Castiel stepped through his front door, letting the weight of it swing shut behind him. He stood in the small entryway, trying to catch his breath from rushing out of Dean's house, his body sore from the bruises and moving so suddenly. He just couldn't believe what he'd done.

He'd felt vulnerable, something traumatic had happened to him and the first place he'd gone to was Dean's house, he didn't really know why but once those men left him alone, he just walked until he was standing outside Dean's door.

And to go and kiss him in a moment of vulnerability, he felt so idiotic, he knew Dean wasn't like him and he'd probably scared him half to death by kissing him like that. But Dean was being so caring, making Castiel feel safe.

The sudden knock at his front door had Castiel spinning in place, reaching out to pull it open and freezing when he saw Charlie standing on his porch, her face dropping when she noticed the bruises on his.

"Oh my gosh, are you you okay Castiel? What happened? Why didn't you call me?" Charlie sputtered frantically, her eyes wide as she scanned his face.

He felt like he couldn't breathe all of a sudden and felt his knees start to give out. Charlie caught him around his middle when he started to lose his balance.

"I got you big guy, come on..." Charlie fussed as they made their way into the living room, Charlie helped Castiel sit down in the nearby armchair before moving to sit on the couch across from him.

"I'm sorry for not calling, I just... Something happened," Castiel offered weakly, timidly gesturing to himself and his face. He frowned when Charlie gave him her sincere sympathy smile, making him somehow feel even worse.

"Dude, don't apologize... Tell me what happened, tell me who did this to you so I can beat their sorry asses!" Charlie huffed, exasperated. Castiel couldn't help the smile at imagining the fiery redhead going after the men who had hurt him.

"After we left Chuck's last night, I was walking home and... Some men jumped me, beating me and called me every unimaginative slur they could think of," Castiel explained with a heavy sigh, his chest hurting at the memory.

"I'll... I'll destroy them, ruin their lives. I don't even have to physically do anything to make them regret hurting you," Charlie glowered in anger, and for a second, Castiel swore she could have breathed fire.

"Hey, hey... I'm okay, aside from the bruises, I'm fine," Castiel said trying his best to reassure and calm his friend.

"Being in the hospital and then staying with Dean is the reason I forgot to call you," Castiel continued in an attempt to soothe Charlie, his lips tugging into a tiny smile when she relaxed into her chair.

-_-

Knocking at the front door drew Castiel and Charlie's attention from their conversation, Charlie was up from her seat and crossing the floor to answer it.

Pulling the door open, Charlie smiled when she saw Dean standing there. He gave a faint smile, surprised to see Charlie.

"Hey kiddo, it's good to see you... Cas told me you were in town," Dean greeted warmly. Even though Charlie was only a few years younger than him, he often gave her obnoxiously sweet nicknames. Dean treated her like a little sister.

"I...um... came to talk to Cas, I'm sure you know what happened and I just wanted to see how he's doing," Dean explained, his hand going up to rub the back of his neck nervously.

"Oh, of course. He told me you had helped him, I'm really glad you were here for him..." Charlie smiled sweetly, stepping aside to let Dean through the door. "He's in the living room," she said as she shut the door.

Dean walked into the living room, coming around the armchair Castiel was seated in and took a seat on the couch across from him. "Dean... I..." Castiel began, sitting straight up, Dean held up a hand to stop him.

"I just came to see you were okay, you kinda left in a hurry... I wanted to make sure you didn't hurt yourself," Dean offered, he'd wanted to mention the kiss but stopped when Charlie came to stand behind Castiel in the armchair.

Castiel sank back into the chair, his stomach tying itself into a knot. He wanted to say something, apologize for earlier, for freaking out on Dean when he had kissed him.

"Charlie, could you give us a few minutes?" Castiel pleaded, turning to look up at his friend standing nearby. She glanced between Castiel and Dean, nodding her head before quickly exiting the living room.

-_-

Castiel and Dean sat in silence, feeling awkward even after Charlie had made her escape to the kitchen, presumably busying herself with making tea or something.

After another drawn out minute of silence, Dean was the first one to talk. "I want you to know, I'm not mad or upset... I was surprised," he explained, giving Castiel a small smile.

"I still shouldn't have done that, I don't really understand why I did it..." Castiel responded a blush creeping its way into his cheeks. Dean still thought he was cute, even with the bruises.

"You felt safe, right? I get it... I'm just not great with this kinda stuff," Dean rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding looking Castiel in the eyes. He couldn't look at him without thinking about going over to him and kissing him.

Castiel lowered his eyes, the blush still evident on his face. He was relieved Dean didn't hate him, and even more so at the fact he understood why Castiel had kissed him.

"Look, I care about you and I wanted to storm out of the house last night to find the assholes that hurt you... But I knew you needed help,"

"I, honest to God, wished I'd been there to prevent it from happening in the first place..." Dean spoke quietly, the anger he'd felt last night at seeing the bruises covering Castiel's body trying to claw its way to the surface.

"I'm grateful you were here to help me, I don't know what would've happened if..." Castiel got quiet all of a sudden, his eyes glistening with threatening tears. Dean was off the couch and kneeling before him in seconds.

"Shush, it's okay... I got you," Dean soothed taking Castiel's hands in his, rubbing his thumbs over the backs of Castiel's hands. Dean felt a heaviness settle over his chest, he hated seeing Castiel upset.

-_-

"Hey Charlie, I got it from here if you wanna head out? Cas mentioned you'd had plans today..." Dean said poking his head into the kitchen, spotting Charlie perched on a chair at the dining table with a cup of tea.

"Cas is in good hands, promise," Dean offered when all she did was turn her attention on him, giving him an apprehensive look. Dean shot back a sincere smile, nodding his head.

Charlie got up from her seat and crossed the floor to where Dean stood just inside the entrance to the kitchen. "Tell him to call me later," she shot Dean a serious look before walking out of the house.

Dean turned around and marched back into the living room. Castiel had changed into more comfy clothes and was now propped up on the couch. Dean came into the living room and took a seat in the armchair.

"I sent Charlie on her way, told her I'd stick around... If you want me to?" he announced drawing Castiel's attention to him, his lips quirked in a half smile.

"I would appreciate that, I don't think I'm ready to be alone just yet..." Castiel answered solemnly, returning Dean's smile with his own. He was glad to have Dean around, he did feel safe with him.

"Wanna see if there's anything good on TV?" Dean questioned tossing Castiel the remote off the coffee table. Castiel caught it and turned on the television.