Great responses from the last chapter! I'm glad everyone got a kick out of Lucifer!

Enjoy!

Castiel was making plans. They all involved Gabriel experiencing various sorts of untimely deaths.

Dean had helped Castiel put the furniture back in place, and reseat the sofa cushions and pillows. As they were working, a comfortable silence surrounded them. Occasionally, Dean would make a friendly observation about Castiel's apartment. One of the first things Dean expressed his approval on was the picture that the cat had scaled to reach the alcove. As Castiel moved the large piece from the wall to prevent further incidents, Dean commented, "I really like that one. It's different from the other framed band posters and stuff."

Castiel smiled at the painting. It was done in oils, with shockingly bright colors. The image was of a beautiful park, with a figure in a red cardigan flying a kite. "It's called 'Eternal Tuesday Afternoon'," Castiel stated quietly. "It's one of my mother's paintings. She passed away when I was very young."

Dean nodded solemnly. "I'm sorry to hear that. She was very talented."

Castiel smiled at Dean, and for several moments they stared at one another comfortably. Castiel was the first to break eye contact.

They finished tidying up the apartment just a few minutes later. The apartment wasn't excessively large or high-end. It had a small kitchen that overlooked the living room, where sunny rays of light were pouring inside. A hallway led to the large bathroom, and two bedrooms. Castiel had converted the second, smaller bedroom into a personal fitness room.

Castiel stood in his kitchen mixing the ingredients for two omelets, with the breakfast bar separating him from Dean who was excitedly perusing his DVD collection across the living room. Castiel had explained that most of the movies were actually Gabriel's old collection that Castiel had ended up keeping by default from the times in the past when Gabriel had brought them while visiting.

Every so often, Dean would excitedly shout out a title, and comment on how long it had been since he had watched that movie. His boyish excitement was making it impossible for Castiel to stay upset with his brother for the obvious set-up.

Dean is physically here, inside my apartment, touching my stuff. Castiel's mind buzzed. It was somehow even more intimate than when he had allowed his old boyfriends into his apartments in the past.

Castiel was having a tough time paying attention to what he was doing. Sure, Gabriel was a dick for not warning him ahead of time that he was enlisting Dean's help. And an even bigger dick for bailing immediately. But, even he had to admit that Gabriel's skills at manipulation were impressive. Plus, it wasn't like he had locked them up naked in a tiny hall closet and blasted Celine Dion's music all night. Again. Castiel's best friend, Balthazar, had been the unfortunate victim on that occasion. The poor british man still cringed at just the mention of 'Titanic'.

Castiel glanced again at Dean's broad back, hugged tightly by a band t-shirt. His faded blue jeans had worn holes in several places, teasing Castiel with flashes of skin. His mind wondered back to the incredible view of Dean climbing up the ladder.

He snapped his focus back to the mushrooms he was slicing. No. He told himself strictly. You are not going to fantasize about Dean anymore. He is a friend. A straight, uninterested friend…who was bending over to check the movie titles on the lowest shelf.

Damn it.

Just a friend. You can do this.

Suddenly, Dean let out a shout of joy and spun around to Castiel holding up a DVD victoriously, "Beetlejuice! Aw, man, we have got to watch this! Do you mind?"

Castiel smiled and nodded in amusement.

Fifteen minutes later, they were both sitting on the large sofa, eating their omelets and occasionally commenting on the movie.

"Who's your favorite character, Cas?" Dean asked toward the middle of the movie.

Castiel, who was sitting with his legs tucked beneath him on the other end of the couch, didn't even pause to think, "Road-Kill Man."

When he didn't hear anything else from Dean immediately, he turned to glance at him. Dean was shaking from silent laughter, head turned int his arm to muffle the sound.

"Why is that funny, Dean?" Castiel asked, with genuine confusion. "Road-Kill Man is the only cheerful person working in Bureaucratic Hell. I like his optimism."

Dean took one more look at Castiel's wide, serious eyes and burst out laughing even harder.

"Cas! You, haha, you are such a weird guy!" Castiel watched Dean laughing uncontrollably, before finally giving in himself. It started with the eruption of a few chuckles and cascaded into Castiel bent over on the couch trying to gasp in breaths.

It took several minutes for them both to calm down enough to continue watching the movie.

Somehow, the conversation shifted to Tim Burton, which meant that once Beetlejuice ended, Castiel moved forward and selected another movie by Burton. When that one ended, another movie was selected. And so on.

The two men happily chatted and argued about the story lines, Dean laughing merrily as Castiel admitted to not understanding many of the scenes.

"It doesn't make sense," he grumbled in confusion, "The Oompa Loompas cannot be paid in chocolate. They would still be required to receive at least minimum wage in the local currency of the country. And the factory would never pass code- the chocolate river alone would be a health risk. The heavy-set boy contaminated it!"

Dean was rolling with laughter, clutching his sides.

Sometime around the third movie, Castiel had caught Dean's eye, and gave a small nod to something just past Dean's shoulder. He turned and saw that the kitten, Lucifer, was crouched down low on the floor, clearly trying to sneak stealthily over to where Dean was seated on the couch.

Dean turned back to Cas with a smile and a wink, and pretended to turn his attention back to the TV.

They both feigned watching the movie as the kitten maneuvered slowly and carefully to the back of the couch, then a quick jump and pause on the arm rest, followed by a slow creep around the back headrest.

Finally, after waiting and watching Dean from just a few inches away for any signs of movement or recognition, the little creature dipped down and slid under Dean's arm. He waited, frozen, for Dean to make a movement so he could bolt. Dean didn't even flinch.

After a few more seconds, the kitten plopped down heavily onto his side and began rubbing his head against Dean's stomach.

Dean released a quiet chuckle and reached down carefully to stroke his furry head. The kitten gave a loud purr in response.

Dean looked back over at Cas, who gave him big smile and a thumbs up, before returning his attention to the movie.

…-^o^-...

At around the fourth movie, Dean felt his phone vibrate. Castiel was absorbed in the current scene, staring in confusion and skepticism as Edward Scissorhands expertly carved a bush into the shape of an animal. Dean chuckled quietly at the look of intense concentration Castiel was casting at the screen. He was waiting eagerly for Castiel's next comment, probably about the feasibility of cutting hedges so quickly. Geez, the guy was hilarious to watch movies with.

Dean was grinning widely as he pulled out his phone. Sammy had sent him a text. He suddenly remembered that he hadn't said good-bye earlier that morning.

S: I didn't see you leave this morning. What are you doing today? I thought you, me and Jess could hang out.

D: hey sry. At cas's place.

Sam took a while to respond.

S: Castiel's place?

D: yeah, sammy. How many other cas's do we know?

There was a longer pause.

S: Ok. That's cool.

S: I like Castiel.

S: So, what are you two doing?

D: trying to watch a movie. did you need something else?

S: It's nothing. You two have fun. I'll stop texting.

Dean put his phone back into his pocket. Sammy had been acting pretty weird lately. He kept staring at Dean when he thought he wasn't looking. And he had brought up Castiel a few times, usually at random, just to say things like, 'He seems like a nice guy' and 'You two get along well, huh?'

Dean had attributed it to Sam's guilt about having a girlfriend while Dean was still single. His brother was just making sure Dean wasn't going to lock himself up in the house again.

As if Dean would feel like his brother was abandoning him. If anything, Sammy was too clingy. And the others, Ash, Benny, Jo and all of them, they were just way too concerned about keeping Dean happy. It was like they treated him as if he were a delicate piece of china. The constant attention and forced conversations were frustrating.

That's the great thing about being with Cas, Dean thought. He just seemed easy to be around. No desperate attempts to cheer Dean up, or ask if he was ok. No need to fake a smile if he wasn't feeling it, or break the long silences with meaningless chatter.

Dean felt like he didn't need to wear his mask around Cas. It was a powerful sense of freedom.

At one point, Dean excused himself to run to the restroom. As he was exiting, he caught a glimpse into the room across the narrow hall. The room was done in tones of light blues and greens. There was a king-sized unmade bed, with rumpled dark blue sheets and at least eight fluffy pillows piled on everywhere on top of it. Dean's mind immediately pictured Castiel, shirtless and in his pajama pants as he was that morning. He imagined the man stretched out across the bed, pale skin casting a stark contrast to the sheets.

Before he realized it, he was standing in the bedroom's doorframe, eyes locked on the bed, searching for the imprint of the other man's body in the curves and folds of the sheets. He inhaled deeply, and the scent that Dean had picked up earlier on Castiel filled his nostrils. A shiver coursed through his body. His muscles clenched as arousal began to build back up.

What was Cas like in bed? Did he bring women here- let them share this bed with him? Did they get to slide their painted nails over his pale skin and trail kisses down his abs to his-

"Dean, did you get lost?" Castiel's voice called humorously from the couch in the living room just a couple dozen feet away from where he stood. Dean nearly jumped out of his skin with shock and guilt.

What the hell was he doing? He had to shake these crazy fantasies about Cas.

He quickly returned to the living room, making a joke about getting stuck in Narnia.

By late-afternoon, they agreed to keep the marathon going strong and order in for pizza. After a ten-minute discussion about the merits of Supreme versus Meat lovers, they compromised on a Supreme with extra pepperoni.

That sat comfortably on the opposite sides of the sofa, eating and laughing. Dean teased Castiel about his refusal to watch Nightmare Before Christmas. Castiel defended his stance, insisting that the movie belonged in the horror genre, and was absolutely terrifying. Dean's stomach was beginning to ache from the number of times he had laughed today. It felt like it had been years since he had enjoyed being around someone this much.

He even began keeping count of the number of times Castiel flashed him a smile. He was at a count of thirty-six by seven o'clock. Dean felt his heart flutter just as much on the thirty-sixth one as it had on the first.

They were all just for him, Dean prided himself silently.

…-^o^-…

Dean awoke slowly to the gentle tickle of warm breath on his neck.

An attempt to shift his body was met with resistance. As the numbness of sleep began to wear off, Dean became increasingly aware of his surroundings. The low sound of music was playing on repeat from the title page of the DVD menu. The room was cast in shadow, the only light coming from the TV screen. Outside the huge windows of the living room was darkness.

Oh, and Castiel was practically lying on top of him, wrapped tightly, like an octopus.

Dean was positive that the sudden fast pounding of his heart would wake the sleeping man.

Turning his head slowly, he tried to see Castiel's face. All he could see was the profile, bathed in the glow of the television.

But that, plus the warmth of the man's body heat, and-Dean swallowed hard and almost choked- the unmistakeable hardness of Cas's cock pressing closely into his hip, had Dean's entire body tensing up with arousal.

Shit. Shitshitshit-

He tried not to breath too deeply, afraid that even the smallest movement would wake the man. Dean was sure that Castiel waking up in the arms of another man, instead of whatever woman he was dreaming about, would be awkward enough, but that would be compounded by the fact that said man was awake and clearly getting turned on.

After several terrifying minutes of trying to decide what to do, Dean finally began to inch himself out of the death grip that Castiel had him in. As he slowly and carefully shifted and rocked to untangle himself, he felt Castiel begin to stir. The grip tightened as the the man let out a contented sigh. His hips rolled gently, pressing his erection even more into Dean's hip.

Unable to control his body's response, Dean's own hips gave an enthusiastic buck.

The sudden motion shook Castiel and Dean realized that the man was beginning to wake. Absolutely horrified at being discovered for the pervert that he clearly was, Dean forced his body to go slack and desperately feigned heavy sleep.

…-^o^-…

Castiel's body hummed with arousal as he began to slowly wake up. He was locked firmly against soft heat, and he breathed deeply and nuzzled closer to the warmth. The unmistakeable feeling of muscles under warm fabric was the first clue that he was not wrapped around one of his many pillows in his bed.

Forcing his tired eyes open, he almost jumped up in shock. It was a good thing his body was still half-asleep, or he would have almost certainly shoved himself away from Dean and off the narrow couch.

Oh, no. No-no-no-no-no. How did this happen?!

Carefully, fueled by pure terror, Castiel unwrapped himself from Dean and gently rolled off the couch and quietly onto the floor. He waited several seconds, listening for the sound of Dean's breathing to change. When he heard nothing, he slowly peeked up at the sleeping man.

Thank God-! Dean appeared to have slept through the entire thing. His face was turned away, almost buried in the back cushions of the couch. His chest was rising and falling slowly.

Castiel sent up a silent prayer to whatever heavenly forces had saved him from having to explain his embarrassing sleeping positions and even more embarrassing erection to Dean. There must have been several guardian angels working overtime to wake Castiel up before Dean could discover their situation.

Castiel rose quietly and headed straight down the hall to the bathroom, shutting the door gently before turning on the light.

After his burning eyes adjusted to the brightness, he caught his image in the large bathroom mirror. He looked scared, his eyes were wider than normal.

Taking a few deep breaths, he stared at his reflection in anger. What the hell am I doing? He thought to himself. How could I just fall asleep with Dean right there? And how did we end up together in the middle of the couch? Everything had been going so well-!

He let his head drop forward with a deep sigh. He sent up another thank you to the heavens. Dean was nice, but even he wouldn't appreciate Castiel taking liberties with his unconscious body while he was sleeping.

Castiel had to think. But, that was difficult with his cock pulsing hotly every second. The memory of his erection pressing through his own soft cotton pants against the course fabric of Dean's jeans made him twitch with excitement.

There really was no choice. He couldn't just leave it...

Castiel cast another guilty glance at the door, ashamed that he was having to do this. He had the sexiest man he had ever met asleep on his couch, and he was shut up in the bathroom at two o'clock in the morning, trying to convince himself that it was perfectly okay to masturbate to the memory of being in his arms.

How did life get this complicated?

Stealing one last embarrassed glance at the closed door, Castiel reached down and pulled his heavy erection out. It had been over a month now since the last time he had gotten off. Closing his eyes, he began to gently stroke himself. The familiar heat built up quickly- more so than normal. The proximity to Dean was wreaking havoc on his mind.

Guiltily, but unable to resist, Castiel began to picture Dean. His grinning face appeared, eyes focused on Castiel's. Except now they held a heat that Castiel had never seen in them. With a quick wink, Dean dipped low in front of Castiel, his head stopping in front of his cock.

Castiel released a moan, then bit his lip to silence himself. He couldn't risk waking the man sleeping outside on his couch.

But, in his mind, Dream-Dean was leaning forward and extending his wet, pink tongue out to take several small licks across the head of Castiel cock.

Castiel gasped, as he swiped his own thumb teasingly over the swollen head.

Dream-Dean gave Castiel a cheeky smile before abruptly taking all of him into his mouth.

Castiel groaned and panted as his hand stroked quickly as he stood over the toilet. His legs began to tremble, and his hips made thrusting movements into his moving hand, needing more friction. Castiel felt the tightening in his balls as his release began to build. He came with an half-choked moan that seemed to draw from deep inside him, catching on sucking breaths. He body shuddered hard, shooting streaks of cum into the bowl beneath him, before he sank shaking to the floor in a heap of boneless limbs.

I am going straight to Hell, Castiel thought to himself. There is probably a special section reserved for people who get off to thinking about their straight friends…

…-^o^-…

Dean had kept perfectly calm and still as he felt Castiel gasp loudly into his neck and pull off of him.

The sudden chill at losing the man's body heat had almost made Dean want to reach out and pull him back. Maybe pretend that he was still asleep.

He fought the urge.

He heard Cas move quickly to the restroom and shut the door. Dean waited a few moments, before slowly opening his eyes.

Shit, he thought. The poor guy was probably extremely embarrassed about his erection. Dean glanced down at his own, wondering if it had been noticeable in the dim light. God, he hoped not.

Turning his head, he stared down the hallway where the soft yellow glow of the bathroom light lit up the hardwood floor.

Cas is probably in there trying to get rid of his erection.

Dean's mind paused as he went over that one more time.

Cas is almost definitely in the bathroom getting off.

Dean rolled his body quietly off the couch, and slowly made his way across the living room, like a zombie unable to control his own movements. He came in view of the bathroom door, the thin light shining from underneath.

Cas is on the other side of that door, touching himself.

Dean felt his own erection harden painfully. A cold sweat broke out across his body. Suddenly, his clothes felt to constricting and coarse.

His ears picked up on the sound of a low groan.

Oh, shit, Dean thought as all the air in his lungs suddenly left at once. His body moved closer to the door, completely on its own.

Another low moan and the faint sound of panting.

Dean's tight pants were rubbing painfully against his erection, but he couldn't move. Couldn't tear his thoughts away from what was undoubtedly happening in the bathroom.

What kind of face was Castiel making? What was he thinking about? Was it some chick?

Shit. Dean didn't even know if Cas had a girlfriend. How the fuck had he forgotten to ask about that?

Was that who he was thinking about as he touched himself? Some pretty chick?

What kind of women did Cas go out with? Probably some nerdy librarian types.

Dean felt the sting of jealousy over whoever she was. Cas probably had dozens of hot women throwing themselves all over him, with his adorable wide blue eyes, and super-rare smiles.

The sound of panting increased.

Dean couldn't think clearly.

Maybe he could offer to... help? Just as a friend, helping out a friend? His mind was buzzing, eyes locked on the door knob, his treacherous body already leaning forward.

A loud groan and several labored gasps indicated that Castiel had come.

Dean suddenly snapped back to his senses, arm extended out, hand reaching for the doorknob.

Holy Shit-! Oh, shit- what am I thinking?! His body recoiled from the door.

Was I seriously about to go in there and offer to help?! He would've killed me. Fuck-!

Dean raced quietly back to the couch, quickly scooting the cat off from where it had laid itself in the warmth where Dean had been lying. He positioned himself quickly back into his previous sleeping position, praying that Castiel would never suspect what a huge pervert his new friend was.

After several minutes, Dean heard the sound of the bathroom door opening and the shuffling of Castiel moving in the hall way. A blanket was suddenly draped over him, and he heard the sound of the television being turned off.

Dean waited until he heard the bedroom door shut gently down the hall, before opening his eyes in the darkness. He shifted painfully, his erection still tightly crammed inside his jeans.

Dean let out a defeated sigh. Sleep was out of the question.

Next up: Sam hovers un-covertly.

Dean discovers a surprising fact about Cas (And it's not his sexual preferences).

Charlie gets nervous.

Anna makes her move.

Ash pays Gabriel a visit to conspire.