It had been two weeks since he'd last talked to Cas. Since he kissed Cas.

Dean walked into the Roadhouse after successfully ducking Cas all day on campus. He'd only had one close call when he had been in the same hallway as Balthazar, but he'd managed to hide in an empty class for long enough that Balth had left the building. He knew he'd have to talk to Cas eventually, but he needed time and space to figure out what he'd say. What could he possibly to say to excuse his behavior? Still, his ninja skills deserved a congratulatory beer.

He entered the bar nervously, scanning for anyone who might catch him being at his usual hangout. Dorothy had been pretty clear about meeting up after school, though. She was still fighting her cold and had begrudgingly asked him to bring her some of her homework. Even though she was sick, she had no intention of staying home and had instead spent the day in their booth at the Roadhouse hanging with Jo. Well, if he was walking into the bar, he figured he'd grab a drink on his way to the table.

He was about to call Ellen for his drink when he nearly jumped out of his skin upon hearing "Hello, Dean" from behind him.

"Dammit, Cas! You could warn a guy—" he started.

Cas fixed him with an intense stare that had Dean's eyes trying to find any possible escape.

"We need to talk, Dean," Cas said in a dangerously low voice. Dean watched Cas' lips as he spoke nearly involuntarily. His lips were so pink, it wasn't remotely okay. His gaze jumped to the door. Charlie stood there, arms crossed, watching Dean. She had no intention of letting him out of here. Still, he could take her if needed.

"No, we don't," Dean said, side stepping away from the bar and Cas, "What could we possibly have to talk about?" He bolted for the door only to have Sam block him and physically turn him back towards Cas.

"Sammy…" Dean warned.

Sam muttered next to Dean's ear so only he could hear, "I know you've got a thing for Cas. Avoiding it isn't going to help, and avoiding him is hurting him. Look at him."

Dean met Cas' gaze reluctantly and saw the flicker of sadness that Sam was referring to.

Shit. Cas turned away towards the back door. Double shit. He probably thought Dean was rejecting him by keeping away from him. And that's not what he was doing. Not at all.

Sam said, "Does it look like this is for the best?"

Dean pulled out of Sam's grasp and walked quickly after Cas. Fuck. He could practically feel Sam's smug grin at his back. Dean followed Cas into the fenced-in lot behind the Roadhouse.

"Cas," Dean said quietly, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Cas asked.

Dean stared at him and realized he wanted him to spell it out.

"For kissing you, Cas. I shouldn't have done that."

"Then, why did you?"

"I don't know."

Cas crossed into Dean's personal space enough to have him backing into the wall.

"You kissed me, Dean. I deserve to know why. The truth this time," Cas said evenly. His eyes never left Dean's as he watched him squirm.

"Cas, I don't—"

"Dean," Cas warned. Dean swallowed, trying to return his breathing to normal as Cas backed up a few steps, allowing him some more room.

He sighed, "I was drunk. You know that."

Cas closed his eyes, exasperated, "Yes, I've seen you drunk before. I've seen you do several incredibly stupid things while drunk. However, this is different."

"What? How?" Dean asked. Cas began to pace, focusing on the crunch of the layer of snow under foot.

"Why have you been avoiding me, Dean? Why did I have to resort to recruiting the help of your brother and your roommate in order to talk to you at all?" he asked quickly. He met Dean's eyes and drowned him in a sea of blue.

Cas stepped closer, "Why is it that you're so uncomfortable around me, now?" Dean regarded his friend through a haze of panic.

"Cas, please, don't," he begged.

Cas' temper flared.

"No," he said, "We're doing this. If you have feelings for me, I'd like to know."

Dean was in such complete shock that he was still capable of standing given how shaky he felt, he could barely think straight. This was it. Shit. This was it. He swallowed but couldn't bring himself to say anything. What could he say? He'd never been happier since he'd met Cas? He'd never felt so safe with anyone else? He'd never been more afraid of rejection? He'd never been so afraid to hurt someone? He couldn't summon words to his mouth.

Cas softly asked, "Do you have feelings for me, Dean?" Dean felt tears pricking at his eyes in the cold air.

He blinked them back and said, "I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't," Cas said evenly.

"You don't know that," Dean said.

Cas put a hand to Dean's face, saying, "And neither do you."

Dean swallowed.

Cas repeated quietly, "Do you have feelings for me, Dean? Yes or no."

Dean couldn't handle it. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't see anything beyond those blue eyes. But he knew he didn't want to. He would hurt Cas. He knew it. But he would try everything in his power not to.

Dean nodded slowly to answer his friend.

Cas smiled brightly and pulled Dean into his arms.

"Thank you," the blue eyed man said against Dean's shoulder, "Thank you so much." Dean hugged his friend back tightly. He had really missed Cas.

"For what?" he asked.

Cas pulled away slightly and replied, "For being honest with me." Dean broke away from their embrace, feeling way too exposed than he felt comfortable with. Cas stared at the ground between them.

"I guess I should tell you the truth, too, huh?" he said.

Dean asked, "Cas, what're you-"

"I like you," his friend blurted, "A lot."

Dean stared at him with wide eyes. He what?

Cas explained, "I've had feelings for you for a while. But your history with Lisa and other women made it seem very unlikely that you would ever—"

Dean closed the space between them with quick steps and kissed Cas deeply, caressing Cas' face with gloved hands. Out of all the confusion in Dean's mind, he was sure that he definitely should have talked to Cas sooner. He was such an idiot.

Once they separated, Cas asked, "Does this mean we're together?"

Dean smiled and said, "Yeah, Cas. We're together if you want to be."

Cas kissed him slowly and raked his fingers through his hair. Dean took that as a yes. They kissed a few more times before Dean realized how cold his toes were within his snow soaked gym shoes.

"We should go inside," he said, reaching for the door.

Cas held him back, "Dean, wait." He walked to the door and knocked four times.

Jo shouted, "Dean stop being stupid?"

"Yeah," Cas called back, smiling at Dean, "We're good now."

"Good!" she replied. The sounds of boxes and chairs being shoved away from door made Dean fix Cas with a quizzical stare.

Cas shrugged innocently, "Jo wanted to make sure you wouldn't be able to run off again. I told her making a barricade was a bit much, but she was quite insistent."

As the door opened, Dean took hold of Cas' hand and enjoyed watching a blush creep over his face. Fingers entwined, they walked into the warmth of the Roadhouse together to a chorus of victory shouts from their friends.