Chapter Text
2 Years Later
"And that was Castiel Novak's new single, Carry You, featuring his partner Dean Winchester reaching the top ten on America Top 40! Next we have-"
Dean turned the radio down, a bright smile on his lips after hearing himself on the air for the very first time. "That was fucking awesome," he looked up at the others; everyone was sitting around the pool as the sun was setting. Perfect atmosphere to hear himself sing with Cas.
"You say that every time you hear it," Jet raised an eyebrow at him.
"The novelty wore off after the fifth time," Sam added, earning himself a nod from Michael.
"It's not Cas' best work," Charlie stated dramatically, mimicking a critic Dean nearly punched in the face a year ago. He just pointed at her with a knowing smile shared between them.
"I think it sounds as amazing as it did the first time," Cas walked up behind Dean and wrapped his arms around Dean's waist, head resting on his shoulder.
"Thank you," Dean beamed and kissed Cas' cheek. "You always were my favourite person."
Cas hummed in response and returned the kiss, wings curling around the two of them to close their space off a little bit more.
"Hey," Jet loudly interrupted them, raising a glass of what Dean assumed was whiskey, "I was your favourite person like two years ago, can my prize be to not see you guys snogging?"
"We could pay 'em back," Sam suggested with a coy touch along Jet's bare shoulder, leading down his chest.
"Okay, okay!" Dean waved his hands at them desperately, "I don't want to see that, I get it, I get it!"
"I don't mind," Cas didn't let go of Dean's waist; he could still feel Castiel's smile against his neck as more kisses were planted.
Dean didn't fight Cas off, Dean would never say no to affection from him. And while the others were tired of their song together he couldn't get enough of it. Cas' career as singer started off strangely as it was, it took time to build a reputation as an artist because everyone focused on the fact that he existed at all. Dean's presence in one of Cas' songs was such a milestone for both of them; it represented something between them that he couldn't explain.
Dean was so proud of who Castiel had become. Cas was amazing with his fans and did what he could to be connected to them, but at the same time he kept himself balanced. He set his own schedule for the most part and only worked as hard as he was willing to. It drove the Miltons up the wall, since they were part of his team and set up most of his appointments for him and all. Hell, it was Anna's idea to get Dean in on at least one song from Cas' second album. She told them it would be a cool easter egg, Dean didn't disagree.
He wasn't looking to be a performer of any kind; he was content just opening up a shop of his own. In fact Jet was his business partner in the whole thing, they got to work together daily and Dean couldn't even really say it was a job. It was a little convenience store that stocked whatever the hell they wanted, Dean was pretty sure the only reason it made money was because they were the ones running it. But he didn't care; he wanted to live more simply than the rich lifestyle would suggest.
Charlie on the other hand didn't care to 'get a real job,' as it were. She travelled with Castiel wherever he went and kept her website updated on everything he was doing. It was a full time job on its own but she adored it.
Sam was still going to college; he had quite the workload and it was only going to get worse once he got into law school. Regardless of how little Sam could be around Dean was still incredibly happy to see him succeeding. Michael started post secondary too, though he was still taking a ton of electives to decide on what he wanted. Dean didn't doubt that that'd be Michael's reality for several years, though he suspected a social sciences degree of some kind.
Desirae liked to jump between two options; sometimes she helped at the store and other times she went along with Cas and Charlie. While she had the opportunities and ability to be as famous as Cas was, Jet didn't want her to do that yet. He argued that she'd spent so much time without freedom that he wanted her to experience life a little first. It wasn't something anyone wanted to fight Jet on; he was the final say in whatever happened regarding Desirae other than Desirae herself. And she trusted Jet's judgment call, so freedom was her focus.
Dean still refused to fly so he didn't mind missing out on Cas' trips, other than the fact that he didn't get to see Castiel for a long period of time. He kept an eye on Charlie's blog to see what his baby was up to every day; he couldn't ever wait for them to come home. Sometimes Sam would kick his ass for complaining in close proximity to study sessions.
The small dreams they had previously seemed so far away, watching Kenny vs. Spenny at an ungodly hour in the morning was another universe. Dean tried not to let that kind of life disconnect him from his roots, whenever Cas would have to disappear for a long time Dean would go off on a road trip to see Bobby. If time permitted he'd bring Jet and Desirae along and drop them at Nikki's; other than when he was with Cas, those were some of his favourite times.
But being with Castiel would always be his first choice. He watched his angel stroll to the poolside, feeling the same fluttering anxiety in his chest and stomach that tormented him for the last week since he'd bought that damn ring.
Dean remembered the discussion they'd had about weddings after Gabriel and Anna took over as Cas' agents. He remembered them saying that waiting was the best choice, wait until Castiel's life was on a solid foundation. Well he waited and it was driving him crazy that he hadn't managed to make Castiel his husband yet. Buying the ring was easy, he knew what Cas would like and he was confident that it'd be perfect no matter what he did.
But his nerve ran thin when it came down to actually doing it. He'd talked to everyone but Cas about it by that point. Charlie told him to just do it. Michael eyed him harshly and warned him that it'd better be good. Desirae demanded that she get to be present whenever he managed to pull it off. Bobby had no idea but recommended making sure that Dean also liked the proposal. Nikki was as blunt as Charlie and told him not to wait too long or it'd lose its magic. Jet suggested going big but not cliché, which brought up the problem of what hadn't been done a thousand times already. And Sam told him to keep it simple and small, Cas' life was hectic enough without a giant show.
Dean liked Bobby's advice and Sam's addition to his situation was probably the one he'd go for. Surrounded by friends and family would make his proposal special no matter what, he just had to find the right moment.
Everyone was together now; Cas was taking a small vacation so he'd be home for a while. It was the best timing, he just heard their duet, the sun was setting and the weather was gorgeous. Perfect.
Except Dean's tongue was tied, watching the beauty that was his partner as Cas slipped out of his clothes revealing swimwear. Dean swallowed thickly, and just the sound of that brought Castiel's gaze back around to him.
"Is everything okay, Dee?"
His heart fluttered again and tears started to well up in his eyes. He fought them back and smiled, "Yeah, it's okay Cas."
Castiel's eyes flickered like they always did whenever he said that, Dean adored the look it created on his angel's face.
"Cas," he blurted out as Cas started to turn away again, interrupting and reversing the motion.
"Yes?"
Dean opened his mouth but stopped, "I…" he felt his chest tighten and knew the sign well, he took a moment to use his inhaler before trying again and chickening out. "I love you."
Cas' forehead creased a little as he clearly thought something had gone wrong, "I love you too," he said hesitantly and looked over at the others in the hopes someone would know what was going on. They were all smiling wide, not a single one of them all that keen on subtlety anymore. Cas' eyes widened when he looked back at Dean who had taken that opportunity to close the gap between them.
Dean kneeled down and Cas squealed before he could even say a word, pretty much tackling him to the ground as soon as his knee managed to touch down.
"Fuckin' finally!" Jet called playfully as the loud 'woo hoo's' and whistling from the others echoed over their property.
Dean could barely get ahold of himself between Cas' ecstatic kisses, not that he minded but he still wanted to get the ring out of his pocket where it had lived for days already. "So that's a yes?" He asked the second his mouth was free enough to do so.
"Yes!" Cas' eyes were so bright, it wasn't a warning flash but it was still pretty damn hard on the eyes in darker lighting. Dean didn't dare complain though, he was happy to accept that sign of Cas' joy even at the expense of his own eyesight.
Dean fished in his pocket and took out the ring, smiling as he opened it for Cas to see. "I've been waiting for the right moment."
Cas looked at it for a moment but his enamored expression was entirely meant for Dean. "That's so funny," he whispered, and as Dean furrowed his brow in confusion Cas kissed him again. "I have a very similar box in our room."
Dean dropped his head back and laughed, "Of course you do."
Cas just smiled and remained rested on Dean's chest, watching him like it was the first time he'd fallen. "Difference is I've had mine for almost two years now."
"Really?" Dean's looked at him, surprised more than anything. "How did you hide that from me for so long?"
"Like that's hard!" Jet snorted, Dean heard a light smack and was sure he could thank Sam for that later.
Cas just smiled.
A few minutes later they both had new accessories on their fingers, a tiny, little circular bond that held far more meaning than most would understand.
Music played and a riotous conversation about the significance of Pokémon Go's existence in the world escalated. Dean and Castiel slipped away, a quick little flight up to the roof to get a moment to themselves.
Cas stared up at the sky for the first few minutes; Dean couldn't take his eyes off his fiancé. It was a miracle he'd ended up with Castiel Novak, every moment they shared was a gift to him and he hoped that feeling would never fade.
"I couldn't even imagine the sky a few years ago," Cas whispered, his tone light and eyes like the stars he couldn't look away from.
"I couldn't imagine a lot of things that happened," Dean laughed softly and took Cas' hand. "I love you, Castiel."
Cas' wing curled around Dean and Cas laid his head against him, "I love you too, Dee."
