It was strange.

Of all the ways Dean would've described having his blood sucked by a vampire, none of his descriptions would have been accurate. Words such as agonizing, excruciating pain,or a merciless and quick deathcame to mind. Instead, even though Cas was literally sucking the life out of him, his fangs felt no different than the needle doctors use when giving patients shots. Except, this time it was on his neck.

But it wouldn't be the first time Cas had surprised him.

Dean bit down the urge to struggle under Cas' strong embrace. Cas, probably unbeknownst to him, was gripping Dean so tightly by his arms that Dean felt as though he was beginning to see spots. Or perhaps that was due to the effects of the sudden loss of blood. Either way, Dean could feel that he was seconds away from passing out.

Cas, in contrast to Dean's discomfort, was in absolute bliss. He felt the warm, crimson river splash across his teeth and lapped at it greedily with his tongue. He couldn't remember the last time he had tasted fresh human blood, and he definitely couldn't remember the last time he bit something, like actually bit something that was alive.He loved how the veins pulsated on his lips and how in that moment, Dean's life was in his hands. He could drink him dry if the mood struck him, and he missed having that kind of power with a passion.

The most endearing part, however, was surprisingly not the taste, the texture, nor the nutrients he knew he was soaking in by the boatload. The best part about feeding from Dean was the mere fact that he was feeding from Dean.The idea made his own heart race almost as fast Dean's. At this proximity, Cas could inhale as much of Dean's scent as he pleased, and so he did. He sniffed and sniffed, trying to place exactly what he was smelling. It was a good smell, like a mix of leather, beer, the inside of the Impala, with a very faint trace of vanilla. Most of the smells so heavily permeated Dean's life that he could understand why they were still on him but, vanilla? It must be from his shampooCas reasoned, as he continued to bask in Dean's several, heavenly smells.

Seconds of feeding turned into a minute, and that minute into two minutes. Cas had long since got his fill of blood, but was too far gone to realize what he was doing. Dean, on the verge of passing out and whose vision was getting darker around the edges, tried to get Cas' attention, but found that he couldn't exactly form the words.

"Ca-! Caa!"

He tried to say Cas, over and over, but each time it came out sounding like a cough. He was about to try once more, just to humor himself into thinking he would be saved in his last moments, but then his knees buckled and sent him crashing to the floor. And, inevitably, Cas fell with him.

The fall seemed to jerk Cas out of his stupor as his greedy fangs retreated back into their places. His eyes swept over the scene underneath him; Dean's neck was smeared with blood from his lack of precise feeding practice, and now his body lay crumpled on the floor. Unmoving. Panic shot through his entire system as he grabbed his human, the human he was supposed to protect, and shook him vigorously.

"Dean!" Cas yelled, to no response. He placed two fingers on his still bleeding neck to check for a pulse. To his relief, he found one. "Dean," he said in a choked whisper.

Emotions. Emotions were something a vampire rarely felt, but he noticed that lately, as he spent more time with his human friend, the emotions he had stored away deep inside of him had chosen to make an appearance on more than one occasion. In that moment, with his only friend in his arms as he watched the life drain from him, Cas' emotions chose not to creep up to the surface, but more so launch themselves to the forefront of his mind.

It was painful.

And fast.

It was overwhelming, to feel such human sensations when his instincts to help Dean should have been on red alert. Tears formed at the corners of his eyes as he pulled Dean closer, silently willing him not to go towards the light and slip away from him forever.

Steadily, as if unsure, Dean's heart rate went from teasingly slow to gradually faster. Cas could feel it on his chest as he hugged his human, and his hope for his survival seemed more realistic now. Cas pushed Dean back slightly so that he could look into his face. To his disappointment, Dean's eyes were still sealed shut.

"Dean?" he croaked.

The lack of response was enough to make his eyes start filling up again. Soon his eyes became so blurry that they weren't able to see Dean's eyelids flutter, ever so slightly, followed by the twitching of his lip. What Cas was able to sense, however, was the way his heart rate was not only getting faster, but louder to his ears. This wouldn't be the first time though, since hearing one's heartbeat was one of the vampiric skills he was very keen on perfecting.

Then, as if like clockwork, the dam holding back his tears broke and released his tears, and at that very moment, Dean let out a cough. Startled, but hardly surprised, Cas wasted no time to pick Dean up and place him gently on the bed.

By then, Cas' scattered brain was coming back to him and he slipped into healing mode. He knew exactly what to do; if there was one useful thing Raphael had showed the pack, it was acknowledging and mastering all, or at least most, of their skills. He suddenly remembered a very useful trick, one that he had been taught centuries ago.

The blossoming blood on Dean's neck was relentless, and Cas felt himself pale in shame. As he got closer to inspect the wound, he antagonized himself for being so sloppy and reckless with his precious, fragile human. He leaned in to Dean's neck space, a territory he was familiar with by now, and gently placed a kiss on the holes his fangs had made. He lingered a bit, for longer than what was necessary, and just let himself inhale Dean's calming fragrance.

Several seconds later, when he finally pulled away, he watched his handy-work come into action.

The holes in Dean's neck slowly, yet surely, started to fade and smooth themselves out, transforming from gaping holes to just skin. The blood, that Cas was more or less tempted to lick off to avoid wastefulness, retreated back into Dean's body. The whole process lasted seconds and when it was over, you could hardly tell that there had ever been a bite there at all.

Cas sighed in relief at the same time that Dean sucked in a breath. His eyes flicked open as he desperately inhaled another breath and pushed himself into an upright position. Cas watched, frozen in place, as his jade eyes scanned the room, as if trying to remember where they were, until landing onto Cas.

"That," Dean rasped, coughed, and continued, "Was not ok." He was holding up an accusatory finger at Cas as he talked to emphasize his words, but really it did nothing more but ignite a pit of rage from within Cas.

"You were the volunteer who persuaded me to drink from you in the first place!" Anger made the back of his eyes burn, and although every part of his instincts told him to act upon his fury, he held back for Dean's sake.

"Yeah I said you could feed,not eat." Dean had no trouble whatsoever letting his anger be known. "You almost drank me dry! What the heck, Cas! I thought we were friends. Were you really willing to kill me for your own sick pleasure!?"

After acknowledging that every fiber of his being wanted very badly to knock Dean's lights out, Cas remained in control of his anger. "I told you, before we started that I wouldn't be able to control myself-"

"But I trusted you!"

"And I trusted you!" Cas retorted, letting his voice rise. "You let me think that it was ok! That nothing would go wrong! Now look where that got us!"

Dean's cheeks bloomed crimson as he realized the truth in Cas' words. "Cas-"

"But of course, it's all my fault." Cas' voice dramatically went from a thunderous yell to a choked whisper. "Everything is always my fault..."

"Cas."

Bowing his head, he said "I should've known better than to trust a human-"

"Cas!"

Startled by the obvious pain in Dean's voice, Cas looked up to see Dean's eyes getting to be just as misty as his were. "Cas, please don't- It's not your-" His words refused to form correctly.

After a few moments of tense silence, Dean sucked in a breath. "You know what? It's fine. I'm fine," he touched his heart to emphasize that it was, indeed, still working, "and of course you're fine." Dean adverted his eyes after he realized his odd choice of wording. Why the 'of course'? It sounded like he was calling Cas hot, but that wasn't what he was trying to do. Yeah Cas wasn't bad looking with his big blue eyes but-

Ok no. Dean mentally scolded and threatened himself for letting his mind wander about how attractive this dude who almost killed him was. Emphasis on dudeand who almost killed him.

Cas didn't know what was going on in Dean's head, but he did find it amusing as he watched his human's cheeks burn red, almost as though they were on fire.

"Let's uh... drop it. Ok?" Dean looked up to Cas with pleading eyes to change the subject, and to his relief, Cas replied "Alright."

"Good. Um, I'm gonna go to bed now." Tugging and rustling on top of the bed sheets, Dean weasled his pants and jacket off, then he pulled the cover up over his head as he attempted to get comfortable. Cas watched him while he did this. "Well? You comin' or what?" Dean shut his eyes and pretended to snore obnoxiously loud, just in case Cas didn't get the hint yet.

Cas did, in fact, get the hint. He began taking off his shoes and, reluctantly, his trenchcoat. He stripped until he was in a t-shirt and boxers, same as Dean, and then he timidly crawled underneath the covers.

Dean contemplated the idea of setting ground rules for their bed sharing situation, but thought better of it. If the thousand year old vampire wanted to subconciously snuggle him while they slept, well, Dean would just have to be a man about it. Besides, it wasn't like it was an uncomfortableexperience. Already, as Dean feigned sleep, he could feel the body heat emitting from his friend, and it was very welcoming. Drawn to the heat like a bug to a light, Dean scooted over towards Cas, just a little bit.

It didn't go unnoticed.

Cas didn't bother to pretend to be asleep and was instead very much awake, and his eyes were locked on Dean's peaceful face. When he felt Dean get closer, he involuntarily did the same. It felt like the natural thing to do. Being so close to Dean, although still not touching, had a tranquilizing effect on Cas, similar to when they were watching TV. Back at his vampire nest he rarely found such serenity, but now, it just came naturally when Dean was present and close. With Dean, soaking in Cas' warmth, and Cas, basking in Dean's peaceful auora, it was not long until both were fast asleep.