A/N: Thank you MimiDuJour and Gandalf537 for the reviews! The are my life.

Now, backstage at the Roadhouse. Takes place during chapter two.

Chapter Two

Saturday came too quickly for Dean's comfort. He relished the little moments he had with Castiel where they would play the question game. Castiel wanted to know more about him and his life and fuck if that didn't make him feel special.

Dean had always known he was into anyone with a pretty face and a good personality, but he'd never really held down a relationship with any gender for too long. There was Lisa during senior year of high school for about three months, and he had a "thing" Benny during sophomore year of college for a few months. He would have actually dated him, if he wasn't so afraid of commitment.

Both Lisa and Benny and a few others had been great people, but they didn't have that spark that Dean assumed would come with love. He'd deny it until he was blue in the face, but he really wanted that soppy, romantic love that you'd see in chick flicks. He wanted someone who could understand his shitty past and get along with Sam and think he was more than an associates degree from a stupid community college.

He wanted Castiel to be like that. He really wanted Castiel to be like that. But Castiel went to ivy league schools and was emotionally stable and probably wasn't into guys anyway, despite his curiosity in Dean.

"Jesus, you look like someone ran over your dog," Jo threw an apron at him as he walked into the Roadhouse's back doors.

"I'm a cat person," he said over his shoulder. It was time to go to work, again. Anything to pay for Stanford tuition.

Dean tied his apron around his waist, dreading the fake smile he was about to put on. He'd rather lay in bed and mope about Castiel and jack off a few more times than necessary.

Then, by the grace of god, he saw one Castiel Novak sitting at his bar. He couldn't help the giant, genuine smile that spread across his face. Castiel was in relatively casual clothes, just jeans and a button up, but he still looked mouthwatering. His hair stuck up like he'd just rolled out of bed. He wondered if Castiel would look that way rolling out of Dean's bed.

Be cool, be cool. "Hey Mr. Novak!" he said, keeping his stride casual. Oh, Gabe was there too. "Mr. Novak," he nodded.

"Dean, my boy!" Gabe greeted him. "I see you have an apron there."

Honestly, Dean had forgotten where he was and what he was doing, but he focused himself. "Yeah, I work here on weekends." He glanced at Castiel and cleared his throat. Did that make him look broke as fuck? Would Castiel judge him?

Castiel cocked his head adorably. "Does the mail room not offer you adequate pay?" Shit, he did look like he was broke as fuck.

"No, nothing like that," he said quickly. "I'm just paying for my brother's tuition, and it's kind of expensive." Like only-enough-left-over-for-studio-apartment-and-ramen expensive.

"Stanford is one of the best schools in the nation," Castiel nodded. Dean blinked a few times. Castiel remembered. "It makes sense that it would be expensive."

Gabe looked like he was going to say something, but Dean changed the subject. "So, what are y'all drinking?"

"Mudslide for myself and whiskey for the bro," Gabe gestured to their nearly-drained drinks.

Dean grinned. He should have expected that, Gabe was always eating something sweet. "Jo calls those heart attacks in a cup." Jo was also peeking out from the kitchen door, making thumbs up at him whenever he glanced her way.

"I know," Gabriel grinned. "She's pretty, isn't she, Dean?"

Dean glanced back over at Jo, who was now wiggling her eyebrows. He could not see those two together. It would be like 24/7 fight night. "Yeah, she is, but you might want to steer clear of her. She's like my little sister."

Castiel looked relieved, like he was thinking the same thing. But he immediately stiffened back up when Gabe said, "What, am I too old for her?"

Dean glanced at Castiel. The guy could be a thousand and Dean would still have the same thoughts running through his head. "'Course not," he set the glass in front of Castiel. "She'd just eat you alive, I'm doing you a favor here."

His hands tapped nervously on the bar. He wanted to say something else, but Rufus motioned to him from the other end of the bar. With one last smile to the Novak brothers, Dean left.

Without asking, he poured Rufus' Johnny Walker Blue, as per usual.

"What's eatin' you, kid?" Rufus asked, sipping his favorite drink. "You got some boy troubles?" He could always tell.

Dean rubbed the back of his neck, grateful that Bobby's best friend had accepted him so quickly. "Not really. Maybe. I don't know," Dean sighed. "it's complicated."

"Then uncomplicated it," Rufus insisted. "You deserve a little happy."

Dean glanced over to the other side of the bar, but the Novaks were gone. Movement at the door drew Dean's eye, and he saw Castiel's blue eyes in the distance, giving him a strange, unreadable look. He nodded, and was out the door.

"Maybe next time." Dean gave Rufus a little half smile and walked over to clean up the bar. Castiel's cups had been neatly stacked and the bar around them had been wiped down. Luckily Gabe's mudslide site wasn't a wreck, but Dean grabbed a rag anyway.

"Where'd he go?" Jo popped up behind Dean.

A twinge of pain ran through the Winchester's chest. "I don't know," he mumbled.

"But y'all were hitting it off!" she pouted, taking the rag from Dean's hands.

"We weren't hitting it off," he snapped. "He's my boss. He doesn't want—" Dean stopped. "He's a nice guy, but he's my boss. We're just professional."

He expected a sassy answer from Jo, but she stayed quiet as she cleaned some glasses. For once, he was grateful for her silence. He didn't want to think about the things he didn't deserve.

A/N: Jo has an opinion. What's your opinion? Reviews are love!