Castiel's POV

Freckles.

All 223 or so, of them. Of course, that was only an estimate.

It had taken him some time to attempt to count them all, and sometimes he would lose count and have to start over. But Castiel didn't mind re-counting. Not even in the slightest bit.

Not to mention it was hard to not urge himself to reach out to Dean's face while he was still sleeping and brush his thumb over his speckled cheeks.

No, it isn't that fact that Dean is so beautiful, or the fact that Dean looks more adorable when he's sleeping—no, it's just the fact that it's Dean. Dean's in front of him, just there, chest rising slowly, eyelashes twitching, lips parted. And there's no one in the world that Castiel would rather be with.

Castiel rubs his eyes and blinks, staring at Dean harder and debating whether this is just a dream, or it's real life. It feels hazy, vague, unclear. It's all so translucent. But when Castiel shifts slightly in the bed, he feels it.

The soreness, the cramps.

And he sees it.

The scratches, the hickies, oh god the hickies; strategically placed all over Dean's neck and collarbone, even a few leading down his chest, and one directly next to his belly-button which makes Castiel giggle. Castiel assumes that there's more, but he doesn't want to risk moving the thin sheet covering Dean's junk at the moment. It's too beautiful of a sight to touch.

No, not a dream.

Castiel runs fingers through his messy hair, still trying to process the fact that it is real. That all of it, is real. He had slept with Dean fucking Winchester. And it was real.

Well, it's not like Castiel didn't know about Dean's attraction toward him. Of course he had heard Dean that one night from the other side of the wall. Castiel laughs to himself, because if Dean was trying to be quiet, he failed miserably. But of course, Dean's big-ass mouth wasn't a complete and total failure. At least Castiel discovered he wasn't alone in this whole thing that him and Dean share. As if the sexual tension hadn't been bad enough, it definitely increased after that.

Playing the clueless Castiel wasn't as easy as he'd thought it would be. Walking into Dean's room the next morning pretending that he had heard nothing was one of the hardest thing's he'd ever had to do.

But no, that was nothing compared to this. Everything is still foggy, leaving only the marks on their skin to confirm what happened last night was real. Castiel palms his hands on his face, fingers parting and eyes peaking out slightly to look at Dean as he takes deep breaths.

Castiel's lip twitches into a smile. He never thought Dean would be interested back; that is was just a one-sided thing, like it usually goes. From the moment Castiel saw him at the airport, he wanted him. Oh god, he wanted him. No matter how hard he tried to push himself away, his body wouldn't let his mind win. Of course, his mind wasn't really thinking quite at all when he threw himself at Dean at the security line. What an awful idea to start a conversation. Of course, getting him sent to the back of the line was not in Castiel's intention at all, but he has his dick to blame for that.

But most importantly, he has Gabe to blame for that.

"Okay, Cassie. Just go up to him in line and hand him the five, tell him it fell out of his back pocket." Gabe had said, handing Castiel a five dollar bill, eyes mischievously on the man waiting patiently in line.

Castiel had reluctantly taken the money, smoothing down his trench coat. "But-but, what if he never had money in his back pocket?"

Gabe rolled his eyes. "Oh God Almighty, just do it! Flirt it up a bit. Maybe slip in front of him in line?"

"What if his preference is not men?"

Gabe shoved his shoulder. "Bro, my gay-dar is going crazy. Didn't you see him check out that pilot's ass?"

"I'm not sure about this, Gabriel. My-my people skills," Castiel shook his head, "They're a bit rusty."

Gabe murmured something under his breath that Castiel couldn't hear, but Gabe's hands were quickly on Castiel's back, pushing him towards the man's direction.

"Do it, Castiel!"

They get closer to the man in line now, so close that Castiel could see the highlights of silky blonde in his light brown hair. "Gabe!" Castiel loudly whispered, his shoes slipping and sliding across tile.

"Well if you're not gonna do it by yourself, you need a little push...literally!"

Of course, a little push turned into quite a big one. So much in fact that Castiel had tripped over his own shoes, falling right on top of the one man he was mainly trying to avoid.

Castiel keeled a little, his back stiffening when he recovered from his fall, turning around only to see Gabriel scurrying away from line. Castiel sucked in a breath, "Dammit, Gabriel." He whispered to himself.

He froze when the man looked up to him, green eyes beautiful yet terrifying.

"What the hell, dude?" The man said, rubbing his face.

Castiel parted his mouth, but nothing came out. The guy, now seething with anger, reached an arm out to give Castiel a little shove.

Once again, a little push turned into a big one.

And Castiel went tumbling down, right next to the security guard behind him.

"Hey! What's going on here?"

Castiel swallowed. His mind was a total blank, face flushed and red from embarrassment. But no, it had to get worse when Castiel opened his goddamn mouth.

"I-I was just in line. They-uh, called next." He said, and then immediately slammed his mouth shut.

What the fuck, Castiel? What the fuck was that?! He had thought, getting the urge to slam his hand on his face. So much for his attempt at flirting.

And that was the moment Castiel had known that the most beautiful man he had ever seen in his life was going to hate him.

Gabe had texted him about half hour later.

Sorry bro...next time. Michael will be waiting for you at baggage claim when you get out, and I'll be there soon. Gonna take Baby to Cali instead. P.s...you can keep the five.

Well, at least he got to skip the security line. And, he got five dollars.

But of course, Castiel proved himself wrong, and had basically just slept with the man of his dreams. Lord knows how, but he did.

With a smile as wide as the sun, Castiel stands from the bed, feeling a chill run up his spine when he realizes he has no clothes on. Well, at least that's one more conformation of last night.

He tiptoes over to the bathroom, eyes never leaving the flushed body that lays in his bed. The smile on his face never leaves either.

Although, when he gets to the bathroom and looks in the mirror, that's when his smile fades.

People at his office are going to think he was beat up, better yet attacked. The bright purple and red hickey on the left side of his neck stands out quite well from his paled skin. The others aren't as noticeable; still noticeable, yes, but not as noticeable. There's a red line on his right pectoral muscle that after a while Cas concludes is a scratch mark. And there's plenty more where that came from too; another on his abdomen, and inner thigh, along with a few on his forearm that Cas remembers is from Dean digging his nails into his skin.

Oh, Jesus.

Last night was a rough night. Cas takes a breath, starting the shower up. He almost doesn't want to clean himself off, in fear of losing Dean's scent, his touch. But no, Castiel needs to shower, because he's pretty sure the dried-up white stuff on his stomach isn't frosting.

The hot water burns a little, and Cas cringes when the heat touches his newly formed marks. The water drips down his eyes, leaving bubbled water on his eyelashes. Cas runs a hand through his hair, across his arms and legs; and every movement is slow and weary. His body hasn't realized it yet. His body hasn't realized what he's feeling.

And he's confused. Happy yes, but confused. He feels like he's known Dean forever, even if it's only been days. He feels like Dean is someone important in his life, someone he has this profound bond to, some sort of link. It's exhilarating, leaving every one of Castiel's nerves on edge. But nevertheless, confusing.

All Castiel knows at the moment, is that he likes Dean Winchester. A lot.

He takes a short shower, hoping out and wrapping a towel around the points of his hips. He runs a hand over his face when he hears a soft echo.

A soft echo that gets a little louder the more Castiel draws his ears in.

And soon Castiel is frantically running on the tips of his toes out the bathroom, drops of water flying everywhere in the room to go stop his fucking phone from waking up sleeping beauty.

Which, thankfully, it doesn't. Castiel grabs it and runs back into the bathroom, flipping it open and holding it to his ear.

"Gabriel," Castiel murmurs quietly, his heart beat calming down a little.

"Bro, where are you? Thought we scheduled lunch before the meeting?"

Shit.

Cas leans over the sink, "What time is it?"

Gabe laughs for a second, "One?"

Cas's eyes go wide.

ONE? I SLEPT UNTIL ONE?

Cas swallows, his lips parting soon after and stuttering faint words out of his mouth, "I-I seemed to have lost track of time, I-uh—"

"Woah, woah, woah," Gabe cuts him off, voice rough and rigid, "Did something happen?"

Cas doesn't answer his question. "How short can you get here?"

"I can be there in ten."

"Front lot. I'll be outside."

Cas hangs up quickly, dropping the towel on his hips and tip-toeing outside the bathroom again and over to the dresser. Dean hasn't moved a muscle, which makes Castiel laugh because wow, last night must've been one hell of an evening to make him this tired. And Castiel can't blame him. Dean went hard.

Castiel attempts to ignore the butterflies and possibly slight boner he may have just gotten from the recollection. He pulls out a pair of briefs and a pair of black dress pants, hurdling them over himself as he keeps his eyes locked hard on Dean.

And Castiel doesn't know why he's questioning this at the moment, but now, Castiel is curious as to Dean's tattoo. Lord knows why he didn't really pay attention to it last night, but Castiel was so caught up in just the fact that it was Dean, that he was too busy to notice all the little details.

However this, isn't a little detail. Inked black on his left pectoral muscle, is a design Castiel had never seen before. Nevertheless, it still looks fucking hot on Dean anyways.

The pants stick to Castiel's legs slightly, still wet from his shower, and the white dress shirt is even worse, patches of wet spots on his abdomen causing the shirt to become transparent. The tie around his neck goes on easily, and the black jacket soon follows. Castiel smooths down the lapels and quietly grabs his trench coat before running off. His hair is a disaster; wet and draped over his eyelashes, but also stuck up in all different directions in the back.

The hickies, Castiel decides, can be dealt with later.

Castiel smirks, hand brushing over his damp neck as he walks to the side of the bed. And its peaceful, watching Dean. It's comfortable. Like being curled up in blankets in mid-winter, warm mug wrapped tight in your hands, sitting by the fire as the smells of cinnamon and autumn fill the air. Like home.

Castiel doesn't want to leave. He can spend forever next to him, tight and heated against his body. Castiel can still feel the heat from his skin, on the tips of his fingers. And ever so slowly, Castiel reaches his hand out, his thumb skimming soft skin against Dean's cheek. And he feels the sudden urge to cry. It hits him out of nowhere, actually, and it's quite weird, so weird that Castiel doesn't know what to do. He's never had this feeling before.

Castiel retreats his thumb back, sucking in a shaken breath.

It's difficult to walk out of the bedroom, but knowing that Dean will still be within walls when he gets back is enough to give him the little push he needs to walk out. He stops at the kitchen counter, though, pen and paper in hand.

He writes for a while, soon then leaving the pad of paper in eye view for Dean to see when he wakes up.

"If you were any more purple, you'd be Barney."

Castiel plays with the salt shaker on the table. He takes a moment to linger his eyes around the restaurant before he scratches the back of his neck and lets out a huff. "So, it's evident then?"

Gabe just squints his eyes at him.

Castiel nods.

"Words gonna' go 'round the office." Gabe tsks, and then picks up his silver fork and begins tapping it on his plate annoyingly, "Anna's gonna' find out."

Castiel rolls his eyes. Anna is the least of his concerns. Yeah yeah, she'd most likely hound him all day long and ask him questions until he implodes, but that isn't half as bad as the person he is worried about.

Gabe clears his throat again. "Shitlord's gonna' find out."

Yeah, that's the problem. Michael Milton, or as Gabe likes to call him, Shitlord, will most definitely not approve of Castiel's marks. The second his douche of a brother sees, he's going to go yapping off to mommy. And if Naomi finds out, that won't be good. Oh, that won't be good at all. Especially when she finds out they're from a guy.

Michael's big mouth and attitude was the main reason Castiel only sees him once every six months. Well, the real reason he never sees Michael, is because Michael never wants to see him. His big mouth and attitude was a part of it, though. Castiel can understand, however, that it is a bit difficult to keep your mouth shut after you walk in on your brother having sex with another dude. But, Castiel can never understand why Michael still hasn't gotten over it, after ten years. Castiel was 34 for Christ sake, he'd expect that his elder brother would've sucked it up by now.

But no, of course not. Michael went blabbing to Naomi, or as Gabe likes to call her, Satan's Mistress. Being the overly-religious family that they are, Naomi didn't like that. Not at all. And she made that clear.

Castiel bites his lip when he realizes he's thinking too much. "What do I do?" He asks Gabriel, his brother's attention directed toward the young waiter by the corner table. Castiel snaps his hand in Gabe's face, "You're drooling."

"Hm?" Gabe turns, eyes glassy and dazed.

"You should really attempt to find someone."

Gabe looks down at his uneaten steak and shakes his head. "No. I'm a one-man wolf pack. I'm goin' Han Solo, bro." He smirks, pulling out a lollipop from his pocket and sticking it in his mouth.

"And Sam?"

Gabe's head shoots forward, eyes and brows furrowed sharply, "What about Sam?" He says defensively.

"You told me you were interested." Castiel says, tilting his head.

"Nuh-uh." Gabriel responds quickly, a quick shake of his head, the white lollipop stick hung low out of his lips.

Castiel squints his eyes, remembering quite well what Gabe had whispered in his ear the morning that they all just-so-happened to be in Dean's hotel room:

"Don't be surprised if the next time you see Sammy boy here, he's walking funny. And the next time I see you, you'd better be walking funny too."

Of course, Castiel had only shaken his head at his brother's overly-cocky demeanor, but also blushed at the snarky comment about Dean. At least one of those things can be checked off the list.

"Have you given up?" Castiel remarks, and Gabriel leans back into the wooden chair, hands crossed firmly over his chest.

"I'll cross that bridge when I come to it." Gabe smirks to himself, and Castiel knows he must be coming up with one of his devious plans. One of his devious plans that will most likely end in disaster. Gabe huffs, "So anyways, Dean?"

Castiel swallows. Even just the sound of his name brings a massive swarm of butterflies. "What about him?"

"How was he?"

Castiel scratches his neck. It's hard to think and suddenly the air becomes a lot thicker than Castiel remembers it being. Although, it's not really hard to think of an answer, considering he has so many. It's just hard to express the so many into very little.

"He was...astounding." Castiel says slowly. It almost angers him that he didn't say more, because he can really go on forever. And not just about how Dean was last night, but how he is in general. There's no amount of words that Castiel could use to describe him. Well, more or less, he doesn't really know how to describe him, but also at the same time, he also kind'ave does.

"So, you're saying he's—"

"Different." Castiel interrupts with a slight nod, "He's different."

Gabe's face contorts into a confused glare. "So, is that a good thing?"

Castiel doesn't respond, instead waving his hand over to call the attention of the nearest waiter.

"Check please!" He calls, a big wide grin plastered onto his face.

"You have to take my scarf, Castiel."

"But it's...sparkly."

Anna shoves the shimmering blue scarf into Castiel's hands. "Take it!" She yells at him, her eyes penetratingly serious. Castiel reluctantly takes the scarf. At least it matches his tie.

Castiel huffs and ties it around his neck, burying the ends into his dress shirt. He can feel his cheeks turning a deep pink.

Just remember, it could be worse.

Anna sucks in her bottom lip as she gives Castiel a once over, and Castiel feels like he's being judged by the whole world. And then there's Gabriel, leaning back with his feet propped up on the desk in Castiel's leather chair, grinning from ear to ear.

"Feet off my desk." Castiel raises his eyebrows at him, a finger pointing sturdy at his smiling face.

Gabe kicks his feet off. "A'ight boss." He chuckles, his attention reverting to the neatly organized pens on the desk, moving them out of order the way he knows will piss Castiel off.

Castiel rolls his eyes. Neither of his siblings are making things any better whatsoever. He's got Gabriel smiling like an idiot, and then there's Anna giving him the judgmental 'oh you're such a slut' glare. Lord knows what Michael's going to say.

It's not like Castiel regrets the hickies, god no, but there's not really any excuse to get him out of it when Michael sees. He can't use his sisters excuse of "I burnt my neck using my hair straightener", which both parents seemed to believe only because Anna was the kiss-up of the family. And he most certainly can't use Gabriel's excuse of "I went hiking today, it's a rash from the trees", which in fact never really worked on either their mother or father anyways.

So in fact, he's doomed.

"Just keep the scarf on all day, no one will see." Anna reassures him, but the way her lips are quivering makes Castiel assume otherwise.

"Won't people find it, strange, that I have this —," Castiel looks down and groans at the bedazzled scarf, " —thing on my neck?"

"They could just assume you pitch for the other team." Gabriel jokes, now crumpling up paper balls and tossing them into the trash can, resulting in a pile of paper balls around the room. Gabe looks up and winks at him.

Castiel rubs his temples, attempting to rid the headache he feels coming on. "How am I supposed to give a speech on tax funds when I look like I just let a six-year old give me a makeover?"

Anna sighs and Gabriel laughs again. Castiel knows that they can't do much to much to help anyways, but the least they could just tell him that it isn't that bad. But just the fact that they're not even doing that reassures Castiel that it actually is in fact, that bad.

Castiel shrugs. The only thing getting him through this day is what comes after it. Dean's the only thing making his gears click into place right now, and goddammit, he's going to get through this day and see Dean even if it kills him.

"So who are they from, anyway?"

Castiel turns to his redheaded sister, hands strategically on her hips on top of her gray blazer. Her head is tilted to the side ever so slightly, just enough to make her intimidating.

Castiel shrugs. "Uh—"

"They're from an Abercrombie Model." Gabe perks up, tossing another rolled up piece of paper toward the trash and missing.

"He's not an Abercrombie Model!" Castiel yells at him, and Gabe throws his hands up in front of his chest defensively.

Anna's mouth drops. "Wait, it's a guy?" She starts, and Castiel immediately bites on his tongue, "I thought you promised?"

Oh, yes. How could Castiel forget his promise to his Mother so many years ago? The one where he promised to stop sinning. The one where he swore on his life that he never would ever again touch another man that way. But, it was never really a promise; instead a lie.

"I wanted to get Mother off my ass." Castiel says, and Anna throws her arms up in the air.

"Oh my gosh!" She shakes her head, her wavy red hair swooping to the sides, "If Michael find's out!" Anna wails, and she runs over to Castiel to tuck the scarf farther into his dress shirt.

Castiel tosses her hands off, causing her to drag the scarf out of his shirt. "Anna, please!"

She backs away, her eyes red and glassy. And Castiel knows that she remembers everything that had happened that day; the day their Mother discovered that Castiel had slept with another man. The day that Michel told. It's not like Castiel isn't scared, because he is, he's terrified. But he can't show fear to his little sister. Not again.

Anna's bottom lips begins to shake and Castiel's head bows down. "Michael will not become aware of this. I'll make it my priority." He says, clutching his sisters shoulders and pulling her into a tight hug. She's warm, and her arms wrap tightly around him.

"I don't want it to be like last time." She murmurs against Castiel's shoulders, and Castiel shuts his eyes.

Castiel pulls her back and brushes the hair away from her face, her big brown eyes so different from his, yet the same. "Me either, Anna."

"So, is this a family bonding-sesh, or what?" Gabriel remarks as he makes a disgusted choking noise in the back of his throat. Castiel looks down at Gabe, who now once again, has he feet propped up on top of Castiel's desk.

"Oh, c'mere you big teddy bear." Castiel jokes, and the face Gabriel makes is priceless.

"Hell no!" Gabriel yells, standing up from the desk and backing against the wall, "Cooties."

"I can tie him down with the scarf while you hug him." Anna laughs, toying with the scarf in her hands. Gabe's eyes widen when Anna starts running towards him. Castiel laughs, reminding himself of when they were younger, with not a care in the world and not a tax-fund meeting to attend to. Castiel goes over to Anna, who now has Gabriel cornered in the back of the room against the book shelf.

Gabe rolls up into a little ball, and Castiel is laughing so hard he can feel his stomach burning. He doesn't even think much when someone knocks on the door.

"You can come in." Castiel chuckles, smoothing out his trench coat and letting Gabriel unravel out of the corner. He sticks his tongue out at Anna and Castiel before the door swings. Castiel turns to Gabe and swats his arm.

"Castiel are you ready for the — oh my god! What are those!"

It takes Castiel a good two seconds before he loses all the breath in his lungs.

He doesn't have the scarf on.

And Michael is standing right in front of him.