Chapter Text
"I`m sorry, Sam," Castiel said wincing, walking away whilst he held his hands over his ears. Concerned, Sam watched him wander towards the stairs where the bedrooms were located. Cas hadn´t been himself in a few days and the Angel Radio had been louder than normal.
"Angel Radio?" Eileen signed, picking up Sam`s coffee cup from the table. Grabbing it from her, he drained the last of his cold coffee and playfully slapped her rear, following her into the kitchen, where they found Dean, his head in his hands.
"How was last night?" Sam asked his brother, as he watched Eileen pour him another coffee. He shook his head when she signed, "One for Dean?"
Dean looked up at his brother, his eyes heavy. He´d stormed out of the bunker last night after an argument with another hunter on the phone. Things had been quiet for a few weeks now and Dean always got antsy when there was nothing to hunt or punch. Most evening`s he`d been disappearing just as the sun went down, the wind outside cold and threatening snow. Sam had tried talking to him, but knew his brother well enough to know that he wasn´t going to talk about what was bothering him, so he left him to his own devices and that clearly meant an evening of beer in a bar with the company of a woman or two.
"I went to see Scott at The Raven," Dean started, running his fingers through his hair. "That nest of vampires is legit. Scott said they´d lost Devon a couple of nights ago,¨
"Lost?¨
"He turned up dead, about a quarter of a mile from where they thought the nest was holding up.¨ Dean gratefully accepted the coffee that Eileen poured him as she lip-read the conversation between the brothers.
Standing up and stepping away from the table, Dean signed, 'Thank you' to Eileen and left the kitchen muttering about a shower and a nap.
Walking down the corridor, he peered into Cas's bedroom, the angel sitting cross-legged on his bed, concentration written all over his face. His eyes were closed and he was muttering, talking to no-one in particular, but a sure sign that he was listening and replying on Angel Radio.
"Good morning Dean," Castiel called out, not realizing his voice was raised. Angel Radio was busy, loud and he had had trouble concentrating of late, but he always recognized the soft sound of Dean`s feet, his breathing and the mellow lemony scent that he carried with him. Looking up, he smiled. Oh how he dreamt of kissing those luscious lips, but he had learned recently that sometimes it was up to the other person to initiate the first kiss. He had spoken to Aniela about his feelings towards a human and she had advised him about the ways of the humans. She´d explained that when it came to matters of the heart they were complicated creatures. She had also explained the whole situation regarding lust and something called 'a one night stand.' He hadn´t fully understood that reference as standing for a whole night seemed quite tedious and unnecessary. Humans really were quite complicated.
"Cas," Dean said, frowning as he leaned against the door jamb. He ran his fingers through his hair, not seeing the delight in the angel's eyes. "I feel like I'm losing my mind. I need to find this new alpha. I'm going stir crazy just sitting here in the bunker day in and day out. There's gotta be some chatter on Angel Radio." His jade eyes explored the angel's face, desperate for some information, but Cas turned away, straightening his legs and standing up. He couldn´t allow Dean to see what was in his eyes.
"There has been chatter," he started, pulling his trench coat around him. "It would appear that Zachariah has been monitoring this new alpha that you speak of." He went on to explain that it appeared that the alpha was indeed headed to Lebanon and he had an agenda. At present, no one actually knew what that agenda was, but Cas knew, at some point it would end up involving the Winchesters. Always keeping an ear to the ground, Dean often on foot, seeking out other hunters whilst Sam scoured the Internet, there wasn´t a monster within a mile that was safe from them. He had always marveled at the way the two brothers were so in tune with each other, and they didn´t even have Angel Radio to help them out. They just knew how each other seemed to tick.
" Well, I'm done waiting for some angel to tell me what to do," Dean replied, pushing back from the door. "I'm heading out tonight to find the son of a bitch. Come, don't come. I don´t really care. I´m not having hunters being killed on my patch," he said angrily, before storming off down the corridor to his bedroom.
Cas jumped as he heard the sound of a slamming door reverberate and knew that there was no stopping the elder Winchester. He was bull-headed and followed his heart. If there was a wrong to be righted, he would stop at nothing and, to be honest, Cas admired this in the young man. He had come to realize that this was an uncommon feature in humans, who generally were more worried about themselves than others. But not the two brothers, or their hunter friends. They were all a very strange bunch. Returning to his bed, he crossed his legs and tuned back in to Angel Radio, some voices clearer than others now as the chatter began to die down. Angels were noisy creatures and didn´t always listen to each other, each one feeling that they were more important. Cas knew his place and knew that many of the angels in heaven were disturbed by his close relationship to the two hunters, but due to his standing, few were brave enough to voice their concerns. Not that he would have ever listened. He owed so much to the Winchesters and he felt that it was his duty to protect them in any way he could.
Down the corridor, Dean threw his coffee mug against the wall, a single tear falling from his eyes. Only last month, he and Devon had gone out on a hunt to find a wendigo that was terrorising a local housing shelter. They had followed it, after spending three nights sitting in Devon's oversized black pick-up. Devon had called on him as Scott had been busy working at The Raven, due to staff shortage. The two of them had caught and despatched the wendigo that night and Dean had made a promise to come by soon. He hadn´t seen Devon alive again.
Slipping out of his jeans, he threw them onto the floor near his laundry basket, his shirt and tshirt joining them. Sitting on the bed he rubbed his temples, desperately trying to resist the urge to sleep, but knowing he needed to get the stink of the evening off his skin. A cheeky grin crossed his face as he thought about Candice and her twin sister, Candii (with two i's as she insisted upon repeating every five minutes.) They had certainly been more fun after the five whisky chasers! He didn´t remember everything about the evening, but he knew it must've been fun, judging by the bruises on his thighs and the ache in his head and neck.
Jumping up, he grabbed his gray robe and wandered down the hall to the bathroom, closing the door behind him as he turned on the shower. The hot steam rose as he stepped in, bathing his body in the lemony body wash he liked, flinching as his fingers caught a sore point on his neck. He grinned. Probably just another hickey. Ignoring it, he continued to wash himself, humming to himself as the soap washed down his body in rivulets, pooling like a cumulus cloud at his feet.
"Yeah, I`m sittin' on this barstool, talkin' like a damn fool, got the twelve o'clock news blues . . . " he sang to himself, as he let the hot water wash the remains of the soap from his body. Turning the shower off, he reached for the towel he'd left on the hook and stepped out, jumping in shock. "Christ Cas!" he yelled angrily, quickly wrapping the towel around his waist. "We've talked about this. Personal space. Man," he paused, seeing the distress in Cas's eyes as he stood up from the toilet seat he´d been sitting on whilst waiting for Dean to finish his shower. " Sorry. I just.¨
"My apologies Dean," Cas said sheepishly, trying to ignore the adonis he had just watch step out of the shower. Years of hunting had honed Dean into a handsome muscular man. Tight chest muscles above a tiny flat stomach. Strong arms and forearms, thick thighs and those beautiful bowed legs. His body was tanned except for his legs and his . . .
"Cas, you're staring," Dean retorted, turning around in the hope that his rising erection would disappear.
"My apologies, " Cas paused. "Again. Sam says he needs to talk to you.¨
"Ok. I'll be upstairs in five minutes," Dean called out, looking over his shoulder. Damn, he was going to have to stroke one out before he went upstairs, so he mumbled, ¨Make it ten."
Hearing the door close behind him, the steam of the room disappearing behind Cas, Dean breathed a sigh of relief, before reaching beneath his towel and relieving himself.