"I think I have a date tomorrow night."

Nick paused, pressing the lip of his beer bottle to his mouth and raising an eyebrow. From anyone else it would be a simple statement- but from Castiel it was confusing, weird, and downright unbelievable.

"Congrats, kido." Gabriel grinned, slapping their baby brother on the back. "Anyone we know?"

Castiel shifted, making his bar stool turn this way and that. "Just a friend of mine."

"A friend?" Gabriel teased. "Ooh, sounds sexy. I bet it's one of your suit wearing accountant buddies. You two can talk about dividends and stocks."

And Nick certainly wasn't going to point out how badly Castiel was suddenly blushing, even under the neon lights they could all see how dark his cheeks were.

Gabriel pointed a slightly wavering at their dark haired brother. "Now, you know that you can't put out on the first date, right? You don't want him thinking you're easy. It'll reflect badly on the whole family."

"Don't listen to him, love." Rehka shoved at her husband, nearly knocking him to the floor. "You can't make these boys look any worse, than they make themselves. They're both dirty whores and they know it."

Gabriel looked up at Nick, a questioning sort of glance, asking if they should challenge this outrageous accusation- but then they both just smiled and shrugged because Rehka wasn't exactly wrong.

"You say whore like it's a bad thing." Gabriel scoffed. "But you're the one who dated both of us. Who dates brothers, I mean really?"

And it was lucky that he knew his wife so well that he knew the kinds of things that he could get away with saying. There were probably a lot of women in the world that wouldn't take kindly to being reminded of such things, on their anniversary of all days.

Rehka didn't even throw her drink into Gabriel's face, she just took a slow, pointed sip of her martini before speaking. "First off, I've known you both since the second grade, and I never once wanted to date either of you. Secondly, if you hadn't taken Lenette Patton to homecoming instead of me, like you promised you would, then Nick wouldn't have had to step in."

"Here, here." Nick chimed.

"I was not going to waste that dress and just stay home."

"She did look damn fine in that dress." He agreed easily.

"I did." Rehka nodded to him like she appreciated the back up. "I looked so good in that dress that Nick and I got kicked out of the dance."

Gabriel's smile got a little tight. "And then we didn't see either of you until Monday."

Castile got a glazed over look. He'd heard this story too many times and inevitably had slipped off into some distant daydream about the date that he had coming up.

Nick listened as Gabriel fell into the familiar rant that accompanied the fact that his wife had dated his brother for almost two months half a lifetime ago. Nothing had really come of it- well, obviously. Rehka ended up with the man that she was meant to be with. The same one that she'd always been interested. And Nick got to keep the girl from next door as the sister that he'd always considered her to be.

He shouldn't love listening to them argue as much as he did. But it was a comforting reprise after the week that he'd had. Just something good and predictable and funny no matter how many times he'd heard these words.

Distractions were good. It's why he'd agreed to come out tonight. There would be a real anniversary something or other this weekend- but for right now, on the actual date (how had it really been ten years since these two ran off and eloped?), it was nice to just get together and have a few drinks like they used to.

Castiel leaned over, practically putting his head on Nick's shoulder while he spoke, soft enough that no one else would be able to hear him. "He won't really think I'm easy if I put out, will he?"

Nick choked on his beer. "Whoah, hey. Cassy, start with kissing… or hand holding. Take it slow, ok. For you slow is going to be better." This was never a conversation he thought that he'd be having with his brother. Cas was supposed to remain quiet, and celibate, and peaceful for the rest of his life. Not go on dates. Not want to know when would be a good time to try getting to third base.

"We've already gone farther that far."

"… farther than hand holding?" Please say yes. Please say yes.

"Than kissing."

Nick put his beer on the counter and stood, taking his little brother by the arm. "Cassy and me are going to go get some air."

Gabriel waved them off, preoccupied with the way the tip of his wife's tongue was playing with the olive from her drink.

Rather forcibly, Nick dragged his youngest, though not smallest brother out the front door.

"What do you mean farther than kissing?"

Castiel looked up at him, then down at his shoes, scuffing them on the pavement. "It seemed fair to show you my relationship problems since you were so nice to share yours with me the other day."

"When did you start getting relationship problems? You've never been in a relationship."

"I think I've been dating him for a few weeks."

"You think?" Nick's head was starting to hurt. "Wait, weeks? Weeks? How have you never even mentioned him before?"

"I didn't think you'd approve."

"I don't." Nick folded his arms, partially because it was upsetting to know that his Cassy had decided to grow up when no one was looking, and partially because it was just really fucking cold outside. "You're my baby brother and some bastard, pencil pushing accountant has been manhandling you."

"He hasn't… manhandled me and he's not an accountant."

Nick needed to be protective over someone- and years ago the universe had seen fit to give him a very awkward baby brother who had always needed a someone to keep an eye on him. He hated, absolutely hated that Cas suddenly didn't need him. Or at least hadn't needed him for a few weeks. Long enough to get 'further than kissing'.

"When do I get to meet him?"

Castiel looked up at the low, cold clouds and the street lights. "You've… already met him."

Very quickly Nick understood what was being said to him. And this was actually worse than if Cassy had been seeing a stranger. "No." It wasn't fair. "Not Dean."

"Why not Dean?"

"Because…" I'm fake dating his brother and that makes things problematical. "He's a complete jack ass and you deserve better."

"Well so are you and so does Sam but we don't say anything about it."

"Hey!"

"I'm not asking for your permission. I'm asking for your advice. He wants to take me to the drive-ins this weekend and I feel like that means something."

Every now and then Nick became aware that there were some detrimentally large holes in the cultural education that he'd tried to give his brother. "For the love of- it means he wants to screw you in the backseat of his car."

Castiel looked momentarily horrified. "It does not."

"Why else would people go to the drive-ins?"

"To see a movie."

"No one goes to see the movie. If Sam said to me 'hey, borrowed my brother's car, wanna go to the drive-ins' I would know I was going to get laid."

His eyebrows arched in confusion. "Why Dean's car?"

"Because mine doesn't have a backseat. You need a big backseat or you can't get good leverage."

Castiel pressed his hands to his cheeks, half hiding, eyes still a bit wide. "This isn't helping me, Nick."

"I'm not trying to help you, I'm trying to warn you- and what is that 'further than kissing'?"

He needed to know if he had to kill a man tonight. If he had to go make Sam an only child.

With a mighty mumble, Castiel turned around, blushing hard enough that his ears had turned bright red.

"You mind running that one by me again?"

"I touched his butt." Came the haunted whisper.

It was Nick's turn to face the other way as he struggled not to laugh. It was difficult to hold on to his anger when being reminded of how ridiculous life actually was.

"Have you guys…" Nick struggled to keep his voice even, "actually kissed?"

"Twice."

"As in on two occasions, or…"

"Two kisses, but the second one was on the mouth."

Ye gods. On the mouth. They were practically married by this point.

Nick ran his hands through his hair and really considered his words before speaking. "You know what, you'll be ok at the movies I think."

"Really?" Cassy caught his elbow, turning him around and forcing eye contact. "What should I do?"

"You should watch the movie. Maybe let him put his arm around your shoulders."

Castile lit up like a Polish church. "Do you think he will?" So much hope in that question.

Nick let himself laugh finally, not able to hold it back any longer. "If he doesn't, you let me know. I'll have a talk with him for you."

"Nick. NO. This is all in strict brother to brother confidentiality. You don't tell Dean about this and I don't tell Sam about the other night."

"So Dean doesn't know you want him to… to put an arm around you?" Nick thought that his brother was probably the only person in the world where this was a real conversation that they were having and not some weird adlib game.

"It's cold out here. Have we got enough air yet?" Cas evaded.

"You go back in. I'll catch up."

"You really think it'll be ok?" Castiel needed the reassurance.

"You want me to come too? I can park my car right next to you guys and tap on the window if he looks like he's going to try anything funny."

That got a smile out of his baby brother. "You wouldn't."

"Oh, I would." He nudged Cassy back towards the bar. "But I won't. You're an adult now. You've got this one."

"But I don't. What if he wants to touch my butt?"

Nick took a long, slow breath through his nose and tried to remind himself that this was a real question and not a joke. "If you want him to, let him. If you don't, then punch him in the face."

"That's your solution to everything."

It had worked for him so far- and he liked to think that at least someone would be punching Dean. Especially if the bastard was going to go around touching people's asses.

"Just do what feels right, Cassy."

"And if he invites me to the backseat… and I want to go with him?"

Ah, so they had been working their way up to this talk.

It was important to remember that Dad had left to 'find himself' a little after Castiel came to live with them, trusting his oldest sons to keep an eye on the youngest. But what the hell was a trio of twenty year olds going to do with a wide eyed teenager?

They simply did the best they could to undo all that repressed, uptight preprogramming that Castiel had come with.

But there were still those holes, and Nick blamed himself for them. As such he took it upon himself to try and fix things now. Luckily he'd spent the past three months researching this very topic.

"How detailed of instructions do you want?"

"No." Castiel took back on that mortified tone. "I don't want… well, that might actually be helpful in a year or so when I work up to it- but no. That's not what I meant. I meant what should I do?"

"I'm sticking with punching him in the face."

"Nick-" He managed a thorough pout that made him look even younger and more lost somehow. "I'm nervous."

"Then stay in the front seat." It was the best advice that Nick could manage. "Wanting to do something and being ready to are two different things. If you're nervous then don't do it. If Dean really likes you he won't mind waiting for the right time." He could hear himself talking and he knew that he sounded like a PBS special, but it was out and he couldn't take it back.

For a moment it was just them on the street corner, Castiel all wide-eyed and tight lipped, and Nick knew that it had been the wrong advice. Good effort though, right?

"I knew you would know just what to say." Cassy's teeth flashed in a sudden wide smile as he bounced on the balls of his feet. "If only you were as good at taking advice as giving it."

"Go back inside before you embarrass both of us."

"You should tell Sam." He almost sang and he shuffled away.

"Don't let Gabe buy you another drink. You've passed your limit." Nick pointed out, because Castiel never changed the pitch of his voice unless he was completely sloshed. It also explained the whole conversation that they'd just had.

"I'm not drunk, and I'm not going to give up on you. We can both have ourselves a Winchester if you were only willing to be less of a martyr when it came to your love life."

"We're not having this talk, you little tramp. Now go back inside and warm up."

Castiel looked like he was going to linger and argue, but he had left his jacket back at the bar and he was just about half frozen by now.

He shot his big brother a parting glance than the last few minutes all together before vanishing inside.

Nick leaned himself up against a lamp post and pulled out his phone. He knew that he shouldn't, but this delightful new form of self torture was just too fun to pass up. Once or twice a day he and Sam would exchange a handful of texts while avoiding any mention of the last time they saw each other. Nick had tried to call a few times, but no one had picked up- which was fine. He knew that Sam had class and other things to do. Tons of reasons why he wouldn't answer his phone.

But it didn't make Nick miss the sound of the kid's voice any less.

What he wouldn't give to hear that laugh again.

-anniversary still in swing

-Cassy is drunk

Just a little update since they pseudo-spoke this morning.

It didn't take long before Sam texted back.

-you're a terrible influence on your brother

Which made Nick grin. He was half tempted to tell Sam about the butt touching, but remembered Castiel's gentle threat. It would probably violate some kind of brother code to tell Sam about what was going on with their siblings.

-I only had the 1 beer tonight im driving the kids home later

It was part of his problem with tonight. He'd spent years drinking with Gabe, and social habits are some of the hardest to break. It felt like he was missing out on half the festivities. Like if they'd gone out to his favorite restaurant and he was only allowed to eat the free bread sticks.

Painfully sober was he.

Being the designated driver was his least favorite job at family functions. But he'd lost the game of Rock, Paper, Scissors to Castiel at the beginning of the night and it was only fair.

Waiting to get an answer from Sam, Nick bummed a cigarette from one of the guys on the corner. Horrible addiction that he'd given up after Lilith left. But he'd traded it for alcohol and if he couldn't have one he may as well have the other. The heat filling his lungs was an old friend that he'd almost forgotten. It was probably his fifth cigarette in almost eight years, and it was a bad little stumble for someone with such an addictive personality- but no one inside needed to know.

Besides, it settled his nerves.

Talking to Sam, even in just short texts, made him shake.

-do they get as handsy as you do when they're drunk?

Nick cracked a smile and blew a trail of smoke towards the sky.

-gabe is alot worse and rehka gets too warm for clothes

-and cassy started tellingme about deans ass

Brotherly confidentiality be damned. It was still the funniest thing he'd heard all week.

- It sounds special. I'm sorry I had homework to do.

And special was one way to put it.

Nick got why Sam turned down the invitation to join them during the awkward collection of texts they'd shared this morning. Homework was a great excuse. No better reason needed to avoid spending time with the man who'd kissed him last week.

Cheery thoughts.

God he wished he was drunk.

He put out his cigarette on that nice stable lamp post.

-theyll do it again in a year you can come see next time around

The moment he hit send he realized that was the wrong thing to say. Sam wouldn't be here next year. He'd be a good little lawyer in training with a fantastic, leggy girlfriend, and a good, normal, stable life that didn't involve Nick or anyone like him.

See, maybe he didn't need to be drunk.

He was doing just fine on his own without the help of Jack Daniels.

A chaperone. That's what Nick needed. Someone to keep an eye on him, to make sure that he didn't say or do any of the stupid things that he impulsively went to. A man like him should not be left to his own devices.

Sam didn't reply and after a few minutes Nick made himself put his phone away. There were more important things to think about tonight. Or at least that is what he tried to convince himself of as he went back inside to join his family.