@CastielNovak Please, have some dignity. If you want to meet me, do not force it. Meet me at my work - civilly - and do not push boundaries.
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It had been three days.

Castiel was discharged from the hospital but Dean hadn't seen him. Cas had holed himself up at home while Dean worked agonizingly long days. He had to make up for the missed time he spent at the hospital and actually do his job.

It was hot by now and Dean was sweating profusely trying to do his job. He was bent over, halfway inside the front of a car, inspecting the engine. He had just finished replacing the transmission - which had been hell - and was doing a once-over to make sure everything else was stable.

They had bought the premium package and came in for an inspection. He ended up fixing the loose gas cap and inflating one of their tires as well.

It was after nine before he decided to close up shop. He sent a text to the owner saying the car can be picked up tomorrow before shutting the hood. He locked all of the doors, set the alarm on, and turned off all the lights.

Dean walked up the steps, feeling his body ache, and smelling the BO coming from his pits. He unlocked his front door and pushed inside.

After locking the door, he set his keys on the now-fixed holder and slipped off his boots. "Sammy, I'm home!" he called out to his brother.

Within moments, Sam was out of his room to greet his brother. His face scrunched up in disgust. "Dude, you reek."

"Thanks, Sammy. It's not like I worked my ass off all day today or anything," Dean grumbled. Why did I have to greet him if he's just gonna be an ass?

Sam muttered, "Sammy is a chubby 12-year-old. It's Sam, okay?"

Dean walked to the kitchen and pulled a beer out of the fridge. He untwisted the cap and took a swig. "Yeah, okay, Sammy."

Sam rolled his eyes and followed his brother into the kitchen. Dean sat down at the small table and dropped his head. He heard the fridge open and close and the clink of a beer. "You good?" Sam questioned, sitting down at the table across from Dean.

"Yeah, just tired." Dean tipped his head up to take another sip. "What's up with you? You never sit with me."

Sam sat back in feigned shock. "Yeah, I do. All the time," he retorted.

Dean dipped his head to look at Sam skeptically.

Sam's facade broke. Wow, that was short, Dean thought. "Okay, fine. I wanted to talk to you about mom."

Dean took a long swig of his beer. "There's nothing to talk about, Sammy."

"Dean-"

"There's nothing to talk about."

"Yes, there is. Why don't you want anything to do with her? Why did she say she wasn't with Grandpa? I need an explanation, Dean."

Dean was dead silent. All he could do was sip his beer and hope Sam doesn't come to the conclusion on his own.

The taller boy huffed, stepping up from his seat away from the table. "Whatever. Gabe's friend Charlie got me the address to the homeless shelter she's at. I'll just ask her myself." He walked towards the door.

Dean stood, flipping his chair over accidentally with how fast he got up. "No!" Sam was at the door and had already unlocked it. Sam turned around, his hand still on the doorknob.

Sam looked at him expectantly, waiting for a response. Dean opened his mouth to respond but no words came out. Fuck, what do I say? All he could do was say the first thing that came to his head.

"Let's go tomorrow morning. Together. Mom can tell you everything then." Dean had no idea what else to say. He felt stuck, trapped in his position.

Sam removed his hand from the doorknob, stepping away. "Okay." He took a deep breath. "No excuses," he added, pointing a finger towards the shorter brother.

Dean held his hands up defensively. "Deal." He dropped his arms after Sam put his down and locked the door back up.

Sam returned to the kitchen to grab his beer. He walked off to his room and shut the door behind him.

Dean let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. What did I just get myself into? He brought his beer to his lips and finished it. He exhaled loudly. He wanted to just keep drinking. After my shower, he told himself.

He tossed his beer in the trash and stalked over to the bathroom.

He stripped himself of his clothes and stepped under the still-cold droplets. His body relaxed as the water heated, but his mind was racing. Dean settled on the thought of calling his boyfriend after his shower.

Not long after, he was cozied up in bed under his covers, wearing one of Cas's sweatshirts that Cas never wore and a pair of boxers. He called his boyfriend on video chat and moments later was greeted with a black screen.

"Babe?" he asked. He heard shuffling from the phone and suddenly was able to see. Cas had severe bedhead and looked like he was comfortable by the giant red spot on his cheek. "Oh, I didn't mean to wake you."

Cas sat up in his bed, wincing slightly. "It is okay," he said groggily. His eyes were opened slightly, evident of him sleeping moments earlier.

"You sleep well?" Dean asked. Cas nodded. "I know. You have a giant red spot on your left cheek." He smiled as he watched Cas fumble with the covers. He finally got his hand out of the duvet and touched his face, opening his eyes wider to look at the mark adorning his cheek. A red and black flanneled sleeve hung off his body loosely and Dean smiled, recognizing his shirt.

"Oh. It appears I do," he replied. He put his hand back under the covers and smiled lazily. "Why are you up so late?" he asked Dean.

"It's not even ten o'clock," Dean replied, slightly bewildered. His eyebrows were furrowed and he looked at his boyfriend in confusion.

Cas's eyes shot open and his eyebrows furrowed as well. He brought his phone closer to his face and he tapped the screen a few times to try and get the time to appear. "Oh," was all he could say as he relaxed his face again.

"When did you fall asleep?" Dean questioned, a wider smile playing upon his face. He enjoyed seeing the smile on Cas's face. Happiness suits him.

Cas shuffled around in his covers and Dean envied how comfortable he looked. "Um, I do not remember."

Dean chuckled. "Well, how was your day? Sorry I couldn't talk much; I had a lot of work to make up."

The black-haired man sighed. "I worked a lot, too. I did not finish work until nine. Came home and immediately passed out." He shuffled a bit more in his bed before finally sighing contently. "I thought I was asleep longer."

"Nah, Jack. Do you want me to let you get back to sleep?" Truth be told, Dean didn't want him to go. He loved talking to his boyfriend and wanted to talk about the situation with his mom.

"No, I want to talk to you," Cas replied.

Dean smiled with joy. "Good, cause I really wanted to talk to you."

Cas tilted his head, eyes bugging out of his head slightly. "About what?" Dean recognized the look and immediately went to dismiss the worrying thoughts.

"Nothing bad, just my mom."

He heard Cas sigh. "What about her? I thought you had told her to leave you alone."

"Apparently, this girl Charlie helped find her and gave the information to Sammy so he can talk to her now."

"Charlie?" Cas asked, tilting his head again.

Dean nodded. "Yeah, why? You know her?"

Cas sighed again. "I am sorry, Dean. I wish I knew Gabe had planned to do that so I could have stopped him. She is incredible with computers." Dean was still confused. "She is a mutual friend of Gabe and I."

Dean was silent, thinking if he should say what he was feeling. He lifted his eyebrows, impressed that this 'Charlie' could exist. Then, he vaguely remembered. "Oh - Charlie. The, uh, redhead who works at the front desk? Really pale? Kinda quirky?"

The edges of Castiel's lips rose slightly. "Yes, that is her. You know her as well?"

"Yeah. I met her at the opening night of your work."

Cas nodded. He was now clearly wide awake and more observant. "Dean?" he said after a few moments of silence.

Dean looked up from his spot on his comforter. If his eyes were lasers, they would've bore holes through the entire bed. He was off in his own little world and Cas knew.

"Dean. Look at me," Cas demanded, slightly growling. Dean looked at him and Cas could see the fear in his eyes. "You can tell me whatever is wrong."

He decided to trust his boyfriend and tell him. It's not like he's going to judge. Everybody has lied before. "I'm scared he's going to find out the truth," he admitted, looking away from his phone.

"Dean?" Cas said. I can't look at him. I can't believe I just told him that. Of all the ways I coulda said it, I stuck with the most pathetic. "Dean, look at me. We are not doing this again."

He continued staring at his comforter, plucking at one of the fuzzes with his nails. He couldn't help but think what Sammy would do if he found out the truth. Not only did Dean lie about their dad's death, he lied about their mom, too. He had never told Sam any facts about Mary except for her name and age. Other than that, all Sammy knew about her were the lies Dean told and the pictures they had together for her looks. If Sam were to meet her and find out the truth, Dean knew it would break him. He didn't know what Sammy would do if he found out the truth and that terrified him.

Cas shuffled again. "Hey, please look at me," he muttered. Dean finally looked up into his boyfriend's eyes, now a dark shade of electric blue from the dim lighting. "It will be okay," he cooed.

"I'm scared that he's gonna leave, Jack. All I've ever done was lie to him about mom." Dean paused, taking a deep breath before looking into Cas's eyes and saying the next part. "I can't lose him, too. Not after losing mom and dad. Not him, too."

Cas frowned, looking like a sad puppy. Dean would have said something about how lost he looked - and maybe added something about how cute he was - but couldn't bring himself to speak. Not even to make a bad pun or snarky comment.

There was a deep-rooted pit of guilt in the middle of his chest that made him uneasy and nervous. Sammy's gonna leave.

He heard Cas speak, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Dean-" he started, but Dean cut him off. Castiel's voice shook him out of it.

"Hey, Jack. Enough about me. How are you? How have things been over there at the Kline household?" he interrupted. No chick flick moments, he reminded himself, a fake smile plastered on his face.

Cas sighed in frustration. Dean did this deflecting frequently and it was becoming rather bothersome. "I have been okay, I suppose. Raphael has not been home since. My one brother and his boyfriend have been away, too, so I do not know if they are away together or not. My back hurts and I was able to get the stitches removed today. Gabe said the scabs were healthy so that is good. Nothing much, really," Cas concluded.

Dean smiled in adoration. "You ramble when you're sleepy."

Cas pouted. "No, I do not. And I am not 'sleepy'."

"Yes, you do. But it's cute so you're forgiven." The two smiled at each other. "I'm glad things are good, though. I miss you," Dean admitted.

Cas flipped his fake smile into a sympathetic frown. "I miss you too, Dean, but it has only been three days."

"Why don't you come spend the night? Raphael's away and you even just said you miss me, too," Dean suggested. He missed holding his boyfriend.

Cas broke eye contact. "I do not think that would be wise. What if he were to return tonight?"

"Then you won't be there. And the next time he tries to lay a finger on you, I'll be there to stop him. He can't hurt you anymore, Jack. I miss you and I want you here with me."

Cas looked back at Dean and sighed. "One condition."

Dean smiled at the fact that he was getting his way. "Yeah, babe, name your price."

Cas furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head. "I have told you this obviously. I do not-"

"What's the condition?" Dean interrupted.

"Oh," he breathed out. "I will have to take my medicine with me. You cannot, under any circumstance, look in my bag. Please," he added.

Dean frowned. He still doesn't trust me? "Babe, you don't have to be ashamed of your disease. You don't have to hide yourself from me."

"Please, Dean."

"Okay," he agreed. Whatever it takes to be with you right now.

《♤♡◇♧》○○○○○○○《♧◇♡♤》

Dean heard light knocking on the door and immediately stood. After they had hung up, he stupidly decided to wait in the livingroom. He had already drank another beer in the wait and was fighting back the urge to have another when the knock came.

Dean opened the door to see his boyfriend standing there in a pair of grey sweats, his flannel, and a lopsided grin on his face. Dean immediately enveloped him in his arms, his nose pressed against Cas's temple.

"It's good to see you again," Dean mumbled into Cas's ear.

Cas pulled away with a smile, maneuvering an arm up to move the strap to his bag off his shoulder. Dean - reality finally hitting him - reached forward to take the bag from him. Cas thanked him with a smile. Dean placed Cas's bag down on the floor in front of the shoes and waited as Cas slipped his off.

"Hey," Dean started, taking off from his spot towards the kitchen, "I know it's late but," he paused again to open the fridge, "want a beer?"

Cas waved him off. "No, it is okay. Thank you." Dean shrugged and grabbed one for himself. He was about to shut the fridge when he saw the look of discomfort on Cas's face. His chapped lips were pursed and he was staring at the floor.

Dean sighed, putting his beer back in the fridge. He walked over to his boyfriend - who was still standing at the door - and frowned. He reached over Cas to shut the door and pulled back to look at him again. "I'm sorry for saying that."

Cas looked up into Dean's eyes and he couldn't resist getting lost in them. He felt like he was drowning in the deep, royal blue eyes staring back at him.

He glanced over Cas's face to see the red mark gone - the one he had from sleeping so hard.

His hair was ruffled and messy, pressed against his head and looking soft to the touch. It was clear there was no gel in it - or any that had been there had been removed during his sleep.

Dark stubble adorned his jaw and cheeks and Dean couldn't help but reach up to curiously run his thumb against it. Castiel leaned into Dean's touch and closed his eyes, exhaling deeply in content.

The break of eye contact snapped Dean out of his trance but he couldn't remove his hand. Cas was purring. The sound temporarily washed away all of Dean's problems. In that moment, it was only the two of them.

Dean was smiling, his cheeks raised, chest purring, and problems erased. "I never meant to say any of that stuff, you know. I was just scared and terrified of the truth. I treated you terribly when we first met and you deserve better than that."

Cas's eyes fluttered open. He removed his head from Dean's hand and ended his purring. "It is okay, Dean. No need to-"

The two were interrupted by a door opening to Dean's right. The two looked over to see Sam walk out, phone in hand. He was wearing a pair of black and red pajama pants but nothing else. "What's going on? Everything okay?"

Dean looked back at his boyfriend, causing the two to smile again. "Yeah, Sammy. It is."

"Wait- Jack? Is that you?" Sam squinted his eyes then took a step back. "Aww, man!" He looked back to Dean. "You could've told me he was coming over and I would've had Gabe come along." His hands were lifted in the air emphatically as he motioned towards Castiel.

Dean wrapped an arm around Cas's shoulders and smiled weakly at his brother. "Yeah, well, sorry, Sammy. Guess you gotta go cuddle your pillow for the night."

Sam glared at him. "Or, I'll just have him park you in." Sam smirked mischievously and turned to walk back in his room.

Dean was taken aback. "You wouldn't."

Sam grinned, taking another step into his room. He was now out of sight but still within earshot. "Hey, babe? Can you come over? I miss you." He paused. Cas and Dean shared a dramatic look and then looked back. "Yeah, Jack is here right now. Just park behind Dean. Yeah. See you soon."

He felt personally offended. He had no plans of travelling much the next day but parking Baby in? That's just cruel.

Sam bent backwards to steal a peek at his brother. "Jerk," he grinned. He then returned to his normal position and closed the bedroom door.

"Bitch," Dean retorted. He heard Cas giggle and turned to face his boyfriend. "What?"

Cas cleared his throat and tried to knock the smile off his face. "Nothing," he murmured, still smiling. "You two remind me of Gabe and I, that is all."

Dean smiled as well. He bent down to press a chaste kiss on his boyfriend's lips before laughing. Cas had started yawning mid-kiss and he couldn't help but feel slightly weirded out. "Tired?" Cas nodded. "C'mon," Dean said, extending his hand for Cas to grab.

Dean knew that Castiel knew where he was going but he didn't care. He was in a cuddly mood and wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around his raven-haired boyfriend, hold him close, and bury his nose into Cas's hair.

And that's exactly what he did.

《♤♡◇♧》○○○○○○○《♧◇♡♤》

Dean woke up to an alarm blaring which he didn't recognize. "Babe... nngh... turn it off," he grumbled. He had just been woken up from a dream of seeing Cas in the hospital and an overwhelming sense of guilt. While he was glad to free from the dream, he was exhausted.

Dean's dad used to play games with him and Sammy during the summer on their camping trips. The games would always be something with the stars, him being more of a nerd than Sam when it came to the sky. It was why Sammy was so fascinated with them and loved them as much as he did.

Dean never could share the same interest and prefered guessing games. So, surrounded by nothing but trees and a brewing fire a few feet away, John would wake Dean up some nights and demand the time. He acted like he hated it but, in fact, he loved it. He was able to get it down to a five minute difference.

"Jack, I mean it," he said, louder this time. He opened his right eye and peeked out in the darkness towards the moonlight. "Why the hell do you have an alarm set for 3:55 in the goddamn mornin'?"

Dean felt the bed shake behind him and heard the shuffling of covers. "Dean, that alarm is not mine."

"Well, it's not mine." The two groggy men sat up from their comfortable spots in bed. Dean was previously rolled over away from Cas and instinctually leaned into the other for warmth.

"It is coming from your phone," Castiel replied, pointing through the darkness at Dean's ringing phone.

Dean groaned, leaning to grab it. He picked it up and blinked the sleepiness out of his eyes. When they focused on the screen, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

His security system said the alarm had been breached.

He was fully awake now and flew out of bed, sliding his phone open with the passcode to look at the surveillance. He flipped his phone sideways as he quietly made his way to the closet with haste.

The camera was heat sensored and it lit up the dark room. He could see the edges of all of the objects and found a man on the main garage's camera.

He was freaked out to say the least. Never, in all of the years he owned the place, had someone attempted to break-in. "Stay here. Do not move."

He reached down and grabbed his pump shotgun which he had stowed away. He flicked it open with ease with a flick of his wrist and bent down again to enter the passcode to the safe. Within moments, he had the safe unlocked and shotgun shells loaded. He stood, flicked the gun closed, and kicked the safe closed.

He stealthily stepped to the bedroom door, throwing a quick glance to his boyfriend sitting criss cross on the bed. He could see Castiel's worried face from his own phone screen light.

"Don't worry. The alarm company sends the cops automatically," he whispered, walking to Cas. Dean helped him up to stand and saw him nod in acknowledgment to his words. He handed Cas his phone and Cas looked down at it. "Go to Sam and tell Gabe to keep driving around. Be quiet and be careful." Castiel looked up back into Dean's forest green eyes. He kissed Cas on the lips before disappearing around the bedroom door.

He held his gun low, aimed at the ground. His dad had taught him and Sammy how to shoot when Sam turned eight. He was always cautious and it always turned out beneficial for the boys. Dean's gun had actually been built by twelve year old him. He had sawed off the barrel, a perfect size for him.

He kept the gun low, left on the pump and right on the handle. He was slightly hunched over and standing directly next to the front door. Dean could hear light footsteps from his room to Sam's and sighed in relief.

As quiet as he could manage it, he worked the bolt lock to the right with his left hand. He, also, twisted the doorknob and pulled the wooden object away from its previous spot.

He could only hear the light buzzing from his fridge. No wind rattling against the house. No rain dancing upon the rooftop. The near silence made his heart race.

He slipped around the doorframe in between the small gap between the door and the frame. Dean took a step and then down one. He worked his feet slowly, crossing over one another to go down the stairs with his back nearly against the right wall.

He pointed the gun at the entrance to the garage warily. After inhaling and exhaling deeply - slow enough to not be recognizable - he was able to push forward.

Honestly, he was terrified for Sam and Cas. He didn't want his brother's candy thief getting hurt either. He dreaded the day he would need that security system. To be honest, he had convinced himself it wouldn't ever go off. Not in a town like Lawrence.

He twisted the handle to the door and was surprised to see it unlocked. Dean knew he had locked it. Why would that guy unlock this door but then not go through it?

Disregarding logic, he pushed the wooden object open slightly with his foot. His hands were back on his gun and aimed in the room.

His eyes were better adjusted to the darkness. Obviously, he couldn't see everything. But, he did remember where he had things. After days on end of him coming in and bumping into everything, he decided to try and memorize the layout. Once, he actually fell into a car - it was a convertible that had to have a headlight replaced after being in an accident.

Dean was sucked out of his memories when he heard a quiet click on the other side of the room. He recognized the sound of his office being unlocked and immediately bolted in front of him. He ducked low and slid right, behind Garth's desk.

Dean heard the flick of the light switch and waited a few moments to catch his breath. His fear levels were through the roof and he couldn't breathe loudly to deflate them. Cautiously, he peered around the corner to look into his office.

He couldn't make out much except for the white t-shirt and dark jeans the person was wearing. The light in his office was bright but the person was hunched over his desk.

Dean pulled towards him, loading the shell in the chamber. He put the gun in front of him to line up a shot in case he needed to make one. Shotguns weren't good for long range but he would have to make do. "Who are you?" he called out into the darkness.

The man clad in the white shirt and jeans stood up abruptly. He looked straight at Dean, shock plastered upon his face. Dean was shocked as well, recognizing the blond scarf-wearing man from weeks ago who slashed Cas's tire.

This further amped up Dean's adrenaline. Oh, it's this douchebag! Dean was finally face to face with him and had mixed feelings about it.

"Where's Castiel?" the man called out from Dean's office. He had a deep, thick foreign accent which caught Dean off guard.

"Sorry, man. No Castiel here. You must be one crazy son-of-a-bitch to trespass onto my property asking for him. There's a difference between reality and your imagination." Dean was surprised that this 'Castiel' was popular enough to get 'Jack' stalked.

"No, he's here. And he's mine. So you're going to give him back," the other man said, stepping out of the office.

Dean was baffled at the balls this guy had to be saying this shit at gunpoint. "Dude, you're friggin' insane. Just leave and I won't shoot."

The man started forward in the direction of Dean. "Give him back."

Is this guy delusional? Police sirens grew louder in the distance. "This is loaded, y'know?" Dean said louder. The guy's stride didn't falter. He panicked and pressed the trigger.

The man yelped in pain. Dean's shot wasn't exactly perfect. In fact, it wasn't even close to perfect. A shot had pierced the other guy's upper left arm. Dean watched as the man stopped and clutched his arm. The guy looked genuinely surprised at the fact he had really been shot. He made eye contact with Dean one last time before running out the door.

Dean let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. He had never shot someone before - only stationary targets - and that was eleven years prior. After a moment's thought, he was up and running up the steps to his apartment. He had completely disregarded the shots in the wall.

He barged into Sam's room loudly, causing both men to jump in shock. Cas was sitting at the foot of the bed and Sam a few feet away. Both were staring back at Dean as he looked at them. He finally broke and ran straight at Cas who had his arms outstretched.

Dean picked Cas up and held him close. Castiel stood with his tippie toes touching the ground, head buried into Dean's shoulder. Cas wasn't that much shorter than Dean but Dean had held him up by his lower back. He had no choice but to oblige and he honestly didn't seem to mind.

The police sirens were blaring through his ears from outside the apartment. Right now, he was trying to take in the reality of the situation. Dean squeezed Cas a little tighter.

I won't let anybody hurt you again.

Hi guys i know it's been like eight million years since i published (actually two weeks) but i have my reasons

Ive been super sick lately and idk what it is. I actually spent a few hours this past Friday (11/02/19) in the hospital just for them to tell me it's all in my head. Nobody believes me and it's really not put me in a good mental state

My dad also shut my phone off cause he found out ive been missing so much school (and, rather than get me doctors and meds, grounds me) so yeah im not the happiest camper.

I have been going to therapy for a few months now, once a week since like mid august, and my therapist wants to put me on depression and anxiety meds which is always fun.

BASICALLY A SUMMARY OF MY RANT: I'm not doing well mentally emotionally or physically but I'll be okay. Have a really long chapter almost 5000 words as a reward for yall being so nice.

I actually just came up with this idea while writing the chapter oopssss

OKAY i love you all so much. Make sure you vote, comment, and share! Love you all!

Ps. I will be editing this out later but its 02:30 and im tired so this chapter isn't proofread. Okay bye