Warnings and disclaimers: I don't own Supernatural or any of its characters. I rated this M for language and adult situations.

A Brief Respite

Set in Season 6, between 'Frontierland' and 'Mommy Dearest'.

"Castiel, come in. I need you down here…pronto." Dean turned around to find Castiel standing behind him, arms folded as though annoyed. "What is it this time, Dean?" Dean grinned. He knew that Cas had his hands full of heavenly warfare, but he couldn't seem to get that Bitchy, chick angel's words out of his head. Was he taking Cas for granted? Did he really just call when he needed something? Maybe…

Sam and Bobby were away hunting a skinwalker in New Mexico while Dean stayed home to get things ready for the big showdown with Eve. No time like the present to let that pain-in-the-ass nerd angel know exactly why he called him 'every time he stubbed his toe'.

"I'm..umm..hunting a vengeful spirit and I need your help." Castiel rolled his eyes and took a step into Dean's personal space. "You really can't handle a simple ghost on your own, Dean?" Dean laughed, taking a step back. "It's in a really scary house?" He did a poor job of pretending to be scared. Castiel shook his head and smiled a little at Dean's incredibly poor acting skills. "Dean, if you just want company, all you have to do is say so."

Sure, Dean thought to himself. Lately the angel was anything but willing to be 'bothered' for much of anything that didn't involve angel weapons or his stupid war. "Fine. I don't like being alone. You happy? Will you please come with me?" Cas unfolded his arms and stepped forward. "Yes, of course. Where are we going?"

"Dean put a serious face on to keep up the charade. "You'll see. Come on, we're driving." Castiel huffed a little at that. He hated driving. It was too slow and very confining. Dean smirked to himself at Castiel's, not so hidden distaste. He could just let Cas zap them there, but that would defeat the purpose of this outing (plus he loved to see the irritation on the angel's normally stoic face at his discomfort for small spaces).

They pulled up to a rickety old shack that was about five miles off a dirt road that was about ten miles off the main road. It looked like it would fall in on the first person brave (or stupid) enough to step foot inside. "Tell me we aren't going in there." Cas looked at Dean with a note of apprehension. Dean smirked at the angel. "What? I told you it was scary. Not afraid, are you?" Cas tilted his head towards Dean and rolled his eyes. "No, of course not, but I don't exactly relish the thought of what you'll look like when the roof collapses on you."

Dean decided not to let Castiel's 'Profit-of-Doom' attitude affect him. Instead he decided to tease him. "Ah… So you're worried it'll mess up my pretty face." Cas rolled his eye up at the hunter turned comedian and scoffed, folding his hands over his chest again. "Something like that." He huffed and turned to face the window so Dean wouldn't see the small smile on his face.

"Just get out of the car." Dean was actually enjoying the foul mood the angel was portraying at the moment. It made what he was about to do more of a challenge, not that it wasn't already. "How is a ghost bothering anyone at all, way out here in the middle of nowhere?" It is well known lore that ghosts can't roam very far from whatever keeps them tethered to the earth. So unless skunks and squirrels had complained of paranormal activity, Cas couldn't see a problem here.

"You know, for a know-it-all warrior of God, you sure do ask a lot of questions." Dean threw him a beer from a cooler in the back seat of the impala, opening his and pressing the bottle to his lips. Cas opened his and took a sip to play along with whatever Dean was up to. "And for a smart-ass- tuff-guy, you sure do need a lot of attention." Castiel toned after he swallowed. Dean raised his eyebrows at that. "Cas, did you just make a joke?" "Why would you think I was joking?" Cas' words were serious, but Dean could see a slight twitch in the corner of Cas' mouth, threatening to become a smile.

"There's no ghost here, Dean. Why are we really here?" Castiel asked, with a much lighter tone. "You'll see. Come with me." Dean grabbed Castiel's hand and pulled him along. While Cas was a lot confused by the hand-holding, he found Dean's very unusual, playful manner, quite refreshing.

Dean opened the front door of the little house and turned on a small lantern that was on a table by the door. Surprisingly, the inside seemed a lot more stable than the outside had. Dean noticed Castiel's questioning gaze and grinned. "This is one of my Dad's old hold-ups. He figured that people would stay away if it looked like it was about to cave in." Dean glanced around the room, taking in the memories of days hunting with his Dad. Amazingly, life was so much easier back then. There was no 'gray'. Everything was black and white. You found a monster, you killed it. He missed those days.

"Okay, so why are we here?" Castiel asked. He was a little amused by this little trip down memory lane, but there was the small matter of a war in heaven that he had to get back to. Dean heard the impatience in Cas' voice, but decided not to acknowledge it. Can't you just relax for a little while, Cas? I wanna spend some time with my friend. Is that too much to ask?"

The word 'friend' coming from Dean's mouth gave him pause. 'Yeah, right' was the first response that came to mind, but he thought better of it. Instead he decided to humor Dean and see what he really wanted. So he sat down on the tiny sofa after mojo-ing the dust away and took another drink of his beer. "Okay, I'm relaxed. What would you like to do?"

Dean sat down next to him and laughed nervously. He thought about it for a second. This was something that he excelled at, but for some reason he was nervous as hell. Sure, the angel thing made it a little different, but he was Dean Winchester and this was his thing. "I just want to talk, Cas. I don't think that we've ever just sat and talked; had a beer together just for kicks." He held his beer up in a mock toast before taking a nervous swig.

"Okay Dean, let's talk. You start." Dean just looked at him, not really knowing what to say or where to start. "Dean, if you're not going to say anything, I really have to get back. Things aren't going well for me and now my own lieutenants are turning against me." Dean considered this. "Cas, you need a break and so do I. Once Bobby and Sam get back, we go hunt the mother of freakin' everything and you can get back to your war. Just relax for a little while. Help me relax."

"Relax how, Dean? Everything… and I mean everything… hinges on me defeating Raphael. I know that you don't understand for some reason, but I can't just 'take a night off'." Dean moved closer to Cas, told him to turn around. When he did, with an eye roll, Dean started to move the overcoat from his shoulder. Castiel protested a little, turning back to look at Dean. "What are you doing?"

"Just chill out and trust me for a few minutes. You're tense. Just gonna rub your shoulders. You'll like it, I promise." Castiel huffed, but he let Dean take the coat off then the suit jacket. Dean took a deep breath, hoping he was doing the right thing. He placed his hands on Castiel's tight shoulders, kneading them as he worked his way up to the angel's neck.

"How's that feel, better?" Castiel hadn't realized just how good a human's touch could feel. A small groan was the only response he could make. Dean smiled at the unspoken affirmation. He kept his right hand on the angel's neck, but let his left hand slowly slide down Cas' back, pressing into the tight muscles. Castiel arched into the touch, wishing Dean could keep doing that forever.

"Cas, you don't really think that I just call you when I need something, do you?" He continued moving his hands over the angel's back and arms, feeling his own arousal starting to give away his intentions as Cas leaned into his hands. "Is that what this is about, Dean?" Cas straightened up, tense all over again. "Are you trying to prove Rachel wrong?" He decided to go for honesty. "Yes, sometimes I do feel like that. But, why would you care?" When Cas tensed, Dean took the opportunity to move his right hand around the angel's waist and placed his lips softly on the back of Castiel's neck. "Because it isn't true."

Castiel froze, but didn't disappear or worse, punch Dean in the face. Dean took the lack of response as another unspoken affirmation. He took the hand that was around Castiel's waist and ran it up the smooth fabric of the white buttoned shirt, edging himself closer until his chest was flush with Castiel's back, his hands untucking the shirt, sliding them underneath the thin fabric.

Castiel could feel the air getting warmer, his breaths becoming shorter. The tie seemed too tight against his neck. Dean moved his hands over Castiel's chest, barely grazing his nipples. The sensation of flesh on flesh was more than the angel could handle. He turned in Dean's arms and pushed him into the sofa, searching Dean's eyes for a sign of surprise or even hesitation. There wasn't any to be found.

He just stayed there, staring into Dean's eyes, his own needs and wants finally being realized. For a moment he thought it must just be a dream, but angels don't dream. The smile on Dean's face widened at the angel's sudden loss of control. "Well, you gonna just look at me or are you gonna do something?"

When Castiel didn't move, Dean pulled him down and gently traced his lips along the angel's jaw line then softly kissed his lips, lightly nipping at the lower. Castiel moaned again before opening his mouth to Dean, allowing him to taste the intoxicating flavor of the soft muscle as it danced around his own.

The kiss seemed to last hours. Years of built up frustration and desire being realized in a single kiss. Castiel pulled back, taking in the sight of his tuff-guy hunter underneath him, wanting him, needing him.

Cas slid his hands beneath the dark shirt the Dean wore, soft skin over tight, hard muscle. He pulled it over Dean's head and threw it to the floor while Dean expertly undid Cas' tie and buttons, pushing the shirt away. Dean grabbed Castiel's hips and positioned himself to thrust up. The friction sent a surge of heat through Castiel's body. "Move with me Cas." Dean's words, his hands pushing down, thighs rolling up. The room spun. "Dean.." He moaned as he buried his lips into Dean's, hand clawing into Dean's shoulders as he thrusted forward.

Dean's hand's sunk into Castiel's ass, kneading and pushing with a fevered movement. "God Cas, you feel so good. Keep moving, angel." Dean kissed his chest as beads of sweat formed on his skin. "Dean I can't… I need to…" Dean grabbed Castiel's hair and pulled his head back, biting and sucking until the angel screamed above him, moisture soaking through fabric.

Dean pushed the angel off him onto the floor and rolled on top of him, pushing his cock against Cas' thigh, ready to explode. Cas unzipped Deans pants and reached down, cupping and squeezing and pumping until the milky substance flowed over his hands and through his fingers.

Dean collapsed on top of Castiel's chest. "Damn Cas…" were the only words he could speak through strained breaths. Cas mojo-ed the mess away before gently stroking Dean's hair and placing a soft kiss on his head.

They stayed wrapped in each other's arms on the floor of the dirty, old shack simply holding on to each other, momentarily forgetting about monsters and wars and ruined lives constantly spinning out of control. It was a brief respite in the middle of the chaos that was their world.

While neither wanted the moment to end, Dean had phoenix ash rounds to make and Castiel had an army to command.

"Dean, we need to talk." Cas stopped him on the way out the door after they had gotten dressed. "Sure Cas, what is it?" Dean worried that the angel would regret what had happened. The sad, faraway look in his eyes told him that something was wrong.

"Dean, I'm at war. I've told you that I've had to do some very regrettable things. I need you to understand…" He paused for a second and took a breath, eyes about to water. "I've been working with…" Dean stopped him, moved forward placing one arm around the angel's waist and the other behind his head to pull him in for a brief chaste kiss. "This is just me and you here now, Cas. No wars, no monsters, just us. I don't want to think about the other stuff right now." Castiel closed his eyes and leaned back into Dean's mouth, savoring the warmth in the shared passion of this one moment of peace.

Thank you for reading and I hope you liked it.