A/N: Do not own anything! Besides plot...but whatevs.

So, it didn't take me too long to get this done. I tried a different way of doing things with this chapter. Not sure if I'll do it again, who knows. Hope you like the chapter!

Chapter 4- Day 2 (Wednesday)

The punch landed squarely on Dean's jaw, sending him crashing into the pool table. He rubbed his jaw and stood up, glaring at the guy who'd thrown it. "What's wrong, sweet cheeks? Can't handle a little love tap?"

Dean surged forward and slammed the guy into the wall. He braced his arm against his throat and lowered his voice to a menacing level. "Oh I can handle it alright, but you picked the wrong place and the wrong time."

Three hours earlier…

It was busier than usual for a Wednesday night at the Roadhouse Bar & Grille. That night found Dean and Gabe behind the bar, like usual, serving their little brothers their first beers of the night. Gabe was mercilessly flirting with Sam every chance he got. Dean's flirting was much more dialed down and inconspicuous than Gabe's. Every now and then he would send a flirtatious smile or wink Cas' way, making him blush.

Dean loved seeing the little blush creep up Cas' neck and onto his cheeks. He thought it was absolutely adorable, not that he would really admit that to anyone.

"So, Cas, what's it like being an art teacher?" Cas looked up from his cell phone to see Sam smiling at him. Their brothers were both at the opposite end of the bar serving customers and showing off with fancy tricks with the alcohol bottles.

"It is very interesting really, though it can be difficult." Sam smiled and nodded. He took another sip from his beer before replying. "I'm sure being a teacher of anything can be difficult. What made you decide to become a teacher?"

Cas looked down at his beer for several moments, contemplating the answer. "My mother was an art teacher at a high school many years ago. When I was young, she taught me how to draw. Mainly the basics, but my father always teased that I had gotten the trait from her, that it was the reason why I picked it up so quickly. After she died, the only thing that kept my sanity was my art. I took art classes, buried myself in my drawings, and somehow made it through high school in once piece. My father was not around much so that is how I kept busy. Gabriel would tease me that I preferred a pencil and a piece of paper to my own brother; however, that was not the case, of course. We had very different ways of handling our grief is all."

Sam nodded, listening intently to Cas as he told his story. He was vaguely aware that Dean and Gabe were standing close by listening to his story.

"Once I graduated, I could not imagine doing anything other than art. I thought briefly about becoming an artist, trying to sell some of my work, but soon realized that I wanted to inspire people the way my mother had inspired me, by teaching me how to draw. For me, it was a way to escape reality when everything seemed overwhelming. I thought that maybe if I become a teacher, I can provide that same solace for someone else. Just providing it to one person out of the hundreds I have taught is good enough for me."

Sam smiled, "Wow, that's incredible, Cas. I had no idea that it was so meaningful to you. Have you ever tried to sell some of your work as well? Who knows, maybe by just seeing some of your work, someone will get inspired."

Cas shook his head slowly, "My work is not gallery material. Gabriel often likes to try to persuade me otherwise, but he frequently fails. I am content at drawing in private and focusing on my teaching responsibilities."

Dean smiled slightly thinking about how wonderful of a person this guy was. And he was Gabe's brother of all people. You'd think growing up with Gabe would have done interesting things to one's personality.

He quickly swiped out Cas' empty beer bottle for a nice, cold one, already opened thanks to Dean. He shot Cas a warm smile as he moved away to help another customer. Gabe missed the interaction as he had been sucked into his own little world thanks to Cas' story.

He thought back to the time not long after their mother had passed away. When Cas had locked himself in his room for hours every night, refusing to come out unless it was for dinner or to use the bathroom. It had taken months for Gabe to find out what he had been doing in there all that time.

When he was finally allowed access to Cas' room, he had been shocked at all the drawings covering every wall of his brother's room. They were all of wings, feathers, angels, some even of a man with a handprint on his arm.

Gabe had asked who the man was, but Cas had simply shrugged, saying an unnamed man who'd been 'gripped tight and pulled from perdition' by his angel. He had seen it in a dream and drawn it to get it out of his mind. He'd said that the handprint was where the angel had grabbed him and therefore a sign of the angel's love and care for the man he'd saved.

Gabe had found it touching, not quite sure what to say. Maybe slightly weird that he'd dreamt about a man being pulled out of Hell by an angel, but hey! It was his little brother.

Ever since then, he had noticed Cas take an interest in wings and angels. It had been his little brother's saving grace.

He shook himself from his thoughts as a hand clamped onto his shoulder. He looked up into Dean's worried gaze, but shook him off. "You know, if I didn't know any better, Dean-o, I would think you're trying to hit on me. Sorry, I'm taken. By your own brother, no less. Sheesh, trying to steal your little brother's boyfriend. Talk about desperate."

Dean rolled his eyes, but stepped away from him, giving him back his space as he pulled out a kit kat bar from seemingly nowhere as he usually did.

As he opened the package, Gabe looked over at his little brother who was still wrapped up in his conversation about art with Sam. He simply watched as Cas' eyes lit up just talking about art and how much it meant to him. Cas always reminded him of their mother in that way. She had been just as passionate about it as Cas now was and in a small way, he envied his little brother for it.

He had watched his little brother and their mother grow closer and closer as she taught him how to draw. They had had nothing in common really, so they didn't spend as much time together. Most of his time was either spent with his friends or with his father, although, he never had much in common with the man either. Their father liked to joke that the stork dropped him at their doorstep, carrying him from some unknown land. He'd always laughed at the joke, but he'd always wished he was at least a little bit like one of his parents. He didn't even really look like them.

He shook himself once more from his inner ramblings and began concentrating on his job. He'd succeeded in spacing out, earning him a worried glance from Dean who was across the bar, closer to Sam and Cas now.

The bar was starting to slow down a bit for the night, not surprising since it was a Wednesday night. Dean was just surprised it was as busy as it was.

Suddenly a hand appeared on one of Cas' shoulders, causing him to jump slightly, almost knocking his beer out of his hands. He looked up at the figure who had seemed to materialize behind him and gaped in shock at who he saw.

He vaguely heard Gabe gasp from somewhere close by when he saw the man as well. "Jason?" The man in question smiled from ear to ear and sat down on the stool beside Cas. "Damn, it's good to see you, Cas! I haven't heard from you in ages! How have you been?"

"I…um…I've been good." Jason nodded, the smile still not leaving his face. "Good! Good, that's good. You still following that…whim of yours?"

Cas' eyes narrowed suddenly. "If you mean by becoming an art teacher, than yes, I am still following that whim."

The guy didn't seem to catch on that he was starting to bother Cas. He just kept going. "That's cool, I guess. So, what about you? Find someone to put up with your dry humor and lack of fashion sense?"

Cas was about make some kind of angered retort when Dean suddenly jumped into the conversation. "Dry humor? Hardly. And if you're talking about lack of fashion sense, I think you're referring to yourself there, buddy. Hasn't anyone told you that you're not supposed to wear a brown belt with black shoes? I mean, I thought I was clueless when it comes to fashion, and yet I knew that. Come on."

Jason seemed to have just noticed Dean standing there and was immediately angered by the intrusion to the conversation. "And who the hell might you be?"

Dean gave him a cocky grin as he leaned against the bar. "Name's Dean. Now, I would suggest you back off of Cas."

Jason leaned forward towards Dean with an equally cocky grin. "Oh really? And why in the hell would I do that? I don't take orders from mere bartenders after all. Cas and I are just trying to catch up, so why don't you piss off. This has nothing to do with you."

Cas stood, grabbing his beer and started moving away from Jason. He turned back before he got to the stool on the other side of Sam and glared at him. "In actuality, my life has nothing to do with you, nor does the fact of whether or not I am currently romantically involved with anyone. So, if I were you, I would take my own advice and piss off."

He sat down on the other side of Sam, and glared down at his beer. Gabe was certainly impressed. He rarely ever got to see Cas mad and when he did, his anger was usually directed at him, so it wasn't quite the same.

Dean smiled at the look on the man's face. He was in shock from having Cas snap at him. Before he could say anything, Dean leaned forward and lowered his voice so that only Jason could hear him.

"You know, I've never seen Cas mad before. So whatever it was that happened between the two of you for him to go off like that…Well, if I were you, I'd high tail it out of here. And that's not a suggestion."

The man recovered from his shock and looked deep into Dean's eyes. "Is that a threat, pretty boy?"

Dean chuckled darkly, "Only if you want it to be, dumb ass."

Dean leaned away from Jason and walked away, resuming his duties and helping a customer. He watched Jason from the corner of his eye as he walked away from the bar.

Cas watched Dean carefully. "What did you say to him to make him leave, Dean?" Dean looked up from the beer he was pouring and shrugged. "Just kindly suggested he walk away is all. Nothing really." Cas dropped it and switched topics to a happier tone. He and Sam swapped college stories, not that Cas' were that action-packed filled with bar hopping and keggers, but Sam still seemed to enjoy them nonetheless.

After a while, Sam convinced Cas to go play a game of pool with him and they walked over to the pool table that was set up across the bar and up on a little stage. The stage had a wooden railing wrapped around it so that some drunk bastard wouldn't fall off, get hurt, and then sue the bar.

Dean kept an eye on the two since Jason still hadn't left. He had only crossed the bar and sat at a table with some buddies of his. Dean watched as the man kept a close eye on Cas ever since he'd walked away from the bar. The guy worried Dean, but he wasn't sure why.

Gabe had been tense ever since he'd shown up, so maybe that was why. Dean leaned towards Gabe when they both had a free minute. "So, what's up with that guy? The one who came up to Cas."

Gabe looked at his little brother, at Jason, back to Cas, and then finally up at Dean. He sighed and rubbed his face with one hand before giving Dean the background on Jason.

"A few years ago, Cas met him somewhere. I think they met in high school or something. We weren't particularly close when they met so Cas practically attached himself to the guy since he was the first person to really pay him much attention since I left for college. Well, they became fast friends, started dating, and Cas thought he was in love with the douchebag. Every time we'd talk, he mentioned the guy. I met him and he seemed alright. Well, Cas really fell hard for the guy. That's when Jason started drinking. Well, more than he already did. He'd get trashed, like, every night. Cas isn't the partying type so he'd stay home. One night, Jason left for a party leaving Cas at home studying. When he got home…he beat the shit out of Cas. A couple of days later I found out and tried to convince him to end it with the dick, but he claimed it was a one-time thing, that it'd never happen again."

Dean really didn't like where this was going. He was already trying to keep his anger down at a reasonable level. How could anyone hit someone who was such a good person?

"Well, then it happened again, and again, and again. Honestly, I don't know exactly how many times it happened, but I know it happened a lot. Finally, I had enough and called the cops. Cas loved him too much to do it himself, but the guy had to stop. I couldn't let him just keep beating up my little brother. Well, they couldn't prove anything and somehow Jason got around the law and was released. He went back to Cas, apologizing, promising him it'd never happen again. He kept saying he loved him and he was sorry, but Cas had had enough finally. He told him it was over and that he was moving out, moving in with me. Jason flipped out on him. He was upset because he couldn't get his way. He beat Cas so bad he almost killed him. He just left him lying on the floor in a puddle of his own blood while he left for the bar. Somehow, Cas got to his phone and called me. I called the cops and Cas was taken to the hospital. That bag of dicks got about two years of jail time and was out in a year and a half. Frankly, I've been waiting for him to show back up. What Cas did, standing up to him like that…I never thought I'd see the day…You know I think it has something to do with you."

Dean had practically been fuming as he had listened to Gabe, but that last sentence caught him off guard. "With me? Why do you say that?"

Gabe smiled at him softly. "He likes you, you know. It's obvious. I've known him his whole life, so I know everything about that kid."

Dean looked over at Cas, wondering if a guy like Cas could really like a guy like him. He would give anything to be with him, he knew that. Cas was special. He was one of those rare ones that when you find them, you're an idiot if you let them go.

"What are you so scared of, Dean?" He tore his eyes away from Cas and looked down at Gabe. This was the first time the guy had ever just used his name.

"I'm not scared of anything, remember? I'm fearless." Dean placed his best smirk on his face to hide what he was truly feeling. Deep down he knew he wasn't good enough for Cas, but he couldn't just come out and say that. Hell, Gabe of all people should know that, especially since he's Cas' big brother. It's his job to protect him from people like Dean, not try to set him up with them.

Gabe just watched him instead of giving his signature eye roll or making a snarky comment. Gabe knew what Dean was thinking. He'd known Dean long enough to know how the man thinks and how he views himself.

He knew that Dean thought himself unworthy of Cas, that he wasn't good enough for his little brother, but he was wrong. Gabe knew that Dean was the perfect person for Cas. No, he wasn't a perfect person, far from it actually, but he had a good heart and a good head on his shoulders, someone that Cas needed.

SPN

Sam and Cas were on their third game of pool when someone appeared behind Cas as he tried to take the shot. He turned around, hoping it wasn't Jason. To his luck, it was.

"Jason, I thought I made it clear that I wish for you to leave me alone." Jason rolled his eyes and stepped closer. Cas took a step back, bumping into the pool table. He had a wicked smile on his face, the same one he would get right before he would beat the shit out of Cas. And Cas all too clearly remembered that smile.

"Oh, but, babe, where's the fun in that? You know you wanna have some fun for old time's sake, yeah?" Cas glanced over at Sam nervously. Sam was looking over at the bar just as nervously as Cas felt. Cas watched as Sam's eyes moved across the bar until he heard a deep voice coming from the other side of him, where Sam's eyes had rested. "I thought I told you to leave him the hell alone."

Cas turned his head slowly and saw that Dean was standing right next to him and he was pissed.

"Well, like I said, I don't take orders from bartenders. And besides, we were just having a little bit of fun, right, Castiel?"

Cas narrowed his eyes at Jason. "On the contrary, nothing about you is fun for me." Jason chuckled darkly, but didn't move away from him.

Dean grabbed a hold of Cas' arm and quickly pulled him away from Jason and planted him behind him, that way Jason would have to go through him to get to Cas.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Dean? This has nothing to do with you."

The cocky grin was back on Dean's face as he said, "Well, actually it has everything to do with me. You see, no one hurts Cas unless they can somehow get through me, which is unlikely. So I suggest you move on before someone gets hurt."

Jason chuckled darkly once more as he took a step towards Dean. "Oh, it's already too late for that." He swung his fist out and it connected with Dean's jaw. He crashed into the pool table behind him. The guy was wearing a ring on his right hand which snapped on Dean's jaw as it made contact, creating a nice long line running along his jaw with a thin line of blood coming to the surface.

He stood, glaring at Jason as he rubbed his jaw. "What's wrong, sweet cheeks? Can't handle a love tap?" Jason smirked, but it was quickly wiped off his face as Dean slammed his fist into the side of his nose, creating a sickening crunch sound, before he slammed into him and pinned him against the wall with his arm braced against his neck.

He dropped his voice to a menacing level. "Oh I can handle it alright, but you picked the wrong place and the wrong time."

"Dean." Sam was standing in front of Cas now, making sure nothing happened to him while Dean was otherwise occupied. He wouldn't have had to if Jason's buddies hadn't suddenly appeared on the little stage as Dean had slammed him into the wall.

Dean looked behind him, meeting Sam's eye and then seeing all of the douche's friends. He saw Gabe's worried look from where he was by the phone, just in case he had to call the cops. Ellen must not have heard the commotion because she was still in the back doing who knew what. He quickly scanned the bar looking for Jo, making sure she was alright. He found her standing at the opposite end of the bar, looking like she wanted to jump into the fight.

He turned his attention back to Jason. "You see Gabe over there by the phone? Yeah, if you and your buddies don't get the hell out of here right now, he's going to call the cops and you'll be charged for harassment. You know…I heard that you recently spent some time in the pen. I don't think your probation officer will look too kindly on harassment charges so soon after getting out."

Dean stepped away from him and moved to stand protectively in front of Cas, right next to Sam, as Jason narrowed his eyes and started towards the door. Once he and his buddies were about to leave, he turned back towards Dean and pointed at him. "This isn't over, bartender. You better watch your back."

Dean smiled darkly. "Oh, don't worry, I'll be ready. I'm not afraid." With that, Jason and his buddies left the bar and Cas turned towards Dean.

"Dean, you didn't have to do that. I could have protected myself." Dean turned towards him with a different kind of intensity.

"Cas, I know what he did. Gabe told me everything. I'm not going to give that douchebag another chance to lay a finger on you, okay? I don't give a rat's ass if you think you can protect yourself from him. I'm not going to let him hurt you anymore. You got that?"

Cas fought back the tears that had suddenly came to his eyes. He really didn't want to cry in front of Dean, but what Dean was saying to him and what he had already done for him, it meant a lot to Cas.

"Thank you, Dean."

Dean smiled warmly and placed his arm across Cas' shoulders, steering him back towards the bar. "How about you and Sam sit over here for awhile. I want to keep an eye on the two of you." He said it with humor in his voice and it made Cas smile. Right as Dean was about to move away to go back behind the bar, Cas noticed the line of blood that was making its way down Dean's neck.

He grabbed Dean's hand, pulling him closer so he could have a better look. "Dean, you're bleeding. Sit."

Dean obeyed, confused. He sat on the bar stool next to where he'd placed Cas and watched as Cas moved closer, inspecting the cut along his jaw.

Cas looked over at Gabe. "Do you have a first aid kit?" Gabe nodded and went to retrieve it, coming back moments later with the white kit and handed it to Cas.

"Cas, really, it's fine. You don't have to patch up-." Cas silenced him with a hard look.

"Dean, you were hit because you were protecting me and you put yourself in harm's way for me. Just let me attempt to show my gratitude."

Dean smiled and nodded, letting Cas continue to clean the cut. Once he was finished, Cas looked at him, satisfied with his work. "There you go. You can return to your duties now."

Dean chuckled as he stood from his seat. He placed his hand on Cas' and leaned towards the man slightly. "Thanks, Cas."

Cas blushed and nodded. "You are welcome, Dean."

Dean moved away from him and returned to his station behind the bar. He grabbed another beer for Cas and Sam, placing them in front of them and went back to work.

What did you think? How did you like Day 2? Let me know! Review or message me. Either way. Thanks! =)