke the next morning, his first thought was of Cas. Had he been able to go back to sleep last night? Was he doing better? How could they help him?

He rolled out of bed and headed for his friend's room. The door was open, and Dean could see that the bed was neatly made.

"Good morning, Dean. Were you looking for me?" He turned at the sound of Castiel's voice, and nearly choked on his own spit.

The former angel was wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. His dark hair was still wet from the shower, and Dean's eyes were drawn to his well-muscled chest. Cas had always seemed kind of small; partly because of his slender frame, but also because of the loose, baggy clothing he wore. Without clothes, however, it was clear that he was anything but scrawny.

"Uh, yeah, hi." Dean stuttered. "I just, yeah, you're awake. Cool."

"Are you alright?" Cas tilted his head, looking at his friend with concern.

"Good, I'm good. Just, I mean, you should probably put some clothes on."

"Oh," A look of amusement crossed his face. "Am I making you uncomfortable?"

Dean laughed nervously. "No! I mean, maybe? Jesus, just put your damn pants on."

He turned quickly and walked away, trying not to imagine how red his face was right now.

This was Cas! His best friend. Best friends do NOT look at each other like that.

He wandered off to find Sam, leaving a confused Castiel's staring after him.

"Hey,"

"What's up?" Sam asked stepping away from the shelves.

"Dude, do you ever leave the library?"

"This stuff is fascinating, Dean. Besides, we kinda have a situation going on here. Fallen angels, ring a bell? Maybe there's something here that would help."

"Nerd."

"Shut up. So, did you need something, or are you just here to annoy me?"

Dean rubbed the back of his neck. "I uh, was wondering if you could talk to Cas."

"About what?"

"Everything, I guess. I dunno, just...see how he's doing."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you do it? You do 'share a more profound bond'." He smirked.

Dean glared at him. "I suck at this sorta thing, and you know it."

"Whatever." Sam rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'll talk to him."

Cas was puzzled over Dean's behavior. Just when he thought he had humanity figured out, something like this happened.

He knew it was customary to cover one's private parts when around other people, so he'd wrapped a towel around his waist. But Dean had still been bothered by it.

He sighed. Why did everything need to be so unecessarily complicated?

His stomach growled, which usually signaled that it was time to eat. But Castel wasn't hungry. Nothing sounded appetizing, and no matter how much he ate, he never felt full. There was always this hollow, empty ache in his gut.

Nothing felt right.

He was startled by a knock at the door.

"Come in," He called out.

"Hey," Sam greeted him with a smile. "How's it going?"

"How is...what going?" Cas squinted in confusion.

Sam chuckled. "Nevermind." He noticed that Cas was still wearing the same green shirt and red jacket from yesterday. "Do you wanna go shopping?" He asked.

Cas was taken aback by the invitation. Did Sam want his opinion, or was it a 'demand in the form of a question'?

Sensing his friend's hesitation, Sam elaborated. "I was just wondering if you wanted to get some more clothes. you could always borrow from me or Dean, but it's nice to have your own."

"I would like that."

"Awesome, let's go."

On the way to the store, Cas sat up front in the passenger seat. He rolled down the window. It was nice to feel the wind on his face again.

"So..." Sam cleared his throat. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, how are you?" Cas quickly gave the standard answer.

"You know...when I ask that, I'm not just trying to make conversation. I really do wanna know how you are."

"Oh."

"I mean, how are you feeling? Losing your Grace...becoming human...that can't be easy." Sam gently prodded.

Cas felt a lump rise in his throat. "It is not a pleasant experience." He admitted.

"Is there anything we can do to make it easier on you?"

Cas looked at the younger Winchester and smiled sadly. Sam was just trying to help, but there wasn't anything he could do.

"Thank you, but you are already doing more than enough. You and Dean have provided me with food, a place to live...and here you are; taking time out of your day to take me shopping."

"It's no problem. You've saved our asses more than once, it's the least we can do. If you think of anything you need, anything to make the...transition easier, let us know."

"Thank you." Cas repeated sincerely. He was fortunate to have such good friends.

An hour later, they wandered out of the store with a new wardrobe for Cas. He was exhausted. Trying on clothes, talking to people...why was it so hard?

"You doing okay?" Sam noticed his silence as they drove back to the bunker.

"Yes. I'm just tired."

"How did it go?" Dean asked as Cas went to put his clothes away.

"Good. We got him some new clothes, including a Metallica T-shirt." Sam chuckled. "You should be proud."

"Atta boy." Dean beamed. "But the, uh...the talking part. How's he doing?"

Sam sighed. "I'm worried about him. He wouldn't really open up, but it's kinda obvious that he's hurting."

Dean frowned. "Yeah. Maybe we should take him out, show him the fun of being human. I bet he's hammered after one drink." He grinned, imagining it.

"Dude, no." Sam shook his head. "I don't think that's his idea of fun. Besides, I think the sooner we figure out how to restore Heaven, the better. All he really needs is his Grace back."

"Yeah, you're right." Dean shrugged. "But when this is all over, we're going out for ice cream and strippers." He wiggled his eyebrows, and Sam rolled his eyes.

"You're such a perv."

"Bitch."

"Jerk."

Thanks for reading! And waiting for the update...I'll try to post the new chapter sooner this time. Anyway, I decided to include Destiel, because I am Destiel trash. Sorry if that bothers some of you. It won't be explicit, if that helps. FEEDBACK IS GREATLY APPRECIATED! Thank you so much to those of you who have left reviews!