"I dislike it when we have to go in shooting."

No one inside of the bar moved a muscle, all of them aiming their weapon at a door. Dean spared a moment to glance at Castiel, an old conversation running through his head. The current bartender kept his eyes trained on the front door to his bar, fully aware that he could have a decent amount of armed mobsters coming through it at any point.

"Mister Winchester, a word please," Michael Novak said from outside of the bar. Sam and Dean exchanged glances, neither quite sure which one of them Michael was referring to but reasonably certain they knew which one. "The one who very nearly had an intimate relationship with my youngest brother, please."

Mary didn't try to stop her son. She knew it'd be useless if she even put the suggestion out there. Instead, the blonde placed a hand on her eldest son's shoulder. "You don't have to if you don't want to," she said softly. Dean shook his head, having made a decision as to what to do the minute he heard Michael call him. Mary nodded. "At least try to be careful then."

Dean gave Lisa a small smile in a vain effort to be encouraging. She sucked in a deep breath and nodded, returning the smile as best as she could. Sam only nodded to his brother, a vague idea of what Dean was planning going through his head. He then helped Lisa get into a chair, so that he could help her with her injury.

Gabriel was trying to ignore the look on Castiel's face when he met Dean's eye. "My warning still stands, Winchester." Dean nodded, the Tricker's message received and stored as easily as it was six years previously.

The complete and utter heartbreak Dean read on Castiel's face didn't make his decision any easier than it could have been. "I made a promise, Cas," the P.I. replied to the silent plea. It only took Castiel a few seconds to hide the majority of his pain, though it still leaked out of his eyes, dry though they were.

Dean took a moment to compose himself before striding over to the front door of the bar and walking out, closing it behind him. Every person left in the bar immediately found themselves worrying about Dean.

It had been five and a half years between the time Dean first met Michael Novak and where he stood across from him now. They both had a few new scars and lines on their face, marking their aging, but aside from that, Dean could see that time had obviously been very kind to the head of the Novak gang. Michael smiled when he saw Dean. "It's been a long time, Mister Winchester. I was certain you'd forgotten about us by now." The older man's eyes slid from Dean to the bar doors behind him, closed and hiding some very valuable people. "I also understand that you've become informed of some very…important information," the dark brunette said, completely casual despite the group of men behind him who were privy to their conversation.

Dean snorted. "I'm a private investigator. I alway find important information. Either that, or important information always seems to find me," the dirty blonde replied cheekily.

"I can't argue against that," Michael said, his eyes having slid back onto the P.I. "What is your intention, now that you have this information? Do you intend to sell it or…?"

"I don't intend on doing anything with it. Besides, I don't think I've known for long enough to have decided what to do with it, if anything, yet."

Michael pursed his lips. "I'd forgotten how you were, Mister Winchester."

The dirty blonde smiled humorlessly. "Charming? A joy to be around?"

"Stubborn, Mister Winchester." Michael frowned at Dean. "As stubborn as a few of my relatives, if I do say so myself."

Dean held his head up proudly. "Glad to know I can still tick a few people off, 'specially since I decided I'd take a break from work for a little while." He wasn't surprised when he saw Michael's eyes light up at the prospect of another good soul off the street, if only temporarily. "Doesn't mean I'm leaving the streets unprotected," Dean added, making Michael frown a little deeper.

"Yes, your lawyer brother," Michael replied, his mouth twisted like he'd just bitten into a lemon. "No man is above temptation."

"Keep your grubby fucking hands off of my brother or I swear you won't live 'til tomorrow."

Michael smirked, glad to have reached a soft spot on the P.I. "I hear your brother has as fondness for fiery women. Not that that is a terrible choice, mind you. I'm merely suggesting that his preference could lead him into trouble."

The P.I. glared at Michael. "And I'm merely suggesting that if you keep going with that, I will not hesitate to put a bullet through your skull before your brother even gets the opportunity to walk out of those doors."

"Ooh, touchy," Michael said in reply, the smirk still firmly planted on his face. He looked at the door again. "Speaking of my brother," he continued, moving forwards. Dean kept quiet as Michael brushed past him to get to the bar's doors.

"I wasn't kidding when I said Castiel wouldn't hesitate in shooting you."

The head of the Novaks laughed. "He wouldn't dare hurt me. I'm his brother, after all." Michael pushed the doors open, fully intent on making a grand entrance. "I'm here, Casti-"

Dean couldn't stop himself from flinching when he heard the gunshot go off. He didn't hurry to Michael's side as he was sure many of the mobsters behind him were contemplating doing. Castiel was beside his brother first, the gun still warm in the bartender's hand. "I'm aware of your presence." Gabriel wasn't far behind his younger brother but didn't kneel down beside Michael as Castiel had, choosing to stand next to the dark brunette. "Someone should call an ambulance."

The Trickster glared at the remaining mobsters, all of whom began scattering. He then rolled his eyes, moving to the bar's phone. "Hi, I'm calling for an ambulance. Yeah, there's a woman here who's been shot in the leg but we've managed to bandage her up pretty well. No, I'm calling about the man here who's just been shot in the head. It looks like a nasty injury and from the looks of it, he probably won't survive it. Yeah, sure, I'll give you the address." Gabriel's voice became background noise as Mary laid a hand on Castiel's shoulder.

"You okay there, Castiel?" He didn't reply but nodded mutely. Mary sighed softly, turning her head to Dean. Come here, she mouthed to her eldest. Dean blinked, wondering if his mother was serious. Huffing slightly, Mary jerked her head for Dean to come take her place at Castiel's side. "You'll be okay."

Everyone in the room was smart enough to pretend not to notice the way Castiel leaned into Dean's hand on the bartender's shoulder.

The ambulance arrived fairly quickly after Gabriel's call, taking Michael and Lisa away to the nearest hospital. Sam, Mary, and Gabriel decided to follow the ambulance in order to see that Lisa, and consequently Michael, was checked in okay and given the proper treatment. The bullet had passed cleanly through Lisa's leg, so no surgery would be required to take it out. The medics who had taken Lisa were more worried about the amount of blood that she'd lost before Sam and Gabriel had taken the time (when Dean had no idea) to make an effort to stop the bleeding.

After they had all left, Dean and Castiel were left at the bar by themselves, a couple of patches of blood needing to be cleaned up at some point. When Castiel caught Dean looking at them, the bartender shrugged. "I will call my contacts in the Novak gang and have them take care of it. It is their fault, after all, that there is blood here." Castiel turned away from the open doorway in favor of walking farther into the bar.

Dean nodded to himself, continuing to stare out into the street. A few moments later, he turned to face the inside of the bar. "I thought you were dead."

Castiel stopped where he'd been walking back to his office, turning slightly so he could see Dean's face and decipher whether he was lying or not. "Why did you think that?" He cocked his head to the side.

Dean shifted on his feet. "Michael. He told me something along those lines when I was trying to find you again."

The brunette frowned, wary. "What did Michael say exactly?"

"You won't find him here, Mister Winchester."

Dean spun around to face the direction he'd just come from, his hand resting on the gun holstered at his belt. "Really. What makes you so certain of that? More to the point, do you even know who I'm looking for?"

The man half-smiled, letting out an amused chuckle. "I'm surprised you didn't ask how I knew who you were. As to the other two questions," he continued, taking a step towards Dean, obviously not afraid of the P.I. The blonde took a couple of seconds to observe the other man.

"You know, you look like him. If he styled his hair once in a while, it'd be pretty obvious that the two of you were brothers." Dean dropped his hand from his sidearm, but not before hesitating another second. "I guess I should be honored to meet you, Novak. I'm just worried about leaving here alive."

Michael Novak nodded, the amused half-smile still on his face. "Don't worry, Mister Winchester. I have no intention of killing you. I only want to talk to you about Castiel. For starters, I doubt you'll ever see him again."

Dean felt a sense of dread build up in the pit of his stomach. "You sonuvabitch. What did you do to him?" Suddenly he was aiming his gun at Michael's head.

The dark brunette didn't flinch at the sudden threat of being shot by the worrying private investigator in front of him. "I didn't do anything to him. Everything that happened, Castiel brought upon himself."

"Where the hell is he then?"

Michael tsked Dean, like a parent to a child. "Castiel is unharmed, for the time being." He stuck his hands into his pockets. "You should know by now that my little brother knows how to protect himself, Mister Winchester."

Dean chuckled humorlessly. "Right, because he is the one you sent to kill me."

"He'd never disobeyed me before." Michael watched Dean's face for the blonde's reaction. "Before he met you, Castiel had never directly disobeyed any order I'd given to him. Once he met you, though, that's all he seemed to be doing, especially after he saved you."

"Why the hell should that bother me?"

Michael took a long look at Dean, a thoughtful look on his face. "You know, I'd heard you were slow to the point, Mister Winchester, but I never thought you'd be slow to read emotions." He shook his head. "I'd also heard that a few of my relatives visited you to warn you against breaking Castiel's heart."

Dean scoffed. "I already told them that there was no reason for them to suspect I'd break his heart. It wasn't like I was trying to date him or anything." Michael raised a disbelieving eyebrow at Dean.

"I believe," Michael began, "that is what Gabriel would call 'bullshit', Mister Winchester."

"Michael said 'bullshit'?"

Dean looked up at Castiel. "Really? Nothing else about our conversation makes you comment but your brother saying 'bullshit' makes you say something?"

Castiel shrugged. "Michael refrained from using profanity the majority of the time." He settled back into the chair opposite Dean, a position neither of them remembered taking. "Please continue."

"Why the hell does everyone think I'm dating or trying to date him?" Dean sighed, frustrated with the world for his current situation.

Michael watched Dean carefully. "You've taken Castiel into your life very seamlessly. It isn't unusual for one to assume that a transition like that has some romantic implications." He raised a curious eyebrow. "This didn't come as a possible consequence to you after discovering who Castiel was?"

"Didn't seem like a consequence after meeting the guy after I'd been shot and he decided to save my life," Dean replied, crossing his arms. "Didn't seem like a consequence after I found out he was a Novak, either."

The Novak's eyebrow raised higher than it had originally. "You didn't consider it a consequence of making Castiel's acquaintance at all?

Dean shook his head. "Nope," the P.I. replied casually. "I meet lots of people in my profession and making friends doesn't normally come with consequences."

"You consider Castiel your friend? Why is it then that he has not told you of his location or that he is still alive?" Michael lifted his chin a little, feeling confident in his current position.

"He's probably doing something stupid to try and keep my safe because if I knew where he was, you would torture me to get the information out." Dean shrugged. "Thinking of my best interests, even when he's being chased by his brother, or one of them at least."

Michael scowled at Dean. "This won't be the last time we see each other, Winchester."

Dean let a smirk cross his face. "Oh, believe me, I'm counting on it. Because the next time we see each other, Novak, I will not hesitate to shoot you. In your face, if need be. But I will shoot you."

The leader of the Novak gang raised an eyebrow again. "Will you kill me?"

Dean's smirk grew. "No. I'll leave that to your little brother."

A/N: Well that felt more violent then that actually was. We're starting to wind down here folks. I'll probably have two to three more chapters plus a possible epilogue but it's only optional and not promised. Anywho, was it worth the 11-day wait? Reviews/critiques/whatever always welcome!

UPDATE 8/7/14: "Well Don't You Just Suck" chapter title changed to "Fuck You" by Lily Allen. (I do love "Well Don't You Just Suck" though.)