Dean loves the swishing sound of his skates cutting over the ice surface, the exhilaration he feels when speeding across the ice and the satisfying sight of the puck hitting the top of the net so hard it sends the goalie's water bottle flying.

"Damnit, Dean!" Their backup goalie grumbles as he chases down his water. Garth isn't on the ice this morning. He wanted to spend some time reviewing tapes of Slovakia's top scorer's play. It's a necessary step to understanding where they like to aim the puck if he wants to stop their lead goal-scorers tonight.

Dean just smiles and gives Victor and Sam fist bumps. The three have been working together like a well-oiled machine. Victor blends well into the starting line with Sam and Dean. The guy is enthusiastic about working with the Winchester brothers and is one seriously dedicated player. After an hour of practice, all three are feeling optimistic about their first Olympic game.

Plus Bobby, it turns out, is a terrific coach. He calls the three men to the bench and shows them yet another formation that he has scribbled down on his hand held whiteboard. Dean likes this one. It starts in the neutral zone with a fake out pass to Sam before he starts what looks like a breakaway then does a drop pass to Victor at the last second who sinks it in behind the goalie from the left.

Bobby has spent the morning going over all of his best formations and strategies with the men and it looks like it is paying off. Vic is about as driven as Dean has ever seen a player and he is able to quickly pick up on Sam and Dean's pace and fall into their line.

The three players take the puck out to center ice to practice Bobby's formation a few times, adjusting their timing as Bobby yells out directions. Victor easily sinks the puck the first two times until the goalie finally figures out the strategy and blocks the four-hole. This is definitely one they are adding to their arsenal.

All in all it is a great practice and Dean feels ready for tonight's game. As practice winds down, he skates over to Bobby and sits next to him on the bench to discuss game strategy while the others head back to the locker room. The two put the whiteboard between them and Dean draws out a couple of formation tweeks that he thinks will be beneficial as Bobby looks on and nods his head.

"So, wha'd'ya think, Coach? I like the idea of Sammy going after the wrap-around goals 'cause their goalie's got a weaker stick side."

"Yep, with that boy's long reach, he should be able to sneak one in before the goalie can move across the net."

"Cool, I'll talk to him about it. Well, I guess we better get out of here so Castiel can have the ice."

Dean tenses up just thinking about the figure skater who needed the ice time to see if he even can skate because of the injury that he caused. The two men get up and start walking towards the locker room when Bobby turns to the younger man, "You know, Dean, you can quit beating yourself up about that. Don't think just 'cause he straps on figure skates instead of hockey ones he ain't tough as nails. I've seen what skaters can do. Kid's probably been through as much as half the guys on this team."

"Aw, coach, I didn't know you were a figure skating fan." Dean teases the older man, "You watch while you're getting your weekly pedicure?"

"Watch it, boy. My wife, Karen, was a figure skater and let me tell you, you think what you do is hard? At least you get to keep your skates on the ice. Figure skaters are strong so I'm sure that boy's just fine. Don't worry about it and don't let it become a distraction."

"You got it," Dean promises. "Shit, forgot my gloves. Well, take it easy Coach. I'll see you this afternoon." Dean turns around and heads back to the ice to get his gloves off of the bench.

Don't let it become a distraction. Bobby's words echo in Dean's head. Castiel already has him distracted and not for the reason that Bobby thinks. Yeah, sure, he feels guilty about busting the man's head open, but that he could get over. Men get hurt on the ice nightly in his line of work. Dean's certainly drawn his share of blood.

But that isn't what's so distracting about Cas. No, it's the other man's intense eyes, the way he does that little almost smile thing when Dean says something humorous, his snarky attitude, and that voice that sends shivers down Dean's spine. Everything about Cas has been surprisingly awesome. He really needs to get his head out of the gutter and into the game.

This manages to be easier said than done when he enters the tunnel to the ice and Castiel is already skating. Dean stops dead in his tracks, backing up slightly hidden in the shadows of the dark hallway. Castiel is wearing the sweater that Dean gave him, and there is no stopping the feeling that overtakes him when he sees that. It's suddenly like his chest is too small for his lungs. Must just be the cold coming off the ice, he rationalizes.

He watches, silently, as Castiel moves across the ice. The guy is fast, skating backwards coast to coast setting up for a huge jump that starts out with tight, fast rotations until he kicks his leg out and slows himself, landing on one foot and stopping. He leans over, placing his hands on his knees and drops his head and sighs. Dean is pretty sure he isn't happy with that jump, not that he would know what figure skating jumps should look like.

After a minute of drifting silently around on the ice, Castiel digs into the ice with his toe pick and starts a slow spin with his arms outstretched. He leans back, bring his arms up and the spin tightens into a beautiful layback. And what happens next makes Dean's mouth go dry. Castiel reaches behind him, grabs one skate and brings his free leg over his head with both hands into a Biellman spin. Holy shit! No one should be that flexible.

"Fuck! I'm a creeper," Dean mumbles to himself deciding he needs to grow a pair and just go out there. He paints on his best vibrato and walks out to the bench. He picks up a stick and puck and starts bouncing the puck off the end of the stick absently until Castiel spots him.

He can feel a grin growing on his face that he doesn't seem to be able to stop as Cas skates over. "Hey, man, how's it going?"

"Well, I barely got dizzy doing my spins, which is a really good sign. But I chickened out of my quad. I can't risk getting vertigo in the middle of a jump. I guess I have to work on that one."

Dean notices that Castiel looks really uncomfortable. He can almost feel the tension coming off of him.

"Dude, you look like you're ready to have a meltdown. Are you OK?"

"Not really," Castiel grumbles, "I have to skate my short program tomorrow and I don't even know if I'll be able to do all of my jumps."

"I get it, man. I've had to play pretty banged up myself. You know what you've gotta do? Get your mind off of it for a few. Stop overthinking it so you can just get in the zone."

"And how am I supposed to do that?" Castiel looks at Dean, exasperated.

Dean gives the puck that he had been bouncing on his stick a harder tap, sending it flying over his head and catches it with his free hand, smirking at Castiel. He knows he is showing off a bit but the slightly awed look on Cas' face is completely worth it. "You need to have a little fun, relax. Here," he hands Castiel his stick, "c'mon, let's bat around the biscuit a bit."

Dean grabs another stick and shoves past Castiel onto the ice, dropping the puck in front of him and skating backwards, while dribbling the puck back and forth in front of him. Castiel shakes his head, but slowly Dean sees that smile start to cross Cas' face as he follows him out onto the ice. Dean taps the puck gently towards Castiel, who stops it with his stick and experimentally bats it back and forth before sending it back in Dean's general direction.

"Alright, I'll defend. You just try to get the puck past me. Hit it anywhere on the back boards and you win." Dean taps the puck back to Castiel and the game is on.

"What do I win?"

"I don't know, man. Bragging rights," Dean says as he whips by Castiel, deftly stealing the puck from the man and maneuvering it in front of himself.

Of course the game is ridiculously one-sided. No matter where Castiel tries to aim the puck, Dean is there to stop it. Dean knows he is toying with Cas but the look of pure concentration on his face is worth it. Castiel's stick-handling actually isn't all that awful, but it's no match for Dean. Finally, he starts to laugh until Castiel skates straight for him before slamming on the breaks and spraying him with ice, stopping directly in front of him.

Surprised, Dean stammers, "S-shit, Cas, personal space!"

Castiel just smiles at him in a way that really has Dean worried. "OK, Winchester, your turn. I played your game, now let's see you play mine. You're going to do a jump."

"Oh no! These skates aren't leaving the ground."

Castiel takes off backwards and casually knocks out a triple loop before skating around Dean and grabbing his stick before the hockey player can even blink. Castiel deposits the sticks back at the bench and tells Dean, "Come on, I'll help you. Just one rotation."

Castiel skates back towards Dean and zips past him so close he can feel the wind on his face and when he looks at the figure skater, he is turning around, giving Dean a cocky smirk. The bastard's obviously getting back at Dean for showing off and doing a little posturing of his own. Not to be defeated by this guy, Dean pushes off and skates across the ice, gaining speed until he jumps, two footed like he is hopping over a hurtle. It's a move he has used many times to jump over a felled player rather than tripping over them.

"There, I jumped. Happy?"

"Nope, doesn't count," says Castiel as he continues to drift around Dean, casually doing little skating tricks. "IOC rules says a jump has to rotate and be landed on one skate." He proves his point by kicking off the ice from practically a standstill and still landing a perfect double loop.

"OK, Cas, you win. That's never going to happen."

"You're giving up already? If I can play hockey, you can do this." Castiel skates right up to Dean, stopping directly in front of him and grabs his forearms. "Here, this is how we start teaching kids. Grab my arms."

Dean's breath catches for a minute because, what is going on? Cas is a breath away from him and looking at him with such encouragement in those deep blue eyes! How the hell did he end up in this position? Hadn't he sworn to himself he wasn't going to ever even see Cas again and now he's practically holding hands with the guy! He almost pulls back but the hopeful smile on the other man's face stops him. "Fine!" he grumbles with an eyeroll.

Castiel guides him around in a small circle and tells him when to jump. His first attempt is a failure when he lands on the wrong foot and nearly pulls both of the men down onto the ice. The two have a good laugh at the awkward attempt until Castiel encourages him to try again. He is again led in a circle by Castiel and when the skater tells him to he jumps with one foot while Castiel turns him so he can land on the other.

"Ha! Nailed it!" Dean exclaims as the two stop skating.

"I guess you win," says Castiel as he catches Dean's eyes with his own. And for some reason, Dean doesn't seem to be able to look away.

"Am I interrupting something?"

Dean jerks his hands away from Castiel and turns towards the voice of a smarmy Brit who is standing at the edge of the ice with his arms crossed and eyebrows raised at the pair on the ice. The guy looks familiar, he is pretty sure he saw him at the hospital the morning Cas got hurt. The blonde man is tall and thin, wearing skinny, artfully torn jeans, a tight t-shirt with a ridiculously low V neck, and a thin scarf draped around his neck. Dean doesn't even know him but has the urge to punch the shit-eating grin of this giant douchebag's face.

"Balthazar," Castiel says and Dean catches that little waver in his voice before he coughs and adds, "I don't believe you've met Dean. Dean, this is my coach, Balthazar."

"Charmed," Balthazar drawls and looks as though the word tastes sour coming out of his mouth.

Dean gives the man a nod and turns back to Castiel, addressing him after a thick uncomfortable swallow, "Well, I better let you get back to practice. So… uh… good luck with those jumps."

He turns to head off the ice before he hears Castiel's voice, "Wait, Dean. I… thank you. I was really having trouble this morning because I couldn't get out of my own head. But you were right. I was able to complete my jumps because I wasn't over thinking them. I just had to stop worrying about the vertigo and remember to have fun. I guess sometimes I need reminded to enjoy skating."

"No problem, buddy. Now go," Dean jerks his head towards Balthazar, "before your coach kicks both our asses for wasting your ice time."

Castiel nods and turns to skate towards his coach and Dean beats it off the ice as quickly as he can (and still look casual). He grabs his gloves and helmet off the bench and heads back down the tunnel towards the locker room, thinking about Castiel the whole time. "Fuck," he mumbles to himself. He's got to get the handsome skater out of his head. In a few hours, he plays his first Olympic game and Bobby is right. The last thing he needs is to be distracted.

Castiel sits on the edge of his bed listening to his short program music going over every move in his head. Practice had gone well this morning after a bit of a rough start. The first few jumps he had tried to do were complete fails, with him backing out of the full rotation mid-spin. But after spending some time skating with Dean, the jumps had just come together so naturally. He had nailed his two most difficult jumps, overcoming that familiar sense of dread over the dizziness he had been experiencing.

He is interrupted mid-thought by a knock at his door. Removing his ear-buds he gets up and opens the door to a pretty red-head with dark eyes and a wide smile. His heart leaps at the sight of his big sister.

"Anna!" He greets her with a huge smile and she practically leaps forward to hug him. "How did you get in here? I thought only athletes and coaches were allowed?"

As if on cue, Balthazar appears around the edge of the doorframe. "I found her and snuck her in. I thought you could use a visit with family."

"Thank you, Balthazar."

His coach was right, just seeing Anna is a relief to his nerves. He has always been close with his sister. When his father moved him to the US to train, Anna had come too. The siblings were the new children in a strange country where they barely spoke the language. Friendships didn't come easily, especially for the quiet, dark-haired pre-teen with a funny accent who spent all of his spare time ice skating. Castiel and Anna had clung to each other in those early days in America and their relationship had stayed close over the years.

Lately, however, they had seen less and less of each other. Anna, older by two years, had moved three states over when she started college and the two have had to keep in touch through Skype and visits whenever their schedules matched up. But seeing her now, here in Russia to cheer him on at his biggest competition ever means the world.

He invites his sister and coach into his room and the siblings chatter away, catching up on each other's lives, while Balthazar perches on top of Castiel's dresser, looking bored with the entire conversation. Castiel tells her about his injury, careful to stay away from names, simply stating that he was on the ice at the same time as the US hockey players and got hit by an errant puck. He explains that he should still be able to compete because most of the dizziness he was feeling initially is now gone. Anna looks concerned but Castiel quickly shifts the conversation to Anna's life to avoid getting into any more details than necessary.

When the conversation turns to Anna's recently acquired job in marketing, Balthazar officially loses patience and interrupts, "Anna, did you know our little Cassie here has a crush?"

"Balthazar, don't!" Castiel practically growls at his coach.

But it's too late. There is no way Anna isn't picking up on this one. Her wide eyes fix on Castiel, "Is that so? Tell me all about him!"

"No, it's nothing. It's not a crush. He was only being nice to me because he felt guilty about hitting me with a puck. It's not a big deal."

"Wait, do you like this man?" Anna asks earnestly.

"It doesn't matter. He's straight so there could never be anything between us."

"Cassie, you forget, I was there this morning. There was nothing straight about the way he was looking at you. It was all rather disgusting, actually. I'm surprised you two weren't melting the ice with all of your smoldering stares. Deny it if you like, darling, but Dean couldn't keep his eyes off your baby blues."

Anna's eyebrows raise as her jaw drops open. "Dean?!"

Castiel fidgets awkwardly and can't meet his sister's gaze.

Anna turns to Balthazar, "Wait! You've got to be kidding?! The Dean? Dean Winchester?"

Balthazar grins, "Oh yes, darling. Our own hunky hockey god."

"It's nothing, Anna," Castiel looks at his sister with pleading eyes.

"Dean Winchester is the one who did this to you?! I might have known. What a careless-"

"Anna, it's not like that," Castiel interrupts and points to his forehead, "This was an accident and…" his voice falters as he tries to figure out what else to say about Dean.

Balthazar jumps down from the dresser where he had been sitting and looks back and forth between Anna and Castiel. "Wait, what am I missing here? Anna, you know Dean?"

Anna rolls her eyes at Balthazar, "Know him? Something like that."

Balthazar looks from Anna's incredulous face to Castiel's crestfallen one and it immediately dawns on him. "Oh my God, you've slept with him?!"

Castiel groans as Anna's jaw drops. "Balthazar, can you excuse us? I believe I need to talk with Anna alone."

"Oh no! This is too good. What, does taste in men run in the family?"

"Balthazar!" Castiel and Anna both growl at once.

Balthazar puts up his hands in mock surrender. "Fine. I can see when I'm not wanted. I can't believe you are going to gossip about gorgeous men without me! Castiel, I'll be back in the morning. We need to talk strategy about your triple combination." And with that he leaves the siblings in awkward silence.

"Anna…"

"No. Stop, Castiel." She takes his hand and leads him to the bed to sit next to her. After taking a deep breath she starts, "OK, now tell me what's going on."

"Nothing, Anna. You know Balthazar. He just loves juicy gossip, especially if he starts it himself."

"So what he said about Dean isn't true?"

"Of course it isn't! He and I are… we just met! He has been very kind to me after what happened, but I'm sure it's just because he feels guilty. And this morning we were skating together when Balthazar showed up. He's imagining the stuff about the way Dean was looking at me. You of all people know he's straight."

"And what about you? How do you feel about him?"

"I… I don't know. He's… not the way you described him."

"Castiel, it was years ago. When I met Dean, I was star stuck by this hot young athlete that I had a crush on. He was charming and we were both a little drunk. I was a stupid young girl who thought she was in love but the truth is, it was a one night stand for him. Yes, I was devastated when he didn't call and I know I cried on your shoulder about it. Honestly though, we were both nineteen year old kids so the man I described to you was probably demonized by a stupid broken-hearted teenager. But, really, I barely even knew him. And I certainly don't know what he's like now. I imagine he has done some growing up in the past five years. I know I certainly have."

"I, I always thought that you had something more with him."

"I'm sure I made it sound that way. Wishful thinking," Anna huffs a little laugh at her own youthful foolishness. She reaches over and takes both of Castiel's hands in her own. "So tell me, little brother, how do you really feel?"

"Oh, Anna, I just don't know. I like him," Castiel sighs and shuts his eyes, "I really like him. He's actually sweet and funny and he's ridiculously hot. He even helped me relax and be able to do my jumps this morning." Castiel flings himself back on the bed in frustration and puts his arm over his face. "Why do I always fall for men who are terrible for me? If they aren't trouble, they are the unattainable."

Anna flops down beside Castiel, shoulders touching, as they both stare up at the ceiling. "You don't know if Dean is either."

Castiel rolls to his side to face Anna, resting his head on his arm. "Yeah, I'm pretty I do know, unless you are hiding something under your skirt that we need to talk about."

Anna laughs and rolls onto her side, mimicking Castiel so that the siblings are now facing one another. "Just because he's been with girls doesn't mean he doesn't like men too. Just look at Balthazar."

"Ugh! Don't remind me. Do you know the other day he told me he had a ménage a… whatever the French word is for twelve?"

"Uh… pretty sure that's just an orgy."

"I try not to even think about what he does in his spare time."

"Ah, the rock star life of a former figure skating star. Promise me you won't follow in his footsteps after you win the gold, Castiel."

"Do I even need to? You know that's not me."

"I know, just be careful, OK? Don't fall for someone who isn't going to be gentle with your heart." Anna reaches up and moves Castiel's bangs off of his forehead to expose the stitches there, a gentle, loving touch. "He's already banged up your head."

Castiel smiles at his sister's teasing, "Why am I so terrible at this?"

"Probably because you've barely left the ice since you were six. It doesn't leave much time for a social life."

"Maybe I should just keep it that way. Concentrate on my skating and forget I ever met Dean Winchester."

"Good luck with that. That man seems to have a way of burrowing into people's hearts."

Castiel sighed, knowing his sister was right. Dean did have a way of breaking down his walls and charming his way in. He had sat in the pub that first night here in Sochi seething at the obnoxious hockey player and his rowdy friends. He was sure that he knew everything he needed to know about the man. Sure that he was the shallow, careless, womanizer his sister had cried to him about years before. Sure that he wanted nothing to do with Dean Winchester.

Now, only a few days later, his heart flutters whenever he is around the man with the hunter green eyes. Dean has him utterly captivated and he knows it's a dangerous place to be.

This is what makes Dean feel alive. He is covered in sweat, he's breathing heavily, and his legs are burning but he hears the horn signaling the end of the game and vaults over the boards onto the ice. A five to one win! He drifts around the ice, hugging his teammates, tapping helmets together and commending them on their performances.

It was a great team effort. He scored twice, Sam once, and the other three goals were scored by other lines and one defenseman. It really demonstrates the depth of their talent pool. Sam's goal was scored exactly how he had strategized with Bobby, by taking advantage of his long reach in a wrap-around goal to the goalie's weak stick side.

The crowd is on their feet frantically cheering, "USA, USA," as American flags are waving all around the arena and Dean is feeling euphoric after the solid win.

He makes his way to Benny and hugs the defenseman who grabs the back of his neck, and taps the front of their helmets together as he tells Dean how great it is to play together again and calls him brother. It does feel good to have the talented man playing alongside him again and he feels a knot in his throat for a second during the emotional moment that he quickly suppresses to move on to the rest of the team.

Most of the players get affectionate taps on the back or smiles and fist bumps accompanied by congratulations from Dean but when he tells Garth what a fantastic job he did in front of the net, the enthusiastic goalie pulls him in for a warm bear hug. Dean laughs and shakes his head, returning the hug with a friendly tap on the back.

And finally there's Sam. He spots the giant man over the heads of a few other players. He already has his helmet off and is grinning ear to ear as he celebrates with their teammates. Dean takes off his own helmet, skates straight up to him, and embraces him whispering, "You were awesome out there tonight. Wish Dad could have seen it."

"Yeah, me too. I'm just glad we did it together."

Damn it! Dean's going to have to go shopping for tampons if he gets any more emotional tonight. What a girl he is turning out to be. He quickly backs away from the hug and skates in a small circle around the middle of the ice, looking up at the audience, stick raised in thanks for their support. The crowd goes wild as his other teammates join in the salute to the fans.

Long after he leaves the arena he is still on cloud nine. Sure, he wins games like his every week but this was his first win on his way to Olympic gold. Maybe it's the adrenaline, maybe he's still high off the euphoric win, but he finds himself standing in front of Castiel's door. It's a foolish thing to do but something in him just wanted to share this moment with his new friend.

Castiel answers the door and Dean's already excited heart skips a beat. Damn, he'd just seen the guy a few hours ago but somehow every time those eyes meet his he is still surprised at the effect they have on him.

Dean gathers his thoughts together and a smile, charming and heartfelt, paints across his face, "Congratulate me, man. Just won my first Olympic game."

"Dean, that's wonderful1" Castiel says in that sexy voice that has a ridiculous effect on Dean.

He puts his hand against the doorframe and leans closer to Castiel. "Cas, I…"

Dean is interrupted by a woman's voice, "Castiel, who is it?"

He immediately backs up, looking over Castiel's shoulder to see a pretty red-head standing there looking at him with wide surprised eyes. Something about her strikes him as vaguely familiar but he can't place it.

"It's Dean Winchester," Castiel answers.

Dean shakes off the feeling of deja vu that he gets looking at the woman and looks back at Castiel. "Well, I, uh, better get going and leave you to… yeah… well… um… good luck tomorrow."

He turns before Castiel can even finish saying thank you and heads back down the hall. God, he's an idiot. What was he even thinking showing up at Cas' room? Fuck! He was going to kiss him. He actually leaned in and was going to kiss Castiel! What the hell had come over him? He can only rationalize it as the high he must still be on from the game.

He heads back to his room and drops straight into his bed, face first, ignoring Sam's question of where he disappeared to after the game. He is afraid that if he even looks at his brother his traitorous face might let on some of the conflict that he is feeling inside. He just needs to sleep it off. Things will surely go back to normal tomorrow.

Author's Notes:

Well, it's been a rough couple of days for me and hockey. I watched both the US men and women lose to team Canada in the Olympics and I attended an AHL game Friday night and watched my team lose in a shootout. Ugh! Oh well, at least I can make my dream team of Sam, Dean, Benny and Garth win.

A couple of hockey terms in this chapter:

A drop pass is when a player passes to a teammate who is actually behind them.

The play the guys were practicing referred to the goalie's four-hole. A hockey net has five basic places to score – each corner labeled one through four and if a player scores between the goalie's legs it is the five-hole.

Sadly, tonight may be the end of the real Olympics but there is a lot more drama coming up in this story.

Thanks again for reading and, as always, your feedback is certainly appreciated.