Castiel returned to work the following Thursday. When he entered the office, Dean could see that his wing was folded behind his back – obviously in almost perfect shape again, except that it wasn't folded as much as the other wing. There was almost no trace of the awful injury left – only a few missing feathers and some scar tissue which would fade away soon.

Castiel met his eyes when he entered and his lips curled into a tiny smile. Dean smiled back.

"Hey," Dean greeted him from his seat. "How are you doing? Is the pain gone?"

"It is mostly gone," Castiel confirmed and walked around his desk and sat down; turning in his chair so he was facing Dean. He shifted his wing behind him and unfurled it a little. "But the muscle is still a little sore. It should be gone soon, though."

"Glad to hear that," Dean smiled. "And I'm glad you're back. You have no idea how annoying Jo has been," he grumbled and sank into his chair.

Jo chose that moment to bust in through the door.

"Oh! You're back," she said, looking at Castiel. "Damn," she said, and the angel looked hurt for a moment. "No, no! Not like that! It's because I've had such a good time pissing Dean off to the point he was almost bursting, and now I can't do that anymore," she explained and laughed.

Castiel relaxed and glanced over at Dean.

"I told you she's been a nightmare," Dean muttered and sank further into his chair.

"And you're such a pussy," Jo retorted. "Anyway, I'll leave you two lovebirds to it," she grinned.

They both stared at her with wide eyes.

"We're not lovebirds!" Dean protested.

"Well, considering how you've gone from 'I fucking hate my new partner who's mean and grumpy all the time' to 'I wish Cas was back to save me from this crazy chick, he's so much better' I figured something might have happened between you two," she grinned.

"Just scram already," Dean said; trying to hide his blush. Jo laughed and went to the door. "And don't let the door hit you in the ass!" he yelled.

"I won't!" Jo yelled back, amused, and left.

Dean sighed and relaxed in his chair. Castiel was still staring at him with that frown of his. Dean winced a little.

"Well, I can't say I was happy having you as my new partner. Frankly, I actually kind of hated you," Dean said; noting how Castiel tensed a little. "Well, you can't say you were treating me nicely, and it kind of pissed me off. Though, I think I would have hated anyone they replaced Jim with. I'm just glad you're not that much of a dick anymore," he smirked.

"I didn't like you much, either," Castiel confessed. "Mostly because you're human, and I was angry for being transferred here, so I suppose I took it out on you. But I don't dislike you anymore."

"That's nice to know," Dean said, smiling.

Castiel smiled back.

"Hey, what do you say about taking a walk?" Dean suddenly asked. "All the paper work is done for now, and the boss can just inform us about a case on my cell. So, maybe instead of hanging around in here we could go somewhere, get some fresh air?"

Castiel looked a little taken aback by the idea, but he seemed to think it over. "If it pleases you, I wouldn't mind."

"Cool, then let's go," Dean grinned and got up. Castiel followed him and they left the office.

As the entered the big room outside the office, where all the phone workers and secretaries worked inside their cubicles, Dean became aware of the looks that were sent their way. Castiel sensed them too, and his wings wrapped around him tighter. Dean chose to ignore his co-workers' stares and guided the angel towards the back where the exit was.

"Hey Winchester, where are you going?" Allan said, suddenly showing up in front of them, blocking their path. Dean stopped and glared at him.

"I'm going out, is that a crime?" Dean replied, coolly, glaring at him.

Jo showed up behind Allan, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Allan, leave him be," she said.

"No," Allan growled at her. He looked back at Dean with nothing but contempt in his eyes. "I thought we were pals, Dean. And now you're suddenly hanging out with him?" He gestured at Cas, who flinched a little behind Dean. "Angels are disgusting, vile bastards, why do you hang out with them?"

Dean raised his eyebrows. "Oh, they're disgusting and vile? Wow, I wonder what that makes you then."

"Don't you dare insult me, you pathetic, angel-loving—"

Dean cut him off before he could finish his sentence and grabbed Allan by his throat. Everyone in the room gasped, and Dean could feel Castiel's surprised eyes on him as he gripped his older colleague and leaned in close to him.

"If I hear one more offending word about angels, or any other creature for that matter, from your mouth, Allan, I'll have you fired. Understood?" Dean growled at him. Allan stared back at him, wide-eyed, gasping for breath.

"In this job we hunt down any creature that is a threat to the people, and we help those who are not a threat. Angels are helping us doing that. You will not threat our allies or anyone else around me, again."

Allan's nodded at Dean's words, and stared into the other man's hateful eyes, before Dean finally released him. Allan fell to the ground, panting, grabbing at his sore throat before he glared up at Dean.

Talk and whisper filled the room, and soon it was replaced by some of colleagues cheering. Allan crawled away in defeat, and Dean found himself being pulled into a tight hug by Jo.

"God, it's about time you did that!" Jo cheered as he hugged him. "He was always such an arrogant bastard, anyway," she said when she pulled back from the hug.

"Yeah, he's an ass," Dean agreed, smiling at her. He glanced back at Cas, who was staring back at him with an unreadable expression on his face. His head was titled, and Dean wondered if that was a habit of his.

"So, wonna get out of here before another asshole shows up and blocks our path?"

Castiel nodded, and they quickly made their way out from the now very noisy room.

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Dean took him to the park they had walked through the week before.

He couldn't help but notice how close they were walking now, compared to before. Though, Dean still made sure to put a good distance between himself and the angel to not make him feel uncomfortable.

"Sorry about back there. Some people are just asses," Dean said, after a few minutes of silence.

"It's alright. I'm… used to such people," Castiel said, looking at the ground.

Dean glanced at him. "You wonna talk about it?" he asked, slowly.

Castiel tensed. "No."

"Okay. But let me know if you do," Dean said.

Castiel nodded and remained silent, and Dean let it be. They walked for a while, enjoying the sun on their faces and the children's happy laughter around them.

"I used to come here often, to get my mind off things," Dean said after a while. Castiel looked at him. "Jim would join me sometimes. He too knew how hard the work was."

"Your old partner?" Castiel asked.

"Yeah," Dean confirmed.

"You must have been very close."

"He was probably my best friend," Dean said, looking at the few clouds in the sky above. "It's funny… how you never really appreciate the people around you until after they're gone."

"I'm sure he knew he was your friend," Castiel said.

"He should have. With all the times I saved his ass or dragged him out to get so ass-drunk we both couldn't walk straight," Dean said, laughing at the memory.

Castiel smiled and Dean enjoyed seeing the angel getting out of his shell a little. It made him feel happy.

They were still walking around the park, slowly, not in any hurry.

"So, Cas. Do you have any family beside Gabriel?"

Castiel blinked at the question. "No. I lost my parents when I was little, I barely have any memories of them. Gabriel told me we had a sister, Anna… but she was sold when we were little and we never saw her again."

"I'm sorry, Cas," Dean said, suddenly feeling bad about bringing it up.

"What about your family, Dean?" Castiel asked, looking at him.

Dean sighed. "Well, my mom died when I was four, in a house fire. I barely remember her. My father raised Sam and me very strictly, but he died of cancer when I was 19, and since then it's just been Sam and me."

"You must be close to your brother then."

"Yeah, we're close," Dean smiled. "But we have our up and downs, of course."

There was silence between them for a moment, until Castiel spoke again. "Why did you choose this job, Dean?" he asked.

"As a hunter?" Dean asked, surprised. Castiel nodded. "Hmm, I don't know. I guess it just seemed right. I get to help some people, bring a little peace into his fucked-up world," he shrugged. "Better this than some boring job as a salesman," he snorted.

"You're a very selfless person, aren't you?" Castiel said, tilting his head.

Dean laughed. "I dunno. Never really thought of myself in that way, Cas."

"But you are," Castiel said. Dean looked at him and their eyes met. He stared into the angel's bright blue eyes, almost forgetting himself until he snapped his eyes away.

They continued to walk in silence, and Dean suddenly became aware of people staring at them – well, Castiel mostly. He could sense the angel tensing a little as he noticed it too. The wings twitched behind his back, making Dean look at them. He took in the massive, white wings behind the angel and wondered what he'd look like, flying the skies above.

Then a thought suddenly hit him.

"Can you still fly? Even with that wing," Dean asked, gesturing at the left wing, which had once been damaged by what Dean believed to be the angel-killing sword.

Castiel bit his lip. "No, not anymore. The muscle is too damaged for that." He looked to the ground and they both slowly stopped walking.

Dean winced in sympathy when he looked at the angel.

Angels shouldn't be grounded like that. They were creatures of the skies, they were meant to fly, and Castiel had lost that. He'd never be able to fly again.

"I'm sorry, Cas," Dean said, looking away. "Shit, I'm sorry."

Castiel looked up at him in surprise. "This isn't your fault, Dean. You have nothing to be sorry for. And I'm fine, really."

"How can you be fine when you're meant to fly?" Dean said, a bit harsher than he intended.

Castiel stared at him. "I never really learned it, anyway," he admitted. "My… owner… wouldn't let me leave the house."

"What? How long were you there?" Dean asked, taken aback. Angels usually began to fly around the age of ten, and Castiel would have to have been a slave since he was a child if he had never properly learned how to fly.

"I… I don't wish to talk about it," Castiel said, looking away. "Please stop asking me about that, Dean." His voice was getting tense, and Dean saw it as a soft warning.

"Right. I'm sorry," Dean said, immediately feeling guilty for poking too much in matters that weren't his business. "Um, so, you wonna get some ice cream before we get called off to a case?" he asked, switching topics.

Castiel's head snapped up and he stared back at Dean in confusion. "Ice cream…?"

Dean's jaw almost dropped. "Dude, you've never had ice cream?"

Castiel shook his head; frown still visible on his forehead as he stared at Dean.

Dean laughed. "Alright, ice cream it is. Can't believe you've never heard of it before."

"I don't go out much, obviously," Castiel muttered, feeling a little embarrassed about not knowing such common things.

"Yeah, I've noticed," Dean grinned, and led him towards the closest ice cream stand in the park. Castiel followed him, eyeing the stand curiously.

Dean ordered soft ice for them both, since he knew this park's stands had some of the best soft ice in the city.

Castiel watched with interest as Dean was handed the two ice creams and passed one to the angel. He accepted it, and started reaching for his trench coat pocket before Dean cut him off.

"Hey, it's on me, you don't have to pay me anything," Dean smiled, and licked at his soft ice.

Castiel hesitated a little before he gave in. "Thank you," he said, and looked at his soft ice. He carefully licked it, gathered some of it on his tongue before tasting it.

"Good?" Dean asked, grinning.

Something in Castiel's eyes lit up a little and he nodded, taking another lick. Dean grinned and ate his own soft ice. They moved on, walking along the path throughout the park, eating their ice creams.

Dean was amused how the angel seemed to enjoy this treat, which had been totally unknown to him until now. For a brief moment he wondered what Castiel had been fed with while he had been a slave. Had he been fed at all? And where had he slept? In a bed or on the cold floor of a basement?

Many questions filled his mind as he thought about the things Castiel must have gone through, but he wouldn't ask him about it. It was not his business, and the angel shouldn't tell him until he was ready.

If he ever was.

So all Dean could do was to support his new partner and make sure he would never end up in such a place again.

"Thank you for the ice cream, Dean," Castiel said once they were done eating.

"You're welcome, Cas," Dean smiled. "So… how do you like it?" he asked after a moment.

Castiel looked at him in confusion.

"You know… us, talking together," Dean explained. "I'm glad we're finally talking," he smirked.

Castiel looked a little guilty. "Gabriel has been pushing me. He says I need to be… social. It's easy for him to say, he's always been the open one," he muttered. "But I am glad we're talking now," he added, looking at Dean with a tiny smile.

Dean smiled back. He was about to say something when his phone rang. He cursed and reached into his pocket to see who was calling. It was their boss, probably calling about another case.

"It's the boss," Dean said, looking at his phone. "You ready for a case, or would you rather wait?"

"No, I'm ready," Castiel said, tiny smile on his lips. "I'm just hoping for a case that won't require too much of me."

"If it does, I'll ask him to pass it on to someone else, okay?" Dean said. Castiel nodded, gratefully, and Dean smiled at him.

Then he picked up his phone to hear what case they had been assigned to, while Castiel shifted a little closer to listen in.

To be continued…

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Author's note: Actually this chapter wasn't supposed to happen – at least not the last part of it, but I felt that the development in the relationship between Dean and Cas was going a little too fast in the chapter which will now be chapter 7, so I improvised and put this in to slow things down a little. I don't really like this much, it was hard to keep them in character when I have already written the storyline of the next few chapters, and then suddenly had to write something in between them. Very confusing for me, so I'm sorry if I messed this up a little!

Anyway, the story should get a little more exciting from now on, since in the next chapter things between them will start to take a drastic turn. I'm not saying more! ;)

Thanks for your feedback, hope to get more lovely reviews from you guys :) Next chapter should be up soon.

Luciel89.