I've decided to change the update day to Saturday for a couple of chapters.

I might change back to Sunday or Friday soon based on how this chapter does, but next chapter will be out a week from today.

Enjoy ;-)

Dean and Cas spent the next day back in the river. Dean finished his basket, which was sloppy and had large gaps in it, but he felt a little proud when Cas insisted that it was a great first try. He even blushed when Cas told him he would keep it in his house as a momento of Dean, for when he was gone.

That small reminder set both of them into a bit of a mood. Their usual chatty, lively conversation started to die down, and things became just a little bit awkward.

Dinner was small and quiet, and they both went to bed early.

They both knew that tomorrow had to come, and both of them were dreading it.

Castiel was sitting in his seat, trying to hide his grin.

God, he'd never been more fond of Dean's smart mouth.

"So, what did you learn in the past four days, Dean?" Uriel asked, looking bored at the walls. Dean smiled, and Cas had, originally, felt his stomach drop. This was the day he'd get sent home, and they'd probably never see each other again.

"Well, your women let their boobs hang out, which is different." He started. Cas had almost choked on air. He shot Dean a panicked look, not fully comprehending what he was doing. Was he trying to be forced to stay here longer?

Dean looked over at him and gave him a subtle wink, which only served to confuse him further.

"Excuse me?" Uriel deadpanned, eyebrows raising. "Have you learned anything about our culture at all?"

"Well, yeah, tons. Cas taught me lots, just like you told him to. I've decided that I don't like it, I've been kidnapped, and I want to go home." Dean said, rebelliously. Castiel felt something stir inside of him. Dean wasn't stupid. He knew exactly what he was doing; and, apparently, he was okay with it.

"Excuse you?" Uriel said, flatly. Dean shrugged.

"You heard me. I want to go home. You're all boring." Dean said, sass setting all the way to MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE.

Uriel rose, eyes narrowing as he looked up at Dean. He took a few steps, his anger staying steady on his face as he thought through his next words. Castiel had to give Dean credit; he didn't waver. Had he been the recipient of such a scolding gaze, he would be afraid of what Uriel had in mind.

Then again, Dean wasn't a part of the colony and would probably only get sentenced to more time spent with them. And, from what Castiel could see, that seemed to be his goal.

"Really? Because I heard a report from my sentry that you found frogs to be quite interesting, Winchester." Uriel spat, hackles raising. "I ought to have you thrown in jail, and lock away the key. But, since someone would eventually come looking for you, we're going to have to go with an alternative method."

Dean looked a little bit nervous now. Castiel put his head down into his hands. Of course somebody had found out about the toads. Because his life was never complicated enough and bad things had to constantly be happening. He couldn't just follow the rules, for once, because his shitty friends pulled him into stuff like this.

Dean had almost died, and Castiel was still angry at them for that.

"You're going to stay here another week. You're required to come to the Fae Ball in four days, celebrating our heritage and culture. You will not break another rule and you will not take a single step in the wrong direction, or I will have your four limbs tied to squirrels and tell them to run in different directions." Uriel growled, glowering with rage.

He turned and stormed out of the council room, and Castiel felt an odd sort of satisfaction begin to grow in his stomach.

Sure, the leader was a little pissed off. But he got to keep Dean for another week, and Dean had done it on purpose. There was no other explanation for his callous and risky behavior.

Maybe this meant that Dean liked him?

Castiel had a few friends, but Dean Winchester was unlike any before. He was brave and strong and cared too much about some things and too little about others, his personality making him and Cas, (once Cas had finally loosened up) click together like puzzle pieces. Thinking that Dean might have done this specifically so he could stay with Cas made Cas's stomach do a weird little dance.

He walked to Dean, who definitely didn't look disappointed in Uriel's decision.

"You could have gotten yourself thrown into jail." Cas said flatly, unable to stop the warm feeling from snaking around his chest. Dean looked at him, shrugging a little.

"He was right, I would have made humans walk through the woods for months on end if I had gone missing. I mean, think about it, Castiel. Do you think this beautiful mug could go missing and people not care?" Dean asked, flashing Cas a teasing smolder.

"No, I'd search for days." Castiel teased.

Then, suddenly, he paused. Actually, Dean did seem pretty attractive. He had wide, beautiful green eyes and thick, plump lips and a face with the lightest dotting of freckles. Not just in an aesthetic way, either. Castiel could suddenly imagine the feeling of those lips pressing gently against his, and-

WHOA. What the actual fuck? Castiel's face became red and he backed up a great deal, confusion taking the place of his warm, gooey feeling.

He had never before, in his life, experienced wanting to kiss someone. He'd heard about it, read about it, even been forcibly kissed (he didn't find it all that enjoyable an experience to be honest) but he'd never wanted to kiss another being. And especially hadn't found another being attractive like this before.

He could picture all too vividly letting Dean run his hands up and down Castiel's body, exploring the contours of his chest, maybe fingers carding through his hair as Cas sank down...

He stopped that thought in it's tacks. He had never gotten an erection in public in his entire life, and he was not about to ruin that now just because Dean Winchester was a little bit pretty. And nice. And sweet. And standing a foot and a half away from him.

"Hey, are you doing okay?" Dean asked, looking just a little concerned. It was then that Cas realized he'd been staring for what could be considered much too long. He cleared his throat, straightening himself out and nodding his head in confirmation.

"Of course. Sorry, I just got a little..." His eyes flickered back down to Dean's lips again, "Distracted."

"That's okay, we've all been there. One time in math class, I actually fell off my chair I was so hardcore not paying attention. The teacher made me sit out in the hall for a week. Of course, we'd moved schools again before I had to take any kind of test, so it wasn't a bad thing that it happened. I got to sleep out there." Dean teased. "And Sam-"

Suddenly, Dean cut off. His eyes widened to a comical level, and he slowly put his face into his hands, letting out a frustrated sigh. "Sam is going to call me tonight."

"What?" Castiel asked, uncertain as to what relevance this had with the story.

God, did Dean even have the same genetalia as him? Not that he really minded if he didn't, but it would be a good idea to just jump into anything without knowing whether or not they were different. I mean, it might be awkward to get your clothes off and suddenly realize-

Castiel steered his thoughts back, trying to stay focused. This new revelation wasn't something he could allow himself to dwell on; Dean was leaving in a week anyways. There was no way Castiel could take the loss if his only romantic interest had to leave. Not to mention that he didn't even know if Dean returned the sentiment or not.

"My brother. Is going to call me, on the telephone, later tonight." Dean explained. "If I don't pick up and answer him, he's going to get concerned. If he gets concerned, there's a good possibility somebody close will come looking for me. You have to get me to my cell phone tonight."

"We can do that. It's not a big deal." Castiel said, trying not to be distracted. Dean let out a huff of air and smiled, the tension draining from his shoulders. It was clear that he cared deeply for his little brother, judging by how often he talked of him and how praising he always sounded.

"Okay, awesome." Dean supplied, smiling like an idiot. "You know, maybe we can tell him you're just a friend of mine and you could meet him over the phone?"

"I think I'd enjoy that." Castiel supplied, smiling back. They shared a moment of eye contact, neither of them looking away. It vaguely registered with Cas that this should be uncomfortable, that they had both been staring for what was considered a beyond socially acceptable time, but he couldn't find it in him to care.

"Let's go now. It's two in the afternoon and I'd like to get a head start on something I'm making." Castiel informed Dean. Dean nodded, turning to lead the way as they walked out the door.

"I hope you know I'm gonna read one of your boring fairy books on humans while you do that." Dean said, looking back to shoot Castiel a dazzling smile. "I want to figure out how much you know. Maybe I can fill you in on some of the more interesting parts."

Dean stared down at the paper in shock.

Honestly, the fae didn't know all that much about humans and human culture, and what they did seem to know was vastly wrong and outdated. Dean decided then and there that he would take it upon himself, in whatever ways possible, to show Cas as much about humans as he could.

He couldn't have the fae constantly making misconceptions about their people; as true as it was that humans were far from being as advanced as the fae were, they were still better than that. Maybe it would be time for them to find out about the fae's existence, and they could help each other out?

Dean knew for certain the fae could use getting televisions. He was stunned when he found out that the most advanced technology any of the fae had seen the humans use was a machine that communicated in morris code. For crying out loud, they practically had flying cars now!

"You know, Cas," Dean started, walking into the kitchen and putting the book down, "I think I need to teach you about some stuff. Because this," Dean gestured frantically to the book, "Is literal crap."

Cas smiled a little bit, seeming to relax in Dean's presence. He noticed, but Dean didn't want to let it go to his head, so he quickly changed his train of thought. Probably nothing, probably nothing...

"Well, why don't you start telling me now? I was fairly certain our information was out of date when Anna saw those magazines sprawled across your desk. A woman back in those times was not allowed to expose herself as such, and certainly not to attract attention of the male gaze, lest she be persecuted." Castiel said, sliding Dean a bowl of something hot and fresh. He noticed Cas had put bits of pie crust into the bowl, and Dean smiled.

"You guys went through my porn collection? You're all a bunch of pervs." Dean said, digging in. It briefly burned his tongue, but it was so worth it. It tasted better than anything he'd ever had before. Then again, all of Cas's cooking was fantastic.

He'd like to have Cas and Sammy meet officially. Which was odd, because for the most part he really didn't care about Sam actually meeting his friends.

Aaaah, cruel irony. As soon as he found a friend he was certain he'd want Sam to meet, it turned out Sam couldn't meet him because of some stupid "fae must remain a secret" shit that their culture came up with. Dean did admit the humans had a lot of wrongdoing to make up for, but keeping yourself isolated and refusing to give them a second chance wasn't benefiting anyone.

At least, Dean hoped. He acknowledged there would be some problems with some of the humans, but a great deal of people would be fascinated, and this would prove society would still function even if people continued to move forward. A lot of arguments about social change would be shot down in light of how well the fae culture was doing, despite their improvements.

Then again, they also might look at it, shrug, and say the fae were going to hell.

Yeah, a portion of them would probably do that.

"You know, the female anatomy is slightly different on your people than ours." Castiel said, conversationally. "Our females don't have as large of an opening, but then again, our wings are highly involved in the mating process."

Dean paused. "What, like, your females don't have the same parts? How different is "different"?" Dean asked. His eyes flickered up to Cas's wings, wondering how those could possibly be used in a sexual manner.

Actually, now that he thought of it, he couldn't see a way they couldn't be used in a sexual manner.

"It's a lot to explain and," Castiel glanced outside, taking into consideration the position of the sun, "We need to get a move on if you're expecting to make it to your phone in time for your brother's call."

"Oh, shit," Dean said. It looked pretty damned late to him, and as far as Sam knew, he was holed up in a one-room place. It would be impossible to miss a call from there. He stood up, placing his bowl in the sink (now empty) and checking to make sure Cas had eaten his before he grabbed his arm and pulled him up. "Let's get a move on."

"You know, we'd get there a great deal faster if you'd let me fly us there." Castiel said flatly. He was clearly teasing, though.

Dean paused, his steps faltering a bit.

Okay, yes he was deathly afraid of heights. But a big part of that was how unreliable planes and bridges and all that shit seemed. Tragedies happened every damned day, and he didn't want to be a part of any of that. But Cas? Cas was different. Cas had caught him and saved him when he was about to fall. Cas had never dropped him, never would, and Dean didn't know how it was possible, but he trusted Cas already more in these days than he did most of his friends he's known for years.

"Yeah, okay." Dean said, shrugging. Castiel paused, confusion coloring his features.

"Yeah, okay?" Cas asked, uncertain. "Aren't you-"

"It doesn't matter." Dean interrupted, not wanting a chick flick moment to happen. He didn't want to be doe-eyed and open and honest and talk about trust and blah blah blah, he just wanted to give this whole thing a try right now. "I'll be fine. You're not planning on dropping me, right?"

"Of course not." Castiel said. Dean could have lived his whole life and not seen anything as beautiful as the nice, quirky half-smile he gave him at that moment, eyes shining with the knowledge that he was trusted. Dean had to look away.

"Well, are we gonna go or not?" He asked, mainly because he couldn't stand the thought of knowing that Cas was looking at him like that. He did buy himself an extra week, but that's all he could buy. He had family and commitments, and he couldn't keep doing this to himself, dammit, he should really stop liking people he had to leave.

This had always happened to him as a kid. He'd find somebody he connected to well, and then they'd end up invariably separated.

He would not let himself become that attached to Cas. He couldn't.

"I hope you're ready. I'll go slow for you." Cas said, leaning down to pick Dean up. Dean's thoughts all flew away in the breeze as he was hoisted up, his face inches from Cas's.

He melted a little bit, a goofy grin that he didn't try to stop coming yet again. Castiel looked away and took a few steps, Dean barely remembering to be impressed by his strength.

Cas started to fly, his wings flapping hard against the wind, leaving Dean just a little bit in awe at how everything was. He watched as they moved methodically up and down, carving out the air like a butcher knife would butter. Cas's face was so calm and concentrated that, for awhile, he forgot why he was ever afraid of the air.

It was too short and too long at the same time when he was set down, unceremoniously, on top of the front porch of the small room. Castiel flew up to pull on the door handle, swinging it unceremoniously open and gesturing for Dean to go inside.

Dean did so, still amazed at how large everything seemed from this vantage point.

"Okay, so my phone is up there." Dean said, gesturing to the dresser. "It should be on charge, so that isn't a problem."

Castiel nodded, not wasting a moment before he picked Dean up and flew them up to the wooden dresser together.

Cas must have had the best internal clock ever, because just as they touched down, the phone started to ring. He ran forward and slid the "unlock" button, pressing "accept call" in record time. Sammy's voice flowed smoothly over the line, and Dean didn't think he'd ever been more happy to hear it.

"I only have ten minutes to talk before Jess and I are going to the movies, I'm gonna warn you now," Sam said. Dean tried not to feel disappointed.

"That's fine. I'm actually with a friend right now anyways, so I'm sure I can find something to do without you." Dean said, partially teasing. Castiel perked up at the mention. "His name is Cas."

"Really? You have friends?" Sam asked, pretending to be incredulous. Dean rolled his eyes.

"If you were actually here, I'd noogie you so hard for that." He promised. Sam laughed.

"I apologize for the interruption, but what, exactly, is a 'noogie'?" Castiel questioned, tilting his head to the side. Sam made a sound on the other end of the phone, something that sounded like a mixture between a scoff and a goat dying.

"You don't know what a noogie is? You know Dean, and you don't know what a noogie is? Christ, he must really like you if he hasn't done you the honor yet." Sam said, laughing a little.

Dean felt a blush rise to his cheeks and quickly covered it up by saying, "Hey, he's lead a sheltered life, I may be cruel but I'm not a complete monster."

"Yeah, whatever, jerk." Sam said. He was interrupted by a small shuffling sound, and then a knock on his door. He let out a gasp, excitement and nerves both obviously present.

"I'm gonna go now, Jess is here." He said, and then added, "Sorry if I wasn't able to talk too long, I'll call you again tomorrow if you want?"

"No, no no!" Dean said, a little too fast. "It's fine. I have Cas here with me and you're busy. Tell you what, we'll talk in a week, okay?"

"Same time?" Sam asked, apparently too caught up in what he was doing to notice the abruptness of Dean's answer. Dean paused.

"Yeah, sounds good." He said, nodding his head despite the fact that Sam couldn't see him. There was the sound of a muffled "Hello" from a woman, and then the dial tone rang out proud and strong. Dean stared at the phone for a few minutes, trying to come to terms with the fact that it was really over so fast.

"Well, that was pleasant." Castiel put in, smiling a little. Dean tried to stop the sadness from creeping up. Well, there would always be next week. And, in fact, he did have something to help cheer him up.

"Hey, Cas," He said, suddenly. Castiel jumped a little bit. "Balthazar and Gabriel told me you didn't know what your sexuality was because there wasn't really a word for it. Do you want to look it up and see if it has a name in the human world, or...?"

Suddenly, Dean felt a little stupid. Cas's cheeks were growing red and he nodded his head a little, looking down towards the floor. Dean went back to his phone, ignoring how hot his ears felt now- Why had he brought it up so abruptly? God, he was an idiot.

"Actually, that sounds wonderful. I, uh... I don't just see someone and feel attracted to them. Anyone." Castiel clarifies, looking down and fiddling with his pants. They were soft, but the texture wasn't enough to distract him from how hot his face was.

"Well, any ramifications on that? Because if you're not attracted to anyone ever, that's just asexuality."

Castiel thought.

No, he was attracted to some people. He just... needed a way to say it without blowing up the fact that the only one was Dean. Then again, he hadn't been sexually attracted to him at first. He'd only become appealing after...

"I only experience sexual attraction after a romantic connection has been established. And I rarely have emotional connections." Castiel blurted. Then, he quickly added, "I mean, I've never really had the chance or liked anyone enough," Lies, "to be entirely sure, but I believe that's how it works."

Dean nodded his head thoughtfully, turning back around and starting to type something on his phone. He leaned this way and that, reaching all the way across the keyboard and tapping a letter before leaning the other way. He let out a small laugh.

"This is a lot more exercise than when I was tall." He grumbled, finally pressing the enter button.

It took a few minutes of him clicking on links and looking through answers, but eventually, he let out a small noise of triumph.

"Good news, there is a word for it. Do you care to hear?" Dean offered. Castiel nodded, eagerly. All his life, he'd felt like he didn't quite fit into anything. Knowing that there was at least a word for his orientation might help with that, even in the smallest bit. It would mean something.

Nerves twisted in his stomach.

"Okay. The definition is, "A person who only experiences sexual attraction after a crush or other romantic inclination is formed"," Dean read, looking a little oddly at the screen. He turned back to Cas, raising an eyebrow. Cas couldn't help but think that he looked dashing. But that, of course, was not the reason his heart was thumping wildly in his chest. No, that was because...

"There's a word for what I am." He said, in amazement. "That's it. What's- what's it called?"

"It's called 'demisexual'. Demi, of course, meaning half. So I guess that means your only sexual part of the time. You've never... You've never been attracted to anyone, though?" Dean questioned.

Castiel's eyes met Dean's. Dean's were shining with some kind of emotion, something that looked strangely like hope, but at the same time, the furthest thing away from it.

Cas could be brave. He could admit he'd gotten a small crush, one with absolutely no explanation, but he wasn't going to. He couldn't put himself out on the line like that, not when Dean was leaving. In fact, really he should nip this crush in the ass before it got any more out of control than it already was. He was sinking deep, deep down, and there were no life rafts on the love boat. Only like, those weird pool noodles that don't actually hold people up at all and almost cause children to drown.

"No, I haven't. Not yet. There have been..." Castiel was going out on a limb saying this, "Or, rather, there are some close calls, but no. Not yet."

Dean nodded a little, and the air between them became awkward. He seemed to let the subject drop, turning around and fiddling with his phone a little more.

"Sorry, I have to text Jo real quick and tell her I'm still alive. And that he plants are, too." He mumbled, as he worked. Castiel didn't really mind. Watching Dean concentrate was so hypnotic, the way his face scrunched up and he gave the smallest of frowns while he worked. His concentration was riveting in the strangest way.

"That's fine. Go ahead and tell her I said hello." Castiel said, smiling broadly.

"I'm telling her what happened, actually. Her mom needs to haggle me more days off work since I can't actually go in like this. It'll take a couple of messages to actually explain the situation." Dean said. "But yeah, I'll work that in. Do you and Jo talk often?"

"We have talked a couple of times. Jo is very kind for a human, although I still don't trust her and rarely spoke due to my own setbacks. However, after you've shown me how wrong I was... I may talk to her more often, now." Castiel mumbled. Dean nodded his head.

"I hope you'll still talk to me." He said, trying to sound casual. Castiel's eyes widened.

"What do you mean? Won't you be gone?" He asked, trying to squish down the hope that fluttered in his chest. Dean might still be able to talk to him?

"Well, there are still cell phones. I could get Jo to set up something to where I could call and talk to you every once in awhile. And I have Saturdays and Sundays off of work, which means I could come down and visit, you know, in person. Actually, I didn't even realize I might be able to see you again until just now." Dean said, his face breaking into a smile. Castiel felt his own lips pull up, and he knew he was radiating satisfaction.

"I would still talk to you, yes. I would very much enjoy the phone calls."

He could still talk to Dean. Sure, the possibility of anything more between them was still void, (they lead very different lives, after all,) but he wouldn't have to lose him. The thought made Castiel's defenses slip, just the smallest bit.

After all, who cared if he had a little crush now? It wasn't like he wasn't going to be able to see Dean again. It wouldn't be the sort of painful, agonizing tear away it would have been before. He could handle just pretending, even for a little while, that there's a chance.

He could bask in the glory of his puppy love if he wanted to.

"So, do you, uh, want to watch a movie?" Dean questioned, pointing towards the screen. "I'm done sending the text and Jo probably won't read it until morning, she gets drunk off her ass on special occasions."

"A movie?" Castiel asked. "Those are the moving pictures, correct? A fae observed those about a century ago and wouldn't shut up about how humans were using magic now and how hypocritical it all was." Castiel stopped talking, realizing that this was vaguely irrelevant. He cleared his throat, and said, "I, however, would love to see one."

"Alright." Dean chuckled, pressing a few buttons. He leaned up higher and pressed a button repeatedly, and dramatic music filtered through the speakers. "I hope you're okay with Star Wars. It's all I have downloaded."

"I don't know what that is." Castiel said, tilting his head in confusion. Dean looked at him with a small bit of affection in his eyes for a moment until he suddenly snapped out of it, getting up and looking for something.

He walked over to a tissue box and heaved, pushing it as hard as he could to get it over to them. Once it was, he pulled out a big bundle of the fluffy tissues, laying them on the ground. He plopped down on top of them, sinking into it like a bed of feathers.

He patted the seat next to him enthusiastically, and Cas moved. He sat down, a little awkward, a little uncertain as to how close it was acceptable to be in this situation.

He watched the screen with a growing and healthy interest. He knew, logically, that this was a fictional story and humans had yet to make all of these advances, but... Man, did it seem real. The effects were absolutely spectacular. It left him actually wondering which parts of the movie were true and not true.

About half way through the film, Dean scooted over, leaving their thighs touching. Castiel was immediately distracted by the oh-so pleasant warmth. Dean's arm moved to wrap around his waist, a thumb slowly and idly stroking his feathers. Castiel fought off the imminent arousal, puffing up his feathers and trying not to notice the small touches.

Other than the small bursts of electric want, the feeling of being pressed up against Dean was... nice. It got Castiel's hopes up, made him consider the possibility of... well, more. He thought about just how easy, just how nice it would be to lean over and kiss Dean on the lips. How his body could curve around the other's, how warm and safe he'd feel and make Dean feel in their embrace.

It was all too soon that the movie ended. As it did, Cas realized his head had somehow ended up on Dean's shoulder.

"Have humans actually colonized space yet?" Castiel questioned. Dean laughed a little.

"Nope, but we're not too far from it."

"I'd like to live there." Castiel said, thoughtfully.

"Space, or with humans?" Dean teased, shoving Cas a little, playfully. Castiel smiled.

"Honestly, both." Cas said. Dean paused, his voice becoming soft, sincere, losing it's playful pitch.

"Honestly, I'd take you with me if I could." He informed Cas, nudging him softly.

Castiel smiled. How nice would that be?

The entire way home, all Cas could think about was a) not running into a tree, and b) how soft and warm Dean felt pressed up against his chest.

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