Red Sky At Morning

by Serie11

Dean Winchester's life at twenty five isn't exactly what he expected; his brother's in the wind, his pro-surfing career is far behind him, and he has a steady job caring for the little penguins of Phillip Island. But this peace shatters when Dean meets Castiel, who is running from a past that he doesn't want to acknowledge, into a future that he knows cannot last...

3. Chapter 3

December

Dean spends Christmas day at Cas' house.

Dean cooks and the TV is on in the background after Dean had convinced Cas to turn it on. Even though he owns it, Cas usually doesn't watch anything, preferring to read. Some Christmas movie is on now, quietly playing in the background to make the large house seem fuller.

It's been four weeks since Sam left, and Dean hasn't heard anything from him.

It's worse than a few years ago, when Sam at least told Dean where he had been going. When Dean had finally worked up the nerve to call Sam's number, an electronic voice had told him that it had been disconnected. He had tried not to feel like he'd been punched in the gut.

Charlie had helped him distract himself, always being loud and talkative, making Dean smile slightly where a month ago he would have laughed. Jo is furious, at both Dean and Sam – at Sam for leaving, and at Dean for letting him leave. Dean had tried to explain to her what had happened, but she had just shaken her head and walked off.

Sometimes he forgets that she thinks of them as her brothers, just like Dean thinks of her as his little sister. It's humbling, and it makes him think about people outside him, outside how he's feeling.

It still hurts like a bitch, sure, but it's a bit easier to put aside his wallowing when he sees what it's doing to his other family. When Jess is looking sad, Dean can pull himself together to smile for her and try to make her feel better. When he sees Cas looking worried for him he can sling an arm around him and let his scent calm him down. He can help Krissy with her schoolwork and try to dodge Annie's questions about his love life without feeling like shit.

Maybe in trying to be better for the people around him, he actually finds some sort of peace inside himself.

So that's why he and Cas are just spending Christmas together. It's nothing loud or tiring, just a peaceful quiet between them in which Dean can think about everything without any pressure from anyone else.

He puts together some lamingtons, resisting the urge to put a sponge among them. He doesn't make a pavlova; there's only two of them, and Dean doesn't think that they should eat an entire pav between them. He does make hash browns from scratch and an enormous amount of pancakes, even though Cas raises his eyebrows at the stack every time he walks past it. Dean teases him for the face that he makes, and that just makes him frown even more, which Dean thinks is hilarious.

"Come on Cas, you can't let these go to waste," Dean cajoles, trying to convince him to eat some more.

"I think that if I eat another pancake, my stomach will burst open," Cas mumbles.

Dean groans and flutters his eyelashes at him. When Cas keeps staring at him, Dean sighs dramatically and goes around to his side of the bench to lay a kiss on his cheek.

"If you say so, angel," Dean says. "Come on, we have to go and watch Christmas movies."

Cas has a bemused look on his face as Dean drags him over to the couch. Cas has a ridiculously large couch, but Dean isn't complaining, since both he and Cas can curl up together easily on it.

Dean grabs one of the convenient cushions and Cas happily lays down next to him. He flicks through a few channels before he grins when he recognises the opening scenes to one of the movies.

"What is this?" Cas asks. Dean dodges the question by tackling him so they're both lying down on the couch with Cas in front of him so they can both see the TV.

"Dad used to watch this all the time," Dean says, putting an arm around Cas' waist.

"Really?" Cas asks cautiously. Dean doesn't blame him. It's not like he talks about his dad all the time.

"Yeah. I think it reminded him of Mum. He used to watch it every Christmas." Dean feels a soft smile start to grow on his face. He likes to remember John when he was being a father, instead of when he wasn't. He kisses the top of Cas' head softly and Cas wriggles back so they're pressed together. Dean sends thanks to Cas' air con, because it's sweltering outside, and he wants to be curled up with Cas in front of the TV and he's pretty sure they wouldn't be if the heat outside was inside. The ducted air conditioning made everything alright; the heat wouldn't be able to get in.

Dean shudders slightly at the thought.

"I always laugh when these movies have snow in them," Dean mutters.

"Well, it was made in America," Cas reasons.

"If they lived through one Christmas here they would understand," Dean mumbles.

The movie is bittersweet like always, and Dean finds himself drifting off as the familiarity of it and Cas lull him to sleep.

Castiel is fairly sure that Dean is asleep, but his arm is still around him, so he can't move. While he'd been watching It's A Wonderful Life, he'd been thinking about Dean and his family and the parallels he can see in the movie. He understands why John Winchester would associate this with his wife, and why it would echo with Dean years later.

He's fairly sure that Dean hadn't had a full night's sleep last night, since he had come over early and had been looking tired. As well as the fact that he had fallen asleep while watching the movie.

Castiel lets out a soft breath and moves back further into Dean's warmth.

It's a good day.

January

New Year's comes and goes, Dean kissing Cas as the ball drops at Charlie's New Year's party. He spends his week of holidays either with Cas or surfing, sometimes at the same time when Cas comes down to the beach with him. They spend a few days in Melbourne, Dean showing Cas the sights and going around the city with him. They usually end up at the Roadhouse, where Ellen rolls her eyes at them, and Jo claims they're 'too cute.'

It's nice.

Dean heads back to work, and Cas starts again at the clinic. They find time for one another where they can, and Dean tries not to worry about Sam. His brother knows that he can call anytime, email or even send a letter. It doesn't matter how he contacts Dean, Dean just wants it to happen.

Cas tries to keep things positive whenever Dean brings up the topic, which is good because it calms him down.

"Dean, things will be fine," he says over the phone.

Dean sighs. He's heading home for the night, since Cas is on the late shift. He'll probably see him later in the week, but until then they're restricted to phone calls.

"That's what you keep saying."

"Sam can take care of himself. If he's anything like you, then he's fine."

Dean doesn't say anything. Is Sam anything like him?

"There's a patient that's just come in," Cas says apologetically. "I'll call you later, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," Dean says. "Bye."

"Goodbye."

He's left feeling off, and as he pulls up to his place, the feeling doesn't dissipate. He grabs his keys, but when he reaches his front door, it's already open.

He narrows his eyes. He's sure that he'd locked it this morning.

He pushes his door open and walks in, alert.

That doesn't save him from the heavy weight connecting to the back of his head.

Castiel frowns at his phone. A number that isn't in his contacts is calling him, but he isn't dealing with any patient, so he picks it up.

"Castiel Novak?" A clipped voice asks him.

"Yes?" He answers cautiously.

"You are the emergency contact for Dean Winchester, correct?"

Dean hadn't told him, but he wouldn't put it past the other man.

"Yes," Castiel says, anxiety reaching from his stomach to rest at the back of his throat. "What happened?"

"We have Mr Winchester here at Bass Coast Regional Health Hospital, and we need a few details from you to make sure that Mr Winchester can be fully cared for."

"What happened?" Castiel repeats. There's a pause on the other end.

"Mr Winchester was admitted for a severe concussion to the back of his head. We're also worried about the amount of blood he may have lost while unconscious, resulting from the laceration on the back of his head. Now is Mr Winchester allergic to anything?"

"No," Castiel replies. He's shoving his things in his bag, and turning off his computer, which takes forever like always. "Where did you say you were?"

"Bass Coast Regional Health," she says.

"I'll be there as soon as I can," he says.

Jo looks shocked as he runs past her.

"Cas, what's wrong?"

"Dean was admitted to Bass Coast Regional for a severe concussion, they just called me. I'm going, cover for me and I'll call you as soon as I get there."

Jo looks stunned but nods. He answers the woman's other questions, as he hurries towards his car.

"I'm going to drive now, do you need anything else?"

"That should be all. Thank you for your cooperation," she says as she hangs up.

Castiel stares down at his phone before he throws everything in and starts driving. His GPS tells him that it's a forty minute drive, but he thinks he can make it in half an hour if he tries.

"What do you mean?" Castiel asks the sheriff. The name badge on her shirt says Jody.

Jody sighs. "This was found on Dean's chest when Missouri walked in on him on the floor."

Castiel takes the plastic bag. Inside is a piece of paper.

LEAVE CASTIEL ALONE. NEXT TIME WE WON'T BE AS LENIENT.

Castiel looks up at Jody.

"Who would want to protect you, Castiel?" Jody repeats. Her voice may be pleasant, but her eyes are hard, and Castiel knows that she won't stop until she has her answers.

"I might have an idea," Castiel mutters. Jody is still looking at him.

"My brothers," Castiel finally says, breaking the long silence between them. "Michael and Lucifer. They're wanted in the US for drug and arms trafficking. My three other brothers and sister and I all want to stay away from them, but they keep following us wherever we go. I moved to Australia in the hopes of avoiding them. I guess that didn't work out." He falls silent and looks away from Jody, back into Dean's room.

His partner is still unconscious. There's a bandage wrapped around his head, and the machine next to him is beeping steadily. They'd given him a blood transfusion and told Castiel he'd wake up eventually.

"Would you be willing to tell me more about them?" Jody asks.

"I can tell you that you're not going to find them," Castiel says, looking back at her. "No matter what you do. They hide, and they wait, and they strike. After Anna, Samandriel, Gabriel, Balthazar and I left them, we've had very little contact, and all of it has been reported to the police. If you contact the US, maybe they'd be willing to give you the files?" Castiel shrugs. "This is hardly the first time they've been wanted internationally."

Jody sighs. "Then what are you going to do?"

Castiel looks back at Dean. "I refuse to let them ruin my life. They'll make contact eventually, and when they do I will tell them in no uncertain terms that they are not to harm Dean, or anyone else here. They should listen."

"Do you have that much sway over them?" Jody asks him.

Castiel shrugs. "Sometimes it seems like I could tell them to go and hand themselves in and they'd do it. Other times it's like they do exactly what I ask them not to do, just to prove that they can. But usually in personal matters they agree to what my siblings and I ask of them. They claim it's to prove that they're still our brothers and they still care about us."

Jody nods slowly. "Alright. I'll organise what I want to do and then contact you."

"Very well," Castiel says. Jody leaves, and he turns back to Dean. He stares at his still body, feeling a turmoil of emotions trying to crawl up his throat. He closes his eyes and is startled when a tear slips out of one.

PIC!

He wipes it away and then quietly enters Dean's room. The chair beside his bed is uncomfortable, but he sits down anyway. Dean is pale and there's a bruise slowly blooming along his right cheek. It must have been where he'd hit the floor after he was knocked out. He looks small in the oversized hospital gown, and the entire room feels unreal to Castiel. Like he's just dreaming, and that if he pinches himself hard enough, he'll wake up. He tries it and nothing happens. He watches a red mark appear where his fingers had clenched down, and tries not to think about anything.

any change? (7:34pm)

Not yet. The doctors say he should wake up soon, though. (7:36pm)

as soon as my shifts over im coming up. Jody said she was up there any leads on who did this yet? (7:36pm)

I'll tell you when you get here.(7:39pm)

Castiel puts down his phone and resolutely ignores Jo's other text messages. He looks down at Dean's still face and wonders why he ran if his old life was just going to catch up to his new one.

"I'm sorry," Castiel apologises softly. "I shouldn't have gotten you involved. I shouldn't have…"

"You've never been good at keeping people distant, Castiel."

Castiel swallows. Slowly, he looks up to the doorway, dreading what he knows he'll see there.

Michael is standing in the doorway. His hair had been cut since Castiel last saw him, and he hasn't shaved for a few days.

"Michael," Castiel says. He looks towards the call button, but Michael comes and sits down in the chair opposite Castiel, next to it.

"You won't be calling anyone, Castiel," Michael says. "You and I are going to have a nice, private chat." Castiel clenches his jaw as Michael leans towards him, over Dean.

"How did you find me?" Castiel asks, taking a breath and keeping his voice level.

"We never lost you," Michael replies easily. "What, you expected us to let you and the rest of the family go that easily? We're family. We belong together."

"None of us want to belong to you," Castiel says quietly. "Why did you do this to Dean? He hasn't hurt me, and he's done nothing wrong."

"Yes, well, Lucifer did that before consulting me. You know he's always jealous of any… long term affairs that any of you have with anyone outside the family. And he's always been impulsive. I believe he saw you two kissing somewhere public, and couldn't stand it."

They'd been at the beach last week; with Dean all salty and wet from the water, Castiel has tasted it on his lips as they'd kissed. While it had been fairly early in the morning with not many people around, it had been public, and recent.

"You know how it is," Michael shrugs. "But that's not what I came here to talk to you about."

"I don't care what you want to talk to me about," Castiel hisses. "You assaulted Dean, and you won't leave any of us alone. Can't you just leave us be, and go on your way with Lucifer?"

Michael frowns. "We should all be together, Castiel. That's the natural way of things. Lucifer and I think that you should have reconsidered our offer by now. Join us, and we can all be a family again."

"I'd rather not," Castiel says shortly. "Please leave."

Michael doesn't say anything, but he doesn't get up either. "Castiel, you will join Lucifer and I. All of you will. It's simply a matter of time."

"No it isn't," Castiel says. "You hurt Dean. I'm not leaving with you."

Michael snorts. "How long have you known this man? Five months? Less? What is he to you? Nothing. We are your real family."

"Nevertheless, if you hurt Dean again, I will not stop until you are both caught and put to justice," Castiel promises lowly. "Now leave."

Michael must see something in his eyes to convince him that Castiel is serious. He stands up and brushes imaginary dust off his lap. "Very well. But we will be watching, Castiel. Remember that."

Castiel watches as he leaves. He looks down at Dean and sighs heavily.

"What am I going to do?" He asks the quiet room. Unsurprisingly, there's no answer.

That doesn't stop Castiel from feeling alone.

Dean heads back into work the week after Cas' crazy brother had put him in hospital.

He's still trying to digest everything as he does inventory on the shop's stock. Cas had told him everything about his brothers when Dean had woken up the morning after he'd been knocked out. That kind of explained why Cas never talked about his family, and it raised a whole host of other questions that Cas had been willing to answer.

Apparently after their parents had died when Cas had been ten, Michael and Lucifer had already been dabbling in the drug trade. That had escalated quickly after the parental figures in their life disappeared, and soon enough both were working together to manage the entire drug trade of the west of America. They were ruthless and brutal, trusted each other explicitly, and worked together excellently as a team. It made them a deadly combination.

Gabriel had tried to leave when he turned twenty, but Michael had convinced him to stay. However, when he saw that his other siblings were suffering, he arranged a mass exodus, and they went to the police with all that they knew. The two oldest Novak's had had less influence over the rest of them after that. Cas had gone to school with Balthazar to get their degrees, and they had all gone their separate ways, Michael and Lucifer only making sporadic appearances in their lives.

Benny had tried to give him light shifts, but Dean had refused, and he's due to head out in a few minutes. He puts the box down and away, heading out to the main area where Charlie is waiting for him. She'd insisted on taking the main role for tonight, which meant that he just had to stand there and answer any questions that anyone had. The tourist season is at its peak, so there should be lots of people there, which is good.

Charlie smiles at him and leads the way out, down the boardwalk and towards the Plus area. The crowd is smaller than usual tonight, and Dean appreciates the break. That way, when he isn't answering questions, he can spend the time watching the waves, and then the penguins as they make their way up to their burrows for the night. The sun dips below the horizon, and soon they're left in twilight, with just the floodlights from the main area and the stars to see by. Dean thinks that it's more than enough.

He insists that Charlie goes up first, which means that he is the one to stay behind and lock up. All the Plus tourists leave quicker than he's used to, so he gets everything sorted there quicker than normal. He locks up, turning all the lights off and making sure everything's secure before he heads over to his Jeep to drive to Cas' place. Cas is making dinner for them, and while Dean doesn't know what it is, he knows it's going to be good. Cas rarely cooks, cooks, Dean making their food most of the time when they stay at each other's houses for a meal. But when Cas does spend time in the kitchen, he makes it count. Dean's mouth is watering just thinking about it.

He opens the door to Cas' house, taking a deep breath in as he relaxes. He can smell something wonderful coming from the kitchen, and just being here was making him feel good.

"Dean?" Cas calls from the other room. "That you?"

"No, just a burglar," Dean calls back, shrugging off his jacket and laying it over the back of the couch.

"Haha, very funny," Cas says. Dean toes his shoes off and then heads into the kitchen, where Cas is stirring something over the stove. Dean comes up behind him and nuzzles into the back of his neck, wrapping his arms around him loosely.

Cas turns his head for a kiss, and then focuses on the food. Dean watches as he adds a little more salt and then stirs it again. It's some sort of dark sauce, tomato and onion and basil.

"What you cooking?" Dean asks. "Looks good."

"You think any food that you don't have to cook looks good," Cas says with good humour. "It's a sauce to go with our pasta. Now that you're here, I can put that one as well."

Dean lets him go so Cas can pour the boiled water from the jug over the noodles in the pan, clicking the gas stove on. "They shouldn't be long," he says. "We can eat soon."

Dean grabs out some cutlery and plates, watching as Cas hovers over the stove, watching his creations. The domestic nature of their relationship had been settling around them lately, and it's something that Dean can't say he minds.

They settle down to eat the pasta, with Cas smiling when Dean praises it. It's gone soon enough, and they're left to talking about what had happened to them that day.

"And then Jo said 'Cas ate the cookies,' to which I replied strongly that I had not. We eventually realised that Kevin had eaten them all," Cas said, swirling what remained of his water around in his cup before he drank it. "I didn't even get to try one."

Dean smiles at his story. It's good hearing about Jo from someone other than Jo herself.

"I have no idea where you guys get the time to get up to stuff like that," Dean tells him. "At the resort it's just work, work, work."

Cas rolls his eyes. "Maybe that's because you often take the jobs where it's only you?" He asks. "I'm sure the others find mischief during the day while you're out."

"True," Dean muses. "We don't have much time when the Parade is going on, so they must muck up during the day."

"How'd it go today?" Cas asks. Today had been the first time he'd been out with the penguins and the public after being put in hospital.

"It was okay," Dean tells him. "My back is killing me though," he adds unhappily. It's what happens when he spends a few hours standing up when he's not quite used to it. He hadn't been taking many night shifts before his impromptu holiday, and his lack of practise meant that after he'd had a break it was even worse.

Cas frowns, looking worried. "You know, I can help with that if you want."

Dean raises his eyebrows. "What exactly would you suggest?" Whenever he gets a back ache normally, he usually just rubs some anti-inflammatory medicine on it. There isn't much of any type of medicine at Cas' place, but he could wait until he gets home to put some on.

Cas lifts an eyebrow. "I know how to deal with back pain. Anna has showed me some of her tricks, over the years. She told me it was because no one else would give her a back rub, and she wanted to make sure that I could do it properly."

Dean smiles slightly. "And you'd help?" He asks, watching Cas's face. This might be a step too far in Cas' 'take it slow,' although it might also be a step in the right direction. Dean wants as much as Cas would give him.

Cas nods. "If you'd like. Anna is a professional masseuse, you know."

Dean grins at the shorter man. "If you wanted to get me naked you only had to ask, Cas."

Cas lifts an eyebrow and smiles wryly. He goes to dig a bottle out of his cupboard, turning around to see Dean pulling his shirt off.

Dean sees that it's some sort of fancy scented massage oil, but he doesn't complain when Cas turns to the stairs and says, "Follow me."

Dean follows Cas upstairs. "Lie down," Cas tells him, gesturing to his bed. It's a double and looks very Cas with its neat, folded sheets, and a simple geometric pattern on the doona.

"I would tell you to buy me dinner first but you've already done that," Dean jokes as he lays stomach down on top of the covers. He isn't sure what he's expecting but when he turns his head to look at Cas, he sees the other man taking off his shoes, socks, shirt and belt he blinks.

"Taking it a bit fast Cas? You have to tell me when you're going to strip so I can appreciate it." And Dean really, really wants to see the wings completely uncovered.

"Don't be ridiculous," Cas rolls his eyes and throws a leg over Dean, straddling him. Dean yelps and props himself up on his elbows, looking back at Cas.

"What are you doing?" He asks, startled.

"Where did you think I was going to sit?" Cas asks, amusement clear in his voice.

Cas opens the bottle and gets to work evening out any knots he can find in Dean's back. Dean tenses as Cas gently but firmly works out the kinks.

After a while Dean comes out of the pleasant haze he had been experiencing enough to realise that Cas isn't exactly massaging him anymore, and is just running his hands over Dean's back, tracing the contours.

He suddenly becomes very aware of the lithe body above him that is wearing almost no clothes whatsoever, Dean waits until Cas leans down and places a gentle kiss on the top of his neck before twisting and grabbing him. Dean rolls Cas onto his back and settles over him lightly.

Neither of them say anything. Dean locks eyes with Cas before leaning in and pressing their mouths together. Cas lets out a satisfied little sigh beneath him, and kisses him back. Dean keeps the kisses soft at first, pressing up against Cas in a way that seemed like it could be an accident, but definitely isn't. Cas smiles against his mouth, bringing his hands up to rest against Dean's back, pulling him closer. Dean obliges, pushing down on Cas, who doesn't seem to mind.

Tangling their legs together, Dean kisses Cas' cheek and chin before moving down and nipping his throat, biting the skin and then soothing it with kitten licks and kisses. Cas wriggles below him, and Dean smiles, finding a collar bone and sucking on it in earnest. Cas moans, and Dean takes his time, only leaning back when he knows there will be a noticeable bruise there. This isn't the first time they've got to making out like this, but Dean can feel the soft privacy of the bedroom around them, and the whole night ahead of them. He needs to know that Cas is okay with this before anything else happens.

Before he goes any lower, Dean trails a hand over Cas's stomach, looking up at the other man. "Is this alright?" He asks, his voice about as husky as he had expected it to be. He doesn't want to move too fast for Cas, and he's happy to let the other man set the pace. If Cas wants him to back off, then he will.

Cas's eyes are blown, the black of his pupils nearly eclipsing the vibrant blue. He pauses for a second, blinking a few times, and Dean is just getting ready to draw back when Cas nods. "It's fine," he says. Then he frowns and seems to consider what he just said. "It's good." Nodding to himself like he likes that answer better he seems to wait for another moment, but when Dean doesn't move he scowls. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

Letting out a huff of laughter, Dean trails his mouth down Cas' chest, tracing the muscles there with his tongue and tasting the Cas taste that Dean associates with him. It's a mix of that lavender soap he likes, and wind and that taste in the air that you can feel at the back of your throat before a thunderstorm. Dean isn't sure how anyone can pull that off, but Cas manages. Cas brings a hand up to thread through his hair and Dean can't say he minds.

Cas lets out a soft sound as Dean finds one of his nipples at the same time his hands unbuttons his jeans. Laving his tongue over the nipple, Dean feels it pebble and harden in his mouth. Dean grinds his palm down on Cas' erection, smirking when Cas whines and arcs into the touch. Cas helps Dean wriggle him out of his pants, and Dean takes a moment to just look at the naked body beneath him.

"I find it unfair that I'm naked and that you are not," Cas complains, frowning at Dean's clothes.

"Then are you going to do anything about it?" Dean waggles his eyebrows at Cas, who immediately dives for Dean's belt. Within thirty seconds Cas is throwing Dean's jeans away, and Dean finally, finally grinds down against Cas, both of them gasping at the friction. Dean winds his arms around Cas, feeling the long, bare length of him against his skin.

Dean grabs Cas' mouth with his own, and he prods his tongue against Cas's lips, who opens up for him. Setting up a rhythm, Dean ruts against Cas, who is making all types of lovely noises under him. Cas wraps a leg around Dean's waist, giving both of them better access. Dean takes a hand from Cas' hair and wraps a hand around their cocks, giving them a funnel to move through and against each other more easily. Dean rubs his fingers over the head of Cas' leaking dick for some slickness to ease the friction, feeling Cas shiver as he does it. He slides his fingers back around them, now slightly wet, and squeezes them both. Cas groans and Dean hears himself echo it.

Nuzzling into Cas' throat, Dean thrusts down into the tunnel his fingers created, and listens to the light gasps Cas is producing, and the occasional 'Dean,' that lets him know when he'd done something right.

Pressing his forehead against Cas', Dean keeps his eyes open, and Cas, who stares at him constantly anyway, opens his eyes to keep up the eye contact. Gradually their almost frantic grinding slows until they are only rocking against each other.

Dean can feel the need rioting through him, but for the moment this is enough.

"There's supplies in the bedside table," Cas whispers, still not breaking eye contact.

"Cas, we don't have to do that now," Dean tells the smaller man, kissing him lightly.

Dean hears Cas swallow. "I want you to fuck me Dean," Cas tells him, and Dean bucks against him, before kissing him again, not so lightly, pressing his tongue into every corner of Cas' mouth he can reach. Because, wow.

He isn't one to say no to an invitation like that, so he rolls off Cas and rummages through the drawer next to Cas' bed. He finds both a tube of lube and an unopened box of condoms, which he tears open before grabbing one. Cas grabs his thigh and yanks him back on top of him, wrapping a leg around Dean. Dean kisses his way down Cas' body, grazing Cas' ribs and stomach with his teeth, before clicking open the lube and covering his fingers with it.

Getting to Cas' hipbones, Dean decides that they look too clean and perfect. Fixing his mouth over one, he ignores Cas' cock, which is hard and leaking and sliding over his chest in favour of making as many bruises as he can along Cas' hipbones. They flower beautifully, and Dean sucks and bites and works for every one of them. Once he has them there to his satisfaction, he moves his mouth lower.

Putting an open mouthed kiss against the head of Cas' dick, Cas whimpers before shoving his hips upwards. Dean moves down and sucks Cas' cock into his mouth, listening to the sounds Cas is making with satisfaction. Dean bobs up and down a few times, working his tongue on the underside before he pulls off with a pop, hearing Cas' soft sigh above him.

"You ever done this before?" Dean asks lowly.

"Only with myself," Cas admits. He wriggles against Dean when Dean presses his fingers down lower, obviously inviting him in.

Gently, he presses one of his fingers against Cas' hole, feeling the body under him tense up for a second before relaxing. Dean continues sucking as he circles his finger, pressing against the opening before retreating. He does it for a minute before Cas whines above him. When Dean looks up, his head is thrown back and his throat is moving with each heavy breath. "Dean, please," Cas says, and Dean bucks into the bed, Cas' words making heat slide down his spine. "Please, more."

And he can't say no to that. Dean presses his finger inside Cas up to the first joint, trying not to moan as he feels the tight heat take him in. Wriggling around to loosen Cas up, Dean lifts his head, watching Cas squirm down onto his finger, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth. Pressing it in further, Dean slides his finger in and out a few times before pressing two fingers against Cas' opening. Cas stays relaxed, but Dean can see the tension that the other man is carrying across his shoulders, and he waits until that is gone before he starts scissoring his fingers.

Cas is beautiful like this; writhing under his touch, making sounds that are for Dean only. Moving his fingers around, Dean searches for the sweet spot he knows is there. When Cas suddenly gasps and half sits up, shoving himself down on Dean's fingers, he knows had just found it. Letting Cas fuck himself on his fingers, Dean watches as Cas twists and moans, how he's spread out just for Dean's benefit. Adding a third finger, Cas tenses before slowly moving down, clenching his walls. Dean watches Cas' eyelids flutter and how Cas' throat bobs when he swallows as he moves carefully, stretching himself out.

Dean moves his fingers up, scissoring them and watching Cas' reaction. Cas gasps quietly and then moans as Dean continues his movements. Cas' lower lip is red as he chews on it, forehead creased and with his hands gripping the sheets tightly. Dean preps Cas as quickly as he can, moving his fingers, because he wants, and this is taking far too long. He rips open the condom with his teeth and spare hand before rolling it on and slicking up his cock with the lube. He tosses the bottle to the side and eases his fingers out of Cas' ass.

Cas whines and Dean crawls up his body, kissing Cas. Cas wraps his legs around Dean's waist, putting Dean in the best position. Dean grabs a pillow and pushes it under his hips so Cas' back won't cramp up, then locked eyes with Cas again before he presses his cock against Cas' hole.

"Come on, Dean," Cas says, obviously trying to keep his voice level so it doesn't reach whining territory.

"That's one of the goals here Cas, I'm working towards it, don't worry," Dean replies, grinning him. Cas narrows his eyes but doesn't say anything, instead tightening his legs. He's probably decided the best way to shut Dean up is to give him something else to think about, and he's probably right.

Dean takes himself in hand and guides his cock to where they both want it. He slowly breaches the ring of muscles, and Dean fights to not shove himself inside Cas in one go. Instead he gradually eases in until his hips are resting solidly against Cas' ass. Letting out a deep breath, Dean leans his forehead on Cas'. Cas has his eyes closed, and Dean takes the opportunity to study Cas close up while the other man isn't watching him in return. Dean moves down and begins nuzzling just under his jaw, licking the skin there softly. Cas sighs slightly and tilts his head back so that Dean can have better access. Tracing his hands over the man beneath him, he settles them on Cas' waist, ready to move when Cas tells him he can.

After a minute Cas shifts, opening his eyes. Dean lets go of the skin he had in his mouth and surveys his work. Smiling, Dean leans up and looks Cas in the eye. Cas looks completely trusting, and something in Dean balks at that, the look of utter faith in his eyes. He doesn't want Cas to trust him that much. He doesn't deserve anyone's complete trust. Cas frowns slightly, and Dean gently kisses it away.

"It's alright, Dean," Cas whispers, and Dean isn't sure if he's talking about himself and Dean being able to move, or if he's talking about something else, something Dean doesn't want to think about. With a breath, Dean pulls out nearly all the way before pushing back in, achingly slowly. With each repetition he slides and out faster than the one before. Cas begins meeting him thrust for thrust, and taking that as a sign that he could really get into it, Dean begins putting more force behind his movements.

Cas gasps and Dean tries to aim at that spot inside him, which had Cas breathless and moaning.

"Dean," Cas pants, and Dean answers in kind.

"Cas," he grounds out, feeling sweat forming on both of their bodies.

Chasing his orgasm, Dean buries his face in Cas' neck, kissing the skin there, licking and biting and sucking it. Cas' hands come up to scratch at his back, and Dean revels in the feeling as they move together. It takes them a few minutes until they've settled into each other's rhythms, Dean moving in slow, strong movements, grinding up against Cas every times he bottoms out. Cas' breath is loud in his ear, and he makes the occasional soft whimper when Dean moves in a way he particularly likes. Cas' soft sounds gradually turn into louder ones, and he gasps loudly when Dean works a hand in between them to wrap his fingers around his cock.

Dean works through the warning signs coming from his thighs and belly to keep thrusting, seeing Cas' head thrown back so the line of his throat is long and bare, and watching how Cas bites his lip to try to keep in his sounds. Dean leans up to kiss him, wet and sloppy and uncoordinated.

"Relax, Cas," Dean mutters. "You're safe here."

Cas lets out a sigh and then his soft cries are much more frequent. Dean twists his hand sharply, trying to find out what really makes him tick, only to have Cas let out a startled sound as he comes between them, shuddering under him and pulsing out hot strings of come on both their bellies. Dean thrusts two more times before the clenching of Cas' walls pushes him over the edge. Stilling inside Cas and biting down on his shoulder, Dean works through his orgasm, before collapsing on top of him.

Cas is panting slightly, and Dean looks up at him, grinning.

"Not bad," he murmurs into his skin, nuzzling the bite on Cas' neck. Cas huffs out a laugh as they lay there, both content to be in the presence of the other. It's a few minutes before Cas pushes at him lazily.

"Move, you're heavy," he mutters. Dean grins at him languidly before pulling out. Cas lets out a protesting moan, and Dean feels a spike in his gut at seeing Cas' stretched out asshole, even though he's not getting it up again anytime soon. Pulling off the condom, he ties it off and puts on the bedside table alongside the lube.

"Not bad yourself," Cas says softly as he rolls over to face him. Dean takes a tissue from the tissue box on the bedside table and gently wipes up all of his come that had begun to dry over both of them. He throws the tissue aside and slides his hand around to Cas' lower back, bringing him closer so Dean can lean forward and kiss him. Cas smiles softly and kisses him back before turning around so Dean can fit himself into the contours of Cas' back. Dean makes sure that he's as close as he can be, tucked up against Cas and the design along his shoulders before settling in and pulling the covers up over them. Pressing a light kiss to the back of Cas' neck, Dean wraps his arms around the man in front of him, and lets himself drop off to sleep.

Castiel wakes slowly, warm and content. He aches, and it takes him a moment to remember why. He had had sex with Dean. Just the thought of it makes him smile. Thinking of Dean, Castiel cannot feel him against him or in the bed, and recalls that Dean had said he had to go early into work the next day. Rolling over, he squints at the time.

4:55

Deciding that before five o'clock is a ridiculous time to get up, Castiel is sitting up in bed when Dean comes back in with a note in his hand. He's fully dressed and most likely about to leave after putting the note on the bedside table.

"Cas, hey, good morning. I didn't want to wake you up, sorry."

"Well it's too late for that," Castiel grumbles. What he wants to do now he is awake is to pull Dean back in bed and take all of his annoying clothes off again, but he knows Dean has his job to go to.

Sliding out of bed, he shivers and hugs Dean, wrapping his arms around his neck and yawning against the taller man. Dean slides his hands down his back, resting them on Castiel's ass. Shivering for a different reason now, Castiel kisses him, tilting his head up and arcing into Dean's touch. He wants Dean's touch to linger on him, so all the world can see Dean on him. He wonders for a second if everyone feels this way after having sex with someone for the first time, but then Dean slips one hand between his cheeks and prods his hole, clearing most thoughts from his mind. Finding it still open, he works a finger inside. Castiel cries out and opens his legs, knees going weak, panting faintly at the speed which he reacts. Dean kisses him again, working his tongue into his mouth.

Turning Castiel around, Dean presses two fingers inside him, stroking at his insides. Castiel feels the other hand sliding along his hip bone before it dips lower and tightens around his dick. He throws his head back, and Dean takes advantage of the expanse of skin to kiss his neck. Dean pushes him onto the bed, and is crouching over him before Castiel can move.

He pauses, and Castiel is just about to start wondering why when Dean's hand runs over his tattoo. Feeling suddenly exposed, Castiel tenses slightly. Dean must feel it, because he simply kisses his shoulder blades gently before clicking open the lube. He pushes three fingers back into him, cooler and slick now, and Castiel gasps, the feeling of fingers beside his own inside him still unfamiliar.

"I should go," Dean murmurs, before biting down on a shoulder blade. Castiel groans and his dick twitches, sending a spurt of pre-come over Dean's fingers.

"And be sexually frustrated all day?" Castiel asks between his heavy breaths. He can feel Dean hard against him, nudging at his ass.

"True," Dean says, and stands, taking his fingers out. Castiel takes in a shaky breath and tries to fight down his disappointment, but then he hears a zipper being undone and his bedside table drawer being opened. There's crinkle of plastic and then Dean is back on top of him, still fully dressed with his pants undone just enough to give him access.

The rubber of the condom nudges against Castiel's, and Dean bites down on another patch of skin, this time on his back.

"You like marking," Castiel says shakily, and Dean hums his agreement, pushing in. Castiel gasps, arcing back against the touch. Dean sets a pace that doesn't let up, fast and fierce, in opposition to what he'd been like last night. Castiel moans when he comes all over his bed, getting the already dirty sheets filthier. He falls down into his mess and Dean comes a few thrusts later. Castiel listens to his rough breathing and tries to steady his own.

"Just an apology for getting you up early," Dean murmurs, standing up and turning Castiel over. Leaning over him, Dean once more tries to map out the deepest areas of his mouth and down his throat with his tongue. Dean leans back, pulling the condom off and tying it off before putting it in the bin in the corner. Tucking his cock back in his pants after he's wiped it off, Dean zips his pants back up.

"You can wake me up early anytime," Castiel says shakily.

Dean smiles, leaning down to kiss him lightly. "I'll call you when I get off, okay?"

Castiel nods, and watches Dean leave.

It feels like his heart is beating unsteadily, even though it's not. Dean has that effect on him, apparently, whether he's laughing at his own joke on top of a hill while they're on a picnic, or after having sex. Castiel goes and showers, before he strips his bed and puts the sheets in his washing machine. He eats a larger bowl of cereal than he normally would, hungry after the exercise.

Watching the sun rise, Castiel wonders what Dean is doing now, if he was late for work because he was fucking Castiel. The thought makes a smile form on his face, and he walks around the house naked, not wanting the feeling of Dean's mouth and Dean's hands and Dean's cock to fade just yet.

The sun is coming through his bedroom windows when he goes up there to replace his sheets. Catching sight of himself in the mirror, Castiel pauses. His upper chest and neck are covered in bite marks and hickeys. There are older ones that were put there last night and ones that were put there an hour ago. The bruises stampede over his hipbones, deep colours on both sides of his body. Turning, he looks at his back. The marks that Dean made this morning are just starting to come up, hovering over his wings, which Dean hasn't touched. He stares at them for a longer than he should, remembering how Dean had avoided his wings after Cas had tensed up when he'd brushed against them. It makes his throat close up slightly.

He has to go in to work today, no matter how much he wants to linger over what had happened last night. And this morning, he muses to himself.

He reluctantly gets dressed and gets ready to go in. He's wearing a shirt with a collar, but he still feels like anyone can see the marks that Dean had left on his skin.

Castiel gathers his work supplies. Putting them into his car, he stops off at the café and grabs some coffee. It still isn't as good as the ones Gabriel makes, and Castiel resigns himself to the substandard coffee. It's still the best he's found on the island, so he has to deal with it. One of the downsides to living in a small community.

He's going through some paper work when his phone buzzes. When he looks at it, it's a text from Jo.

some guy just came in asking about you. he says that you know him, what should I do? (10:51am)

Castiel narrows his eyes at the message suspiciously.

Tell him where I am. (10:52am)

Whoever this mystery man is, Castiel will deal with him. His colleagues are only a shout away if it's someone unsavoury, but if it is, he doesn't want Jo to get in trouble, especially if it's someone from Michael and Lucifer. He can take care of himself, most of the time.

Sorting through the papers on his desk with his back to the door, Castiel doesn't immediately turn around to see who the person coming in is. However, when he hears a familiar voice, he spins around.

"Castiel!"

Castiel swings around. "Gabriel?" He asks in disbelief.

"Hey little bro," Gabriel chimes, seating himself in the other chair in Castiel's office.

Castiel shakes his head slowly. "I hope you're not here to waste my time, Gabriel. I have a job, as you can see."

Gabriel pouts at him. "Even when I came all this way just to see you?"

"Even when you came all this way just to see me."

Gabriel snorts. "You haven't changed a bit, Cassie."

"Neither have you."

"And that's a good thing," Gabriel says before he winks at Castiel.

Castiel rolls his eyes. "What are you doing here Gabriel?"

"Can't someone drop in and see his little brother?" When Castiel doesn't answer Gabriel shakes his head. "You need to be a little more trusting Castiel."

"Michael and Lucifer turned up last week and threatened myself and my partner, trying to get me back into the fold. I do not know if you have folded under their pressure and are here to try and persuade me."

Gabriel leans forward, a worried expression on his face. "Michael and Lucifer were here?"

Castiel nods. Gabriel bites his bottom lip. "I didn't know Castiel, honest. Fuck, they probably knew I was flying over and are probably going to corner me while I'm here."

"Probably."

"Wait a second… Did you say partner?"

Castiel blushes, he can feel the blood staining his cheeks. "Yes."

Gabriel leans over and pulls down his collar. Seeing the bruises there, he leans back and grins. "Finally getting some action are we?"

Castiel purses his lips and says nothing.

"And from the way you're sitting, you went all out didn't you?"

Castiel looks at the ceiling, hoping this would end sooner rather than later. Gabriel specialises in reading people's body language and movements. He can also control his own, which is why Castiel only trusts him as far as he can throw him. Sometimes he would seek work at hospitals or counselling facilities, but what he really liked doing was serving advice with his ridiculously good coffee. He would read people's body language and tell them something he thought would help when they collected their order. Gabriel claimed that he only did it because he liked seeing how it freaked people out, but Castiel knew he liked helping people, albeit in roundabout, unorthodox ways.

"So how's the coffee here?"

"Horrible," Castiel tells his older brother.

"Hmm," Gabriel hums.

"Gabriel," Castiel starts, a warning note in his voice.

"Yeah?" Gabriel asks far too innocently.

"You are not starting a coffee shop here."

"Why not? We'd be together, I'd get to meet your mystery man since you'd probably hide him from me if I was only staying temporarily, you think this place is good, otherwise you wouldn't have moved here, there's only shit coffee so people would flock to my shop, we could band together against our crazy big brothers… I'm seeing no downsides here."

"I'm seeing the downside where I have to deal with you."

"Aww, Castiel, you hurt my feelings! Is me being here so terrible?"

Castiel cannot help the smile that comes over his face. It truly is not that bad to have Gabriel around, as long as you don't have to spend long periods of time around him.

"See! I'm not that bad."

"I still don't see why you would want to come down here."

Gabriel's smile drops. "Michael and Lucifer were here, probably still are here. Anna is looking to buy and Samandriel already has a flat in Melbourne he's going to be living in for the foreseeable future; Balthazar's moving in with him until he can find a place of his own. Our eldest siblings have been using increasing force to get us to come back into the business. So we're going to band together and make sure the message gets across that we're not going back, okay?"

Castiel sighs. "I've spent the last year trying to get away from reminders of our family. And you're going to bring them all down here?"

Gabriel nods, face serious. "This is where you picked, bro. We were pretty sure that you weren't going to be inclined to move after you spent so much time searching for your perfect place to live."

"Well you guessed right. I'm not moving."

"And that has nothing to do with your mystery man, right?" Gabriel smirks, leaning in closer. "Tell me about him. Is he short or tall? What colour is his eyes? How did you meet?"

"I'm not telling you anything about Dean, Gabriel."

"So his name is Dean! Meh, he could have had a better name."

"I happen to like his name just fine," Castiel says. He can feel himself blushing.

"Aww, little brother's got it bad," Gabriel coos. "How sweet."

"Shut up," Castiel mutters, but he doesn't put much effort into it. If he's going to put up with his brother, he's going to have to put up with his teasing as well. "I'll introduce you to Dean soon enough. Have you looked at any houses or potential cafés yet?"

Gabriel shrugs and leans back in the chair. "I'll find something. Isn't your house massive? Can't I crash for a while there?"

Castiel sighs to himself. "Is that the real reason why you wanted to come and talk to me?" He asks his older brother.

"Course not," Gabriel scoffs. "But while I'm here, it doesn't hurt to ask, does it?"

Castiel looks at him for a few seconds before resisting the urge to throw his hands up in the air. "Very well. Until you find your own place."

Gabriel crows in delight, and Castiel finds himself caught up in a hug. He wraps his owns arms around Gabriel, breathing in his scent and finding comfort in it. It's been too long since he's seen him.

"Awesome," Gabriel says. "When do you get off here?"

"Five," Castiel replies.

"Hmm," Gabriel hums. "So… Can I borrow your keys and poke around your house? Please? I've got nothing better to do."

Castiel raises an eyebrow. "As long as you unpack all your things before I get home. I do not want to be tripping over boxes in the middle of the night."

"Of course," Gabriel promises solemnly. "I would never."

Castiel huffs slightly, but he still reaches down to fish his keys out of his bag. "Here. You know the address already?"

"Yeah," Gabriel tells him. "Thanks, Cassie."

"You're welcome," Castiel replies. "Now leave. I have actual work to be doing."

Gabriel snorts. "If you say so. Toodles!"

Castiel shakes his head as his brother leaves. It's very like Gabriel to just show up out of the blue, but he's going to need to think over some of the things that his brother told him.

Those thoughts are still running through his head when he's hiding food around the penguin habitat later that day. At the moment there's only one penguin in there, which is both good and bad. She doesn't have any company, but on the other hand, having no penguins means that there aren't any injured penguins that need help.

"How are they all doing?"

Castiel startles as a hand comes down to rest on his shoulder. When he looks up Dean is smiling at him softly.

"We've only got one currently," Castiel replies. He stands up and accepts Dean's kiss, savouring the casualness of it.

"Well, that's good, isn't it?"

"Yes," Castiel says. "It is."

He leads Dean out of the room and into the observation area. He presses the switch that unlocks the door between there and the penguins burrow, even though he doesn't expect the young female to come out just yet. It's still too early in the day.

"What are you doing here?" Castiel asks him quietly. Dean wraps an arm around his waist and tugs him closer as they watch the empty habitat.

"Got off early," Dean says. "Benny's still insisting that I should take a break after your brother ambushed me. He's taking the passive aggressive approach: making sure that I don't have any of the night shifts."

Castiel winces at the reminder of what Lucifer did. "Well, it means that you have more free time," he comments.

"Yeah, but I don't get to go and see the Parade unless I specifically go down there for it, and I think that spending time at your workplace when you don't have to is just a bit sad, even if you do love said workplace."

"Fair enough," Castiel replies. "Speaking of my family…"

"What did they do now?" Dean asks, voice going low and angry. Castiel rolls his eyes.

"My third oldest brother, Gabriel came by this morning." Castiel takes a deep breath in. "He's moving down here as well. I agreed to let him stay at home until he's found wherever he wants to buy."

Dean pulls back a little to look at him, eyes wide and concerned. "Are you sure that this Gabriel isn't with your other two brothers?"

"I'm sure," Castiel says. "He would be the last of us to go back over to them. He actually knows what they did in the past. I probably know the least, because they all tried to shield me from it, but Gabriel knows everything. He wouldn't go back to them, trust me on that."

"If you say so," Dean mutters. "But I want to meet him."

"I'm sure you will," Castiel says. "You trust me, though, don't you? I wouldn't let Gabriel stay with me unless I knew for certain that he's not up to anything."

There's a pause. Castiel turns to look at Dean. He knows that Dean has issues trusting, but if they're going to work, the trust that Castiel has for Dean has to go both ways.

"Yeah," Dean says eventually. He lets out a long sigh. "I do trust you, Cas. But I still worry."

"Of course you do," Castiel replies softly. He moves to take Dean's hand. Dean squeezes it gently and Castiel smiles at him. "And I worry about you. That's normal. I'm just saying that Gabriel's fine. He might be annoying sometimes, but what sibling isn't?"

"True," Dean agrees. "You got much more to do here before you can go?"

"Just have to check up on our guest," Castiel says, tilting his head towards the specially designed habitat. "If she doesn't come out, I'll just look in on her from the burrow view."

"It's nearly sunset," Dean says. "Winter's coming. Days are getting a lot shorter. Or at least they are until daylight savings come in, but that's not for a month or two."

"Hmm." Castiel slides an arm around him and leans into Dean. "And I have to check with Jo to see what else needs doing around here. I don't know how we would all function without her, honestly."

"I know how that feels," Dean laughs. "She really is indispensable. Like Charlie. I don't know what I'd do with myself if she wasn't around."

Castiel nods. "Yes. Come on, I don't think she's going to come out yet." He breaks away from Dean to head around to where the small window for the burrow is. Dean follows him quietly, not talking while Castiel makes notes on his clipboard. Dean comes up to look at the penguin, who is nestled in the burrow and is sound asleep.

Castiel puts the clipboard down on the shelf allocated to the penguins kept in the enclosure. "Hopefully we can release her in a week or so. I just need to watch her walking around so I can make sure that her leg has healed properly."

"And then you won't have any patients to care for," Dean says.

"Yes, but that's something we hope for." Castiel shuts the door behind them and continues on to Jo's desk. "Unfortunately, it's something we rarely get. I'm sure we'll have new patients soon."

"Hey," Jo says. "Dean, what are you doing here?"

"Benny keeps putting me on early duty," Dean mumbles.

"Well, he's probably right," Jo replies. She shakes her head. "You shouldn't be back at work."

"I'm fine," Dean says.

"Of course," Jo and Castiel say at the same time. They smile at each other when Dean huffs.

"I'm glad to know that you two are on my side."

"You should have just taken more time off after you got out of hospital, just to make him happy."

"I'm considering doing it just to get him off my back, honestly," Dean mutters.

"He just cares about you," Castiel says. "Now, Jo, is there anything else that you need help with before I go?"

Jo sighs and turns back to her computer. "A few things, but they can wait until tomorrow. Go and keep that one busy, or he'll start pestering me." The ways that she says it lets Castiel know that Jo wouldn't mind, but that she is worried.

"I'll look after him," Castiel tells her.

"Thanks," she says. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

Castiel nods. "Stay here for a second, will you?" He asks. Dean nods.

Castiel goes back to his office and shuts down his computer. He grabs his bag and closes the door behind him, heading back out to the main area. There he extracts Dean from Jo's conversation, herding him out the door while promises of texts are thrown back and forth.

"I want some time with you," Castiel tells him in response to Dean's mumbled 'why couldn't we stay?'

Dean stops in the middle of the car park to kiss him, running a hand through his hair and probably messing it up even further than what it had been. "You only had to say so," he replies.

Castiel parks in his driveway and Dean parks his Jeep on the road. There's a red Chevy opposite the house, and Castiel is going to guess that it's Gabriel's car.

"Your brother here?" Dean asks him, shoving his keys in his pocket.

"Yes," Castiel says. "Gabriel?" He calls when he opens the door.

"Yes?" Gabriel replies, sticking his head out over the bannister. "Oh, is this your boy toy?"

He comes down the stairs while Dean splutters.

"I don't know what Cas has told you about us," he starts.

"Oh, Cassie hardly told me anything, I had to figure out the juicy parts for myself. You must be Dean." Gabriel narrows his eyes at Dean. Dean narrows his back. Castiel fights the urge to ask if they're still in primary school.

"Dean, this is Gabriel. Gabriel, this is Dean. Play nice with each other, and I'm sure we can all get along."

"You know I can," Gabriel says, waving a hand around nonchalantly. "However, I can't control his behaviour."

"Dean is perfectly capable of being nice," Castiel says.

"Yeah, I can," Dean says. "But don't push it."

Gabriel looks Dean up and down slowly, clearly measuring him up. "Hmph," Gabriel huffs. "Well, you could have done worse," he tells Castiel, who resists the urge to sigh.

"Cas seems to think I'm a pretty good catch," Dean says. He doesn't fold his arms, but Castiel sees him clench his jaw before forcing himself to relax.

"So he does," Gabriel muses. "So, are there going to be many 'adult' sleepovers I'm going to have to put up with?" He puts the 'adult' in visible quotation marks by flicking his fingers around the words.

"Gabriel," Castiel rebukes. "Don't make me regret telling you that you could crash here."

"I'd never dream of it," Gabriel says blithely. "I was just asking." He turns and walks up the stairs, probably towards the spare bedroom where he'd put his things. "You two have fun, and use protection!"

Dean watches him disappear with a confused sort of annoyance. "That's Gabriel," Castiel says, letting out a deep breath.

"Apparently," Dean says, letting out an amused huff.

"Family's family," Castiel replies, and Dean nods. Castiel knows that he can understand that.

And his family's coming to town. Castiel purses his mouth as he thinks about what Gabriel had told him. Whether he's ready or not, things were coming to a head.

March

Castiel stands in the small corner shop that Gabriel had bought, holding the end of a measuring tape as his brother tries to measure out the length for the shelves he wants to put on the wall.

"Hold it against the wall," Gabriel tells him, squinting at the faint pencil marks he'd put on the wall.

"I am, Gabriel," Castiel says, slightly amused, but mostly annoyed. Gabriel had already told him that twice.

Gabriel huffs and makes a deliberate mark on the wall. "Okay. I think I got it."

"Now you just need to find shelves that fit," Castiel says.

"I'll find something," Gabriel tells him confidently. Castiel rolls his eyes – he didn't doubt that he would be brought along for those trips as well.

"The rest of the place is coming along," Castiel comments. Gabriel had bought a small corner shop in Cowes that had been vacant for as long as Castiel had been living on Philip Island. He had cleaned out the whole place, installed everything behind the counter that would let him make coffee, and had bought a few tables and chairs for the small room where customers could sit down.

"I still need some shelves, and some arty things to hand around, and some tables for outside," Gabriel sighs. "Starting from scratch is so annoying."

"You'll get everything together," Castiel tells him. "Do you have any applications for baristas yet?"

"Three," Gabriel sighs. "I only put the notice out yesterday, and I was going to read through them tonight. I think I need four or five people if I don't want to hire someone full time."

"I told you, offer at least one full time position," Castiel says. "It will make things easier."

"Maybe you're right," Gabriel says. "I'll look into it. I want at least one day off," Gabriel tells him. "I was thinking Friday."

"And that has nothing to do with the fact that I have Fridays off and Dean doesn't?" Castiel asks him, raising an eyebrow at him.

"I am wounded by your accusations," Gabriel gasps, completely over the top. "How could you insinuate such a thing?"

Gabriel and Dean had adopted an uneasy relationship. They both had the connection of Castiel, but Castiel thinks that without it they would have both been glad to go their separate ways. Dean doesn't like how Gabriel seemingly doesn't take anything seriously, how he seemed to mock Castiel and Dean and how he is focusing on his shop instead of finding an apartment to move out to. Gabriel doesn't like how Dean takes up Castiel's time, thought that his job isn't exactly impressive, and how he doesn't have any family to speak of. Castiel also thinks that it has something to do with Dean sleeping with him, but that is just a suspicion, while he is fairly certain of the others.

The fact of the matter was that Gabriel and Dean don't like each other much, and put up with the other only because of Castiel. He had tried to bridge the gap between them several times, but progress is exceedingly slow. They had become reluctant friends, and Castiel thinks that that was as far as they would come for a while. Trust comes slowly for both of them, and both of them have good reasons for that. Dean has long standing issues with his brother (and father, Castiel thinks, but Dean had said nothing of that yet), and Gabriel had spent ten years seeing the terrible side of humanity with Michael and Lucifer.

"I just think that you and Dean could get along better," Castiel says mildly.

Gabriel huffs. "If I take my day off on his day off, then I'm getting in his way. And even if we do spend time together – and that's a big if – it would be weird. He doesn't like me, Castiel."

"He doesn't like you because you try to push him away on purpose," Castiel tells him. "You need to open up."

"Like he's so easy to read," Gabriel says, a hint of annoyance creeping into his voice.

Castiel frowns and looks at him. "What?"

Gabriel grimaces. "He's hard to read."

Castiel tilts his head. "You can't read him?"

Castiel had never come across anyone that Gabriel couldn't read. Maybe Castiel had just found the real reason Gabriel was uneasy around Dean.

"Wow," Castiel says, covering his mouth and widening his eyes so he looks shocked. "You mean you have to get to know him? Like a normal person? However will you cope?"

"Oh, shut up," Gabriel grumbles. "I'm not used to it."

"Why?" Castiel asks, dropping his hand. "What is it about him?"

"He acts in ways that are clearly opposite to what he's thinking," Gabriel scowls. "Anyone could tell what he means, but his body is doing something totally different? It weirds me out."

Castiel rolls his eyes. "Well, you need to get over it. Dean is a good person."

"You just say that because he's boning you," Gabriel mutters quietly. Castiel raises an eyebrow, which Gabriel conveniently doesn't see.

"You bring up that all the time," Castiel observes. "Dean thinks it's because you need to 'get laid,' as he puts it."

"I could have anyone I wanted," Gabriel tells him. "No one can resist my charms. Now help me clean up in the back room, it's filthy."

It is. Castiel grabs a cloth to start wiping the dust of things while Gabriel sets determinedly to the back window.

It's nearly been an hour of wiping, and Castiel has only cleaned off the surfaces of the tabletops and Gabriel had gotten the window mostly clean again and is working on trying to get it to open when his phone buzzes in his pocket.

gabe got you slaving away at his shop? (12:19pm)

Castiel smiles at his phone.

Yes, I'm at the coffee shop. You? (12:22pm)

patrolling. found a fireplace w some trash around it. called jody she said she saw a similar one on the other side of the island last week. annoying (12:24pm)

You shouldn't be texting and driving. (12:24pm)

made the executive decision that im on my lunch break (12: 25pm)

"Your boy toy texting you?" Gabriel asks.

"Yeah," Castiel says.

"You should be wiping," Gabriel tells him, nodding at the cloth in front of him.

Gabriel is telling me to get back to work. (12:27pm)

tell him he has to pay you if he wants to boss you aroudn (12:28pm)

Castiel smiles at the typo.

He would probably just tell me that since he's my older brother he can boss me around. (12:28pm)

dont take that hell keep using it (12:29pm)

"You want to take a break?" Gabriel asks.

Castiel rolls his eyes at his brother. "Gabriel, I'm helping you out because I love you. Don't push it."

Gabriel mumbles something to himself as Castiel moves out to the main room, fingers pressing the buttons needed to call Dean.

April

Cas turns over in the bed next to him and Dean lets out a breath, reluctantly surrendering his grip on sleep. He cracks an eye open to look at the clock, which informs him of the too early time. The sun hasn't risen yet, and Cas is still asleep, but close to waking if the turning is any indication.

Dean buries his head in the back of Cas' neck and closes his eyes again. It's the one day that they have off together, and he'd like to spend some time sleeping in with Cas next to him, peacefully resting.

He opens his eyes after a few minutes, unwillingly admitting that sleep had left him. He's too used to getting up at the time every morning to be able to sleep in much past it. There's a tinge of pink over the sea that Dean takes to mean that the sun is about to rise. He'll get up, make some breakfast, annoy Gabriel a bit until he leaves for the café, and then spend as much time as he wants with Cas.

They had settled into a pattern, and it was good. Stable, which is not something Dean thought himself capable of, even a year ago. He couldn't let go of things, and dismissed other important stuff, which led to most of the people he had had a relationship with tearing their hair out because of him. But with Cas, he could do it. Rather, he made the effort, and Cas made the effort, and somehow it all worked out between them. Dean is still trying to figure that part out, but he's sure that he and Cas will find a way to keep up everything that they've found in each other. As long as they're willing to try, Dean is sure that nothing can keep them apart. They've got this.

Dean rolls his shoulders in a slight stretch and then shuffles forward so he can touch his nose to the back of Cas' neck. Cas moves slightly at the touch and takes a deeper breath in, so Dean knows that he's awake, however grudgingly. He rubs his morning stubble over the bare skin of Cas' back and smiles as Cas lets out a soft rumble.

"Why are you awake?" Cas complains drowsily, reaching back to run a hand down Dean's thigh.

"This is when I normally wake up," Dean says back softly.

"And that means that you can wake me up?" Cas asks, annoyance in his tone.

Cas is not a morning person.

"Ahh, it's not that bad, is it angel?" Dean asks quietly moving to drape an arm over Cas. "You get to spend even more time with me."

"I'd rather spend it sleeping," Cas says grumpily, but he still shivers when Dean kisses his skin lightly.

"Sleeping?" Dean asks, amused. "Are you sure?"

Cas growls at him when he takes his mouth away so Dean slowly maps out his back, touching the top of Cas' wings with his hands and following them with his lips.

Cas makes a soft sound and Dean treasures it. He lightly traces his mouth over the feathers, taking his time to touch every one he can get his mouth on.

"Cas…" Dean says softly, pausing as he realises something. "You never told me why you got this." He smooths his hand over the feathers, as if it were unclear what he was talking about.

Dean watches as Cas tenses up. "It's ridiculous," Cas eventually mutters, and Dean lowers his eye brows in confusion. It's not like Cas to brush off something, when Dean asks directly. Maybe he had been avoiding talking about his tattoo for a reason. "It doesn't matter." At that, Dean grits his teeth. He can tell that Cas has been rebuffed about this in the past, but by who, he isn't sure.

"So? It's something about you. It matters. You're not ridiculous, Cas." Dean reassures him softly. Cas curls up into himself and Dean scoots over, putting a hand on his lower back. "Nothing you can say will change that."

Cas doesn't speak for another few minutes, and Dean eventually moves, wrapping him up in his arms and tugging him backwards so that Cas is lying on his chest. Cas' sheets are cool, and Dean looks out the window as Cas buries his head under his chin, out to sea. The sun is just starting to peek above the horizon, and Dean can just begin to see the shadows of the waves coming up to the beach, lapping at the sand peacefully.

"You don't have to tell me," Dean whispers. He would have thought that Cas had gone back to sleep from the time that's passed, but Cas is taught, trembling slightly. He runs a hand down his back, and almost imagines that he can feel the feathers against his palm.

Cas lets out a long shuddering breath. "I always wanted them, ever since I was small. I remember looking at some of the tattoos of the men that Michael and Lucifer were with, and thinking that I wanted one. Gabriel told me that I could have some when I was older, but Anna told me that only silly people got tattoos, because you couldn't know what you would like in a few years. Which was fair enough, I thought then, but I had always wanted…"

Cas trails off and Dean kisses the back of his neck softly.

Cas sighs. "I remember wanting to fly, above the clouds, above the city. Sometimes I almost felt that I had wings, like they were just there, and then gone."

He rolls over so that he's on his back, and Dean tries not to miss the ink under his fingers as it's hidden.

"It upset me, when I was small. That they weren't there."

Cas is very carefully not looking at him, face blank. Dean feels a swell of happiness, that Cas trusts him with this.

"Sounds rough," he comments lowly, trying to gauge Cas' reaction.

Cas huffs out a laugh harshly. "Yeah. Anna told me that I was being ridiculous when I told her about it. She told me that we were just human, and that I shouldn't go on as if I wasn't." Cas turns his face from Dean to look out his large window. "It's why I like flying in planes so much. And birds. I love birds." He sighs heavily, and Dean leans up to catch the emotion going through his eyes.

"It was the first thing that I did, as soon as Balthazar and I landed in England. We were away from Michael and Lucifer's influence, really away from it, for the first time, and well. We both went a bit wild with it. He went to the first bar that he could find, while I looked for the best tattoo shop in London and made a booking." Cas shrugs. "Getting it felt like… freedom. I don't know. Free from my brothers, free from what Anna thought, just… Free."

"I dunno, that sounds like a perfectly reasonable explanation for that tattoo, if you ask me," Dean tells him, when it's clear that Cas isn't going to say anything else. "Just because Anna doesn't get it doesn't mean that you have to keep it to yourself." Even if Dean doesn't get it, really. But he can trust Cas, like Cas had trusted him with this. And if Cas says he feels that way, then who is Dean to argue with him?

Cas is very still for a few more seconds before he turns his head to look at Dean. "Really?"

"Yeah," Dean shrugs. "It's your body, you know. If you want to get wings, then why not?"

Cas turns back to look out the window, and Dean can see him smiling softly. He waits for another few seconds before he reaches over to clasp Cas' hand.

They watch the sun rise together.

"You need to keep your balance, Cas," Dean calls out over the waves. Cas had ended up in the water away from his board for probably the tenth time after he had tried to catch a wave, and failed to do so.

"I would probably have a better chance of doing so if I wasn't shivering so hard!" Cas calls back.

"We can head back in if you want to," Dean says, paddling over to where Cas had ended up. The waves are bobbing them both about in the water, so it takes him a second to catch a hold of Cas' board. "The water is pretty cold. This is probably the last time I'd recommend coming out without a full wetsuit on."

Dean has his wetsuit on, but Cas is just wearing his cozzies, as Dean's hadn't fitted him. If it had, he would have given it to Cas. Cas' lips are slightly blue, and Dean can see his hands shivering from a metre away.

"No," Cas tries to say. "I can try again." He sounds completely determined, and Dean knows that if he doesn't push, Cas will stay out here for longer than he should.

"No, we're going in," Dean tells him. "You're too cold. I don't need Gabriel going off at me because you caught pneumonia under my watch."

"Would you two have no regards for my health?" Cas tries to joke.

"Well we'd both be in the hospital with you," Dean says as he turns their boards for the shore. "We'd just be arguing over your hospital bed."

Cas laughs at him as they come up to the sandy shore. "That doesn't excuse you," he says as they get out. There are a few families on the beach, some kids digging holes in the sand and others playing catch me if you can with the waves. The nearby adults watch them with fond amusement, talking and eating on the higher parts of the beach.

"You are cold," Dean says, more sombre now that he can see Cas shaking out of the water. "Come on."

They walk up the hill towards the car park and the Jeep. Cas tries to protest when Dean strips his rash vest off him, but welcomes the towel that Dean gives him gratefully.

Dean towels the boards off and slides them onto the roof of the Jeep before undoing the top of his wetsuit so he can start to dry off. Cas is leaning against the side of the Jeep and watching him, and he gets into the Jeep when Dean opens the door for him.

They arrive at Dean's place just under an hour later. Cas looks like he's warmed up since then, but Dean still tells him to go and have a shower.

Cas refuses, and helps him bring the boards and their gear inside instead. Dean silently curses his stubbornness as he demands to learn how to clean the boards properly.

An hour and a half after they get back, Dean pulls Cas into the bathroom with him. He pushes Cas' board shorts off and strips out his swimmers as well. Cas has already started the shower by the time Dean's naked, but it isn't hot enough to jump into yet, so Dean leans up against him, pressing his forehead to the back of his neck and wrapping his arms around him loosely.

"I see now why you didn't want to shower," Dean mumbles against his skin. "You don't have to try that hard to get laid, Cas. Just gotta ask."

Cas snorts and steps in, pulling Dean with him. "I didn't want to leave you to clean up," he says. Dean pushes his head under the water for a few seconds before grabbing the shampoo at the bottom of the stall. He rubs it into his own hair and then Cas', who smiles and then throws a soap ball at him.

Dean jumps slightly and then reaches towards him to pull them together. "Rude," Dean says lowly, rubbing them together.

Cas groans slightly at the contact. "Dean, remember we said no shower sex after what happened last time."

"We should try again, just to make sure it wasn't a onetime thing," Dean murmurs as he nibbles at Cas' neck.

"Well, my head would rather not repeat the experience it went through," Cas reprimands him, although Dean can tell that while his head might be disagreeing, certain other parts of Cas' anatomy are definitely not.

"Just gotta warm you up a bit, angel," Dean laughs as their lips find each other.

"You do plenty of that," Cas tells him, gasping when Dean reaches down to wrap a hand around his cock.

The soap makes things nice and slippery, and Cas lazily reaches down to return the favour as Dean jerks him off. Cas' nimble fingers drive him crazy every time they get around him, Cas keeping a light touch because he knows it drives him to distraction.

The shampoo gets everywhere and Cas nearly slips on the tiles by the time they both come. Dean gets all of them both rinsed off, Cas just hanging onto him limply, eyes closed and looking blissed out.

"Geez, Novak, I know I'm good but you're gonna trip us over."

Cas makes a sound of protest but stands up under his own steam. Dean dries off and heads into the kitchen, digging around in his cupboards to find something edible. Cas comes out and flops down on his couch, not even bothering to flick the TV on.

"Do you want anything particular for lunch?" Dean asks.

He gets a muffled 'humph,' in return. He decides that Cas doesn't mind, and digs out some meat from the fridge so he can fry it into patties.

When Dean comes into the lounge room with two plates with homemade burgers on them, Cas is snoring on the couch. Dean smiles at him and puts the plates down.

"Cas," he says quietly, leaning down and kissing his forehead. "I made lunch."

Cas lets out a sigh and opens his eyes. "I suppose I was more tired than I thought," he mutters, making Dean laugh.

"Well, surfing and swimming does take it out of you. Food after swimming is always a good idea."

He's right. Cas devours his burger, mumbling compliments around it.

Dean huffs out a laugh. It's a good day.

Castiel goes to meet with all of his non gang affiliated siblings the weekend that Samandriel flies in. Gabriel drives them into Melbourne in his cherry red Chevy, and they drive by Anna's place on the way.

Castiel had already seen his twin when they had picked her up from the airport, but that had been a week and a half ago, and he's happy to see her again.

"Have you sorted out a phone yet?" Castiel asks her.

"Yeah," Anna says. Castiel grabs it off her and puts his number in, calling the contact 'Number 1 Brother.' Anna laughs when she sees it, and makes no move to change the contact name as she puts her phone away.

Anna tells him about her efforts to find a place to work that isn't on the street catering to tourists while Gabriel drives. Castiel smiles at her storytelling skills, and even Gabriel huffs at certain points in her narrative.

Balthazar had picked the place, and Castiel isn't really surprised to find that it's an upscale restaurant. He lifts an eyebrow when he sees that it specialises in Spanish food, but he isn't complaining, just curious. Balthazar had hated most of the food they had eaten when they were in Spain.

His siblings don't seem to think anything is out of the ordinary, but Castiel follows them in more carefully.

The waiter leads them upstairs when they mention Balthazar's name. Castiel's lurking fear is banished when he sees his two brothers sitting next to each other, Balthazar with a glass already in his hand. Castiel tries not to shake his head at it. Although Balthazar might have disliked the food, he had been particularly impartial to the alcohol in Spain.

Castiel sits down opposite from Balthazar, between Anna and Gabriel, as Balthazar and Samandriel greet them.

The ease that they usually find together descends on them as they all slip into their family roles. Balthazar and Gabriel tease each other, and then turn their attention on their siblings. Castiel and Anna talk quietly with each other, Castiel asking about Anna's last relationship, to which she says they had ended it when Anna had moved to Australia.

"Long distance never works," she sighs.

Castiel feels a pang of guilt. "You shouldn't have come," he tells her, brushing their legs together under the table, trying to comfort her.

Anna shrugs. "Well, I was missing you anyways. I'm just surprised that we actually did make it here."

They stay silent for a few seconds as both think about their oldest brothers. "They probably want to know where we all are," Castiel says slowly. "Just so they can plan their moves."

"Or it's to corral us," Anna shivers. Castiel tries not frown, and he reaches out to take Anna's hand.

"Hey. You can't start thinking about that."

"You're right," Anna sighs. "Paranoia will get us nowhere."

"Some is useful," Castiel says, thinking about Dean. He'd gotten a new lock for his house, and he locked it after leaving every time he left home now. It made Castiel feel safer at the same time he felt a pang in his chest for making his partner have to make the adjustments in the first place. Dean had told him that he shouldn't worry about it, but he did. He worried a lot about it.

Was he putting Dean in danger by being with him? Would he forever be putting the person he wanted to be with in danger because his brothers are insane? Castiel looks around the group of people and sees what they're not saying. How Gabriel's jokes cover the worry in his eyes. How Samandriel's compulsive orderliness was because of how he'd been raised, how he had made sure all the money was there in the covert accounts when people said it was, the neatness necessary because of the punishment for any mistakes. How the glass of wine that never seems to be empty in Balthazar's hand showed clearly how he'd chosen to deal with things.

Anna squeezes his hand and Castiel looks at her gratefully. His twin stabilises him when he gets too introspective. Anna had always been the more outgoing of the two of them.

Castiel forcibly takes his thoughts away from his oldest brothers, only to have Samandriel bring the topic of them up.

"We know why we're all here," he says quietly. All five of them quiet. Gabriel runs a hand through his hair nervously and Balthazar taps his fingers on the table, the tap tap tap echoing in the spaces between them.

"Castiel, you had the last contact with Michael," Samandriel starts, but Anna interrupts.

"Actually, I talked to Lucifer before I found Castiel at the airport."

There's a focused silence on Anna. Castiel feels his heart pick up and he takes a breath to steady himself. Anna must have not told him on purpose, and she glances at him with a quick smile, reassuring him.

"He was in the lounge as I left the plane," she told them. "He cornered me as I was going past, which did scare me quite a bit. He didn't say much, just told me that even in Australia we weren't going to escape them. I told him that he needed to leave, and that he needed to accept that we aren't going back, and that I was going to tell the police that he was there. Lucifer said that he and Michael were considering freezing our accounts, and I told him that he should, so we don't have the temptation to use their funds."

Balthazar looks at Castiel at the same time Castiel looks at him. The only time Castiel had dipped into the funds that Balthazar and Michael keep putting into his account – no matter how many different ones he opened – had been when he had paid his tuition for his degree, and when Balthazar and Castiel had travelled across the world searching for a place to escape. As far as he knows, Gabriel hadn't touched a cent, Samandriel only used it as deposits against loans and Anna had used a small amount to open her own business when she had been in America. The reason Anna had taken so long to get down here was because there had been trouble selling her business, but it had gone through, and she'd been on a plane here the next week.

"Well, I won't mind the mental gymnastics of trying to calculate how much money I actually have in my account," Gabriel mumbles.

The waiter comes around and Castiel lets Anna order for him, swirling the water in his glass around absently. The tense atmosphere had cleared slightly by the time the waiter leaves, but it's still present.

"Did he say much else?" Balthazar asks.

Anna shrugs. "Not much. Just the usual stuff, after that. Asked me to come back with him. I told him where to stick it and walked out to meet you." Anna nudges him with her shoulder slightly.

"That could have been dangerous," Castiel tells her, frowning slightly.

Anna shrugs. "He was past the security in the airport, so I supposed that he couldn't have anything on him. So I took the chance."

There was a low mutter of approval around the table.

"So what are we going to do?" Samandriel asks. Castiel can hear the slight tone of nervousness running under his voice as he plays with his cutlery.

"We do what we always do," Gabriel says. Castiel looks up at his brother, seeing the assuredness in the set of his jaw. "We don't take up with them, we don't speak to them, we tell the police everything. You know that we're on their watch lists – I barely got admitted to the country."

Castiel watches as the others nod. Gabriel falls into the role of protector and leader when it comes to their brothers, and it's a place that the rest of them are happy to cede to him. Castiel wonders if the others can see the strain that it leaves on Gabriel.

"They're going to come for us, soon," Balthazar mutters. Castiel shifts uneasily as no one counters Balthazar's statement.

"Don't say that," Anna scolds, but there's none of her normal fire in her voice, and she sounds afraid.

Castiel squeezes her hand, as if she's afraid that she's going to disappear while sitting right next to him.

The silence around the table lies for longer than Castiel wishes. He runs a hand through his hair as they all think about the future.

Castiel gathers the will to speak the words that have been on his mind since he thought them when he and Gabriel are alone in the car, heading back to the island after lunch.

"Am I putting Dean in danger?" He blurts.

Gabriel looks at him sharply before turning back to the road.

"By being with him," Castiel adds.

"You already told me that Lucifer put him in hospital, Cassie," Gabriel says, and it's far softer than anything that normally comes out of his mouth. "I think you already know the answer."

Castiel stares out the window as the suburbs of Melbourne fade away as the ocean comes into sight. They're over the bridge and nearly home when he speaks again.

"I don't want anything to hurt him, Gabriel."

Gabriel sighs. "Castiel, he's a big boy. He can make his own decisions, take his own risks."

Castiel thinks over that as they pull up to his house.

"You shouldn't brood over it," Gabriel tells him. "It won't change anything. Dean knows what he's getting into."

Gabriel gets out and Castiel follows him after a few seconds.

Dean is working today, but Castiel still feels a buzz in his pocket as Gabriel unlocks the front door.

how was lunch? (3:40pm)

Castiel feels his stomach turn as he reads the message. Who is he, to drag Dean into his problems? It isn't as if he has small issues – having your two drug lord brothers after you is not a small issue.

gabe didnt spoil the whole thing by being theer? (3:41pm)

No, he didn't. Lunch was good. I need to talk to you when you get home. (3:49pm)

sounds serious. Meet at my place at 8? (3:51pm)

Okay. (3:51pm)

Castiel puts his phone back in his pocket and ignores it when it keeps buzzing. He knows that Dean thinks he wants to talk about Michael and Lucifer, which he does, but not in the way Dean thinks.

Gabriel casts a worried look at him but doesn't say anything.

Castiel heads upstairs to avoid him, and to think about what he's going to say to Dean.

Dean is trying not to worry when he opens his door. Cas hadn't answered anymore of his texts after he had agreed to come over. But he isn't worried. He repeats that a few times as he dumps his bag and jacket on the couch on his way to the kitchen.

He's got a pot of steak and mixed vegetables on the stove when he hears the door open and close quietly.

"Hey," Dean calls out, grabbing the noodles and tipping them into the pot. He covers the pot and puts the timer on the stove on before turning to the entrance of the kitchen where Cas is standing.

Cas has his jacket thrown over his shoulder and is still wearing his shoes. He's dressed casually but smartly, but there's a haunted look in his eyes that makes Dean pause.

"You alright?" Dean asks, stepping over to him and curling an arm around him. Cas sighs and leans his head against Dean's shoulder.

"Just… tired."

"I've only got one brother and I know he can tire me out," Dean says jokingly. "And Gabriel is enough of a handful without throwing anyone else in there as well." Cas doesn't say anything and Dean's worry ticked over into slight anxiety. "You wanna tell me about it?" He asks, more quietly.

Cas huffs into his shoulder.

"They're not that terrible," Cas mutters. Dean kisses his forehead lightly.

"Well, you'd be the one to know. I made stew," Dean tells him. "Just need to wait for the noodles and we can eat."

"We had a lot at the place we went to for lunch," Cas says. "I'm still pretty full."

"More leftovers then," Dean says. "No big deal."

A quick smile graces Cas' mouth before it fades.

Dean ladles out a bowl for each of them when the noodles are done, giving Cas the smaller bowl. He's still quiet, and as Dean sits down at his small table he presses up against his side for a moment. Dean frowns at him slightly, but Cas moves to the other side of the table to poke at his bowl.

"Where did you go today?" Dean asks him. "You said Balthazar picked the place?"

"A Spanish place in Melbourne," Cas tells him. "It was nice."

"That's good," Dean replies. "You all caught up on everything going on in everyone's lives?"

What he really wants to ask about is whether or not one of his insane brothers showed up, or if they talked about them, but he's not quite sure how to bring that up without seeming paranoid.

"Yes. Anna wants to start her business again here. She got enough from selling it in the states and the exchange rate is good enough that's she's got enough to buy."

Dean nods. "You should bring her here sometime. I'd like to meet your twin."

Cas runs a hand through his hair. "She already asked if she could come down."

"Awesome," Dean says. "Make sure I'm free when you pick a date."

Cas swallows. "Of course."

There's a small pause as Dean keeps eating and Cas keeps picking at his food.

"We talked about Michael and Lucifer," Cas says, looking at his food.

"Yeah?" Dean asks, trying not to look too interested. "What about them?"

"Stuff," Cas shrugs. "Anna told us how Lucifer came and talked to her when she landed here."

"How did they even get into the country?" Dean asks, fingers clenching on his fork. "It's not like they're not internationally wanted or anything."

"They have their ways," Cas tells him quietly. "Now that it's known that they're both in the country hopefully it'll be harder for them to move around. I don't think they've got as many contacts here as they do in the US." Cas pauses, and Dean waits, since he has his eyebrows drawn together like he does when he's not done talking and is just thinking things over.

"We talked about you, as well," he continues.

"From the look on your face, it wasn't about how good my ass looks in my jeans," Dean mutters.

"No," Cas sighs. "Dean, I've put you in danger, by being with you."

Dean shrugs, trying to stave off the uneasy feeling in his gut. "Well, it's not your fault, really. You should blame your brothers for that."

"I do," Cas tells him, and Dean can hear the hardness that creeps into his voice when he says that. "I do blame them. But I also blame myself. For thinking that they wouldn't come here, that I'd be rid of them by moving countries."

"I don't know, seems like a sound plan to me," Dean shrugs, trying to ignore the ice creeping up his throat.

Cas looks to the side and then slowly stands. He tucks his hands nervously behind him and then looks Dean in the eyes as he delivers his blow.

"We can't be together, Dean."

Dean stands up slowly, shaking his head. "What are you talking about? Cas, I don't care about your brothers. It's fine."

"I care about what my brothers could do to you if they wanted to hurt me," Cas hisses at him. "I can't risk you, Dean!"

"Cas, I can make my own choices," Dean tries to say, stepping forward. Cas steps back and grabs his coat as he goes past it. Dean realises in a sudden burst of desperation mixed with fear that he's going for the door.

"I can make choices as well," Cas tells him. "And I've been choosing to put you in danger. Dean, I can't do that anymore."

Dean takes a few hurried steps towards him, but Cas retreats just as quickly, like he knows that if Dean touches him his resolve will falter.

"I don't care," Dean says, voice cracking on the last word. "Cas, you can't just leave –"

"I can," Cas tells him. "I am. Dean, I love you, but I have to do this."

The words root him to the spot for a few precious seconds. I love you. It's the first time that either of them had said it. Cas is saying it as he backs away, tears in his eyes, and that's not acceptable.

Dean surges forward and kisses him frantically, trying to trap him here, like that was just a bad dream that he's going to wake up from soon. Cas kisses back, but he pulls away after a few seconds, looking at the ground.

"I'm sorry," he says softly. "I'm sorry."

He opens the door and Dean catches his elbow.

"Cas, don't do this," Dean pleads, voice low. "This isn't necessary."

"It is," Cas tells him sadly. "It is."

He pulls out of Dean's grip slowly, and then makes his way down the garden path, towards his car. Dean watches him numbly, not understanding what had just happened.

Why, Cas? Why this? Why now?

Somehow, by the next day, everyone seems to know about him and Cas. Or maybe he's just imagining the sympathetic glances in his direction.

Dean doesn't look at anyone for too long, just sighs quietly when Charlie comes up and hugs him tightly. He hooks his chin over her shoulder and closes his eyes.

Charlie doesn't say anything for a few minutes, and Dean's grateful for that.

"Jess told me," she mutters quietly. "She said that Cas came in all broken up this morning, but he wouldn't tell me what happened."

She doesn't ask, but Dean knows that he can tell her. "Not here," he says, and Charlie nods.

"Yeah, okay. You're just on clean up today and check out tonight. Nothing that means that you have to think."

"You didn't have to do that," Dean grouses. Charlie shrugs, brushing it off.

"What are friends for?" She leans back and punches his arm lightly.

Dean raises an eyebrow at her, and then pushes her off to what she's doing today, so he can get started. He's probably already a few minutes late, but Benny is sitting in the office at the front of the building that overlooks the entire floor, and he hadn't said anything. Dean collects his gear and thinks about how good his friends are.

In a way, he'd almost want something that made him think and interact with people. In the silence of the stands as he clears all the rubbish that thoughtless people had left the night before, there's nothing but the loudness of his thoughts in his ears, Cas's voice echoing back to him from last night.

We can't be together, Dean.

He grits his teeth and takes a deep breath. He clears the first stand and then sits down on the bleachers closest to the sea. He pushes his hands through his hair and then rubs his forehead.

There's no sound apart from the swish, swish of the sea and the calls of the gulls overhead. The familiar sounds slowly calm him down, and he finds himself breathing to the push and pull of the ocean.

"Damnit Cas," he mutters to himself.

He looks upwards and follows a gull as it hovers in the air, using the breeze to stay upright. It slides through the wind towards the sea, and Dean watches as it dives into the waves.

There's a pause as the gull stays under the water. Dean finds himself holding his breath, only breathing in again when the gull reappears, flapping laboriously to regain its former altitude.

Dean finishes cleaning up and heads back up the hill to the resort, dumping the rubbish into the bin and heading inside. There's a pause in everyone's day as they wait for the tourists to start to arrive. There aren't many at this time of year, but there's still enough to keep the resort running.

Dean stands outside the door and smiles and greets people as they come inside, watching as Tessa opens a register. If it looks like she needs any help, he'll go inside, but until then he'll smile and make people feel welcome.

The people trickle down onto the boardwalks as the sun sets. Dean goes inside, still trying not to think. Being on a register is good for this – he can just scan things, smile, ask if people liked the penguins, give them their bag, repeat. There aren't many pauses, and Dean tells himself that if he can just make it through this customer, through the next ten minutes, to until he can drive home.

He doesn't wait around when his shift is over, shrugging on his jacket and heading out the door. He sees Charlie send him a concerned look, but he pretends not to see it.

He gets home and pours himself a glass of whiskey, downing it in one shot. He pours another as he walks around the house, ditching his jacket and shoes and turning on the air con to warm the house up a bit.

He scrapes out the leftover food from last night, not being able to face the taste of it. He heats up the left over pizza and chops up some carrots and a few peas and corn to go with it. He eats robotically, not tasting the food at all, and doesn't clean up when he dumps his plate in the sink.

He hears his phone buzz from inside his jacket pocket as he's pouring himself another shot. He stands up, nearly knocking his chair over in his rush to get to his jacket.

It's not Cas. Charlie's name states up at him from the screen and he nearly doesn't look at the text.

talk to me. Krissy said you stalked out as soon as your shift was over (8:07pm)

He stares at the message before slowly typing out a reply.

what did jess tell you? (8:10pm)

p vague. Only that you and cas broke up (8:11pm)

well shes not wrong (8:13pm)

you can tell me anything Dean. How long have we known each other now? (8:13pm)

Maybe it's only because he's half-drunk that he keeps typing.

it was bc of his family. He said that he doesnt want to put me in danger bc of that (8:16pm)

There's a pause before Charlie replies.

well that's reasonable. But didn't you say that you can make your own decisions? (8:20pm)

yeah (8:20pm)

Dean stares at the phone and doesn't say anything else. He puts his phone face down and turns it on silent so he doesn't have to listen to it keep buzzing as Charlie keeps texting him.

He goes into the kitchen and pours another drink.