"Hello, Castiel." Michael said.
"Hello, Michael." Cas greeted him.
"It's nice to see you've stopped drinking. That was an absolute mess." Michael stated.
"I am well aware." Cas replied. "It was a mistake I will never make again."
"I'm sure you won't. You've always been the brightest brother." Michael responded. "Besides me, of course."
"Thank you. Was there a specific matter on your mind that prevailed you to call me?" Cas asked.
"I just wanted to check up on how you're doing. We haven't talked in a while." Michael answered. "How are you doing?"
"I'm doing just fine." Cas lied.
"How's Anastasia doing?" Michael continued.
"She's doing well and looking beautiful as ever." Cas smiled.
"It's nice to see you've finally found true love instead of Dean." Michael grinned. "Speaking of, have you visited him during your stay?"
"Of course not." Cas laughed. "I've moved on from him. The stupid, poor, waste of space."
"That's a very accurate description of him." Michael grinned.
"I had firsthand experience." Cas smirked.
"Are you planning on starting college there?" Michael asked.
"I am planning on it eventually. I believe I just need some time to adjust to being back here and being back in the old house." Cas stated.
"Well that's good. It warms my heart to know that you've grown up and realized your priorities." Michael said.
"I don't know how I was so foolish as to think I was in love with Dean." Cas retorted as a knocking came from his door.
"Are you expecting company?" Michael asked.
"No. I don't think so. I'll have to end this here so I can go see who it is. But I'll talk to you soon." Cas smiled.
"Good day, Castiel." Michael nodded, ending the Skype.
"Cas!" Dean called. "I know you're in there."
"Go away." Cas ordered.
"Cas..." Dean sighed. "Can we just talk?"
"No." Cas snapped.
"Well, you're just going to have to listen to me then." Dean stated
"I'll put my headphones on and you'll be talking to a door." Cas said.
"I'm fine with that. As long as it's your door. Because then it'll tell you what I said later." Dean smiled.
"Well talk to the door all you like because I'm not listening." Cas scowled.
"Okay then." Dean replied. "Hey, door. I know you're probably kind of busy nowadays, opening and closing all the time. It's hard work. I get it, but you think you could pass Cas a message for me? 'Cause if you can, that'd just be great."
Dean heard quiet laughter coming from inside the room.
"So, can you talk to him for me?" Dean asked. "Tell him that I'm sorry for all the shit that happened yesterday and I didn't mean a word of it. Not a single word. And I just hate when he's upset because I can't stand seeing him in pain, especially if I caused it, which I never wanted to do. And tell Cas that I want him back. Oh God do I want him back. But the only reason I won't take him is because I don't want him getting hurt. He's in love with a very powerful person and I wouldn't want to risk her getting upset with him. In the end, it's not about me. It's all about him. Because besides Sam, Cas's the closet thing I got to family. And I don't want to lose him."
Cas's door unlocked and opened up, just to reveal Cas's face. "Really?"
"Really." Dean smiled.
Cas pushed the door open further and wrapped his arms around Dean tightly. "So you don't hate me?"
"Of course not." Dean laughed. "I love you. So much."
"I love you, too, Dean." Cas whispered.
"Platonically." Dean added.
"Not platonically." Cas replied.
"Platonically." Dean stated.
"Platonically?" Cas groaned.
"Platonically." Dean repeated, kissing Cas's temple.
"Fine." Cas sighed, smiling up at Dean.
Dean gently pushed Cas's arms down and back to his sides before taking Cas's wrist and leading him over to the bed. The both sat down at the foot of it.
"Six years." Dean laughed. "A lot can happen in six years. There's got to be more details than traveling."
"Not really." Cas shrugged.
"You sure?" Dean asked. "Didn't meet a president, have tea with the Queen, climb Mount Everest, get hitched? Nothing?"
"Well, I've met the president numerous times. He's an ass." Cas stated. "I've only met the Queen of England once, but I've met with Anastasia's parents – the king and queen of Romania – multiple times. As for getting married, of course not. Anastasia's just my girlfriend."
"You sure?" Dean teased.
"Yes, I'm sure. I recall how I spent the last six years of my life." Cas answered.
"You know I wouldn't care if you were married, right?" Dean said.
"That's a lie. You'd feel very hurt and betrayed, but would pretend you were fine with it." Cas stated.
"You know me too well." Dean snorted.
"Never the less, what kind of person would I be if I didn't invite my ex boyfriend, now best friend to my wedding?" Cas mused.
"A person I wouldn't hate." Dean replied.
"Are you trying to tell me something, Dean?' Cas asked. "Just go ahead and say it."
"Alright. I know Anastasia's your wife." Dean proclaimed.
"My what?" Cas scoffed.
"I mean, I've seen that ring on your finger for some time now." Dean explained.
"And you jump to the conclusion that we're married?" Cas laughed.
"Well, yeah. She's your girlfriend." Dean answered.
"Well this ring has nothing to do with her." Cas stated.
"It doesn't?" Dean raised an eyebrow at him.
"No! Of course not!" Cas exclaimed. "I would never marry her."
"Why bother being with her then?" Dean asked.
"I – I'm – It's complicated..." Cas looked away, shutting his eyes.
"Hey, hey, Cas." Dean gently cupped the side of Cas's face with one of his hands, waiting for Cas to open his eyes. "I'm sure you have your reason. Albeit a fucked up one knowing you, but hey, at leasts its a reason. Where did you get that ring though, then? It doesn't seem like the sort of thing that you would wear."
Dean picked up Cas's hand and observed the ring.
"It's sort of cheap and really worn obviously. No designs or anything. Definitely not the fancy shit you rich people wear." Dean muttered.
"Well, Dean. You know as well as anyone that I'm not exactly the typical rich person. I could care less about face value. I prefer value in the sentimental currency." Cas stated.
"Okay. I can live with that. So anyways, where'd you get it?" Dean asked.
"Some idiot I was in love with." Cas retorted.
"Oh." Dean mumbled. "Was it that easy for you to move on? I mean, how many girlfriends did you have?"
"Just the one. Just Annie." Cas answered. "And Dean, I never moved on from you. You're the one who gave me this ring."
"Cas." Dean laughed. "I sure as hell liked you, but I didn't put a ring on you."
Cas leaned in beside Dean and whispered in his ear. "There's a lot of things you can do with a spoon, Dean."
Dean instantly grabbed Cas's shoulders and pushed him out away from him. "You're kidding me! Tell me you're kidding!"
"Nope." Cas smiled. "So technically you did like me and put a ring on me."
"You're a...a...a son of a bitch!" Dean exclaimed. "This whole time you were wearing a fucking spoon and I thought you were married..."
"You can't blame me for that." Cas stated. "You made your own assumptions."
"I can blame you if I want." Dean laughed.
"It won't get you anywhere." Cas replied.
"Who said I wanted to go anywhere with that?" Dean smirked.
"You are so immature sometimes that I almost confuse you with Gabriel." Cas chuckled.
"Oh. Whatever happened to Gabriel since you guys left?" Dean asked.
"Do you have your phone on you?" Cas responded.
"Yeah. Why?" Dean pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to Cas.
"Because..." Cas fiddled with Dean's phone for a bit. "He is currently 'on the run' you could say from Michael. Occasionally, he'll call me and check up on me, but that's very rare. Last I checked, he was living Busty Asian Beauties. He was frolicking about Asia, being all sorts of promiscuous."
"So what exactly was that with my phone, if I may ask?"
Cas continued scrolling down Dean's phone. "I programmed Gabriel's emergency phone number into there in case you ever need to contact him. It's only to be used in very important situations. Wait. Why the hell do you have every Pizza Hut in Chicago programmed into your contacts?"
"I get hungry. Sue me." Dean shrugged. "You never know when you're going to want a pizza on the go."
"I almost forgot how hungry you get." Cas mused, handing Dean his phone back. "Almost."
"I have a fast metabolism!" Dean defended.
"Yeah sure." Cas muttered. "And a one track mind."
"Oh shut up." Dean rolled his eyes. "I know Michael's off being an ass, but what about dear old Satan?"
"He was in a car accident about four years ago. His car rolled quite a bit. He's alive, but in a coma. Most people would call his state one of vegetation. A machine's breathing for him and they don't know if he'll ever wake up." Cas explained.
"Oh my God." Dean breathed. "Thats...terrible. I'm so sorry."
"Thank you. That's when Gabriel decided to leave. He was tired of being held at Michael's mansion like the prisoners we were and he packed his bags and ran off overnight. Michael's desperately searching for him, but if Gabriel doesn't want to be found, Gabriel won't be found." Cas replied.
"Held?" Dean asked.
"In a sense. We weren't really allowed to move out unless Michael said we could. God, I didn't think he'd ever let me go." Cas laughed bitterly. "I think he more kicked me out though."
"I couldn't imagine why." Dean retorted.
"Fuck you." Cas smiled. "He couldn't get any sleep since I had all these nightmares."
"Good for you. Piss off your brother enough until he kicks you out." Dean smirked.
"It's not like it was intentional." Cas mused. "But it worked. I don't think he's comfortable with me being back in Chicago, though."
"Why's that?" Dean asked.
"You." Cas answered.
"Why do I get dragged into all your family's bullshit? Of all the people to hook up with at a party...I choose the one with a clingy family." Dean snorted.
"You only get dragged into it because you're metaphorically riding on my back." Cas replied.
"Yes, Cas. Becuase you're going to literally give me a piggy back ride for five years." Dean remarked.
"I totally could." Cas stated.
"I'd like to see you carry me around for ten minutes." Dean challenged.
"Fine." Cas scooted off the edge of the bed and crouched on the floor. "Get on my shoulders."
Dean slowly eased his way onto Cas's shoulder.
"My God, Dean!" Cas groaned. "You've put on weight."
"Wow, thanks." Dean laughed, Cas pushing them to a stand.
"I'll set the timer for ten minutes." Dean said, pulling his phone from his pocket.
"Okay. What are we going to do for ten minutes then?" Cas asked.
"I'm hungry." Dean shrugged. "I want pie."
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Cas scoffed.
"No. Down downstairs." Dean ordered.
"You expect me to carry you down six flights of stairs?"
"Yeah." Dean nodded. "Pretty much."
"It's one thing carrying you down six flights of stairs, but it's a whole 'nother carrying a fat you down six flights of stairs." Cas retorted.
"I'll have you know that is all muscle." Dean defended.
"Like hell it is. I've seen how you binge eat those ho-ho's when you think no ones watching." Cas replied.
"You saw nothing." Dean growled.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Dean." Cas smiled, walking out of the room.
"Ow!" Dean yelled rubbing his forehead. "You could've been mindful of the doorframe thank you very much."
"That's not part of my job. Sorry." Cas mused.
"Bastard..." Dean muttered.
"I heard that." Cas said.
"You were supposed to. It helps to be aware of your flaws." Dean stated.
"If you want to talk flaws, then I have a million for you." Cas remarked.
"What were we talking about? Oh that's right. Puppies." Dean grinned.
"That's what I thought." Cas smiled smugly, starting to descend the staircase.
As the reached the bottom, they saw Sam sitting working on his laptop on the kitchen table.
Sam gave them both a strange look. "Should I – You know what? I'm not gonna ask."
"Hand me those ho-ho's." Dean pointed to a box on the counter.
"You need to eat healthy so I can carry your fat ass." Cas retorted, fishing out a bagel for Dean from a small cabinet.
"Ew." Dean leaned over and shoved the bagel in Cas's mouth and quickly snatched the ho-ho's off the counter.
"Put those down." Cas ordered, taking the bagel in his hand.
"No." Dean held them in the air out of Cas's reach.
"Assbutt." Cas muttered, starting to go back up the staircase.
"Dean. Would you put down the fucking ho-ho's. I'm exhausted." Cas groaned, sitting on the bed.
"No sitting!" Dean snapped. "You have to stand the whole time."
"Are you kidding me?" Cas moaned.
"No." Dean shook his head, unwrapping another ho-ho.
Cas reached his hand up and stole the ho-ho from Dean's hand. He took a bite and moaned as he ate it. "Holy shit. Give me another."
"No!" Dean replied. "These are mine."
"Let's not forget who paid for the groceries this week. Me. So technically, those are mine." Cas retorted.
"You're still not getting any." Dean stated.
"Like Hell I'm not." Cas snorted, reaching up and blinding scrambling for the box. "I will get some and then I will beat you."
"And then we will go buy more." Dean added.
"Oh yes we will. So you might as well give me one now. Each one you give me now, is one more box I buy." Cas smiled.
Dean handed Cas the whole box.
"Good boy." Cas grinned unwrapping one of the chocolatey treats for himself.
"You're killing me, Cas. You're going to give me diabetes." Dean remarked.
"I didn't know these things were this good until ten seconds ago." Cas said. "Shame, but you got yourself this fat."
"I am not fat."Dean protested. "I mean, how long has it been since you've actually seen me naked?"
"Too long." Cas smirked. "How much time is remaining?"
"Uh...Just under a minute." Dean answered, checking his phone.
"Thank God..." Cas sighed. "I think my everything is about to fall off."
"Hopefully not your everything." Dean retorted.
"Care to be more specific?' Cas growled teasingly.
"Of course." Dean smiled. "How could you live without your tongue?"
"You're not allowed to play with my emotions like that." Cas scowled.
"I wasn't playing with your emotions." Dean stated.
"You were obviously purposely leading me on." Cas replied.
"Was not!" Dean exclaimed.
"Were too!" Cas argued.
"You just took a simple line as a sexual advance. That's not my fault." Dean explained.
"Yes it is and you damn well know it." Cas glared upwards at Dean.
"Well platonic people don't make sexual advances on each other." Dean huffed. "Why would I do that?"
"Because you know exactly how it would torture me." Cas rolled his eyes.
"Well, what can I say?" Dean leaned forward and hung his head in front of Cas's, so their lips were barely touching. "Karma's a bitch."
"You're a bitch." Cas mumbled, tossing Dean on the bed. "Thank God that's over. I can't feel my shoulders."
Cas flopped down on the bed, lying in opposite directions as Dean, but their heads were next to each other. Cas set the half eaten bagel on his chest and opened up three packages of ho-hos. He shoved them all in his mouth at once.
"Oh my God." Dean snorted. "It's nice to see you haven't lost your touch."
Cas mumbled something incomprehensible.
"I didn't get that at all." Dean shook his head.
Cas pulled the three snacks out of his mouth. I said, "That was a sexual innuendo and you can't deny it."
Cas placed the ho-hos back in his mouth and continued eating them, causing Dean to burst out laughing. "You look like an idiot!"
Anastasia heard the commotion as she walked by and entered the room, laughing along as she saw her mostly serious, professional boyfriend looking like a fool with ho-ho's shoved all in his mouth.
Cas waved at her and mumbled what would've been a 'Hello Annie."
"Is this some sort of sugar high erotic thing going on?" She asked.
"No. Cas just discovered ho-hos and gave me a ten minute piggy back ride." Dean answered.
Cas once again removed the ho-hos from his mouth. "Would an erotic ho-ho fest be allowed?"
"Absolutely not." Anastasia stated.
"Didn't think so." Cas sighed.
"Oh!" Anastasia gasped. "This would get so many notes on Tumblr. You two look so adorable right now. Cassie's all scruffy and tired out and Dean's all smug and playful."
"Tumblr? Is that some sort of kinky gymnast dancer site?" Dean scoffed.
"No!" She exclaimed. "That'd be weird. Tumblr is where you share photos and quotes and funny, cute things and stuff online. Everyone has their own blog."
"And what would Dean and I have to do with any of this?" Cas knitted his eyebrows together.
"You two would be so cute on there. Duh." She replied. "So many people would reblog and like it."
"Okay. Take your photo and get it over with." Dean said.
"You're going to need to pose. You can't just lay there." Anastasia huffed.
"Okay. Should we do jazz hands?" Dean smirked.
"No. I'll do a few pictures." She sang. "First just smile at each other."
"Okay." Dean obeyed and smiled widely.
"Less teeth, more feeling." She said. "And Cas, you look great."
"That's nothing new." Cas stated.
"Douchebag." Dean retorted.
"Perfect." Anastasia cooed, holding up her phone and taking the shot. "So next photo, take a ho-ho and each put one end in your mouth's."
"So like that noodle thing in lady and the tramp?" Dean asked.
"Exactly." She smiled.
"Except without the kissing part." Dean chuckled.
"Oh no." She laughed. "Of course with the kissing part. What else would make it such a great post?"
"Would you like me to take the photo so you can do the kissing part then?" Dean offered.
"No!" Anastasia exclaimed. "You two look so cute together. Anyways, ho-ho in the mouth."
Cas gave Dean a half-excited, half-confused look as she took the photo.
"Okay. Here comes the fun part. I'll take the next few shots of just you guys kissing." She said.
"Whatever." Dean sighed turning towards Cas and slowly joining their lips.
"Don't just sit there." Anastasia scolded. "Don't be afraid to move a little."
"Well, I don't want to overstep my boundaries here." Dean said. "He's not exactly my boyfriend anymore."
"Well, pretend he is." She bounced on his tip toes. "Kiss like you're sixteen and in love again."
"I don't think you..." Dean mumbled.
"That'd make the photos look that much more realistic, though." She pouted. "Please?"
"Fine." Cas huffed, smirking at Dean. "But we all know it's only out of professional respect."
"Totally." Dean nodded, returning to Cas. "You ready for the best kissing of your life?"
"Yeah. Sure." Cas rolled his eyes, leaning into Dean and beginning to kiss him.
After a moment Anastasia started moving around, changing her angle. "Oh that's perfect. Wow. It really looks like you two actually love each other. Okay. I got all the shots I need."
Dean smiled at Cas as they pulled away. "Scale of one to ten. How amazing was I?"
"Negative seven and one third." Cas stated.
"That's specific." Dean retorted, as Anastasia bounced out of the room, piping about her Tumblr.
"A million." Cas whispered.
"Told you it'd be the kiss of your life." Dean smirked.
"I've gotten much better from Misty. You wanna try again?" Cas asked.
"Yes, but no." Dean answered. "So I was promised more ho-hos."
"You're going to gain fourty pounds by next month." Cas sighed, sitting up.
A/N: This was supposed to be a chapter for my other story, Secrets, but uh, I accidentally started writing this one and didn't feel like stopping once I started, so this came around again. Hope this chapter cleared up a few questions I got.