Work Text:
May 28, 1997
“Where do you see yourself in twenty years?” Castiel asks, breaking the comfortable silence around them. They’re cuddled on top of his blankets, a thin quilt covering them, and Dean runs his hand steadily through Cas’s hair. Cas traces mindless circles into Dean’s arm, his face cradled against his chest. It’s the night before their graduation and the weight of it’s implication hangs heavy in the air. Change.
“With you,” Dean replies so simply that Cas feels goosebumps erupt all over his body. “What about you?”
“I was banking on getting with Garth, to be honest,” Cas replies drily.
Dean swats him on the head so quickly he can’t help the maniacal giggle he lets out. “That’s the most bullshit thing I’ve ever heard, Cas. You’re way out of Garth’s league and you know it.”
It’s Cas’s turn to smack Dean and he does so, right on the chest. Dean howls with laughter, despite their agreed-upon whispering, which sends them both into a fit of giggles. The sound is cut short, however, by a shifting in the hall and the floors creak with the sound of someone moving across the hardwood. Adrenaline shoots through Cas at the idea of his parents catching them.
“Go,” he hisses and shoves Dean off the bed with a soft thump. “You have to go, now!”
Dean lunges across the room in two strides and throws open the window from which he’d came. One leg is already out and he’s pulling the other after it when Cas gives him a quick kiss goodbye.
“Hey, who is that?” A voice from down below calls out. Dean freezes, absolute terror in his eyes. They’re caught.
“It’s okay,” Cas assures him. “I’ll tell them you forgot your keys or something. Good night, I love you.” He kisses him again, and then again for good measure.
“Dean Winchester, you best get on home before I call your mother!” Cas recognizes the voice as Gabriel, with all the twang of a Southern Belle, and of course Gabe would scare the shit out of them like that. He finds himself shouting, “shut the hell up, Gabe!” despite himself and can just barely make out the sound of Dean’s laugh as he shimmies onto the grass and darts for his dad’s car.
The next afternoon finds them high school graduates, diplomas in hand and red graduation caps lost in the sea of excited young adults and their families. Mary insists on a polaroid of just the two of them, stating it would be just perfect for the fridge at home. In the throng of people Dean slips an arm around Cas, who looks up at him as if he’d hung the moon. Mary snaps the photo before they can look at her and they are ushered back to the Winchester’s home where all of their extended family, as well as the Novak’s, have been invited.
It is not until later, after the festivities have ended and the trash has been gathered, that the two of them have another moment alone together. They’re sprawled in the back of John’s car, soon to be Dean’s car, when Cas finally says quietly, “I don’t want a future without you.”
Dean kisses him on the temple, gentle and sweet. They soon fall asleep, fingers and legs tangled together, and do not wake until morning.
October 2, 2019
"Alright, well, I’m pulling into the parking lot now, I’ll see you soon. Love you,” Cas half shouts into the Bluetooth speaker and ends the call with Dean only to then swear under his breath when he notices just how long the line is to get parked. The kids are all screaming in the back seat, at least one is crying, and they’re all starving. It’s been raining on and off all day and he’s been close to losing his mind for at least an hour. He thanks God that this is the last game of the day and only Ben, who’s being brought by his mother, has to play.
It takes them almost twenty minutes to find Dean, who always insists on parking several hundred yards away from any other vehicles because ‘That’s my baby, Cas!’ and when they do he can see his grin at least three car lengths back. As Cas maneuvers the mini-van expertly into a spot that lines up with Dean’s side of the car he rolls down his window despite the rain. Dean climbs out of the Impala and pulls the cooler from the backseat. He’s brought all of them sandwiches and drinks and Cas swears he would marry this man again if he could.
“What are you grinning at?” Cas asks as he accepts a bottle of water and a kiss from Dean.
Emma unbuckles herself and shimmies over the seat to stick her head over the steering wheel. “Kiss me, daddy, kiss me!” She squeals when Dean does as he’s told and then promptly pouts when he pulls away and slides open the rear door for their small horde of children. Jack jumps out first, splashing water all over Dean’s jeans, followed by Claire and her friend Kaia, and Emma finally brings up the rear, her tears from earlier dried and forgotten.
Dean says something in reply while the kids ravage the cooler and scarf down their sandwiches but Cas doesn’t quite catch it. He asks him to repeat himself and Dean shouts emphatically, “I JUST LOVE YOU!”
Of course, the kids all shriek, “Ewww!” at their gross, old dads, but it’s Cas’s turn to grin. He slips his hand into Dean’s once they’re all finished and walking up to Ben’s junior high. The kids run ahead so they don’t have to hear Cas when he says, “I just love you, too.”
Their day ends hours later, after Ben scores the winning basket, after the kids insist Ben stays the night, and after Lisa joins them for pizza. The kids are spread throughout the house, tucked into beds, couches, and air mattresses, when they both flop - utterly exhausted - onto their king-sized mattress. Cas barely has enough energy to pull the covers over them when Dean switches off his lamp and plunges the room into darkness. Their eyes slide shut as their hands seek one another out across the cold sheets and they breathe, together, as one.
“Good night,” Dean whispers. Cas plants a quick kiss to Dean’s shoulder and snuggles in closer. “Good night, my love.”