Dean was glad that Castiel stayed with them for longer than just dinner – he spent several days with them as they travelled around, looking for their next hunt – though he could have done without the disapproving stares from him whenever Sam changed the dressings on his back for him.

They were in between hunts as well, so it was good for them to be able to just relax for a couple of days. Not that they didn't look for another hunt, but being able to take a day or two here and there to recharge their batteries and watch a bit of TV (that wasn't cheap motel porn) was nice.

"Sam!" Dean called from the fridge on their third day without so much as a hint of another hunt.

"What?" Sam didn't even look up from his laptop screen as he shouted back at his brother, despite the fact there was barely ten feet between them.

"We're out of pie, there's hardly any beer left, and I don't know about you, but I don't fancy mouldy whatever-the-hell-that-is for dinner tonight."

"So go out and grab some food. The store's just on the other side of the town."

"You go out and get it."

"Dean, I always go and get the food."

"Exactly! It's, like, your job!"

"Along with researching, and being expected to know everything about angels when there's one we can actually ask—"

"Sam!" Dean cut him off with a warning glare, eager for him to shut up. He did not want Cas knowing that he asks Sam to look up stuff about angels behind his back.

"Dean, you know you can ask me anything you need to know about angels," Castiel said quietly, tearing his gaze away from the television to shoot Dean a disappointed look that made his stomach clench with guilt.

Dean stared at Cas, not knowing what to say. Yeah, or I know just weren't going to cut it because Cas would then think there was a reason Dean wasn't talking to him about it – which there was – but it was a very good reason, and he didn't want Castiel to know about it because really it was pathetic and made him feel like a twelve-year-old girl, which was an even better reason not to explain himself to Cas.

He settled for, "Uh..." as he looked desperately at Sam.

"Dean, just take your turn at getting food," he sighed, reaching into his pocket and flinging his wallet at Dean. "I'll even pay, just... Get out of here. You're going stir crazy doing nothing."

"Bitch," Dean said as he swiped a handful of bills before tossing the wallet back at his brother.

"Jerk," Sam said, rolling his eyes when he saw just how much Dean had taken. "I didn't mean for you to take tonight's drinking money out of here as well!"

Dean flashed him a cocky grin but said nothing as flung his jacket on and moved towards the door.

"You coming, Cas?"

"If you require me to."

"Cas, I don't need you. I'd like you to, but if you want to stay here with Sam that's fine too. 'S up to you."

"I think I'd like the opportunity to 'stretch my wings', as they say," he smiled.

"Oh yeah?" Dean asked him. "As who say?"

"I think he's paraphrasing the saying—"

"Do I look like an idiot to you Sam?" Dean growled. "God, can't a man make a joke..."

"I think Cas was the one making a joke."

Dean clenched the Impala keys in his fist so tight that it started to hurt. "If you're coming let's get out of here, Cas." Then he strode out the door and across the car park without even waiting to see if Cas was following him.

He could feel some of the tension in his shoulders ebb as his baby roared to life, and the tyres crunched the gravel in the parking lot as he pulled away. A second later there was a rustle of feathers and Castiel had joined him.

"I believe it's polite to wait for me to get in the car before driving away," he mused as he stared out of the side window at the passing scenery.

"Yeah, well, Sam was right – I am going crazy being stuck in there all day."

"I also believe you owe Sam an apology. You were rather rude to him."

"I am not apologising to him," Dean said gruffly. He knew he sounded like a stubborn, petulant child, but he'd be damned before he apologised for trying to be light-hearted. Hell, even a little flirtatious— No! Not flirtatious. Definitely not flirtatious! He gripped the steering wheel tighter until his knuckles turned white, and only then did he relax his grip slightly – but just enough that Castiel wouldn't question him about it.

Castiel huffed. "You apologise to me easily enough – why should Sam be any different?"

"Because he's my pain in the ass little brother, that's why."

"You said you viewed me as a second younger brother, once. I was offended, then, because I am so much older than you will ever know, but now I am honoured that you would consider me family. Has that changed?"

Dean's knuckled turned white again. That was true – he had said that, once upon a time. When had he stopped seeing Cas as family? As someone that he needed to take care of? Cas still wasn't just Cas – he hadn't been just Cas in a long time – but he was something else, now. Cas was right – things had changed somewhere along the line.

"Cas, you're still family," he assured him, even though he wasn't sure that Cas would believe him.

"But not as much as Sam is to you," the angel finished.

"Now you listen to me," Dean said, glaring at him sternly. "Family doesn't end with blood."

Castiel straightened slightly. "Wise words," he stated.

"They should be," Dean said gruffly. "It was something Bobby said to me. Long time ago."

"He was a good man."

"The best," Dean agreed as he pulled into the parking lot at the store.

The wandered around the shop in silence, and Dean was aware of Castiel's eyes on him as he browed through the shelves and chucked a lot of things in the basket. He knew Castiel wasn't interested in shopping, but that didn't mean he wasn't allowed to at least look interested!

"Cas, would you at least try to look like you're shopping?"

"But you are shopping."

"Browse, damn it!"

He suppressed a laugh as the angel tried to casually consider the products on display, for there was nothing casual about the intensity of his stare, and once he was sure Castiel wasn't looking swiped the latest edition of Busty Asian Beauties off the stand. If he'd been with Sam he'd have waved it in his brother's face, but with Castiel being an angel he always felt like he should be protecting the guy's integrity or something.

"Dean, you could have just said, 'Don't look at me while I put this iniquitous magazine in my basket', for that would have been a lot more subtle than you staring at me while trying your best not to look like you're obviously smuggling something you're ashamed of into the basket."

Dean felt his cheeks flush. "I... I'm not ashamed!" he shouted, wincing as he became aware of several pairs of eyes turn to him. "It's a guy's magazine. Filled with girls. That I like!" he growled, slightly quieter this time, and stomped over to the cashier. After a second thought he grabbed a packet of sweets as well, ignoring the speculative look that the girl at the till gave him.

And Castiel was suddenly right there again, breathing down his neck.

"You seem to like those," he commented. "They look nice. But why do you feel the need to hide your liking for them?"

Dean grabbed another packet. "Fine, I'll get you some," he grumbled, very deliberately ignoring Castiel's question.

But later that night Castiel asked Sam why Dean hid the fact that he liked the sweets, showing him the packet Dean – or rather Sam – had bought for him, and Sam laughed as he explained that they were typically bought by young girls.

"Shut it, Sam!" Dean yelled from the bathroom.

He was answered with just more laughter. Damn it! He wasn't going to talk to either of them for the rest of the day.


Castiel wasn't exactly sure why Dean appeared to be upset with them. Sam assured him that Dean was just being Dean, and he'd be back to his usual bitchy self soon. That prompted a muttered, "Jerk!" from Dean, and Sam grinned.

"See? He'll get over it."

But get over what, Castiel still had no idea. So what if the sweets Dean liked to eat were meant for small girls? They were quite tasty (except for the nasty purple ones – he had learned quickly that those were to be read and then dropped in the bin) and some of the messages made him smile.

One had told him, You're gorgeous, and he's politely told it thank you before he ate it. Dean had laughed at that, but when he and Sam had looked over it had was hastily (and badly) disguised as a coughing fit. However Castiel was pleased that Dean did, indeed, seem to be remaining silent as a result of his stubbornness, so he was appeased somewhat.

Nevertheless, Dean's refusal to talk made deciding on their next hunt rather difficult. Every time Sam said, "Get this," and began to describe another string of strange incidents, Dean merely grunted. So in the end he helped Sam perfect his pronunciation for some basic Enochian spells that he thought the brothers may benefit from knowing, which resulted in an oddly jealous look from Dean before he refocused his attention on the football game – though he kept casting surreptitious, suspicious glances across at them from time to time.

The messages on the sweets made him smile (though he didn't understand the one that read Stud Muffin), and Dean liked the sweets, so maybe he could find one that would make Dean smile?

He ate his way through the whole packet, but nothing jumped out at him. Castiel excused himself, before flying back to the shop they'd visited earlier. It was so much quicker to fly, and the long car journeys bored him, but he liked Dean's company so he accepted them as a necessary evil. He bought as many packets as he could (which wasn't many) with the spare change that had lain, unneeded until now, in the coat pocket since the night Jimmy had walked out of his front door and invited Castiel into his body.