"Oi, Dean. Dean."

Dean felt a hand shaking him, and grunted quietly. "What?"

"Babe, get up, we've been caught." A different voice said those words, quiet and exasperated.

Dean opened his eyes and took in the sight of his brother standing over him and Cas sleeping together on the sofa. Dean scrambled to sit up, much to Sam's amusement.

"Wha-we just fell asleep," Dean sputtered indignantly. "The fuck, Sam?"

Cas sighed. "You have the dirtiest mouth I have ever had the misfortune of hearing, Dean."

Dean grinned and kissed Cas's cheek.

"Dean," Cas groaned as he sat up to meet his boyfriend's lips. "Dean, come on."

Sam crossed his arms. "No PDA in front of me please."

Dean stuck out his tongue and kissed Cas again.

"Dean, c'mon I'm hungry," Cas laughed as Dean pressed kisses to Cas's jaw.

"But-" Dean whined.

"Food," Cas interrupted, hauling Dean to his feet, "is more important."

qllp

Cas slept in the spare bedroom, connected to Dean's by a bathroom. He could barely sleep, and when he did, he was plagued by nightmares about his father and the beatings he endured. Cas woke up, tears staining his face and a cold sweat covering his body. The next thing he knew, he was hurling into the toilet. He felt warm hands rubbing his back.

"Take it easy, Cas." That was Dean's voice.

Cas coughed and reached up to flush the toilet. "Fuck."

"You okay?" Dean seemed concerned.

"Ye-no, not really," Cas sighed as he rested his head on Dean's chest.. "I-I don't want to talk about it."

"You sure?"

Cas closed his eyes. "Mhm."

Dean let Cas fall asleep on top of him before carrying him back to Cas's room and putting him back in his bed.

qllp

"How'd you sleep?" Dean asked the next morning.

Cas shrugged listlessly, yawning.

"That sounds like 'not well'" Dean raised his eyebrows. "You sure you're okay?"

Cas nodded, and sighed. "I'm fine, Dean. Really."

Dean looked like he wanted to argue, but a glare from Cas had him dropping the subject.

"Well, we have nothing to do today. We can...I don't know, what do you want to do?"

"Well, Jess and I are going to the park. You guys can come with," Sam offered, walking in.

Cas shook his head. "I'm good."

"Maybe we'll come see you later," Dean added, taking a bite of his toast. He frowned at Cas. "You need to eat, you know."

Cas had barely touched his food. "What? Oh. Yeah," he said.

Sam shot a look at Dean, one of confusion and worry. Dean subtly gestured for Sam to leave. Sam left the kitchen with a hurried goodbye and a final glance at Cas. Once Sam left, Dean got up and sat on Cas's lap.

"Hello," Cas said, bewildered.

Dean pressed his forehead to Cas's.

"Hello," he said, and softly kissed Cas who hummed contentedly.

"What was that for?" Cas asked when they broke apart.

"To get you to talk to me," Dean teased before becoming serious. "Cas, what's wrong? You've had nightmares and…"

Cas gulped. "I can't talk about it."

Dean sighed, cupping Cas's face in his hands. "I'm not getting up until you talk."

Cas squirmed in his seat and took a deep breath.

"It's not terrible. It's probably to be expected. It's...I keep dreaming about my dad. Especially this one time…he almost killed me, Dean."

When Cas looked up, his blue eyes where shimmering with tears.

"He what?" Dean's face was a mixture of indignation and anxiety.

"I...forgot that he was coming home early, and...I basically fucked up. I fucked up, and he smashed a beer bottle over my head before giving me the worst lashing he ever gave me. I had to get stitches and stay in the hospital for a week or so."

"Babe…" Dean seemed at a loss for words as he hugged Cas tightly. "He can't touch you here, you know that, right? You're safe here."

Cas took a shaky breath before offering a tentative grin. Dean got off of Cas's lap and lifted Cas into his arms.

"Dean, what the shit?" Cas asked as Dean carried him into the car. "Where are we going?"

"First, to see Gabe. Then, we're gonna go meet Sam and Jess in the park, yeah?"

"Sure," Cas grinned, kissing Dean gently.

Fuck, I can't write. I don't want to let y'all down, but I might take a break just to gather myself mentally. Sorry :(