A/N: Whew, sorry this chapter is hella long. Take it as a token of my appreciation for your patience. The chapter title is from 'Invisible' by U2.

Castiel turned to face his brother, frowning and tilting his head slightly to the right. "What is this, Gabriel?"

The archangel snorted and raised his arms. "Are you kidding me? That was my dramatic moment! The thrilling revelation of your sweetheart's location!"

Cas eyed Gabriel with some unease. "Sweetheart? Gabriel, please tell me you have not been involved with human sacrifice again. Otherwise I do not understand how you obtained knowledge of what a human's heart tastes like."

"Oh Cassie, sweetheart, you haven't picked up on adorable human pet names, have you?" The golden haired angel mock-pouted and attempted a horrifying imitation of puppy eyes.

"I am—I am not adorable."

"Of course not," Gabriel continued brusquely, executing a military-sharp turn and striding down the street. "Come along, brother," he called as Castiel just stood there in bewilderment.

Cas even had to do a quick jog-walk to catch up to the shorter man. "Where are you taking me?"

The archangel rolled his eyes and sighed with exaggeration. "I thought we just went over this. We're going to go see your sweetheart at work?" At Cas' blank stare, he elaborated. "Dean Winchester. Y'know, the human you've been searching for, for like a year and a half? The one you're risking your job and feathery ass for? C'mon." With renewed vigor, he puffed down the street a couple hundred paces before bowing deeply in front of a motel. "He awaits."

Castiel glanced between Gabriel and the front door with trepidation. "Perhaps," he suggested haltingly, "perhaps you should come with me? I don't think I am someone he is willing to see."

"Looks like you are picking up on human mannerisms! Guess all that time I spent looking the other way wasn't wasted after all." He shoved open the door—until it came in contact with a ladder on the other side and the guy working on it came tumbling down. Gabriel grasped him at the hand by the last second, leaving the guy barely hanging off the floor in an odd salsa dancing dip. He flashed a charming grin. "Hey there. Looks like you just fell for me, huh?" He hauled him up with ease, quirking an amused eyebrow at the man's pissed expression.

"Dude, the fuck? Watch where you're going, people are trying to work—" he blanched as he caught sight of Castiel, still half-hidden behind Gabriel.

"Dean…"

"Oh fuck no! Look whatever-the-hell-you-are, I don't know what game you're playing, but I'm playing this version of tag called 'How far can you run away before I stick this screwdriver through your throat?'" With said screwdriver in hand, he pushed forward.

"I would not touch me—" Castiel began.

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Christ's sake," he muttered before snapping his fingers and sending Dean flying into a wall across the room, just before he reached the other angel.

"I do not think that much force was necessary," Castiel murmured, shifting closer and eying Dean warily for another attack.

"Oh please, he likes it rough." Gabriel winked. "And I wasn't about to go chasing through another time continuum if he touched you again."

"Still, these humans are very fragile. We ought to take more care," Castiel's voice carried an edge, which though he tried to keep respectful and submissive, did not placate Gabriel.

The archangel's eyes turned sharp and his mouth slid down into an unpleased frown. "Do not forget, brother, that I can break or heal these humans as I please." There was an aborted cry as Dean's lungs collapsed and his shoulder became dislocated, then everything was healed a few long seconds later with another snap of Gabriel's fingers. "I have no obligation to help you, Castiel. In fact, my obligation is to strip you of your duties and rank here and now, possibly leaving you with a punishment. Maybe the punishment would be leaving you be, but breaking Dean Winchester irreparably while you cannot lift a single finger to help him. Do not forget that I don't have to be helping you at all, so your best bet is to do exactly as I say." Gabriel held the taller angel's eyes for a few seconds until Cas looked away.

"I don't want for you to become burdened with my troubles, especially if the other archangels disapprove." Castiel bowed his head in acquiescence, struggling to ignore the wheezing and wincing human in the corner of his vision.

Gabriel scoffed as his attitude made an about turn. "What's the worst Raphael can do? Give me a noogie? Now let's go explain to the handy-man over there why we're here."

Dean spat at their feet as they approached. "What do you want from me? You've already taken everything; I have nothing left!"

"Now Dean-o, is that anyway to greet your saviors? Accept me, Dean, accept me," Gabriel spread his arms and lifted his eyes to the ceiling in a mock-divine manner. "No? Okay then, let's get down to business. You haven't met me yet: I'm Gabriel—yes, the archangel; yes, I am always this sinfully handsome; and no, I will not father your nephilim. You've met Cas, my little brother. He's pretty special. Best not try to touch him ever again."

Dean gaped at him from down on the floor, eyebrow raised in pissed disbelief. "What?"

Gabriel bent down and grasped Dean's jaw firmly, staring the green eyes down with his own golden ones. "Don't. Touch. Castiel. Now just sit pretty and I'll try to explain." He took Dean by the coat collar and dragged him into a supply closet, along with Cas. "Look, we don't have a lot of time to waste. I'm an angel, Cas is an angel, you're a human that accidentally got sent back in time. Castiel is only one species of an entire genus of avenging angels, which is why you two can't ever touch, unless you want to be zapped somewhere else in time and space, capische? Your brother actually didn't do a half-bad job figuring that out, hm. Anyways, Castiel here was supposed to find you and send you home as soon as possible, but he kinda failed spectacularly at that. Don't glare at me, brother," he replied to Castiel's narrowed eyes. "Actually he wasn't even supposed to be near you in the first place, which is why…"

"Hold the fuck up. You talked to Sammy? Stay away from my brother, you son of a bitch. Leave him alone! You have me now, so you don't need him for anything—" Dean's mouth snapped shut as a piece of duct tape sealed it closed and he was tied to a magically-appearing chair, leaving only indignant mumbling sounds and wide green eyes to speak for himself.

"You couldn't have picked another human who is dumb-struck and awe inspired by our presence? This one talks too much for his own good." Gabriel rubbed his forehead in irritation. "Yes, Dean. I went to see your brother. Now, now, he's fine, don't worry. I didn't touch a hair on his sweet gigantor head."

Castiel shifted nervously, glancing at the door and hearing a faint conversation beyond it. "Gabriel," he hissed. "We need to hurry. Others are nearby."

"Yeah, yeah," the other angel waved his hand dismissively, instead continuing to stare down Dean. "Y'know…" he murmured, "it's a shame Castiel chose to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The both of you had a lot before you." He studied Dean. "Bet you'd like to know what that was, huh? Would have been pretty happy, eventually. Contentment…peace…companionship. That's all you ever wanted, right?"

Dean glared at him defiantly, trying to spit out a muffled, profanity-filled phrase that would make a sailor blush.

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "What-ever. Look, here's the thing." He leaned forward and braced his hands on the arms of the chair. Turning his head over his shoulder, he called to Cas, "Go guard the door." He turned back to the human. "There are others coming for you. Originally we were going to take you back to where you came from, but that really isn't an option anymore. That pretty much stopped being an option when Castiel became your friend. Angels are not meant to mix with humans; it has something to do with fucking up The Plan, I don't know. Sending any random human back in time is problem enough, but Castiel just wouldn't leave well enough alone.

"When he touched you, there were two options: go after you and find you immediately, or leave you where you landed. Obviously he tried option numero uno, and when he failed, he decided to neglect his duties for months. He did that to find you, Dean. Do you know what Heaven does to angels who leave their post? Or serve Man before the Lord? They're too much trouble, so…" he drew a line across his throat and mimed death. "And you know what they do to the human? Do you?" Gabriel shook Dean's chair harshly, then wrapped a hand around Dean's throat and squeezed slightly.

Dean breathed rapidly, huffing air in and out of his nose as he waited for impending strangulation. Feeling a rush of adrenaline and relief, he still didn't relax even when Gabriel let go and stepped away.

"I know my family is really fucking messed up, but I don't ever interfere. Not like this. They want you dead, and normally I would consider the hunt pure entertainment. Instead, here I am helping you for my brother's sake. He's the only one I see hope for, and your extermination… I wouldn't go so far to say it would kill him, but it would definitely kill whatever makes Castiel, Castiel. You see, he has this weakness, he actually likes humanity. He believes his duties help humanity and make Earth a better place for our pets to live. And if he fucks up his duties so badly—like this time—what does he have left?" Gabriel stabbed a finger at Dean's chest. "Nothing." He stepped back and crossed his arms. "Besides, losing you would break your brother's heart. And I surprisingly don't despise Sam that much. So the obvious solution is protecting you, figuratively taking you under my wing. Hey, if I untie you, will you promise not to run off and let me and Castiel explain where we go from here?"

Dean eyed him distrustfully, but nodded nevertheless. He sighed in relief and took a deep breath when the duct tape disappeared and he was able to stand up, rubbing his wrists and grunting at the burn where some jaw stubble had been taken off.

"Cassie!" Gabriel called. "C'mere! Dean-o is finally willing to listen." He rested a shoulder against the wall and waited as Castiel hurried back over. "Anything you want to say to Dean?"

Dean took a step back and placed a hand over the gun he kept tucked in the back of his waistband. He clenched his jaw as Cas raised those pleading, too-goddamn-blue eyes. "How could you, Cas?" he spat. "I thought we were friends!"

"We were, Dean—we are. I never meant for any of this to happen." Cas tried to speak steadily and clearly. "That was a mistake, and I never meant for you to see me there. I was trying to limit contact at that point…and I failed. I thought you didn't see me, and that was my mistake."

The hunter glared at him with poison in his green eyes. "I see you everywhere. I constantly think I see you in the corner of my eye and it's like I'm back in that house, seeing everything ripped away from me! I can't even go to the grocery store without walking in the shadows! Do you know how much it sucks to be paranoid of a guy in a trench coat when trench coats are back in fashion? Even before this happened, I saw you everywhere! Your stupid hair, your fucking eyes, hell even your tax accountant monkey suit!"

"You don't need to be afraid of me, Dean, I would never hurt you. I always protected you on our hunts together, even when you did not know it." Cas searched his former friend's eyes for any sign of friendliness, finding none and saddening his expression.

"Well that's what got me here in the first place, isn't it? Not knowing what you are, not knowing even the most basic goddamn thing about someone I used to trust!" Dean slammed his fist against the wall, making the shelves rattle alarmingly. "We were friends for two years, Cas, and now it's like I didn't even know you at all. What else did you not tell me, other than you working for the angel Mafia? Any other surprises hidden beneath that trench coat?" He snapped, gesturing at the length of Cas.

Cas opened and closed his mouth a few times, debating on what to say. Finally, "If I hadn't touched you in that last house, we would have been friends years into that future. I was there, several times, and you trusted me even up to then."

Dean shook his head and laughed, albeit somewhat uncontrollably. "You're shitting me, right? You mean there is some other future where we're," he gestured between the two of them, "good friends? No way, man, no fucking way."

"There is no other future," Cas corrected. "That future disappeared when you disappeared. But we were friends for years, Dean. I could show you; I can show you what should have happened," he offered. "Perhaps it would ease your trust issues with me?"

"Lord knows you need to trust him," Gabriel muttered, startling Dean who had almost forgotten he was there.

"Oh fuck no!" Dean snarled back at Castiel. "There is no way in hell you are ever touching me again."

Cas carefully kept his face blank of emotion as he tried to banish his internal hurt and didn't mention that physical contact was not necessary.

Gabriel put on a saccharine smile and gave a sarcastic tilt of his head to the hunter. "Then allow me to do the honors, because unlike my dear little brother Castiel here, my touch does nothing but make you beg for more." He winked lewdly at Dean, who stepped back hurriedly.

"Hell no! You're not mojoing me either!" Dean suddenly understood what it felt like to be the one cornered in a situation. "Stay the hell away from me, you kinky bastards."

Gabriel snorted in derision. "Oh you wish." He glanced sideways at the other angel. "But you never know about Castiel…" The angel in question flushed slightly, another charmingly emotional habit he must have picked up from the human. Gabriel re-averted his gaze to Dean and took a step forward, fully cornering Dean against the wall and placed two fingers to his forehead.

Dean was frozen in place, unable to walk away from these freaks, and…and unable to stop the flood of memories that-were-not-quite memories. His mind felt like it was chained to a comet, burning inside his own brain.

He and Cas killing vampires together. Holy crap, Cas fought like a god. His train of thought was derailed as the memories hurtled on.

It wasn't an unfamiliar memory; he'd revisited this one often. A man in a trench coat standing over Bobby, snarling at Dean and becoming defensive. Sitting side by side in a bar, helping his stumbling drunk self out of the establishment. That was a regular ritual for the two of them after that first time. Blue eyes always searching his face in darkened strip clubs, eyes that paid no mind to the dancers before him—man nor woman. Always seeking him, electrifying him.

More hunts, where Cas saved his life more than he could count. More bars, more strip clubs, more smiles the more he talked to Cas. The disappearing act Cas would pull when Dean found someone to go home with at the bar. The disappointment he felt the next morning when Cas was not at the motel and was absent for months after that. Dean eventually stopped going home with other women, men, and variations thereupon, and would wake up to gladly find with relief that Cas was still there. After the bars, he followed Castiel back to the motel where they would continue talking for hours about anything from past hunts on their own to what was on TV.

The constant presence of the knowledge that Cas would always return, not even having the decency to look a day older or have a change in apparel. Even when Cas was gone for months at a time, Dean never let go of his hope and anticipation, and perhaps a bit of fear. He was fearful of never seeing Cas again. One of them working alone on a hunt, getting killed, left unburned, and the other clueless. Yes, this Dean had been afraid.

The night in Dean's single hotel room because Sam needed his space after a particularly emotional hunt when Cas had showed up at his door that night, still in his rumpled trench coat and knuckles smarting from knocking on the rough door. How after several bottles of beer each, Dean coaxed the other man out of his heavy trench coat. He remembered feeling hyper-aware of the bundle resting behind him on the couch as they watched crap TV. He vaguely remembered the sound of it dropping to the floor when he accidentally shoved it while inching closer to Cas.

Cas fixed him with those blue eyes that seemed to brand Dean's soul whenever he looked at him. The burning hurt and pride when Cas had backed away, just when Dean thought he was going to lean in. The shame that wanted to bring tears to his eyes as he leaned heavily against the door after Cas had stumbled out awkwardly, saying he had something to do. As far as he was aware, this Dean—the future Dean—never edged closer again.

The multitude of memories forcing their way into his skull suddenly abated when he felt Gabriel's fingers leave his forehead. He dazedly blinked, trying to clear the dancing spots in front of his eyes and adjust to the unexpected warmth he felt towards Cas now. It was too weird for his liking. He hated Castiel and trusted him with his life at the same time. Sure, Gabriel had given him "memories," but they weren't his memories. They were from another time that would never happen, and he felt the need to make his own judgment with time. Make his own memories and decisions in this context.

Dean took a deep, shuddering breath and rested his head against the cool wall as he waited for the nausea to subside. "Look, that's great and all," he rasped, "and I want to trust you, but those didn't feel like me. Not the me right now, anyway. I need to know you more than what our friendship 'would have been.'" He felt the cold sweat creeping up his neck and tried to keep from gagging. "Dude, what the hell did you do to me? I feel like shit."

Gabriel shrugged. "Nausea is a common side effect. My bad."

Dean glared at him, though still looking a bit green. "Well, now what? Didn't you say there were others coming for me? Hate to break it to you, but a couple have already found me."

The archangel looked at him sharply. "What do you mean? No one has said anything about having found you." He shook Dean's shoulder. "Who found you?"

"Uh, there have been a couple vamps, demons, and a kitsune in the past few weeks I've been in Nevada." Dean looked at him uneasily, spooked by the urgency in Gabriel's voice. "The first one was back in London, a couple months after I arrived there. His name was McAlister or something? Ean McAlister? Not sure about the first name, 'cause I got it from one of my sources hunting him down."

"Damnation."

Gabriel and Dean both looked at Castiel askance, startled by his use of profanity. "Castiel?" Gabe prodded. "Care to explain what made you break a class two covenant of Heaven?"

Cas looked at them, face grim. "That name was on my list, a few years back. It was some adolescent who killed a child on a hit-and-run."

"Hate to break it to you buddy, but your buddy is no teenager anymore. He was full-on vampire, pretty old and powerful too."

Cas frowned. "He was not my friend. He was a transgressor I was sent to punish; I sent him back to prehistoric time. It seemed appropriate. Apparently he managed to get turned into an abomination and survived this entire time…" Castiel paced in agitation, trench coat fluttering behind him.

"Wait, you mean you didn't send him?"

Cas looked offended. "Of course not," he replied irritably, crossing his arms over his chest.

Dean snorted. "That explains all the crazy shit he said right before I killed him. Something about being touched by you too and waiting millennia to get revenge on you—apparently for sending him back to prehistoric times. Jesus fucking Christ, how sadistic are you?"

"Do not blaspheme," Castiel corrected, still pacing and muttering something that sounded like a litany of names to Dean.

"He also called you a 'seraphic bastard," the hunter offered with a snicker, unable to keep a straight face even in the most serious of times.

Cas halted immediately, turning and tilting his head at Dean. "Now that's just rude." He frowned like an offended child and resumed his dizzying walking in circles. "Did he say anything else?"

Dean shrugged. "Not much, just some more talk about how others were coming to get me. Hey, at least he gave me warning. Gotta give the guy some credit for being thoughtful."

"Dean, this is serious," Cas said, looking at Gabriel for affirmation, which he was granted with Gabriel's abnormally serious face. "If one of my assignments is looking for revenge, there may be others. They must have known I was looking for you, somehow I do not know. And if they have found you…"

"They've found Cas," Gabriel finished, keeping his thoughts to himself. Thoughts that surely his brothers weren't serious enough to send out a hit for Castiel; surely they weren't the ones who had set Castiel's former assignments looking for vengeance on his trail. He snapped himself out of his dark suspicions. "I need to get the both of you to a safe house, now. Somewhere warded against every supernatural being in existence because there are things coming for you, and they're coming fast." He clapped Dean on the back. "Dean-o, where are you staying?"

The hunter shook him off. "Here in the motel. It's cheap, so what?"

Gabe clucked his tongue. "Now that just won't do. I'm sure I saw a lovely farmhouse outside of town that would fit our purposes nicely." With a snap of his fingers the three found themselves in the countryside. He studied the surroundings and the exterior of the farmhouse while Dean ran and threw up into a bush. Apparently angelic travel didn't suit the human.

He clapped his hands and rubbed them together with glee. "Cas, go start drawing sigils to hide the house from Heaven and then exorcise any nasties that may be occupying the house already." Gabe called to Dean who was still bent over a juniper bush. "Dean, sweetheart, do you want to go wait in the house or help with the protection symbols?"

Dean spat into the bush. "You know what, Gabriel? I'm fine helping, thanks. But I am not sharing a house with him," he pointed at Castiel's turned back. "I am not playing roomies with a guy I barely know."

Gabe scoffed. "Where do you want my brother to stay? Outside, like some stray dog? At least if he's here, he can protect you to some extent. He looks sweet and placid, doesn't he? But remember what he is like on hunts with you? That is who you want with you in a fight for your life. I don't care if you're uncomfortable, at least give yourself a fighting chance!" he hissed into Dean's ear, holding him by the shoulder of his coat as the hunter snorted and tried to walk away.

Dean looked steadily into the archangel's eyes, refusing to be cowed this time. "I am not sleeping in the same house as him," he enunciated every word softly and dead serious.

The angel shoved him away roughly with dark anger on his face. "Get on the sigils. And Dean?" he called. "You can tell Castiel he is sleeping outside."

The hunter straightened his jacket angrily, raising a middle finger as he walked away. Later, he sidled closer to Cas, feeling a stab as the angel obviously brightened in his presence.

"Dean," Cas greeted, trying not to seem too cheery. "What is…up?"

"The sky, genius, what do you think?" Dean immediately berated himself for responding with too much camaraderie. It was something he'd say to an actual friend, or Sam even.

"I don't understand. Is that a reference to something I ought to be aware of?" Cas returned to painting a sigil on the house, brow furrowed.

Dean coughed. "Uh, no. Not really. Anyway…hey, do you mind staying outside tonight? Better for keeping watch, y'know, and…and…" he faltered when Cas raised his blue eyes to his own, mouth sliding into sadness. "Okay, look, I feel like an asshole just asking, but can you please just stay outside for now? I'm not used to sleeping around other people and I'm still a little uncomfortable with this." He gestured between himself and Cas, waiting for the inevitable denial.

Which is why he was surprised when Cas bowed his head and turned his back. "Yes, of course. I understand. I will do my best to oblige your wishes."

Dean sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Yup, definitely feeling like a jackass. "Well…okay then. Thanks, Cas."

All he got in return was an impassive "The west windows need to be sealed from demons."

A/N: Oh good, you've finally made it to the end of the chapter! Thanks for sticking with it. The next chapter is going to be fairly short since originally it was going to be part of this one, but obviously this current chapter turned out a little...lengthy. So I divided them up. Also, I kinda just wanted to give this next scene it's own special chapter title.

Thanks to DeenaTweety for your kind words and the motivation you've lent me to continue writing :)

Anyways, please review? Give suggestions, ideas, anything? I love hearing from you guys and anything that I could work to improve on! Thanks(:~