AN: I decided to post this for you guys because I got a lot of reviews that made me happy and a ton of new followers. Forewarning: I know where to go next, but I am currently at a writer's block on how to get there. I'm really excited and happy about the reviews and follows!:) So thank each and every one of you and you are all awesome. If anyone is confused on who was shot in the last chapter; good! You weren't suppose to know until now. And without further ado...


A flash of orange and Cas moved in front of Dean as fast as he could.

Being an angel seemed to work out wonderfully in this case because it was fast enough. "Are you injured?" Castiel demanded.

Stepping forward, he wrapped his arms around Dean, his fingers curling in the human's hair. Dean clutched Castiel's trench, only to feel warm, wet cloth sliding into his fingers. He pulled his hand back, not wanting to see what he knew would be there – blood coated his digits. "Cas, you're-"

"-Wait here," the angel interrupted and disappeared. Before Dean could blink, he was back in front of him and guided the human inside. "There's no one in the house."

"You're bleeding." Dean replied, shutting the door behind them.

"It does not hurt. Are you injured?" Cas repeated as he took the gun and placed it in his coat pocket. Proceeding to Dean, he pushed him to sit on the couch.

Although he needn't sit Dean knew he couldn't win a strength match against an angel and complied. "I'm fine." Dean thought a moment. "You jumped in front of the bullet." For me. He finished in his head.

"It was logical," Cas answered in a factual tone as he dis-and-reappeared with a glass of water. He sat next to his husband, thrusting the cup into the Winchester's hands.

Dean took the water with a sigh. "This isn't the first time I've been shot at, Spock. I'm fine." He insisted.

"I endangered you, Dean." Cas snapped, angry at himself.

Has he gone mental?! "You are the one bleeding." Dean countered.

"You are a human and can die from these-" Castiel started frantically.

"-Castiel!" Dean tried to interrupt him, but it hardly worked.

The angel shot to his feet and stood directly in front of Dean, tilting the human's head up with both hands so they looked each other in the eyes. "I put your life in danger, Dean Winchester. Something I swore long ago to never do." He bent forward, now cupping Dean's face in his hands. "You are too important for me to lose." His voice was strong, although just above a whisper.

Utterly baffled and completely unaware of where this was going, Dean simply stared into the intense blue eyes that bore into his, mouth opened in shock.

"Ahem,"

Stumbling away from Cas, embarrassed, Dean coughed and cleared his throat. Kent stood there, a metal bat in his hands and a sly smile on his face. "Sorry, I thought I heard gun fire," he explained.

"Ye-"

"-Accidentally let off a firecracker." Dean said quickly, standing and feeling as though he was a teenager, awkward and caught doing something he shouldn't be red-handed.

That was the moment when Dean realized how exact and unyielding his feelings for Castiel were. "Are you two okay?" Kent asked, eying both of them.

Dean nodded shortly. Kent gave an awkward reply nod, "Alright, again, sorry," he motioned to the bat.

"Your worry for our safety is comforting." Cas replied. "Thank you."

The man said an embarrassed 'welcome' and 'goodbye' before shuffling out of the house.

"I'm going to grab a shower." Dean said, definitely not trying to avoid what had happened just moments before Mr. Jones had barged in. No. I don't avoid things like that. I'm more mature than that. Definitely. "Maybe hit the hay," he continued after a moment of silence.

Cas's head tilted to the side. "Is there a barn outside?"

A smile curved on his lips. "Metaphor for going to sleep," he explained with a tiny grin.

Nodding, Castiel began to front door. "I will secure the house."


After his shower, it was almost ten and Dean figured he should call his brother to tell him a threat had been officially made.

"Did anyone get hurt?"

Dean looked at his fingers, re-visualizing Novak's blood on them. "No," he replied. "But it's still nerve racking to know the bastard got in the house."

"Forced entry?" Sam asked.

Dean groaned, rubbing his hands on his face. "I didn't check."

There was a pause. A judgmental pause. "Really-"

"-Cas was worried and then Kent came over to see if we were okay and I had to shower because I smelled like a petting zoo-"

"-Petting zoo?"

Dean closed his eyes tightly, instantly regretting the words as soon as they left his mouth. "Never mind." The older brother muttered. "How close are you to catching this guy?"

"Well, I don't know – everyone checks out." Sam answered. "I could come over tomorrow and say hi to everyone."

Dean hesitated. "Does that mean we-"

"-Yes."

"-But-!"

"-Suck it up." Sam interrupted.

"I don't host things, Sammy." Dean replied.

A sound of annoyance fell from the phone. "You will tomorrow." Sam replied. "Go look for signs of forced entry. This could be our kind of weird."

"Yeah, yeah. Night, bitch,"

"Jerk." Sam replied; you could hear his smile through the phone.

Just as they hung up, a flutter, faint and soft, was heard before Cas appeared. "Why do you and your brother insult each other?"

Dean, hardly surprised by Cas's sudden appearance – or was he getting used to the angel being around? – shrugged. "It's like our way of showing affection."

Cas pondered a moment. "It seems unhealthy." Before Dean could think of a protest, Castiel spoke again. "I will be here with you while you are sleeping."

Dean opened and closed his mouth, unsure of what to say. Blunt honesty tends to work. "That's creepy." Cas didn't bother replying as he walked to the curtains and closed them. "I'm about to look for any signs of-"

"-Forced entry," Cas interrupted, still looking away from Dean. "I've already looked – three times. There is none. Sleep."

The light bulb flickered out and Dean wanted to object, but it was late and he had a lot of planning to do the next day, so he laid back and shut his eyes.


Surprisingly, it was a bit nerve-racking to try sleeping with an angel watching over you. Dean tossed and turned a bit, trying to make himself believe Castiel wasn't there. When he rolled over for the fourth time, Cas crossed his arms – as if insulted.

"Why are you not attempting slumber?" Dean, whose back was to the angel, glared at the wall before sitting up. "It's a tad awkward for me to sleep while you're staring at me, Cas."

There was a pause while the blue eyed man frowned pensively. "Should I make myself invisible?"

"No!" Dean shouted, his head falling in his hands. The last thing he needed was not knowing where Castiel was.

Another pause. "You have no problem sleeping with other women."

Dean flopped back on the bed. Is this where the conversation is going? Really? "That's different." He tried.

"How so?" Castiel persisted.

"Bec-"

"-Is it because I am a man?"

"No!" I said that too quickly.

"Or that you find those women more appealing physically and better sleeping partners?" Now Castiel's tone was more defensive.

"What?!" Dean replied.

"Although they sleep rather than look out for your safety." Cas huffed.

Shaking his head in disbelief, Dean looked over at the ridiculous angel. "Cas. No. It's because they're sleeping, not watching me."

Before Dean knew it, Cas was in the bed next to him, stiffly lying on his back. Face-palming, Dean let out a lofty sigh and turned to face away from his friend.

"Good night, Dean."

"Good night, Castiel."


When Dean had awoken the next day, he kept his eyes closed. He was having a dream, a good dream. A small smile pressed against his lips. He snuggled into his pillow, making that tiny morning noise that most do after a good night's rest.

That's not a pillow.

Opening his eyes suddenly, Dean didn't move in fear of what he might be lying on.

Cinnamon?

"Ah, you have awakened."

Dean sat up. Castiel's hand fell from where it had been on Dean's back and stretched a bit before sitting up as well.

"What the hell, Cas? You're the cuddling type?" He muttered. "You could have warned me."

A small smile formed on the angel's lips. "You mistake, Dean. I stayed still the entire night. It was you who cuddled me."

Dean wanted to oppose, but from the exact wrinkled lines on Castiel's clothes, it seemed he hadn't moved a muscle at all.

A tiny blush painted on Dean's cheeks, who turned away. "Ah, well…sorry. For what it's worth."

A hand rested on the human's shoulder before it was removed quietly. "It's okay, Dean. If you were troubling me, I would have woken you."

Before Dean could think about it, Cas was gone.


"Are you sure you want to come, Cas? It's going to be very boring and probably last five minutes."

Castiel, who was wearing his usual (Dean fixed his tie) smiled. "I enjoy talking to our neighbors." For some reason it really just sounded like 'I must make sure you are okay.'

Regardless, that was such an odd thing to say; one of them was a murdering homophobe. But Dean shrugged it off and two began, staring with their next door neighbors; the Jones's.

"Oh, hi Mr. and Mr. Novak," Rodger said, pulling his Beats down around his neck as he opened the door. "I'll go get my mom. Come in."

The 'couple' (or really couple now) stepping inside and stood by the front entrance. "Mom!"

"Kitchen!"

"Mr. and Mr. Novak are here!"

A few bustling sounds and Angela appeared. She had a flowery apron on and was wiping what Dean assumed was flour off her hands. "Need some sugar?" She asked.

Dean laughed, leaving Cas to answer the question. "Actually, we were hoping to invite you to our home tonight."

"Hope you didn't start dinner." Dean added, flashing her a grin.

She responded with a smile. "No! Just dessert. We'll bring it – it's apple pie."

Dean really did smile now. "I love pie."

"Great! Oh, where are my man-"

"-No, we have to go get ready." Dean interrupted. "You have most of the numbers around here, right? If it's not a burden, could you invited them over as well?"

Angela nodded. "Sure. I'll request small side dishes."

"Thanks. You're a doll."

They said their farewells and the Novak's piled into their car. "Where are we gong?" Castiel asked, shutting his door.

Dean started Baby up and was about to back out when Cas yelled at him to stop. "What?!" Dean shouted back, looking around and in the review mirror, hoping that if he almost ran over that brat David he could accidentally let his foot slip again.

Seeing no immediate signs of life threatening catastrophes, Dean now looked over at the angel incredulously. Cas spoke; "Put on your seatbelt."

A 'what the fuck' look crossed Dean's eyes. "Serious-" He cut himself off. "Never mind. Never mind."

He reached over and buckled in. "What abut you?"

Scoffing, Cas turned to front again. "I do not need one. I am an angel."

Dean glared, the exact opposite of okay with this statement. He unbuckled and leaned over. "What are you do-" Castiel asked, but was cut off as Dean grabbed Cas's seatbelt. "Stop!" Cas yelled.

He began to protest, but Dean was too quick and held the angel down, fighting the safety belt across his husband's chest. "Hold still, Cas!" He growled.

"No!"

"Hold – still!"

The blue eyed man started to fight harder against Dean, who dropped the belt to grab Castiel's wrists. After man-handling them into one palm, Dean forced Cas's hands down, pinning them down against his own thigh. The Winchester maneuvered the buckle in the clasp.

It clicked after a moment of struggling between the two. Dean went back to his own chair, letting Castiel's hands go.

As Dean put Baby into reverse, Cas slowly moved his hands toward the buckle. Dean, who saw this, let the car roll, but then slammed on the breaks, making Cas's body lurch forward. "Don't. You. Dare." Dean explained simply, turning to look at him.

Cas sheepishly placed his hands in his lap. "Alright. Let's go… Where again?"

"Store. Hamburgers, hot dogs, seasoning and I think it's time I teach you how to grill."

The drive was silent enough. Dean played a mix tape of GNR, KISS, The Who, Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones softly for background noise. It was more of the softer things and right now Don't Cry by Guns N' Roses trickled through the speakers.

"What is Axel Rose singing about?" Castiel asked, speaking up for the first time since the safety belt debacle.

Dean looked over at the blue eyes that were staring at the stereo with a more-then-pensive gaze. "I didn't know you knew who Axel Rose was." The human said instead.

Cas nodded. "He was quite popular for some time."

A sarcastic chuckle left Dean's lips. "Maybe a little."

"But what is it he is singing about?" The angel repeated. "There is a Heaven, however whatever that does with attempting to make someone happy is-"

"-I think Heaven was seen differently."

A pause followed as Dean pulled into the supermarket. He switched the tapes for something a tad happier for when they rode home.


"May we buy these cookies?" Castiel asked as they walked by a case. "Oh, and this bread! What about fruit?"

"God help me," Dean groaned. Taking Castiel to the store turned out to be the exact same as taking a child to the supermarket. "Cas, c'mon!"

The angel walked over with a box of Triscuits. Dean wanted to glare at he slowly placed the box in the basket. "Please stay in a three foot radius of me." He said, not bothering to take the box out.

Castiel nodded, walking next to Dean as they moved slowly between aisles. "We should buy these," the angel piped up, appearing at Dean's side.

Dean, who was looking at the plastic plates and cups suddenly realized how backwards this all was – Dean got stuck with the role of the adult. His thoughts were only confirmed as he looked over to see Castiel holding up a bag of water balloons. "Sure," he said, changing it up for the time being.

Cas's eyes lit up. "Thank you, Dean!" He beamed. Instead of putting the item in the cart, Cas held onto them throughout the entire store, commenting and asking questions the entire way. "The correct way to play is to fill them up with water and throw them at people, right?"

"Yep." Dean replied.

"Does it hurt?"

Shaking his head, Dean turned to look at the angel as he began to put everything on the counter to check out. "Mostly they bounce off you and pop in the grass."

Picking up the next thing, Dean was about to put it up when he realized what he was holding. Turning slowly to look at Castiel, Dean's glare could have leveled a small town. "Cas."

The man who was looking happily at the bag of balloons looked up at his friend. He paled as Dean was holding the only item Cas managed to sneak into the cart. "What are these?" he asked.

Cas froze, wanted to shrug, but it came out as more of a twitch. "I thought maybe I would need some."

"Cas these are tampons! You do not need these! Go put them back and then get your ass back here." He demanded, shoving the box of feminine products to the angel. "Unbelievable," he muttered, as he walked over to play the cashier.

The teenager wasn't laughing at the situation as he took the credit card from Dean. "My brother goes through phases like that," he offered instead.


A few hours later, Dean was wearing an apron that said, 'Kiss the Cook' and had a pair of red lips painted on it. Castiel was wearing a chef's hat, although it caved in and sat lopsided on his head. He had barbeque sauce on his cheek was standing next to Dean, who was flipping some burgers.

"Do you think they'll like it?" Castiel asked. Dean turned to face his friend, who was only a couple of inches from his nose

"Yes," Dean answered, putting the tongs down. He used the edge of his apron to wipe off the smug.

Cas's hand touched his just cleaned cheeks. "Thank you."

"No problem," he answered, narrowing his eyes at a small spot on his chin. This time, Dean used to thumb, then absentmindedly licked the sauce off the pad of his digit. Flicking his eyes up, they met Castiel's, uncertain of what will happen from the accidental flirting. Just as Cas opened his mouth to say something, Dean stepped back from his husband and looked past his shoulder.

"Hey guys, I'm glad you could make it!"

While Dean greeted and explained the 'Novak-Open-Door-Policy,' Cas closed his eyes, trying to regain his composure. For some reason, as the human wiped his face and cleaned his finger – innocently – Cas had trouble functioning for a moment. His first thoughts sped to a faulty vessel. Although James Novak did not show the physical altercations of being unable to bare the angel, Castiel could hardly thing of another explanation. He remembered having this feeling two other times. Once was when he and the human stood in close proximity to each other at the zoo and the other was just this previous night.

Cas had lied about staying still the entire night. About twelve, Castiel brushed their fingers together, enjoying the feeling of Dean's rough hands under his. Very carefully, Cas worked to thread their fingers together. Eventually they were holding hands, and the angel was happy to hypnotically move his thumb over a patch of the hunter's skin.

Suddenly, Dean stirred and Cas's movements halted. Without much warning, Dean slowly rolled over. He tucked his head under Castiel's chin, one hand spread against the angel's chest. A faint smile curved Cas's lips and he began to trace his thumb in the same circle, on their still-clasped hands. Even now, just from the memory, Castiel could feel a smile on his face as he slowly returned to the here and now.

"Cas?" Dean asked quietly, removing the hat from his head. "You getting Angel Calls or something?"

Shaking his head, Cas looked over at worried eyes. "Sorry, I was…some place else."

"Well I'm glad you're back. Sam's going to be a tad late and I can't face this mob by myself."

There was a friendly clatter behind them as the families settled to their chair and benches. It was hardly a mob, but Cas didn't say anything about it. Instead he smiled, and linked their fingers together. "You can tame a mob by feeding them, correct?"


COMING UP:

If you're married to someone...well, shouldn't you have rings? Will Castiel ever get to use those water balloons? Where the heck is Sammy?! Who do you guys think is the murderer?


AN: So sorry about all the grammatical/tense/spelling errors. I went through and edited it really nicely, but then when I clicked the save button, my computer trolled me and ultimately I had to go over it and you can only read something so many times through before all the words mash together.

Tell me what you liked and if you think I have the characters still...IN character, please!

~The Plutomite