Chapter Text
Chapter 36: The Magic of Peppermint
May 5, 2031
Dean
“You ready?” Charlie asks.
Dean looks at Charlie’s and Benny’s reflections in the mirror. They’re wearing matching green suits with blue and green flannel ties. Dean’s wearing a black suit jacket with a white button-down shirt, a green vest, and black dress pants. He can’t believe only five years ago he was helping Benny get ready for his wedding to Garth. Now Charlie and Benny are in here helping Dean get ready to marry Cas. Damn, time sure does fly.
Dean adjusts his tie. At least he tries to. His hands shake and he can’t quite get it.
Benny chuckles and walks over. He pushes Dean’s hands away. “I owe ya one, brother.” Benny winks as he fixes Dean’s tie.
Dean laughs a shaky laugh. “Why the hell am I so nervous?” Dean asks.
“Probably because you’re about to walk down the aisle in front of all your friends and family and try to say your beautifully written vows without screwing up.” Charlie suggests.
“That’s helpful.” Dean replies.
“You’re definitely gonna mess your vows up. It’s best just to accept that now.” Benny says.
“Oh, well, that’s even more helpful. Thanks guys, really.” Dean rolls his eyes.
“You’re gonna be fine. And even if you do screw up, who cares? Cas loves you. He won’t care if you end up saying something awkward.” Charlie wraps an arm around Dean’s shoulder.
“Thanks, I guess.” Dean mumbles, hugging Charlie back.
Benny laughs and joins the hug.
“I love you both,” Dean says.
“We love you too,” Charlie replies.
“What she said,” Benny says.
“Classy, Benny,” Charlie says.
“Dean knows I love him.” Benny laughs.
Dean just laughs. These two. His friends. The first two members of his found-family. The people who have made his life bearable since freshman year of college. He really does love them so much. And they love him too. Dean couldn’t ask for better friends.
…
Castiel
“And remember, it’s okay if you get the words wrong.” Meg says. “Now, hold still.” Meg is rolling the lint-roller on Castiel’s suit…while he’s wearing it. Castiel’s not sure how he managed to get so much lint on it in such a short amount of time, but he sees a truly horrifying amount on Meg’s lint roller.
“Yeah, it’ll be hilarious.” Crowley quips as he adjusts Castiel’s tie. It’s got a plaid green and blue patten; Dean’s wearing a matching tie in one of their guest rooms. Dean allowed Castiel to use their bedroom to get ready. They’re at their house in Williamsburg. They knew just enough people to need to order chairs and tables for the occasion, but not enough to warrant a different location. Castiel’s glad. This is just their friends gathering together to celebrate their union. It’s small. Intimate. He’s so excited to see Dean. He can’t wait to walk down the aisle and smile at the man he loves. And marry him. For all their friends and family to see.
Castiel rolls his eyes as his friends, unable to wipe the smile from his face. He’s been smiling all day. “I don’t get words wrong.” Castiel tells Meg.
“Sure, Cas.” Meg teases.
“You did that one time when we were ordering lunch together a few years ago.” Crowley points out.
Castiel looks at the ceiling. “I think my wedding vows are a little more important than a lunch-order.”
“Hey, look at me.” Meg grabs Castiel by the shoulders.
Castiel looks at Meg.
Meg grins and says, “You’re getting married.”
“Yeah, I am.” Castiel grins.
Meg hugs Castiel. Tightly. “I’m so happy for you. You deserve good things and that little shit you call your fiancé is a good thing.” Meg says.
Castiel laughs and hugs Meg back.
“Please, everyone knows you love Dean.” Crowley says.
“I do. Now get in here, asshole.” Meg puts her arm out for Crowley to join the hug.
“Are you sure? This requires us touching.” Crowley replies.
“We need to make a Castiel sandwich. It’s his wedding day.” Meg says.
Crowley chuckles and joins the hug.
“I love you guys,” Castiel says as he feels hot tears well up in his eyes.
“We love you too.” Meg and Crowley reply at the same time.
…
Dean
“Okay, you’re up first,” Charlie says.
Dean takes a deep breath. Then he holds out his arms. Charlie links her arm to Dean’s right arm and Benny links his arm to Dean’s left arm. Then they walk down the aisle together. Garth’s in charge of the music and he plays the song Cas chose as soon as the door opens. Cas and Dean both chose the song the other will walk down the aisle to.
“I’ve been reading books of old,
the legends and the myths,”
Dean stops for a moment as his eyes well up with tears. “Little shit,” Dean laughs through the lump building in his throat.
“What?” Benny asks.
“This was the song we were listening to the first time we kissed.” Dean replies. “He didn’t tell me which song he picked.”
“To be fair, you didn’t tell him what you chose either.” Benny points out.
“Still. This is,” Dean scrubs at his face and shakes his head.
“Cas is a keeper.” Charlie winks at Dean.
Dean grins.
“You ready?” Benny asks.
Dean nods.
They walk down the aisle together.
“I want something just like this.
I want something just like this.”
They get to where Sammy’s standing at the end of the aisle. Apparently, he got certified to officiate weddings as soon as Dean told him he was planning on proposing. The day after the proposal, Sammy asked Dean and Cas if he could officiate the wedding. Which is perfect because Dean has Charlie and Benny to walk him down the aisle. Cas has Meg and Crowley to walk him down the aisle. Garth is in charge of music. And Gabriel got most of the supplies for the wedding. Except for the food. Jo took care of that with her catering business which is her “hobby” on top of her work as an engineer. Kid never freaking sleeps.
“Heya, Sammy.” Dean grins.
Sammy shoots Dean two thumbs up. He’s wearing a suit that is split in half; one half is green and the other half is blue. Dean still can’t decide if it is the best or worst thing he has ever seen in his entire life, but he knows that he loves it just like he loves his moose-sized little brother. Plus, Sammy’s girlfriend, Eileen helped pick the suit out and Dean loves Eileen too so…the suit can stay.
Dean looks over at Eileen who’s holding Milton in her lap. Cas dressed Milton in a little suit for the wedding and Eileen offered to let Milton sit in the front with her.
Dean signs, “How’s Milton?”
“He’s a sweet boy. Unlike his owner.” Eileen grins.
Dean winks.
She signs, “Fuck you.”
Dean laughs. He can’t wait for her to be his sister-in-law one day.
Dean looks over at Bobby and Ellen and Jo. Bobby grins at him and holds up a tissue. Gruff teddy bear. Ellen’s blowing her nose. Jo’s making a heart with her hands. Dean does it back.
Then the door opens and Dean grins at Cas from across the aisle. There he is. Devastatingly handsome as ever. Cas gives Dean a quizzical look as Garth walks over and hands Dean a mic. Dean winks at Cas.
…
A few minutes earlier
Castiel
“Are you sure it’s time?” Castiel asks.
“Yeah, I just saw Dean make it down the aisle. Somehow he managed not to trip.” Meg replies.
Castiel laughs. “You’re so mean to him.”
“It’s how I show love.” Meg shrugs.
“I know. Big softie.”
“Don’t make me be mean to you on your wedding day. I’m making an exception today for you alone.”
“I know.” Castiel hugs Meg again. “I love you so much.”
“I know.” Meg hugs Castiel back. “I love you too.” Meg hugs Castiel a little tighter. “It’s stupid, but I feel like I’m giving you away.”
Castiel feels his eyes well up with tears. “Well, aside from Gabriel, you’re the first real family I’ve ever had.”
“I know. Your other family’s a bunch of assholes. They never deserved you.” Meg hugs Castiel tighter. “I’m so glad you’re free of them. Now you’re here. And you’re gonna marry that goofy man who loves you so fucking much. I’m so happy for you, Clarence.”
“I still don’t understand that reference.” Castiel says as tears spill down his face.
Meg lets out a laughing sob. “How dare you make me cry on your wedding day.”
Castiel laughs and then he starts crying too.
“All right, all right.” Crowley says a few minutes later. “Let’s get you two cleaned up.”
They wash their faces and Crowley fixes Castiel’s tie one more time.
Then they’re ready.
Meg holds her hand out to Castiel. He takes her hand in his right hand. He holds his left hand out to Crowley who takes it. Then, holding hands, they take their first step out the door. No song plays. Garth hands Dean a mic and Dean winks at Castiel before he begins talking. Sam translates everything Dean says in American Sign Language.
…
Dean
As Dean speaks, Sammy translates in ASL.
“Okay, you’re probably wondering why there’s no song. Well, there is a song, but I needed you to come outside so I can sing it to you. I thought it seemed fitting since we started this relationship with me telling everyone in detail how awesome I thought you were even though I tried to be subtle about it.” Dean starts. He can feel his heart start to beat faster.
“He wasn’t very subtle.” Charlie chimes in.
Dean laughs. “That’s true. In retrospect, I was not.” Dean can’t help but shuffle from one foot to the other. Shit. He probably looks like he’s doing the potty dance. He stops moving his feet and winds up tapping his fingers against his leg. “Anyway, I figured since I started our relationship that way, I should continue the tradition as we take this new step together. So, I’m gonna sing, “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz. Because I’m yours, Cas. I’m yours.” Dean grins at Cas and starts to sing.
…
Castiel
Castiel can’t move. He’s watching Dean serenade him at their wedding and wondering if this is a dream.
“Well. I’ll be damned.” Crowley says. “He can sing.”
“Shh,” Meg whispers.
Castiel nods but he’s not sure who he’s nodding at.
“But I won’t hesitate no more
No more it cannot wait, I’m yours.”
Castiel squeezes Meg’s hand as Dean sings the chorus. She squeezes back and gently guides him to begin walking.
Castiel’s heart is hammering in his chest as he walks with Meg and Crowley to meet Dean. Castiel is definitely going to mess up his words now. All he can think about is kissing Dean as soon as humanely possible. Dean’s doing a little dance around the podium, making gestures with his hands at Castiel and smiling widely as he sings to him. He’s publicly announcing that he is Castiel’s beloved. And that is the whole point of a wedding, but there’s something surreal about watching Dean declare such a statement to all their friends and family.
Castiel’s eyes well up with tears and he blinks them away so he can focus on Dean.
Dean looks right at Cas and sings,
“Listen to the music of the moment, people dance and sing
We're just one big family
And it's our God-forsaken right to be loved, loved, loved, loved, loved,”
They really are one big family. Dean’s family and Castiel’s family are officially coming together today. Castiel has seen the two families as one family for a while now, but this will be official. They’re making a statement about it. They have a marriage license that shows the union of two families belonging to Dean Winchester and Castiel Novak. This is really happening. Castiel feels hot tears spill down his face.
Castiel smiles at Dean as he stands in front of Dean at the alter that Jo built for them.
…
Dean
Dean smiles at Cas. He’s here.
Dean cuts the song off early by singing one last, “I’m yours” and it’s a little exaggerated and long, but sue him. It’s his wedding day.
“You’re such a dork. I love you so much.” Cas laughs. His face is red, and tears are streaming down his face.
“I love you too, dear heart.” Dean replies, gently wiping away some of Cas’s tears.
Cas takes Dean’s right hand in his and kisses his knuckles. Dean feels something stir inside him and tears prick his eyes.
“All right, take us away, Sammy.” Dean clears his throat.
“Well, what can I even say about love that hasn’t already been said?” Sammy starts. “I can say that in the case of Dean and Cas, these two are the same level of um…let’s say committed.” Sammy smirks at Dean. Then at Cas. “They both tried to uh, help, with the speech for today. They both mentioned all the great poets and several fantasy novelists and honestly, it just didn’t work for me. Not because they don’t have a great love like the ones that all those beautiful words describe. But because they have their own love.” Sammy laughs and waves Charlie over.
Charlie winks at Dean as Garth brings some cards over. They’re big cards.
“I’m going to read text messages they’ve sent me about each other over the years. I get that this is weird, but I’ve been preparing for this for years so I might as well own it. I have at least one text to share for every year I’ve known them both.” Sammy nods at Charlie who holds the cards. “Thanks Garth, thanks Charlie.” Sammy says.
Dean looks at Cas and Cas shrugs.
“Okay, April 2, 2021. This is from Dean. Dean says, So, you’ve been asking about Cas and well, what can I say about him? He’s my favorite person (but don’t tell my best friend, Charlie, when you meet her). He’s kind and funny and he laughs at my jokes which is something I always want in a relationship.” Sammy looks at around at everyone. “I would like to point out that even then I could tell that was true about Dean.”
“Hey!” Dean laughs.
Cas just laughs.
“Yeah, Cas, we’re in this now.” Sammy laughs. “It was obvious that he loved you even then.”
He nods at Charlie to flip to the next card.
“This is from Cas on Halloween in 2022. It was meant for Meg but somehow, he sent it to me by mistake. He said, Dean is so cute in his cowboy outfit. He was so happy when I wore that terrible cowboy hat. It’s okay though because next year I’ll dress him up as Han Solo or King Arthur from BBC Merlin or something. I love this strange man. He’s so wonderful. Meg? You good? Oh, fuck. This is Sam. Shit. Please don’t tell your brother about this.” Sammy looks at Cas. “In my defense, I did keep the secret for a few years.”
Cas laughs and hides his face in his hands. Crowley smirks but he pats Cas’s shoulder once.
“I’m glad I missed that text.” Meg jokes.
Cas doesn’t even look. He just flips Meg off.
Dean laughs. As does most of the crowd. There is a bit of a crowd. Bobby, Ellen, Jo, Eileen, Jody, Donna, and Gabriel. Now that Dean’s looking out at everyone, he notices that Jody and Donna have really hit it off. Like, really hit it off. Jody’s one of Cas’s fellow English professors from William and Mary and Donna’s the head librarian at the Williamsburg Regional Library where Dean works. Dean smiles. All their favorite people are here. And now they’re going to be subjected to Sammy telling them everyone about Dean’s and Cas’s gooey text messages from over the years. Sammy just mentioned one of Dean’s from September of 2023. It was after Dean got the flu and Cas took care of him. He’s pretty sure he was high on medication when he sent Sammy that text about how sweet and caring and handsome Cas was.
Dean considers crawling in a hole of embarrassment, but instead looks at Cas.
Cas is just smiling at Dean. His smile is wide and happy and full of light. Cas mouths, “I love you,” to Dean and Dean mouths it back.
Castiel
Sam takes his time with the texts. Castiel likes the use of their messages because it really takes him down memory lane right there in front of their friends and family. He remembers 2024 when he broke his ankle while ice skating and Dean carried him out of the ice rink, to the car, and then drove him to the hospital while singing “Riptide” by Vance Joy the whole time. Castiel’s still not sure what compelled Dean to sing that song over and over, but it was very sweet.
Sam tells everyone about 2025 when Castiel and Dean went to Europe for a week. They saw all the touristy sights, ate amazing foods, and Dean carried Castiel home after the wine-tasting when Castiel misunderstood the directions (one is not supposed to actually ingest all the wine they taste).
Sam goes into the house-search of 2026, the road-trip of 2027, the time in 2028 when Castiel laughed so hard smoothie came out of his nose. Castiel can’t help but wonder how in the Hell Dean thought that was cute, but he is endeared to know it warranted a text to Sam. Sam talks about the 2029 camping trip and several of the texts that Dean and Castiel sent Sam last year about their prospective proposals.
Then Sam reads the text Castiel sent him last night. Castiel remembers what he texted Sam when he was tipsy with Meg and Crowley. He’d said, I’m so excited to be your brother-in-law. Dean loves you very much and so do I. I’m so happy that we’re all going to officially be a family. We’re already a family, but there will be paperwork fulfilled and vows and an exchanging of rings tomorrow.
“Cas, you sounded so excited to marry Dean and have our families officially combined. It was sweet.” Sam says. “I love you too by the way and I’m really glad you’re gonna be my brother-in-law. Dean was right. You are kind and funny and you laugh at all his corny jokes. If you two start a family, my brother definitely has the dad-jokes covered.”
And then Sam mentions that Dean said he can’t wait to wake up the day after the wedding because that will be the first morning when he wakes up married to Castiel.
“So yeah, these two love each other so friggin’ much. It’s nearly nauseating. But mostly it’s sweet and sincere. You can tell that they mean it. They’re not putting a show on for anyone. They just enjoy spending time with each other and that’s why they’re here. To make a promise to stay together long-term while their world watches. So now that you’ve heard from the Dean and Cas of the past, you’re going to hear from the Dean and Cas of today.” Sam says. “Okay, Dean. I’ll let you take it away.”
Dean
“Castiel Novak, the best part of my day is when I get to go to sleep at night. Not because the day is over, but because sleep means I get to hold you, or I get to be held by you. And that is the highlight of my day. Just…just being with you.” Dean says. “So, I vow to wake up every morning with you and make breakfast while you prepare the coffee. I vow to have long conversations about books or anything else—but it’s usually books—over coffee every day. I vow to share the tv even though you put Nailed It! reruns on almost every time you have the remote in your hand. I still can’t believe they cancelled that show. Travesty. Truly.”
Cas smiles.
“I vow to share the happy, sad, and shitty times with you. I vow to rub your feet when they’re sore after your days spent lecturing since I know you’re a notorious pacer when you teach.”
“You still shouldn’t have snuck in that day.” Cas points out.
“Oh yeah, it only happened one time.” Dean looks at Jody Mills, Department Head of English at William and Mary. “Sorry Jody.”
“You act like I don’t know about every time you’re in Tucker Hall.” Jody laughs.
Dean feels his face heat up.
“Department chair knows all, Winchester.” Jody winks at Dean.
Dean laughs. “I can’t tell if we’re loved or if we’re just infamous, Cas.”
Cas smiles. “Jody was exclusively talking about you, my beloved.”
“Little shit,” Dean grins.
Cas winks.
Dean’s heart dips the same way it did all those years ago when Dean was still a junior in college. When it felt like he’d met Cas for the first time in the spring semester and he felt drawn to him like a friggin’ magnet. When he was terrified of love but unable to stop himself from falling hard and fast for Cas. Things have only gotten better since then. But Dean’s grateful for those days…their early days…because they made them who they are now. And he would take all the pain. The anguish. The confusion and embarrassment if it meant he got to be with Cas in the end. If it meant Dean could wind up here, staring into the eyes of this man he loves with every fiber of his being as he professes his love for him and vows to stay by his side until the end of his days.
“Shit Cas, you make me feel timeless. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of spending time with you. It doesn’t even have to be exciting. I mean, we’re such a boring couple and I love it. I cook, you clean, we talk about our days, we go for walks, you jog, I sprint and nearly pass out, we go to movies and the school theater, we hang out with friends, we have movie nights, and I love it. I love our life together. I really do. I love what your hair looks like in the morning. I love the way you tilt your head to the side when you’re confused. It’s unfathomably cute.”
Cas looks at Dean, squints, and tilts his head to the side.
Dean freezes as his heart fills up with adoration to the point of bursting.
“How dare you?” Dean lets out a laughing sob.
Cas grins as tears spill down his face.
Dean clears his throat and continues, “I love holding you in my arms and I love being held by you. We’ve already spent ten years together and we’ve shared so much love. I can’t wait to spend ten, twenty, thirty, I don’t know, fifty, seventy-five years, whatever amount of time I have left to live, I want to spend it with you. You’re my favorite person—but don’t tell Charlie.”
Charlie laughs beside Dean. Cas chuckles. Dean grins. He feels a bubble of golden light fill him up from head to toe. They’re really here. Dean’s really vowing to love Cas from now until death. They’re really starting this new chapter in their lives. Dean feels tears prick his eyes. Good things really do happen…sometimes…when Dean’s lucky. Dean’s so lucky to have all these people here with him. Not just Cas, but Charlie, Benny, Sammy, Meg, Jo, Garth, hell, even Crowley. And Bobby and Ellen and Jody and Donna. And Eileen. Of course, Eileen. It seems she is the love of Sammy’s life and Dean’s so happy that she’s sharing this moment as an unofficial but totally official part of the family. There really are so many people here who love them. It’s hard to believe that he’s here feeling all this love from his almost-husband and all his friends—no—they’re more than that. They’re family. And he loves every single one of them.
“And I love you, Cas. So much.” Dean chokes out the words. He’s feeling weepy and now is not the time because he has more to say. He takes a deep breath. “I vow to do be a good husband. You may not want a superhero, but that’s what you deserve. I am not bold enough to claim to be one, so you’ll just have to settle for me, but I vow to listen to you and cherish you and make you soup when you’re sick and hold you close when you’re happy, sad, angry, ecstatic, whenever you want to be held. My arms are always open. I guess that’s my main vow: open arms for you, dear heart.” Dean finishes, swiping at his eyes.
Dean sees Cas doing the same.
“Okay, Cas,” Sammy sniffles. “You’re up.”
Dean smiles at Sammy, reaches out, and gives Sammy’s arm a little squeeze before letting go. Sammy puts his hand over Dean’s and gives a little squeeze back. Then Sammy grabs Cas’s arm and gives his arm a little squeeze too. Cas returns the gesture to Sammy.
Castiel
“Well, fuck, how do I follow that?” Castiel clears his throat, trying not to cry. Tears are pouring down his face and he lets out a small sob. “Shit. Dean, you should’ve let me go first. Now I’m about to lose it.” Castiel says as he tries to scrub his face clean with his sleeve.
Dean laughs. “That’s why I went first because if you talked first, I would be the one losing it.”
“When we renew our vows, I get to go first.” Castiel sniffles.
“We’ll be renewing our vows?” Dean’s eyes shine and he smiles from ear to ear.
“Of course, we will—barring an unfortunate accident—we’ll be together until we die. And I had a whole speech prepared, but now it just doesn’t fit. So, I just want to say, Dean Winchester, you are a bright and shining star and I love being one of those blessed enough to be in your galaxy. You’re kind and you really are funny although, as Sam pointed out, several of your jokes are quite cheesy. And you would be a good dad if you wanted to be, but now really isn’t the time to discuss that. I want to talk about who you are now. And that is someone who helps people. You’ve built a whole career out of it. And you’re good. You’re so good and there really isn’t that much good in this world which is something that’s hard to remember when I’m surrounded by all of these truly good people who have gathered here today to celebrate with us. We’re fortunate to have such an amazing family.”
Dean looks from Castiel to the crowd of their family. “Yeah, we are.”
“And I vow, in front of all of these people we love so much, to take each day to appreciate you and cherish our time together. I vow to make you coffee every morning because I am still a shitty cook and you are the only reason that we don’t eat take-out every night. I thank you for that, by the way.” Castiel winks at Dean who blushes. “I vow to treat you with respect and maintain your boundaries. I vow to laugh with you and cry with you. I vow to be someone you can trust with your secrets and your joy and your pain. There are no ugly sides of you, Dean Winchester; after all these years, you’re still beautiful,” Castiel smiles, “Still Dean Winchester. You’re always beautiful—especially on the inside. You just want to make the world better than you found it and that is the noblest of causes. I feel lucky to have found someone as steadfast and noble as you, Dean. And I vow to support you and love you even on the days when you don’t see yourself as I see you. When you can’t see how loving and kind you are. I’ve got you for those days. I vow to hold you close every night and wake up next to you every morning until the day I die. I love you. And I’m really, really excited to get to marry you right now.”
Castiel’s heart drops a little when he sees the tears spill down Dean’s face. Castiel understands why Dean’s crying and that he is shedding happy tears, but it’s almost physically painful to see Dean cry. He reaches out and takes one of Dean’s hands in his. Dean laces their fingers together.
“Now for the fun part.” Sam grins. Then he looks at Dean. “Do you, Dean Winchester, take Castiel Novak to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
Dean looks at Castiel and says, “I do.”
“And do you, Castiel Novak, take Dean Winchester to be your lawfully wedded husband?” Sam asks Castiel.
Castiel smiles at Dean and says, “I do.”
“Wait!” Garth says. “I forgot the rings!”
Castiel lets out a laugh. Castiel did as well. He forgot all about them. He was just excited for the announcement that he and Dean are husbands.
Garth runs over and hands Castiel a green box. He hands Dean a blue box.
Castiel opens the box and takes the ring out. This one is plain silver on the outside and on the inside, there are the initials D.W. & C.N are engraved. He holds the ring out to Dean who offers up his left hand. Castiel carefully puts the ring on Dean’s ring-finger. It takes a few tries because Castiel can’t get his hands to stop shaking and it doesn’t help that Dean keeps laughing at him. It’s not a mean laugh. It’s one of Dean’s Cas-is-so-cute-right-now laughs. They’ve been together for a decade; Castiel would recognize that particular laugh anywhere…Dean always seems to think the embarrassing things are cute. And Castiel’s workout outfits…especially when Castiel insists they wear matching outfits.
Dean grins at Castiel and says, “Your turn, dear heart.”
Castiel feels himself flush from head to toe. He puts his left hand out to Dean and Dean opens the box with Castiel’s ring in it. Dean grins and shows Castiel the engraving on the inside of the silver ring. The ring has C.N. & D.W. but unlike Dean’s, this one has a bumblebee on the left of C.N. and on the right of D.W.
“It seemed fitting because you have an affinity for bumblebees.” Dean explains.
Castiel’s eyes burn with tears. Castiel smiles at the blurry image of his almost-husband. This man. This man who loves Castiel just as much as Castiel loves him…and Castiel loves him a lot.
“Cas?” Dean whispers.
“I love it.” Castiel chokes out.
“Let’s get it on you then.” Dean takes Castiel’s left hand in his and gives it a gentle squeeze. Castiel squeezes Dean’s hand back three times. Dean returns three squeezes. Then he puts the ring on Castiel’s left ring finger.
“I know pronounce you husband and husband. You two can kiss each other.” Sam says.
Castiel reaches out and takes Dean’s face in his hands. He takes a moment to stare into those green eyes of his. “I love you so much.” Castiel whispers.
Dean smiles. “I love you too, Cas.”
And with that, Dean closes the distance between them, and they kiss in front of their friends and family. As husbands.
Dean pulls away first and grabs Castiel by the shoulders. “We’re husbands!” Dean smiles widely and gives Castiel’s shoulders a little shake. Tears are streaming down Dean’s face and he practically shines with his joy.
Castiel’s heart feels so full. He pulls Dean close into a hug as his emotions spill out in the form of tears and a few hiccupping sobs. “So happy. Dean, I’m so fucking happy.” Castiel chokes out.
“Me too Cas, me too.” Dean hugs Castiel tightly and presses little kisses into his neck and shoulders and cheeks. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too.”
…
Dean
Dean and Cas run upstairs to change clothes. It’s time for dancing. It’s really not much of a change. They just throw their jackets in their room and take off their matching vests so they’re both in their white dress-shirts and black slacks. They also change shoes. Cas puts on his old bumblebee Converse. Dean puts on his old biker boots. The shoes are their something old. Their rings are their something new. Dean’s borrowing a pair of Cas’s bumblebee socks and Cas is borrowing a pair of Dean’s coffee mug socks.
“Ready?” Dean grins at Cas.
“Born ready.” Cas winks at Dean and Dean forgets how to breathe for just a moment. This is his husband. This dorky man with the unruly dark hair and the affinity for bumblebees. This man who gives Dean so much grace and understanding and acceptance and love. This man who is so good to Dean. This sweet disaster of a man who loved peppermint mochas and when he proposed, he spilled one all over Dean to recreate the moment that started their relationship…who sacrificed his jean jacket just so Dean didn’t have to get a stain on any of his clothes.
Cas squints and tilts his head to the side. “What?” he asks.
Dean crosses the room and takes Cas’s face in his hands. “I love you. I don’t have the words to describe how much I love you. But I love you so much, Cas. So much, husband.” Dean’s voice cracks.
Cas holds Dean’s face in his hands and gently wipes away Dean’s tears. “I love you too, husband.” Cas lets out a wet laugh and then it’s Dean’s turn to wipe away Cas’s tears.
“Okay, deep breath. I think we both need one.” Dean says.
Cas chuckles. Then he looks Dean in the eyes, and nods. They take their deep breath together.
“All right.” Cas nods. “I’m good. Are you good?”
“I’m good.” Dean smiles at Cas.
They hold hands and walk outside together.
Everyone cheers and throws biodegradable confetti at them. Charlie showed Dean the confetti ahead of time. Half of it is the colors of the rainbow flag for Cas. The other half is the bi flag for Dean.
They make their way for the dancing area they have set up in their yard. “All right, now the newly-weds will have their first dance.” Garth says as he turns the song on.
“Come and Get Your Love” by Redbone plays.
Dean smiles as Cas pulls him close. And they dance. Cas spins Dean and Dean can see Charlie crying a little ways away from the dance area. Dean remembers that time Charlie took him to a dancing class at the Rec to get his mind off Cas and who was the instructor? Cas. Dean chuckles. That was a wild birthday.
“What?” Cas asks as Dean spins him.
“Just thinking about when Charlie took me to your class for my birthday junior year.” Dean replies.
“And she laughed so hard she had to leave the classroom? And you stood there in the back looking embarrassed? That was a funny day. By then I had already given myself permission to have a crush on you, so I found it hilarious that my pre-planned song could make you blush like that. Couldn’t help but wonder, why was he blushing? Was it a dislike towards the song or was there something between us? I’m really glad it was the latter.” Cas grins.
Dean kisses Cas on the cheek. Cas smiles at Dean and spins him again.
When the song’s over, Cas winks at Dean. Dean feels his whole body heat up. Then Cas smirks and dips him as the song ends. Cas kisses him. Dean kisses him back. Then Cas pulls Dean upright again.
The next song that plays is “Club Can’t Handle Me” by Flo Rida featuring David Guetta.
“Oh, fuck yes!” Charlie yells.
Dean watches as Cas grins at Charlie and points to her.
“I love you, but I have to go.” Cas tells Dean before kissing him on the cheek.
Dean laughs and waves him off.
Cas walks over to Charlie. Dean grins as he watches Charlie and Cas start dancing. Some things never change.
There’s a tap on Dean’s shoulder and Dean turns around to see Eileen standing behind him.
“Wanna dance?” she signs.
“Hell, yeah!” Dean signs back.
Eileen grins and offers Dean her hand.
They spend the song doing old cheesy dance moves that Cas taught them last year when Sam and Eileen visited for three weeks in the summer.
Sammy taps Dean out towards the end of the song and Dean gives Eileen’s shoulder a little squeeze. Eileen puts her hand on Dean’s shoulder and squeezes back. Dean gives Sammy a shoulder-squeeze too and Sammy returns the gesture. Then Dean runs into Jo.
“All my younger siblings right here. Care to dance?” Dean grins.
“You know it!” Jo laughs.
…
Dean wakes up the next morning. He’s lying on the floor of the living room in his and Cas’s house. He’s holding Cas close, and he can feel Cas stirring in his arms.
“Guess what Cas?” Dean whispers.
“What?” Cas asks, turning around to face Dean.
“We’re married.”
Cas smiles and kisses Dean. “Yes, yes we are.”
“Hey, how come when our friends visit, we always end up on the floor?” Dean asks as he rubs the sleep out of his eyes.
Cas chuckles. “We’re nice people?”
“Are we?”
“Maybe you’re not, but I am.” Cas smirks.
“Shithead.” Dean laughs, poking Cas in the side.
Cas giggles and buries his face in Dean’s shoulder. “I surrender.”
Dean hugs Cas and presses a kiss into his hair. They stay like this for a while, just holding each other…until Cas’s stomach growls.
“Hungry?” Dean asks.
“Yeah. I’ll make the coffee?” Cas replies.
“I’ll make the food.” Dean stands and offers Cas his hand. “After you make the coffee, can you kick our friends awake? Especially Crowley. Pretty sure he stole our bed again.”
Cas takes Dean’s hand and Dean pulls him to his feet. “Nope. I saw Benny and Garth go in there last night.” Cas replies.
“I could’ve sworn it was Crowley in there.”
Cas’s eyes widen.
Dean blinks. “Oh.”
“We’re burning that bedding.” Cas says.
“Yeah,” Dean agrees as he carefully makes his way through the living room. Meg’s sleeping on the recliner. Sammy and Eileen are sleeping on the couch. Charlie’s sleeping in a chair. Jo’s curled up on the floor and Dean has to step around her to get to the kitchen’s entrance. Gabriel is lying on his back, sleeping on the table in the dining room just outside of the kitchen. Milton is curled up on Gabriel’s stomach.
When they get into the kitchen, Cas gives Dean’s hand a squeeze. Dean looks at Cas and squeezes his hand back.
“Hey Dean?” Cas whispers.
“Yeah?” Dean asks.
“We’re married.”
Dean grins. “Yeah,” Dean pulls Cas’s hand to his lips. It’s Cas’s left hand, so Dean kisses his knuckles one by one until he gets to his ring-finger. “We’re married.” Dean says before kissing Cas’s ring-finger.
Cas looks at Dean with an expression that’s somehow a mixture of softness and intensity. Cas pulls his hands out of Dean’s grasp, then he reaches out and gently takes Dean’s face in his hands. Cas’s hands are warm and soft…just like always…the gesture still takes Dean’s breath away.
“I love you.” Cas whispers. “So much.”
“I love you too.” Dean whispers. Then he closes the space between them.
…
June 3, 2034
Castiel
After three years of talking it out and waiting and chickening out and waiting for the perfect time, Castiel and Dean finally decide to go for it. They’re going to bring a foster kid into their home.
“I’m quite nervous. How are you feeling right now?” Castiel asks as Dean pulls into the parking lot.
“Really fucking nervous.” Dean fiddles with his glasses and lets out a laugh that sounds more like his nerves escaping than anything joyful or humorous.
“It’s only our first foster event. If we don’t meet any kids who like us, we can always come to another one.” Castiel says.
“You’re right. I’m just having a last-minute-panic moment. I’ll be fine once we’re actually around the kids. I mean, I better be, I’m a youth services librarian after all.”
“It would be pretty terrible if you were bad with kids while having that job. The good news is, you’re amazing with children and half of them will think you’re the coolest person ever.”
“Cas, my love, my light, my life, thee dearest heart. I look and act like a youth services librarian. Most of these kids will know exactly the level of dork that I am. I am a cool level four out of ten. And I accept that; it’s who I am.”
“See? This attitude is why your coolness level gets a boost. Self-acceptance is cool, my love.”
Dean smiles. “Well, you’re pretty cool yourself, professor.”
“I appreciate that.” Castiel grins. He kisses Dean on the cheek and asks, “Feeling better now?”
Dean nods. “Yeah, let’s go.”
They get to the event and somehow Castiel loses Dean outside. So, he wanders around the playground until he finds a kid sitting alone playing in the sandbox. He’s small, pale, has sandy hair, and blue eyes. His name tag says that he’s Jack and he’s seven years old.
“Hi.” Castiel says, sitting near Jack in the sandbox. “I’m Castiel.”
“Hi.” Jack doesn’t look up from the sandcastle that he’s building.
“What’s your name?”
“I’m Jack.” Jack continues to work on his sandcastle.
“Can I build a sandcastle too?” Castiel asks.
Jack hands Castiel one of the three molds he’s using to form the sandcastles.
Castiel begins to build his own sandcastle. “So, what’s the best sandcastle you’ve ever built?” Castiel asks.
Jack launches into a story about the most beautiful sandcastle he has ever made. Apparently, it was three stories tall and he built it with his older sister, Claire.
“What’s the best sandcastle you’ve ever built, Castiel?” Jack asks.
“I can’t recall the last time I built a sandcastle. I certainly haven’t built one as impressive as the one you described. Can you teach me?” Castiel asks.
Jack scrunches his eyebrows together. Then he says, “I can teach you now if you want.”
Castiel smiles at Jack. “I’d like that very much.”
Castiel cannot wait to introduce Dean to Jack.
Dean
Dean cannot for the life of him find Cas. Which sucks. Especially because Dean’s phone ran out of juice. It must be broken because that’s been happening a lot lately.
Dean sees a kid sitting alone on a swing, reading a book, so he decides to sit on the other swing.
“Hey,” Dean says.
“Hey,” the kid says, not looking up from the book.
“I’m Dean. What’s your name?” Dean asks.
“Claire.” Claire replies.
“What are you reading?” Dean asks.
“Stuff.”
“Not in a talking mood today?”
“I’m in a reading mood.”
“I get that. I’m a librarian by the way. I bet we could swap recommendations so you can find even more cool books to read.” Dean’s not sure what he should be doing with his hands. He keeps tapping and fiddling with the swing he’s on and playing with a button on his shirt.
“I can’t tell if you’re being sincere or patronizing.”
“If I was being patronizing, I wasn’t doing it on purpose. So, sorry for that.”
Claire studies him. “First time at one of these events?”
“That obvious; huh?”
“You’re nervous. A lot of the new parents get nervous at these things. They’re all worried they won’t find the perfect little someone to take home with them and turn into a special little angel.”
Cas would like this kid.
“Not us; we’re not looking for an angel. Just a regular kid.” Dean says.
“Us?” Claire raises an eyebrow.
“My husband and me.”
Claire blinks. She opens her mouth and then closes it again. Then looks Dean in the eyes and opens her mouth. Then she sighs and turns away.
Dean can’t tell what exactly is going through Claire’s head, but it’s clear the kid feels bad about something. He also notices that there’s a bruise on Claire’s face and his insides turn to dust.
“Wanna talk?” Dean asks.
“No.” Claire spits the word out. “I don’t wanna talk to anyone. Not you. Not your husband. Not anyone here. I just,” Claire takes a deep breath. “I just wanted to play nice so you would take me in because if you take me in then the people in charge will strongly recommend that you take in my little brother, Jack. Jack deserves a nice place to live. You’re a librarian. You don’t have all the money in the world, but you have some money. That means Jack will get three meals a day unless you and your husband are shitty people. I just wanna take care of my brother and—and—and—and,” Claire’s starting to hyperventilate. Tears are streaming down the kid’s face and she’s hugging herself.
“You’re okay. Listen to my voice. Let’s refocus. I want you to tell me about the book you’re reading. Can you do that? Talk to me about the book. What’s the main character’s name?”
“Alex,” Claire chokes out.
“Who is Alex?”
“President’s son.”
Dean’s heart stutters.
“What does Alex do in the book?” Dean asks.
“Falls in love with his enemy.” Claire answers.
“Ah, this is an enemies to friends to lovers scenario?”
“I guess.”
“What’s the book called?”
“Red, White, & Royal Blue.”
“Do you like it?”
Claire sniffles and nods.
“I’ve read it too.”
Claire freezes. “My grandma raised me. She was kind but…she was also homophobic. She died before I could tell her. That’s why Jack and I are here. We don’t have anyone. Not anymore. I don’t know why the hell I’m telling you this, but here we are I guess.”
Dean smiles. “Maybe I just look trustworthy?”
Claire smiles for a second. “Maybe I’m just tired. And I hate my current foster family because the dad’s a drunk and the mom’s an asshole.”
Dean blinks. He feels a wave of protectiveness wash over him. It’s mixed with anger. If this kid is telling the truth, then he really should talk to Cas about fostering Claire and her little brother, Jack.
Dean and Claire talk for a while. They drift off into books instead of personal lives. It’s nice. Claire’s insightful and mentions a lot of books that Dean now desperately wants to read. Then they part ways. Claire says something about finding Jack and Dean lets her go off on her own. He waits on the swing, not wanting to make Claire think he’s following her.
Then he sets off to find Cas. It takes twenty minutes before he finds Cas sitting in a sandbox with Claire and a little kid. That must be Jack.
“Hey Cas,” Dean says.
Cas stands and grins at Dean. “Sorry I didn’t look for you for as long as I normally would have liked to. I met a new friend and then a few minutes later, I met another new friend.” Cas gestures to Jack, “Dean, this is Jack.” Cas gestures to Claire, “And this is Claire.”
“This is your husband?” Claire asks.
“Yeah,” Dean replies. “This is your brother, Jack?”
“Yeah,” Claire replies.
Cas tilts his head to the side.
“I met Claire by the swings when my phone died.” Dean explains.
“It’s like fate.” Cas smiles.
“Oh yeah, totally.” Claire rolls her eyes.
Dean decides to let that slide. This time.
A whistle blows and there’s an announcement that the event is over.
“It was nice meeting you two.” Cas says.
“Nice meeting you as well!” Jack grins at Cas.
Claire looks from Jack to Cas and smiles at him. “Nice meeting you.” Then she looks at Dean and says, “Bye Dean.”
Claire and Jack walk in one direction and Dean and Cas walk in the other direction.
“We’re going to ask about those two; right?” Dean asks.
“Of course.” Cas replies.
…
Three days later…
Castiel
Dean opens up the door and says, “Welcome to the house. We’ll give you the tour, but spoiler-alert, you are each getting your own bedroom. Each room has a bed, a closet, a dresser, a desk, and a bookshelf. There is one shelf full of books geared towards your age-groups, but the rest is for you to do whatever you want with it. Put glitter or stuffed animals or baseballs on it. It’s yours.”
“But we couldn’t quite refrain from providing some books to go on one shelf because I am an English professor and Dean is a librarian.” Castiel jokes.
“Yeah, I don’t think I have enough self-control to see a bookshelf and not fill it with books…at least a little.” Dean laughs.
“Of course, now that you’re both here, you can put the books wherever you want. You could clear the shelf and put the books in the closet if you so choose; they are yours.” Castiel points out.
“Are we talking too quickly?” Dean asks looking from Claire to Jack.
“No.” Claire says.
“So, I was thinkin’ we could give you the tour and then we’ll end at your rooms that way you two can get settled before we meet back downstairs at say,” Dean checks his watch. “Five twenty? So, we can make dinner plans together. Does that sound good?”
“Sure,” Claire replies.
“What do you think about this, Jack?” Dean asks.
“Sounds good.” Jack nods.
“Okay, let’s go!” Dean announces.
Castiel smiles as Dean leads the way through the house. He does most of the talking, excitedly explaining things about the house and different parts of their lives. He mentions Castiel’s affinity for bees which is why there are so many bee decorations.
“Honestly, I’ve started to really love the bumblebee theme. It wouldn’t be home anymore without some bee decorations.” Dean says.
Castiel smiles and takes Dean’s hand in his. Dean laces their fingers, and they continue the tour. They walk around the house hitting all the main stops: the kitchen, the dining room, the living room. From the living room, they go out to the garden where Castiel has planted roses, milkweed, daisies, honeysuckle, foxgloves, bleeding hearts, lilies, and marigolds. The garden spans across the border of the backyard. Dean’s herb garden takes up a small corner of the yard. Everything else is mostly free space with lawn furniture on it. Perhaps they should put up a playset for Jack. And they should find something Claire would like back here too.
“The flowers are beautiful,” Jack says.
“We should come out here together sometimes. It’s really beautiful in the mornings—especially now when it’s so warm outside and everything is in a layer of mist. We get a lot of bees and butterflies around here.” Castiel says.
“Cool,” Jack grins.
Castiel grins back. Having the children here is nerve-wracking and Castiel is worried that he has sweat through his t-shirt already, but if there are more moments like this, it just might make it all worth it.
…
August 5, 2034
Dean
Dean’s working on Baby with Bobby in Bobby’s garage at the Singer residence. Dean loves this car. She’s a 1967 Chevrolet Impala that Bobby occasionally calls the Black Beauty. They found her in a used car lot for far less than she is worth and after talking it over with Cas, Dean decided to buy her on the spot. Dean has never actually owned a car before. He always uses Cas’s or walks or rides a bike everywhere. Soon, he’ll have Baby to drive around in. He can’t wait to take Cas for drives in this car…once the seatbelts are installed. He’s hoping this car will be ready in time for Dean to start teaching Claire how to drive.
“So, how’s everything?” Bobby asks.
“It’s awesome. I love fostering those kids.” Dean replies. “I’ll be devastated if we can’t keep them.” He admits.
Dean can’t help but smile to himself. When he was Claire’s age, he never imagined he’d ever willingly admit to anyone that he thinks he will be devastated about anything. People change. Cas changed Dean. So did Charlie and Bobby and Benny and everyone else that Dean loves.
“They’re good kids.” Bobby says. “You should bring them around more.”
“What? Is my company not enough for you?” Dean jokes.
“That’s true. You are a handful on your own.” Bobby grins.
If anyone else told Dean that, he would flip them off, but he just…he can’t do that with Bobby. It’s Bobby…it’s his dad.
“Yeah, love you too, old man.” Dean replies.
“Who are you calling old man?” Bobby chuckles.
“You.”
“I should tell Jo not to bring the pie when she visits next week.”
“She would still bring me pie. She wants to impress the kids.”
Bobby laughs.
Dean’s alarm goes off on his phone. “Okay, time for me to head out. Thanks again for helping me fix her up. She’s gonna be a beauty.”
“Already is,” Bobby takes an appraising look at Baby.
“Can’t wait to show Cas.”
“Why don’t you bring him here?”
“I want to finish her up before I introduce them. Gotta make sure she puts her best wheel forward.” Dean laughs at his own joke.
“I should call Cas and tell him you’re leaving him for your car.”
“Please, he loves his car just as much as I love mine.”
“If you say so.”
Dean hugs Bobby. “Gotta go. I’m making dinner.”
Bobby hugs Dean back.
Dean pulls away, grabs his stuff, and puts his helmet on. Then he gets on his bike. “Love you, Bobby!” Dean says over his shoulder.
“Love you too.” Bobby replies. “Be careful out there!”
“I’m always careful.”
“Yeah, that’s a load of shit.”
Dean laughs and takes off on his bike.
…
September 8, 2034
Dean
By the time school starts, they’ve all settled into a routine. Dean and Cas don’t need to get to work until after 9am so they’re both able to see the kids off to school. They take the kids for ice cream every Friday and on Saturdays the kids are allowed to pick any activity they want for the day. Cas and Jack spend a lot of time in the garden. Dean and Claire spend a lot of time talking about books. Cas and Claire spend a lot of time knitting together; Claire says there’s something therapeutic about stabbing something repeatedly, but Dean thinks she just likes chatting with Cas while they knit. Dean and Jack go on walks around D.O.G street; Jack likes to see all the people walking their dogs. He keeps asking for a dog. He loves Milton, but the kid really wants a dog. Dean’s almost certain that there will eventually be a dog in the house, but not this year. Cas and Jack jog and Dean and Claire race across the neighborhood…the kid leaves him in the dust almost every time. Dean and Jack go grocery shopping together every Sunday morning while Cas and Claire sleep in. Dean takes Jack to the farmer’s market on every third Sunday too; he’s hoping Jack will eat more vegetables if he has fun experiences at the farmer’s market…so far there’s not much that he likes. Dean can’t really blame Jack; Dean really hates the taste and texture of pineapples and his dad used to make him eat them all the time, so Dean’s not doing that to Jack. They usually just look around and get “secret” pastries…Cas always knows. Kind of like how Cas takes Claire to get “secret” frozen yogurt…Dean always knows. The kids are easy enough to read when they think they’re being sneaky…it’s honestly really cute. Cas and Jack do yoga together. Dean and Claire work on new recipes together. Dean wants to come up with enough recipes together that way by the time Claire leaves, she’ll leave with a cookbook that she co-authored with Dean…hopefully that will be years from now. They’re still in the process of finalizing the kids’ adoption.
There have been a lot of good days. Like the day they dropped Jack off at school and Jack hugged Cas and said, “Bye Daddy!” and then he hugged Dean and said, “Bye Daddy!”
Dean had to fight the lump that immediately formed in his throat to say, “Bye Jack! Love you!”
“Love you too!” Jack called as he ran into the building. They’d already met his teacher the week before so Jack would know where to go.
Dean and Cas just stood outside the school building for a few minutes holding hands.
“Did he really?” Cas had asked.
“Yeah; he did.” Dean had replied.
“We’re his dads.” Cas had sniffled.
Dean looks at Cas. His blue eyes swam in tears and his face was blotchy. Dean hugged Cas. “Yeah, we are.” Dean had said, trying to hold back tears.
“I love those kids so much.” Cas had said, hugging Dean back.
“I do too.” Dean smiled into Cas’s shoulder.
But that was then. This is now.
Now is Claire’s first soccer game. She’s a bit aggressive. Dean can’t blame her. She’s in therapy now, but she has been through a lot in her first fourteen years of life. That doesn’t just go away overnight.
Other than the occasional elbow to the other kids’ stomach, Claire’s an excellent soccer player.
Some of the other parents don’t seem to understand that. One of the dads is a in fact, a huge asshole. At first it was just a snicker whenever Claire would lose the ball. Then it was comments about people who should be ashamed of something…he doesn’t say what.
“She should get pulled. She’s gonna cost them the game. Probably hasn’t ever been on a sports team before.” The dad says. Loudly.
“That’s my daughter, you assbutt!” Cas yells as he lunges for the guy.
Dean grabs Cas before he gets very far.
“Charlie, Crowley, Gabriel, please watch Jack.” Dean says as he pulls Cas away.
“You got it.” Charlie says.
“Let go.” Cas snaps.
Dean lets go of Cas and says, “Fine, but you lead the way to the porta-johns.”
Cas stomps over to the porta-johns. He kicks the one closest to him.
“Cas, I need you to talk to me.” Dean says. His heart is beginning to pound in his chest. He hopes Claire doesn’t notice they’re not on the sidelines anymore. He also hopes Cas is okay because he looks two seconds away from sobbing. His eyes are full of tears and his mouth is shaking. He’s hugging himself and shuffling from foot to foot like he hurt himself when he kicked the porta-john.
“How are you not angry?” Cas glares at Dean.
“Oh, I am furious. I’m envisioning myself letting the air out of that douchebag’s tires as we speak. But I don’t want to do anything that could jeopardize Claire’s spot on the team.” Dean explains.
“He’s being shitty because Claire’s our foster kid. So are several of the other parents. The fact that we’re going to adopt her doesn’t matter. She’s not our blood and they don’t want her on the team with their kids. It’s not just that one douchebag.” Cas scrubs at his face as tears spill down his cheeks.
Dean takes a step back. Shit. How did he miss that?
“Fucking dicks,” Dean mutters. Then he looks at Cas. “She’s our kid. They can’t do shit about that, so fuck them.”
Cas takes a deep breath. Then he says. “No thanks.” Cas replies.
Dean remembers the first time Cas told him that he loved him. Dean grins at Cas, “I love you.”
“I love you too.” Cas says.
“Can I hug you?” Dean puts his arms out to Cas.
Cas smiles a wobbly smile and says, “No. I will cry if I hug you right now.”
“Okay, let’s take a minute to breathe.” Dean says.
Cas nods and closes his eyes. He takes a deep breath. “I will need to cry about this later, so I would like a raincheck on that hug.” Cas says.
“Whatever you need, Cas.” Dean says.
They stand there for a few minutes.
Then Cas says, “Okay. Let’s go watch our girl.”
They walk back to the sidelines right as Charlie and Gabriel start yelling.
“Fuck yeah, Claire! Go! Go! Go!” Charlie yells.
Dean watches as Claire dribbles the ball down the field.
“Run kiddo!” Gabriel yells.
“Go Claire! You can do it!” Cas shouts.
Claire scores a goal.
“Yeah! Good job Claire!” Dean yells.
“Yay Claire!” Jack dances around the spaces between Charlie, Crowley, Gabriel, Cas, and Dean.
Claire and the rest of her team run to the middle to set up for the next play.
Jack waves at Claire. Claire waves back.
“Who are they?” One of the kids on Claire’s team asks.
“Oh, that’s my kid brother, my two dads, my weird uncle, my weirder uncle, and my aunt. They’re old but cool.” Claire says, glancing at Dean.
Dean grins at Claire.
Claire rolls her eyes at Dean.
Dean feels eyes on him, and he looks to see the douchebag staring. “She’s my kid.” Dean practically growls.
“Our kid.” Cas says, taking Dean’s hand in his.
“Please, she’s all of our kids.” Charlie says, standing on the other side of Dean.
“Yeah, so shut up about her.” Gabriel adds, standing by Cas.
The douchebag opens his mouth, but Crowley cuts him off.
“I am part of a highly prestigious law-firm and I assure you I can find numerous ways to make your life a living hell if you open your mouth and utter so much as one more disrespectful syllable, so I would shut the fuck up and watch the game, shithead.” Crowley says.
The douchebag’s eyes widen, and he turns away.
When they go to bed that night, they talk about the game.
“I would say today was quite the success.” Dean says as he and Cas get the bed ready. “Claire scored four goals and we made an enemy.”
Cas just laughs. “Did you see his face when Crowley threatened him?”
“He looked ready to shit himself. It was perfect.” Dean replies.
“It’s nice to know that Crowley would tie someone up in lawyer hell for our kids. And I like that Charlie, Gabriel, and Crowley see our kids as family too.” Cas tilts his head to the side. “I’m fairly certain that Meg, Benny, and Garth do as well. Although, it’s a good thing Meg wasn’t there. She probably would’ve actually let the air out of that guy’s tires.”
“I can see her doing that.” Dean laughs. “We have good people.”
Cas grins. “We do.”
…
Christmas Eve 2034
Dean
It’s Christmas Eve and Sammy and Eileen are over. It’s their first time officially meeting Claire and Jack. They’ve met via Zoom, but they haven’t been in the same room prior to yesterday. Everyone’s in the kitchen doing…something. Dean’s not sure. He just got back from the store. They were nearly out of peppermint mocha coffee creamer and it would be cruel to make Cas spend Christmas without that. Claire likes it too. So does Sammy. And Eileen. Dean’s the only one who doesn’t like it. Jack doesn’t have an opinion on it because he’s seven so they’re not letting him drink coffee yet. He gets hot chocolate instead…slightly less caffeine.
Milton greets Dean at the door.
“Hey buddy,” Dean bends down to pet the cat.
“This is something my mom used to make every Christmas.” Dean hears Sammy say in the kitchen.
Dean’s heart drops. What’s Sammy making them? Is it…Dean shakes his head. No. It doesn’t matter.
Sammy’s sharing something with his niece and nephew. Dean’s not going to take that away from him.
Dean walks into the kitchen as Sammy hands Claire and Jack mugs of what Dean assumes is his mother’s famous peppermint hot chocolate.
“Hey Dean,” Sammy signs with a grin.
Dean only has one hand free, so he plasters a smile on his face and waves at everyone.
“Want some, Dean?” Jack asks.
“You should have some. This is good.” Claire says.
Dean glances at Sammy who’s staring at him with his patent the-puppy-wanted-to-play-and-did-not-mean-to-nip look. This has happened a few times. It’s not Sammy’s fault that their mom decided she was better off without Dean and chose to raise Sammy instead. It’s not Dean’s fault hearing about his mom hurts. It’s not Sammy’s fault that he wants to share pieces of his childhood with the people he loves. He’s allowed to do that.
“Yeah, I’ll try a cup.” He grins at Sammy. “Can I use the Batman mug?” He tries to look and sound and sign in an excited manner. He really doesn’t want to spoil the fun. It’s Christmas Eve and Cas wanted to do matching Christmas pajamas with everyone later. It’ll be pointless if they’re not happy whilst wearing said pajamas.
Sammy blinks and a small smile forms on his face. “Coming right up.” Sammy replies. His hands shake a bit while he signs, and he swipes at his eyes.
Dean’s not sure why Sammy looks ready to cry, but he tries to ignore it. He can’t do anything about it now. He also can’t do anything about the recurring images of his mom from when he was little that are playing in his head. They’re mostly from when he was five and Mom still smiled at him. They’re getting blurry…too much time has passed.
There’s a gentle hand pressed against his back and three taps of a finger. Cas.
Dean turns to see Cas standing beside him. “Hey dear heart,” Dean gives Cas a peck on the cheek.
“Did you have a good time at the store?” Cas asks, taking his hand off Dean’s back to sign.
“No.” Dean laughs.
“I can go with your next time, so you have more fun.” Jack offers.
“That’s a really nice offer, bud. Can I have a hug?” Dean asks.
Jack thinks about it for a moment. Then he says, “No. Can I interest you in a high-five?”
“Absolutely,” Dean puts his hand out for Jack to high-five him.
Jack gives Dean a high-five.
“That’s just what I needed, bud. I feel a lot better now.” Dean tells Jack.
Because honestly, he does. He loves these kids so friggin’ much.
“Hot chocolate.” Sammy says, handing Dean the cup.
“Thanks,” Dean says. He takes a sip and is immediately taken back to the time when he was five and his mom’s smile brought safety and love. He blinks and he’s back to the present. And everyone is watching him. So, he does the only logical thing there was to do. He grins and says, “I’m Batman.”
Jack giggles. Claire rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling. Eileen glances at Sammy who translates for her, then Eileen rolls her eyes at Dean too. Cas presses a kiss into Dean’s shoulder. Dean reaches out behind him and taps Cas’s leg. Cas takes Dean’s hand in his and gives him a little squeeze.
…
May 18, 2035
Dean
It’s May 18, 2035, and it’s Jack’s birthday so everyone’s here: Cas, Claire, Jack, Dean, Charlie, Sammy, Gabriel, Eileen, Meg, Garth, Benny, Crowley, Bobby, Ellen, Jody, Donna, and Jo.
“Happy Birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Jack! Happy birthday to you!” Everyone sings and signs as Dean places the cake in front of Jack.
Jack’s eyes get wide when he sees how big the cake is.
“You can thank your Aunt Jo for the cool design. It was her idea.” Dean says.
One half features characters from Mario Kart. The other half features characters from Star Wars.
“Thank you, Aunt Jo.” Jack grins at Jo.
Jo smiles. “You’re welcome, kiddo.”
“I can’t believe that game is still popular.” Crowley says.
“How dare you?” Charlie and Dean say at the same time.
Crowley smiles and rolls his eyes at them.
“Make a wish, Jack.” Cas says.
Jack closes his eyes and blows out his candles.
“What did you wish for?” Sammy asks.
“He can’t tell. That’s the rule.” Eileen smirks.
“I think it’s safe to say it because it already got it.” Jack says.
“Oh yeah? What did you get?” Claire asks.
“Was it peace on earth?” Benny asks.
“No.” Jack giggles.
“Was it cake?” Garth asks.
“Was it a big spider?” Meg asks.
Dean looks at Cas to see Cas giving Meg his patented What-The-Fuck-Meg look. Dean grins.
“Why would I wish for a spider?” Jack asks.
“I don’t know,” Meg shrugs. “You’ve never wanted to pet a fuzzy tarantula?”
Cas starts laughing beside Meg.
“I hadn’t thought about it. I’ll have to give it some thought before I tell you.” Jack replies.
Dean smiles. He loves this kid who already talks like a very technical adult. Dean’s not sure where he picked it up; it definitely wasn’t from Dean.
…
Dean
Dean’s sitting on the couch. Milton is in his lap. Cas dressed him up in a Grinch sweater this morning. Cas is picking Sammy and Eileen up from the airport. Dean would’ve gone, but he’s sick and Cas insisted he stay home with the kids. It’s December 19th, 2038, so they’re watching winter-themed movies from what Jack and Claire call “the ancient years when you and Cas were teenagers,” so right now, they’re watching Frozen. Jack is singing along to the music.
“Do you wanna build a snowman?” Jack sings.
He’s on pitch. Dean might talk with him later about joining the school chorus. He would be good.
“No, I do not.” Claire says without looking up from her book.
“You’re no fun Claire-bear.” Dean says. He sounds awful and nasally. His head actually hurts a lot, and he’s really hoping Cas gets here soon so he can go to bed.
“I hate you.” Claire replies, but she’s smiling.
Dean grins and ruffles Claire’s hair a little before he sits beside Jack on the floor and sings along to the movie. Dean has to stop because he keeps coughing.
“Do you have a favorite song in this?” Jack asks.
“I think I like “Let It Go” the best.” Dean replies. “You?”
“It’s probably “Do You Wanna Build a Snowman”.”
“Good choice.”
“Thank you.”
A few minutes later, Dean feels a tap on his shoulder. He looks up to see Claire standing in front of him. She puts a plate with a snowman mug and a note in front of him and drops the bag of cough drops on the floor beside him. Then she walks out of the room. Dean picks up the note and reads it.
Dear Dean-Dad,
I know this letter finds you in shitty health. There’s a bowl of soup in the microwave. The drink I’ve set before you is not poison. It is coffee. Also, your cough is terrible. Eat your cough drops.
I’m going upstairs to read. Send Jack up when Dadstiel gets back with Sam and Eileen. Or if you fall and can’t get up.
Love you, Old Man.
Dean laughs. He can’t wait to show this to Cas.
A few hours later…
“She did not.” Cas laughs.
“I love that kid so much.” Dean replies.
…
11:58PM on December 24, 2042
Castiel
Castiel watches Dean struggle to wrap a toy for Milton. He can’t help but smile as he watches the love of his life curse out a wrapping paper with little cartoon cats on it. There’s just something about it that makes Castiel want to cry. Maybe he’s just getting old…he knows he is. It’s so strange to think that Castiel is now forty-three and Dean is forty-two. Sometimes Castiel looks at Dean and it feels like no time at all has passed. Sometimes Dean smiles a certain way and Castiel feels twenty-one again trying to figure out how to handle the biggest crush of his life. Other times, Dean smiles at Castiel and Castiel feels the years behind that smile…all the trust and strength and hope and steadiness they’ve built within each other. And love. Always so much love.
Middle-age is definitely here. Dean and Castiel both have crows-feet and shadows under their eyes even when they do get enough sleep and they’ve got smile lines and wrinkles. Castiel’s starting to grey. So is Dean. Dean has aged so beautifully. He’s still beautiful. Still Dean Winchester. Still everything Castiel could ever want and more. Still Castiel’s heart and his hope and his joy and his love. Not because he’s perfect. He’s not. But neither is Castiel. And besides, love is patient. Love is kind. That is what love is and that is what they have: mutual patience, mutual kindness, mutual joy, mutual screaming and crying because the world is cruel and unfair and why did all those horrible things that make it difficult to sleep at night have to happen to them when they were children? The world is ugly. And the world is beautiful. And Castiel cannot imagine attempting to navigate any of this with anyone but Dean by his side.
“What?” Dean asks.
“Just thinking about how much I love you.” Castiel replies.
Dean blushes and a small smile lights up his face. “Sap,” Dean takes Castiel’s hand in his and pulls it towards him. Dean gives Castiel a gentle kiss on the knuckles.
“Yeah, I’m the sap.” Castiel smirks before pulling Dean’s hand to his lips and pressing a kiss onto Dean’s knuckles.
Dean grins.
By the time they finish wrapping all the presents it’s already 5:35AM.
“We are not waiting until the last minute again.” Dean says as he makes some coffee.
“That’s what we said last year. And the year before.” Castiel replies. He walks over to Dean and hugs him from behind, pressing his face into Dean’s back.
“Yeah, we’re pretty bad at this.”
“I wouldn’t say that. We still finished.”
“Yeah, and no holes in the presents. So, we did better than last year.”
“I kinda love that we’re both shit at wrapping presents.”
“Your method is better than mine though. Too much paper and tape is better than trying to make everything precise and then misjudging the calculations and not noticing until it’s too late.”
“Like when Jack’s trying to open the thing he wanted the most on Christmas morning.”
“Yeah, like then.”
“He was really excited when he saw the zombie short story anthology, so I don’t think there was any harm with that one. And, we didn’t wrap any presents until Christmas Eve so Jack never saw it with the present-revealing hole prior to Christmas morning.” Castiel kisses Dean’s shoulder.
Dean chuckles and Castiel can feel the vibrations. “At least there’s that.”
The coffee machine beeps.
Dean
They make their coffee and do what they always used to do at night when sleep feels pointless: they go to the Sunken Garden.
Dean leaves a note for Sammy saying that they’re going on a walk and he should text them when everyone wakes up.
Dean knows they won’t be gone that long, but it’s a matter of courtesy.
Cas is holding the bumblebee mug Dean got him for Christmas last year. It’s got a chip on it already which is why one of the presents waiting for Cas under the tree is a new bumblebee mug. Dean’s holding a William and Mary mug. They hold hands as they make their way to the Sunken Garden.
In the fifteen minutes it takes to get there, Dean can’t help but think about all they’ve been through in the past few years. He smiles as he remembers dancing to “Not Yet/Love Run (Reprise)” by The Amazing Devil when they renewed their vows last year. He thinks about the father-kid dances he had with Jack and Claire.
He thinks about all the times Cas has brought Dean flowers when picking him up from the library. And the playlists Cas sends him just because. And the cute pictures Cas still sends of cats he finds on the William and Mary campus. And attending the dance classes Cas continues to teach at the Rec.
When they get to the Sunken Garden, they sit on the steps at the front of the garden and look up at the sky. It’s full of stars. They sip their coffee in silence for a bit…just listening to the sound of the light breeze and the owl that lives by the music hall.
In a few hours, they’ll be making breakfast for the kids and Sammy and Eileen. Sammy will make that famous Mary Campbell peppermint hot chocolate he makes for the kids every year. Dean will drink it for Sammy…not for Mom. He’s taking it back. Like how he took the name Winchester. It’s his fucking name; he’s got a right to use it without wanting to set something on fire. His parents did fuck him up, but Dean has spent a lot of time and energy trying to un-fuck himself up. It’s mostly working.
And besides, if it weren’t for the shitty memory of peppermint hot chocolate, Dean wouldn’t have Cas. Or…maybe he would have Cas only the circumstances would’ve been different. Maybe Dean wouldn’t have been as brave. Maybe Cas never would’ve approached Dean. Maybe none of this would’ve happened. So even though the memory of his mom is shit, that doesn’t mean he has to hate peppermint forever. He can drink the hot chocolate for Sammy once a year. And he can love the concept of peppermint for Cas.
Dean looks at Cas. Even with his glasses on, it’s hard to see him because it’s so dark out. The moon’s out and it’s shining bright, but the lanterns are dimly lit and it’s hard to make out all of Cas’s features. It’s not that he can’t see him in his mind’s eye though: dark blue eyes, a small contemplative smile, messy black hair that’s starting to look a little like salt-and-pepper. Dean loves it. He loves that he has gotten to grow old with Cas…well…older. It’s called middle-age for a reason. They still have time.
“What are you thinking about?” Cas asks, echoing the question Dean asked Cas only a few hours ago.
Dean smiles. “How much I love you.”
Cas gives Dean’s hand a little squeeze and Cas rests his head on Dean’s shoulder. “I love you too.”
“That would be awkward if you didn’t.” Dean quips.
Cas chuckles. “Dork,”
“Just for you, dear heart.” Dean presses a kiss into Cas’s hair.
Cas lets out a happy hum.
They sit in silence for a bit.
Then Cas asks, “Can you believe we’re in our forties? Time has gone by so quickly.”
“Yes and no. I think we feel the same though…just stronger, older, maybe wiser but who’s to say?”
“I will say. And the answer is no, we are not wiser.”
Dean laughs. “Yeah, probably not.”
“What time is everyone arriving again?”
“Charlie and Stevie will be here at 10AM, Crowley at 10:13AM, Benny and Garth said they’ll get here at 10:30AM but realistically we can’t expect them until 11AM at the earliest. Meg should be here at 11:10AM, Bobby, Jo, and Ellen will get here at 6PM for dinner, and Gabriel said, and I quote “I’ll get there when I get there” which could mean literally anything.”
Cas laughs and wraps his arms around Dean. Dean puts his mug down beside him and hugs Cas back.
“I used to really hate Christmas. And peppermint. Mostly peppermint.” Dean says. “Then it all changed when I crashed into you at the bookstore.”
“You started hating those things even more?”
“No, asshole.”
“I told you I was an asshole.”
Dean rolls his eyes, but he can’t help but laugh. “I’m trying to be romantic here.”
“Okay, you have my permission.”
“Gee, thanks.” Dean says.
Cas chuckles.
“And…thank you for making things like Christmas and peppermint a bit more bearable.” Dean adds.
“In that case, Merry Christmas, Dean.” Cas says.
“Merry Christmas, Cas.” Dean smiles.
“And thank you for making me the happiest person I know.”
“You make me happy too, Cas.”
“I’m glad.”
They hold each other close for a few minutes. Then Cas starts to shiver, and Dean decides it’s time to head home.
“Hey, let’s go home, take a warm shower, and change into our matching Christmas sweaters.” Dean says.
Cas nods and pulls away from Dean. “I can’t wait to see everyone wear them for the picture.”
“We even have one for Milton.”
Cas takes Dean’s face in his hands and gently kisses him. “I love you, Dean.” Cas says against Dean’s lips.
Dean kisses Cas in return and then says, “And I love you, Cas.”
“Let’s go home.” Cas says, taking Dean’s hand in his.
Dean smiles and laces their fingers.
Then they head home.
“Aw, shit.” Dean mutters as soon as they walk through their front door.
“What?” Cas asks.
“We left the mugs.” Dean says.
“Of course, we did.” Cas chuckles.
“I got you a new bumblebee mug for Christmas though.” Dean blurts out.
“It was because there was a chip in the other one; huh?” Cas asks.
“Maybe,”
Cas laughs and he kisses Dean.
Dean’s chest fills with love and light. He pulls Cas close and kisses him back.
“I love you so much.” Cas says.
“And I love you.” Dean replies.
It might just be the lack of sleep, but Dean feels as if he is glowing with love for his husband, his Cas. And he knows that soon there will be the wonderful stress of having a house full of people to feed and cherish. But right now? Dean is with Cas and Dean is happy and he is shining, and he is feeling so much love. And maybe…just maybe…that is the magic of peppermint. That little spark in Dean’s chest that started to light up the day he crashed into Cas.