Dean reluctantly prays to Cas that night to tell him he needs some time alone with Sam. He assumes he heard because he doesn't show up again. Dean finds himself checking his wrist for the sigil every once and a while to make sure it's still there.

Him and Sam waste the next few days mostly on the road. There's a case in Tucson where all signs point to a demon. It's arctic between them at first but the longer they're cooped up, the more the tension leaks out. They're at least talking by the time they land in town.

After they spend the day running down leads, they manage to track down their target in a two-story house in the suburbs. A demon, currently setting up shop in a sweet elderly librarian. Glasses with one of those gold chains and a graying bun.. the whole nine yards. Except for her eyes.

She hisses as Dean lunges with his knife. She spins away and manages to knock Sam on his ass at the same time. Dean grabs for her and when he gets her in a headlock she bites down, almost taking a chunk out.

"Ahh! You black-eyed bitch!" he growls and flings her down.

She.. it laughs with his blood on its her mouth.

"Mmm.. Hunter. The other white meat. Come on, baby. I'm still hungry."

It sounded so wrong in that matronly voice.

Sam comes up behind it but tips it off when a board creaks in the old wooden floor. It grabs a hold of him to send him flying towards the wall.

Dean knocks its feet out from under it and rides it to the ground. It struggles and spits but he has the demon-killing knife pressing tight into its throat.

"Still want some of this, Grandma Ugly?"

His arm was throbbing where it had sunk its blunt teeth in down to muscle. Time stopped for a second as he watched blood trickle down from the wound to splash on its face below.

Teeth, that look too straight not to be dentures, snap and it licks around its mouth suggestively. His blood was on its tongue.

Dean clenches his jaw and tries to shake the image of cutting out its milky eyes that are darting all over him wildly. If his arm would just stop pulsing with pain and pushing more blood out everywhere..and if this fucking piece of demon shit would stop egging him on..

He's going to cut off every piece of its skin his blood touched if it licks its lips one more time..

Dean catches the end of the red curved mark on his wrist. Keeping the pressure against its neck, he twists his arm just a little towards him so he can see it fully.

Cas.

If he let himself go.. there wouldn't be anything left. Nothing left for Cas to touch. To kiss. To nip with his teeth and smile at like he's been doing more of lately than he'd ever done in all the years he'd known him.

Breathing out through his nose and without looking at the thing beneath him, he stabs downwards quickly.

It howls. With a flash like popping electricity and sulfur thick in the air, it was dead.

"You ok?" Sam asks from behind him.

Dean got up and wrapped his arm with a torn piece of his shirt.

"No thanks to you, Sleeping Beauty."

Sam laughs with relief. "Jerk."

Dean feels pretty damn good and hardly notices the pain in his arm anymore.

"Bitch."

Things are almost normal between them again as they stop for dinner. Sam is still chuckling when the plump cheeked waitress in her 40s comes by again.

"Did ya save room for dessert, guys?"

"Just coffee, please." Sam says.

She turns to Dean. "How 'bout you, hun? We got Key-lime, Cherry or Apple Pie and Coffee or Chocolate Cake."

Dean feels an absurd blush creep over his cheeks. It's as if he could feel Cas' hand in his lap. Sam's face was blank now.

"Um, apple pie sounds awesome. Thanks."

"You got it." She jots it down on her pad and hurries away.

When he turns his eyes back from the departing waitress, he sees Sam is staring at his watch. He imagines the symbol could burn through the band with how intensely they're both thinking about it just then.

Dean clears his throat and grabs his drinks just to move his arm out of Sam's sight.

Sam looks at the table before saying, "Hey, why don't you invite Cas out tomorrow?"

Well that was the last thing he was expecting.

"Really?"

"Yeah, why not? You said I can trust him, right?"

'Well yeah.."

"Good. So tomorrow. Burgers. I'm buyin'. Well.. technically Agent McCartney is buying."

Dean knows this is probably a bad idea but can't see an easy way out of it. Besides he did kinda miss seeing his angel.

"Okay, cool."

His pie comes and he can't quite shake the memory of the stupid cake.

That night he prays and tells Cas where they'll be if he can make it. He makes sure to add that it's burgers and smiles at the thought of Cas saying how happy they

made him.

Sam and him sit down at a Red Robin that boasts 32 different types of hamburgers and endless fries.

A few minutes later, Cas appears on Dean's right in the booth next to him. Besides almost giving him a heart attack, he gets a quick,ridiculous shot of excitement.

He's basically turning into a girl.

"Hey Cas."

Cas smiles. "Hello Dean." Turning, he says, "Hello Sam."

Sam doesn't smile but does say, "Castiel."

"Thank you for inviting me to join you for dinner."

"No problem. Just like old times right, Cas?" Sam says sounding sarcastic and without looking up from his menu.

Well hopefully Cas wouldn't get the sarcasm anyway.

"Dude, I don't know why you even bother. You know you're just gonna get rabbit food."

"Eh, maybe not."

Cas takes almost 20 minutes to decide because he keeps switching his choice. Finally he orders the Hawaiian Burger. Dean gets the Cowboy BBQ burger. Sam orders a Cobb Salad.

They eat in silence for a while. After they've gone through a few beers and most of their dinner, Dean laughs, "For a guy that doesn't need to eat, you sure can put away your cow."

Grinning, Cas licks his thumb of the last of the ketchup and glances at him.

Dean wonders if he's purposely trying to remind him of when he licked his cum off that thumb.

Cas raises an eyebrow. Yeah, he probably knows what he's doing.

"So Cas, how's it been going with you and Dean?"

The angel's eyes widen and he quickly looks at Sam. "What do you mean?"

"Like how much longer you guys gonna be doing.. whatever it is you're doing?"

"I believe we are making progress.. to a certain degree."

Sam sneers, "Yeah, I've seen your progress all over Dean."

"Sammy." Dean says in warning. Cas just frowns.

"You doubt that I am trying to help your brother?"

"I don't know what you're doing but helping seems to be pretty far from it."

"Sam!"

Sam sighs. "Anyone want a refill?" He walks off before giving either of them a chance to answer.

"Sorry about that," Dean mutters.

"Sam believes I would harm you?"

"Yeah I don't know. He just doesn't like to see me banged up."

Dean starts to feel uncomfortable. He knows he's getting closer and closer to needing to have a very awkward talk with Sam but it makes him nauseous to even think about. So he usually just tries not to think about it.

"I don't like that he is bothered by my presence now.. but I understand it is necessary so that you feel safe."

Well now he feels like a selfish shit.

"It's not that easy. I just can't come out and tell him.."

"About me." Cas looks away.

He hears the unspoken "us." Dammit. Dean can't say anything that'll make any difference right now. He searches for anything to fill the rapidly growing silence.

"Hey.. um Sam asked me something the other day and I wanted to give you your space until you were ready.."

"Ask me." Cas says still facing the window.

"How'd you bust outta Purgatory?"

That had Cas turning back to him with an unexpectedly big smile.

"My Father."

"God? You found Him?!"

"He found me."

Dean shifts completely towards him. "What happened?"

"I was fighting off several Leviathans and would have most assuredly been devoured within minutes.."

That brings back the awful memory of Cas' fingers slipping out of his and he pushes it back down.

"Then that ever grey sky just..brightened. I would imagine it would be as if you were to stare into the sun without end. In a moment, the Leviathan had vanished."

"They got spooked and ran?"

"No, disappeared as if they had never been. I knew it was Him. I began to weep and beg forgiveness for my many errors on Earth and Heaven. Suddenly, it was as if the warm light was all around me. In me. I never heard him speak, but I knew he forgave me."

"And..?"

"And then I was walking down a road, filthy and lost."

"That's it? Nothing about, oh his angel's little homicidal mutiny and the Apoca-Hell? Or if he was ever going to pop in from Figi or wherever the hell he's been vacationing?"

"Dean, I'm not entirely sure my head would not have vaporized if he had chosen to speak to me as he was."

"Cas, that's bullshit. He saves you again and then just-"

"Dean, Stop. I'm at peace with it. And Him."

Dean bites his tongue and drinks half his beer in one swallow. He feels Cas' hand cover his, down on the seat between them. His fingers push so they are inbetween Dean's.

Dean smiled at the table and says, "Your little angel stamp worked."

"Tell me." Cas says while looking down at their hands.

"I was close to losing it. Demon took a bite right outta me. It brought me back."

Cas has a small smile. "Good."

"So uh, when do you want to.. work on it some more?" They both knew what he's asking.

"I'll come tomorrow, unless you need more time alone with Sam?

"I'm sure he'll survive a few hours on his own."

Sam is walking back towards them and he slides his hand out from under Cas' slowly.

Author's Note: So slight divergence as I kinda hated Naomi but couldn't leave Cas' Purgatory escape unanswered. It would have bothered me too much. I can't sleep so there will most likely be another chapter out in a few hours. Stay with me, kids.