AN: I'm sorry about the lateness - it's been insane. Went to Armageddon Expo (Link to my full story and tumblr: post/87963281377/ went-to-the-armageddon-expo-in-wellington-with-my) then my laptop broke and I got accepted into the uni I applied to, so I'm moving out in a month and I'm hoping I'll have finished this fic by then - only planning on about 3 more chapters.

Chapter Fourteen

"So!" Gabriel poked his head into Castiel's bedroom where the man was getting changed, causing him to yelp and hold his t-shirt close. "You're liking your birthday so far?"

Castiel paused and looked at his older brother with a faint frown. "Yes, why?"

A smirk touched the shorter Novak's lips, and Castiel instantly felt suspicion borne of years of living with Gabriel surge. "No reason, just wanted to know if you fancied a shopping trip with me today – you know I suck at gifting so instead, you get to pick whatever you want and I'll pay!"

The faint frown became more pronounced, and Castiel squinted at Gabriel apprehensively. "Is this a trick?"

Gabriel pressed a hand over where his heart lay, a shocked expression on his face. "How could you say such a thing?!" At Castiel's raised eyebrows, he added, "Okay I get why you would think that. But this isn't a trick, I just want you to have something nice on your birthday. I'm not the best big brother and I wanted to make it up to you."

Castiel paused as he shrugged into a clean blouse and jeans. "Alright then," he agreed.

The answering beam from his older brother almost made him reconsider. "Huzzah! An adventure! I'll go get dressed and we can go!" He vanished out the room at top speed, and Castiel blinked before realising he'd just resigned himself to spending an entire Saturday at the mall with his older brother – on his birthday.

"Oh," he said somewhat glumly into the sudden quiet of his bedroom. Once he was fully dressed and ready to leave, he went downstairs once more and found Dean staring avidly at the TV screen, where Toy Story was playing. He smiled at the sight, allowing himself a few moments of selfish observation, before clearing his throat. Dean jumped and blushed, fumbling for the remote.

"I….um….it was just on, okay?" he said defensively. Castiel snorted.

"I'm sure. Maybe one day we can marathon the trilogy," he said, and Dean's face lit up before he schooled it into one of careful agreement.

"Yeah! I mean….yeah, that'd be cool," he said nonchalantly, but Castiel was still able to detect the glimmer of excitement that lay in his green eyes. Dean's face then grew slightly tense. "You're going to the mall with Gabriel, right?" he asked.

Castiel nodded guiltily. "Yeah. I mean….I didn't get much choice…."he explained awkwardly. Dean waved off his apologetic tone.

"No it's fine just…well, we're throwing you a party," he said. "And Gabriel wanted it to be a surprise so he's taking you out for the entire day – you'll probably end up stuck in an arcade so watch out for that – and I'm gonna be here setting up. I'm all for a party, man, but I know you're not really a fan of surprise parties being thrown on you so I thought I'd give you some warning. May wanna let Gabriel think it's still a surprise though." He gave a small grimace. "Sorry."

Castiel was frozen as he allowed the words to process. In fact, he was still for so long that Dean grew worried.

"Um, Cas? You okay?" he asked. Castiel shook himself and replied.

"Yeah. Just. Party? For me?" he asked, genuinely baffled. Dean's eyes widened.

"Well yeah. It's your birthday, and you're awesome, so…." He shrugged. "Party."

"Huh."

"What? You never had a party before?" Dean frowned at his expression, rising from the couch. "Are you okay?"

Castiel's mouth was dry and his eyes far too wet. "I've never….not for me. Never had any kind of party." His arms worked their way out of being limp, enough for him to rub his left arm self-consciously. "This….this will be a first," he admitted, and then Dean's arms were around him, hugging him.

"Damn, Cas," he breathed, and Castiel shivered at the hot, minty breath washing over his skin. "And you weren't even gonna tell me it was your birthday?!"

"It was not of import," Castiel muttered into the cotton shirt beneath his lips, and he felt Dean shake with a desperate laugh.

"'Not of import' my ass," he said firmly, before pulling away so that he could look into Castiel's eyes. "You're important, got it? And so is your birthday. So go, get the innocence knocked outta you by your disturbingly weird older brother so I can sort out your damn party!" He then leaned in and kissed Castiel's cheek tenderly. The pair of them froze, eyes wide, and Dean's arms dropped back to his side, hands flapping uselessly. "Um. I…." he mechanically sat back down on the couch and stared blankly at where Woody and Buzz were riding RC. Castiel stood for a second, lips working silently, before touching his cheek hesitantly, still feeling the tingle of Dean's lips.

"I'll just…" he strode over to the front door and left, reflexively grabbing his trenchcoat and throwing it on before shutting the door. On the couch, Dean shuddered and rested his head in his hands as his elbows rested on his knees, running his fingers through his hair. In his head, Sam began to laugh.

Dude could you BE any more obvious? He chortled. Just tell him already!

"Shut up," Dean growled, and flicked the TV off before standing up and stretching. "Okay, where the fuck are the balloons?"

Outside, Castiel threw himself into Gabriel's Ford, instantly recoiling at the unfamiliarity of it – not soft leather where's the tape player WHY ARE THERE SEATBELTS wait seatbelts are good Dean should put seatbelts in the Impala so it's safe for children WHY AM I THINKING ABOUT CHILDREN STOP IT NOW – and growled "Drive."

Gabriel, who had started on his fifth Starburst waiting for his brother, paused. "You okay?"

Castiel sighed and leaned his forehead against the cool glass, staring up at the grey sky. "Yes, I'm fine. I was just thinking about Michael and Nick."

"Oh." Gabriel's hand hovered over the ignition before starting the car. "Let's go!"

And the Ford took off in the mall's direction, Castiel immediately regretting not putting on his seatbelt sooner.

Seven hours later, Castiel staggered up to the front door, laden with bags and still in mild shock. Gabriel bounced along beside him, carrying yet more bags, and a stuffed bear under one arm, grinning madly from ear to ear. Castiel's hair was sticking up in all directions, and he was now sporting a bruise that was blossoming across his right eye as he stared blankly at his front door.

Ah. Yes. The Party.

"Did we…?" he began, and Gabriel nodded.

"Yup."

"And you…?" he looked at his brother, who was beginning to shake with laughter.

"Yup."

Castiel stared at the bags in his arms, which were overflowing with products that included – but were not limited to – a various assortment of differently sized dildos, multiple flavours of lube, women's lingerie, an enormous bag of jellybeans, and every film starring Johnny Depp on Blu-ray. "And the stripper…?" he said hesitantly. Gabriel held back a snort.

"I'm sure she appreciated your girlish squeals of terror, Castiel. As did the bouncer," he raised an arm to gesture at the bruise Castiel was sporting and his arm jangled. Castiel instinctively stepped back in fear – he knew all too well what Gabriel had purchased that made that noise.

"Right. Well. Would you mind unlocking the door? My arms are full."

Gabriel shuffled in front of him – almost pushing Castiel off the doorstep in the process – and unlocked the door before nudging it inwards with his foot.

"After you, milady," he said, shoving Castiel in the front door.

Of course, he had to trip over his foot as he fell inwards with the door, landing flat on his face as a chorus of voices yelled, "SURPRISE! Oh…"

He looked up at where Dean, Ellen, Jo, Bobby, Lisa Braedon, Ash, Charlie, and about half the faculty from Lawrence High School were all staring at him lying in a small puddle of dildos and underwear, and simply muttered, "Gabriel. I will end you."

Dean was the first to break the silence, collapsing with laughter. "Jesus, Gabriel, you said you'd take him out, not traumatise him!" He walked over and helped Castiel up. "Come on, dude. I'll help you with your…stuff…and um. Some stuff for your black eye. And when you've stopped wanting to die of shame, feel free to join us!" Grabbing a few bags in one hand and Castiel's arm with the other, he frogmarched the other teacher up the stairs.

Once they were inside Dean's room, Dean slammed the door and leaned against it, howling with laughter. "Holy shit, what the hell happened?! I am so sorry for leaving you with your brother, I didn't think you'd end up half dead!" Castiel stared at him.

"I think I'm still in shock, to be honest. I mean, we went to a pub. And they gave us lots of free birthday drinks and it's kind of a bit of a blur but I think there's a picture…." He fumbled in his pocket, stared at what he found, and shoved it back in promptly. "No. No picture. Definitely not."

"What's that? Lemme see," Dean darted over and snatched Castiel's hand out of his pocket, which was still holding the photo. He gaped in astonishment.

It was a somewhat blurry self-taken photograph by Gabriel, with the man himself beaming in the foreground and pointing in the general area behind him – where Castiel, in all his bare-chested glory, was stood on a bar, clearly singing his heart out. Along the bottom of the photo were hands thrust into the space in front of Castiel's knees, holding out dollar bills. Castiel's tie was tied around the crown of his head, and he had a dazed look on his face but was clearly enjoying himself. Dean raised his eyebrows and handed the photo back.

"We gotta get your drunk more often, dude."

Castiel was beet red. "So that happened. And then we went shopping, and Gabriel went a little nuts in the sex store, and then there was a strip joint and he tried to buy me a lapdance but I may have gotten scared and then there was a fight and the bouncer punched me and it was rather rude of him but I think he can be excused in this circumstance considering Gabriel was trying to sing 'God save the Queen' to the tune of 'Back in Black' and I-"

He was cut off by Dean pressing cold flannel to his head. "Hey, you're fine now," Dean said, smiling gently and lifting Castiel's hand to hold it firmly against the black eye. "And I think you'll live, so uhh…" he took a nervous step back. "Just hold it there for a bit and it'll hurt less. And when you're up to it just come down. If you want. I made cake! And pie. If you want." He turned and left the room, a crooked smile on his face. "So yeah. Glad your birthday's a bit more exciting than you're used to, I guess."

Castiel sat down on Dean's bed, and fell back onto the mattress.

Just a quick nap, he thought to himself, and closed his eyes.

Dean thundered down the stairs and hauled Gabriel out of the living room.

"Kitchen. Now," he growled. Gabriel, dragged backwards away from where he was gesticulating wildly at Ellen and Bobby, was unable to protest.

Alone in the kitchen, Dean folded his arms and glared.

"The hell, dude? You were meant to entertain him for a few hours, he looks like he's been on the bender from hell for a month! And I would know – I've been on a couple!"

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "He's fine, Dean. I wouldn't let him actually get seriously injured!"

"You let a bouncer punch him in the face!"

"I didn't mean for that to happen!"

"Well it did! You can't just…fuck, Gabriel, why would you even let that happen?!" Dean's fists clenched and unclenched as he willed himself to not punch the short man in front of him. Gabriel bristled and stepped forward so that they were nose to nose, unfazed by Dean's rage.

"Look here, you whiny ass. I can't control every fucking thing that happens in my brother's life, and neither can you! He's fine, he's a grown man who can make his own damn decisions, and you with your bone-headed macho anger isn't gonna scare me one bit because me and Castiel up there? We've seen and lived with a hell of a lot worse."

Dean deflated and leaned back, bracing himself with one hand on the counter and scrubbing down his face with the other. "You know you're gonna have to tell me about that shit one day. I'm…I'm sorry man. Thanks for yelling at me. Sounded like my old man for a second there." He grimaced. "Not fun. But I'm just gonna go check on him. Give people pie and food for me?"

Gabriel sighed and walked over to the oven, which was warming the apple pie and allowing it's intoxicating scent to fill the house. "Sure, just make sure he isn't ready to kill me or anything."

Dean smiled awkwardly at the group in his living room, heading up the stairs and into his bedroom. He stopped dead when he saw Castiel splayed out on the bed, a small smile on his face and arms flung wide as he let out a quiet snore. Dean quietly shut the door behind him and leaned against it as he watched, biting his lip and debating what to do. After a few moments, he eventually walked over and gently lifted Castiel's legs from where they hung off the edge of the bed, arranging the sleeping form so that Castiel was now lying fully on the bed. Tongue stuck out the side of his mouth from concentrating on not waking him up, Dean took off Castiel's shoes before pulling up the blanket and tucking him in carefully. He reached out a hand to Castiel's face, hesitating and retracting it a couple of times before sweeping a lock of hair off Castiel's forehead and allowing his hand to rest on his cheek for a moment. Straightening up, he chuckled to himself and shook his head at how deeply Castiel was asleep before quietly leaving the room and shutting the door behind him.

"Is he alive?" Gabriel demanded as Dean re-entered the lounge and snatched a plate of pie out of his hands.

Dean rolled his eyes. "If he wasn't, would I be standing here, talking to you?"

Gabriel considered this for a moment. "Well no, you'd probably be screaming and clutching his corpse to your bosom, declaring your undying love to his lifeless body and-"

"Shut up," Dean interrupted, uncomfortable at the thought of Castiel dead – he'd had way too many nightmares about that exact situation. "He's asleep. I didn't wanna wake him. What do you wanna do?"

There was a shrug from the shorter man as he took the pie off Dean's plate and began to munch it, earning himself a scowl from the taller man. "Keep on partying?"

A few crumbs stared back at Dean when he looked down at his empty plate miserably. "Yeah, whatever."

When Castiel woke up, the room was filled with a warm gold light, the setting sun's rays hitting every available surface. He pushed himself upright, and the blanket fell from his chest.

That wasn't there before, he thought muzzily, and then climbed out of bed, noting that he still wore his trenchcoat, button-down shirt and black slacks, but his shoes had somehow managed to neatly arrange themselves by the wardrobe.

How….?

Castiel pulled off his clothes and folded them, pulling on a pair of sweats and a rumpled jumper over his bare chest before heading out of the bedroom.

Once he was downstairs, he was confronted with the sight of Dean and Gabriel on the couch, eating pie and having a heated debate over whether or not Tom Hiddleston was more attractive with brunet or blond hair.

"Dude, no! The dark hair really makes his eyes pop – have you not seen The Avengers?!" Dean demanded, waving a fork around. Gabriel snorted and flicked a crumb at him.

"But with blond hair he looks like a baby angel!"

"Yeah, but my point still stands – dark hair makes his eyes look bluer, and it's really fucking –" Dean looked up and broke off at the sight of Castiel stood in the doorway. "Um. Hi."

Castiel looked around the living room, avoiding both Dean's eyes and the memory of the kiss on the cheek that morning, and raised his eyebrows. "What happened?"

At this, Gabriel stood up, pouting. "Well, we got home, you had a party waiting for you, and you decided to fall asleep in Deano's bed. We continued to party for a couple of hours until the spoilsport kicked everyone out half an hour ago, and you're just in time for cake!"

Dean kicked him. "It was a birthday party for Mr Comatose over there, and he was asleep. There wasn't much point. But yeah, we have cake!" His eyes sparkled, but Castiel was feeling too guilty to notice as he looked at the floor mournfully.

"I'm sorry I fell asleep. You put so much effort into giving me a birthday party, and it was for nothing. Can I make it up to you?"

A million images of Castiel in various positions in Dean's bed flashed through Dean's mind within a split second before he glanced at Gabriel and saw the bastard smirking. "It's fine, Cas, honestly. Just sit and eat cake with us and you can pick the movie."

Castiel turned to look into the kitchen and saw a simply enormous chocolate cake set on the table. MnM's dotted the sides, set in chocolate icing, and on top they spelt out "HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAS" next to a smiley face. There was a sudden pain in his chest when he turned and saw Dean, now standing up and watching his reaction anxiously.

"Um, is the cake okay? Gabriel was all for decorating it with candyfloss and jellybeans and stuff but I kinda figured you wouldn't be as into that as he is so…." He shrugged. Castiel blinked, surprised to find his eyes stinging, and walked over so he could hug Dean once more.

"It's the best. Thank you," he mumbled. Dean patted his back uncertainly, and a sudden memory of that morning flashed through Castiel's mind, causing him to pull back before he allowed himself to get too comfortable in Dean's arms. "So, it's all for me, right?" he asked, grinning. "Considering you guys probably finished off the pie."

Dean looked guilty and shifted from one foot to another. Gabriel, on the other hand, beamed.

"Heck yeah we did! Anywhore, I'm whacked. I might go watch Gossip Girl," and on that note, he spun on his heel and went upstairs. Dean, momentarily blindsided by the sudden exit, looked at Castiel.

"Gossip Girl?"

Castiel shrugged. "He has an obsession. Sometimes I'm convinced we aren't related." He grabbed a fork and stuck it into the cake, giving himself a forkful of cake. His cheeks puffed out and he grasped the handle of the fork in one hand as he slowly pulled it out of his mouth, closing his eyes and letting out a soft moan.

"Mmmf mmf mmf mmf MMF!" he said. Dean coughed.

"Um, what?"

After copious chewing and swallowing, Castiel was able to speak. "Dean, this is the best cake ever. I might have to make you make me cake for the rest of my life."

Dean blushed. "You don't have to say that, man. It's just cake."

Castiel, halfway through shoving another forkful into his mouth, scowled at him. "Dean, if I say this is the best cake ever, this is the best cake ever. Accept the compliment for once."

Dean sighed and sat down opposite his friend. "Yeah, whatever. So uh, what's the deal with you and birthdays anyway?"

Castiel paused and pushed the cake away before looking at him. "I didn't have the best time growing up, Dean. I am the youngest out of my siblings – the eldest as twins, Michael and Nick. Then there was Anna, then Gabriel, then myself. Michael and Nick were constantly arguing, and my father was the only one who could keep them in line. Often they would take it out on the rest of us – they were fighting on my fifth birthday and I got in the way. I don't remember much, but I woke up at the bottom of the stairs with a broken arm. My father was locked away in his study a lot, to avoid the responsibilities that come with such a large family. My mother didn't take it too well and turned to alcohol. I and my siblings were largely ignored. My birthday was not a priority – I doubt any of them aside from Gabriel even remember my existence, let alone the date. When I was 10, my father died and my mother uprooted us to England. She….drank excessively. Michael and Nick were 18 by this point and didn't accompany us. I haven't seen them since. Because of her drinking, my mother was prone to taking out her anger on us, especially me once she caught me kissing another boy, and as soon as they were old enough Anna and Gabriel left, leaving me to bear the brunt of it. My birthday has never really been a cause for celebration. I studied hard and managed to earn myself a scholarship to Oxford University, where I met Balthazar. Once we graduated, we moved back to the US and….I suppose you know the rest." He finished talking, staring at his hands, which were laced together on the table. Dean sat in shock for a moment before standing up and moving round the table, turning Castiel's chair and crouching so that they were face to face.

"Cas, I kind of suck at this stuff. But you deserved none of that, you got it? You're one of the best people I know, and the shit you had to go through just makes the fact that you are the nicest, sweetest guy ever even more special. You're important and so is your birthday," he said firmly. Castiel stared at him, his ability to breathe becoming slightly compromised.

"Thank you Dean," he murmured, and Dean couldn't stand the awed, doe-eyed expression on his face any longer. Without stopping to even think about it, he leaned in and pressed his mouth to Castiel's.

AN: Woot! So many reviews help.

cloudsarefluffy - HERE IS WHAT HAPPENED TO CAS. Huge infodump because I suck.

Perdition Raiser - THANK YOU THEY KISSED I HOPE YOU AREN'T UPSET

katie1689 - Don't apologise for that! It motivates me! And here's a super long update because Armageddon was the best fucking weekend ever.

angels182 - sort of resolved! And same haha

cadlg7 - It's okay I've got it all planned out it's exciting okay

WhovianNerd - I DON'T KNOW BUT THANK YOU THIS PLEASES ME

DemonicAngel363 - HELLO thank you GABRIEL WILL STAY because I like him a lot. And I am glad you are laughing! :D

MariMagda - Argh it's happening! Partly thanks to Gabriel and their outing earlier. And dorky Dean is my favourite thing!

silverlininginwriting - Here is an update! And it's pretty long too :D ARMAGEDDON WAS SO FUCKING COOL where are you in NZ?

Rose Tyler I - Okay first of all your username killed me. Second of all I appreciate your understanding :D they are such lovely people it was awesome

Allyson Jalexa - Your laughter motivates me thank you :D ahhh I will try keep up the awesomeness if you say so!

awkwardnerdangel - awkward morning boners are the best thing. There was an awkward cheek kiss thing and a dildo puddle if that's any consolation? :D

ILikeCheeseBiscuits - Hello! Welcome to my story! And if you wanna sprinkle glitter over douchebags, you sprinkle! And if someone likes being protected then go nuts :D and 4am rambles are awesome but please get enough sleep.