Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Um...guys!”

Sam waited as his raised voice echoed through wide hallways of the bunker. Tilting his head a little bringing his ear more in line with the large open doorway behind his position at the table. He waited for some sort of response from the other inhabitants of the bunker. His brother Dean and the off again on again Angel of the Lord, Castiel. Who just so happen to be off again...well not completely off. He does have some of his mojo working, were somewhere in the building doing whatever. Knowing his brother like he did, Sam figured he was either at the range or with Cas, binging Netflix.

Breathing a little sigh of frustration at getting no response, Sam gave one more call out as he rolled his eyes, yanked the power cord from the computer and stood up from his seat at the table and cradled the laptop in his arms. Turning to exit through the portal that was located directly behind him. Sam made sure the clam shell top was left open to the screen with the hoped for case still displayed.

***

Dean lay back against his headboard, adjusting his pillow to be wedged under his head for support. His legs were stretched out and crossed at the ankles. Dean shifted his butt a little causing it to sink down a bit more into the memory foam mattress and with a smile aimed towards a pretzel legged Castiel sitting off to his left. He reached over and inserted the cassette labeled “Dean’s Zeppelin Road Trip”, which had been made years before, into the modern day cassette player that sat in the narrow space between them. The player was a favorite of Dean’s because unlike the older tape player he sometimes used. This one allowed him to sync more than one set bluetooth headphones and therefore, allowing him to share his music with Cas. Lately, there had been a lull in the number of cases coming their way. So Dean had decided to begin the task of educating his best friend about the joys of classic rock music and tonight they were listening to Led Zeppelin’s, Stairway to Heaven.

“Okay Cas” Dean said as he reached over to hit the play button on the cassette player “This tape is going to start off with a song you have heard me play before, Zeppelin’s; Stairway to Heaven. Recorded in ‘71 the music was written while in England by Page…”

Cas watched Dean as he pushed the little door that closed the cassette into the player and in a matter-of-fact tone supplied “Jimmy Page…”

Dean looked up quickly then nodded “Right! Jimmy Page and the words were written by Robert Plant, it was recorded in 1971. They both are from the U.K.”

Cas already knew most of the information about Dean’s favorite band. During long road trips, as the music played through the Impala’s tape deck, Dean would often pass the time by telling the history of the songs and where the band’s inspirations came from when the were written. He also had a tendency to link them to some hunt or memory of John Winchester, their father. Cas suspected this is one of the reasons the “classic” music as Dean liked to call it, was so important to him. During these sessions, Sam would usually curl up in the front seat and try to sleep through the dissertation as he had heard the stories hundreds of times before. Once during an in depth one-sided discussion about the song Dazed and Confused, Sam had made the observation that if there were such a thing as a degree in Zeppelin...Dean would have a Phd.

Castiel never minded the history lessons though. It was all a part of who Dean was and Castiel enjoyed watching Dean’s face as he spoke about his favorite band or music in general. It seemed to be the one thing that brought Dean pleasure. Dean and Sam’s life as hunters often meant there were times where happiness or joy came rarely. So Castiel sat patiently and listened to his friend without complaint.

“Yes, I have heard this before and he along with Robert Plant, they are also a favorite of yours and Sam’s for fake names too.”

Dean ducked his head just a little, a tinge of pink brushing his cheeks at the hint that maybe he had mentioned something about the group many times before to the angel.

“Well, I just want to make sure you have all the background.”

Rolling himself onto his left side, curling himself ever so slightly around Cas in order to get into position himself closer to the tape player. Dean held his finger above the play button as he continued

“So just close your eyes and listen to the music and see if you can pick up the different sections of the song. Oh, and let the intro just flow through you and afterwards I want you to compare it to the song Kashmir’s opening. I want to know which you like better.” and with that he pressed the play button and instead of rolling back to his previous position up against the headboard. Dean crooked his arm up so his hand propped his head and the pillow was now wedge as support in the triangle that was created.

Cas nodded his understanding of Dean’s instructions and then did as he told by closing his eyes. Although, he couldn’t help taking one last peek through a partially opened eye at Dean. A small smile quirked his lips as he noticed Dean had closed his eyes as well, while still curled up on his side next to him. And as Page’s opening guitar solo started to float through his earbuds. Cas clamped his eye shut like the other and leaned ever so slightly against the leg to his left and listened.

***

Heading down the hallway, Sam stared down the open web page scanning for any missed detail in the news article about the oil rig out in the Gulf. One small detail caught his eye that he had missed earlier causing his brow to furrow. He paused to stare intently then with a small return of his smile he continue his with his mission to find his brother and Cas.

The first place on his list of places to check out was to be the library. Hoping, they would be in their usual spot sharing one of the big, plump couches and watching Netflix on the big screen t.v. the brothers had purchased soon after moving into the bunker.

It made sense because recently, Dean had made it his life’s mission to try and enlighten Cas about music and his favorite shows. Starting with the exciting world of the medical drama: Dr. Sexy, M.D. his brother tried to get the angel as hooked as he was on the drama. From Sam’s perspective things weren’t quite working out the way Dean was intending though.

Because instead of being glued to the unfolding serial on the t.v. screen like Dean often was (even though he had seen the episodes at least a hundred times before) Cas never seemed to pick up on some of the dramatic nuances of the show and was a bit more perplexed by the emotionally charged human medical drama and appeared to more intent (or was it content) on studying Dean. Once, in a moment of candor when his brother was away Cas had confessed he was just a little confused as he tried to comprehend the infatuation his human friend had for the dark-haired doctor of medicine and his cowboy boots. Sam, who heard just a little tinge of jealousy in the angel’s voice, could only bite his tongue as he looked at the angel and shake his head in sympathy and just a little understanding of what the angel really meant by his words.

As Sam approached the threshold of the large room he already new by the silence he would find the room empty but he continued through the portal and did a quick scan anyway. Expectations proven, Sam was still a little disappointed when he did not find Dean and Cas sitting close together and sharing a bowl of popcorn as they binged Dr. Sexy.

Glancing down at his computer screen to make sure the web page hadn’t disappeared Sam turned and made his way back down the corridor until he came up to the t-intersection that would take him towards the wing that housed their sleeping quarters. Walking down the wide hallway, Sam gave a mental sigh of relief when he heard a low murmur coming from the direction of Dean’s room and as Sam approached the doorway. He could see a thin line of light running the length of the door, a clear sign that it had been left slightly ajar. Sam hesitated briefly as he judged the gap left by the partially open door.

The brothers had a long standing rule when it came to the terms of privacy, a closed door required a knock before entering (unless you wanted to risk catching your brother viewing porn and jerking off) so with some trepidation, Sam slowly pushed the door open and took a single step forward into the room “Hey Guys…get this....” and he stopped cold as he looked up from his screen at the scene playing out in front of him on Dean's memory foam bed. Thoughts of regret took over as Sam began to reconsider his decision to enter Dean's room without knocking first.

Chapter Text

*****

...and then swallowed hard. As he tried desperately to understand what was going on inside of his brother’s bedroom.

Dean had cheated a little and had opened his eyes to study Castiel as he listened to the tape. And even though his eyes were open, Dean was oblivious to his brother’s stealthy entrance into his room. Stairway to Heaven had ended and when Kashmir, the next song on his mixed-tape, had begun to play. Dean had focused all of his attention on the scruffy-bearded man sitting pretzel-legged in front of him. Dean told himself it was because he wanted to see if Cas would have the same reaction to the music as he had had when he listened to Zeppelin. But then, something changed inside of himself as he studied the angel’s visage and caught sight of the whisper soft smile that played about his lips. Dean found himself no longer caring about Cas’ reaction to any song. Instead, he just wanted to stare. As Cas nodded his head lightly in time to the music. Dean could not help but notice the soft yellow light from the table lamp located just off his shoulder bathed Cas in a golden halo of light, softening some of the small lines around his eyes and that ghost of a smile played about the angel’s slightly parted lips. Caused Dean to swallow thickly as he found himself becoming fully enthralled by the angel’s presence and close proximity to himself.

As just the song Kashmir began to reach the last refrain, Dean took the opportunity to curl in a little closer to his friend and while nodding his head in time to the music. He softly began to sing along with Page, his eyes never leaving the face that was now hovering a few inches closer to his own.

Sam could not believe the apparent scene playing out on his brother’s memory foam bed. Squishing his eyelids closed and then opening them again. Sam watched as his brother...his older brother, Dean Winchester. The man who never met a strip club he didn’t like, appeared to have his head in Castiel’s lap . And, was...was his head bobbing?

Blinking quickly as if the rapid eyelid movement would help reconnect his vision with the synapse of his brain and clarify what he was seeing. Feeling a little embarrassed, Sam took a half-step back ready to turn and go back out the way he had come. His heart was pounding in his chest as he still tried to make sense of what he was seeing. But then, there was a subtle shift in Dean’s position and the scene before him came into better focus. Dean was not giving Cas a blow-job (Sam had to admit. He found it slightly disappointing as he knew his brother had an un-admitted to crush on the fallen Angel) he was in fact just singing softly to the angel. A smile broke out on his own lips as Sam heard the lyrics in the unmistakable bluesy, rock and roll voice of his brother float throughout the small bedroom:

Ooh, yeah yeah, oh, yeah yeah,

But I'm down oh, yeah yeah, oh, yeah

Yeah, but I'm down, so down

Ooh, my baby, oh, my baby

Let me take you there

Come on, oh let me take you there

Let me take you there

Sam was undecided as to whether he should back out and leave the two men to their music or interrupt and let Dean know about the case he currently had loaded on his computer screen. It only took a moment for Sam to decide to leave. Watching his brother and the angel together Sam could only hope that his brother would finally come to accept his feelings for the angel and any nudge he could do to push his brother into facing it himself, he would gladly do.

Besides he wasn’t a hundred percent sure it was a case. Maybe he should do a little more research first. Quietly, backing out of the room Sam reached for the door and began to close it behind him. Only this time he made sure to close it all of the way and as he turned and walked back down the hallway towards the war room, the little smile playing on his own lips grew to be a great big smile.

Except for his head moving in time to the music playing through the headset clamped to his head. Castiel remained still as he felt Dean shift on the bed. His heart began to beat a little quicker as he felt Dean’s warmth come closer. He forced himself to refocus on the music filling his ears. Castiel could not help but hear a deeper meaning to the words. He doubted Dean would understand why the meaning for him would be so different than w Mid-way through though, Castiel felt an abrupt shift in the air around them and using his abilities he had as an angel (and the brother's Winchester tended to forget about). Castiel knew the bedroom door had opened and that Sam now stood in its threshold. He also understood that Dean’s lack of reaction also told the angel that his friend who was currently singing to him, had not noticed.

Selfishly, Castiel decided to pretend he had not noticed Sam's entrance. He didn’t want this intimate moment he was sharing with the eldest Winchester to end. So, rather than be the one to break the spell by turning and acknowledging the tall man's entry, Castiel decided to wait for Dean to make the first move and when Dean continued to sing, Cas realized Dean was clueless to his brother’s entrance. Cas could not help but give a small prayer to his Father. Asking him to make Sam leave so he and Dean could have just a little more time together. Wrong to ask he knew but Cas did not care. And so it was with a little shock that Castiel sensed another shift in the air as Sam had turned and left the room. Even going so far as to close the door behind him. Castiel smiled and as Dean finished the last line to Kashmir, Cas slowly opened his eyes and looked directly down and into the warm green eyes of the mortal man he had come to love above all others.

“I liked that one best, Dean” Cas said in a rough voice.

“Yeah?” Dean said as he subtly tried to lean away from Cas but still with some happiness in his voice.

“Yes. There is a lot of imagery in the lyrics that I wholly enjoyed.” Shifting slightly Castiel continued “it makes me think a little about heaven and of my time here on earth with you…” Dean looked up and met Cas’ eyes at this statement. Cas for his part, was afraid he might have implied too much and tried to deflect some of the statement by adding “..and Sam and other times before I met you both.” the last part sounded forced. Cas flinched a little at the awkwardness of it.

Dean furrowed his brow, perplexed as to Castiel’s meaning.

Seeing his friend's uncertainty, Castiel tried to clarify “The opening stanza, Dean.”

Castiel closed his eyes and began to softly speak the lyrics from Kashmir’s opening.

“ Oh let the sun beat down upon my face, stars to fill my dream

I am a traveler of both time and space, to be where I have been

To sit with elders of the gentle race, this world has seldom seen

They talk of days for which they sit and wait and all will be revealed”

Dean watched as Cas closed his eyes and slightly tilted his head to the side and with in a soft voice that caught Dean by surprise. He began to repeat the opening the lyrics to Kashmir. Dean felt like he was hearing the lyrics for the first time and putting them into the context of Castiel's experiences as an Angel of the Lord. Dean felt a chill run up his spine and suddenly felt he understood what Cas had meant. A nervous energy took over Dean at this new revelation and the entirely new way he was now going to appreciate the lyrics to Kashmir.

As Cas finished, Dean needed to sit up and so in one swift move. Dean pushed himself upwards and folded his legs so that he could mirror Castiel and sit pretzel-legged across from the angel and he leaned forward. And for the briefest of moments,  Dean thought of the final scene from the movie Sixteen Candles . Then, just as quickly as the image entered his thoughts, he tried to push the image from his thoughts because his position on the bed made him Molly Ringwald and Castiel...Jake. And he still wasn’t quite ready to admit to himself how cool that would be.

Castiel felt Dean’s sudden change in position and for his part was a little disappointed. He was going to miss the brush of Dean’s leg alongside his own, but this new position directly in front of him was okay too.

Afraid to make eye contact because of what he was about to say next, Castiel made sure to tilt his head forward so that when he opened his eyes he would be looking at his folded hands rather into the eyes of Dean Winchester  

“You see Dean. This opening section of the song, I feel, sums up quite a bit of what I have experienced during my visits here on Earth, the different courses I have taken throughout its early history and because of everything that I have endured as a celestial being and how it has all led me here to this moment- with you. “ At the last word Castiel looked up to meet Dean's eyes.

Dean paused at the words just spoken by Castiel. He wasn’t sure how to reply but only because he was unsure of the meaning behind them. He searched the blue eyes that were no longer trying to avoid his own. Leaning slightly more forward, Dean opened his mouth to answer...or was it to ask a question? But before he could begin, the door to his bedroom was slammed open and Sam filled the doorway and in a voice filled with excitement exclaimed.

“Sorry guys.  I tried to wait on this but we got a case down in the Gulf Coast of Texas, it is on an oil rig and I can’t wait for you two to figure your shit out any more.”

Chapter Text

Castiel remained very still and waited for Dean’s reply. He hoped his friend would understand the subtle meaning behind his words. He did not hold out much hope. Castiel knew that in order to protect himself against being hurt, Dean relied on being deliberately obtuse. Castiel thought it was amazing how the famed hunter could face down the most evil and dangerous monster without blinking, but when it came to facing what he felt inside, the man was a coward. This is what made it so hard for Castiel. As a being of celestial intent and not to mention guardian angel to Dean. He already knew what desires Dean held towards him, and right now at this moment of shared intimacy. It took everything he had within himself not to use what little of his grace he had at the moment to nudge the man to open up. But it was not how he wanted things to be between them. He needed Dean to open up on his own and share his innermost desire with Castiel. So he waited, and could only dream these last few days spent together watching Netflix on the couch together or listening to music on Dean’s bed would finally give the man courage to do so. At least that is what he had hoped, and he had hoped the admission of his own feelings would be the final push that would give Dean courage to be honest and give Castiel what he wished for most. And based on the thoughts swirling through Dean’s head, Castiel felt he was going to finally have what he wished for...that is until the younger Winchester burst through the door and brought everything to a disappointing halt. Castiel, with a calmness that he did not feel inside, opened his eyes in time to watch Dean as he tried to distance himself from Cas, embarrassment written clearly on his panicked face. Then to the angel’s astonishment, he watched Dean disappeared from sight as he fell off the bed.

Startled by his brother’s sudden and emphatic entrance into his bedroom. A flustered Dean broke himself away from his too intimate proximity to Cas, and began to roll himself off to the side of the mattress in an attempt to launch himself up and off the bed. His intentions were to make a show of nothing to see here innocence. Then confront his younger brother for not observing their rule for knocking before entering when a door is closed. But his inner voice made him second guess his plan because the inner voice also knew that to remind Sam about the “door rule” would probably lead to questions as to why it was closed in the first place. But then the entire scenario playing out in his head had to be rewritten when his feet became entangled in the bed covers and instead of planting his feet firmly on terra firma - he fell forward and then downward onto the floor.

He heard a slightly suppressed laugh come from the direction of Sam and from behind him, a still sitting Cas merely said “Dean, are you okay?” Pushing himself up from the hard floor, Dean with pink tinged cheeks glanced over at Castiel and gave a dismissive nod of his head and to Sam he turned and with barely disguised frustration and anger sputtered

“What the fuck, Sam!” What in the hell are you doing? You’re supposed to knock at least once before you enter a guys room. You scared the shit out of me...and Cas”

Dean flung an arm back in Cas’ general direction. Stealing a quick glance back at the angel as he did so, a slight frown creased his brow when he saw Cas did not look startled but rather… was that disappointment? Closing his eyes Dean centered himself and turned back towards his brother and with a small sigh he opened his eyes and looked up at the taller man and with a calm annoyance said “Next time maybe a knock first. You know, before you barge in and start ranting about cases.”

Sam swallowed the small laugh building inside in an effort to hide his amusement at his brother’s obvious discomfort at being caught in a compromising position with his best friend. He didn’t dare bring up the reason for the closed door policy to begin with “Um, yeah sure. I will make sure to knock when you and Cas are…” Sam gave a small nod towards the bed as he continued “Ahem... busy”

Sam watched as Dean narrowed his gaze in irritation at his chosen words, and he knew his brother was about to launch into a defensive retort about his obvious misunderstanding of what he saw going on between himself and Cas. So to head him off, Sam spun the laptop he had been cradled in his arms and thrust the open screen into Dean’s face, barely stopping before hitting him in the nose with the edge of the device and with some excitement in his voice said. “I think we have a case.” Dean continued to glare at Sam then with some hesitation he broke eye contact and squinted at the screen that was now far too close to be seen clearly. Rolling his eyes, he grabbed the computer from Sam and moved it to a more readable distance and began to scan the screen.

“A case? Where?” Trying to ignore the sounds and movement Cas made behind him as the angel left the bed they had just been sharing. No...No...not sharing. Had been sitting on, innocently sitting on. And made his way over to stand next to Sam. Dean could feel the angel’s eyes on him and Dean kept his focus on the laptop, not yet ready to look up into those blue-eyes that he knew were studying him with an intensity that always made him feel uncomfortable. As if he were trying to understand what happened to cause such a change in his demeanor. His thoughts, feelings, aura. Everything. Dean’s unease came from knowing Cas was seeing exactly what Dean was trying to hide from himself.

Sam for his part looked over at Cas and saw the way he was looking at his brother and felt bad for the guy. Sam gave a little shake of his head and answered his brother. “Three guys from an oil rig down in the Gulf of Mexico went missing.”

“So….” Dean couldn’t understand the concern here. “It’s an oil rig, Sam. And from what I get reading this article, it just sounds like the guys may have just taken off without telling anyone. Why do you think it is a case”

Sam rolled his eyes and reached out and grabbed the laptop back from his brother and following a few taps of his finger he turned the screen back around and replied with some satisfaction in his voice “Because of this-” Dean threw his hands out so he could grab the laptop from Sam’s hands before there could be a repeat of the previous near miss to his face and he brought the computer closer and studied the new web page on the screen, his brow furrowed in doubt. Castiel shifted his position and came to stand behind Dean and began to look at the screen over his shoulder and because of his slightly shorter stature, Cas was forced to lean up against the taller man’s backside and peak over his shoulder Dean swallowed hard and held himself still. There was a part of him wanted to move away or at the very least adjust the position of the computer so that Cas would not have to be so close, but something held him back from doing so and instead he looked up into Sam’s face.

“Well, Sammy, it says here that a few weeks prior to the first dude disappearing they had been doing some deep-water work on the rig after a big storm. And that they found what looked to be an old wreck of ship.” Dean handed the laptop back to his brother as he finished his statement. “And?”

Sam rolled his eyes unable to deal with Dean’s negativity. But then he decided to chalk it up to the possibility that Dean wasn’t ready to end this domestic bliss he and Cas had be going through for the last four days. “It wasn’t any ship, Dean. It was a 19th-century trading ship: the ‘Belle La Belle” and it was carrying all sorts of cargo to trade first in Louisiana and then to Texas. It went down in what may have been a hurricane.” Sam looked at his brother excitement still in his voice but it was dulled when Dean had the look of someone waiting for the punchline to a bad joke. Sam soldiered on with his attempt at getting his brother on board “What if they found more than just an old wreck? What if they found something or took something from the wreck?

“What? What did they take. Some old cannon balls or treasure. Did the ship have any treasure on it?” Dean said in a voice now tinged with a little more interest.

“I don’t know. Anything! What if they took something from the wreck and now they are paying the price!”

“Like a ghost or something” Dean became thoughtful as his mind went down the list of probable entities that could be active under this situation. “Yeah...that would definitely make this a case for us.”

Sam added “What if whatever happened to them is linked to that ship?” Dean looked at his brother, still not entirely convinced about making the trip. So decided to take a glance over at Cas ready to get his opinion on the matter. But when he saw the angel's face, Dean and choked back his question. He felt a deep pang of regret at the look on his friend's face. Though, Cas seemed to be nodding in agreement with Sam. Dean could see there was some obvious sadness about his eyes and Dean knew his fear of being honest was the reason that sadness was there.

Their time of hanging out in the bunker was coming to an end and any personal moment they were sharing or about to share had been lost at Sam’s entry to his room. Mentally, Dean kicked himself for letting the chance to be being honest with Cas about the feelings he was having for the angel slip away...again. He vowed to make it up to his angel. And in what Dean considered a small step in that direction. He leaned into Cas just a little and with a small wink that went unseen by Sam, said “What do you think, Cas? You ready to hit the road and visit the Gulf Coast?”

Castiel remained silent, his heart was heavy with disappointment to really participate in the exchange between the Winchesters, his brow had furrowed slightly but when he felt the unmistakable lean into his body by Dean. Castiel looked up into smiling green-eyes that were covered by eyebrows raised into that unmistakable Dean Winchester flirt angle. At first Cas was reluctant to trust what he was seeing but then he read Dean’s aura and knew something had changed in Dean. Something good and so he could not help the small smile of his own that began turning up the corners of his lips. He nodded his agreement. The his heart grew lighter still when he saw Dean return an even bigger smile back.

Dean then turned with an exaggerated sigh back to Sam and said with a serious face “Okay, looks like we are going to to Texas to checkout an oil rig.”

Sam gave his brother a big smile and a wink and with some humor in his voice replied “Don’t worry Dean. You could be right and this could be nothing. Which means you and Cas could be back here in just a few days doing whatever it is you two were doing together.” And before Dean could give a retort, Sam spun on his heel and left his brother’s room with a small smirk playing on his lips.

Dean watched his brother exit and with some edgy excitement in his voice, he turned to face Cas and said "Looks like we are going on a road trip. Why don't you grab that mix-tape I made you and we can listen to that on our way down." as he spoke, it came to his attention that unnoticed by Cas, the collar of his shirt had become turned up and Dean quickly figured it would be a clever way to try and bring back a little of the intimacy that they were experiencing before. So, he reached up and began to adjust the collar.

Deliberately making eye contact as he continued "And if you are still interested..." Dean paused to licked his lips as he brought his eyes back down to the pink lips of Castiel.

Castiel for his part, knew instinctively what Dean was doing. He had seen enough of it when Dean was trying to pick-up various women over the years and even with that knowledge, he could not stop himself from mimicking Dean's action with his own tongue and lips. Only he added a little something extra to his action. He bit his lower lip after he finished. He had seen many women perform the same subtle gesture back at Dean and it gave him a little thrill as he watched Dean's pupils swell at the sight of the movement around his mouth.

Dean took a breath at this final action by Cas. He did the lip bite. I can't believe he just bit his lip. and it was with an unsteady voice he continued "...in me educating you about my favorite bands and - you know. Whatever else you want to talk about. Like maybe us" Dean looked up shyly this time. His flirtatious bravado gone.

Castiel tilted his head satisfied by Dean's reaction and smiled. "Yes, Dean. Of course I want to learn more about the music and I look forward to talking about...us. That would mean a lot to me."

"Great." and with that, Dean gave Cas' collar a final tug and quickly moved his arms around Castiel's shoulders and gave him a hug and just as Cas was finished getting his own arms in place around Dean, Sam's voice once again ruined the moment as it rolled through the corridor's demanding they hurry up so they could get on the road.