Dean was lost in his own thoughts. He was vaguely aware of Cas' voice in the background, but he had lost focus on the words probably almost half an hour ago.

Cas had been insistent he wanted to research tonight. He offered to read the texts out loud since he knew Dean couldn't reasonably read himself when he couldn't touch the books, and Dean had agreed. Actually, Cas had first offered to set up a movie and he could watch while Cas researched. But Dean had turned that down, feeling a weird reluctance to watch something without him.

His attempts to focus back on what was being said were unsuccessful. It didn't help that 'A Compendium of Documented Dreamwalking' was not quite a gripping story. He instead found himself focusing on trying to navigate the layered and conflicting feelings coming from Cas.

Frustration was one of them, deep at his core. Dean was pretty sure he was uncomfortable reading aloud. He had seen how fast Cas flipped through pages when he was just sitting and reading quietly; some sort of angel mojo or something. Reading at a pace that he could read out loud had to be painfully slow.

Just closer to the surface than that was a sort of comfortable contentment that had been steadily strengthening as they developed a sort of rhythm and routine to this weird dream thing.

And then there was that something else. That something that he couldn't quite get a read on.

He sighed, looking over at the clock in the corner. "Hey, let's get ready to head out." he prayed.

Cas nodded and stood, heading out into the hallway and towards Dean's room. Dean followed him and felt himself pulled back into his body as Cas shook his shoulder.

That feeling was almost less uncomfortable now that it had been a few weeks.

Dean rolled out of bed, heading directly towards the shower. He let his mind wander, thinking about this...dreamwalking...or whatever. Sam was still looking into what it was so they could stop them happening. Dean wasn't so sure he wanted them to stop

Of course, if Cas wanted them to stop, he wouldn't hesitate.

But now that he was getting used to it, it was a hell of a lot better than the alternative. He couldn't remember a time in his life when sleep came easy to him. Most nights were a blur of dreams that tore at every vulnerability he had. Nights he needed to drink to sleep weren't rare.

Now he knew for sure he wasn't going to have them.

Most nights he got to actually take a break and watch old movies with Cas. Even when he and Sam were out on a case, he'd still have that time to just… relax in a way he had never allowed himself before.

.

The case they were heading to now was in Oregon, making it necessary to crash in a motel in southern Idaho.

It was the first time Dean snapped into the room next to Cas that they were both stuck somewhere away. The hunter tried to pass time by talking through the details of the case, but it wasn't long before he ran out of things to say about that. When he finally trailed off they sat in silence for a few moments.

Cas looked up, thoughtfully. "Do you trust me?"

Dean narrowed his eyes, sensing that was a loaded question. "Why?"

"I'd like to drive us somewhere."

Dean paused. "You want to drive my baby." He accused.

Cas didn't seem deterred by the tone of the prayer. "May I?"

Dean glared at him for a good minute, working through a couple dozen thoughts. Finally he sighed. "Fine."

Cas stood and walked over to where Dean's jeans had been tossed, digging into the pocket and pulling out the keys.

Dean shivered as he felt the hand closing around the familiar key-chain. He followed Cas to the impala and slid in, watching Cas pull out of the motel parking lot. "God this is weird."

"What is?"

"I can feel myself driving her." He shook his head. "I mean I can feel you driving her but… it's so familiar." He focused on the sensation. "Except your left leg is somewhere stupid."

Cas thought for a moment and repositioned his leg to more resemble how the hunter usually sat.

"That's better... And weirder."

Castiel smiled gently, and that something feeling was back.

Dean looked up when Cas pulled off to the side of the road, looking out over the dark desert landscape. He climbed out with Cas, coming to lean against the hood with him and look up at the wide expanse of stars above them.

It reminded him of that night early on, but this time he was reasonably sure that there were no demons stalking them.

Cas spoke. "I figured we could not reasonably watch a movie without waking Sam."

"Probably right."

"This seemed like the next best thing."

"No argument from me."

They slipped back into silence. Dean frowned. Where he usually found their silences comfortable, this time it just gave him time to focus on Cas' feelings again. He twitched slightly, honing in on a sensation up behind him.

"I know you can tune this crap out, but if you don't scratch that itch I'm going to go insane."

Cas looked up, turning his attention to the mild discomfort in his left wing. He sort of shook it out, the feathers laying back into a more comfortable position, the sensation fading.

"Thank you."

"Of course."

Dean watched the angel's face as he looked back up at the sky. It was hard to see in the dark, but he looked perfectly calm, the same as he always did.

Without even having the distraction of physical discomfort, Dean's focus turned back to the emotions coming from Cas.

There was the usual contentment, this time free of annoyance. And more of that indescribable something.

"I kind of like this dream thing." Dean admitted, the first time he mentioned it to anyone else.

That feeling intensified for a moment.

Dean froze. He completely missed whatever Cas replied with.

He recognized the feeling.

Castiel's attention returned to the sky, settling back down into contentment.

Dean swallowed, testing the theory. "We should do this more often."

There it was again.

The hunter reeled, standing and putting some distance between them while he thought through it. He tried to reason that he was wrong. But the more he isolated that emotion, the more sure he was.

How could he just sit there and look so calm? Dean thought to himself, his own confusion finally rising up and overpowering what was coming from Cas.

He tried to find and speck of this feeling in his expression, but Cas really did just look as neutral as he always did. He couldn't reconcile the strength of those emotions with the stoic exterior.

Dean stood still, unaware of time stretching on. Cas just seemed content to sit in the silence.

The hunter's mind was calmer than he might've thought he'd be, but it felt like it was taking forever to work through each thought.

Finally he let himself just come back and lean back down in his spot next to Cas. He looked up to the stars, forcing himself to just take it all in.

.

These feelings weren't foreign. They were incredibly similar to something Dean kept carefully locked away.

He didn't know how to process that knowledge.

During the day Dean tried to keep his focus on the case they were on, but despite his best efforts he kept slipping.

When he almost got his neck snapped by a demon they cornered, Sam was the one to call him out on it. "Where the hell is your head at? You're a danger to yourself."

"Yeah, yeah." Dean snapped half-heartedly. He knew Sam wasn't wrong.

Dean kept close watch of Cas' expressions that evening, taking count of the things he would have previously refused to look into.

The next two nights when they headed out to watch the stars, they spent the time almost completely in silence.

Dean knew what those feelings meant. He just didn't know what he wanted to do with them.

He pushed it aside again.

Of course, it didn't mean a thing that he finally got his head on straight.

Dean had been worried about Sam splitting off on his own, but it was Cas and him who ended up walking into the ambush. Add to that, the group of demons they were tracking turned out to be a group of angels, and Dean knew they were in trouble.

He wasn't sure how they were this wrong. He was found armed only with a demon knife and a recorded exorcism. Not the tools he needed right now.

Cas lunged forward at the nearest, blade already in hand.

Dean tried to put a few trees between him and the angel advancing on him, slow them down as he attempted to get some distance from the fight. He kept moving, keeping a close eye on his surroundings while managing to keep track of Cas.

Dean's heart dropped when he saw the ridge creeping up behind him. He had effectively cornered himself.

He got ready, tightening his grip on the knife in his hand.

Dean did impressively considering the weapon he had at his disposal, but the well aimed strikes ultimately meant very little in the fight. He struggled to keep some control of the situation, but wasn't surprised when he felt the gash on his ribs right before his head exploded in a spark of pain. And then the world started to shift black.

The hunter found himself next to Cas, again in the middle of the fray. "Shit." He hissed to himself.

He felt Cas' wings balancing him as he again threw himself around and away from his attackers. He felt the adrenaline, mirrored closely with his own. His body tensed, his instinct was to help Cas and he had to remind himself that he couldn't do anything but try to spot him.

He watched closely, noticing the angel on his left before Cas could. "To your left."

"Dean." Cas whispered. He whipped to his left, catching the angel right through the chest before she could get to him. He looked up and over, looking towards Dean's now discarded body. He could only look for a second before he had to turn his attention back to the fight.

Dean tried to help him, alerting to anything up behind him. Still with the remaining five angels, things weren't going smoothly. It felt like those lakeside demons all over again. He could feel the pains running through him as each injury stacked on top of the last.

"On your right." One at a time Cas did manage to finally overcome them with Dean's help.

"Dean… you…" Cas trailed off, already running towards the ridge.

Dean stood by as the angel unsteadily sank to his knees beside the hunter, pushing through his own injuries. He was outwardly calm, putting a hand on the side of Dean's head, trying to gauge the severity of the wound. Dean could feel the emotions behind that facade though.

"I can't quite heal it yet… I will need a little time." He withdrew his hand, using it to instead steady himself. He settled down further, letting a little more of his weight be supported by the ground below.

"Yeah yeah, it's okay." Dean assured him in a rush.

"The injury is extensive." Sorrow.

Dean swallowed. "I'm okay. I mean, I think I'm okay…"

Cas reached into Dean's coat pocket, pulling his bandana out. He folded it, pressing it to the bleeding wound, trying to slow it down some.

"I'm sorry."

"I shouldn't have been out here with only the knife." He sighed. "Probably should just reach for an angel blade first."

Cas pressed his hand to Dean's temple, managing to push enough of his grace forward to begin to heal his wounds.

"Oh Jesus, that feels weird."

This managed to pull a small smile from Cas, and he felt the emotions tip just slightly more towards affection.

The feeling of being pulled back into his body was dizzying this time. He let the solid weight of Cas' hand on his shoulder ground him until the world stopped spinning. He accepted the angel's hand, pulling him to sit upright.

"Take it slow… I could not heal you completely." Cas said softly.

"I'm okay." He assured again, reaching out and pulling Cas into an embrace.

Cas let his arms close around the hunter, feeling exhausted as relief chased away the last of the adrenaline.

Dean held the hug longer than he would normally, and he made up his mind then what to do about it.

He pulled back from Cas, but he held his shoulder when Cas tried to give him space. He pushed himself forward and pressed Cas' lips to his own.

Cas tensed immediately, the kiss coming completely out of nowhere for him. He felt his breath catch in his chest as his mind tried to work out exactly what was happening.

Dean pulled back slightly, looking at Cas' somewhat stunned expression.

"Dean?"

"I do too." Dean said softly. He pulled Cas back into a hug.

Cas let himself relax fully into his arms this time, shocked by the sudden turn of events.

Dean held on tight.