The two men walked into the dingy motel. One of them was very tall with long shining hair, the other was short with a bowlegged swagger. They were carrying heavy overnight bags.

"Can I get a room? Two beds, under James Dean," the swaggering man said, he never made eye contact with the man at the desk. Instead tapping his fingers on the counter and winking at the maid in the tight outfit walking down the hall.

"How long will you be staying?" The clerk held out a key card. It was snatched out of his hand by the rough hands of the swaggerer before he walked down the hall, examining the number.

"Sorry about him. I'd say about a week. Thanks," the long haired man said.

"Have a nice stay at Shadow Shores. Oregon's finest back country resort."

The clerk wondered what they were into. The short one was over compensating, and the tall one seemed brooding. He forgot about them after they walked away, like forgetting a dream after you wake up.

"Well it's too late to start any research tonight. I can't believe we drove all the way to New Mexico for something that turned out to be a fluke."

"Win some, lose some, Sammy. Now, how about some chow?" Dean flopped on one of the beds, "I drove. So you're going on the food run."

Sam begrudgingly set down his things, "Fine. The usual?"

"Let's get Chinese tonight! Live dangerously," he smiled mockingly at his brother. Sam sighed and left. Dean closed his eyes, the heavy disinfectant smell was making them water. He'd been in countless motels in his life, but he'd never gotten used to the smell of industrial cleaners used to hide indiscretions. It had been a long day, the silence was welcome. His breathing shallowed as started to drift off to sleep.

"Dean," the low voice seemed to blanket the room.

The green eyes shot open. He knew from the voice he was safe, but he was surprised. He hadn't seen Cas since the nightmare night, it'd had been weeks. He righted himself; his face was in a tight line. He was overjoyed to see the angel, but he was still confused about what happened last time. It had tumbled in his mind. He had been watching Dean's entire life. There was something Dean had to live up too, Cas's expectations. Why hadn't he intervened sooner? His mind span until he thought he was going to be sick.

"What is it, Cas?"

"It seemed like an opportune time to commence with our second date."

"Excuse me?" Dean looked flabbergasted, "what second date? We never tal-"

"You were thinking about it while you were driving."

"Dammit, dude. I thought we talked about that mind reading shit!" He felt uncomfortable; he wondered what else Cas had picked up on.

"I'm sorry, Dean," he looked hurt. Dean softened.

"It's okay, man. It's alright. I don't have anything planned this time though, Cas. And Sam will be kinda ticked if I disappeared after I sent him out for food."

"I have arranged everything. Come, Dean."

The trench coat clad arm reached out, offering a hand to the hunter. Dean looked at it reluctantly, his mind got that seasick feeling again, but he took the soft hand.

His heavy boots make soft sounds on the marbled floors. Years of sneaking had made the rough hunter graceful and quite. Trial by fire.

Castiel had not let go of his hand, he led Dean gently through the museum. Oh, it was definitely a museum. Dean could tell that much, and by the size of the gift shop, it was a very famous one.

"I wanted to show you what I have seen. It's not possible to show you exactly… So I came up with a more creative solution."

"I haven't been to a museum since I was a kid," Dean looked around in awe as they passed into a room filled with mannequins of humanoids. The building was dark, empty, and quiet. Quite clearly after hours.

"You were ten; John took you to the Minnesota Science Museum. You liked the dinosaurs the most."

"…Yeah," Dean wasn't sure how to respond, he just stared at Cas as he was led to a glass case of two humanoid men in fur hunched around a fake fire.

"God didn't make humans. that was easy, boring," He looked at Dean, looking for confirmation that Dean was listening. The other man nodded along and touched the glass with his free hand. "Instead he planted the seed of humanity. He watched it flourish in beasts, and finally after enough pruning and repotting something similar to these men came about. My garrison was stationed in Europe, well before it was Europe, to protect them. We were told, the animals cannot get into the garden and eat before the harvest," Castiel's eyes looked far away, his brow furrowed as he stood in the dark room remembering, the dim light from the display case splashed shadows on his face. Dean thought he looked like a noir actor with the trench coat and serious face.

"Wow," the voice broke Castiel away from wherever he had been. Dean was still taking in the room with wide eyed astonishment; the angel let him take in the exhibits, the rough hand was still wrapped with his, it led him about the room from case to case. Dean would pause to read the display cards and examine the contents of the case. He was so wrapped up in everything he wasn't even making crude jokes Castiel had noticed. After everything in the room had been thoroughly examined Dean looked at Cas, his eyes were alight with excitement. "Show me what else you've seen," there was a pause, "Please?"

"Of course," Castiel smiled. He didn't smile often, but when he did, the hunter's heart skipped a beat. It was the most beautiful site to him. He'd take it over all the women he'd ever seen, not that he'd ever admit it aloud. They walked through some other rooms, Dean stopping a few times to look at things. Eventually they came to a room filled with mannequins of men standing around a table with a piece of paper on it. They were dressed in calf length pants, and frilly shirts. The window painted on the wall showed a horse and carriage outside and women in long skirts. "I saw the declaration of independence signed. More importantly, I guarded the ships bringing what you call 'the first pilgrims' over. It was commanded of me to see enough survived to start a new settlement. Though, no one foretold what would happen once they got here."

"What haven't you seen?" Dean laughed, half mocking the angel and half astonished by him.

"There are many things I have not seen. Your world is a series of large events, large events made by very small people. There is no way I could see into the lives of all those people. And that is the true essence of humanity, isn't it?" The men faced at each other. There was pregnant pause, "That's why I began watching you, Dean. I have seen the world build block by block, but I have never examined the mortar. I wanted to peer into a human life to better understand the events of the human world. Angels are made to protect humans, we watch you, but I don't think an angel has ever truly understood a human."

Dean's head began swirling again. He didn't know what to say. An idea popped into his head, a force willing his body forward. His hand parted from the angels for the first time, it moved gently to the other man's waist. Dean's hand pulled the other body to him; his lips hesitated for just a moment. He wanted this, he'd wanted it since Cas had began coming around regularly. This wasn't a hesitation, it was a tease. It was a pause for permission, making sure the angel didn't flinch away. It was to build and break the final ounce of tension between them.

It was a gentle kiss. Not the drunken lusting kisses Dean usually gave. It was sweet. Castiel pushed back into it. Dean's lips parted just slightly, enough to take the edge of Cas's lower lip in his. His tongue flicked to brush across it gently. Castiel's hands made their way to the hunter's hips. He let Dean lead the kiss. He'd seen the pizza man kiss the babysitter and he'd seen thousands through the years, but he'd never kissed anyone. He let his vessel react, his mouth parted to give Dean an opening. Their tongues mingled. Castiel felt Dean's soul glowing. After a minute or two, Dean reluctantly pulled away, placing soft pecks on the angel's lips before completely detaching. Their foreheads were together, hands still anchored to the other. Both sets of lips were smiling.

"Is there anything else on this tour, angel boy?"

Castiel kissed Dean's forehead.

"Yes."

The two men made their way around the empty building. Dean took in the history, and Castiel remembered it. They smiled bashfully at one another when Dean caught Castiel watching him. Both of them glowed with happiness. It was the first time either of them had felt good about something in a long while. They ended back in the lobby where they had began the tour.

"We've been here for hours, Sam's gotta be worried. I should really get back," he said sadly. Castiel kissed him. It was possessive, it was strong, it was perfect, but it was short lived. The angel pulled away, and Dean noticed they were back in the hotel room.

"Goodnight, Dean."

Dean was alone again. His knees went from under him, and his body sunk to the bed. There was a sound outside.

"What the hell's with the shit eating grin?" Sam entered carrying a paper brown bag filled with food, and a plastic bag filled with beer. "What did you do to my stuff?" He set the food next to his brother and hastily began checking over his duffle bag and its contents.

"Nothing, Sammy. It's nothing."

He couldn't stop smiling if he tried.