Many thanks to my beta readers, ioascc and MamaMoonandBack, for cleaning up my typos, making sure everything said what it meant, and making me crave cheesecake.

This story is dedicated to lotrspnfangirl. She knows why.

Happy reading, and please leave a review if you like it. =)


How To Hit (on) A Guy With Your Car

Dean Winchester was having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. First he tripped over Miracle on his way to the bathroom and landed on his bad knee. Then Baby wouldn't start (she didn't like these New England winters one bit), so he had to borrow Charlie's little yellow bug, which was like squashing himself into a clown car and did not help his throbbing knee. And then, the shit icing on his shit day, he arrived at work to find that Benny was out sick and he was riding with that asshole Cole instead.

Cole had been friendly enough when Dean first moved here, but then Dean let slip that he was bi. Since then Cole had avoided him like queer might be contagious, and when they were forced together like today, he watched Dean closely for signs of trying to seduce him. Dean tried to just ignore it, but it grated on his nerves.

Fortunately, their first call was a relatively easy one, a minor car accident, no serious injuries. Dean treated one of the drivers for shock and whiplash while an officer interviewed her, and Cole took care of the driver and passenger from the other car while the officer's partner questioned them. Dean's patient was even feeling well enough to shyly flirt with her officer. Dean couldn't blame her. It was Blue Eyes Novak, after all.

Dean had never gotten the guy's first name even though it was a small town and their professions overlapped enough that they saw each other nearly every day. This was because every time he tried to have a non-professional conversation with Officer Novak, Dean turned into a babbling idiot. He was still haunted by the memory of the time he said "Lovely weather we're having" while they were standing in the pouring rain dealing with an overturned tractor trailer. Novak had looked from Dean to the black sky, to the fire and rescue crew using the jaws of life to cut open the truck's cab, and finally back to Dean who by that point was wishing for a convenient lightning strike to put him out of his misery. Fortunately, Novak seemed to think Dean was attempting a joke. Unfortunately, he thought it in very poor taste if the blank, unimpressed look he gave Dean before walking away was any indicator.

To be fair, this was a problem Dean had even with average looking guys. The patented Dean Winchester charm that he employed so effortlessly with women just dried up as soon as he was faced with a man he would like to entice into his bed. But it certainly didn't help that the dark blue of Officer Novak's uniform made the more dramatic blue of his eyes stand out in his movie-star-handsome face. Or that his deep, calm voice as he questioned traumatized victims and witnesses was sin and safety rolled into one, a perfect voice for murmuring "Good boy" as its owner locked a pair of padded leather handcuffs around Dean's wrist. (Not that Dean had spent a lot of time building a detailed fantasy about this or anything.)

The rest of his shift was alternately boring and brutal, and by the time he clocked out, Dean was actively restraining himself from punching Cole in the face. As he changed out of his uniform, he decided he had earned some fucking pie.

His mood started to lift as soon as he saw the sign for Angel Cakes bakery with its tacky, vaguely obscene cherubs (who all looked suspiciously like caricatures of the bakery's owner). He parked Charlie's car and pried himself out from behind the wheel, wincing as his knee gave a particularly painful throb. He'd get his pie to go and eat it in bed with an ice pack and the new season of Dr. Sexy.

"Hey, Gabe," he called out over the cheerful jingling of the door chime. It wasn't busy, thank goodness. There were a few people at the tables, reading, chatting, or working on their laptops while they enjoyed their coffee and pastries, but there was no line at the counter.

A short, smiling man with warm golden-brown eyes and curly hair came out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a floury apron emblazoned with a cartoon of a winking cherub with fluffy gold wings and the bakery's name. The resemblance between the cherub and the man was even more striking when you saw them side by side. "Deano! How's it going?"

"Horrible, thanks for asking. Got anything that can rescue a day from the depths of hell?"

"Well, I'm not one to brag—"

"Since when?"

"But my double chocolate cherry cheesecake has been called a mouth orgasm."

Dean nearly groaned just at the name. "Sold. You are an angel among men."

"You only love me for my cooking. You want it for here or to go?"

"To go please."

"You got it." Gabe boxed up two slices of mouthwatering chocolate cheesecake with a sinful looking cherry glaze dripping from the top, and poured coffee into a paper cup. "That'll be twelve fifty. Coffee's on the house because you really do look like shit."

Dean laughed. "Hell, anyone who gives me free coffee gets to insult me as much as they like." He paid for his cheesecake, thanked Gabe, and shouldered the door open with his hands full.

He was halfway across the parking lot when the rear end of a fugly gold Lincoln swung out of nowhere, coming right at him. He instinctively dropped his coffee cup and slammed a hand down on the car's trunk as though he could stop several tons of metal with his bare hands. But it worked. The driver heard the impact and slammed on the brakes, the rear bumper coming to a stop an inch from Dean's legs.

"Hey! Watch where you're going, asshole!" Dean yelled, heart pounding so hard with adrenaline that he could feel it in his ears.

The driver's door opened, and a man got out, and oh fuck. It was Blue Eyes. He must be off duty too because he had changed into jeans, a black t-shirt, and a black leather motorcycle jacket. It was the first time Dean had ever seen him out of uniform, and it did nothing to lessen his sexiness. Kind of the opposite.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry," Novak said, blue eyes wide and scared, another look Dean had never seen on him before. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? I didn't see… Oh. It's you." His frantic apologizing stuttered to a halt as he recognized Dean. "Winchester, right?"

"Yeah. And I'd think a guy who attends accident scenes all day would drive a little more carefully."

Novak flushed with embarrassment, and fuck if that didn't make his eyes even prettier. "You're right. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have backed out so fast."

"Damn right you shouldn't have! You could have killed someone!" He wasn't gonna let the guy off the hook just because he was hot. Nope.

But when Novak hung his head like a chastised puppy, Dean relented despite himself.

"Okay, okay. Let's both take a breath. I'm not gonna sue you or anything. Just be more careful in the future. And maybe replace my coffee."

Novak followed Dean's gaze down to the puddle of coffee slowly soaking into the pavement. "Oh, shit. Yeah, of course. Just let me re-park my car."

"Hopefully without hitting anyone this time." It came out sounding more teasing than stern.

Novak's lips twitched in the ghost of a smile (and damn he had pretty lips too, full and soft looking). "I'll do my best."

"Miss me already, Deano?" Gabe said when Dean came through the door with Novak in tow.

"Spilled my coffee."

"Well, I'm not giving you another one for free. I like you, but I've got a business to run here."

"I'll be paying," Novak said, stepping forward and taking his wallet from his jacket, "since I'm the one who made him spill it."

Gabe waggled his eyebrows lasciviously at the unintentional double entendre. "Oh, really?"

Dean rolled his eyes. "Shut up and make the coffee, Gabe."

"To go again?"

Dean looked over at Novak and, on an impulse, said, "Nah. I think I'll drink it here after all. You, uh, you want to sit with me?"

Novak blinked at him. "Really? You– you want to have coffee with me? After I almost ran you over?"

Dean shrugged. "It was an accident. You apologized. And," maybe it was the lingering adrenaline that gave him the nerve to actually say it, "and you're cute, so…"

Novak gave a shy, delighted smile. Clearly he wasn't uncomfortable having another man flirt with him. That was a good sign.

"I'm Dean, by the way." He held out his hand.

"Castiel, but most people call me Cas." His hand when he shook Dean's was big and warm, smooth but strong.

Gabe pushed two coffees across the counter, and Cas paid for them.

As they made their way over to an empty table, Cas suddenly noticed Dean favoring his bad knee. "You're limping!" he said with alarm. "I did hit you! Why didn't you say something?!"

"Relax. This definitely wasn't your fault. My knee's been fucked up for years. Hockey injury when I was a teenager." A lie, but one he'd told so often it came easier than the truth. Telling people that your abusive alcoholic of a dad stomped on your knee hard enough to break it in three places didn't usually go over well on a first date. "And then I tripped over my dog this morning and landed on it badly. It's been bugging me all day."

Cas practically sagged with relief. "Oh, good. I mean," he started blushing again, "not good that you've been in pain all day."

"I know what you meant. It's fine."

Cas took two packets of honey from the caddy of silverware and coffee fixings on the table, tore them open with his teeth (which did not give Dean any obscene mental images, thank you very much), and squeezed them into his coffee, stirring it with a spoon.

"Honey in coffee? I've never heard of that before."

"It's good. You should try it some time."

"No, thanks. I like it black as sin and bitter like a jilted lover."

Cas snorted. "Poetic."

Dean opened the box of cheesecake he had somehow managed to hang onto this whole time and found its contents remarkably undamaged. With only a second's hesitation, he pushed the box into the middle of the table. "You want some?"

Cas' eyebrows rose. "You're going to share your cheesecake with the man who nearly killed you with his car?"

"No. I'm going to share my cheesecake with the cute guy who bought me a coffee."

"After I made you spill the first one and nearly killed you with my car!"

Dean gave a dismissive wave. "Details. Look, do you want it or not? This is a limited time offer."

Cas laughed, and it was just as sexy as his voice. Dean wanted to feel that laugh on his skin. "Of course I want the cheesecake, Dean. It's cheesecake."

"Man after my own heart."

They each took a fork and dug in. Gabe hadn't been lying about the mouth orgasm. Dean stifled a moan. Cas made no inappropriate noises unfortunately, but the way his eyes closed and his head tipped back as he chewed, exposing the thick column of his throat and the shadow of stubble under his jaw was pornographic enough to have Dean's dick taking an interest.

"So you're a paramedic?" Cas said once the first bite had been properly savored and they could divide their attention between the confection and the conversation.

"And you're a cop."

Cas blushed. God, he was gorgeous when he did that. "I'm sorry. You probably don't want to talk about work on a… I mean," he darted a glance at Dean, blushing even harder, "is this a…"

Dean was very tempted to let him keep stammering and blushing, it was so adorable, but he knew from experience how embarrassing it was to think you were on a date only to find out that the other person wasn't on the same page, so he took pity on the man. "It is if you want it to be." He had no idea where this strange new confidence was coming from, but he was going to ride it as far as it would take him.

"I would like that very much," Cas said, gracing Dean with another of those shy smiles. Dean decided he would gladly walk through hell to earn more of those.

"Okay, then."

The awkwardness eased slowly but surely after that, and soon Dean found himself telling Cas about how he'd moved to New England from California to be closer to his brother.

"That's very brave," Cas said. "You must love him very much. I wouldn't uproot my life like that for any of my siblings, nor they for me."

Dean shrugged. "Yeah, well, growing up we moved a lot. Didn't really get much chance to make friends, so I guess we got used to sticking together. I moved to California for him in the first place. He was in college out there. Stanford."

He couldn't help puffing up with pride when he said that. He himself might have had to drop out of high school and work three jobs to make it happen, but it was worth it to be able to tell people that his baby brother graduated with honors from fucking Stanford!

"Didn't seem much point in staying once he was gone. Besides, he and his wife might start popping out babies any day now. I can't be the cool uncle who spoils them if I'm on the other side of the country."

Cas smiled. "No, I suppose you can't."

"What about you?" Dean asked. "You said you've got siblings. Any nieces and nephews?"

The smile faded and a shadow fell over Cas' face. "Several, but I've, uh… I've never met any of them. My family doesn't approve of my 'life choices'." He actually put his fork down to sketch bitter air quotes around the words.

Dean didn't need that translated for him. They didn't want the gay uncle anywhere near their kids. "Shit. I'm sorry. That sucks."

Cas nodded, acknowledging the truth of Dean's words. "My sister sends me pictures in her Christmas cards and updates me on the family news, but she's the only one who'll have any contact with me."

Dean impulsively put his hand on top of Cas', offering silent comfort. Cas smiled gratefully, and their hands remained like that as the conversation turned to lighter subjects.

Talking to Cas was surprisingly easy once Dean forgot to be nervous. It felt like they'd known each other for years instead of... Dean glanced at the clock above the counter and blinked. They'd been talking for more than an hour. Their coffee and cheesecake were long gone, and Dean's hand still rested on top of Cas', his thumb absently caressing the other man's knuckles, both of them acting like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Do you have to go?" Cas asked regretfully, noticing Dean looking at the clock.

Dean snapped his gaze back to his date. "No, I, um… I was actually wondering if you wanted to come home with me." Somehow he managed to get the words out before he could second guess or overthink them.

Another shy smile curled Cas' lips. "I'd love to."

Dean's stomach did a little flip that was one part nerves to two parts excitement. Was this really happening? Was he finally gonna lose his guy-on-guy virginity? It sure looked like it, unless…

"I meant for sex. Just… just in case that wasn't clear." Oh, there was the babbling idiot he usually turned into around hot guys. He'd been wondering when that douchebag would make an appearance.

"I knew what you meant, Dean," Cas said, his smile turning to a smirk.

They cleaned up their trash and returned their cups to the counter. Gabe gave them a lewd wink and an encouraging thumbs up. Both of them ignored him.

"This isn't mine," Dean felt compelled to say as they approached the little yellow bug. "I had some car trouble this morning. Had to borrow my roommate's. She works from home most of the time." Now he really wished he was driving his Baby today. She would have impressed Cas enough to make him forget all about the I-meant-for-sex thing.

"I was wondering how a tall man like you comfortably drives a car like that," Cas chuckled.

Dean snorted. "Yeah, no. My car has a lot more leg room. So you, uh… you want to follow me in your car?"

"Yes, I think that would be the most practical, especially since it looks like there's barely room in that thing for you." But instead of heading to his own car, Cas stepped even closer to Dean. "Can I kiss you?" he asked, his eyes dropping to Dean's lips. "Just once before we go?"

"Fuck yes," Dean whispered hoarsely.

He expected Cas to just go for it as soon as he had permission, but first he cupped Dean's cheek gently and looked into his eyes. Then he leaned in so slowly that Dean thought he might die from the anticipation. When their lips finally met, it was soft and close mouthed, almost chaste, and yet it was the hottest kiss Dean had ever had. All the little differences — the flat, firm chest pressed against his own, the fact that Cas was almost as tall as him, the way his hand was big enough to cover Dean's whole cheek, the catch of stubble on their chins — added up to, I am definitely not straight. He hadn't really doubted it before, but it was nice to have the confirmation anyway.

He parted his lips, trying to coax Cas into something a little less middle-school but not wanting to push too fast. Cas accepted the invitation eagerly. The hand on Dean's cheek slid around to the back of his neck, fingers carding through the short hair there, and the other settled on Dean's hip. Dean finally found the courage to touch Cas in return, feeling strong shoulders and biceps under that leather jacket. When Cas began teasing and sucking at the tip of Dean's tongue, Dean could no longer contain the moan building inside him.

That seemed to bring Cas back to his senses. He pulled back, breathing hard, his pupils blown wide and dark, his cheeks flushed with something other than embarrassment this time. "Fuck. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to go that far in public." If his regular speaking voice was sinful, his actual sex voice should be illegal.

"Hey, I'm not complaining," Dean said, which was the understatement of the century. He had never been so turned on in his life.

Cas smirked. "Nevertheless, before we take this any farther, I would like to not be in the middle of a parking lot. So I'm going to get in my car, and you're going to get in yours, and you will lead the way to your house where we can resume this," he thumbed Dean's still wet lower lip, "in privacy and comfort."

Dean didn't even try to fool himself that the way his half-hard cock twitched wasn't because of Cas telling him what to do in the calm, competent tones of a man who was accustomed to being obeyed. "Drive safe," he said teasingly.

Cas laughed. "I'm never going to live that down, am I?"

"Nope."

Once he wedged himself back into the yellow bug, his knee complaining vociferously, Dean had to adjust his semi before he could drive. He tried to keep the touch quick and clinical, but he couldn't resist giving himself a brief squeeze. God, if the way Cas kissed was any indication, he was in for one hell of a ride.

Unfortunately, the drive home was long enough to allow Dean to start second guessing and overthinking. Cas was obviously way more experienced than him, which might not be saying much considering Dean had been with a grand total of zero men, but… what if Cas was disappointed? What if Dean was so bad at it that he couldn't even get Cas off? Cas would probably be nice about it, but that would only make Dean feel worse.

Every time he glanced in the rearview mirror to make sure Cas was still following, his anxiety ramped up another notch, and by the time he pulled into the driveway behind Baby, he had almost talked himself into a panic attack.

Cas parked at the curb, got out, and stared at the gleaming black Impala in frank admiration. "That's your car?"

"Yup. Sexy, ain't she?"

"Not an adjective I often apply to anything female, but yes, she is very sexy. Will you take me for a ride once she's fixed?"

The implication that Cas wanted to hang out with him again after today calmed Dean's nerves for some reason, and since the opening was too good to pass up even if it was corny, he winked and said, "I'll take you for a ride any time, sweetheart."

Cas gave him a look that instantly had Dean's dick waking up again. "In that case, we should go inside."

"You're not scared of dogs, are you?" Dean belatedly remembered to ask as he stuck his key in the door. "Or allergic?"

"No. I love animals."

"Good." As soon as Dean opened the door, Miracle was right there, jumping up and down, trying to lick his face. "Hi, boy. Okay, okay. Yes, I'm happy to see you too." His knee wasn't thrilled about it, but he crouched down to hug Miracle anyway. "Hey, you want to meet a new friend? This is Cas. Cas, meet Miracle."

"Hello, Miracle." Cas crouched down too and held out his hand for the dog to sniff. "That's a beautiful name."

Miracle licked Cas' hand as though thanking him for the compliment.

"Just let me feed him real quick, and then we can, uh… go to my room." Dean felt his face heat up as he stumbled around what they both knew they'd come here to do. Fuck, why was he so fucking awkward with guys? Get it together, Winchester. Pretend he's just a chick with a dick… Okay, that's not helping.

"Of course. You said your roommate works from home. Are you sure we won't disturb them?"

"Nah. She likes to listen to loud music on her headphones while she works. I doubt she'll hear us even if we yell at the top of our lungs." Miracle followed Dean into the kitchen, tail wagging enthusiastically as soon as he saw Dean heading for the cabinet where the kibble was kept.

Cas leaned in the doorway and smirked. "That sounds like a challenge."

Dean flushed even hotter and narrowly avoided spilling the kibble on the floor instead of in Miracle's bowl.

As they climbed the stairs, Cas placed his hand on the small of Dean's back. The warmth and firm pressure was reassuring, arousing, and nerve wracking all at once. Dean had a moment of panic as he started to open his bedroom door and couldn't remember if he made the bed this morning or put yesterday's underwear in the hamper, but there was no turning back now. Fortunately the room was more or less tidy. He was very grateful when Cas kissed him as soon as the door was closed behind them, giving him no more time to overthink.

It was the opposite of their kiss in the parking lot. It was deep and hungry right from the beginning, not even a little bit chaste, and this time when Dean moaned into Cas' mouth, Cas didn't pull away or slow things down. Instead he pulled Dean closer, kissed him harder.

Dean pushed the leather jacket off Cas' shoulders, and Cas let go of him long enough to pull his arms out of the sleeves. "God, you're hot," he murmured, trailing his lips along Dean's jaw. "I'm really glad I ran into you."

Dean laughed. "I'm glad you didn't run into me. This is way more fun than a trip to the ER."

"Mmmm. Agreed." Cas nibbled behind Dean's ear and down his neck. Dean groaned and pushed his hands under Cas' shirt, sliding over warm skin and firm muscle. God, those abs. Cas jerked, practically doubling over with a yelp.

Dean pulled back instantly. "Shit. What's wrong? Did I hurt you?"

"No, it's… it's fine," Cas gasped, straightening up. "I'm just very ticklish there. You can touch my stomach, just not so lightly."

"Oh. O-okay."

He tried to pick up where they'd left off, but his nerves were back with a vengeance now, and he was suddenly second guessing everything — the angle of his head, how much tongue he was using, where he was putting his hands.

"Relax," Cas whispered, stroking up and down Dean's back reassuringly. "You're fine. It's an easy mistake to make."

Dean pulled back again, shaking his head. "It's not just that. There's… there's something I should tell you. I've never… done this before."

Cas' eyes widened. "You're a virgin?"

"No! I've just never done anything with… with a man."

"Oh. I see."

His cheeks flamed, and he couldn't meet Cas' eyes. "I know it's embarrassing at my age—"

"No, it isn't." Cas put a finger under Dean's chin and gently tipped his head back up. "It's actually very common for men of our generation. When we were younger, it either wasn't safe to explore that side of ourselves, or we didn't have the education to even understand what we were feeling. Or both. There's nothing embarrassing about that."

Dean snorted.

"There isn't," Cas insisted, his blue eyes piercing Dean to his soul. "If you need to slow down, tell me. I don't want to do anything you're not one-hundred percent comfortable with."

Dean swallowed hard, forcing down his anxiety, took Cas' hand, and kissed it. "I want this." He stepped forward and kissed Cas' lips. "I want you. I just need some help getting out of my head."

Cas smiled against Dean's lips. "I think I can help with that. Is it okay if I take your shirt off?" His fingers played with the hem.

Dean reached back and pulled the t-shirt over his head.

Cas bit his lip and gave a low moan when he saw Dean's tattoo. He reached out to touch it, then stopped. "May I?"

Dean sighed. "You don't have to walk on eggshells, dude. I liked it better when you… took charge."

Cas raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

Dean blushed again but said stubbornly, "Yeah. So?"

"So," Cas placed a delicate kiss in the center of the ink pentacle over Dean's heart, "if you promise to tell me the second I do something you don't want," he kissed a path up Dean's throat, "I can work with that. Do you promise?"

Dean didn't hesitate. "I promise."

"Good. Then lie down on your bed and let me make you feel good."

Dean obeyed.

Cas stripped off his own shirt and kicked off his shoes. Dean was so busy admiring his first sight of Cas shirtless that he barely noticed his own shoes being removed. God, the man was a wet dream come to life.

Cas climbed onto the bed, still in his jeans, and kissed Dean, hard and hungry again. Long, strong fingers wrapped around Dean's wrists, and Cas raised Dean's arms above his head, pinning him in place as surely as if he'd handcuffed him to the headboard. Dean groaned. He was hardening quickly again, and with their hips pressed flush together, he could feel the same happening to Cas. That was hotter than he'd ever imagined, and he'd imagined it so many times.

"Fuck," he gasped when they broke for air. "I want…"

"Hmmm? What do you want?" Cas murmured in his ear.

He didn't know except that he wanted to keep kissing Cas for all eternity. All the gay porn he'd ever watched flew right out of his head. All that existed was the hard line of Cas' body pressing him down into his memory foam mattress, and the delicious burn of stubble against his neck.

Cas bit his earlobe, making Dean mewl. "I could suck you off, make you come in my mouth. I'm not ready to let you fuck me yet, but I could fuck you if you want. Or," he rolled his hips, "I could make you come just like this."

"Fuck, yes. That. Do that."

"Which one?"

"The… the last one." Dean hooked his leg over Cas' hip to get the leverage to rut against him properly. He'd forgotten all about his knee. Until red hot pain shot through it.

He screamed, and it was clearly not with ecstasy. Cas went white with fear and rolled off him. "What is it? What's wrong? Dean? Talk to me."

"St-stupid knee. Fucking... It's cr-cramped." He had to fight tears as the pain continued to radiate up and down his leg, showing no sign of fading.

"What should I do? What do you need?"

"Ice. Please."

Cas jumped up instantly and ran out of the room without even stopping to put his shirt on. Dean curled up in a ball, cradling his bent knee, and let a few tears escape while he was alone. He wasn't sure if he was crying more from the pain or the frustration of getting so close only to be cockblocked by his own broken body. Not for the first time he hoped with vicious sincerity that John Winchester was burning in hell.

Cas came back impressively fast with a ziploc full of ice and two aspirin.

"Thanks," Dean said and swallowed the pills dry.

Cas helped him hold the ice pack to his knee and stroked Dean's hair with his other hand, murmuring, "It's alright, sweetheart. Breathe. Try to relax."

Dean shamelessly put his head in Cas' lap. He couldn't remember the last time anyone had held him through the pain.

Finally the ice and the pills did their job, and he was able to unbend his knee. It still hurt, but it was closer to the level of pain he was used to. He stole a couple more minutes in Cas' lap before reluctantly lifting his head from the other man's thigh. "Guess I kind of killed the mood, huh? Sorry."

Cas frowned. "You don't have to apologize, Dean. I hope I didn't give you the impression that I was only interested in you for sex. Or that this was a one time offer." He meant it. Dean could hear the sincerity in his voice.

He smiled. "In that case, do you want to stay and watch a movie?"

"I'd love to."

Miracle came upstairs to join them, and the three of them cuddled up in Dean's bed and watched The Fifth Element because Dean was appalled that Cas had never seen it. He was a convert by the time the credits rolled, naturally.

As Dean tried desperately to think of another excuse to stay in Cas' arms just a little longer, Cas noticed Dr. Sexy in Dean's Netflix queue.

"Oh! Have you watched the new season yet?"

Dean propped himself up on one elbow. "You're a fan of Dr. Sexy?" Could this man be any more perfect?

Cas shrugged, blushing a little. "I was laid up with a broken foot a few years ago, and I started watching it. It's addictive. Plus, Dr. Sexy is hot and definitely not straight even if the writers refuse to actually go there. The sexual tension between him and Dr. Dane—"

"Right?! The eye fucking is unreal. How do people not see it? Not to mention, Dane has apparently slept with Dr. Sexy's ex-wife and his sister? He's definitely trying to fuck the guy without actually fucking the guy."

"Exactly!"

They grinned at each other for a moment.

"I, uh… I actually haven't watched the new season yet," Dean said. "Wanna binge it together?"

~o0o~

Dean woke with a start. The room was dark, the TV was off, and someone was climbing into bed with him. "Cas?"

"Yes. I just got up to use the bathroom. I was trying not to wake you."

"S' okay," Dean mumbled. "You're not leaving?"

"Do you want me to?"

"No." Dean burrowed his face into Cas' shoulder and threw his good leg over the other man, pinning him down. He felt the warm lump of Miracle at the foot of the bed, Cas having usurped the dog's usual sleeping spot beside Dean.

"I was hoping you would say that." Cas kissed the top of Dean's head. "Go back to sleep, Dean."

Dean obeyed.

~o0o~

The next time he woke, sunlight was filtering through the blinds, and he was alone. Even Miracle had abandoned him. He buried his face in the pillow Cas had used and breathed the lingering scent of the other man. Maybe Cas had left a note with his number somewhere, but Dean wasn't ready to go looking for it and face the disappointment if he hadn't. He wallowed for a few more minutes, then forced himself up.

That was when he saw Cas' leather jacket still on the floor, his car keys peeking out of the pocket. And Cas' shoes beside the bed. And heard faint voices from downstairs.

Shit. Charlie!

He took the stairs as fast as his twinging knee would allow, praying she hadn't stabbed Cas with one of her very sharp replica fantasy swords when she found a strange man wandering around her house at the crack of dawn. Fortunately, he found Cas and Charlie drinking coffee peacefully at the kitchen table and no one bleeding out.

"Morning, sleeping beauty," Charlie said with a shit-eating grin as Dean skidded to a halt in the doorway. Cas got up and went to pour a cup of coffee for Dean. Miracle was busy gnawing on a bone and didn't even acknowledge Dean's arrival.

"Morning." Dean rubbed the back of his neck guiltily. "Sorry. I should have told you I had a… guest."

"A text last night would have saved me a heart attack this morning, yes, but once I was satisfied that he wasn't a burglar, Cas and I got along just fine."

Cas came over to Dean and put a steaming mug in his hands. "Black as sin and bitter like a jilted lover. Just the way you like it," he said with a smirk, and he leaned in to kiss Dean on the lips, completely unbothered that Charlie was watching.

Dean kissed back equally shamelessly. Holding the coffee in one hand, he lifted the other to cup Cas' cheek and felt morning stubble rough against his palm. Something about that just felt right.

"Thank you," he murmured as they parted, and they both knew he meant for more than just the coffee.

Cas smiled softly. "My pleasure."