Home is where you make it

"So, uh, you mean it? You wanna be with me, like, together?"

"Yes, Dean. I want you to be my … partner?" He was still struggling with colloquialism.

Dean quirked a grin and answered, "How about boyfriend? It's less ambiguous."

"If we're trying to convey clarity, why don't I just call you my lover?"

Dean's smile faltered, embarrassed. "This isn't a romance novel, Cas. It's outdated. These days, sex in relationships is basically assumed."

"You have a point. Okay then, 'boyfriend'." Cas smiled a slow, dopey smile, and Dean grabbed his hand.

"Now that you're my boyfriend, Cas, we should probably tell the guys."

Cas raised his eyebrows and replied, "I think Sam already knows. He saw me leaving your room last Friday morning."

"Well, he didn't know for sure. Besides, Kevin doesn't know." Cas nodded, and they left Dean's room.

Sam and Kevin were sitting at a long table in the study, poring over the same book and arguing about lore. Dean walked in, Cas trailing behind him.

"Hey guys," Dean greeted, hoping he sounded casual. They looked up.

"Hey Dean," Sam said, trying to slide the book closer to him. Kevin yanked the book back, and glared at Sam.

"So are you two here to help us do research?"

"Uh, no. Actually, I –" he glanced at Cas and amended, "we wanted to talk to you two." By this time, Cas was standing off to his right, but said nothing (as was his custom), just nodded when Dean spoke. Sam sat back in his chair, and Kevin marked his page before closing the book.

"What's up?" Sam asked, as Dean took a seat at the end of the table. Cas sat down in the closest available chair, his hands palms down on the table. Dean leaned forward, his hands clasped in front of him. He was silent for a while, his jaw trembling a bit as he worked up the nerve.

"Right. Well, Cas and I talked for a while, and uh, I – we – wanted you two to be the first to know." He stopped to clear his throat, his eyes darting from Sam to Kevin, then back down to the table. "We're … together." He reached out and grabbed Cas' hand, squeezing tight. Sam just sat there smiling, the worry from a moment ago erased from his face entirely. Kevin, meanwhile, knit his brows in confusion. He looked up at each of their faces in turn.

"Wait, what?" He looked over at Sam. "Did you know about this?"

"I had an idea," Sam hedged, and Kevin looked between the two again disbelievingly.

"Like together, together?" Cas looked up from their clasped hands and stared at Kevin.

"Yes, Dean is my boyfriend."

Kevin looked down at their clasped hands, and then to Dean, who nodded at him. Then he looked back to Cas. "So Cas, you're… gay?"

Cas chuckled softly, easing some of the tension in the room. "Uh, no. I'm … well, we're both – Dean, what was the word?"

"Bisexual," Dean finished.

Kevin still had his eyebrows raised in surprise, but he finally broke into a wry smile. "Well, congrats." Dean and Cas visibly relaxed, and Sam cleared his throat.

"So, are you guys going to tell other people?"

Dean shrugged: "When necessary, I guess. I mean, it's not a secret."

"Wow, really?" Sam asked. Who was this man, and what had he done with his older brother?

"Yes, Sammy. You got a problem with that?" he retorted gruffly, but there was a hint of fear in his green eyes.

"No, not at all. Just surprised, is all." He raised his hands as if to add, "honest."

"Well, I'm too old to be playing games, and it's not like there's anyone I gotta hide it from, so yeah – I'm out."

Sam gave his brother a huge smile. He was genuinely proud – it couldn't have been easy. He'd seen the look his brother had given Cas since the day the former-angel rebelled, and this had been a long time coming.

By this point, Kevin had moved to the chair next to Castiel. Although the two had initially gotten off to a rough start, Cas was slowly growing on him. And now that he didn't have the urgency of heaven's work pressing on him, he treated Kevin kindly, a welcome addition to the close-knit group. He'd been murmuring to Castiel for a few minutes now, but Dean caught his last question: "So which one of you tops?"

Dean could feel the back of his neck growing red as Cas answered, "I suppose Dean would."

He stood up from the table suddenly, exclaiming, "Dammit, Cas!"

Dean stormed away, but not before he heard his brother scold, "Kevin, that's private - not cool." Cas caught up to him once he was back in his bedroom.

Kevin chuckled, and moved back to his seat across from Sam. "Relax. I didn't know he'd actually answer."

This is CAS we're talking about. He doesn't really get 'private'."

"Okay, okay," Kevin conceded. "But for the record, that's the only private thing I asked him."

"Whatever. Okay, well now that they've 'come out', back to research."

"Right…" Kevin agreed, the smile quickly leaving his face.

"You're upset."

"Damn right I'm upset, Cas, I didn't say you could blab the details of our sex life to the resident nerd."

"I don't understand. We don't have a sex life."

He sighed heavily. "Look Cas, I should've warned you about this. People who aren't in relationships get nosy to people who are. Just don't tell people what we do in private, all right?"

"Very well, Dean."

"Okay, we're good. C'mere." Dean pulled Cas in tight for a hug.

During the next few days, they became gradually more affectionate with each other in the bunker. On Monday, they held hands while watching a movie. On Tuesday, Cas came up behind Dean while he was cooking, and wrapped his arms around Dean's waist, kissing the back of his neck. On Wednesday, Dean gave Cas a good-morning peck on the cheek in the kitchen as Cas handed him a cup of coffee. On Thursday, Kevin walked in on them kissing in the library. By Friday, they were watching telenovelas in the den, spooning on the couch.

Sam swatted at Dean's feet, and got him to give up a cushion so he could sit down. Sam reached forward toward the bowl of in front of him, and popped a piece of popcorn in his mouth; he chewed thoughtfully for a second before asking, "Why do you guys watch this stuff?"

Dean smirked at his little brother: "Cas speaks Spanish. And this show has enough cognates that I get the gist."

"You know Spanish, Cas?"

"Of course. I was there when the Tower of Babel fell." Sam laughed, and turned back to the screen.

"¡Ay, dios mío! Mi amor… estoy enamorada con tu gemelo. ¡Yo lo siento mucho!"

Dean gasped, and pointed at the screen: "I knew it!"

Sam knit his eyebrows, eyeing Dean warily: "What?"

"Maria's in love with Javier's twin brother, Esteban."