Dean was sitting in Bobby's living room, twirling a beer between his fingers nervously as Sam spoke over the phone. He was owing his brother big time, finally cracking down enough to ask for this favor.

It seemed to take forever, but it was only a few minutes before Sam put the phone away, looking at Dean with almost pity. "Dean, you're getting frazzled. Take a deep breath." Sam said, arching his eyebrow at the flustered man.

Dean did what his brother said, breathing in deeply then back out before taking a swig of the beer, needing the liquid to calm himself. "What did Gabriel say?" Dean asked after his nerves calmed down enough.

"Castiel would get out tomorrow. They would be there to pick him up at twelve. Gabriel'll give your number to Castiel so he can call you. Seriously, stop worrying about it." Sam said, patting his brother's leg before standing. "I know you're new to this whole gay thing, but I've never seen you like this for any person."

Dean shrugged, glancing down at the bottle. He couldn't begin to explain how Castiel pulled all of his beliefs and ideas that were beat into him by John and threw them out the window. He felt stripped bare and vulnerable, and although he hated the feeling, the joy of being free of his father's weight was exhilarating.

Sam sighed when he got no response from Dean, stretching and letting out a light yawn. "Whatever he's doing to you, I have to thank him for. You actually act like a human being now instead of a smartass robot." Sam commented, smirking his brother and egging him to give him a response back.

Dean rolled his eyes, downing more of the beer and standing as well. "I have no idea what he's doing to me." Dean mumbled, looking at his brother worriedly. He hoped that he was making the right choice in being with Castiel, because it felt like he was risking everything for the sick teen.

Sam gave him an unamused look, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Dean, he's saving you. Don't you realize that?" Sam huffed, snatching the beer from his older brother's hands and setting it on the table.

"Do you realize how much hell you have suffered through because of John, how many things that you could have experienced and loved, all wasted because our father didn't like the idea of letting you go on your own? Dean, he's dragging you from that hell. I've never seen you like this, because it's something that our father never taught you. He's teaching you how to be human again." Sam said, facing his brother with a firm look. Dean squirmed, knowing that Sam would not give up this conversation by the determination in his eyes.

"I...." For once, Dean didn't know what to say, and he was left staring at Sam, trying to process the words that he had heard. He had never imagined himself as broken or molded under his father's words. He had believed he could be his own person, but looking back, it wasn't hard to see what a pawn he was in his father's plan.

"Look. Don't regret anything that gets changed in you, okay? You still have your lame comebacks and obsession with pie and burgers. It's just the things that even you hate that he's changing, like John's view of the world or holding all your emotions in until it kills you." Sam offered, trying to ease his brother into it. Dean appreciated that because even though he had always been by Sam's side since Mary's death, he never once let him break through his walls.

"Thank you." Dean replied, not sure what else to say. Sam just smiled in understanding and put the beer bottle in the refrigerator before heading to the other room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Dean's phone went off at two in the afternoon the next day, it made him nearly jump out of his seat where he was helping Bobby with research, receiving a weird look from his uncle in turn. He blushed, but excused himself and grabbed his phone, wandering out of ear shot before pressing the talk button and holding it to his ear.

"Hello?" He spoke, leaning against the wall just by the fridge. He heard nervous breathing on the other line for a moment and tipped his head, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Hey, Dean. It's Castiel." He heard the voice said shyly and relaxed, allowing a small smile to creep across his face. He heard the shuffling of footsteps just outside of the kitchen and knew that Sam was listening in, but at the moment, it didn't matter.

"Hey, Cas. How are you feeling?" Dean asked, his voice much lighter now. He heard Gabriel in the background of Castiel's line, incoherent words that sounded almost like encouragement. Whatever it was was making Castiel stutter just the tiniest bit.

"Would you like to....come over?" Castiel asked shyly, and Dean could almost feel the boy's blush as his heart began fluttering wildly. He clutched his chest subconsciously, trying to get his heart to calm down when he cleared his throat, red dusting his cheeks and ears.

"Of course. I'll be there in a few minutes." Dean mumbled before they both gave their farewells, both of them almost too shy to speak, and hung up. Dean pressed his cell phone to his temple, feeling so extremely shy and excited. It was a brand new feeling.

"You going to Castiel's?" Sam asked, leaning against the door frame. Dean nodded, not trusting his voice right now. Sam smiled, motioning to the door. "Go on then. You don't want to be late. Oh, and don't worry about Gabriel. I'll invite him out so he can't embarrass you."

"Thank you" Dean muttered out, giving Sam a pat on the shoulder before walking out the door, a tingling of anticipation spreading through his spine with every step. He got in his precious Baby before starting the engine and heading towards Castiel's house.

It was quick to get to, and he didn't even have to think about where he was going. He had took Gabriel home plenty of times when he slept over, so he knew these roads like he knew the back of his hand. Still, he almost drove past the house in his excitement, and pulled in, parking it and slowly getting out, making his way over to the door.

He was greeted by Castiel before he even knocked, the boy's eyes tired but still bright with excitement. "Hey Dean." He said, blushing a little bit as Dean smiled, taking his hand in his gently.

"Hey, Cas."