Meant to Be

Summary: Michael has been wanting to meet his vessel for a long time and, throughout Dean's life, the Arch Angel has popped in every now and then for a little emotional support. His dad and brothers told him not too. They said it was dangerous for him to get to know the human but hey… whoever listened to family?

Chapter 1

Dean rolled onto his side… Why the hell couldn't he get to sleep? The night air cooled his skin but it didn't help. He just couldn't find a comfortable position to settle down. Too warm with the blankets on, too cold with them off.

Damnit! He thought and made to stand up only to feel an arm wrap around him.

"Where are you going?" Sam asked, his voice still groggy from sleep.

"Just for a walk."

"Dad told us not to leave the room."

"I'm 18 now… I don't have to listen to him anymore. I'll stay close Sammy, nothing will get you while I'm here."

Sam nodded and loosened his hold on his brother as he slipped easily back into sleep.

Pulling on a shirt and a pair of jeans, Dean didn't even bother with shoes as he left the crappy motel room. The night was suffocating, stale with the pongs of old beer and the lingering smell of cigarettes. Secretly, Dean wanted nothing more than to get out of hunting… but it was the only thing he knew how to do. First off though was to get Sammy out. Dean knew the kid dreamed of Stanford and he had every intention of getting his brother there. It hurt that the younger boy wanted to leave him but it would be a good path for him. Normal.

"Hey!" A voice made Dean jump and twirl around so fast he lost his balance, some hunter. An arm shot out and caught him before he hit the gravel "Sorry," the voice said again "I hooted but you seemed kinda out of it… you're standing in my parking space."

Dean apologised and made to move away but the arm around him hesitated. The teenager finally turned to look at the man and his breath caught in his lungs. The man had fair features but not girly by any means, dusty blonde hair and the deepest blue eyes he'd ever seen looked down at him before the guy finally let him go. He was taller than Dean but not massive and the dark jeans and white button up shirt did nothing to hide the fact that he had a great body. Dean's mouth had suddenly gone dry and his heart beat furiously against his ribcage.

What the hell is wrong with me? He's a dude! "Yeah… Sorry again… about standing in your way."

The guy smiled and Dean could have sworn that his knees went weak "No problem. Hey, you wanna… I dunno, get a drink? After I park the car?"

Dean knew that Sam was waiting for him to get back but the guy seemed nice enough "Sure."

A few minutes later found Dean in the room two down from his own and a beer in his hand. The blonde had sat them on the couch and just started the conversation, talking about anything and everything that came to mind. It was nice, easy. The man had a rather soothing voice that seemed to lull Dean into a state of comfort the younger man hadn't felt in a long time "So," the guy said, effectively breaking Dean out of his wonderings "Your turn, tell me about yourself." He seemed genuinely interested and Dean felt no compulsion to lie to him.

"My name is Dean Winchester… I turned 18 two weeks ago. I don't really come from anywhere. We move around a lot. My dad and brother, they're the only family I've got… speaking of which, I should get going. My brother's only 14 and he's in the room all by himself so…" Dean stood and took a step past the blonde towards the door but he stopped when a hand shot out and gently caught the fabric of his jeans. The grip was firm but light enough that if Dean wanted to pull away he would have no trouble but instead, he turned to look down at the man on the couch and only saw openness in the blue eyes that looked back at him.

"Please tell me more."

Dean should've said no and told the guy to bugger off but he just couldn't. Instead, he lowered his head and muttered "You'll think I'm crazy."

Dean felt his gut tighten uncomfortably. Fore some unknown reason, Dean felt like he could trust this blonde… he wanted to tell him everything! He had never wanted anyone's approval as much as he wanted this stranger's. The conversation had been long but the man had given almost nothing of himself away and yet Dean still wanted the guy to like him. To not judge him because he was part of a freak show family that was falling apart "Trust me, you don't want to know anything about me."

The blonde gave Dean a slight tug, both offering and encouraging him to sit back down a little closer than before "Try me." He whispered.

And just like that, all of Dean's fears and worries came pouring out of him 'I'm so worried about Sam. I want him to be happy but I can't keep an eye on him at Stanford. I just know he'll be accepted, he so smart and young… Dad may have enslaved me to hunting but it's fine… as long as he has at least one prisoner he'll let the other go…" Tears welled in Dean's eyes but didn't let them fall, even as he wrapped his arms around himself to hold himself together.

The blonde's arms slowly crept around the teenager and Dean was pulled into the man's lap. He just held the teen, stroking his back and hair gently "You'd give up your own freedom for that of your brother's?"

Dan nodded without hesitation "Protect Sammy, that's my mission. Protecting him includes making sure that he's happy… He's not happy here with me. I have to get him out." Tremors shook Dean's frame as he explained how he'd been saving up money to send Sam away. It hurt so much but it was the best he could do to make his brother happy. The blonde continued to hold him and the tears finally fell. Dean's emotional outburst obviously took a lot out of him because he quickly fell asleep in the man's arms.

The blonde looked down at the sleeping teen and his heart broke as he softly whipped the tears away. He knew Dean's pain well. Gently, so as not to wake the boy, he lay them down and wrapped Dean up in his arms. Hopefully there would be no nightmares tonight.

AN: Please review… the more I get the quicker I am persuaded to update :D hope you've enjoyed so far.

To be continued…