AN: This is the third part to my "When? Now" 'verse thing. It's something that's sort of accidentally happened. Yeah, so this is them getting married after Cas proposed in "The Request", which took place after "When? Now". I might add to this 'verse, so I'm putting it in my Headcanons/Drabbles thing as well as it's own oneshot because it can be read as a stand alone piece as well. But it's cooler if you read "When? Now" and "The Request" before this.
WARNING: Severe fluff, smut and language because Dean has no filter.
The Marriage
It had been exactly one year, seven months and twenty-five days, since Castiel had asked Dean to marry him, and Dean had said yes. Dean had been counting, and he knew that it was the perfect date – September 18. The anniversary of the day Castiel had pulled Dean out of Hell, and now, it would also be their wedding anniversary.
Dean drank in the sight before him, sure that he would never get tired of it. Those clear blue eyes, that dark, tousled hair, faint stubble on his cheeks….and the smile. Castiel smiled rarely, at least to those who didn't know him as well as Dean did. Dean could read Castiel like a book, and knew when the man was angry, worried, scared, happy, sad, horny…..all by simply looking at his eyes. There was always a small twinkle in them when he looked at Dean, like Dean was his entire world.
And Dean was totally okay with that.
Castiel approached from the other side of the altar. They'd agreed that neither of them would walk down the aisle – what was the point? – and the wedding was in the small orchard that Castiel had proposed in. There were only a few guests – Sam, Amelia, Jody, Charlie, Kevin, Mrs Tran, and a few angels – and they sat in mismatched chairs (aside from Sam, who stood near Dean, and Gabriel - brought miraculously back from the dead once more, and standing near Castiel), watching as a terrified looking Chuck presided over the ceremony.
They'd wanted it this way, a small, quiet ceremony with only the people that they loved with them. And as it turns out, Chuck had been alive the whole time, and was in fact Castiel's missing father.
Still didn't change the fact that he could barely control his nervous stutter as he tried desperately not to fuck up what would be the only wedding he could ever see himself officiating at. You couldn't really beat God marrying you, could you?
Dean's eyes lit up as he looked at Castiel, and his mouth dried. He coughed slightly, before saying "Hey there, handsome".
Castiel leaned in, as if about to impart some great secret, and murmured "we both look very nice, Dean," still looking at the man with that sheer adoration in his eyes. Dean smiled.
"Yeah," he replied, unable to stop the fond smile that refused to leave his face.
At this, Castiel gave one of his rare, beautiful smiles, and Dean knew, like he had always known, that he wanted to see Castiel smile like that every day for the rest of….well, forever, and that he wanted to be the one that made him smile like that.
Chuck cleared his throat nervously.
"Um, so…did you guys want me to do the whole 'we are gathered here today' thing, or what?" he asked, looking from one to the other. Dean and Castiel shared a look before turning back to him.
"Why don't we just go right to the vows? We already know why we're here" Dean suggested, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Castiel nod in affirmation. Chuck visibly relaxed.
"Yeah, yeah, okay. Dean, why don't you go first"
Well, now Dean was terrified. What if what he'd written – with Sam alternating between laughing at him and helping him – wasn't enough?
Nothing to do but say it and hope for the best.
"Cas…." He rasped, and cleared his throat before trying again. "Castiel….I don't even know how to describe what you mean to me, man. You know how much I hate stupid chick flick moments, but this isn't stupid. At all. I don't even care that my family – what's left of it – can hear me, because you make me not care. You have done so much for me. You pulled me out of Hell, you rebelled against Heaven, you screwed up royally time and time again, and you became a human…and you did it all for me. And you always came when I needed you most. You're so amazing, and I know I don't deserve you, but I'm gonna do my best for the rest of my life, and long after that, to make you happy. And to keep you safe, and to try and make sure that I somehow repay everything you've done for me. Don't ever change, Cas. I need you so much. And I know I'm shit with words – fuck, sorry, I keep swearing – but if I know one thing, it's that I love you. And I am so glad that I can say it to you."
He finished, and the pair stared at each other, eyes wet with tears that were never (ever, if Dean had anything to say about it) going to spill. After a good long minute of this, Sam cleared his throat, and Gabriel gave a marginally less subtle nudge to Castiel with his elbow.
"Oh, right. Um…" Castiel began. "Dean Winchester. You know how bad I am with expressing myself in a socially acceptable manner, and have pointed it out to me with an alarming frequency over the years. However, I have been improving, and I have a few things I would like to say.
The moment I laid a hand on you in Hell, my entire world changed. I lived in Heaven for two millennia studying humanity, and yet I knew nothing of it until I met you. Angels are not supposed to feel human emotions, and you made me feel so much. Because of you, I have felt anger, I have felt jealousy, passion, happiness, sadness, despair, joy, and love. I never thought that I would be lucky enough to have a place in your heart, let alone be the one to stand here opposite you. I know this is what you would refer to as 'incredibly corny', but before I met you, my world was in greys, blacks and whites, and I didn't even know it. When I raised you from Hell, you put colour into my world, and you have been filling my life with your vibrancy, your life, your bravery and strength, and your incredible capacity to love. I am forever grateful to you, Dean Winchester, and I will love you even beyond death."
Completely ignoring everyone, Dean reached out before hauling Castiel to him and kissing him. Castiel kissed him back, and Chuck stood there awkwardly as Sam and Gabriel rolled their eyes at their brothers' disregard for ceremony.
"Okay, so um you may now kiss….but you're already doing that. So yeah, um, when you're ready, we can do the ring thing?"
Dean and Castiel broke apart, a faint blush on their cheeks, and no Dean totally didn't have a tear running down his cheek, and Castiel totally didn't brush it away with a small smile. Sam and Gabriel held out the rings, and with the utmost care the two men placed the rings they had chosen on the other's finger, eyes meeting as they smiled at one another.
"Okay, now you can kiss. Again"
And they did, to the cheers of the small audience.
Sam was forever grateful that he no longer lived with Dean. The shit-eating grin that had stayed on his brother's face the entire remainder of the day had been enough, not to mention the way he and Castiel practically ran into the house afterwards to start on their honeymoon (staying the night at what had once been Bobby's home, and then taking off in the Impala to a small cabin up north). He and Amelia walked down the road back home, arms around one another under the starry sky.
Meanwhile, inside their home, Dean and Castiel were in the middle of it, Castiel burying himself inside Dean as they cried out fiercely. Castiel would never cease to be amazed at his hunter, the way he was able to go so quickly from one mood to the next and still remain so unmistakeably Dean. Currently, the former angel was unable to take his eyes from Dean's face as the man wrapped his legs around him, whimpering in ecstasy as he stared right back.
Once they had both ridden out their orgasms, whispering "I love you" into the other's mouth as if it was a secret that no one else would know, they lay on the bed, too exhausted to care about the mess. Dean suddenly grinned, catching Castiel off guard.
"What?"
Dean pulled his newly-made husband even closer under the sheets, hiding his face in the thick dark hair and hugging him tightly as he said "Wedding sex is amazing".
They drifted off to sleep like that, holding one another and promising themselves they would never let go.
