"So the world wants to know more about the 'angel man,'" Dean said as he tapped his fingers on the steering wheel to the radio, glancing every now and then to Castiel who sat rather uncomfortably beside him.

"Yeah?"

"You don't think you're gonna get swamped by people?"

"I dunno, wasn't thinking about it," Cas' wings adjusted awkwardly in the car, Dean could tell Cas was desperately trying not to bump him. "Think we should go back for my jacket?"

"I put it in the trunk," Dean grinned, a smile that only grew the more he heard Cas laugh.

"Thank you, but you're so mean for letting me think I didn't have it."

"Well you're the one who left without it."

"That's different."

"Uh huh," Dean smirked and reached over to pat Cas' thigh supportively, "Don't worry so much, it's fine. People are going to see your wings, no sense in you having to hide all the time."

Cas shuffled across the large seat and leaned against Dean, just a little so as not to get in the way of his driving, "I hope it's that easy, though I get the feeling I'm not going to be taken so well by everyone."

"You never know, people don't burn one another at the stake anymore."

"Maybe."

Dean knew Cas had a lot on his mind, more than what he could understand. But he didn't want to leave it at that; he wanted to understand more about what Cas was going through. Cas would probably argue that he knew plenty, but Dean didn't see it that way. He wanted to be able to pinpoint what was bothering Cas and be able to fix it.

Then again, that seemed like an impossible dream for any relationship.

"Here," Cas spoke up suddenly and Dean slammed on the brakes.

"Here?" He looked at the house he stopped in front of and Cas shook his head with a soft laugh.

"One back, you passed it." He rubbed Dean's shoulder affectionately

"So you're the passenger type to give me zero heads up about directions," Dean raised an eyebrow at his sheepish boyfriend, "Good to know."

"Shut up, I'm nervous," Cas smiled back, and though it was an excuse Dean still took it seriously.

"Sorry, I know you are. Let's park this thing and get this ball rolling."

"Yeah…" Cas stared out the window the whole time Dean spent finding a space. Dean was used to Cas being quiet but he didn't like the form it was taking, he could practically see the anxiety swarming around Castiel.

"Hey," he reached over and took Cas' hand, "it's okay, Cas. I'm here, it'll be fine."

Castiel's eyes lit up in a way that Dean knew he'd seen before, it happened once in a while but only between the two of them. Cas crawled over and kissed him, it was welcomed but still a surprise to be pulled in so fiercely. Dean happily returned it, grabbing Cas and holding him down until they ended up gasping for breath.

"Thank you," Cas whispered and left one more sweet kiss on Dean's lips. He climbed out first, leaving Dean to sit and contemplate for a moment before knocking on the roof.

"I'm out, I'm coming, I'm here." Dean called dramatically and followed Cas' lead. He looked around at the neighbourhood, it wasn't the lowest class housing he'd seen but he was sure that had something to do with not having to pay for two kids anymore.

Castiel stopped at the front door, hand shaking as it hovered above the doorbell. Dean wrapped his arms around Cas from behind and rested his head over Cas' shoulder. Neither said anything but the message was clear all the same; another kiss was shared just before the bell rang.

Dean didn't know what to expect from the Novaks. From what he'd gathered from Michael he didn't think he'd like them much, but there was always room to be surprised. He put on his best smile as he heard some shuffling on the other side of the door and watched it open. An older woman was standing there, her hair more grey than anything else. She stared for a moment, eyes slowly widening as recognition kicked in.

"Cas?" she asked softly, gaze darting from her son's face to Dean, to the wings arched slightly behind. "You're alright, I can't believe it."

"Hi mom," Cas said before taking another deep breath, "It's… been a while."

Dean wasn't sure if he should even be standing there, but it was way too late to question that. He waited until the disbelief had settled a little before he reached out to her, "Hello Mrs. Novak, I'm Dean Winchester."

She shook his hand with a slightly confused smile, "Hello."

"Oh, uh" Cas looked like a deer caught in some headlights but he stammered through the introductions all the same. "Dee this is my mom, Amelia. Mom, this is my boyfriend."

Dean felt the pull on her hand almost immediately and looked at her face. He didn't like the expression he found there; a look of horror barely masked by something mistaken for understanding.

"Oh Cas," she sighed and moved to hug Castiel, which he allowed. Dean stared at the two of them; he heard footsteps in the house but kept his focus on his angel instead. "I'm so sorry we let Michael take you, that must've been hard."

"It was alright," Cas didn't sound terribly comfortable either; he glanced at Dean when his mom wouldn't quite let go when he thought she would. It wasn't a frantic look, just a shared expression. "I was actually pretty happy with him, he took care of me."

Amelia smiled sadly at him as she stepped back again, "I'm glad to hear that, at least. And I'm happy you came home, we can help you, too."

"I didn't come here for help-"

"Is that Castiel?" A man Dean could only imagine was Cas' father stepped out the door and went to hug his son. "We heard you went missing years ago, I thought you were dead."

Cas hugged back, Dean didn't get a bad sense from that hug like he had the other one; he couldn't help but look at Amelia to make sure he knew what she was up to. There was something about her expression earlier that made him feel sick, even though it was covered up by awe while she stared at Cas' real wings.

"How did you get these?" She asked and touched one, Cas instantly curled it in and a sharp blue light flashed. Dean tensed but knew that Cas had control over most of himself, there wouldn't be any jaw-dropping scares coming. He had to remind himself that it was just a nervous reflex, a reflection of how Cas was feeling.

However both his parents were shocked by it, maybe a little more surprised by the wings but scared of the way Cas' eyes seared them.

"Please don't touch those," Cas regained his composure and took Dean's hand firmly. "I wanted to see you because I didn't get to have the conversation that we should've had; I'm gay and this is my boyfriend." He paused and joined Dean in just watching their expressions. "I know you don't approve, you don't need to tell me what you think of this. I've been out of your life longer than the four years I was abducted for, but I didn't have the courage to say this to you then. I let Michael fight for me, and while that was more than enough, I needed to do this for me."

"Castiel," his mom started and Cas looked at her seriously, "honey, I'm so sorry. We love you and missed you so much."

Dean wasn't sure if he was misjudging them based on previous information, maybe he was just being an asshole and assuming the worst. He glanced at Cas too, who also had a softened look.

"Come on inside, son," Cas' dad added gently, "we can talk this out."

Cas smiled a little and looked up at Dean who smiled back as reassuringly as he could. Cas' face seemed to brighten up and he nodded, "Okay, that sounds good." They started to head in but Cas' dad put a hand up to stop Dean.

"Not you, boy." The man frowned deeply and Dean felt his blood boil.

"Why not?" He tried to ask nicely but his tone still had an edge to it.

"If he doesn't go in then neither do I." Cas stated firmly.

"Sweetheart there are people you can talk to about this now, we won't let him get in the way of your healing. You're our angel, we'll take care of you." His mom explained sweetly and it almost made Dean snap.

"He is my healing!" Cas shouted angrily, glowing eyes and even a low growl in his throat. "And Michael's the one who always took care of me, I've never needed you."

"Castiel calm down." His dad tried to take control of the situation but Cas started walking back to the car. "Castiel!"

"I've said what I needed to say," Cas snarled over his shoulder, "And I can tell that you two haven't changed. I hope you can live with yourselves, god knows that your children couldn't."

Dean awkwardly shuffled away from the Novaks and just started walking after Cas, no need to start anything extra. "I never got your dad's name," he said humourously when he caught up, Cas just rolled his eyes and got into the car.

Not daring to sit near that house too long, Dean started driving slowly as he listened to the seething breaths of his baby. "I'm sorry," he said softly and caught the little way Cas' breathing shifted to a sigh instead.

"It's not your fault,"

"I know, but I'm sorry it didn't happen the way you wanted it to." He glanced away from the road for a sec, just to see the way Cas was staring blankly through the windshield. "Some people don't change."

"I hate the way they looked at me…" Cas slumped back tiredly, "Like some kind of possession they could reclaim or something."

"I think they focused a little too hard on that angel thing," Dean added and Cas actually laughed a little.

"Yeah, like 'come here my pretty!'" he mimicked witchily, enjoying the reference a little too much. He cleared his throat and sat more upright, "I didn't really expect them to take it well, I just wish it could've been all yelling or all genuine caring. I hate feeling like the bad guy."

"You weren't the bad guy," Dean reached over and took Cas' hand again; he really liked holding it. "I thought you were being nice, I would've given them way more shit."

Cas giggled and shuffled to sit in the middle of the seat, "Thanks Dee, I needed that."

"It's one of the reasons you keep me around." Dean pecked his cheek quickly and earned himself a soft kiss in return. They cranked the tunes after that and drove around a little while; Dean didn't want to go back to the hotel and everyone else just yet. He wanted to give Cas a little unwinding time, just the two of them and the roads Dean happened to pick – intelligently staying away from the mansion until Cas requested to go there.

"Are you sure?" he asked after turning the music down just enough to be able to converse properly. "It's a crime scene."

"I know, I just want to go by the area and see if they're already investigating." Cas shrugged sheepishly, "Sorry, I'm a little nosy."

"Nah, I kinda wanted to go check it out too," Dean smirked and changed their course, going inside was out of the question but lurking on the side of the road worked with him just fine. They stopped on the shoulder at the end of the long-ass driveway, Dean felt strange about it but not enough to get him to turn and run. He took a deep inhale from his medication as Cas climbed out of the car.

They could see the vehicles up in front of the mansion, some just regular cars and the others larger, armored van looking things. Dean didn't doubt for a second that those were the containers meant to move what was left of the living clones. He got out of the car and looked at Cas, more interested in his reaction than staring at cops.

"What're you thinking?" He prompted and Cas turned to him.

"I'm thinking… I'm going to be alright." Cas smiled warmly, a look that Dean couldn't argue with even if he wanted to.