Castiel moved toward the edge of the bed, searching for his clothes. He found his t-shirt, but his boxers were M.I.A.

"If you want, there's pajama pants in the bottom drawer," Dean pointed at his dresser. Cas smiled and nodded as he made his way, still naked, over to Dean's dresser. Dean watched him like a hawk. The sight of Castiel's body, bare and shining in the sunlight from the window, was intoxicating. Dean was sure he would never get enough of that sight. Cas bent forward to open the bottom drawer, and Dean's cock perked with interest at the beautiful man before him. "You'd better find 'em quick, or I'm gonna end up keeping you like that for the rest of the day."

Cas stood upright, turning back to Dean. "Not today," he smirked in imitation of Dean, "today I get to take care of you." He walked back over to the bed, pajama pants still in hand, and bent down to kiss Dean. Cas sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled the pants on. Dean slid around behind him, running his hands up and down Cas' wings. He leaned forward and kissed each of his shoulder blades. "Alright," Cas turned sideways on the bed to see Dean, "YOU lay back down. I'll be back in a little bit." Cas pressed a hand to Dean's chest until he laid back on the mattress. Castiel smiled fondly at him. "Don't go anywhere." With that, Castiel stood, and headed out the bedroom door, closing it behind him.

Dean took a deep breath. Was this real? Did he just wake up from some sort of twisted fantasy where he poured out his deepest secrets to the man he lo-

Whoa.

Slow down, Winchester.

Dean looked around the room for proof that this wasn't a dream, at least.

Two mugs of cold coffee sat on his nightstand. Proof. This was no dream. Cas was real. Cas was HERE. Cas was...his.

Dean's mind buzzed. He didn't know how long he'd been sitting there, zoned out, but it must have been a while. He started when Cas stood beside him, calling his name, a tray of food in his hands.

Castiel made his way down to the kitchen. There was so much to take in. So much to process. He was glad to have a project; something to do with his hands. He always thought better when he was working on something. Moving to the fridge, Castiel looked inside. He found some eggs, cheese, mushrooms and peppers. That would work. Pulling the ingredients out, he looked around the kitchen for the pans. He found a suitable one, and set it up on the stove.

Half an hour later, Castiel plated up two large servings of vegetable frittata. He placed the plates on the cookie sheet he'd found to use as a tray, along with two glasses and the jug of orange juice, half a fresh pot of coffee, and some toast. As he headed back up the stairs, Castiel marveled at how comfortable he felt working in Dean's kitchen. Everything had been exactly where he would have placed it, had it been his own.

Castiel stopped at Sam's door and knocked softly.

"Sam?" He heard the creek of the bed. Sam's footsteps were remarkably soft for someone so large. The door opened a crack. Sam's face peeked warily from behind it. He scanned Cas' appearance, and Castiel flushed slightly at the realization he was in nothing but pajama pants. "I made some food, if you're hungry."

"Oh. Okay. Thanks, Cas." Sam closed his door quietly.

Castiel nodded and smiled. He turned and headed back to Dean's room. Closing the door behind himself, Cas smiled as he heard Sam's door reopen and the teenager head for the stairs.

Dean was exactly where Castiel had left him, his eyes glazed over and unfocused.

"Dean?" he called to him. No response. Castiel moved to the side of the bed. "Dean, are you all right?" Dean jumped.

"Yeah," he said, sitting up, "yeah, 'm all right. Whatcha got there?" Dean smiled up at him, shaking off the fog his brain had worked itself into.

"Mushroom and pepper frittata with cheese, toast, coffee and juice," Castiel smiled, setting the cookie sheet down on the bed next to Dean's legs. Dean pulled his legs back and reached his hands up to take Cas' face between them. Cas turned to look at Dean's shining green eyes.

"Thank you." The sincerity in the two simple words Dean spoke conveyed volumes. Castiel leaned in and kissed him.

"Eat," Castiel said. He picked up the two mugs of coffee and took them to the bathroom to empty them. He rinsed them, then refiled them from the carafe he'd brought up. Setting Dean's mug down on his nightstand, Castiel crossed around the bed to sit down next to Dean. He handed one plate to Dean and picked up the other.

Dean ate with gusto, humming and moaning in enjoyment around his food. Cas smirked at the noises, and watched Dean from the corner of his eye. When they had finished, Castiel picked up the empty dishes and placed them back on the tray. He climbed off the bed and headed into the bathroom.

Castiel made his way to the large tub in the corner under the frosted glass windows, and turned on the tap. He adjusted the temperature until he was satisfied, plugged the basin, and shook the water from his hand. Pulling two towels from the cupboard, Castiel turned to see Dean peeking in the room.

"Get in," Cas said, handing him one of the towels. Dean took it, but his eyes never left the one Cas held on to. "I'll be back in fifteen minutes." He set the second towel down on the edge of the tub. With a quick kiss to Dean, he turned and walked back into the bedroom.

Dean watched as Cas walked around the bed and picked up his keys. Pulling on his shirt, Cas headed out the door. For a moment, Dean stood in the doorway between the bedroom and bathroom, towel still in his hand. Cas hadn't taken his phone, or even put on his shoes. A bit confused, Dean turned and walked to the tub. He set his towel down on top of the one Cas had laid there, and climbed into the tub.

The water was almost too hot. Dean eased himself into it slowly. The tub only had a few inches of water in it, but Dean sat down in the heat of it anyway. He watched as the water rose, swirling around him. He let the heat and the sound of the rushing water pull the tension from last night out of his body. It was a cleansing heat, and he relished it. He tipped his head back and closed his eyes.

Cas returned sooner than he'd expected, a clean change of clothes and a few belongings in hand. He stood in the doorway of the bathroom for a moment, just watching Dean. His head rested on the lip of the tub, his arms spread out along the edge. Cas' eyes were drawn to the long stretch of Dean's throat, the fringe of lashes on his cheeks, the pink tongue that darted out to wet his lips. Dean was beautiful.

The large tub filled slowly, steadily. Cas moved to the edge and put his hand under the stream. He set his little pile down on the floor and stripped out of his t-shirt and the borrowed pajama pants.

"Got room in there for one more?" Cas asked, startling Dean from his reverie. Dean smiled up at him and pulled his legs up, leaving one end of the tub open for Cas to climb in. "Uh uh. Scoot." Cas pressed Dean forward in the tub and climbed in behind him, legs straddling Deans back. When he was seated, he put his arms around Dean's shoulders and pulled him back against his chest. Cas pulled his knees up, and Dean placed his arms around them. Together, they sat in the tub, nothing but the noise of the water separating them.

When the tub was full, Dean leaned forward and turned off the taps. With a sigh, he leaned back into Castiel's embrace. Cas traced his fingers along Dean's collarbone lazily. They sat quietly for a long time. Little by little, Dean began to relax. Castiel could feel the tension leave his body one inch at a time.

"Will you tell me about them?" Cas whispered into the silence. Dean tensed back up and his heart skipped a beat. He took a deep breath. Cas' hands continued to stroke gently along Dean's skin in comforting movements.

"My mother was...she was beautiful. She was warmth and love and kindness incarnate. She had long, blonde hair and her eyes were like mine. I can remember the sound of her laugh. It was like the first drops of rain after a dry spell. Like the crackle of a warm fire in winter. She would sing to me. 'Hey Jude' was her favorite. I used to sit on her lap in the rocking chair, and she'd sing it over and over. She was so gentle, Cas. So...loving. Even when I was a cocky, rebellious teenager. One word from her, and I was like a four year old all over again. She knew about me. About my being bisexual. When I told her, you know what her response was?" Cas shook his head. Dean couldn't see it, but he felt the movement against him. "She said 'that's fine. I still want grandchildren'. Then she smiled and kissed me on the forehead.

"I could go to her with anything. She would just listen. Just...let me work it out for myself. Let me talk my way through it. Then, when I'd worked it out, she'd say 'is that the best choice for you?' It was a simple question, and she didn't judge me with it. I still hear her saying it to me when I'm faced with a tough situation. Like that night after the Roadhouse...?" Dean smirked at the memory of Cas, drunk and horny, begging Dean to fuck him. Cas groaned and rubbed a hand across his face. Dean just laughed, and pulled Cas' hand back down across his chest.

"What about your father?"

Dean went still. His smile faded.

"My dad. My dad was...a Marine. He was a tough man. He loved my mother, and he tried to do right by her. By us. Sometimes he was...too rough. Never hit us or anything like that, he just tended to forget that we were his kids, not his soldiers. Sammy was better with ignoring it than I was. He just let it go. He and my dad would butt heads a lot. When they'd fight, Sam would leave and go to the library. He' sit there for hours, reading.

Me, I...I had Sammy to look out for. He was a runt until just a couple of years ago. Kid used to get picked on a lot. It never lasted long, though, once I set them straight. Now...well, now he's bigger than me," Dean laughed. "But dad...I was never good enough for him. Always a failure in his eyes. When he found out about me, he just...clenched his jaw and walked away. He was fine when I was dating girls, but the first time I dated a guy...he got drunk and called me a 'fucking fairy'. My mom didn't speak to him for a week, she was so mad. She made him apologize to me, and he never said another word about me dating men. But I knew how he felt." Dean shifted a bit in Cas' arms, clinging a little tighter. "I didn't care, though. Why should it matter? Love who you love."

And suddenly, there it was. That word.

Castiel froze. Dean swallowed hard.

"Cas," Dean cleared his throat and sat up. He shifted awkwardly to face Castiel. "I don't know what this is. I don't know exactly how I feel about you, but I do know this: this is more than an infatuation for me. More than an 'I like you'. It's...like we have..."

"A profound bond," Cas offered. His eyes were solemn, but warm.

"Yeah," Dean nodded. "That's...a really weird way to put it, but...yeah." Castiel smiled and Dean turned back around, leaning into Cas' arms once more.

They fell silent, soaking in the heat and the words.