(The next year)

Dean was about half way through his senior year when he was accepted to the university that was only about half an hour away from home. He had gone back and forth for a while about going to a community college or a university and decided to go for the whole college experience of living in a dorm and partying on campus.

The college would also allow Dean to have Castiel come and live with him. Angels were usually common on college campuses but not all of them would allow the students to have them board with them as well.

Dean was surprised by how much he was actually looking forward to college. He had never liked school too much, but he could feel that this would be different. He and Castiel were talking about it one night while he did his homework.

"Teachers in high school try so hard to scare us about how hard college will be, but some of my friends with older siblings said that it's all bullshit. Unless you're trying to be a doctor or a scientist or something, it's almost easier than high school."

You really believe that?

"Yeah. We'll get more freedom, longer deadlines for assignments, classes that are so big that the teacher won't know whether we're there or not, and parties everywhere. I'm really excited for this." He only had a few months left of high school and he was ready to move on.

I can tell. Dean's wide grin made Castiel smile. He felt a little bittersweet about the idea of leaving for college. He liked the idea of having more time to spend with Dean, but he would miss his time with the rest of the family and the comfort he'd had in this house.

"I'm sure there will be a lot of other angels there too. You'll have a chance to meet and get to know more of your kind."

Maybe. He hadn't had a lot of experience with other angels. He didn't know how he'd feel about interacting with others.

"I just wish it didn't cost so much. I've applied for a few scholarships, but it's not like I'm top of my class so I'm not holding my breath."

You never know. You have to at least try, right?

"Right. I've been picking up more hours at work too so I can save a little more." Dean knew he'd have to take out loans, but he wanted to avoid any that were too high.

Dean turned back to his science homework and continued writing out the answers to the chapter questions he had to turn in tomorrow.

Once he was done with that, he and Castiel started playing Mario Kart. They were sitting on the edge of Dean's bed. This was one game that made Castiel competitive and more animated than Dean had ever seen.

"Dammit!" Dean exclaimed as Castiel used a lightning bolt on the other racers in the game. The angel had a good lead now.

A few curses later, Castiel won first place. He raised his arms up in victory as they started the awards scene. Dean had gotten third.

"Shut up, Cas." Dean shoved him a little bit. The angel just laughed, nose scrunching up, as he kept himself balanced on the bed. "I'll get you on the next one."

Castiel shook his head and bumped Dean in the back with his wing. Dean returned the hit with another push. The angel raised his brows and shoved Dean in the shoulder. He'd seen him and Sam wrestle enough times now to know that this was what they did. Dean dropped his controller and used both his hands to push Castiel again.

That was how the match started. Soon Dean found himself bent over in a head lock from the angel, who was much stronger than he used to be.

"God, uncle!" Dean laughed as he held onto the angel's arm around his neck.

"Hey, Dean, can I borrow…" Sam had walked in without knocking and was surprised with the sight he found. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Hey, Sammy." Dean took a breath as Castiel let go and he stood up. "What do you need?"

"Uh, I don't remember." Sam looked between the both of them. Castiel had a hand on Dean's shoulder and his brother didn't seem to notice. "Never mind." He turned around and left.

"That was weird." Dean turned back to Castiel and saw his arm drop. "So, another round?" Dean pointed to the TV. Castiel nodded and they sat to play more. They ended up pretty even with the wins by the time they went to sleep.

It was Dean's graduation and he couldn't have been happier. High school hadn't been too great and he was ready to put it behind him. His family met with him after the ceremony.

"I'm so proud of you, honey." Mary hugged her son and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks, mom." He pulled back and was then hugged by John, who gave him a pat on the back before letting him go.

Castiel stepped up next and pulled Dean in for a tight hug. Dean let out a surprised huff but wrapped his arms around Castiel's waist under his wings. The angel held him for a long hug and wished that he could say how happy he was for Dean but he settled for the hug and squeezed Dean's shoulders.

Dean smiled as Castiel pulled away. Their hands clasped together briefly as their arms dropped. He was still looking at the angel when Mary spoke.

"Well, any parties going on tonight?" She figured Dean would want to celebrate with some friends tonight.

"No," he looked at his mom, "not that I know of." Honestly, Dean just didn't feel like going out. He wanted to stay home with his family.

Feel good to be free of high school? Castiel held up the marker board. They were in Dean's room trying to decide on a movie to watch.

"Yeah it does." Dean laughed as he shuffled through the movies. There wasn't one they hadn't watched a couple times already. "I'm just gonna have a crazy busy summer practically working full-time, but that's okay." Dean didn't mind working and he was doing it to raise money to use at college.

Will you still work on weekends once school starts again?

"Probably not. At least, not at first. I want to see how busy I am before I try to add a job on top of all my other work."

Sounds like a plan.

Dean sat on the edge of his bed with a sigh. "Cas, I need to ask you something." He patted the bed next to him.

Castiel sat next to him with a worried look. "We haven't really talked about this, but about you coming to college with me, do you even want to?" Castiel looked confused so Dean kept talking. "I mean, I just assumed and then made all these plans without even thinking about what you might want. If you wanted to stay here with the family, I would understand. I'm sure mom would like the help around the house and you've gotten comfortable here…" Dean paused to see what Castiel might think. The angel looked like he was thinking it over.

It hadn't even crossed Castiel's mind that he would stay behind while Dean was at college. He felt the best when Dean was around. It would be easier to stay here and Dean would visit often since the college was so close, but it would be hard to not see Dean everyday. He started writing his response.

"I don't want you to feel like you have to do anything, Cas. I'm sorry I didn't ask you about it earlier." Dean watched as he wrote a few lines on the marker board and took it when the angel handed it to him.

Dean, I'm always surprised by your concern for getting my consent. I'd never had anyone care about that before I met you. But you don't need to worry. You assumed correctly. I never even considered you going without me.

Dean laughed. "Okay then."

He handed the board back to Castiel and watched him erase it with his sleeve. He was really happy that Castiel wanted to come with him. Being alone when he started college wasn't something he was interested in.

"I'm glad you'll be with me, Cas." Dean reached out and put a hand on Castiel's shoulder.

The angel smiled and looked at Dean. He moved his hand up closer to Castiel's neck and squeezed gently. Castiel leaned over and bumped Dean's shoulder with his forehead. Dean hooked his arm around Castiel's neck and laughed.

"Now," Dean let Castiel go, "is there anything special you wanna watch? 'Cause we've seen all my DVDs at least once already." Castiel shook his head. "Okay."

Dean stood and picked one at random. They settled in to watch it.

"Dean, can I ask you something?" Sam had waited until Castiel went upstairs to shower. Sam was eating a dinner Dean had made for them while their parents went out together.

"Sure." Dean was flipping through the television channels, not really paying attention.

"What's up with you and Cas?"

"What are you talking about?" Dean hadn't looked away from the TV.

"I mean, you're always together, you always seem to be touching, and I've seen the way you look at each other…"

Dean sat forward and turned to Sam. "What are you trying to say?"

Sam shrugged, looking down at his food. "I don't know. It just seems like you're a lot closer than friends. There's nothing wrong with that. I'm just curious."

"You think Cas and I…we're friends, Sam." Dean didn't know why he would think differently. Sure he was probably closer to Castiel than anyone else, but it was nothing weird.

"If you say so." Sam tried to keep his smile down. He could see Dean questioning some things internally. "Does Cas see it that way?"

"What?"

"You may not know much about angels, Dean, but I've been reading up about them. Mostly about reading how they express things with their wings. They show more feeling that way than with anything else."

"So?" Dean never noticed his wings doing anything strange, but maybe he'd gotten too used to it.

"So, his wings are always pulled in tight and small when he's around most people. That means he doesn't feel fully safe or relaxed. When he's around you, they're open and hanging loose around him. I've even seen him brush you with them. That's supposed to be something that they only do with family or very close friends."

"Well, I'm glad you became such an angel expert."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Whatever. He just seems to have a lot of feelings for you and I don't want him to think it's something more and get hurt."

"It's not. Don't worry about it, Sam." Dean turned back to the TV.

"Okay." Sam wasn't convinced but he dropped it. Maybe he would try to talk to Castiel about it another time.

Dean shook his head as he finally decided on a channel to watch. Sam was crazy. Castiel was just a good friend. He was a part of the family and he cared about him a lot, but surely Castiel didn't feel anything more, right?

He was still thinking over this when Castiel came downstairs after his shower. His hair was still wet and he dropped onto the couch next to Dean. He smiled when Dean looked at him.

Dean returned the smile. He tried not to think about what Sam said, but he told himself that he would pay more attention to Castiel's wings and see if he could see what Sam was talking about.

Over the next week or so, Dean did notice how expressive Castiel was with his body language and wings. He had always noticed it to some degree, but he didn't pay much attention then. He was comfortable with most of the family but he was very different around Dean.

There were times when he would still hold Dean's hand or arm, he would usually sit close enough that they'd almost be touching, and did touch Dean with his wings often. All just like Sam had said. Dean still didn't read it as anything other than two friends that were close. He didn't think about it much again the rest of the summer.