The next morning, Dean finally managed to pin Cas into a conversation.

"Cas, man, please talk to me." Cas furrowed his brow.

"We are talking, Dean. We've been talking since we got up." Dean frowned.

"If by 'talking' you mean you shouting from the other room while you run from me."

"I-I'm not r-running, D-Dean." Dean's eyes widened.

"Are you okay, Cas?" he asked uncertainly, biting his lip.

"I'm f-fine, Dean." Cas gave a shaky smile and turned to leave the room. "I've g-got t-to take a sh-shower."

"You already took a shower, Cas." Dean spoke quietly. Cas hesitated in the doorway, and turned to face Dean's direction, though he avoided looking directly at him.

"Oh... I f-forgot to wash my h-hair." The author hurried from the room. Dean sighed to himself.

"Cas," he murmured as he plopped sulkily in a chair. "C'mon."

The next week showed absolutely no improvement in Dean and Cas's relationship. If anything, it had gotten worse; both boys were trying to hard- Dean to get Cas to forgive him, and Cas to pretend nothing was wrong at all. Cas spent his time with his laptop or notebook, his novel progressing at an astonishing rate. Dean went to school, and half-heartedly did his homework, occasionally with Cas's help- Dean tended to forget the boy was a verified genius, who understood pretty much everything school had to offer with no problems. When the weekend rolled around, Dean was excited to get a call from his little brother.

"Hiya, Sammy!"

"Hey, Dean." The older boy could hear his brother's smile, and couldn't help but grin in response. "So, I know you're busy trying to win Cas back and all that, but I was thinking maybe you two needed some time... away from each other? You could come stay the night with me and mom. It'd make her really happy and I think it would be fun, and-" Dean zoned out of his brother's ramblings for a while. What if this would be the weekend things started getting better? Did Cas expect him to make some big effort since he'd theoretically be home? Dean shook his head, clearing away the thoughts.

"Yeah," he interrupted. "That sounds like fun, Sammy. And you're right. Maybe some time apart will help things. He'd probably appreciate me being gone anyway. I keep interrupting his writing." Sammy gasped in mock shock.

"Dean! You know how much I want that book to come out! You might just have to move back in so he can really get to work!" Both boys laughed for a long while. Dean was surprised at how long he laughed- it wasn't that funny. "You could, though." Sammy eventually murmured hesitantly. "You could move back in, if you wanted." Dean flinched at the hopeful sadness in his baby brother's voice.

"Nah, Sammy." Dean tried to keep his tone light, but fail. Miserably. "We both know that's now how it works, kid. Not this time, not for me." There was a slight rustling on the other end of the line- Sammy nodding.

"Yeah, De. I know." Both boys paused at the bittersweet feeling of the long-unused nickname hanging between them.

"I'll come over in a little while, we can spend the rest of the night pigging out on the couch and watching movies. What do you say, Sammy?"

"Sounds good." Sam was smiling again. "See you soon." The brothers hung up and Dean smiled to himself. Getting away from his problems sounded like a great idea.

"Hey, Cas. I'm gonna go spend the weekend with Sammy and my mom. Think you'll be alright alone?" Castiel didn't look up from his notebook, didn't acknowledge Dean in any way. Dean sighed. He left the room and got a piece of paper out of the printer. He pulled a Sharpie from his pocket and wrote Cas a note explaining where he was and how long he'd be there. He put it in front of the coffee pot, the only place he knew it was guaranteed to be seen. With a quick glance around the house to make sure he wasn't forgetting anything, Dean grabbed his bag and took off in the Impala. Cas didn't notice the door slam behind him, didn't notice the note Dean left him flutter to the floor.

A few hours later, Cas looked up from his notebook, blinking blearily a few times. He started blankly into his empty coffee cup for a few moments before struggling to his feet. He shuffled to the kitchen, eyes fixed on the coffee pot. He didn't notice when his jeans hit the piece of paper on the floor, knocking it under one of the counters. He quickly filled up his cup and drained it, making a face the entire time- cold coffee was always a 'blech' he filled up the cup again and put it into the microwave before starting a new pot. When his coffee was hot he added enough sugar to cover the Great Wall of China and shuffled back to his book.

The next time Cas 'awoke' it was almost midnight and his coffee cup was empty again. He sighed dramatically and stood. He drank his cold coffee before putting his fresh cup in the microwave. While it heated up, he meandered through the house, unwilling to remain in one place if he wasn't writing. He casually noted that unless Dean was in the guest bedroom he wasn't home. He didn't mind- it was the weekend, after all. but he couldn't help but wonder if he was with Eve, or maybe Ruth. He was pretty sure Ruth or Lily or anyone, really, would jump off a building if it meant a chance to be with Dean. He jumped when the microwave beeped, but thanked the distraction as he rushed back to the kitchen. On his way back to his story he turned on the radio.

"Hate a quiet house." he muttered to himself before getting lost in the world of his own creation.