Author's Note #1:

Here are a few other things to keep in mind as you read:

1. Underlined words are irl words that are emphasized.

2. Underlined, italicized words are irl internalized thoughts or written words.

Chapter 2: Mental Manifestation

The following morning, Castiel is awakened from his dreamless sleep, an odd occurrence that has only been happening in recent months, by a loud ruckus coming from the kitchen and the smell of food being cooked. Suddenly, someone is bursting into his room.

"Cassie! When are you going to wake up? It's been months since we've talked and I've almost forgotten what your voice sounds like!" Castiel knew that voice. It belonged to his rambunctious brother, Gabriel. He is neither awake nor drunk enough for his presence.

"Gabriel, we just spoke two days ago," he mumbled in response.

"Did we? Well, it feels longer than that! And what's up with all the hospital food you've got in your cupboards? I had to go to the store and get you actual food."

"There's nothing wrong with my food," grumbled Castiel as he pulled the covers over his head.

"No, what you had in there is not even allowed to be called food. Anyway, get up so I can take you out," said Gabriel with a smile on his face as he clasped his hands together in excitement.

Castiel lifts his head up from his pillow and glares at his brother. "And for what purpose are you taking me out? You have already gone grocery shopping for me. There are no other reasons for me to leave the solitude of my apartment."

Gabriel sighs exasperatedly before answering, "For that reason right there, Cassie. You never go out to do anything. You're such a recluse."

"With good reason, too. I have no need for interaction with the human race outside of my editor and you," Castiel answered bluntly.

"Bullshit. You were saying the other day that you wish you had a boyfriend."

"I was drunk. I lie when I am inebriated," Castiel answers with a blush.

"Oh no you don't! You lie when you're sober. You can't bullshit your own brother, Castiel; I've known you too long for that," answered Gabriel heatedly.

Castiel sighs dramatically and plops his head back down on his pillow and proceeds to ignore his brother's existence. Gabriel leaves the room and Castiel promptly falls back to sleep. When he awakens again, he is alone and there is a plate of food waiting for him at the table with a note next to it reading:

Cassie,

I am coming back later tonight. You

better be ready for 7 o'clock. We're going

out for dinner and drinks. My goal is to

get you laid eventually. Maybe not tonight

but definitely in the near future. Dress nice.

Castiel slumps down in front of his food and eats begrudgingly. He doesn't want to go out, he wants to stay in and write some more. He glances at the microwave to see that it is just after 12 in the afternoon. He rationalizes that if he gets in the shower now and dresses for going out, he can spend the rest of the day writing. He hurriedly sets about doing so and an hour later he is in front of his computer tapping away at the keys.

As Dean goes about working on the car, Castiel takes a seat at one of the available stools scattered around the garage. He allows Dean to work in silence and he lets his eyes wander around dingy looking place. Can't be helped, it is run by men that work on cars Castiel muses to himself. After another moment he realizes that his eyes keep lingering on the rear of the man in front of him. He blushes and looks away because he doesn't want to be caught doing so but he finds himself doing it again and gives up on trying to focus elsewhere.

From where he is working on the car, Dean can feel that he is being checked out. In fact, if Castiel weren't the hottest thing he's seen in a while, he'd be upset but the guy is seriously hot. He mentally shakes himself. Now is not the time to be thinking like that, Winchester. Dude is sittin' right there and it would be awkward to turn around with a hard on. Dean decides that he needs to fill the silence so that he can focus on the car rather than the specimen behind him. He steps away from the car and walks over to the radio and switches it on to find it in the middle of "Cherry Pie" by Warrant. That's totally not helping. All too soon, there's the sound of a door slamming closed and a jangle of keys coming from the back of the shop. Dean picks up his rag to wipe his hands before turning around. He sees Bobby look around in confusion before he looks to Dean.

"What in the hell are you still doin' here, ya idjit?" Bobby asked in annoyance. "You said you were leavin' forty five minutes ago," he finished incredulously. That's when he spotted Castiel who was avidly trying to avoid the searching gaze he was receiving.

"Yeah, well, Bobby, a customer came in just as I was leaving and seeing how it was still technically working hours, I took on the job. You can still head on home, you can do the paper work in the morning," replied Dean.

"Yeah, yeah, alright. D'ya need any help?"

"Nah, I got it, Bobby," answered Dean with a tone that said I need you to leave, you're totally cockblocking. Bobby can take a hint.

"Well, that's my cue to leave. Take care o' yourself, boy," said Bobby as he made his way to his car.

"He seems...lovely," said Castiel.

"Yeah...he takes some gettin' used to but he's alright. He's been like another father to me and he's doing me a huge favor by working for me so I can't complain. Much. That geezer sure can drive me up a damn wall sometimes. Gotta love 'im though," replied Dean with a smile.

The two share a meaningful look before Dean decides it's best to continue working on the car so he can eat. Now that he thinks about it, maybe he should have taken Bobby up on his offer to help. Too late now he chuckles to himself.

A few hours later and the two men are finally piling into their respective cars to a mutually agreed up place; a local diner that Dean hasn't visited in a while. After they've been seated, they sit uncomfortably for a moment before Dean strikes up a question. They're still getting used to each other and they didn't converse much while Dean had worked on the car. "So, Cas," he begins after clearing his throat, "what do you do for a living?" That's always a good place to start he rationalized.

"I am a tax accountant," answered Castiel monotonously.

"Haha! Well that explains your get up!" Dean chuckled.

"What do you mean?" asked Castiel as he tilted his head in confusion.

"Dude. It's friggin' May and you got a full on suit UNDER your trench coat. 'Sides, you look too pretty to be one," answers Dean bluntly.

"Oh," replied Castiel tentatively as he looked at his clothes, "This-this is just temporary."

"What do you mean?" Dean asked intrigued.

"I want to write. Fiction to be exact," replied Castiel. "It has always been a passion of mine to write," he continued.

"Really? I'm a fan of Vonnegut myself. Do you have any favorites?"

Castiel pauses for a moment. Why is he doing this? Not only has he written himself into the story, he is also starting to add more real life details about himself. He has no other explanation other than he feels compelled to. The only people who would know would be himself, his brother, and his editor. His brother will laugh, his editor won't care as long as she gets paid, and he will get the joy of writing his own love story, so to speak. Gabriel's right...I do need to get out. And speaking of the devil, he is stepping through the door just as Castiel was going to continue writing. He hastily saves the document and closes it before Gabriel makes it into his work room; he isn't ready to be chastised just yet.

"Well look at you! You're gonna definitely snatch somebody's attention tonight," said Gabriel as he rounded the corner into the room.

"What if I do not wish to participate in anything carnal as of yet?" asked Castiel nervously.

Gabriel took a breath as if to speak and closed his mouth a few times before asking, "Have you been with anyone at all, Cassie? I feel weird for asking but...I just assumed you have been with someone..." Castiel couldn't meet his eyes and was looking everywhere but his brother while he rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. "Sweet baby Jesus, Cas. Seriously? You're 26!"

"I've never had occasion, ok?" Castiel spits out in his defense.

"Dear Lord. Well, this puts a hamper on things; you can't have just any random fuck pop your cherry." Gabriel stood in silence for a moment before he sighed dejectedly. "We can still go out for dinner and drinks, lil bro, we'll just leave the 'getting laid' part for another time, alright?"

Castiel followed his brother out of the apartment feeling a little uncomfortable.

Later, after the two brothers had partaken in an enjoyable dinner, they made their way to a local gay bar.

"Ok, now," started Gabriel after taking a hefty chug of his drink, "I know I told you that we won't be getting your cherry popped for you today, but I was still hoping to get some guys to talk to you."

Castiel started to panic a little; his eyes the size of saucers. "But-"

"No, Cassie. Look, I'm not talking marriage, ok? Just talk to somebody. Actually, looks like you won't have to do any of the work. Here comes someone now," Gabriel ended his statement in a whisper and much to Castiel's chagrin, he was indeed correct. A rather large, but not unattractive, man was standing behind him when he turned around. He had a plethora of muscle (Castiel assumed he was a body builder with the size of him), he had a misleading hardened look to his facial features and he had lively brown eyes. But they aren't green thinks Castiel to himself. The man had a polite smile on his face and his hand out for a shake when he spoke.

"Hey, there, gorgeous, my name is Jonathan. What would your name be?" he asks.

Castiel awkwardly shook the man's hand and answered, "Emmanuel." He heard Gabriel splutter into his drink but he, thankfully, didn't try to correct him. Castiel has always been tentative about giving out his real name; it is unique and easily remembered.

"Whoa. Nothing about you is what I was expecting when I walked over here: your name, that voice, and those eyes of yours. Holy hell would I love to get lost in those." Jonathan was accidentally rambling out loud but he was speaking the truth. He'd heard rumors about a dark haired, blue eyed, deep voiced beauty around but he didn't know he'd be lucky enough to meet him. He's definitely gonna be thanking the powers that be tonight. "I've never seen you around before, what brings you here? Actually, how about we go sit over at my table so we can talk and get to know each other better."

Castiel hesitates but after a look from Gabriel he nods curtly and meanders over to the table Jonathan had pointed out. When they are both seated, Castiel answers the questions he has been asked, "I am here with my brother and the reason you've never seen me before is that this is my first time coming here," answers Castiel. He reasons that he may as well be civil and answer Jonathan's questions; it isn't like he will be seeing him again.

"Must be my lucky day, then, that you chose to come out, today of all days," Jonathan smiles wholeheartedly. Castiel gives an awkward half smile in response. "So what do you do for living?"

"I am a tax accountant," he answered. He technically isn't lying, he used to be one. He didn't want to divulge that he was actually a famous writer to a stranger; it could only go a few ways and he didn't a stalker on his hands.

"Really? You look too pretty to be one," replied Jonathan. Castiel suddenly realized the slight parallel in this conversation to the one he had written about earlier. The only difference is...he's lying about a lot of things this time around and...he isn't the least bit attracted to the man in front of him. At all.

"Look, Jonathan," he begins as he gets up from the stool, "you seem like a lovely person, but I'm just not ready to open up to anyone at the moment. I will take my leave. I really am sorry for wasting your time," he finishes as he walks away to collect his brother and pay the small tab leaving a crestfallen Jonathan behind.

When they are in the car headed home, Gabriel starts to interrogate him. "Cassie, what the hell was that? Why did you lie to him?"

"Because I don't know him."

"Well, that's the whole point of talking to each other. If you start lying from the get-go, you won't have a good foundation for a relationship."

"I wasn't attracted to him, Gabriel. And he was looking at me like I was a piece of meat," Castiel said disgusted.

"I can't say I blame him, bro. Now that I know you've still got your v-card, I can see this little innocent glow coming off you. Some people like to tarnish innocence; some sort of kink."

"I am not an object to be tarnished and while on the matter, I don't think you get to have any say about when it is that I lose my virginity. I will lose it whenever, however, and with whomever I choose," Castiel finished sternly.

"I'm sorry," Gabriel began with a sigh, "you're right about that; I shouldn't pressure you into that. Why don't you go on up to bed and I'll talk to you in a few days, ok?" said Gabriel as he pulled up in front of Castiel's apartment complex.

"Goodnight, Gabriel. I had a wonderful time with you tonight, nonetheless. I do enjoy your company. Occasionally," smirked Castiel.

"Har-har, Cassie. Goodnight," chuckled Gabriel before rolling up the window and driving off.

While Castiel was in the elevator, he let his mind wander back to earlier at the bar and then further back to his story with Dean. At the thought of him, Castiel shivered and felt goosebumps litter his entire body. He knows it's weird but...he's attracted to a man he has made up in his mind. Maybe Dean is just a mental manifestation of what he wants in a man. He slowly makes his way into his apartment and undressed into just his undershirt and boxers and spends a little while fantasizing about what scenarios he can put his characters through before finally drifting off to sleep.

Author's Note #2:

I had not intended for this chapter to be so long but there was a lot that I needed to cover. I also don't know how long this fic will be...it probably won't be as long as YaMaOS but it will still be a pretty hefty read. Oh and sometimes, this site likes to forget the fact that I wanted certain words underlined, if it continues to be that way, I will just have to think of another way to differentiate things. Anyway, let me know what y'all think! :)