Sleepless Nights

What the Fuck?

Dean wakes up to the feeling of something soft tickling his face. It takes him a moment to realize he's in his own bed at the bunker. He feels it again and looks over to see a dark head of hair. He feels gentle breath on his neck and a warm body pressed up against his side, wearing only boxers. Cas. Dean nearly falls out of bed. "What the hell?" he wonders, looking down at his own body, also clad in nothing but his undergarments. "How...? What?"

Cas stirs and his eyes open. Dean tries to act normal. "Uh...Good morning, Cas."

"Good morning, Dean," Cas replies with a smile as he leans over and plants a quick peck on Dean's lips. "Is something wrong?" Cas asks, brow furrowed slightly, in response to the completely flabbergasted look on Dean's face.

"Oh...Uh...No. I guess." Dean mutters, his words tripping over each other. "Uh...I'm...I'm going to go...make some breakfast. Yeah. Breakfast," he says as he stumbles out of bed and into some clothes and practically runs out of the room, leaving Castiel wondering what's wrong with his boyfriend all of a sudden.

In a distracted stupor, Dean starts on some pancakes. Cas had kissed him. Actually kissed him. And not hesitantly, either. He'd kissed him like it was something he did every day. Not to mention the fact that they had both been practically naked, which Cas also seemed to accept as completely normal.

"Dean! What are you doing?"

At the sound of Sam's voice Dean realises he's poured the milk over the top of the measuring cup and it's spilling all over the floor. "Shit," he whispers to himself, looking for a towel with which he can mop up the mess he had so absentmindedly created. "Hey, Sammy. I'm making breakfast. What does it look like?"

"It looks like you're making a mess. What's up with you? Not sleep well? You know what? Never-mind. I don't want to know. Please."

"Whatever." As Dean closes the fridge, he sees Sam properly for the first time that morning and almost drops the eggs he's holding. Sam's hair is short again. Or, well, short for Sammy.

"Your hair!"

"What about it?" Sam asks suspiciously.

"Uh. Nothing. It looks great."

Sam gives him a curious look. "Seriously, dude. What's up? You're acting really weird."

"Okay fine. You really want to know?"

"Yes. I do."

"It's Cas. He uh...well...he kissed me. There. You happy?" That's all Dean was willing to share. That alone was awkward enough to tell to his little brother.

"And that's weird how, exactly?"

"Dude. It's Cas."

"Yeah. Dude. It's Cas. You've been together for like four months now, and I know for a fact you've gone farther than the occasional kiss by now. Speaking of which, I've been meaning to ask you two to be a little less public with your displays of affection. I'm cool with you guys dating, but I don't really need to see or even know about everything you guys do."

"I...We...What?!"

"You heard me. Now what's really the matter? Cause it sure as hell ain't Cas kissing you. That happens every day and you don't act like this."

Dean runs his fingers through his hair as the realization hits him like a brick wall. "Son of a bitch! This is that damn djinn, isn't it?"

"Dean, what are you talking about?"

Dean turns to face his brother, confusion and anger and something that looks almost like fear in his green eyes.

"All of this? It's just a dream. I'm dreaming. We were hunting a djinn in Utah and it got me."

All of a sudden, Dean jumps up and starts toward his room. Sam follows and gets there just in time to pry a gun out of Dean's hands.

"What the fuck, man? You can't just go around shooting yourself. What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I told you. A djinn got me and I gotta wake up. Now."

Sam's disposition seems to change almost instantaneously. "Do you really want to go back? You could stay here. Live your life however you want it. You wished for these circumstances. Why are you so keen to leave your dream life?"

"Oh, I don't know," Dean replies, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Maybe because I'll be dead in a few days and a lot of people are gonna die if I'm not around to save them. It's the only thing I'm good at, so what does my life really mean without it? Besides, you're not my real brother and that's not the real Cas. I can't just leave them behind."

"You can still hunt. And it will feel like a lifetime. And you don't really think they need you that much; am I right?"

"Yeah well saving imaginary people in some weird acid-trip of a dream ain't quite the same as the real thing, is it? And maybe they'd be fine without me, but I need them. They're the only things that keep me going in this crazy, fucked-up world I live in. Funnily enough, it's actually not that difficult of a decision this time. Especially 'cause-" he stops himself.

"Especially 'cause what?"

"'Cause...well...there's nothing here that I couldn't have in real life if I was brave enough to to claim it." He raises the gun he had discretely picked up during the conversation and

~~~~~~~~~

"Dean! Dean! Oh thank God you're awake. I heard you shout out and rushed over. I took out the djinn a second ago but I just knocked him out. I dropped my knife."

"Just shut the hell up and get these ropes off me already, bitch"

"Fine, jerk. But seriously, Dean? You let it get you again? Kinda pathetic, don't cha think?"

"I guess I got distracted."

"Distracted? That's not like you. Were you thinking about Cas?"

"Oh shut up," Dean said. But he said it with a small smile. In a way he was glad he'd been captured, as weird as that sounded. Soon they'd be home and he could start making his wish come true. A wish he hadn't even known he had. He still probably wouldn't had he not been too distracted to take out the son of a bitch right away.

"Let's just get out of here, okay?" He said to Sammy.

"Okay."