Dean was in a foul mood. It was February fourteenth. Valentine's Day. Normally, his favorite holiday that he regularly referred to as 'unattached drifter Christmas'. The perfect day to score a free hookup with some lonely girl in a bar. However, this year, he wasn't feeling it. For some bizarre reason, he couldn't get thoughts of Cas out of his head. After Michael had sent him, Sam and Mack back to their motel room, Cas managed to get back on his own. However, the dorky little dude was still pretty weak and passed out almost immediately.

"Well, this is it," he'd told Sam, pouring two drinks. "This is what?" Sam asked. "Team Free Will. One ex-blood junkie, one dropout with six bucks to his name, and Mr. Comatose over there. It's awesome." He'd purposefully left Mack out. He didn't care what Michael or Lucifer said. She wasn't going to have any part in any of it. Which was why he'd dropped her off at Bobby's for an indefinite amount of time.

"But Daddy," Mack protested when he'd told her. "No, Mack," he shook his head. "I need to know you're safe and that won't happen unless you're here with Grandpa Bobby. I'll try and visit soon, alright?"

She had stormed off to her room, slamming the door, and that was the last time he'd seen her. Once Cas had recovered, he'd disappeared as well. So now, here Dean was in a motel room waiting for Sam to get back from interviewing a witness for their latest case while thoughts of the angel consumed his mind. He was mostly worried about how Cas was faring. Wondering if he was still weakened from the trip to the past, despite the fact that he'd claimed to be well enough to resume his God hunt. He doubted Cas even knew the significance of this day.

The little dude was so clueless when it came to human customs. It was adorable. Dean shook his head to try and clear it. No. He had no business thinking things like 'adorable' in reference to Cas. They weren't even together. They had one night and then had agreed it would be best to back off. Cas was an angel. He was a human. They couldn't go down that route. But, hey... a guy could dream. He was jerked from his thoughts as the motel room door opened and Sam entered carrying fast-food bags. "How'd it go?" Dean asked.

"Um... no EMF, no sulfur. Ghost possession and demonic possession are probably both out," Sam said, setting the bags down at the table in front of Dean. "Hmm. That's where I was puttin' my money," Dean frowned. "Nope," Sam shook his head. The elder Winchester rubbed at his eyes. "Well, then what, then? Oh, dude! At the coroner's- you didn't see those bodies. I mean, these two started eating a-and they just... kept going. I mean, they're stomachs were full. Like- like... Thanksgiving-dinner full. Talk about co-dependent."

"Well... I mean, we got our feelers out. Not much more we can do tonight. Alright. I'm just gonna go through some files. You can go ahead and get going." It took a moment for Dean to process Sam's words. The giant had decided it was a good idea to wear a patterned blue tie with his suit. It didn't look as good as Cas' blue tie. Dean really wished Cas was around so he could pull him in by that blue tie and kiss the crap out of- "Dean!" Dean jumped, looking up at Sam. "Sorry?" he asked. "Go ahead," Sam told him. "Unleash the kraken. See you tomorrow morning."

"Where am I going?"

"Dean, it's Valentine's Day. Your favorite holiday, remember? I mean, you always call it- Uh, unattached drifter Christmas?" Oh yeah. That. "Oh, yeah," he muttered out loud. "Well... be that as it may... I don't know. Guess I'm not feeling it this year." And all thanks to that dorky little angel. Sam was staring at him like he was from another planet. "So you're not into bars full of lonely women?" he asked incredulously. "Nah, I guess not," Dean shrugged, taking a sip of beer. When Sam shook his head, he glowered. "Ahh. What?"

"That's when a dog doesn't eat- That's when you know something's really wrong," Sam muttered. "Remarkably patronizing concern duly noted. Nothing's wrong. We gonna work or what?" Sam continued to eye him suspiciously, pulling out food from one of the bags he brought back and hunkering down to get to work. Dean had dreams about having sex with Cas that night.

At the coroner's office the next day, Sam got distracted hearing the heartbeat of a bald man in a suit. He turned in the direction the man headed, sniffing the air. "You okay?" Dean asked him. "Yeah, I'm fine," Sam dismissed, turning back. The coroner, Dr. Corman, approached them. "Agent Marley, you just can't stay away," he grinned. "Heard you tagged another double suicide," Dean grinned back. "Well, I just finished closing them up."

"Dr. Corman," Dean gestured to Sam, "this is my partner, special agent Cliff." The pair shook hands. "Agent Cliff. I've just finished my prelims. I pulled the organ sets and sent off the tox samples." Sam nodded, "Great. You mind if we take a look at the bodies?" Dr. Corman shook his head. "Not at all. But like I said- their... good-and-plenties are already tupperwared."

"Super."

"Leave the keys with Marty up front," the coroner instructed. "And please, gentlemen... refrigerate after opening..." He handed Sam the keys and took his leave. Dean took a moment to snap out of his thoughts enough to follow Sam into the back. Dr. Corman's eyes happened to be blue- paler than Cas', but still- and thinking about Cas led to thinking about the dreams he had last night, and suddenly he was shifting in his pants as he shook his head to clear it and hurried after Sam. They each put on plastic aprons over their suits and took out the containers containing internal body parts.

"Hey," Dean gave Sam a cocky grin, handing over one of the two hearts from the victims. "Be my Valentine?" He really wished Cas was around to be his Valentine... even though Valentine's was technically over... Whatever. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a second," Sam pulled the heart closer. "These hearts both have identical marks. Check this out. It looks like some kind of letter. Oh, no." Dean came closer to get a better look at what Sam was seeing. "What?" he asked. "I think it's Enochian," Sam said. "You mean like angel scratches?" Dean asked, heart skipping a beat at the idea. Maybe they had an excuse to get Cas to come after all. "So you think it's like the tagging on our ribs?"

"Dean, I don't know," Sam shook his head. "Ah, hell," he muttered, secretly giddy at the prospect of calling Cas as he took out his phone and dialed. "Cas, it's Dean. Yeah, room 31-C, basement level... St. James Medical Center." Cas was suddenly standing inches from him, phone pressed to his ear. His voice echoed through the phone as he spoke. "I'm there now," he said. "Yeah, I get that," Dean replied, his voice also echoing. "I'm gonna hang up now," Cas informed him. "Right." They both put their phones away.

It almost immediately started feeling like a bad idea to have Cas around physically. The angel's close proximity was so much more damn distracting than just the thought of him had been and Dean lost all ability to focus. He watched the way Cas' mouth moved and his Adam's apple bobbed in his throat above his collar as he spoke with Sam about the thing with the hearts without hearing a single word that was being said. "What I'm saying is a Cupid has gone rogue and we have to stop him- before he kills again," Cas was saying. "Naturally," Sam nodded slowly. "Of course we do," Dean added, pretending he knew what the hell they were talking about.

They left the hospital and went out to a restaurant to get some dinner. Despite the fact that Valentine's was over, there were still a surprising number of couples out celebrating. Cas claimed the Cupid they were looking for was at the restaurant. "So what, you just happen to know he likes the cosmos of this place?" Dean asked when the waitress brought them their food. He was trying really hard to suppress the urge to lunge across the table and jump Cas' bones. It was definitely not the time or place for that. "This place is a nexus of human reproduction. It's exactly the kind of-" Cas stared intently as Dean put ketchup on his cheeseburger, "-of garden the Cupid will come to- to pollinate."

Dean picked up the burger, then set it back down without taking a bite. He had no appetite for the meat. He would much rather have Cas. Sam stared at him like he'd grown a second head again. "Wait a minute. You're not hungry?" Dean stared back with a wide deer-in-the-headlights expression. "No. What? I'm not hungry." Cas swallowed in a delectably distracting way. "Then you're not gonna finish that?" He didn't wait for a response, reaching across the table and taking the burger. "He's here."

"Where?" Sam asked. "I don't see anything." Cas nodded across the restaurant. "There." The Winchesters both looked in the direction Cas nodded, and as soon as Dean wasn't looking at Cas, his brain reset. "You mean that same-side-of-the-booth couple?" he asked. "Meet me in the back." When they turned back, Cas had vanished from the table. "You feeling okay, Dean?" Sam asked. "I'm fine. Let's go." Dean stood from the table, leading the way to the back where Cas was waiting.

"Cas, where is he?" Sam asked, looking around. Cas was standing holding out a hand with a look of concentration on his handsome face... Er... Uh... Dean shook his head to clear it again and Sam gave him an odd look. "I have him tethered," the angel said in his deep gravel. "Zoda kama mahrana. Manifest yourself." Nothing seemed to happen. "So, where is he?" Dean asked. The Cupid appeared then, hugging him from behind and he groaned. "Oof."

"Here I am," the Cupid announced cheerfully. "Help!" Dean cried out desperately, unable to escape the cherub's grip. "Oh, help is on the way. Yes, it is. Yes, it is. Hello, you." Cupid dropped Dean, walking over to Cas and Dean's jaw dropped. The guy was completely naked. The Cupid picked up Cas, giving him the same treatment as Dean. "Ooh. Mmm," Cas went rigid in the other angel's arms. "This is Cupid?" Dean wrinkled his nose. "Yes," Cas replied. "And look at you, huh?" Cupid set his sights on Sam next. "No," Sam protested, turning away, but was caught in the Cupid's embrace as he appeared in front of him. "Yes! Yes, yes, yes!"

"Is this a fight? Are we in a fight?" Dean looked to Cas for an explanation. "This is... their handshake," Cas informed them. "I don't like it," he shook his head. "No one likes it." Cupid set down Sam, looking between them. "Mmm. What can I do for you?" he asked. "Why are you doing this?" Cas asked him. "Doing what?" Cupid appeared genuinely confused. "Your targets- the ones you marked- They're slaughtering each other." Cupid's jaw dropped, "What? They are?"

"Listen, birthday suit, we know, okay? We know you've been flittin' around, popping people with your poison arrow, making them murder each other." Cupid blinked stupidly. "What we don't know is why," Cas added onto Dean's statement. Dean glanced at the angel sidelong, feeling his heart flutter in his chest again as he did so. No... Focus Dean. "You think that I-" Cupid stammered. "Well, uh... I don't know what to say." The cherub promptly burst into tears, leaving the three onlookers flabbergasted. "Should... Should somebody maybe... go talk to him?" Sam asked quietly. "Yeah, that's a good idea," Dean agreed, clapping Cas on the shoulder. Solid shoulder... strong shoulder... Focus! "Give 'em hell, Cas."

Cas swallowed in that distracting way again as he approached Cupid and hesitantly put a hand on his bare shoulder. "Um... look. We didn't mean to, um... hurt your feelings." Cupid turned, hugging Cas again and both Winchester brothers cringed. "Ugh!" Cas gasped. "Love is more than a word to me, you know," Cupid cried. "I love love. I love it! And if that's wrong, I don't wanna be right!" Cas looked over at the Winchesters desperately for help as he answered, "Yes, yes. Of course. I, uh... I have no idea what you're saying." Cupid set him down, staring into Cas' eyes intently and Dean clenched his jaw, fists balled at his sides in a sudden burst of anger and... Was that jealousy? "I was just on my appointed rounds. Whatever my targets do after that, that's nothing to do with me. I- I was following my orders. Please, brother. Read my mind. Read my mind, you'll see."

A muscle twitched in Dean's jaw as the Cupid and Cas had what appeared to be a very intense staring contest. That was his and Cas' thing. After a moment, Cas looked over at him and Sam. "He's telling the truth." Cupid grinned, face lighting up excitedly, "Jiminy Christmas! Thank you!" Flexing his fist at his side, Dean focused on Cupid instead of how distracting it was that Cas' trench coat was now wrinkled and slightly askew from the Cupid's hug-assault. "Wait, wait, you said- You said you were just following orders?" he clarified. "Mm-hmm," Cupid nodded. "Whose orders?"

"Whose?" Cupid laughed. "Heaven, silly. Heaven." Dean blinked. "Why does Heaven care if Harry meets Sally?"

"Oh, mostly they don't. You know, certain bloodlines, certain destinies. Oh, like yours," Cupid gestured to him and Sam. "What?" Sam asked, confused. "Yeah, the union of John and Mary Winchester- Very big deal upstairs, top priority arrangement. Mm." Dean gaped. His mom and dad were... They'd been... He glanced over at Cas briefly. If he weren't an angel, would the two of them be... matched up by Heaven? That was an interesting thought, but not one to dwell on right now because, "Are you saying you fixed up our parents?"

"Well, not me, but... Yeah. Well, it wasn't easy, either. Ooh, they couldn't stand each other at first. But when we were done with them-" Cupid swooned. He friggin' swooned. "Perfect couple." Dean's fists were balled up again. "Perfect?" he hissed through clenched teeth. "Yeah," Cupid nodded. "They're dead!" Cupid blinked, surprised by Dean's aggressive tone. "I'm sorry, but... the orders were very clear. You and Sam needed to be born. Your parents were just... meant to be." The cherub started singing, "A match made in Heaven- Heaven!"

Unable to hold back any longer, Dean punched the naked angel in his stupid, chubby face. "Son of a bitch!" he cried, shaking his hand in pain. The Cupid disappeared. "Where is he? Where'd he go?" he looked around frantically for the cherub. "I believe you upset him," Cas replied in that sexy matter-of-fact way of his... Uh... Wait. "Upset him?!" Dean gaped in disbelief. "Dean. Enough!" Sam told him. "What?" he asked. "You just punched a Cupid!"

"I punched a dick!"

"Um... Are we gonna talk about what's been up with you lately or not?" Sam pressed. "Or not," he shut that down quickly. Dean's phone rang and he pulled it out. "What?" There was a slight pause, before Dr. Corman's voice answered, "Uh... Agent Marley? There's been another weird one. You might want to come by." Dean closed his eyes, letting out a slow breath. "Okay. Sounds good. Thanks, doc." He hung up.

"What was that?" Sam asked. "There's been another weird death. Dr. Corman wants us to come check it out," he replied. "Um... actually, how about I go check it out and you head back to the motel, ride the police scanner, see if you can find any new leads since Cupid was a bust." Dean nodded. "Yeah, fine. Here," he tossed the keys to Sam. "You go. Cas can beam me back to the room." Sam eyed him skeptically, but nodded, leaving the room. "Are you feeling alright, Dean?" Cas asked when Sam had gone.

Instead of answering, Dean closed the gap in between them in a few strides and pulled the angel in by the tie, slamming their lips together. "Need you... now..." he growled against Cas' mouth. "Dean, we shouldn't," Cas protested, even as he began responding readily to the kiss. "Until we know what's going on in this town... Mmghf." Dean reached around, pulling the hair at the back of Cas' head to get him to shut up. "Motel room..." he said, and suddenly, thanks to Cas, they were there. "Dean, wait," Cas protested again. He had started pushing both of Cas' coats off in tandem, backing him toward the bed.

"Don't wanna... Told you... Need you now..." Cas seemed at war with himself, part of him responding to the things Dean was doing and acting like he wanted to give in, but another part fighting whatever driving force was forcing them together. "Dean, stop." Cas grabbed his wrists, shoving him away, and it was like the fog that had settled over Dean's brain dissipated in seconds. "We need to know more about what's happening in this town before we do something like that," Cas insisted. "I don't want to hurt you."

Even as his brain continued crying out for the angel, Dean conceded to the point. Two couples had literally killed each other in the name of love because of whatever this case was. And, granted, he and Cas hadn't exactly put a label on whatever it was they were, but... he was an angel. He could most likely break Dean a lot more easily than those normal human-human couples. "R-right," Dean nodded, pulling out of Cas' grip and taking several steps back. Cas stared up at him from the edge of the bed, sadness filling his beautiful blue eyes.

"I'm not saying I don't want to, Dean. I do. It's just..." Dean shook his head. "No, man, I get it. You... You're a lot stronger than me. If we lost control..." Cas nodded. "Exactly... I'll, uh... I'll look around town. See if I can figure out any more useful information." Dean looked down at his feet, nodding in understanding. "Yeah... You, uh, know where to find us if you find anything." When he looked back up, Cas had vanished without even a goodbye. He lifted a shaky hand to his lips, then shook his head once more to clear it again.

This was going to be a long case.

"What the hell does a demon got to do with this, anyway?" Dean asked. Sam had returned after killing a demon he ran into and had brought back the briefcase it had been carrying. "Believe me, I got no idea," Sam shrugged, looking cagily at the briefcase. "You okay?" Dean queried, looking at his brother worriedly. "Yeah, yeah. I'll be alright." Not entirely convinced, Dean turned to the briefcase. "Let's crack her open. What's the worst that could happen, right?" He undid the latches and a bright light escaped and went out the window.

"Whoa!" Sam gasped. "What was that?" Dean looked after it. "It's a human soul," Cas answered. He'd appeared with a giant bag-o'-burgers, chowing down on one of them. "It's starting to make sense." He took another bite. "Now, what about that makes sense?" Sam questioned him. "And when did you start eating?" Dean added. "Exactly," Cas gestured with the burger in his hand. "My hunger- it's a clue, actually."

"For what?" the brothers chorused. "This town is not suffering from some love-gone-wrong effect. It's suffering from hunger. Starvation, to be exact... Specifically, Famine." The angel finished off the burger in his hand and reached into the bag for another. "Famine?" Sam repeated. "As- as in the horseman?" Dean groaned, "Great. Th-th-that's freaking great." Sam however, was confused. "I thought famine meant starvation, like as in, you know, food," he gestured to Cas' bag-o'-burgers. "Yes. Absolutely," Cas agreed. "But not just food. I mean, everyone seems to be starving for something- Sex, attention, drugs, love..."

Great, so all the thoughts he'd been having about Cas... And, oh, wait... Cas had said he had wanted it, too. Did that mean that he...? But now he was devouring burgers like there was no tomorrow... It kind of reminded him of when they first found Jimmy after Cas got ripped out of his meat suit, now that he thought about it. "Well, that explains the puppy-lovers that Cupid shot up," Dean nodded. "Right. The cherub made them crave love, and then Famine came, and made them rabid for it."

"Okay, what about you? I mean, since when do angels secretly hunger for White Castle?" Cas swallowed and Dean's eyes followed the motion. "It's my vessel- Jimmy," he said, confirming Dean's thoughts about the time spent with his meat suit. "His, uh, appetite for red meat has been touched by Famine's effect." Cas looked at Dean sidelong, and it almost seemed like he was undressing him with his eyes. "So, Famine rolls into town and everybody goes crazy?" Dean asked.

"'...and great will be the Horseman's hunger, for he is hunger,'" Cas recited. "'His hunger will seep out and poison the air.' Famine is hungry. He must devour the souls of his victims." Dean glanced at the now-empty briefcase. "So, that's what was in the briefcase- The twinkie dude's soul?" Cas nodded, "Lucifer has sent his demons to take care of Famine, to feed him, make certain he's ready." Sam and Dean exchanged a look. "Ready for what?" Sam asked hesitantly. "To march across the land."

Sam slipped into the bathroom, leaving the door open so he could still be part of the conversation while he wiped his face with a washcloth at the kitchen sink. "Famine?" Dean shook his head. "Yes," Cas spoke through a mouthful of burger. "So, what, this whole town is going to eat, drink, and screw itself to death?" Sam asked from his place at the sink. "We should stop it," Cas stated. "Yeah, that's a great idea," Dean replied sarcastically. "How?" He really wished Cas would stop with the stupid burgers and pay attention to him. "How did you stop the last Horseman you met?"

"War got his mojo from this ring. And after we cut it off, he just tucked tail and ran. And everybody that was affected, it was like they woke up out of a dream. You think Famine's got a class ring, too?" Cas nodded. "I know he does." Dean blinked trying to cool down the anger that wanted to bubble up again like it did when they were talking with the Cupid. "Well, okay. L-let's track him down and get to chopping." Cas tilted his now-empty bag, staring into it sadly, "Yeah." Sam was still in the bathroom cooling off his neck and face and breathing heavily.

"What are you, the Hamburgler?" Dean jabbed at Cas. "I've developed a taste for ground beef," Cas stated. "Well, have you even tried to stop it?" He couldn't keep the bite out of his voice. Cas had so clearly and easily suppressed his supposed hunger for Dean- the same type of hunger he had for Cas- while with Jimmy's hunger he seemed to not care in the slightest. Sure enough, his reply came, "I'm an angel. I can stop anytime I want." Dean scowled. If Cas really did desire him because of Famine like his words earlier had implied, he'd be struggling with it just as much as Dean was. "Whatever," he grumbled. "Sam, let's roll."

"Dean... I, um... I can't," Sam said, coming to stand in the doorway of the bathroom. "I can't go." Dean looked at his brother incredulously. "What do you mean?" he asked. "I think it got me, Dean. I think I'm hungry for it..." He was confused as to what Sam was talking about at first because every other thought in his head had something to do with Cas at the moment and he was having trouble keeping his head straight. "Hungry for what?" he asked. Sam gave him a look. "You know." He did know. As soon as it clicked in his brain, however, he didn't want it to be true. "Demon blood?" he whispered. Sam looked down at his feet shamefully.

"You gotta be kidding me," Dean turned back to Cas. "You gotta get him out of here. You gotta beam him to, like, Montana. Anywhere but here." Cas stood up. "It won't work. He's already infected. The hunger is gonna travel with him." Which implied that Dean's hunger for Cas would also be sticking around if he tried to flee... Got it. "Well, then, what do we do?" he looked at his angel desperately. "You go cut that bastard's finger off," Sam answered. "You heard him," Dean nodded.

"But Dean... before you go, you better... you better lock me down- but good." Dean ended up cuffing him to the bathroom sink. "Alright, well, just hang in there. We'll get back as soon as we can." Sam nodded, "Be careful. And hurry." Dean and Cas exited the bathroom and Cas covered the door with the dresser.