Author's Note:

Heya guys! Thanks for all the feedback, I appreciate it! Really, it helps me write the next chapters better (I now know what was bugging you all ha ha ha) This next world's based in was a popular fic so I hope to do it some justice (I had a reader that once wanted me to do a sequel and I told them to do it, for their benefit since it isn't out yet I'm basing this story after that time period to leave some room for it)

Oh, also the Fragments of Memories sections aren't in any particular order right now, they're just sort of there.

Enjoy!

Fragments of Memories:

Dean brushed a hand through Castiel's hair, over and over again as he tried to soothe him. "It's okay," he whispered tiredly, his own mind already telling him that was the wrong thing to say. "Cas, baby, it's okay."

"How?" Castiel snapped his head up, tears streaming down his cheeks, "He was fine two days ago! How is it okay? How can you of all people say that?"

"Sam's a tough kid, he'll be fine." Dean whispered and Castiel finally realized the look on his lover's face; the amount of pain there was unbelievable. Dean looked destroyed, worn down and ruined. Cas sniveled and wiped his eyes, trying his hardest to pull himself back together.

"I'm sorry," He sobbed, "Dean, I'm so sorry."

Dean smiled sadly and pulled him against his chest, "It's okay, Cas."

Ugly Duckling World: Part 1

Music blasted across the house, no one was home but him and no one else needed to be. Castiel turned the volume up and started his house cleaning chores as per usual. The intro boiled his blood and energized his limbs as the first hints of Fall Out Boy started to slip into the mix. He'd always been an 'Adam Lambert' kind of guy but he just couldn't help himself and really he could add whatever he wanted to his iPod. Cas started with the kitchen moving plates and putting things away. As always he broke into song when he had the chance. "B-B-Be careful making wishes in the dark-dark, can't be sure when they'll hit their-" He swung his hip and closed a drawer to emphasize the verse's beat "-mark."

That morning had been amazing, he'd woken with Dean's work alarm and managed to make a decent meal before his husband had gotten ready to leave. Their house was kind of big for two people but it didn't really matter He danced to the stereo's beat, every movement matching up as if he'd breathed the tune like air. "Gonna need a spark to ignite. My songs know what you did in the dark." His hip sway slowed along with the music, all work stopped when the next part of the song pounded across the house. The young man rocking out to one of his new favourite song, Castiel cried out the lyrics on time, within the rhythm and even in key.

Castiel went back to the kitchen after his little rock session, still singing loudly to himself as he filled the sink, all dishes piled to the left with the drying basin to his right. Cas didn't admit it most of the time but when he had a system for something he was a little OCD about it, the night before he'd tried to wash dishes with Dean and had nearly lost it when Dean did it the other way. Instead he'd coaxed him to bed without even mentioning he'd had an issue, insisting that they have sex instead and that he'd get to it the next day.

Obviously Dean had no qualms with the request, and Castiel managed to avoid a fight. Win win situation.

He was in the process of drying the dishes when he felt the floorboards shake. Cas looked down briefly, as if that would make a difference. He then looked out the window to see if there were more people than just him experiencing it. A silly thought, he realized that but it didn't stop the thought from occurring. He stared out at the sky, nothing seemed different, the other houses looked fine, so why were his floorboards quaking? The entire house had groaned in reaction to it but after the first few seconds nothing else happened. What's more it had groaned loud enough that Castiel could hear it over his music.

Cas stood in silence for a few seconds, moving to the living room to turn the volume down to a near whisper. His eyes scanned around as his limbs stiffened, was someone in the house? "Dean?" He called out hesitantly, "Is that you?"

There was a loud grunt followed by a rustling and a thud, the closet door upstairs sounded like it had crashed open and someone had fallen out, if Cas had to guess. He grabbed a large knife from their stainless steel set and moved to the bottom of the stairs, "Who's up there? I have a weapon and a phone, I'll call the police!" He shouted roughly, a little displeased with the way his voice shook.

"Don't be scared," it was Dean's voice.

"Oh my god, you asshole!" Cas cried and dropped his arms in relief, hurrying up the stairs to see what was going on. "Why didn't you just say yes when I asked if it was you?"

"Sorry, guess I didn't hear you."

Cas slowed his pace for a moment, staring at the weird coat Dean was wearing, "Why are you home?" He laughed softly, kneeling next to Dean and brushing a bit of lint from his shoulders. "I thought you were working until six tonight."

"Uh," Dean swallowed nervously and started to get up and away from Cas, "Yeah about that uhm-"

"Did you get fired?" Cas stared at him, slowly getting up and seemingly unfazed by Dean's skittish behaviour.

The priest fidgeted a second, unable to come up with something to say. He was entirely frazzled, he hadn't even had a chance to gather his wits about Castiel before he was face to face with another one. And this one appeared much more affectionate than the one he already knew.

"Ohh, baby it's okay." Cas cooed and wrapped his arms around his neck, kissing his cheek and trailing several to his ear, "Don't be so embarrassed, how long have you been hiding this?" They weren't really questions to be addressed since Cas' hands found their way up Dean's shirt, massaging the stiff muscles in slow, soothing circles. "Don't worry, I'll make you feel better." His voice was so confident, smooth, and sexy it was starting to burn right up from Dean's neck to his ears. Cas' tongue slipped out to lick at the sweat gathering on his neck and Dean gasped lightly before pulling away and quickly shook his head.

"Cas, wait a second." He expected the other man to try and continue without listening, thinking maybe he was just feeling guilty or some crap but Castiel actually stopped and looked at him with concern.

"What's wrong, babe?"

"I'm not... I mean... This is going to sound really crazy." Dean fumbled through his words, mostly trying to get his head in the game. What had Castiel done the first time when there were no evident threats or things to take care of? He just sat on a statue and waited.

"Go on," Cas urged reassuringly, like he was earnestly listening and waiting for Dean's explanation.

Dean swallowed and dared to look into the blue eyes that looked like they held all the patience in the world for him. "You... you're really a great partner, you know that?" He managed to choke out which earned him an adorable little smile.

"Cute, Dean. But really, what's going on? Did you not get fired? Are you playing hooky?" He leaned forward accusingly, "If you're just playing hooky and I find out you'd rather sneak out of the house and back in to scare me, so help me Dean Winchester I'll-"

"It's not like that." Dean waved his hands urgently. "Cas give me a second to get my head in order, please?"

"Alright, you have a few moments. In the meantime I'm going to finish the dishes." He smiled a little and lifted his arms up, "Can I get a hug at least, mister sensitive?"

Dean looked uncomfortable but agreed all the same, spreading his arms just as Castiel pressed himself into the embrace. The priest swallowed anxiously and hugged back, not very convincingly.

"Don't worry, you're not in trouble." Cas chuckled and snuck another kiss in before heading back to the stairs, "Don't act so frightened around me."

"Uh… yeah. Sorry." Dean watched the spirited male trot down to the main floor and out of sight, finally able to exhale fully. "The hell was that, Winchester?" He grumbled to himself, looking around the immediate area. At least he was busy working now; despite that being Castiel downstairs it wasn't his partner. The Cas that was married to a Dean, his life nearly taken by his husband. He was running this through his mind several times as his eyes focused in on a family photo, Castiel and himself smiling at the camera – at a wedding. Their wedding. Dean leaned in close and stared harder, they looked so young, like they'd just gotten out of high school or something.

"Oh my god…" Dean sputtered as he backed away; he was not ready for this. Everywhere. Everywhere he went there were Castiels and Deans and they were all together or in the middle of getting together, but they had a distinct relationship. Each and every time. It was unnerving, and he knew that his mind wouldn't let him get away from the thought of what Castiel had said right before all of this; the celestials cause things to happen. Was this some kind of a sign? Dean had acknowledged, though briefly, that he might have had a crush on Castiel earlier. Was it really something he could ignore and say 'coincidence' to?

Every world they'd been to had hinted at it or threw it in their faces, and recently he gets the news that sometimes the celestials set them up? Dean was being set up by holy beings. It was ridiculous, wasn't it? Wasn't it? He couldn't really think of anything more ridiculous than running around with a morphing weapon hiding in his magic trench coat. Was he really in a position to question it? Not really.

"You've been just standing there for about five minutes, you know that right?" Castiel called up the stairs, a cocky little smirk on his face. "Get down here, gorgeous. I deserve some answers."

Dean listened, obediently descending to the main floor and looking at how domestic Castiel was, the mussy bedhead, a wet shirt from doing dishes by hand, and those same goddamn eyes. Every time he felt like they could see right through him. And now everything about this striking version of Cas was staring at him, waiting for him to speak.

"Sweetheart? Today would be nice."

"Right, well let's start with that," Dean regained his footing. Better to be forceful about this if he was going to be serious at all. If he were going to honestly consider his feelings for his Castiel then he needed to be forward with this one, regardless of how cute and affectionate he was. "I'm not your sweetheart."

Evidently he hadn't considered his own words before he'd uttered them because the next thing he saw were tears edging up and threatening to fall over Castiel's cheeks. "You… what?" He croaked, his expression had nearly torn itself apart; the distress had taken up his entire body let alone just his face. "Dean?"

"Wait, hold on don't cry!" Dean found himself floundering again, where were his words today? He had no idea. "Cas, I'm trying to tell you I'm not the Dean you know."

"Are you trying to say I don't know you anymore?" Cas squeaked, his hands coming up to his mouth to cover it, "Just tell me, please. I'll do my best to understand, honest. Baby, please-"

Dean gently laid a hand on Castiel's shoulder and shook his head, "Cas, that's not what I mean either. Your Dean is at work, just like you thought. Call there, I swear he'll answer."

Castiel stared at him for a long moment before speaking again, "Is this some kind of joke?" He furrowed his brow, starting to lose the humour he'd had before. "Dean-"

"Just call."

Cas reluctantly pulled his cell from the back pocket of his jeans, the same jeans Dean couldn't help but check out, and dialed the number. He kept an eye on Dean's face as it rang, the shop where his husband worked clicking to life on the other end. "Yes, hello it's Cas… Hi! Yeah, I'm fine. Is Dean there?" Cas' face turned nearly white as he got his answer, his throat bobbing anxiously before he spoke again, "Uhm… yes, could I speak to him please? I know he's busy- Thank you." He waited for Dean to pick up the other line, his eyes staring harder at the man standing in front of him. The priest smiled reassuringly, thinking he was doing a good job at explaining this time around.

"Cas?"

"Dean…" Cas nodded at the Dean in his house as if he understood that they weren't the same person, Dean relaxing and running a hand through his hair. Cas fiddled with the phone a bit as he turned toward the kitchen and wandered in, away from the other Dean for a moment. "Dean, baby there's a man here." His whisper sounding strained.

"What do you mean? Cas who's there? Why do you sound scared?"

"Because…" Cas glanced back again, curling his bottom lip in to bit it, "He looks exactly like you, he sounds like you. His name is Dean too, I'm scared."

Dean looked over from the hall and recognized the terrified look on Castiel's face, "Cas," he tried to speak slowly, "Cas, it's okay I swear I'm not here to hurt you."

Cas stared at him as his husband flipped out on the other end, asking a ton of questions he didn't really know the answer to and starting to pack up and head home, if the sounds on the other end were any indication. "Did you call the cops?"

"No, I called you." Castiel's voice was a little stronger this time, "Dean, I don't… I don't think he's dangerous."

"Cas, there's a man that looks like me but isn't me standing in front of you. I've seen enough horror movies to know that this can't be a good thing."

"Calm down, I think I've got this." Cas tried to sound a little more reassuring this time, "If you want to get home that's up to you but I'm not in any danger so don't get into any car accidents on your way home, okay?"

"Cas…" Dean sounded frustrated but reluctantly agreeing.

"Good, I'll see you later babe. Thanks for talking to me when I needed you."

The line was quiet for a bit but Cas knew Dean couldn't stay mad at him, "You'd better be okay when I get there."

"I'll be fine, maybe I'll bake a pie for you." Cas teased before giving his send off and hanging up the phone. "Alright," he looked at Dean standing across from him, "You're obviously not my Dean, who are you? Why'd you let me kiss you so much? Are you some kind of dimension travelling pervert?"

Cas' questions came at him like rapid fire and Dean almost cracked a laugh at the little look of disgust and shock that took over Castiel's face. "I was distracted, I know a Castiel too and he's never done that so I was-"

"Awwww you like him!" Castiel cooed excitedly, clapping his hands together and jumping just a little bit. Dean was starting to realize just how much more flamboyant this Castiel was compared to all the others he'd run into. "That's so cute, I know that longing 'I'll take what I can get' tone you've got going there."

"I don't-!" Dean stopped himself to ask the question that Castiel was bound to say.

"You don't what?"

"I don't… know. I don't know yet."

"That's even more adorable." Cas grinned from ear to ear, a smile even brighter than the ones Dean had seen along the way. Whatever rough patches those other Castiel's had gone through in their lives, either this one never experienced it or he'd gotten over it somehow. Regardless it was amazing to see him so lit up like that. "Dean, it's not a matter of not knowing if you like him. You're uncertain of his feelings for you or whether or not you should share yours, or both. You're worried I'd bet."

Dean frowned and shook his head, "You don't know the first thing about the situation."

"No, but if there's anything I do know, it's a dynamic between a Castiel," he touched his own chest for emphasis, "and a Dean. You're in it, baby, whether you want to be or not. You already know, somewhere in that thick skull of yours, that you'd do anything for him, especially if he needed you."

There was nothing he could say to that, Castiel sounded so sure of himself.

"And now I know why you let me touch you, even if it was only for a little while. In fact, you pushing me away tells me even more."

"Like what?" The demanding level of Dean's tone was escalating; he was starting to get defensive.

Cas smiled and walked into the living room to drop onto the couch, "Well you liked it, I know you did because I have a husband that looks, sounds, and kinda acts just like you. Your skin started flushing pink, especially down your neck and chest. You made those little gasping sounds like you're trying to stay in control but you really don't want to-"

"Enough, what about me pushing you away?" Dean tried to ignore the fact that Castiel hadn't been wrong yet.

"You know I'm not your Castiel and that bothered you enough to stop me."

The words sunk in and again Dean was left standing silent, lost in thought and a blown mind. He knew he had a crush but this was insinuating something further. Did he really like Cas that much? "That workaholic, self righteous bastard? No way. You've got it wrong."

"Now you're insulting him to distance yourself from thinking about him, especially in a kind light." Cas pointed out, matter-of-factly like he was reading a recipe.

"Shut up!"

"You're out of arguments so you tell me to shut up."

Dean opened his mouth but realized the only thing he would have said to that was either another 'shut up' or 'fuck you'. "Stop it…"

"Sorry," Cas turned and looked at him with that smile again, "I just don't care much for bullshit, or bullies. If you like him, then like him and tell him so. Hurting him won't help you, and neither will lying to yourself."

Dean wasn't sure if he'd ever heard more helpful words from Sam Winchester himself, and that kid was good at the whole 'words of wisdom' thing. "Cas," He smiled a little and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I… You're right. I like him."

Castiel brightened and nodded eagerly, "So tell him?"

"I can't."

Deflated would be an understatement for Cas' sudden mood swing. "Why?"

"Because he used to be married to a Dean and… that Dean tried to kill him." He was having a hard time explaining but it all made sense in his head. "I've barely been able to keep him from hating me outright. I can't say I like him, it'll-"

"You can." Cas urged, not caring how many times he'd interrupted. "Dean, you don't know him that well yet but if he's being mean to you because of what some other Dean did, then he's trying to separate the two of you but he can't quite do it. He likes you, I really think that."

"Do you play match maker with your friends?"

"Yes." Cas answered curtly but brushed it aside like it meant nothing, "Just try it."

"I have a bad feeling about that…" Dean fidgeted with the edges of his coat, "He's still really hurt by it. What if me saying that makes it worse?"

Cas paused and sat back on the couch, staring at the wall for a moment. "Then… gambling is your best bet. You'll get nowhere if you don't do anything."

"But isn't nowhere better than backward?"

"Well, if you can spend the rest of your life knowing you love this guy but never told him then by all means, continue with how you're doing things."

And that shut him right up.