Thank you for the support so far. My end goal for total number of kudos for this story is 100, so we're getting close very fast! I'm happy as hell about it. Only 23 more kudos needed :-) (NOTE FROM PRESENT-DAY ME: In case you're wondering, this fic currently has over 370 kudos :-) )

I've only gotten one comment on the last two chapters, I would love some more if you guys wouldn't mind.

This chapter's ending is a bit of a "the moment you've all been waiting for" reveal. Good luck.

Dean stared at the computer screen, cursing himself yet again. He kept pausing in the middle of fights to respond to Castiel's messages, which usually resulted in him being dead. It wasn't like he could actually help it; it was a reflex now. He heard Castiel's ring tone ("The Fallen", because it made Dean chuckle) and reached for his phone before he even realized himself what he was doing.

"Hunter, are you feeling a little distracted today? It's okay if you can't play." Came Charlie's voice through the speakers. She had a smidgen of concern in her voice. Dean was grateful to have a friend who cared about him.

"I'm fine, sorry. I'm just texting my Angel and it gets distracting, you know?" He admitted, not even realizing how terribly endearing that sounded until it was already too late. "Because he keeps texting me. I don't want to be rude." Dean quickly added on, as if that would make things better somehow. It didn't.

"Awww, so he's your angel now? Dean, that's beautiful." Jo said. "When did you two make it official?"

"I'm not sure whether I should barf or cry." Ash added. "That's so touching."

"Oh, cut it out. Leave him alone, will you two? If he really does have a crush on the guy, you're probably traumatizing him." Charlie defended, finishing off with a cry of victory as she delivered the final blow to the high-level wizard they were all fighting. Dean figured that not much more would come at him right then, and risked glancing at his phone.

Okay then, I suppose it's my turn? Where would be the perfect vacation spot for you? Castiel asked.

Dean smiled a little bit. Him and Cas had ran out of topics on the way home from work, and he had suggested that they play a game. One would ask a question that they would both have to answer honestly, and if somebody refused to answer the question or got called out on a lie, the other person would win. They took turns on the questions, and Dean was grateful for that. He didn't have very many questions other than the cliché as hell stuff (favorite color, favorite food, etc.), but Cas had questions that were clever. So, they made a nice balance between stupid questions and good ones.

I think I'd probably have to go with Kansas. I grew up there when I was really small. It'd be nice to go back. Or just go on a road trip in general. I know all the best places to sleep and eat and get a beer, thanks to all the moving as a kid. It would be fun to revisit places like those. Especially if I had somebody with me. Dean sent. He raised his eyes back to the computer screen and quickly picked up his mouse, moving his character forward again. He was behind all the other players by now, and the headphones were blaring battle music.

"Hey lover boy, get your head out of the clouds. We're getting smashed by this stupid pig-goblin thing." Jo said.

"I'm pretty sure it's a warthog on two legs, Jo." Ash put in.

"Don't patronize me." She spat, going at the thing full force. Jo's character couldn't take a hit, but she could sure as hell give one. Not to mention that she was working on improving her stamina, and it was coming along fairly good. Dean would always be their strongest hand-to-hand combat player, but it could never hurt to have a couple of other people who could deliver. Especially if he kept zoning out on them.

He got a couple of hits in on the "warthog", and it fell to the ground. Perfect timing, too, because his phone vibrated against the wood of the coffee table. He leaned forward and grabbed it again, eagerly unlocking the screen.

I would go somewhere with a lot of nature. Probably the Isle of Skye. Honestly though, I've always wanted to road trip, too. It would be great to see what the country looks like from all over. Cas had replied. Dean glanced up to see that three more of the warthogs had appeared out of nowhere, and his team mates were in trouble. He quickly typed out his response before throwing his phone back onto the table, resuming the game.

Maybe we could road trip together?

Dean was nervous as hell about the text. Cas and he, despite knowing that they both lived in the same state, had never once talked about meeting up. Of course, they'd only known each other for two weeks, so he figured it was standard for an online relationship. I mean, they didn't even know what each other looked like. It would feel weird making plans to meet up. Maybe Dean was moving too fast with this. Maybe Castiel was going to get weirded out by the question and stop texting him.

He felt a weird twist in his stomach. He'd already admitted to himself that he had a crush on the guy, but he had yet to realize just how completely Castiel had become a part of his life. He honestly, just two weeks from meeting him, couldn't picture going back to the way things were. He couldn't bring himself to think about never speaking to Castiel, leaving his phone in his work locker, rewatching crappy old movies in the time that he now spent on Angel/Demon Alliance. He didn't honestly care if Castiel liked him back the same way; he just didn't want to lose him. Even if they stayed just friends, Dean wanted him to be there. Then again, maybe that was selfish.

He forced himself to stop thinking about it, turning his attention back to the game. He quickly pulled a warthog off of Jo, slamming it into the ground and causing it to lose half of its health. Two more hits later (one from him, one from Jo's favourite spell) and he was out. With him and Jo both free, Charlie and Ash were quickly on even grounds with their opponents. Soon, all the warthogs lay around them in ruin, and they had the amulet that they had been guarding. The treasure, after a guild vote, had been rewarded to Jo. (It upped her defense by three points, so she was more than grateful for the helpful item).

Dean heard his phone vibrate. It was then that he realized that it had been almost ten minutes since he'd sent his last text. He immediately lunged for the offending item, almost sending his laptop to the floor. He managed to save it from falling just in time, and he sighed in relief as he caught it, his right hand still clasped tightly around the phone he had tried so desperately to reach.

I think I would like that. You knowing all of the hot spots would certainly make the experience more pleasurable for both of us. I wouldn't be able to do all of the driving by myself, anyways.

Dean gave a sigh of relief. His phone buzzed a second time, a new message appearing right below the first.

Going together would also be cost effective. If both of us were comfortable with it, we could share a motel room and split the cost of gas money.

Dean's eyebrow rose. Sharing a motel room, now that was an interesting idea... Kissing Castiel against a shady motel wall, squeezing into one bed, sloppy, half-asleep morning sex...

He chased the idea out of his mind, clearing his throat. He felt a little bad for having the thought in the first place. The guy had just recommended they share a room, and Dean's mind had gone straight down the gutter. He couldn't believe that they were on the same page with this, though. He was happy.

"Something to say, Hunter?" Jo asked. Dean paused, vaguely confused. It took him a couple of minutes to realize that he was wearing his headphones, meaning they would have been able to hear his throat clearing.

"Uh, no, not at all." He clarified, texting Castiel back fast, as not to arouse suspicion. That sounds great to me, dude. You've got to let me pick the music, though. I can't believe you've never heard Smoke on the Water. That's like, a crime against humanity.

"Okay, then don't just sit there. We're all going to the treasure caves again. Are you coming with this time, or no?" Jo asked, seeming just the slightest bit annoyed. He really couldn't blame her that much. Even he had to admit that he was acting more distracted than he should allow himself to be. He kept stopping and texting Cas, and had let his team mates die several times in the process of responding to his many messages. If he were on the other side of this, he would be pissed as hell at whoever he was playing with.

"Sorry Jo." He said sheepishly. "Alright, I'll try to stay more focused now."

He would, of course. In between texting Castiel, he would be more focused on the game. And he might even stop the automatic twist of his wrist towards the phone, just until the battle was over. He would be a good sport and a team player. He gave a huff, centering himself and looking towards the screen with a new found determination.

A determination that quickly cracked when his phone sounded again.

A crime against humanity? No, it was a crime against humanity that you hadn't heard about the debate on whether or not the Mona Lisa was actually supposed to have eyebrows or not. I'm just not pop culture savvy.

"DEAN, PULL YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR ASS AND HELP WITH THE TROLL!" Shouted Jo. He quickly returned to the laptop, getting in a couple of blows. As soon as the thing as down, though, he quickly lunged back towards his phone, having forgone the option of texting Cas back to help his friends. Great, now he felt guilty about that. There was no way he could juggle everything the way he was trying to.

Normal people don't know stuff like that. There's a difference in not being "pop culture savvy" and acting like you've lived under a cave your entire life. I bet you haven't even seen the Star Wars movies, with the way you talk sometimes.

….

Oh god, you haven't.

"Stop picking on him. He's just having some troubles concentrating. I'm sure he's fine. I sort of understand how he feels, actually." Charlie admitted, sounding a little bit sheepish. "I got the email to beta the game that he's working on now, so I decided to give it a whirl. They had just gotten a third species option, so I was excited for it. I was a human and chose to get paired up with an "Earthen-Fairy". The dialogue in the game is slightly altered, but for the most part, it's the same. You really don't realize how close you can get with someone so fast when you're sort of forced to. My partner's name is Gilda, and we're texting now, too."

"Oh great, that's the two of them. Now only Ash and I can claim the singles status." Jo said.

"Don't blame us. The game is actually creating a reputation for starting friendships and relationships. There's already fanfiction out the wazoo with this thing. Angel/Demon is the most popular so far, but Human/Fairy is rising in popularity."

"Guys, I'm not in love with this dude or anything. Don't act like it's more serious than what it is. I'm just crap at trying to multitask, okay?" Dean said, frustrated. God, they were so embarrassing.

"Okay then. We're just teasing with you, Dean. Sorry if I snapped." Jo admitted. Dean could tell that it had taken a lot for her to swallow her pride and say that, and he was more than grateful for the sincerity in her voice. He really was the one at fault here, but his friends were great and understanding enough to let it go. Not for the first time, he thought about how he probably didn't deserve them.

I haven't exactly had the time to indulge in these. Most of my time is spent working or dragging my drunken brother Balthazar out of terrible situations.

What sort of terrible situations?

He ends up in bar fights constantly. I usually have to go and retrieve him from alleyways or sidewalks so he doesn't end up arrested for public intoxication or worse.

That has to suck for you, man. I drink sometimes but I never overdo it that much. It's pretty douchey of him to put you in those kinds of situations...

I do it out of love. I suppose Balthazar can be a bit "douchey" at times. His behaviour is really something you have to get used to. We were close as children, and I've retained some of the sentiment, which is probably why I still put up with it. The worst is when I get there and the fight's not quite over. I can handle my own fairly well, but I would prefer to stay out of trouble for the time being.

He drags you into his fights? Ugh. You shouldn't let him treat you like that. I don't care if he is your brother; your real family is the family you choose. If I were you, I would definitely not choose him.

I can see what you mean. He's gotten me out of rough places too though, and actually connected me with the man currently employing me. Some of his "favours" he does without asking and they end up a pain in my ass, but he always means well.

Dean was getting a little better at picking more appropriate times to respond. He wouldn't die as much, the team wasn't as angry with him, and he still managed to keep up a fairly good flow with texting Castiel. He felt his stomach rumble, and shifted a little bit, uncomfortably. He wanted to go and get something to eat, but he was juggling too much at the moment to go and get something and try to eat it all at the same time. His stomach growled insistantly, and he gave a small sigh. It was 5:20 anyways, he would have to get off in about a half an hour to game with Cas.

"Guys, I probably have to hop off now. I'm hungry as hell and have to meet up with Cas soon, anyways."

"Like, in person? Oh my god, send me a picture when you two finally make out." Jo enthused. Dean felt his eye give a small twitch.

"Very funny, Joanna." He said, knowing that she hated it when people used her whole name.

"Bye, Dean. See ya next time!" Charlie said. Jo and Ash yelled out their goodbyes at the same time, and Dean immediately logged off. This wasn't the first time they had spoken at the same time, so he knew that there was a fight going on right now as to who actually said it first. The two were not only insane, but more alike than they'd ever admit. Dean just thought that they needed to get it over with and kiss already.

Okay, we got way off topic here. Let's try... Favourite dessert?

Honestly, I don't eat a lot of sweets. My favourite food is hamburgers, though.

Man, I can cook a mean hamburger. My favourite dessert is pie, of any variety, but apple is the best.

Ah, interesting. Not a lot of people put much into pie. Let's see... What was your favourite class in high school?

Dean walked into his kitchen, rummaging through his cabinet, leaning forward to try and pick something good out. Unfortunately, everywhere he looked was met with dust and empty scotch bottles. He grabbed a handfull of them and dumped them in the trash can, giving a dissatisfied glare towards the kitchen in general. There was really no way he could put it off any longer- He needed to go grocery shopping.

Hey, just so you know, I might be a little late for our meeting. I have to go run some errands because living by yourself sucks. My favourite class was probably Drama, don't you dare make fun of me, because I sat next to this really hot girl and got to play her boyfriend once. I was only in the class a couple of months before we moved, and I sucked, but yeah. I could have seen myself really liking it if we had stayed longer and I had gotten good.

My favourite class was history. I'm fascinated by other cultures throughout the ages. That's fine, I was actually going to have to call off anyways. My boss wants me to meet him at a coffee shop to discuss a new game the company is working on.

Oh, well that sucks like hell.

Dean strolled out of his apartment, wallet in his pocket, destination intended for the supermarket down the street. He stepped onto the elevator and watched as the doors slowly began to close.

Last minute, a slim hand worked its way in between the closing doors, and they swung open again. Dean made a face, (he was a little claustrophobic) until he saw that it was the man with the trench coat. Fascinating blue eyes met his as the other stepped into the elevator. He reached out to push a button, but once he saw that the bottom floor was already selected, he nodded and stepped away. Albeit he looked a little bit awkward, but Dean couldn't help flashing back to him wearing that armor. Damn, that was a nice sight.

"So, you're into that whole renaissance thing?" He asked, before he could help himself. The other man turned towards him, his expression neutral, and Dean just sort of... stood there. He wasn't entirely sure what he should do. He was slightly afraid he may have offended the man.

"Yes, I'm "into that whole renaissance thing". I wouldn't have worn around that armor without a reason. I don't typically draw unnecessary attention to myself."

Dean froze, entirely. He knew that voice. In fact, there was literally no way on this earth that he could mistake it. He'd been hearing it every night of his life for the last two weeks.

"Cas?" He choked out. The other man's lip quirked up, into a tight smile, and his eyes gleamed with humour.

And, as fate would have it, the elevator chose right then to stop working, leaving them stranded in the small room together for god only knew how long.