1 - Guardian Angel

Balthazar snickered for the... non-descriptive word that Castiel had used. "Well, you know I have plenty of money on the side - and I make a decent monthly amount", he said, slowly. It was the truth - nobody knew he had managed to have a good deal of success in his side of a business very quickly. He didn't want his relatives to run to him like a bunch of vultures! "I wouldn't mind helping you out. And - I'm sure your new handsome roommate pays his half of the rent as well, right?"

Castiel blushed at the mention of how handsome Dean was, and nodded. That was a lie, he was paying the rent. And covering up the food expenses of two people, because Dean ate more regularly too now. "I'm sorry to put you in such a situation, but... would you mind helping me a bit? I'll pay you back, of course!

Balthazar smiled at him. "Just tell me how much you need. And don't even think of giving me that money back - you'll pay me back in due time, when I will be in need of a surgery or something", he said, winking at him.
Just in that moment, Dean merrily strolled back in the room, busy zipping up his leather jacket. "Sorry - I'll leave the place for a bit, so you two will have a bit of privacy! I guess you have a lot to catch up for. It was nice to meet you, Balthazar", he said with a smile. "I'll be back for dinner", he signaled to Cas. He waved at Balthazar and disappeared out of the door.

Cas merely had the time to say bye to Dean. He looked a bit distressed, because he wasn't used to him getting out while he was home. He tried to brush that feeling off. Dean didn't belong to him, and he probably would be better having fun out rather than keeping hidden in the kitchen all day long. "Thank you, Balt," he said to his brother. And he talked to him a bit about recent events in their lives, in their family. In the end, he was thankful for Balthazar's sudden visit.

Balthazar was glad he had the time to catch up with his brother a bit. Admittedly he did miss both him and Gabe - even though he wouldn't have been caught dead saying something like that. "... well, I hope that poor girl manages to flee from Michie", he concluded, getting up from the couch. "It's getting late - I should get going. I go back to France tomorrow, in the early morning." He smirked, thinking he would have been able to see his own boyfriend soon.

Castiel sighed softly. "So soon?" He stood up as well, and hugged his brother without any previous warnings. "Please let me know next time you're coming back here, alright?"

Balthazar blinked, caught by surprise by that sudden affectionate gesture - but he chuckled soon after, patting Castiel's back. "Sure. Next time I'm bringing Kalyan over, too - I'd love for you to meet him. He's a bunch of fun!" True, a lot of people tended to disagree on that, but who cares? He gently disentangled himself from the hug, and patted his shoulder again. "Again, if you need help of any kind. Call, yes? Planes are awfully fast nowadays", he joked.

"I will," Castiel replied with a smile, finally letting his brother go. "Have a safe flight home. And don't hesitate to call me on skype a bit more often. I'd like to meet your boyfriend," he told him, earnestly.

"Consider that done", Balthazar said, merrily. He smiled once again to Castiel, hesitating before the open door. "I'll be dropping by soon again. Take care, hm? Oh, and..." His smile got on the more naughty side again. "... make me proud, hm? Let me know how it goes ~" It was clear just what he was referring to. He managed to flee before his brother could whack his head though!

Castiel did try, he even threw his slipper at Balthazar, before he sighed and went to fetch it back. Come to think of it, he was glad too that Balthazar couldn't hop by more often. It was already hard enough to be teased a whole day about his blatant crush!
He looked at his watch, and figured he had nothing to do right now rather than wait for Dean to get home.

And Dean did get back just a matter of minutes after Balthazar had bid his goodbyel. He closed the door behind him, and smiled at Castiel. "Hey", he greeted him, getting his jacket off. "Everything alright?" He seemed awfully excited about something.

"Yes, it went well," Castiel replied with a smile, when he noticed just how hyped Dean was about something. "What did you do today?"

Dean's face lit up. "I was hoping you asked", he said happily, rushing to sit down at Castiel's side. Up close, he really seemed giddy. It looked cute, actually! "Well, I... sorry, but I couldn't help but hear that part about... well. When you talked about money, with your brother. I felt a bit bad, since I am not really contributing or anything." He lifted up his gaze and his smile got brighter. "So I got out and got myself a job!"

"..." Castiel couldn't help but smile, although he was a bit taken aback by the news! "A job? What kind of job did you get?" Boy, he was a bit worried. He sure hoped Dean hadn't done anything crazy to support him!

"Well, I am sure I had a job back when I was human, but I don't really remember much of it, so getting that back was out of question." Dean took a deep breath. "But, on the other hand, I passed six months observing you at your workplace, so... I just asked a bit around, and found myself a place as a bartender! Granted, it's just a part-time, but... it's something, right?"

Castiel cracked up a wider smile. "I..." He hesitated a bit, feeling overwhelmed by so many feelings. Hugging Dean didn't feel right, so he just offered him his brightest smile. "That's great, Dean. I just- I hope you don't feel forced in any way, I could have supported you, you know-"

Dean stopped him dead in his tracks with a gesture of his hands. "Please - it would be against everything I am supposed to be, to let you kill yourself over work and studies in order to keep a roof above our heads and keep both of us well fed. I'd feel bad. And you have to study, too!" He smiled to him just as brightly, and patted his arm. "So! What's for dinner?"

Castiel stood up. "Actually, I felt like doing home-made burgers for once, to see if you'd like them." He went for the kitchen, where the burgers were waiting for them, hot ready. Truth be told, he had been hoping to cook something for Dean, something truly thoughtful, to please him. And he had done his best.

As soon as that delicious smile reached his nostrils, Dean's mouth watered. He sat down at the table, rubbing his hands together. "Well, there's only one way to find out", he commented with a grin, grabbing his burger. He carefully took a bite out of it, chewing and swallowing the mouthful. And then, he simply let out a moan. "Oh my God this is awesome", he said, his mouth soon stuffed again. "It tastes great!!"

Castiel looked at him eating for a little while with a smile. "I'm glad you like it," he told him, as he began to finally eat himself. Granted, he had done a good job, but the fact that Dean loved it so much made him really, really happy.

As Dean was really, really happy about how things were going right now. He was finally able to be a real friend to Castiel, he had a delicious burger under his hands and a part time job! Now, there was only one thing missing.
A girlfriend for Castiel. That couldn't be that hard, right?

~~~

As a week, two, three passed, Dean was seriously starting to get frustrated. Apparently yes, his mission was way more difficult than expected. He had tried everything! He had tried to drag Castiel to bars, he had arranged dates for him, had even gone as far as behaving as his wingman and hit on girls on his behalf - but nothing! He was home on his own that afternoon, and had decided to crash in Castiel's room. He was laying in the bed, reading a comic book, when it suddenly slipped out of his hands and ended up underneath the bed. When he had tried to grab it... he had instead fished out something else. Something he wasn't expecting. Something that made him realize just why all his trials had gone into nothing.
And now he was waiting for his friend to come back home, pacing nervously in the living room, holding his proofs in his hands!

Oblivious to Dean's unrest, Castiel held back a yawn as he fished his apartment keys in his pocket, and opened the door. "I'm home," he shouted, as he discarded his shoes in the entrance... And froze as soon as he stepped into the living room, surprised to see Dean standing there.

Dean stomped towards Castiel, not leaving him a single moment to think. In a second, he was holding a magazine before his nose, opened up and showing a full front picture of a naked male model. Who looked shockingly similar to Dean himself. "Why didn't you tell me!", he exclaimed loudly.

"..." Castiel's jaw dropped, and his face turned bright red. He tried to snatch the magazine off Dean's hands, almost dying of embarrassment. He couldn't believe he had gone to his room, fished that specific magazine, and- Did that mean he knew about his crush for him? Oh dear Lord no.

Dean held the magazine high up, out of Castiel's reach. "Man, seriously! All these weeks I passed making a complete fool of myself!" He tried to keep Castiel at a distance, mirth in his eyes and affection in his grin. "Damn, I must be a pretty dumb guardian angel, right? All these years together, and I never noticed. To my credit, this must make you understand how much I value your privacy!"