Hello all you lovely readers! Doesn't seem like forever until the next Supernatural episode? Your reviews from the last chapter were lovely and each and every one brought a Sam-sized smile (which is huge considering the man's a giant!) to my face.

Disclaimer: If I owned Supernatural (which I do not) there would be more angels dressed in trench coats.

Chapter 8

Castiel was jerked from sleep by an insistent rapping at his door. He slid out of bed, stomach instantly doing flip-flops and slowly twisted the handle. He was severely disappointed when a wave of messy dirty-blonde hair and a pair of pursed lips greeted him.

"Oh, Castiel! Kiss me!" Gabriel grinned like he knew Castiel had hoped the knocking belonged to someone else.

"You are not doing this to me at 2:00am." Castiel almost succeeded in shutting the door in Gabriel's face but a well-placed foot stopped him.

"No, c'mon, Cas, don't be like that," Gabriel whined and tried to slide into the room.

"Don't you ever come down from your sugar high and sleep?" he grumbled and begrudgingly let his brother inside.

Gabriel ignored him, sprinted toward the bed and pounced.

"Jeez, Cassie, how come you all get the bouncy beds?" he cried and the bed springs screeched with his efforts.

"How come you're wearing a onesie?" Castiel shot back and spat the word from his mouth as if he had said something distasteful.

Gabriel flashed him a seductive smile from where he lay sprawled on the bed. "You know you want me." He wiggled his pajama-clad toes.

Castiel heaved a world-weary sigh and flopped down next to Gabriel. "Yet again, you can't say stuff like that to family. There are these things called boundaries, remember?"

Gabriel moved his head over to snuggle on top of Castiel's stomach. "Speaking of boundaries, little brother, why are you still here? Not that I don't love all the drama your nonexistent personal skills inspire, but I fully expected you to book it after that first night."

"I haven't been eliminated yet."

"So what? Now you care about the stupid rules of a dating game show? That's not like you." He paused before adding, "I saw your date with Dean; they're editing it right now."

Castiel squirmed uncomfortably and thought of the possible footage. Surely any future viewer would be able read him like a book. It was painfully obvious he liked Dean. He felt sick as he imagined his sappy puppy love playing over national television and felt even worse when he pictured Dean watching it and seeing how pathetically he had fallen for him.

"You should move. I'm going to be sick."

"No, you're not," Gabriel patted his thigh reassuringly. "Just take deep breaths."

He spent a long time working on inhaling and exhaling. "Was it bad?" he asked after a moment, referring to the footage Gabriel had seen.

"Let's just say I haven't seen you look at anything that way since you discovered White Castle cheeseburgers."

Castiel groaned. It was bad then.

"Like I said, it's not that I don't love all the drama, but I need to be your responsible older brother for just a second and ask you what the hell is going on. So spill, Cas."

Castiel knew Gabriel was trying to help in his own way, but it was hard to take him seriously in a purple onesie with hearts all over it.

"It was an accident. I didn't mean to like him or even think about him beyond that one night at the club. Dean infuriates me, annoys me, burns hot and cold, but I can't seem to stop wondering how many freckles he's got on his stupid face."

"If I told you, do you think you could forget about him? One-hundred and thirty-seven," he stated confidently and looked up to see if Castiel was smiling at his joke. Castiel's frown only deepened.

"No, I'm almost sure I have only counted forty-three."

"Ugggg, God, Cassie, you've got it bad." Gabriel sat up so he could look his brother straight in the eye.

"Look, I just want to make sure you know what you're getting into. I've read scripts like this; I know how they end and they never end with the love interest suddenly deciding he's gay or bi or whatever and running off with the broke and quietly brooding cameraman."

Gabriel paused. "Dean will do what's expected of him. This kid has no track record of ever veering off the path laid out for him by Daddy. You'd have better luck trying to get it on with Sam."

And yet Dean had kept him through two eliminations.

Gabriel looked like he knew what Castiel was thinking. "It won't last forever, Cas. Wouldn't it be better to leave now and keep whatever self-esteem you possess still intact?"

Castiel didn't say anything and Gabriel looked at him with something like pity. "If this is really what you want Cas, I'll be supportive. Actually, what I meant to say is that I'll keep ridiculing you on national television, but in moments like these I'll be supportive."

Castiel rolled over into his pillow. "No, it's not what I want. I can't seem to make myself stop though," he said in a muffled voice.

His brother patted his shoulder sympathetically. "It's like eating M&Ms. Before you know it, you've bought the entire section of the grocery store."

"Still pretty sure that's just you, Gabe."

They both jumped when there was a new knock on the door.

"It's probably Sarah—you jumped on my bed so many times she's here to see if I'm cheating on Dean and having extremely athletic sex."

"And what are you going to tell her?" Gabriel waggled his eyebrows devilishly and adopted a compromising position on the bed.

"Shut-up, Gabriel." He crossed the room and turned the door handle. Instead of a sleepy bed-headed version of Sarah though, a pair of green eyes peered into the room.

Castiel cringed inside as Dean took one look at Gabriel and backed up.

"Umm…sorry…bad timing I guess…I don't want to interrupt," he said hurriedly, cheeks flushed. He started walking away.

"Wait!" Castiel called and let the door slam behind him. Dean turned around, eyes cast down at the floor. "You don't have to go—Gabriel's just an ass. He has selective hearing when it comes to the issue of personal boundaries."

Dean laughed a little too quickly but looked relieved. "Right. Totally knew that. I just didn't want to interrupt…brotherly bonding or whatever."

"No, please feel free to interrupt that any time. I would pay you to interrupt that."

Dean smiled and relaxed a little bit. He didn't say anything else though.

"Dean, did you need something?"

"Oh, yeah. I just wanted to umm check and see if everything was all right. I haven't really seen you since the date-thing and I wanted to check that you weren't, you know, cold or something," he said evasively.

Castiel almost smiled at the poor excuse but maintained a serious expression. He stepped right into Dean's personal space and watched as the man swallowed nervously. The heat from Dean's body radiated across the couple inches that stood between them. "I am not cold any more, but thank you for thinking to check at 2:00am."

"Right. Well everyone knows that 2:00am is the coldest time of day. Yep…"

Suddenly, Castiel didn't care about the video footage. He didn't care what anyone else thought. He took the advice Gabriel always gave him and did something unplanned and spontaneous for once in his life.

Adrenaline pumping, Castiel closed the gap between them and slid his arms around Dean's neck. He looked straight up into Dean's shocked expression and let his fingers card through his short brown hair.

"If Gabriel had interrupted us thirty seconds later that night, we would have done this." He stood on his tiptoes and before he could overthink it, pressed his lips to the other man's.

The kiss wasn't long and it wasn't deep, but it hardly seemed to matter to Castiel. Warmth flooded every part of his body and the ends of his fingertips tingled. Dean's lips were soft and it felt perfectly natural to lean in a little closer and push against him a little harder. His shoulders were wide against Castiel's lean frame and he felt like a puzzle piece finally sliding into place.

He pulled away after a moment, not letting himself wonder if Dean had kissed back. Dean's eyes were still closed and, for an instant, Castiel wondered what would happen if he kissed him again.

However, before he could act, Dean's eyes fluttered open and Castiel watched his expression change as his brain came back online and he realized what had happened.

"What was that?"

"I believe I already informed you of what it was before I did it."

"What the hell, Cas? You can't just go around kissing people! I can't be kissing you." Dean was freaking.

"Then what were you really doing in this hallway, at my door?"

"I'm not…I didn't ask for this…"

"Answer the question, Dean."

He could see Dean's panic fade and his resolve harden. He tried to brace himself.

"I was looking for Bela—she's not in her room. I wanted Bela. I want Bela."

It was a lie. Castiel knew it was a lie. It didn't mean that it hurt any less to hear Dean reject him. Gabriel was right; he would only end up with heartbreak if he stuck around to see what happened with Dean Winchester.

"I suppose I should thank you then, Dean, for helping me decide whether I want to still be here. Have a nice life and enjoy your picket fence," he said stiffly.

He walked quickly away before Dean could see how desperately he was trying to hold himself together, back to his room, leaving Dean alone in the hallway. In the process of opening the door, he tripped over Gabriel, who must have had one ear pressed against it. Thankfully his brother didn't try to pretend like he hadn't heard what happened.

"Cas—I'm sorry." He pulled Castiel into a fierce hug and it was one of the few times Castiel didn't protest.

From the other end of the hall, a calculating pair of eyes witnessed Dean and Castiel's embrace. Carefully concealed in the shadow provided by a heavy set of curtains, neither man noticed the observer, nor was able to see the camera she held as they kissed. And, like a specter, the shadow slipped away into the quiet house as quickly as she had come.

Crimson nails scrolled through the contacts on her phone and hovered over a number labeled "For Emergencies". After a moment of indecision, they slammed into the call button.

A couple rings later, a hoarse voice crackled over the speaker. "This had better be good. Do you realize what time it is? Who is this?"

The woman cleared her throat. "It's Bela, Bela Talbot. You said to call in an emergency and I have a photo you might be very, very interested in."

"Send it."

There was a pause on the other end as the speaker looked at the photo. "That isn't Dean," the voice croaked.

"Yes, I assure you it is. I know you wanted to wait a while longer, but I think it's time you came home, Senator."

"Never use my name, Bela. I believe I told you that when I gave you this number."

"My apologies. But really, what the hell am I supposed to work with when Dean pulls this sort of stunt? The low-cut dresses won't do much good if your son is batting for the other team."

The voice went cold and toneless. "If you really wish to be a part of this family, you will refrain from talking about Dean in that manner. This photo is a mistake, that's all. You will keep this quiet, do you understand? I won't have this floating around the show."

"Yes, sir." The Winchesters were too rich to risk jeopardizing her place by Dean's side over a photograph.

"Unfortunately, I have a meeting that cannot be rescheduled. I will take the first flight out of Washington after that. Bela, this conversation never happened and I trust you will remember that when I arrive."

"I understand. Looking forward to your visit, sir."