"WHAT THE FUCK SAM?"

In retrospect, Cas might have been right in that he'd overreacted, but Dean would like to point out that it's not every day your little brother calls you from Comic Con to tell you that he met a guy he's been obsessing about over the Internet in person—but not the one he was actually planning to meet-and had since decided to STAY IN CALIFORNIA.

Who the fuck does that?

He can practically hear Sam flinching over the phone and he can definitely see the grimace on Cas' face. "Dean—" Cas starts, trying to calm him down.

"Sammy, you dont even KNOW this guy! I mean Jesus fucking Christ, what are you THINKING?" Dean yells, shaking his boyfriend's hand from his arm and grabbing the phone from its cradle and cutting off the speakerphone.

"Dean I'm not a kid any more, I can make my own decisions," Sam replies, his frustration clear over the line.

Cas moves with Dean as he paces the room, shadowing him as best he can. Dean doesn't register him though, his fingers squeeze the phone until the plastic squeaks a protest of the rough handling.

"Well this is a stupid fucking decision, Sam! You can't just uproot your life on a whim because this guy is a good lay!" he snarls.

Cas' eyes flash and he crosses to Dean so quickly that it's one of those moments where he looks like the soldier that he was and not the mild-mannered accountant he is now. He's up in Dean's face and the taller man shies away. Cas is just as protective of Sam as he is, even against Dean himself.

"Dean you don't even know him," Sam says quietly.

Dean turns from Cas, avoiding his eyes and huffs out a hollow laugh. "Do you?"

"That's not fair—"

"How is it not fair, Sam? Tell me, because four days ago you'd never met this guy and you were happy here!" Cas comes up behind him and slides his arms around his stomach. He rests his chin on Dean's shoulder and the younger man doesn't need to see his face to know he's got that infuriating look of understanding on his face.

"Tell me how you calling me up from California to tell me this guy is more important than me and Cas and our home—" Dean says but he's lost all the heat from his voice. "—Tell me how that's fair, Sammy."

He feels like he just ran a marathon and he just wants his little brother to come home because they worked so hard to build it after everything that happened to them—the fire, losing mom, losing dad.

"Dean," Sam says softly. "Come out here. I want you to meet him. He wants to meet you too."

Dean rubs a hand over his face and leans back into Cas, a warm line along his back, his sinewy muscles supporting the slightly larger man easily.

"Sam you know we can't afford to do that. Cas and I can't just up and leave, we have work," Dean sighs.

Cas plucks the phone from Dean's hand and says, "It'll be taken care of Sam." Dean just stares at him, flabbergasted. "Yes, mmhmm, what's the flight number? Tomorrow afternoon? All right, Sam. No—yeah he knows. It's okay, don't—" A smile curls on Cas' lips. "—You too, Sam. Tell Gabriel we look forward to meeting him." He hangs up the phone and hands it back to Dean, a smug smile set on his face.

"I hate you," Dean says, but it's undercut by the way he buries his face in Cas' neck.

Cas strokes a hand over his boyfriend's neck and laughs. "No you don't."

"You're right," the younger man sighs. "But I hate Gabriel. He seems like a dick."

The other man tilts Dean's face away from his neck to look him in the eye. "No, he doesn't. Sam is smart, Dean."

"Not always, Cas."

Castiel just hums and resumes stroking the back of Dean's neck. "Do you trust him?" Dean mumbles a response. "What?"

"Fine, yes. I trust him. But we don't even know this other guy," Dean whines.

"But Sam does. Isn't that enough?"

Dean really hates his stupid, perfect, logical boyfriend sometimes. "No but I'll try my best not to be a douche."

"Oh Dean, no one's asking you to completely change your personality," Cas deadpans.

Dean puts on a hurt face but there's a smile teasing the corners of his mouth as he crowds Cas up against the wall and kisses him breathless.

Gabriel cards his fingers through Sam's hair as he hangs up the phone. They're sitting on the couch in Gabriel's hotel room, as close as humanly possible. Sam had told Gabe that he was calling his brother today to tell him he panned on staying and there was something in the way he looked that made the older man insist on being there. The slump of Sam's shoulders and defeated air clinging to him has Gabriel contemplating sending one of the burly bodyguards from the Avengers set out to Kansas to punch Dean in the mouth.

Sam smiles weakly and leans more solidly against Gabriel's side. "That went well…"

Gabe does his best to wrap himself around the larger body next to him. He only heard Sam's half of the conversation, but he can imagine how the rest went. "They're coming though?"

"Yeah. Cas pretty much put his foot down. Dean can't resist him I think," Sam sighs. He rubs small circles with his thumb absentmindedly on Gabriel's lower back where his shirt has ridden up and the smaller man feels his first inkling of connection with Dean if this is how he feels about Castiel. He's not sure there's anything he wouldn't do for Sam.

"So they're flying in tomorrow?" he asks even though he knows because he bought the tickets. He thinks the younger man needs reassurance that they're coming and when Sam sighs again and the tension starts to bleed from his shoulders, it strikes Gabriel that he feels like he's known this man for his entire life despite having just met him days before. He knows what Sam looks like when he's happy, when he's excited, when he's worried. He knows that Dean is the most important person in Sam's life because the older Winchester had practically raised him (with help from an uncle—Bobby, Gabriel thinks) after their parents died.

"Look, Sam, everything's gonna be fine we'll—" The rest of Gabriel's reassurances are cut off when he phone starts to ring. He glances down and sees that it's Robert calling. Sam peeks at the phone and smiles, giving Gabe the go ahead to answer.

"'lo, Robby. What's up? Did you crash something again and need some PR work?"

"You know that was one time, Gabey," the other man answers with a laugh. "I was wondering what you and your boy toy are doing tomorrow? Susan wants to get the gang together one more time before everyone branches out post-Con."

Gabriel looks down at where Sam is fiddling with the hem of his shirt. "Can't. Sam's brother is flying in. He, uh, he didn't take Sam wanting to move out here all that well."

There's a long silence on the other end of the phone, the type of silence that Gabriel has become wary of since meeting Robert. This kind of silence is usually followed by a bad idea that results in something that harms Gabriel mentally…or at the very least, physically. Like the time it was tailed by the question, 'Ever been spelunking, Gabey?'

"Robert?" he asks. Sam looks up from where he's sunk against Gabriel's side.

There's another second of silence before, "What time is the flight?"

Dean hates flying. Hates it with the burning passion of a thousand fiery suns. Taking off, landing, taxing from the gate; it all sucks and it all makes him queasy and sweaty and just, no thank you.

Castiel thinks he's a baby.

"And fuck you very much for calling me a baby in front of the flight attendant," Dean gripes as they get their luggage from the carousel.

"You were acting like a child, what else should I have called you?" comes Cas' reply.

Dean pouts as they pull the large rolling duffle they managed to pack all of their clothes in from the line. "Well you didn't have to ask her for crayons to 'entertain' me." He pretends not to see his boyfriend's smile but files it away for something that will require serious payback later.

They make their way out of the luggage area to the street where Sam assured them he and Gabriel would be waiting to pick them up. They stand awkwardly for a few moments before a large, black limo pulls up. The sign on the window says 'Dean and Cas', and Dean raises an eyebrow to the other man. The driver's side door pops open and the driver comes around to the back, opens the trunk and takes the duffle from Dean. He heaves it into the trunk before motioning for them to get inside.

The younger man shrugs and pulls open the door to let Cas climb in. He looks around and sees people staring so he gives them a wave before sliding across the cool leather seats. He keeps sliding until he collides with Castiel who seems to have frozen on the spot. There's enough room to shut the door though, so he does before turning back to the interior to give this Gabriel guy a piece of his mind. Unfortunately, it's not Gabriel and Sam he sees and Dean MUST have died in a horrible plane crash because—

"Holy fucking shit."

"Nice to meet you too," Robert Downey fucking Jr. replies.

Castiel is staring, like hardcore staring. If Dean wasn't so sure they were head over heels in love with each other, he'd be getting sort of jealous. Fuck, who is he kidding, he's totally fucking jealous but he'd also probably pay money to be in a threesome with his boyfriend and Iron Man.

"Um?" Dean asks, ever so eloquently. "What are you doing in our car?"

RDJ (he can't call him Robert, can he?) pretends to be insulted, a hand flying up to his chest. "Technically," he explains, "This is my car."

Dean looks over at Cas, who MIGHT not be breathing and elbows him in the ribs. "You're drooling, man!"

The older man blinks twice before he realizes what his boyfriend just said. He snaps his mouth shut and his ears go red.

"Wait so if this is your car, why are our names on it? Also, um, I guess we should introduce ourselves?"

"I know who you are. You're Dean Winchester and this is your better half, Castiel," Downey laughs.

Dean hesitates. "Wait…you're not actually Tony Stark right? This isn't some S.H.E.I.L.D. thing, right? Because there are internet rumors, dude."

The actor (if he is and actor) laughs, a full-bodied rolling laugh. "I like you, Dean. But no, I'm just a Hollywood actor with endless money and a couple days to kill."

"So…are you like kidnapping us or something? Is this like a make a wish thing? Cas are you dying? You can't use famous actors to break this kind of news, man," Dean says and nudges Castiel again. The other man seems to break out of his astonishment enough to give his boyfriend a withering look of 'you're an idiot, Dean'. It's out of love. Mostly.

"Nope, I was talking to Sam yesterday—"

"Wait," interrupts Dean.

"Mmm?"

"Sam? As in Sam Winchester? As in my brother, Sam?"

Downey puts a finger to his lips to mime thinking. "About a hundred feet tall, floppy brown hair, and dimples for days?" He laughs again. "Yes, your brother Sam. He didn't tell you about me? I'm hurt!"

Dean's mind is going about a million miles an hour because all he's heard from Sam is Gabriel this and Gabriel that. How is meeting and befriending RDJ not TOP PRIORITY on the list of things to tell Dean? "But—"

"Listen, Dean-o," which, holy shit Robert Downey Jr. just gave him a nickname is this the coolest fucking day ever, "Sam and Gabe—"

"Ah ha! So you know Gabriel and Sam met you though him!"

"Yeah but—"
"Maaan, this is so cheating. I was probably going to eventually like the guy anyway since he makes my brother so happy, but then he pulls this? Definitely cheating," Dean groans.

RDJ just grins at him. "If it's any consolation, it was totally my idea. Gabriel wanted to pick you up but I convinced him otherwise."

Dean shoots a text to Sam that says, 'you're a cheating bitch' and only has to wait a few seconds for Sam's reply of 'Jerk' to come. He smiles to himself and watches as Downey shoots a text (to Gabriel he assumes) and grins at his own reply. They ride in silence for a few more minutes until Castiel stirs next to Dean, seeming to come alive for the first time the whole ride.

"IreallylovedyouinKissKissBan gBangCanIgetyourautograph?" he gushes.

Dean catches Robert's—yeah he's totally calling him Robert—eye and they both collapse into laughter.