A/N: My friend and I did a prompt exchange. We each gave one other a prompt and had a week to write the story.
Prompt: Dean and Cas meet at a Kansas concert. Dean works at an auto repair shop while Cas works is a baker (specializes in angel food cakes). They are attracted by their exact opposite and fall in love pretty rapidly but since they are so different they face some challenges but eventually live happily ever after (and adopt 30000000 kids and a pet moose lol jk) the end.
Castiel could hardly breathe. The air was thick with the scent of Alcohol. There were bodies swaying (and by swaying he meant violently dancing) to the pounding music that the band was playing (He thinks they were called Kanas?). He made his way to the back of the crowd where he sat dwon and put his head in his hands trying to breathe. He suddenly felt a hand on his back.
"Hey buddy you ok?" a gruff voice yelled out over the head-splitting music.
"Huh? Oh… yeah. It's just the music's so loud. I was sort of forced to be here because of my friends." Castiel replied to this mystery man. He turned around to give a polite smile so the stranger could go on with his life but he felt like the air he had spent so much effort getting into his lungs was stolen from him again as he stared into what was possibly the greenest eyes Castiel had ever witnessed.
The stranger seemed to pause for a second too, but soon snapped out of it and moved to sit in front of Castiel setting down his beer on the table.
"You must have been popular at school. What you don't even know how to enjoy a concert?" Man With Super Green Eyes said.
"I just have a headache ok?" Castiel responded, slightly annoyed that the mystery man seemed to be having fun teasing him.
"Awe you poor soul" Green Eyes said in a mocking baby voice. Castiel decided he wouldn't take this teasing anymore, even if the abuser was the most gorgeous man he had ever laid his eyes on.
"Could you please just leave me alone? I have to go find my friends." And with that Castiel promptly stood up and began to walk away. But as he saw the crowd he was overwhelmed by the number of people. The sound of music felt like hammers pounding into his brain. His breath started coming in short puffs. His vision went blurry but maybe that was from the tears. It felt like the space around him was closing in on him. This was why he told Jo and Charlie that he didn't want to go. Castiel closed his eyes expected for the worst. But then a strong pair of arms gripped onto him.
"Hey open your eyes. Look at me. I'm right here. Just take a deep breath. Come on." It was the mystery man again. Castiel looked into his eyes, like he was instructed, and for some odd reason, he could feel his breathing even out again. His headache was slightly better and the air didn't feel as thick and caving in.
"It's all going to be ok buddy. What's your name?"
"C…C-Castiel" He choked out, his breath not completely back yet.
"I'm Dean. Everything's going to be ok. Just keep breathing. You ok now?"
"I'm a bit better, yeah"
"What happened?
"I… I have severe social anxiety. I just came here because my friends have been begging me to go for months. I couldn't say no to them. They're my only friends. I hate to disappoint them." It all came spilling out. Castiel didn't know why he was telling this stranger -Dean- about his life story, but it felt safe. Dean's strong hands holding him steady felt warm through the thin fabric of his t-shirt.
"How about we go enjoy the rest of the concert? It'll take the stress off your mind. Oh hey it's my favourite song" Dean pulled Castiel through the crowd despite his protests. The guitar riff blasted through the amps and bodies were shoved around but this time, Dean wrapped his arms around Castiel from the back, holding him close. Normally, this kind of contact with someone he had known for less than an hour would have had Castiel on the floor in a shivering mess. But with Dean, it was different. He felt… warm. The scent of cinnamon and motor oil wrapped around him. It was a surprisingly a pleasant scent.
"So. Tell me Castiel. What do you do? It's a pretty small town, I'm quite surprised I've never seen you before." Dean asked, still holding Castiel.
"Uh well I help my brother at his bakery. Angels Bakery"
"Oh I've seen that place. I had to take the long way around to work once because the roads were closed. Hey. I'll tell you what. This weekend I'll swing by your place, maybe grab a piece of pie. Is that fine?"
"Um. Yeah. Sure Dean." Castiel replied. The concert was coming to an end. The last chord rang out and the band members thanked the crowd. Castiel said his goodbyes to Dean and took out his phone to find his friends. When he found them, they walked out of the building.
"Where were you the whole time?" Jo asked.
"I had a headache. I was at the back. Sorry about that'' Castiel responded. The night was cold. The wind was biting at their noses. Castiel said goodbye to Jo and Charlie and began his walk home. After all, he only lived about 5 minutes away.
When he finally arrived at home, he was greeted by the sight of Gabriel lounging across the couch, watching some rerun of a sitcom. He looked up at the sound of the door.
"Hey little bro. How was the concert?" Gabriel asked, sitting up.
"It was fine"
"Did you have fun?"
"I guess"
"Did you meet anyone"
"Gabe!"
"Ah so you did" Gabe said smirking. He knew his brother far too well. After all, he had raised the kid for 16 years after their father had passed away. Balthazar became a lawyer and moved out to the big city where there was more work. And Anna… Well Gabriel wasn't entirely sure what happened to her. She wanted to explore the world so she left with nothing but a suitcase full of clothes and called maybe twice a year with an 'I'm doing great I miss you all bye'.
Castiel's face went red because he knew he couldn't lie to Gabriel.
"Well… There was one guy…"
"Aha I knew it. Tell me everything" Gabriel grinned.
After about an hour of describing Dean, talking about the concert, what happened, and Dean's plans for visiting the bakery, it was past midnight. Gabriel said goodnight and trudged off to his room. Castiel dragged his tired body upstairs where his own room was. He toed off his shoes and changed into his Batman pajamas. As he did, he heard something rustle in his pocket. He reached in and felt a piece of paper. On it said: "Dean 233-030-9485 text me ;)" in a messy scrawl.
Castiel smirked at that and pulled out his phone. Plopping down on his bed and leaning back on the headboard, he unlocked his phone. He entered the contacts app and tapped the small plus in the corner to add a new number. After entering the number, he scrolled back up to enter the name. Dean. 3. He quickly backspaced, deleting the heart. Why would he put that? They've just met for like 30 minutes. And sure, he was probably the most gorgeous human being to ever walk the face of the earth but he was still practically a stranger. And so, he kept the name a simple short four-lettered Dean.
Castiel contemplated whether or not to text Dean, but decided it was far too late and Dean was probably asleep anyway. So Castiel just backed out of the contacts, checked his emails, played and got overly frustrated with Flappy Birds (It was addicting ok?) and finally turned off his phone to go to sleep.
His dreams were filled with flowers and soft melodies and cinnamon.
…
The sun was beginning to filter through the curtains when Castiel woke up. He unwillingly got out of his bed, almost tripping on the way to the bathroom.
It was the first time Castiel had spent this much effort choosing an outfit. He would wear this shirt but it doesn't go with these pants but these shoes were too good to wear with this jacket. He just couldn't decide what to wear. Luckily his dilemma was interrupted by a knocking at the door.
"Rise and shine, little bro" Gabe's voice called out in a sing-song voice. He walked in to find Castiel on the sitting with his legs tucked under his chin surrounded by piles of clothes. He looked up and blushed at the realization of being caught being indecisive.
Gabriel chuckled and crouched down.
"Need some help there kiddo?"
"I don't need your help Gabe. I am a grown man."
"This impressive pile you got going on tells differently."
"…" Castiel had no good response for that. Instead he just sighed and rubbed his eyes, still a little tired from last night.
"Here why don't I pick something out for you?" Gabriel dug through the piles of clothes, bringing back memories of when Castiel was still in kindergarten and Gabriel would help him get dressed. He finally pulled out a Led Zeppelin shirt and a pair of dark jeans. Castiel gave him a look of gratefulness for the outfit that he had spent so much time on. Gabriel just smiled and left.
…
At the bakery, Castiel was busy baking apple pies and angel food cakes and oatmeal raison cookies. There was sugar and eggs and butter. Soon a streak of flour positioned itself on Castiel's forehead. But of course Castiel had no way of knowing that.
The bell at the front of the store jingled, a familiar sound. Castiel usually stayed at the back. Working at the front didn't do a whole lot of good for his social anxiety. But then he heard a familiar voice.
"Hey would there happen to be a Castiel working here?"
"Ah you must be Dean. I heard all about you. I'm Gabriel, Castiel's brother."
"Nice to meet you."
This was when Castiel rushed out. Gabriel was shaking Dean's hand. Both of them looked over to Castiel who was standing awkwardly.
Castiel realized that Dean was also wearing a Led Zeppelin shirt and blushed.
"Wow Castiel you've known each other for two whole days and you're already wearing matching shirts? Kids these days" Gabriel said.
"Hello Dean" Castiel mumbled out, still feeling awkward.
"Hey Castiel" Dean walked over, pulling him in to a quick hug. Gabe whistled.
"Well I'll let you two go. Bring him back before bed time, Dean-o." Gabe winked, strolling to the back to take out the cookies that just finished baking.
"Yep K thanks" Castiel yelled out rushing to get out the door, pushing Dean along with him.
"You've got to tell your brother to stop calling me that." Dean said, putting an arm around Castiel.
"I'm so sorry Dean. Gabriel can be quite… energetic."
"I can tell. So what. Were your parents super religious or something? What's with the names?"
"Ah yes. My father was obsessed with angels. My other siblings are named Anna and Balthazar. I really don't understand why anyone would name their child Balthazar."
"I see. Am I going to meet them anytime soon?"
"I'm not sure. Both have moved out already and they rarely visit. Actually, I don't think I've seen Anna in about 3 years."
"Huh. So what're the plans for today?" Dean asked as they continued to walk down the street. The weather was pleasant. The sun was out and the breeze lightly ruffled Castiel's hair.
"I was thinking about watching a movie at my place." Castiel said.
After 10 minutes of walking and talking, they finally arrived at a pathway into a forest. Well, pathway wasn't the right word. It was more like a road. Some more walking lead to reveal the house.
"Wow, Cas. This is your place?" Castiel had never been called that before. Yet it sounded right as if he head been called that his entire life.
"Yes Dean. This is where I live." He responded, trying to sound modest, but at the same time quite proud of his place.
The house was big. No, that was an understatement. The house was massive. Castiel's father had been quite wealthy and when he passed away, his children had inherited the house, as well as a considerable amount of the money. Balthazar refused to take care of the place and Anna was too much of a free spirit to stay in one place for long. So Gabriel, who had lived in a small apartment with Cas decided to move into the place. Soon, after countless summer renovation projects, the house was quite magnificent.
The walls were made of beautiful red and brown bricks. The roof was a contrasting black. There were large trees surrounding the house but there was one particular maple tree in front that seemed more special than the rest. The small stone path leading to the backyard lay to the right of the house.
Dean felt just slightly intimidated but his I-don't-care-about-anything attitude helped him get over that quickly.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Aren't you going to show me around?" Dean asked.
"Of course. Right this way Dean."
And so, the two walked around endlessly through the giant house. Castiel showed Dean the living room, freshly painted about a month ago with a beautiful shade of turquoise ("It's called Teal Tone Dean. Gabriel let me pick it. Isn't it just beautiful?"). The dark wood complemented the bright walls. There was a brown leather couch with a mahogany coffee table in front of it where a stack of books of varying genres were neatly placed beside a haphazardly placed pile of magazines.
Along the walls were pictures. Many, many pictures. There was one of Castiel and Gabriel at the beach, one of what appeared to be the whole family, and one of Castiel when he was very little ("I really should tell Gabriel to take that one off. It's embarrassing." "I think it's adorable") There were more with family, some drawings that Cas had done in kindergarten, paintings, portraits, scenery.
Next was the kitchen, where to Castiel's surprise, Dean's face lit up.
"Oh man this place is a beauty!" Dean shouted, eyes sparkling as he walked around, dragging his hand over the marble counter tops.
"Why, do you cook?"
"Yeah when my dad left I had to take care of my little brother Sammy and he's a picky eater so I looked up a bunch of recipes online and I found out how much I love cooking." Dean looked like he was in heaven.
After that, Castiel gave Dean a tour of the rest of the place. The tour ended back in the living room where they settled down on the couch with a hot bowl of popcorn, the TV playing the 3rd Iron Man movie. Dean claimed the soundtrack was to die for and began singing along to Shoot To Thrill. Castiel leaned into Dean who's arm was currently wrapped around his shoulders.
The day ended uneventfully. After the movie was over, Dean offered to make dinner and did so fantastically. It was a full course meal that made Castiel feel like a 7000 pound potato afterwards. After leaving some leftovers in the fridge for Gabe, Dean said his goodbyes to Castiel and left.
Castiel could say with confidence that this had been one of the best days in his life. He couldn't quite explain what it was but Dean felt right.
…
Castiel finished baking his apple pie for Dean. It was their one year anniversary. He had poured his heart and soul into this. Spent hours getting the exact measurements. It was perfect. Dean was going to love it and Castiel knew it. He put the final touches and put it in a white box, wrapping it with a red bow.
Castiel walked out of the store, closing for the day. He began his walk home.
When he arrived, all of the lights were off, which was strange considering both Gabe and Dean were supposed to be home. He shrugged and opened the door to find a path made of softly lit candles and rose petals. Cas smirked. Since when had Dean been so romantic?
Castiel followed the path to his room. He opened the door to find Dean in a suit, smiling at him.
And then Dean slowly moved down to kneel on one knee
He pulled out a little black box.
He opened it revealing a ring.
He asked: "Cas. Will you marry me?"
And Castiel was speechless.
His anxiety that had all but vanished in the past year resurfaced, clawing at his skin. He felt like he couldn't breathe. Everything was happening to quickly. The apple pie fell to the ground.
"Dean. I… This is too fast… I don't know… I… Can I have a moment please…" and with that Castiel left the room because he couldn't stand to see the look of hurt on Dean's face but he also couldn't stop his anxiety.
Castiel walked into the bathroom, locking the door behind him. He fell to the ground, tears blurring his vision. He wasn't ready for this. This was happening too quickly. What if he didn't know better? What if he was making the wrong decision? What if he regretted this years later? After all, they had only known each other for a year.
But that was when it all clicked.
A year. That was all it took for Castiel to completely and madly fall in love with Dean Winchester. Maybe he was in love from the very first day. Castiel had never fit in with… well anyone really. But from that very first day, Dean had cared for Cas. He asked him questions, told him jokes, made him incredibly good food. And most of all, he made Castiel feel comfortable. He made Castiel warm. He made Castiel want to wake up next to a smiling face and to watch movies and eat pizza on lazy afternoons. He wanted his future to be with Dean.
So he got off the floor, wiped off his tears and walked out of the room. He all but ran to the room where Dean was. He was sitting on Castiel's bed, looking a bit lost. Castiel couldn't stop the tears as he hugged Dean.
"Dean I'm so sorry. I was such an idiot. Yes I will marry you. Yes yes yes! Please forgive me. I love you so much." The words were pouring out of Castiel's mouth. He couldn't stop them. The emotions were too overpowering.
And that was when Dean smiled, tears also in his eyes.
"There's my Cas. Thank you. And I love you too. I love you so much. Sh Sh I got you." Dean wrapped his arms, pulling Castiel into himself.
After minutes of silent tears and I love yous, Dean took out the ring again.
"It's nothing fancy. I couldn't afford anything better than this. I'm sorry. I wanted to get you the be-"
"It's perfect, Dean" Castiel cut him off. And it was.
The ring was a simple titanium band. On the inside was engraved in a fancy cursive font: Angelulus, Latin for little angel.
Castiel slipped it onto his finger and took a long look at it. Dean pulled in Cas for a kiss which quickly deepened.
And after that? Well, as they say, the rest is history.
