*Spoilers- Same as last.

*Warnings- none :)

The sun was high and the three (for lack of better phrasing) men riding in the black Impala coasting down the highway found the heat rather uncomfortable, but none more so than the one laying in the back seat with a fever and touch-and-go stomach. Sam had popped in Dean's favorite Led Zeppelin tape miles ago to appease him, though if he was completely honest with himself it was also to cover up the moans that always accompanied semi-ill Dean.

In fact, a fresh string of unintelligible groans could be heard from the back seat just then and Sam felt that spot where he always got stress headaches starting to stab at him.

"Sammy."

"Yeah, Dean?"

"As soon as I can do it without blowing chunks, I'm kicking your ass."

Sam sighed, "Look, for the hundredth time, I only ordered what you would have if you'd been there!"

After holding back a short wave of nausea, the food poisoned man replied, "That's bull and you know it. Lettuce? I don't take that crap on my burgers."

"Yeah?" snapped Sam. "How do you know it was the lettuce? It could've been under cooked meat or who knows what else. You keep blaming this on me like I planned it or something. You got food poisoning, quit crying about it."

"Perhaps you need some form of comfort, Dean?"

Silence filled the car so palpably that Sam thought he might have tasted the awkwardness of the moment.

Dean was flustered, fighting his natural instinct of shouting or making a snarky comment. His wording had to be more careful these days; Castiel didn't always recognize the layers to what he was saying and conversations ended up with the both of them confused and frustrated.

It took Cass looking into the back seat for him to finally speak. He leaned forward and said, "I, uh, I think-oof. Head rush." Laying back down he closed his eyes and sighed, "It's okay, Cass, I can handle it."

Eyes squinting slightly in thought, Castiel pondered Dean before asking Sam how long until they reached their next stop.

"Uh, I don't really know. There's no case right now. Whenever we hit the next town, I guess." Sam snuck a peek at Castiel (as well as you can sneak around angels) to see him staring at his brother. He may not have been able to see the blue eyes, but he knew by the set of the jaw that they were going full force "creepy angel", enough that Dean could probably feel it. And in fact he was right.

Dean not only felt the gaze, he felt himself blush slightly under the scrutiny. Another time he may have stared right back and tried to mimic the force of Castiel's stare, but his rolling stomach and the heat didn't have him in the mood for games or complicated relationships. He let out another moan, though it had nothing to do with his stomach and everything to do with the thought of 'relationship'. There was no spoken label for what was going on there, but 'relationship' was probably the closest to it.

For about a couple weeks now he and Cass had been...whatever they were. The admission from his friend that he was "fond" of Dean had confused him at first. When realization dawned on him he felt like he was living Stephen Lynch's If I Were Gay. The thought was comical now but had been near terrifying at the time.

Just as he had started to form words of gentle rejection, Dean looked Cass full in the face, taking in the full power of his eyes once again, and felt many things slide into place. He knew that this would hurt Castiel, but that he never wanted to be a source of pain to guy. He knew that he had been feeling closer and closer to Cass as time passed and was learning to care for him in a way that was different the friendship and brotherhood he had experienced before. Somehow this angel, this man, had found a way into the heart Dean had been sure had stopped functioning at that level long ago.

The shock was almost more than he could handle, making the decision to keep things private and slow an easy one. Cass didn't wanna push him over the edge and, honestly, Dean was curious about his own revelation.

There had been a conversation passing between the two front seat occupants during his ponderings about plans to stop soon, but he didn't take notice of it until his opinion was asked.

"What?" Opening his eyes Dean saw that Cass had miraculously turned back around during his discussion with Sam.

"Do you think you'll be eating by tonight?" his brother asked again.

"I can try, I guess. But if I get sick, I'm doin' it all over you. Fair warning."

Sam laughed, "Well, look, we're less than an hour from some town called Ashton. We'll get a room for you to, uh, recover in." His mouth twitched at the corners.

Dean sat up figuring it wouldn't hurt to try and get his equilibrium back if he was going to be eating in a of couple hours.

"We should make it two," unexpectedly broke the silence.

"Huh?" The response came from the brothers who were both looking at Castiel confused, the younger even more so. 'He can't be doing what I think he's doing...can he?' thought Dean. No, Cass wouldn't be, well, forward enough to ask for a room alone with him.

After clearing his throat and aiming his gaze out the window Cass repeated, "Perhaps we should make it two rooms." He paused, as if waiting for a reaction, before continuing. "Dean isn't well and, Sam, you seem increasingly annoyed by his complaints. It would be easier for you both to relax, perhaps, if you stayed in separate rooms." It was barely there, and hidden well, but Dean knew that Cass felt embarrassed. Only thing that mattered was whether or not Sam could sense it, too.

"Ha, I don't know Cass. Dean may not get better if he doesn't have someone to cry and complain to about it."

"Hey now, I don't cry. I just...shut up, Sam." To which Sam started laughing even harder at his brother's expense. "If you're so annoyed maybe you should get another room, bitch."

Dean had to admit he was impressed by the lack of emotion the angel let pass as he said, "If you are concerned for Dean's health, Sam, it would be easy for me to keep an eye on him." He quit being impressed when he continued with, "And it also gives your brother someone to complain to."

Although amused, confusion was clearly written all over the younger Winchester's face, but he agreed to the idea. Cass' proposal seemed a little out of the blue. But whatever, a night with a room to himself could be nice, get back a bit of privacy and dignity usually lost when you're constantly in close quarters with someone.

Caught up in his thoughts of peace and quiet he missed the exchange of quick glances and small smiles that started between his brother and the angel, which only became more frequent as the car turned off the highway and drew closer to the unknown Ashton.

*A/N- sorry if it dragged a bit. I kinda like it tho. If you haven't ever heard IF I WERE GAY, you should look it up on youtube, it's hilarious.