The next few days, they went back to how they were before and everything was normal, except they both knew it wasn't. Something had changed between them, but neither of them talked about it. The distance between them had all but disappeared. When they played video games, they sat close beside each other on the couch their arms brushing against each other, even though there was enough room to put another person between them. And moments like that night where they would just stare into each other's eyes kept happening. Dean found himself thinking a lot more about black sex hair and blue eyes than the beautiful girls that he had picked up the week before. He didn't like to think about what it meant, though. How his skin tingled after accidentally touching Cas or how he wanted to be around the guy all the time. He even found himself jealous at times, when people stared a little longer than necessary at Cas, but he'd never admit it. It made his stomach have that twisted feeling again and he hated it. But besides the obvious change in their relationship, they pretended nothing had happened.

Dean was cooking cheeseburgers as Cas was trying to wash off paint on his arms. Dean had been coming over more often to Cas's apartment and found himself there a lot. Castiel had joked that he should just move in already. But Dean had replied he just needed to make sure he didn't burn the place down because he was a horrible cook. He was grabbing a beer out of the fridge, when he heard someone knocking on the door. Cas yelled at him to get it and grumbling he trudged for the door.

He opened it and his eyes widened at the small woman on the other side. She looked taken aback, not expecting Dean, but smiled, nonetheless, "Why, hello there, Dean. Is Castiel home?"

"Uh," Dean stepped aside letting her in, "Yes, he's washing paint off his arms, he was working on an art piece."

"Well, being artist is dirty work," Rebecca's smile didn't leave her face, though her eyes expressed her disfavor in Castiel's choice of career.

"Yeah, well, he works hard," Dean replied with a matching fake smile, a little put off by her. That must have been the strange looks Cas had been referring to, a smile with unmatching eyes.

He gestured down the hall, "The living room is through there if you want to wait for him. I'm making dinner so...oh, would you like some? I could cook another patty if you want?" She kind of made him feel uneasy, but it felt rude to not offer.

She shook her head, "No, I ate before I came, but thank you. I'll go wait for Castiel." Her heels clicked across the floor and Dean turned back to the kitchen to save the meal before it burned.

He was scrapping fries onto a plate, when Castiel shuffled in. His hair was wet and turned in every direction and droplets of water ran down his neck. He must've decided to take a shower. Dean could smell his honey scented shampoo and turned back to cooking to distract himself.

"That paint was a bitch to get off. I had to take a shower. Who was at the door?" he reached for a fry and thought better of it seeing the steam still coming off them.

"Your mother," Dean raised his eyebrows and Cas's expression turned to fear, "Did you know she was coming by?"

"No, what the hell is she doing here? She's never come to visit."

"Well, she's waiting for you in the living room," Dean nodded towards the hall.

Cas groaned and ventured off to find his mother unsurprisingly snooping around his living room. She was staring at a painting on the wall, one Castiel had made his freshman year.

She turned to him in acknowledgement but quickly returned back to the painting, "Castiel, what is this?"

"An angel."

Rebecca made a sad expression, "Why is he dead?"

"The assignment was 'tragic love story'. I drew an angel falling from grace. He fell in love with the human and rebelled against Heaven when they wanted to use him as a weapon. He saved him, but in the process he died."

Rebecca nodded sadly not looking away from the painting. The angel lay on gravel his clothes disheveled and a knife gripped in his hand. His black wings were scorched onto the ground and his lover cried beside him glaring at the clouds above him. Rebecca spoke softly, "That's beautiful that you can convey all of that in a single image. Did you recently draw this?"

"No," he tilted his head confused, "Why?"

She smiled and unconvincingly said, "Oh, no reason." She glanced back at the painting, the green eyes that had caught her attention, drowning in tears screaming at her, before settling on the couch. Castiel made a move to sit beside her, staring at her like she was a different person. She had never taken an interest in his art before, not since he started being serious about it in highschool. She had thrown medical books, watching Law and Order with him, having his siblings talk to him before finally giving in and telling him he could do whatever he wanted as long as it made him happy. But she still frequently expressed her worries of how he'd ever make money at it.

"Mother, why are you here?"

"Let's wait for Dean," she ignored his question.

Castiel squinted at her wondering as to why Dean was relevant, but before he could ask the devil himself walked in. Dean handed him his plate and a coke and sat in the armchair next to them.

"Okay," Rebecca clasped her hands with an excited grin, "Castiel, you know the family vacation we take every year?"

"Yes," Cas replied confused as to where she was going with this, "It's next week isn't it?"

"Well," Rebecca paused glancing at Dean, "Gabriel had a wonderful idea. Why don't you bring Dean along?"

Dean chocked on his beer as Castiel exclaimed, "What?"

"What?" she parroted innocently and turned to Dean, "I would understand if you don't want to spend time with our crazy family, but I would love for you to come."

Dean was speechless for the woman in front of him with pleading eyes that somehow resembled Castiel's, even though they were a completely different color. He didn't know how to reply, "Hell, no." without offending her and Castiel, with the deer caught in headlights expression, couldn't think of an excuse either.

Rebecca continued her proposition, "It's only a week and this year we're going to Italy. And don't even worry about traveling expenses. Michael owns a private jet. It'll be a fabulous time."

"Um, well, uh, I," Dean stammered trying to come up with a plan to get the hell out of this. One night was enough, but a whole week pretending to be a couple with Castiel? That was too much.

"Dean's afraid of flying," Castiel blurted out.

Rebecca laughed and put a hand on Dean's knee comfortingly, "Oh, honey, I assure you the flight will be safe. If that's the only problem, then we're settled?"

Before either men could respond, Rebecca thought out loud caught up in her excitement, "Oh, and Castiel, we'll get to see Balthazar's new mansion! Won't that be a delight? He'll probably let us even stay a few days."

"Mother, I don't think-" Castiel started off another poor excuse, but Dean interrupted.

"Yeah, okay, I'll go. Thank you for inviting me," Dean said suddenly and Castiel looked at him shocked.

Rebecca stood up and hugged Dean, "Oh, yay! I'm so happy, I'll call with further details." A minute later Mrs. Novak was out of the apartment before Dean could change his mind.

Dean avoided Castiel's gaze. Cas was staring at him, eyebrows knitted together. He was surprised Dean had agreed so quickly and was confused as to why. Hadn't he said that he would never do that again? That sat in silence for a minute before Cas asked, "Why'd you say yes?"

"Well, I couldn't see how we we're going to get out of it," Dean shrugged his shoulders and hoped Castiel bought it.

Cas sighed and stood up and walked out of the room. Dean looked after him at his sudden departure, "Cas?" With no response he got up and followed him towards his bedroom.

Castiel grabbed his cellphone off his bed and swiped at it, "It's fine, Dean. I'll just call her and tell her the truth." He put the phone to his ear and waited for his mother to answer.

Dean crossed the room and grabbed Cas's hand, cutting the call off. Castiel looked at him questionably, "Dean?"

"Cas," Dean sighed, not letting go of Castiel and stared him in the eyes, "No, it's okay. Don't worry about it. It's just one week."

"But-"

"No, really, I'm cool with it," Dean paused, taking a breath, "I mean, you don't want to go on any more blind dates, do you?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Then, it's fine," Dean said, knowing Cas was going to question his sudden readiness to be his fake boyfriend. He didn't know what had came over him, but he did know he felt uneasy about leaving Cas in the hands of Balthazar, the guy sounded like a sleaze.

Castiel sighed defeated and looked down at Dean's hand wound around his own. Dean quickly dropped it and took a step back, realizing how close they were. He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly and walked out of the room with a lame, "The burgers are getting cold," over his shoulder.

Cas stood there for a minute, already stressing over how they were going to fool his family for a whole week, when Gabriel had suspected something in a mere two hours. He decided to worry about it later and went back to the living room. Dean's burgers really were Heaven.

They packed and made preparations for the impending vacation, but otherwise didn't really mention it. Dean called work and begged Bobby for the week off, which he gave him begrudgingly. Then, he had to call his parents and explain to them why he wouldn't be visting home until later in the summer. Mary had told him to not worry and to have fun, while John asked a lot of questions and told him to not get his ass in any trouble.

Dean needed to go buy luggage as he didn't own anything bigger than an average traveling bag and Castiel offered to go with him since he knew what brands were good. It turns out that the Novaks loved to travel and had been to a lot of foreign countries. Last year as Dean remembered they had gone to Thailand and Korea and the year before England. Dean couldn't help but be a little envious, he had always dreamt of traveling across the country, but no flying, just him, Baby, and the road.

Dean was about to walk out of his apartment headed to Cas's to pick him up, when there was a knock on his door. He opened it to see a familiar friendly face.

"Anna? I'm sorry, but Cas isn't here," he said wondering how the redhead even knew where he lived in the first place.

She shook her head, "Oh, I know. I stopped by his place this morning. It was a short visit, he was in a rush. He forgot about an art exhibition he has to go to today and I volunteered to take you shopping in his place when he mentioned he needed to cancel on you."

"Oh," Dean made a face of disappointment, "Well, I just need some suitcases and a few things. You don't really have to come."

"Oh, it's not a bother. I don't have anything to do today, anyways. If you don't mind my company."

Dean smiled giving in, "Okay, just wait here while I grab my wallet."

Fifteen minutes later and they were running around the mall. Anna took him to her favorite store, Milton's, and Dean was glad Bobby had given him a bonus because it was expensive. He was satisfied, though and was grateful for Anna because the selection for luggage was wider than he had thought and he wouldn't have known what exactly he needed without her.

She helped him carry the luggage back to his car and as the trunk closed she looked at him readily, "Now that that's over with, what's next? Clothes?"

"Um," Dean said suddenly unsure, "Well, I've never been to Italy. Do I need new clothes?"

She eyed his outfit, a black t shirt, jeans with grease spatters and Doc Martens, "Well, it's around seventy degrees most places but it can get down to fifty and it rains a lot. Maybe a few long sleeves and a good jacket?"

He sighed relieved he wouldn't need a lot. His jackets were pretty worn out and he usually walked around in band tees. "Alright, that's not too bad. I could use some nicer clothes, anyways. Gotta look my best walking besides the Novaks," he joked, but only halfheartedly. The Novaks really did always wear really good clothes, besides Castiel, the art student who couldn't care less and had half of his wardrobe covered in paint. But even Cas, had some fancy duds in the back of his closet for special occasions, while Dean would show up to the ball in jeans and a Henley if he was invited.

Anna laughed, "Oh, Dean, you dress fine. As long as Cas can love you in your ratty shirts and oiled jeans, then who cares what anyone else thinks?"

Dean smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes, "Yeah, I guess." It felt wrong to agree with her, because it wasn't true and it churned his stomach. Castiel didn't love him, not like she was saying. They were just friends and that was it. He didn't mind putting on the charade for the rest of the Novaks, but Anna was a sweet girl, and he felt guilty lying to her face.

Not ten seconds into his preferred store to shop and Anna was throwing clothes in his arms. "Anna," he peered his eyes over the heap of clothes in his arms, "I am not buying all of these. You said only a few."

She shoved him towards the dressing rooms, "I know. You're going to try them on and we'll decide which ones look best."

Dean groaned, "I am never shopping with a girl again. If you were Cas, we would have already left the store and be eating right now."

She stopped in front of the dressing rooms and grinned wickedly, "Maybe, but Cas will thank me once he see's how good you look."

Dean rolled his eyes and she pushed him in the small room and closed the door yelling from the other side, "And I want to see them all before you decide no."

Dean reluctantly went along with it, feeling like he was in a chick flick, modeling clothes for Anna. He walked out in a white shirt, totally out of his element liking the darker colors more.

"Really, Anna? White? What, am I a love interest in Days of Our Lives?"

Anna rolled her eyes and gave him a thumbs up, "It looks good against your skin tone. Try the green one next. It'll bring out your eyes, plus it's Castiel's favorite color.'

"Skin tone," Dean scoffed, "Do girls really think about stuff like that? Cas's favorite color is green?"

She rolled her eyes, "Yes, you didn't know that? What's your's by the way? I didn't even ask before throwing shirts at you."

"Blue," Dean blurted out thinking of the vibrant color that hadn't left his head for days. He soon realized his mistake, though, as Anna held back a snort.

"What?" Dean asked defensive.

"Oh, nothing. Just go back inside," her hand waved him away and he heard her mutter, "Perfect for each other," from the other side of the door, but he could've been wrong.

They left the store after Anna had decided on two green shirts, the white shirt, a blue shirt, and two black shirts because Dean had thrown them in the pile. He decided not to argue with her since she was nice enough to help him out. He found a dark brown leather jacket that he liked in the store over, Purgatory, and it passed the test with Anna so now they sat in the food court. Dean's treat as thanks.

"It was nice getting to know you better, Dean," Anna told him through a mouthful of curly fries.

"Yeah, you too, Anna. You're about the only sibling I can stand."

Anna chuckled, "Yes, well, I guess sometimes my brothers can be a bit prideful and cocky."

"You're older than Cas, right?"

"Yes. Michael and Lucifer are the oldest, their twins, only 32. Then it's Gabriel, 31, Raphael, 29, and then me, 26. Then it's Castiel at 23 and baby Alfie at 21," Anna ticked her siblings off her fingers as she counted off the ages.

"You have a brother named Lucifer?" Dean asked incredulously. He tried to remember, but couldn't put a face to the name, though it did sound familiar. He guessed it just hadn't registered with him at the moment.

"Lucifer was once an angel," she said defensively, they must get that a lot, "Our parents were really religious, when we were little. But they've gotten less involved in the church over the years."

Dean thought about it and it made sense. When he met Castiel four years ago, he had just assumed the name was foreign. He didn't know he was named after an angel. Him and Anna talked for while, her telling him stories from when Cas was little that he found hilarious, before he drove them back to his apartment so she could get her car. He thanked her again before she drove off with a small wave.

That night Dean lay awake in his bed, unable to sleep, a thousand thoughts swarming through his head. He worried about the flight, about deceiving Cas's family, about the asshole, Balthazar, but certain questions kept echoing in his head. If they kept this up, role playing as a couple, what was that going to do to their relationship? How long before one of them took it to far and the other snapped? And was it really just this one vacation or would this be a lie they told for years? He just didn't want to screw it up, any of it. Cas was his best friend and he didn't have a lot of friends. He couldn't lose him. But things had changed between them and Dean wasn't sure it was for the better. He didn't know what he was feeling, but he didn't want it to wreck their friendship so he tried to get a hold of himself and willed himself to sleep, telling himself to find the answers another day.