[Fic] Sin with a Grin - Chapter 10/18
Title: Sin with a Grin
Author: Stolen Childe
Disclaimer: Supernatural and all associated characters belong to Kripke and Co. I make absolutely no claims on any of them.
Author's Notes: Okay, I normally don't say this but I'm really pleased with this chapter. It's shorter, but this was one of those chapters that just wrote itself while I was working on it. It's also probably the sappiest thing you'll find in this fic but considering it's me and I'm allergic to sap there's some humour too. I really hope you guys enjoy!
Special thanks to dapperscript for the wonderful beta! Thank you!
Please see Master Post for Notes, Cover Art and Further Information.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Dean came home to a quiet and dark apartment. It was unusual, but Cas was injured and Dean figured he had a right to be a little more tired than usual. The older man tended to be a bit of a night owl and usually Dean found himself turning in long before Castiel did. He moved quietly through the apartment, tidying up a little before heading to bed himself. He didn’t expect to see the blue-eyed man sitting cross-legged on the bedroom floor, photos spread around him.
“Hey, Cas,” Dean greeted gently.
Castiel jumped in surprise and winced as the movement jarred his collar bone.
“Sorry, Babe, didn’t mean to startle you.” Dean was generally incapable of startling Castiel, which had to mean the man was deep in thought about something.
“Hello, Dean,” Castiel said quietly.
“How’d you even get down there?” Dean asked, coming over to sit next to Castiel, careful not to step on any of the pictures.
“Getting down was the easy part. It’s the coming back up part I didn’t think through,” Castiel said wryly. “Which is why I’ve been stationary for the last two hours.”
“Jesus.”
“It’s all right, I knew you’d be home eventually.”
“So why the sudden walk down memory lane?” Dean asked as he shifted through some of the photos.
It seemed to be an equal mesh of Castiel’s unit and both their families. Currently, Castiel was gazing fondly at an image of Jess, Sam, and Dean bowling. Jess was just about to take her turn and had the big ten pin ball between her knees. Dean was laughing off to the side and Sam was valiantly fighting the smirk that threatened to curl his lips as he coached Jess through the proper technique.
In Castiel’s other hand was a picture of him and Balthazar. Castiel had his ironic grin firmly in place while Balthazar looked overly serious, and they were gazing intently at each other; whatever Balthazar was trying to argue, it was clear that he was losing spectacularly. Dean remembered when both photos were taken.
Dean picked up another picture of a group of serious young men in fatigues, gazing at the camera. Castiel stood off to the side in the photo, looking stern and commanding.
“That was just before my second tour. Some of the guys were familiar, most were new. It was my first time being in charge of anything. I’m afraid I took it far too seriously,” Castiel explained. “I was never really comfortable with being in charge.”
“You still haven’t answered my question, Cas,” Dean remarked, flipping through more of the squad photos Castiel had scattered around. Some were casual, some weren’t. One was of Castiel laughing with another man at his side around a campfire. They had a flask between them and were covered in dust. Dean felt a strange surge of jealousy when he saw the photo and pushed it aside.
“A combination of things, really. One…” Castiel gestured to his sling, “this. Also…” The older man reached over and snagged a folded letter by the corner, sliding it over to Dean. Dean whistled when he saw the seal at the top and skimmed through the contents.
“Cas, this is…” Dean murmured, looking with wide, aghast eyes at his partner.
“Yes,” Castiel nodded.
“But…” Dean’s gaze shot back down at the letter, then over at Castiel again. “You… you’re retired.”
Castiel sighed, “You never really retire, Dean.”
“Sergeant First Class? You aren’t that, are you?”
“If I agreed to the mission, I would be.”
“So the new gig would come with a hefty promotion, then?”
“Looks that way.”
“When were you going to tell me?”
“I’m telling you now… I only found out yesterday.”
“Oh,” Dean mused, tone turning frosty. “This why you wanted me out of the house, then? So you could make your decision?”
“Dean,” Castiel scooted around, narrowing his eyes. “It isn’t like that.”
“So, what, this whole thing we have is nothing, then? You’re just gonna run off to a warzone when the call sounds?”
“Dean, would you listen? I’m not taking it.”
“I mean I get how much they meant to you, Cas. They were there when you didn’t have anything; that whole brothers-in-arms bullshit I can’t hope to understand. I’m just a school teacher, after all. But I dunno, I thought maybe-Wait, what did you say?”
“I’m not going, Dean.”
“What? Why?”
“Jesus Christ,” Castiel cursed. “You’re something else.”
Castiel made a move to get up and storm out, but his collar bone protested loudly and his body ached from sitting on the floor for so long. Plus, his head was starting to take on that cotton-like feel, since he was a little overdue for his meds and a headache was verging. He settled for slumping over and angrily tossing his pictures aside.
Dean looked as if he wanted to finish the argument, or continue it, but he snapped his mouth shut and grumbled to himself about moronic ex-soldiers. He pushed himself up and gently helped Castiel to his feet, guiding the older man over to sit on the edge of the bed, before he left the room.
Castiel was surprised when Dean returned with a water glass and a handful of pills.
“You forgot, didn’t you.” It was a statement, not a question.
“I didn’t forget… I was merely… stuck,” Castiel retorted lamely, flushing slightly and looking away. He took the pills and swallowed them with the water. Dean took the glass without a word and set it on one of their side tables, next to their bed, in their room, in their apartment - Their life.
Not just Castiel anymore. Castiel and Dean. Dean and Castiel. Castiel was no longer a mere ‘me,’ he was a ‘we’ and an ‘us’ and a ‘them.’ Even after three years, it was still taking some getting used to.
Castiel had been on his own for thirty-three years before he met Dean, and suddenly he didn’t have to be on his own any longer. He had to think about more people in his life and that’s why he wasn’t taking the position. That’s why he was staying here, because the thought of leaving and possibly losing Dean struck him more than any call to arms to help defend his people and his country. He felt vaguely guilty about that. A brief moment flashed through his mind where he thought maybe he should take it. The men could use his expertise over there. It was a training mission after all, and what was the use of having knowledge if there was no one to pass it along to? The minute he thought that, however, panic struck.
“Dean,” Castiel breathed out, reaching over and taking the green-eyed man’s hands.
“Cas?” Dean asked, moving his eyes restlessly over Castiel’s face, trying to read the expression there.
“Dean… I-” Suddenly, it was hard to breathe, the sling was too tight, and he wasn’t at all sure what he was doing, but he just had to. “Dean, marry me.”
Dean yanked his hands away and sat back. “What?”
Castiel’s stomach sank, slow and heavy, a burning, roiling sickness as he saw the startled expression flash over Dean’s face. Castiel mentally cursed himself and fought the strange burning behind his eyes. He knew it was a bad idea. Dean wasn’t the marrying type. Castiel swallowed and turned away.
“I see, I’m very sorry. I shouldn’t have-” Suddenly, Castiel found his words cut off by a pair of lips against his own and a firm, heavy body pushing him down and settling over him. Despite himself, Castiel cried out at the pain and Dean pulled away, looking immensely guilty.
“Fuck, Cas, I’m so, so sorry. I was just… Shit. Are you okay? Do you need anything? My god, I’m an idiot,” Dean babbled on and slipped right back into mother-hen mode.
Dean gently eased Castiel up and against the pillows, straightening his sling and brushing loose bangs away from the bandage on the former-soldier’s forehead. Castiel laughed; it hurt like hell, but he laughed a deep from-the-gut laugh, like he hadn’t in far too long, and Dean looked at him as if he had gone insane. Maybe he had.
“Cas?”
Castiel waved the worry off and just hunched over with a hand pressed against his collar bone, his guffaws settling into chuckles, before he shook his head at himself and the situation.
“That really was not how I wanted that to go,” Castiel remarked very suddenly.
“Wanted that to go?” Dean parroted, still giving Castiel a look of concern, with a little bit of trepidation mixed in.
“I had a big, romantic gesture planned and I was completely whole and functional, and it certainly was not going to be on the tail end of a damn argument,” Castiel elaborated. “I just… I don’t know what - I just thought of being without you, and the thought terrified me and it just came out.”
Dean shrunk in on himself and flicked his eyes away. “So you didn’t mean it?”
“What? No!” Castiel exclaimed.
Dean’s expression turned blank and he nodded stiffly, lips pressed in a thin line as he slid off of the bed. Castiel lunged after him with his bad arm and whimpered but managed to snag Dean.
“Dean! Stop assuming and storming off! You do that all the damn time! I meant no, of course I meant it. I’ve been thinking about it for months but it never seemed like the right time! And maybe now isn’t the best time either, but I almost fucking died, and you were so hurt about the fucking summons, and I just… Dean… Dean marry me.”
“What, is that an order, Sir?” Dean drawled sarcastically, but his lips were twitching.
Castiel felt his own lips twitch and he nodded, once. “You know what? Yes, yes it is. Dean Winchester, you are going to marry me. Got it?”
“Well… I can’t say no to that,” Dean sat back on the bed and gently cupped Castiel’s face in his palm. “I’m sorry, Cas.”
“I’m sorry, too.”
“Fuck… did we just get engaged?” Dean mused, eyes wide as he blinked in the dim light.
Castiel chuckled, “I think so.”
“Our brothers are going to be fucking ecstatic.”
“They’ve been after you too, huh?”
“Everyday, I was actually planning on asking you soon. I know you probably aren’t surprised about it, but yeah… I was. I just… Wasn’t sure if you’d want it, you know? But the whole hospital bullshit, and Sam and Jess, and then this crazy adventure you two have me going on, and the risks and everything. I just… It’s been hitting harder. So luckily, I’m prepared,” Dean grinned.
“Prepared?” Castiel narrowed his eyes. “You didn’t get me some stupid diamond ring or something, did you?”
Dean chuckled, “No. But it is a ring.” Dean slipped the silver ring from his right hand and held it between thumb and forefinger.
Castiel’s eyes widened. “Dean! That’s…”
“I know I never take this thing off. You know the story behind it; you know it belonged to my grandfather but I got it from my grandmother, who wore it around her neck every moment since my grandfather died. You know she gave it to me when I was sixteen and she was dying, and I was more messed up by life than any of us want to remember, and you know I consider this the thing that saved me.
“She told me it was a good luck charm, that this ring incited the happiest moment of hers and my grandfather’s lives because it’s this ring that brought them together and gave them my mom and Sam and I. It’s this ring that pulled me out and made me someone who was… Maybe not worthy, necessarily, but maybe slightly good enough to be with you. So I figured it only fitting, if I want to keep you permanently, I use this to do that. I’m gonna get you a proper ring for when we get married, but this is my promise, okay?”
“Dean,” Castiel whispered.
“You aren’t arguing your way out of this one, Cas,” Dean grinned. “So, you want to do this thing, you’re taking it. All right?”
“Do this thing… Holy shit, we’re engaged…” Castiel blinked.
Dean chuckled, “I thought we just went over that.”
“I know, but I didn’t… I don’t know… I guess I just always assumed this wasn’t something we would do. I wanted to, but…”
“I know what you mean…” Dean smiled gently for a moment before he let out a huff. “Now take the ring.”
Castiel reached out for it, but stopped. “I did the asking, I’m supposed to give you something.”
“Yeah, well, you may have been the soldier, but I was the Boy Scout,” Dean winked.
Castiel snorted, “You were never a Boy Scout, unless they taught you how to break and enter and hotwire cars, along with knot tying and building campfires out of leaves and spit.”
Dean made a face. “Ew, and that would never work… But okay, I wasn’t a Boy Scout, my point is, I’m the one prepared, so you don’t worry about it - and take the fucking ring, already.”
“Hey, I never said I wasn’t prepared!” Castiel protested. He took a deep breath and reached up to undo the clasp of his white-gold necklace, but was hindered almost immediately. “Damnit.”
“Cas…?” Dean asked suspiciously.
“I’ve thought about this, too, and thought about what I would do if you said yes. I know that despite the ring and the amulet, you aren’t really a jewellery guy, and they have meaning to them, which is why you wear them. So the thought of getting you another ring, only to get you another one later on seemed woefully redundant. I wanted to give you something that meant something to me, as much as you mean to me, and I only really have one thing that means that much to me.”
“I’m not taking your necklace, Cas,” Dean protested instantly, shaking his head in adamant refusal. “Your squad gave you that! That symbolises the reason you aren’t dead; I’m not taking it from you.”
“Dean,” Castiel was just as insistent as Dean had been earlier. “I haven’t taken this off since the moment they gave it to me. That’s true, and yes, this does symbolize one of the most frightening and most humbling experiences of my life, but it also means hope to me. All because of some silly little gift from Anna, I’m here today, and this feather reminds me of that. I’m here today and I can be with you, so I want my reminder somewhere where I can gaze at it every day and thank God for each moment that I can stand here with you. This is ridiculously sentimental…” Castiel grimaced.
Dean chuckled, “What have we turned each other into?”
“Take the damn necklace and I’ll take the damn ring, and then we can forget this whole moment ever happened, then we’ll tell our families this monumental decision and bravely endure the squeals of joy and delight that are sure to follow.”
“Agreed,” Dean said solemnly.
Despite it all, though, Dean insisted on slipping the ring on Castiel’s left ring finger, and Castiel leaned forward silently as Dean reverently unclasped the necklace and slipped it around his own neck.
“Are we done now?” Castiel drawled.
“God, yes,” Dean breathed. Then, simultaneously, matching goofy grins split their faces, still unable to believe what they had just done.
xx
“That has got to be the least romantic proposal I’ve ever heard,” Jess remarked flatly.
Dean blushed. “It’s not a big deal. We don’t do romance anyway. We don’t have vaginas.”
“Neither does your brother, but he does romance just fine,” Jess pointed out.
“Well, Sam’s a pussy,” Dean snorted.
Sam rolled his eyes.
“We were uncomfortable enough as it was. I think if I’d bought a dozen roses and went down on one knee over a candlelit dinner, we would have keeled over,” Castiel said over the rim of his coffee cup.
“Yeah, I was planning to pop the question over beer and wings on Wednesday night,” Dean said.
Castiel grinned. “That would have been nice.”
“I know, right?” Dean grinned back.
“You two are too cute,” Sam snorted. “It’s making me sick.”
“Shut up, Samantha, I used to listen to you wax poetic for hours about Jess, here,” Dean kicked Sam under the table.
“Ow,” Sam shot back, then smiled. “Oh well, I’m just glad one of you finally manned up. Should have figured it would’ve been Cas. Now I owe Gabe fifty bucks.”
“You were betting on us?!” Dean exclaimed.
“Basically since day one, yeah,” Sam replied.
“Why should you have assumed that it would be me?”
“Because of Dean’s massive commitment-phobia. When he told me you two were moving in together, I thought he had been replaced by a pod person,” Sam explained with a grin.
“Shuddup,” the older brother muttered. “Well, it’s done, so you guys can stop bugging us about it.”
“Well, we’re very happy for you,” Jess beamed. “But I have to get back to work, so you three can discuss your secret FBI stuff.” The girl stood and dropped a kiss on each of their cheeks before skipping out of the café with a happy grin and a wave.
Sam stared after her for a full minute with a dopy grin on his face.
“So, when’s she due?” Dean asked, completely casual.
“May,” Sam replied absently, then whipped his head around, his green eyes wide. “Shit.”
Dean crowed triumphantly, “Ah ha! Finally! Good job, Sammy!” Dean shook his brother’s shoulder and the younger Winchester blushed, before turning his panicked eyes on Dean.
“Don’t let Jess know that you know. She was planning on telling everyone on Thanksgiving!” Sam leaned forward as he insisted.
“Dude, hate to break it to you, but everyone already knows. We were just waiting for you two to admit it,” Dean snorted.
“Sorry to say he’s right, Sam. Though we’ll keep your secret,” Castiel offered sympathetically.
“How did you guys know?” Sam asked. “I thought we were being so careful about it.”
“Mom’s mom, and Cas has five nieces and nephews,” Dean pointed out. “No worries, Sammy. You guys are doing good. You just have the bad luck of being surrounded by ridiculously observant people.”
“Well I know you’re not one of them,” Sam grinned.
Dean shoved him with a grin of his own.
End Chapter
Previous | Master Post | Next
Author: Stolen Childe
Disclaimer: Supernatural and all associated characters belong to Kripke and Co. I make absolutely no claims on any of them.
Author's Notes: Okay, I normally don't say this but I'm really pleased with this chapter. It's shorter, but this was one of those chapters that just wrote itself while I was working on it. It's also probably the sappiest thing you'll find in this fic but considering it's me and I'm allergic to sap there's some humour too. I really hope you guys enjoy!
Special thanks to dapperscript for the wonderful beta! Thank you!
Please see Master Post for Notes, Cover Art and Further Information.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Dean came home to a quiet and dark apartment. It was unusual, but Cas was injured and Dean figured he had a right to be a little more tired than usual. The older man tended to be a bit of a night owl and usually Dean found himself turning in long before Castiel did. He moved quietly through the apartment, tidying up a little before heading to bed himself. He didn’t expect to see the blue-eyed man sitting cross-legged on the bedroom floor, photos spread around him.
“Hey, Cas,” Dean greeted gently.
Castiel jumped in surprise and winced as the movement jarred his collar bone.
“Sorry, Babe, didn’t mean to startle you.” Dean was generally incapable of startling Castiel, which had to mean the man was deep in thought about something.
“Hello, Dean,” Castiel said quietly.
“How’d you even get down there?” Dean asked, coming over to sit next to Castiel, careful not to step on any of the pictures.
“Getting down was the easy part. It’s the coming back up part I didn’t think through,” Castiel said wryly. “Which is why I’ve been stationary for the last two hours.”
“Jesus.”
“It’s all right, I knew you’d be home eventually.”
“So why the sudden walk down memory lane?” Dean asked as he shifted through some of the photos.
It seemed to be an equal mesh of Castiel’s unit and both their families. Currently, Castiel was gazing fondly at an image of Jess, Sam, and Dean bowling. Jess was just about to take her turn and had the big ten pin ball between her knees. Dean was laughing off to the side and Sam was valiantly fighting the smirk that threatened to curl his lips as he coached Jess through the proper technique.
In Castiel’s other hand was a picture of him and Balthazar. Castiel had his ironic grin firmly in place while Balthazar looked overly serious, and they were gazing intently at each other; whatever Balthazar was trying to argue, it was clear that he was losing spectacularly. Dean remembered when both photos were taken.
Dean picked up another picture of a group of serious young men in fatigues, gazing at the camera. Castiel stood off to the side in the photo, looking stern and commanding.
“That was just before my second tour. Some of the guys were familiar, most were new. It was my first time being in charge of anything. I’m afraid I took it far too seriously,” Castiel explained. “I was never really comfortable with being in charge.”
“You still haven’t answered my question, Cas,” Dean remarked, flipping through more of the squad photos Castiel had scattered around. Some were casual, some weren’t. One was of Castiel laughing with another man at his side around a campfire. They had a flask between them and were covered in dust. Dean felt a strange surge of jealousy when he saw the photo and pushed it aside.
“A combination of things, really. One…” Castiel gestured to his sling, “this. Also…” The older man reached over and snagged a folded letter by the corner, sliding it over to Dean. Dean whistled when he saw the seal at the top and skimmed through the contents.
“Cas, this is…” Dean murmured, looking with wide, aghast eyes at his partner.
“Yes,” Castiel nodded.
“But…” Dean’s gaze shot back down at the letter, then over at Castiel again. “You… you’re retired.”
Castiel sighed, “You never really retire, Dean.”
“Sergeant First Class? You aren’t that, are you?”
“If I agreed to the mission, I would be.”
“So the new gig would come with a hefty promotion, then?”
“Looks that way.”
“When were you going to tell me?”
“I’m telling you now… I only found out yesterday.”
“Oh,” Dean mused, tone turning frosty. “This why you wanted me out of the house, then? So you could make your decision?”
“Dean,” Castiel scooted around, narrowing his eyes. “It isn’t like that.”
“So, what, this whole thing we have is nothing, then? You’re just gonna run off to a warzone when the call sounds?”
“Dean, would you listen? I’m not taking it.”
“I mean I get how much they meant to you, Cas. They were there when you didn’t have anything; that whole brothers-in-arms bullshit I can’t hope to understand. I’m just a school teacher, after all. But I dunno, I thought maybe-Wait, what did you say?”
“I’m not going, Dean.”
“What? Why?”
“Jesus Christ,” Castiel cursed. “You’re something else.”
Castiel made a move to get up and storm out, but his collar bone protested loudly and his body ached from sitting on the floor for so long. Plus, his head was starting to take on that cotton-like feel, since he was a little overdue for his meds and a headache was verging. He settled for slumping over and angrily tossing his pictures aside.
Dean looked as if he wanted to finish the argument, or continue it, but he snapped his mouth shut and grumbled to himself about moronic ex-soldiers. He pushed himself up and gently helped Castiel to his feet, guiding the older man over to sit on the edge of the bed, before he left the room.
Castiel was surprised when Dean returned with a water glass and a handful of pills.
“You forgot, didn’t you.” It was a statement, not a question.
“I didn’t forget… I was merely… stuck,” Castiel retorted lamely, flushing slightly and looking away. He took the pills and swallowed them with the water. Dean took the glass without a word and set it on one of their side tables, next to their bed, in their room, in their apartment - Their life.
Not just Castiel anymore. Castiel and Dean. Dean and Castiel. Castiel was no longer a mere ‘me,’ he was a ‘we’ and an ‘us’ and a ‘them.’ Even after three years, it was still taking some getting used to.
Castiel had been on his own for thirty-three years before he met Dean, and suddenly he didn’t have to be on his own any longer. He had to think about more people in his life and that’s why he wasn’t taking the position. That’s why he was staying here, because the thought of leaving and possibly losing Dean struck him more than any call to arms to help defend his people and his country. He felt vaguely guilty about that. A brief moment flashed through his mind where he thought maybe he should take it. The men could use his expertise over there. It was a training mission after all, and what was the use of having knowledge if there was no one to pass it along to? The minute he thought that, however, panic struck.
“Dean,” Castiel breathed out, reaching over and taking the green-eyed man’s hands.
“Cas?” Dean asked, moving his eyes restlessly over Castiel’s face, trying to read the expression there.
“Dean… I-” Suddenly, it was hard to breathe, the sling was too tight, and he wasn’t at all sure what he was doing, but he just had to. “Dean, marry me.”
Dean yanked his hands away and sat back. “What?”
Castiel’s stomach sank, slow and heavy, a burning, roiling sickness as he saw the startled expression flash over Dean’s face. Castiel mentally cursed himself and fought the strange burning behind his eyes. He knew it was a bad idea. Dean wasn’t the marrying type. Castiel swallowed and turned away.
“I see, I’m very sorry. I shouldn’t have-” Suddenly, Castiel found his words cut off by a pair of lips against his own and a firm, heavy body pushing him down and settling over him. Despite himself, Castiel cried out at the pain and Dean pulled away, looking immensely guilty.
“Fuck, Cas, I’m so, so sorry. I was just… Shit. Are you okay? Do you need anything? My god, I’m an idiot,” Dean babbled on and slipped right back into mother-hen mode.
Dean gently eased Castiel up and against the pillows, straightening his sling and brushing loose bangs away from the bandage on the former-soldier’s forehead. Castiel laughed; it hurt like hell, but he laughed a deep from-the-gut laugh, like he hadn’t in far too long, and Dean looked at him as if he had gone insane. Maybe he had.
“Cas?”
Castiel waved the worry off and just hunched over with a hand pressed against his collar bone, his guffaws settling into chuckles, before he shook his head at himself and the situation.
“That really was not how I wanted that to go,” Castiel remarked very suddenly.
“Wanted that to go?” Dean parroted, still giving Castiel a look of concern, with a little bit of trepidation mixed in.
“I had a big, romantic gesture planned and I was completely whole and functional, and it certainly was not going to be on the tail end of a damn argument,” Castiel elaborated. “I just… I don’t know what - I just thought of being without you, and the thought terrified me and it just came out.”
Dean shrunk in on himself and flicked his eyes away. “So you didn’t mean it?”
“What? No!” Castiel exclaimed.
Dean’s expression turned blank and he nodded stiffly, lips pressed in a thin line as he slid off of the bed. Castiel lunged after him with his bad arm and whimpered but managed to snag Dean.
“Dean! Stop assuming and storming off! You do that all the damn time! I meant no, of course I meant it. I’ve been thinking about it for months but it never seemed like the right time! And maybe now isn’t the best time either, but I almost fucking died, and you were so hurt about the fucking summons, and I just… Dean… Dean marry me.”
“What, is that an order, Sir?” Dean drawled sarcastically, but his lips were twitching.
Castiel felt his own lips twitch and he nodded, once. “You know what? Yes, yes it is. Dean Winchester, you are going to marry me. Got it?”
“Well… I can’t say no to that,” Dean sat back on the bed and gently cupped Castiel’s face in his palm. “I’m sorry, Cas.”
“I’m sorry, too.”
“Fuck… did we just get engaged?” Dean mused, eyes wide as he blinked in the dim light.
Castiel chuckled, “I think so.”
“Our brothers are going to be fucking ecstatic.”
“They’ve been after you too, huh?”
“Everyday, I was actually planning on asking you soon. I know you probably aren’t surprised about it, but yeah… I was. I just… Wasn’t sure if you’d want it, you know? But the whole hospital bullshit, and Sam and Jess, and then this crazy adventure you two have me going on, and the risks and everything. I just… It’s been hitting harder. So luckily, I’m prepared,” Dean grinned.
“Prepared?” Castiel narrowed his eyes. “You didn’t get me some stupid diamond ring or something, did you?”
Dean chuckled, “No. But it is a ring.” Dean slipped the silver ring from his right hand and held it between thumb and forefinger.
Castiel’s eyes widened. “Dean! That’s…”
“I know I never take this thing off. You know the story behind it; you know it belonged to my grandfather but I got it from my grandmother, who wore it around her neck every moment since my grandfather died. You know she gave it to me when I was sixteen and she was dying, and I was more messed up by life than any of us want to remember, and you know I consider this the thing that saved me.
“She told me it was a good luck charm, that this ring incited the happiest moment of hers and my grandfather’s lives because it’s this ring that brought them together and gave them my mom and Sam and I. It’s this ring that pulled me out and made me someone who was… Maybe not worthy, necessarily, but maybe slightly good enough to be with you. So I figured it only fitting, if I want to keep you permanently, I use this to do that. I’m gonna get you a proper ring for when we get married, but this is my promise, okay?”
“Dean,” Castiel whispered.
“You aren’t arguing your way out of this one, Cas,” Dean grinned. “So, you want to do this thing, you’re taking it. All right?”
“Do this thing… Holy shit, we’re engaged…” Castiel blinked.
Dean chuckled, “I thought we just went over that.”
“I know, but I didn’t… I don’t know… I guess I just always assumed this wasn’t something we would do. I wanted to, but…”
“I know what you mean…” Dean smiled gently for a moment before he let out a huff. “Now take the ring.”
Castiel reached out for it, but stopped. “I did the asking, I’m supposed to give you something.”
“Yeah, well, you may have been the soldier, but I was the Boy Scout,” Dean winked.
Castiel snorted, “You were never a Boy Scout, unless they taught you how to break and enter and hotwire cars, along with knot tying and building campfires out of leaves and spit.”
Dean made a face. “Ew, and that would never work… But okay, I wasn’t a Boy Scout, my point is, I’m the one prepared, so you don’t worry about it - and take the fucking ring, already.”
“Hey, I never said I wasn’t prepared!” Castiel protested. He took a deep breath and reached up to undo the clasp of his white-gold necklace, but was hindered almost immediately. “Damnit.”
“Cas…?” Dean asked suspiciously.
“I’ve thought about this, too, and thought about what I would do if you said yes. I know that despite the ring and the amulet, you aren’t really a jewellery guy, and they have meaning to them, which is why you wear them. So the thought of getting you another ring, only to get you another one later on seemed woefully redundant. I wanted to give you something that meant something to me, as much as you mean to me, and I only really have one thing that means that much to me.”
“I’m not taking your necklace, Cas,” Dean protested instantly, shaking his head in adamant refusal. “Your squad gave you that! That symbolises the reason you aren’t dead; I’m not taking it from you.”
“Dean,” Castiel was just as insistent as Dean had been earlier. “I haven’t taken this off since the moment they gave it to me. That’s true, and yes, this does symbolize one of the most frightening and most humbling experiences of my life, but it also means hope to me. All because of some silly little gift from Anna, I’m here today, and this feather reminds me of that. I’m here today and I can be with you, so I want my reminder somewhere where I can gaze at it every day and thank God for each moment that I can stand here with you. This is ridiculously sentimental…” Castiel grimaced.
Dean chuckled, “What have we turned each other into?”
“Take the damn necklace and I’ll take the damn ring, and then we can forget this whole moment ever happened, then we’ll tell our families this monumental decision and bravely endure the squeals of joy and delight that are sure to follow.”
“Agreed,” Dean said solemnly.
Despite it all, though, Dean insisted on slipping the ring on Castiel’s left ring finger, and Castiel leaned forward silently as Dean reverently unclasped the necklace and slipped it around his own neck.
“Are we done now?” Castiel drawled.
“God, yes,” Dean breathed. Then, simultaneously, matching goofy grins split their faces, still unable to believe what they had just done.
xx
“That has got to be the least romantic proposal I’ve ever heard,” Jess remarked flatly.
Dean blushed. “It’s not a big deal. We don’t do romance anyway. We don’t have vaginas.”
“Neither does your brother, but he does romance just fine,” Jess pointed out.
“Well, Sam’s a pussy,” Dean snorted.
Sam rolled his eyes.
“We were uncomfortable enough as it was. I think if I’d bought a dozen roses and went down on one knee over a candlelit dinner, we would have keeled over,” Castiel said over the rim of his coffee cup.
“Yeah, I was planning to pop the question over beer and wings on Wednesday night,” Dean said.
Castiel grinned. “That would have been nice.”
“I know, right?” Dean grinned back.
“You two are too cute,” Sam snorted. “It’s making me sick.”
“Shut up, Samantha, I used to listen to you wax poetic for hours about Jess, here,” Dean kicked Sam under the table.
“Ow,” Sam shot back, then smiled. “Oh well, I’m just glad one of you finally manned up. Should have figured it would’ve been Cas. Now I owe Gabe fifty bucks.”
“You were betting on us?!” Dean exclaimed.
“Basically since day one, yeah,” Sam replied.
“Why should you have assumed that it would be me?”
“Because of Dean’s massive commitment-phobia. When he told me you two were moving in together, I thought he had been replaced by a pod person,” Sam explained with a grin.
“Shuddup,” the older brother muttered. “Well, it’s done, so you guys can stop bugging us about it.”
“Well, we’re very happy for you,” Jess beamed. “But I have to get back to work, so you three can discuss your secret FBI stuff.” The girl stood and dropped a kiss on each of their cheeks before skipping out of the café with a happy grin and a wave.
Sam stared after her for a full minute with a dopy grin on his face.
“So, when’s she due?” Dean asked, completely casual.
“May,” Sam replied absently, then whipped his head around, his green eyes wide. “Shit.”
Dean crowed triumphantly, “Ah ha! Finally! Good job, Sammy!” Dean shook his brother’s shoulder and the younger Winchester blushed, before turning his panicked eyes on Dean.
“Don’t let Jess know that you know. She was planning on telling everyone on Thanksgiving!” Sam leaned forward as he insisted.
“Dude, hate to break it to you, but everyone already knows. We were just waiting for you two to admit it,” Dean snorted.
“Sorry to say he’s right, Sam. Though we’ll keep your secret,” Castiel offered sympathetically.
“How did you guys know?” Sam asked. “I thought we were being so careful about it.”
“Mom’s mom, and Cas has five nieces and nephews,” Dean pointed out. “No worries, Sammy. You guys are doing good. You just have the bad luck of being surrounded by ridiculously observant people.”
“Well I know you’re not one of them,” Sam grinned.
Dean shoved him with a grin of his own.
End Chapter
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