Author's Note:
*sings a miserably off key version of "Happy Birthday"*
Happy Birthday to my virtual big sister, Forbidden-Lover1! Though I warn that you may have to fight my real big sister for those rights…if ya want to PM her and challenge her to a dual, her FF name is drodgers89. Just kidding! You are awesome to unfathomable extremities and I'm sorry this took so long, my muse wavered a little with the end. Very OOC, but very fluffy.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
"I've been spending all my time just thinking 'bout you
I don't know what to do
I think I'm fallin' for you…"
~Fallin' For You by Colbie Callait
When Castiel met the Winchesters, they were amused by his naivety after they got done fearing the whole "I could smite you with a snap of my fingers" complex. Now as they fought the Apocalypse together, he was starting to learn more and more about the fascinating race that was the humans. Largely thanks to Dean. It was him that helped Cas realize what he wanted…or more aptly, who he wanted. It all started the night Dean took him to the brothel to lose his virginity.
He'd tried with Chastity, he really had, if only to please Dean…how was he supposed to know that her father was a sensitive subject? That night had ended in catastrophe, but as they left the whorehouse, it happened. It being when Dean threw his arm around Castiel's shoulders, and Cas turned to look at him. It was Castiel realizing he didn't want some human woman, or an angel, or anything else in between. He wanted Dean.
The problem was he had no earthly, heavenly, or otherwise idea how to tell the hunter how he felt.
~February 14th~
Castiel wandered around Hallmark, picking up cards and reading them cover to cover before sliding them back into their slots. One in particular, out of place stuck in with the birthday cards, caught his eye. A black cartoon car adorned the front of it that reminded Cas of his hunter's beloved Impala. Smiling to himself a little, he plucked it from its slot and opened it.
Only for it to start blaring AC/DC's "Highway To Hell." Startled, he slammed it shut. At first he thought there was surely witchcraft at play here. A singing piece of thin cardboard? Surely the humans haven't founded such bewildering technology, he thought. He tentatively opened it again, forcing himself not to close it once more when it blasted out the words "Highway to Hell!" Personally, he did not find the song amusing. Hell was not a place to joke of. Yet Dean still loved the song, despite having been raised from such torturous Perdition. The fools clearly did not know of the dimension of which they sang.
"You drive me crazy!" read the inside of the card, and underneath it was the same car from the front enclosed in a big red heart.
Cas didn't completely understand the intended pun of the card, but there was a place to write his own personal message on the opposite side, so he decided that perhaps Dean would like it and proceeded to the front counter. Sam had given him some money a few weeks ago, explaining it was a human custom to help Castiel understand it better. He'd even explained how to use it, how to make sure he was given the correct change, and which compartment of his recently acquired wallet it would be in.
"Trying to impress a lady friend?" joked the elderly man as he put the Valentine's Day card into a bag and handed Cas his change.
The angel blinked. "Dean bears no feminine qualities, as far as I am aware."
"Dean, eh? Make that gentleman friend then," the man amended. "Well you seem like a nice young man, I bet this Dean sure is a lucky fella."
Cas hid a smile at the compliment and stuffed his change into a pocket, taking the small paper bag and giving a friendly nod to the man before exiting the store, the bells above the door chiming in his wake. Some humans could be so nice. The sun was bright and there was not a cloud in the sky as he disappeared into thin air…he could sense it was going to be a good day. Holidays had never held any meaning to him before, but now that he had some to terms with caring for someone, he could understand the happy rush people got on this day.
The card was left on Dean's bed in his and Sam's shared motel room, though the human's reaction wasn't quite what Cas was hoping for. He opened the card, bobbing his head to the music as he read Castiel's message: "Dean, I have searched for a way to express my feelings to you and have decided that the human day of love and mating is a suitable time. As little as I know of human emotion, I am sure of this and this alone. I love you, Dean Winchester and can only pray to the Heavens from which I descended that you reciprocate my feelings." It was signed with Castiel's name at the bottom.
Dean chuckled and dropped the card on the bed, ruffling Cas' hair as he walked out of the room to go get lunch at a nearby diner. "That's cute Cas."
The boys left without a second thought, neither of them knowing that the angel slumped down in the chair with the expression of a kicked puppy, his shoulders drooping and his blue eyes cast downwards. He felt so stupid, so naïve. Of course Dean wouldn't take him seriously…why would he? Castiel was hardly the brightest, Dean probably only put up with him out of obligation, or at least that's what the angel decided.
Deciding to try one more human ritual, he flopped down on the bed and manifested a tub of Ben and Jerry's.
~December 25th~
By the time Christmas day rolled around, Cas had decided to try once more to make Dean realize Castiel's feelings for him. He believed this plan would work much more soundly than its predecessor. They were all spending Christmas with Bobby, and thanks to the angel mistletoe adorned every possible inch of space bordering the tops of the rooms. He had gotten a hold of Sam's laptop and been informed by the Google that it was mandatory to kiss under mistletoe. This plan would be virtually foolproof.
Or so he thought.
After exchanging gifts (Dean got Castiel a new tie; similar to his old one in color, but this one was silk), Cas wandered innocently over to the couch, strategically sitting under the mistletoe. The boys probably thought it was just a joke, all three of the hunters unaware of Castiel's deeper motives. Dean sat down next to the angel, relaxed and happy for once. It had been a fantastic Christmas, and if Cas' plan worked, it was about to be even better.
The angel had been watching humans kiss and was fairly certain he knew what to do. Telling himself it was now or never, he leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to Dean's mouth, wrapping his arms affectionately around the hunter's neck. For a moment, Dean was utterly still. He didn't move nor did he push Castiel away. If the research Castiel had done on human reaction was correct, then Dean was in shock. And finally, he reacted. Oh did he react.
However, it was not the reaction Castiel was hoping for.
"What the fuck?" Dean demanded, springing out of Cas' arms. "Dudes do not kiss dudes, Cas!"
Once more he left the crestfallen angel alone, Castiel wondering why he even bothered trying.
~January 24th~
On Dean's birthday, Castiel brought a fresh baked apple pie from the bakery down the street from the motel the boys were staying in. After last month's disaster he had absolutely no intentions of trying anything again. Dean didn't treat him any differently; he still thought the Valentine's Day card and the kiss were just the angel being his typical naïve self. He had no idea how much his repeated rejections hurt Castiel's feelings. Sam had noticed Cas acting a little more down than usual and asked what was wrong, but the angel didn't tell him in fear of making matters with Dean even worse.
"Damn, I'm gettin' old," Dean said, tucking into a piece of pie. "Cas, don't you want some? I don't know how you even live peacefully on a day to day basis without having eaten pie at least once."
"No thank you, Dean," replied the angel, stiffly.
Dean snorted. "That stick seems to be even further up your ass than usual lately. Feathers in a bunch?"
"I do not understand that reference," he deadpanned.
A few moments of silence, and then: "What's been wrong with you lately? For awhile there you were actually starting to seem a little human, and now you're all Smitey McSmiterton again. What's up, man?"
Castiel didn't reply with words. Instead, he got up from the bed he'd been sitting on that was adjacent to Dean's and walked over to the window, staring out silently. He didn't have it in him to lie to Dean about how he felt or how much the hunter had hurt him without even realizing it. But all the same, he also knew how much of a disaster it would be if told him. So he resulted to wordlessness.
Dean walked up behind him. "Look, I've been thinking about Christmas…"
Oh Father. Here it came…the grand "stay the hell away fro me" speech.
"I wanted you to know that I pushed you away because I was…scared."
Castiel turned, his head cocking to the side. "Scared of what?"
"I shouldn't have liked it when you kissed me. It kinda goes against the whole straight thing. But honestly? I did like it when you kissed me. And I was scared of that."
Bright blue eyes blinked, full of shock. "You…but I…why are you just now telling me this?"
"Because I thought of something I wanted for my birthday."
"How is that relevant to me?"
Dean grabbed Castiel's hands and tugged him away from the window, smirking. "'Cause it's wearin' a trench coat and has some bedhead I'd just love to sex up."
A warm blush spread across Cas' face, growing hot when Dean pulled him into a knee-weakening kiss. Castiel practically melted in his human's arms, threading his own arms around Dean's neck. Dean pulled Cas down on the bed, his tongue eagerly exploring the smaller man's mouth. The angel moaned, wrapping his legs around Dean's waist. He was more thankful than ever that Sam was out at the library doing research, leaving Dean in Castiel's company for his birthday. Perhaps he'd known something about Dean's plans for the day.
Cas broke away from the kiss, his fingers gripping the human's hair. "Dean…I believe you should know I meant every word of that Valentine's Day card."
"I know you did," Dean smiled, kissing his way down Castiel's neck. "I think I might kinda love you too."
|~…|…~|
Hours later, as Cas panted and writhed underneath him, Dean thought, Best. Birthday. EVER.