"Wait. Are you telling me you still haven't slept with him?"

"Nope. Not yet." She pottered around the kitchen in the early morning light, yawning and stretching while Cas dried his hair with a towel, little tendrils of steam still rising off his body, the shower being considerably warmer than their cold little apartment.

Cas shook his head incredulously. "Well this must be some kind of record. I'd have expected you to have moved on by now. Its been, what? Three weeks?"

Meg nodded and turned away to make coffee.

He was right of course.

Usually she dated someone, slept with them three or four times and then it was all over within ten days or so.

This time though…..

There was something about Dean that compelled her to wait. Maybe it was because he never hassled her, didn't whine and cajole her into coming back to his for sex, and it wasn't as if he didn't want to. What he couldn't help pressing against her made that more than obvious, but he let her lead.

When she drew back he stopped.

He didn't question it, didn't pout, didn't push the point. He'd offer one last kiss before seeing her home, or before leaving.

Perhaps she was hooked on this gentlemanly side of him, perhaps she was afraid that when she finally slept with him then it would be over.

But she couldn't deny, she genuinely enjoyed spending time with him.

"You ok?" Cas slipped his arms around her waist and held her from behind.

"Yeah." She shook her head a little, as though trying to clear it, then turned around and wrapped her arms around Cas's neck, kissing him softly. "Yeah I'm fine."

He smiled uncertainly, then licked his lips. "You taste of coffee."

"I do?"

He kissed her again and Meg felt all the strangeness fall away.

It was the two of them.

Meg and Cas against the world.

She really should just get Dean Winchester out of her system.

"I can't believe you made me come over and watch this."

Meg frowned at him. "What? I love this show, you wanted a date tonight …. Its called compromise." She ginned at him wickedly.

Dean laughed and kissed the top of her head.

It was nice, sitting here on this sofa, just watching TV and eating snacks. It had been a long time since he'd felt so relaxed, so at peace.

Tv.

Snacks.

Girl by his side.

He'd be lying if he said he wasn't desperate to actually take this thing they had a step further.

God he'd like nothing more than to actually strip away not just her clothing, but the barrier she had up against everyone, the second skin she wore like armour to protect herself.

He wanted to push his fingers through that skin and feel the yielding flesh beneath.

Or something like that.

Dean thought about it a lot.

He thought about it in the increasingly extended showers he took and in the dark watches of the night when he could still smell her hair on his fingers and there was nothing to do but imagine her smile and her lips and her eyes while his right hand did a piss poor job of being a substitute for her.

Apart from the frustration, he was happier than he'd been for a long time.

The key in the door made then both turn as Cas walked in.

"Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't know you'd be here tonight." He fiddled with his keys awkwardly then seemed to make a decision. "I'll just change then I'll go out again."

"No." Dean felt Meg stiffen against him slightly as she spoke, felt her hand involuntarily tighten on his. "Cas. Stay. We don't mind, do we?" She turned quickly to Dean, her face a little pained.

"Course not." He put on his most genuine smile and aimed it at Cas, who, to his surprise, seemed to sigh a little, relax. "We're just watching some TV."

After a moments hesitation, Cas joined them. Carefully, he slid onto the sofa next to Meg, then wrinkled his nose. "We're watching this?"

Meg elbowed him hard enough to push him against the arm of the sofa. "Oh my God! Everyone's a critic!"

Dean stayed on to watch the movie that came on after her show.

Half way through he noticed Meg had fallen asleep. She'd quietly slipped down so that she was now lying with her head in Cas's lap, although she still had her hand in Deans.

He glanced across at Cas and smiled nervously.

"I guess I should go." He whispered.

Cas shrugged. "If you're gonna leave every time she falls asleep during a movie, you're gonna miss a lot of movies."

Then he smiled. It crept across his face and just like that, they'd shared this tiny moment, found this thing in common, found the sleeping girl between them amusing.

"She did nod off at the movies last week."

"Every damn time." Chuckled Cas. He looked down and gently stroked her dark hair.

Dean found himself running the pad of his thumb back and forth across Megs palm, resting his other hand on her leg.

It was strange, the peace he felt, grounded by her limbs, her warmth, the slow breath from her parted lips.

But it was more than that. More than her.

"You know, she's like this little demon child." Said Cas quietly, his fingers still working through her hair. "It's like she's desperate for something, so desperate that she'll do whatever it takes to get it, something more than me, but she doesn't know what yet, so she drifts and tastes and never settles down."

Dean felt something shift in his chest.

It wasn't quite guilt, but it wasn't far off.

"If you're not ok with this, with Meg and I, I'll stop seeing her. I don't want anyone hurt."

Cas glanced over at him and smiled sadly. "If it wasn't you it would be someone else. Besides, I don't dislike you."

Dean chuckled and raised an eyebrow in amusement. "You don't dislike me?"

Cas blushed a little and looked back down at Meg, the corner of his mouth sliding upwards.

"I meant, if she was seeing anyone I'd rather it was you. Someone who treats her good, gets her. Doesn't treat her like…." He trailed off and shrugged.

It wasn't hard to see how in love with her Cas was, but Dean couldn't deny that he was heading the same way. It was crazy, only a few weeks and not so much as one night together, but she'd drawn him in and, yes, he could understand how Cas felt, how a person could get to the stage where they would do anything for her.

"Look. We were gonna head to a movie tomorrow, after Megs shift. Why don't you join us?"

Cas frowned and pressed his lips together thoughtfully. "I'm not sure…"

"It'll be fun! We can hook up an hour before and have a beer or two while we wait. I know Meg would want you there too."

Dean remembered their first meeting, how Cas's eye's had scared him a little, how the blue had been cold and steely, but now, when he turned to face him, he saw nothing but softness there. A little confusion and a tiny flicker of gratitude.

He smiled then looked away.

"I'd like that."

Napping on the sofa was always nice.

Meg was hovering between deep sleep and wakefulness, her body warm and heavy. She could feel Cas stroking her hair, could feel Deans hand in hers, could hear the low rumble of them talking above her, even though she didn't really comprehend what they were saying.

There was this radiating, glowing heat in her chest, this strong understanding that at last, she'd found it.

She knew what she wanted.