Author's note: I'm sorry it took me so long to get this updated. There was a school trip from Thursday to Friday, and I almost didn't get any sleep, because there were always drunk people in the corridors, people vomiting all over the place and there was music all the time. Yep, don't you just love school trips? XD So that is why I didn't feel like writing on this fic lately. However, as a compensation, I'll be updating both chapter 5 and 6 today :) Chapter 6 will mostly just contain porn, though.

I had so much trouble writing these last 2 chapters. I just couldn't make it end right... But I think it turned out okay. At least I hope so.

Please enjoy reading chapter 5 :)

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Dean didn't know how long he sat on the couch, listening to Castiel breathing while he was sleeping against Dean's body. He wasn't sure if he wanted the angel to wake up just yet. The guilt over what he had just done was starting to eat him from the inside out.

Dean barely paid attention when he heard Bobby's van drive up next to the house and the front door being opened. He heard Sam walk into the kitchen, carrying the groceries. Eventually he came into the study where Dean and Cas were resting on the couch.

Sam's surprised expression when he saw them on the couch soon turned into a smirk. "I see you took Bobby's words to heart."

"It's not what it looks like," Dean said, trying to hide his blushing.

"Whatever. You just keep being in denial and see how it ends," Sam chuckled, walking back into the kitchen to put the groceries into the fridge.

"Dean?"

Dean looked down at the angel that was sleeping against him and saw that he was now awake. His blue eyes, looking tired from their previous activities, stared back into Dean's. Castiel moved away from Dean's chest but didn't move away from where he was sitting on Dean's lap. He groaned slightly at the pain that shot through his bruised ribs.

Castiel tried to pull his right hand up to rub his eyes but something was holding it down. He glanced down at the handcuffs on their wrists and made an annoyed grimace.

"Uh, yeah, they're still there," Dean said as he noticed where Castiel was looking. Guilt rushed over him once more, and he looked away from Castiel in shame – something that didn't go unnoticed by Castiel.

He was about to ask Dean what was wrong when Bobby entered the study in his wheelchair and grimaced when he saw the two on his couch. "Couldn't you have found a better place for that rather than on my fucking couch?" he accused.

"I already said it's not what it looks like!" Dean snapped, face turning into a deep shade of red.

Bobby rolled his eyes and went back to the kitchen.

Castiel turned to look at Dean, confusion obvious in his eyes.

"Err, they think we… uh, never mind." Dean couldn't bring himself to say it, not with Castiel's innocent eyes starting at him.

"You mean they thought we fornicated?" Castiel asked. "But didn't we do that?"

Dean almost chocked. "Uh, well kinda, but not in the way they think."

Castiel tilted his head slightly and his frown deepened; obviously only even more confused now. Dean was just thinking how adorable the angel looked when he did that, when Sam suddenly appeared, again.

"Hey, are you guys ready to hit the road again?" Sam said, suddenly appearing in the doorway.

Dean stared up at his brother in confusion. "Hit the road again? I thought we were gonna stay here for a while?"

"Well, we did stay for a while. Besides, since we figured out who is responsible for the handcuffs on your wrists and that we cannot break them no matter how we try until Gabriel decides it's time, I thought we might as well just go out and see if we can find a case somewhere."

"Yeah, brilliant idea Sam, except for the part where Cas and I can't fight monsters right now," Dean said, sarcastically. He didn't want to risk Cas getting hurt again while fighting demons or monsters.

"Well, then let's find a case where I can fight the monster alone and you guys can help me out with the research," Sam replied. He looked at Cas – who was, awkwardly enough, still hitting on Dean's lap, turning his head around to look at Sam. "What do you think, Cas?" Sam asked.

"I think it sounds like a good idea," Castiel answered.

It wasn't like Castiel didn't like staying at Bobby's house, but he wanted to go somewhere else for a while. Usually he would fly around, going from place to place and see how the world changed every day. He enjoyed flying, feeling the wind around his wings and feathers and seeing other places every once in a while. He knew he couldn't fly right now but he still wanted to get out of the house for a while.

"Who have I pissed off to end up with two nerds," Dean grumbled and gestured to Cas to get up. The angel understood and moved away from Dean's lap; blushing slightly as he realized he'd been sitting there the whole time.

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They said goodbye to Bobby and drove off in the Impala to a place unknown. Sam was driving and Dean and Castiel were in the backseat as usual.

Castiel knew something was bothering Dean. Ever since they had entered the car, Dean had kept more distance between them than necessary, and he didn't look at Castiel either. He just kept staring out the window with a sad expression that almost frightened Castiel.

With Sam in the front seat, Cas didn't dare to ask the elder hunter about what was wrong. He tried to catch Dean's eyes but Dean kept looking away and wouldn't meet his eyes for long at the time. It was unusual for Dean to not meet his eyes, and Castiel felt a sudden pain in his chest that was almost unbearable.

The guilt was now really started to affect Dean. When they had entered the car, Cas had grunted in pain as they sat down. Dean felt guilty. If he hadn't relocked the handcuffs, Cas would have healed his bruised ribs much faster and wouldn't be in pain now.

How could he have been so stupid in the first place?

Dean knew Castiel was getting worried about him, because the angel kept glancing at him, but what should he do? Tell the angel that he had locked the handcuffs back together when he had seen then unlocked and thus caused Cas to stay in his current human condition? He couldn't do that. Not yet anyway.

It was night when Sam pulled the Impala up in front of a diner. It looked small, not many people inside, so it was the ideal place for them to eat dinner.

As they walked inside, the waitresses gave Dean and Castiel weird glances. Probably because it almost looked like they were holding hands because their hands were so close. But Dean really didn't give a damn about the waitresses right now.

They found a table in the corner and ordered food from one of the waitresses. Castiel didn't seem to understand why they were staring so strangely at him and Dean, but he didn't ask about it.

When their food came, Dean opened his cheese burger to pour some more ketchup on it. Sam was enjoying a sandwich, and so was Cas because Sam had persuaded him to eat something else instead of what Dean always ate. Talk about annoying little brothers.

Sam opened a newspaper and put it in front of him on the table. "I wonder if there are any cases nearby. I think we need to find something to do before—" Sam trailed off and stared at Dean in concern. "Dean? You alright?" he asked uncertainly.

"What?" Dean asked and looked up at his brother, confused about what Sam meant. It was when he followed Sam's gaze to his burger that he saw he was still pouring ketchup on it. The poor burger was full of ketchup now.

"Ah, shit!" Dean cursed and started removing most of the ketchup with his knife.

"Are you sure you're okay, Dean? You've been acting kind of weird today," Sam said, still staring at Dean with concerned eyes that wanted answers. Dean hated those eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine Sam," Dean said, not looking at Sam.

Next to him, Castiel glanced at Dean in concern. Was Dean regretting what happened earlier? He knew Dean was straight and only liked women, but he thought Dean felt different about him. It had seemed like it when he had touched him so gently and stared at him with lustful eyes just hours before. Maybe Dean regretted what happened but was too afraid to admit it to him?

Whatever the reason for Dean's behavior was, Castiel knew he had to talk to him about it. But he already feared the answer that awaited him.

Sam stared between Dean and Cas in worry. "Did something happen between you two back at Bobby's house that I should know about?" he asked, uncertainly.

"No!" Dean blurted out, maybe a bit too quick because Sam's eyebrow rose in suspicion, and next to him, Cas stared down at the table in guilt.

"No, nothing happened, really. Everything's fine," Dean said, faking a smile.

"Alright," Sam said, clearly not believing a word Dean said, and he didn't stop sending Dean and Cas concerned looks every two minutes. He noticed a certain tension between them, but he decided not to ask more about it. For now.

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They found a pretty decent hotel near the diner where they had eaten. Sam, of course, had ordered a room for himself, leaving Dean and Cas in a room with a king sized bed to fit them both and have some extra space. Dean bet Sam only ordered that to have the motel manager stare at them like the waitresses in the diner had stared at them.

Dean and Castiel helped each other drag some of the duffle bags into the room and threw them in the corner. Sam had long since disappeared into his own room, probably to look for a new case. The guy really needed to get laid, Dean thought.

"Great, what now, it's not even 9pm yet," Dean grumbled when they were done getting the stuff from the car.

Castiel stayed quiet beside him. His silence caught Dean's attention.

"Dude, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Why don't you tell me," Castiel replied, and looked at him with such hurt eyes it surprised Dean so much that he took one step back.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"I'm not stupid, Dean. I know something is bothering you," Castiel said. Dean swallowed nervously. "Why won't you tell me what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, Cas," Dean lied. Castiel stared at him in disbelief, making Dean wince inside. "It's… complicated," he said instead.

"Then uncomplicate it for me," Castiel challenged.

"Dude, it's not… I'm not…" Dean trailed off and looked away. "You'd only hate me if I told you," he muttered, the guilt making his heart ache like hell.

There was silence. Dean was doing everything he could to not look at Cas, and Cas was just staring at the floor.

"Why did you take something like that from me if you were only going to regret it later?" Castiel whispered in a hurt voice. Dean knew Cas was now referring to him touching Cas' most vulnerable spot.

"What?" Dean said, alerted by Castiel's hurt voice. "Cas, what are you talking about? I'm not regre—"

"Whoa, lover's quarrel! Ain't that lovely," a voice said from the bed behind them.

Dean and Castiel turned around to see Gabriel sitting on the bed; leaning up against the headboard behind him, legs crossed on the bed, and eating a candy bar while wearing his usual smug expression on his face.

"Fuck off, Gabriel," Dean growled.

"Ow, nice to see you too, Dean," Gabriel said, sarcastically, and stood up from the bed and walked over to stand in front of them.

"Go away, Gabriel," Castiel said, glaring at his brother with all his might.

"Well, I would, but clearly there a few things that need to be sorted out first," Gabriel said. "I mean, I know you two like each other, but getting all comfy on the couch already? Phew, that was almost disturbing," he laughed.

"You were fucking spying on us?" Dean asked, taking one step closer to the archangel.

"Well, I kinda have to. It's my game, ya know," Gabriel said, like it was total obvious, and was not moving even though Dean came closer.

"And I know you have issues, Dean, but I must confess that the part where you relocked the handcuffs earlier when I unlocked them for you, was actually quite surprising. But I wouldn't say it was unexpected, really."

Castiel's eyes widened and Dean flinched slightly. Castiel turned to look at Dean, uncertainly. "Is this true, Dean? You locked them again?"

Dean looked back into Cas' eyes with shame. "I'm Sorry. I panicked. I thought- I was afraid you'd leave like you always do and only come back every once in a while when we need you on a case."

Dean had never felt as ashamed as he did right now; he had robbed Castiel of his angelic nature and forced him to stay human for even longer. Something that must feel so frightening to an angel that wasn't used to human emotions at all.

Castiel's eyes softened at Dean's words. So that was why Dean had been refusing to meet his eyes: he felt guilty and ashamed.

Castiel didn't have a chance to say anything before Gabriel started speaking again.

"Ya know, even if you hadn't locked the handcuffs back together again, I wouldn't have let you two off the leash so quickly anyway," Gabriel said, looking between the two with a smirk.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dean snarled.

"It was just a small test. To see how far in the process you were. I hadn't exactly expected you to be that far already, that was kind of a surprise, but that's not a bad thing," Gabriel explained with a smirk.

"You're saying that you would have kept us locked together for longer anyway? Then when are you ever gonna free us?" Dean asked, getting angry and impatient.

"As I said before: when you've learned your 'lesson'. Or whatever you choose to call it," Gabriel said, all casually.

He looked between Dean and Cas' angry and confused faces before he smirked at them. "See ya around, boys." And then he disappeared in a flutter of wings.

To be continued…