"Dean?"
Castiel's voice startled the hunter who was engrossed in flipping the three sizzling hamburger patties on the bunker's stove. Until this moment Cas had been laid out quietly in the next room, the news flashing quietly across the screen so it wouldn't disturb Sam who was fast sleep in the next room over, while Dean was fixing dinner. "Yes, Cas?" He replied, casting the fallen angel a quick glance before flipping the burgers over again.
"What's DOMA?" Was Cas's next question.
"Huh?" Dean turned off the burner he was using and placed the hot pan on the cool side of the stove so that he could focus his attention on Cas.
"DOMA." Cas said again, as if that would help Dean figure out just what Cas was asking about.
"I don't know, why?" Cas seemed genuinely curious to know about this DOMA, and Dean couldn't help but admit that Cas had his attention. He often did, ever since Cas fell many things were new and strange to him, and he never stopped asking Dean's questions. It had annoyed him at first, but now he was used to it, even happy to times to explain things to Cas. It was kind of nice to talk about normal things for a change.
"It's all over the news. Something about your Supreme Court ruling against it." Cas was staring at Dean with the same blank, intense stare that he often used as an angel. Now that stare was reserved as one of genuine curiosity, and Dean found that it no longer made him uncomfortable as it had when the fallen angel had his wings.
"Oh." Dean replied, taking this in. "That's Sam's area of expertise. I'm no good at keeping up with the news, unless it involves mysterious deaths."
"Oh." Cas seemed incredibly disappointed that Dean didn't know what he was talking about. That wasn't uncommon either, Cas at times had unrealistic expectations of Dean, as if Dean was the perfect human and had omniscience knowledge of the things humans did. He was often disappointed to find that Dean was not all-knowing, but still preferred to think of him in this way.
"What's Sam's area of expertise?" The younger Winchester was leaning against the doorway to the kitchen, still looking pale and drawn despite the trials being over. He was weaker now, and slept much more then he used to. He got tired easily and more and more Dean refused to let him leave the bunker.
"DOMA." Cas repeated for Sam's benefit.
"Apparently the Supreme Court struck it down." Dean added, going back to finishing his burgers. "Cas wants to know what it is."
"Oh." Sam replied. "DOMA stands for the Defense of Marriage Act. It was a federal ban on gay marriage. Kept it from being a nationwide law, denied marriage benefits to gay couples, stuff like that."
Castiel's eyes got round with curiosity. "So, because it's been overruled…"
Sam chuckled. "It makes it easier for gay people to get married." He definitely caught the look Cas sent in Dean's direction, but he purposely ignored it. He'd tease Dean about it later. "So what's for dinner?"
"Burgers." Dean set three plates on the table. "You up for one?" He gave Sam a tentative look.
"I could eat." Sam replied, going over to the table.
"Cas? You gonna keep standing there?"
Cas blinked and walked over to the table, sitting down next to Dean and across from Sam. "I was just thinking…does this mean that we can now be married, Dean?"
Dean had just taken a swig of his beer and found himself spitting it half away across the table. "What?" He asked gruffly, coughing and beating his chest.
Sam's face lit up with a fit of giggles, and he gripped the table so that he would not fall over. Cas failed to see how the question was so funny or good cause for Dean to get upset. "I asked if this meant that we could get married."
Dean's face flushed red, which caused Sam to dissolve in another round of giggles. Quickly Dean shoved the table forward and his chair backward, getting up and hastily retreating to his room. Cas watched shellshock, unaware of what provoked this reaction. Sam wiped his eyes, slowly recovering from his fit, and Cas locked his sapphire eyes on him. "Wha-why is Dean so upset?" Cas couldn't help but realize that Dean's emotions were provoking a similar reaction inside himself.
Sam stifled the last bit of laughter and shook his head. "Don't take it personally, Cas. Dean just doesn't like surprises or being singled out and such. A marriage proposal is kind of a big deal. It's like a shock kind of a thing."
"Oh." Cas replied, but it was clear from his tone that he still didn't understand.
Sam gave him a reassuring smile. "Give it a little bit of time. I'll go talk to him." The younger Winchester got up from his seat and grabbed Dean's neglected burger before heading in the direction his older brother had taken off in.
"Go away, Sam." Dean insisted when his younger brother turned up at his bedroom door. He was laying on his bed on his belly, a blurry picture and himself and Cas in his hands.
"But I brought your burger."
"I'm not hungry."
"Yeah, you can lie to Cas but you can't lie to me." Sam declared, walking into the room and nudging the door shut with his foot. He sat down on the bed beside Dean and dropped the plate in front of him. "Eat." He ordered.
A small smirk played on the edge of Dean's lips. "Since when do you order me around?"
"Since you're an ass." Sam shot back. "You know you hurt Cas's feelings, right?"
Dean looked down at the picture with a frown, heat traveling to his face again. "Yeah." He replied softly, getting up. "I just…that wasn't the way I expected this kind of thing to go. I feel like I should have taken him to a park or something. Got down on one knee and the whole bit." He dropped the photo back on his desk before returning to sit beside his brother.
Sam picked up his own burger and took a bite. "Dude, uh…little chick flicky don't you think?" He asked, swallowing the bite. Dean snickered despite the food now currently in his own mouth. "Never thought you'd be romantic."
"I can be romantic." He declared before taking another bite of his burger.
"So what are you going to do?"
"Finish my burger and then talk to him, obviously."
Castiel was again laid out on the couch when Dean found him later that night. Some mindless soap opera was playing on the TV and the fallen angel appeared to be engrossed in the dialogue. Dean didn't know whether to laugh or be concerned at how serious he seemed to be taking it. He watched his angels for a few more minutes before flicking off the tv and leaning against the couch. Cas glanced over at him, but made no sound of protest. "Gotta talk to you." Dean said softly. "Want your undivided attention."
"How can my attention be divided?" Cas asked suddenly.
Dean snickered, shaking his head. "Just an expression Cas. Means I want you to listen to me."
"Oh."
"Yeah. So uh…about earlier."
Cas looked down guiltily. "I am sorry I caused you embarrassment." He quickly looked back at Dean. "Please forgive me. I won't speak about the subject of marriage again."
Dean shook his head, an amused smile playing across his features. Cas couldn't help but notice how handsome his smile was. "Oh Cas." Dean went down on one knee and took the former angel's hand. "I want to talk to you about marriage." The gesture was obviously lost on the angel, but the hunter didn't let it bother him. He was expecting Cas to be confused. "This is…uhh…this is how humans usually propose marriage to each other. You get down on your knees and uh then you ask." He explained.
Cas's eyes lit up and he eagerly got down on his knees too. "So we can be married now?" Dean threw his head back and laughed loudly. Cas's features immediately turned to those of confusion and disappointment. "Why are you laughing at me?"
Dean shook his head, wiping a tear from his face before staring straight into Castiel's eyes. "You're ruining my proposal, man. Be quiet and let me do this properly, okay? It's my job to propose to you." Dean hoped Cas wouldn't ask what that meant. He wasn't exactly sure how to explain gender roles, especially since Cas was actually a dude and would likely object to being called the 'woman' in their relationship. Ánd he would likely try to turn it around on Dean since he was the one who cooked and spent the most time in the kitchen. Thankfully his blue eyed lover stayed silent and let the hunter continue. "I love you, okay? And I want to show you how much I love you." He squeezed Cas's hand and reached into the pocket of his jeans, pulling out the once-familiar triple band silver ring. "Will you marry me?" Cas nodded, and watched closely as Dean took his hand and slid the ring on his finger.
"But…I don't have a ring to give you." Cas looked embrassed down and Dean tried to laugh at him this time. Instead he pulled him into a deep kiss.
"It's alright. This is just an engagement ring; it just means you said yes to marrying me. We'll both get real rings at the wedding." Dean explained, holding his now fiancé in a tight embrace.
"Wedding?" Cas asked softly, his arms wrapped around Dean's neck.
"Mmmhmm." Dean muttered, kissing his angel's neck. "I'll explain that to you in the morning. Tonight I have other plans." In one smooth motion he got to his feet and swept Cas into his arms. "I love you, ya know." He said as he carried Cas into his bedroom.
"I know, Dean. I love you too."