Five o'clock had come around sooner than Dean thought; he left the garage and ran up to his room. Picking up his phone handling it carefully as not to cover it in oil, he called Anna.
"Oh hey there hot stuff, you partyin' hard with us tonight?"
"Of course I am dipshit, you wanna ride there?"
"That depends on if you're planning to stay there or not?"
"Well I probably will, I don't think Cas would mind you crashing on his couch. But Bobby's taking his truck and he'll be bringing Sammy home so you can get a ride home from him if you want."
"I guess I can do that. Be round here at half seven?"
"Sure thing."
"Make sure you wear deodorant, wanna be smellin' fine in case you get up to any drunken shenanigans." Dean could practically hear the wink.
"Whatever, see you later."
For the next hour Dean spent as much time as he could in the shower, lathering himself in soap trying to scrub away any oil that was on his body. He had a slight panic attack when the shampoo got into his eyes and he thought he was going blind, but other than that he felt good.
He dried himself quickly and dressed in his favourite, dark blue jeans which were slightly too tight on his arse, so he knew Cas would appreciate that, a dark grey Henley and a new marine blue shirt which- let's face it- Dean only bought it because it was almost the same colour as Cas' eyes, of course he would not admit that to anyone. He wore the amulet that Sammy had given him years ago and ran a tiny bit of gel through his hair. Yep. He thought. I look fine.
Realising the time, Dean quickly slid on his shoes, grabbed his keys, phone and leather jacket and ran down the stairs. "Samantha come on, we gotta pick up Anna on the way!"
"Don't worry Dean! I'll get a ride with Bobby, see you later!"
"Alright whatever, see you later." With this he walked over to his car, his baby and climbed in. Listening to her engine purr always made him feel good. It took a good twenty minutes or so to reach Anna's house and when he got there, he went up and knocked on her door. Anna's mother opened it and beamed at him. She gave him a hug, told him he looked as handsome as always and that she'll be down in a minute. Patiently Dean waited for Anna to get ready and when she finally came down, she looked stunning. Red hair all curled and she had obviously bought herself a new dress and shoes to match. "I must say, you look hot. If I was straight, you'd get it."
Anna rolled her eyes and said without an inkling of expression; "Wow Dean you are a charmer, Castiel is such a lucky boy."
"Yes he is, now get your ass in the car." They both climbed in and the drive was comfortable and nice. They hadn't really had a conversation just the two of them in a while and it was nice.
"So, have you guys done anything yet?" She looked at Dean waggling her eyebrows.
"If you must know, no we haven't. I don't think either of us are really ready yet ya'know? I guess we don't want it to just be about sex but whatever."
"Aw Deanie-poo, you're just a big teddy bear aren't you?"
"Shut up ass-hat."
When they arrived at Castiel's house, there were already quite a lot of people and nowhere to park. Anna called Cas to let him know. "Hey Cas, me and Dean are outside in the car but there's like, nowhere to park so he's gonna park round the corner okay? Just thought I'd let you know that we're not late."
"Wait! Anna, tell him he can park in the driveway, dad left it clear for him." Anna leant over and told Dean, he smiled and grabbed the phone. "Thanks angel-face. I owe you one."
"No problem Dean, and I'll see that through." Anna grabbed the phone before it turned into anything more. "Alright Cas, me and lover boy will see you in a sec."
"Alright, bye."
Dean reversed into the driveway easily and parked. He and Anna climbed out of the car and walked to the front door, before either of them had a chance to knock the door swung open and behind it stood Gabriel with a bright green party hat and rather a large glass of wine. "DEANO! ANNA, MY LITTLE POPSICLE! COME IN, COME IN. JOIN THE FESTIVITIES."
At that very moment Cas thought it smart to intervene, "Gabe, it's not even half eight and you're already drunk. Go annoy some other guests, like Uncle Zach or something."
"Ah yes- that bastard owes me a damn fridge." Gabriel waddled away and Castiel watched as he bumped into various pieces of furniture and apologised to several chairs before turning around to greet Dean and Anna who were also watching Gabriel, but trying to contain their laughter.
Castiel reached up and planted a kiss on Dean's cheek and then turned to look at Anna. "Anna you look lovely, and hey you don't look so bad yourself Dean." He winked and walked away gesturing for the two to follow.
Dean ogled at Cas as he walked, he was wearing a tight pair of black jeans, a white shirt and a blue tie. The simplicity of it somehow made Dean's skin turn to goose-flesh. Although, his hair was fluffy and messy as ever, Christ how he wanted to run his fingers through it.
Anna went off to do her own thing, meet a few guests, laugh at Gabriel's drunken nonsense etc. Dean and Castiel sat on the sofa, leaning against each other just talking, when two men walked in, obviously identical twins and looked at Cas both with sly smiles on their faces.
"Hey! Princess!" Every muscle in Dean's muscle tensed as he felt Castiel's head swing abruptly to face the men. "How's our favourite little homo then?" Dean's mouth turned in to a straight line, he felt nervous, uncomfortable and he really wanted to punch these two. Cas had obviously noticed that Dean looked like he was about to be sick so he lay a hand on Dean's knee and leant in.
"Dean, it's alright, they're joking. Lucifer and Michael are my eldest brothers. They're completely indifferent to sexual orientation. Honestly, they don't care, it's just harmless banter." As soon as these words had registered in Dean's brain, his muscles loosened and he felt calm again. Cas stood up and his brothers gathered him in a hug.
"Lucifer, Michael, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend; Dean." They smiled brightly at Dean. Lucifer spoke;
"Ah so you're the famous Dean who's got Cassie head over heels. Seriously man every time I talk to him; it's Dean this Dean that. Anyone would think you're freaking superman." Dean couldn't help but let a low chuckle. "Well anyway nice to meet you, we're going to go and get shitfaced." Michael walked away and Lucifer turned to Castiel.
"How's Bela? She been behaving?"
"Yes Luke she's fine, as good as gold."
"Good, I'm still kinda sad I couldn't keep her at mine but I guess it's better for her here. You take care of my girl Cassie okay?"
"You know I will." Lucifer patted Cas on the shoulder and went to walk away but quickly whispered into Dean's ear without Cas realising.
"You hurt my brother, we hurt you. Capisce?" Dean nodded quickly and Luke smiled. "Nice to meet you Dean, you seem like a good kid." He strolled away over to the kitchen. Dean and Castiel sat back down on the sofa.
"Cas, who's Bela?"
"Luke's golden retriever. We took her in because he moved into a new apartment in the city and he can't have pets."
"Ah right I see. Sammy loves dogs."
"Speaking of Sam, when is he and Bobby going to be here."
"Real soon, Sam's probably combing his moose mane."
The party lasted until early hours of the morning, By two in the morning most of the Novak brothers were practically paralytic and Dean wasn't feeling so hot himself. Castiel dragged him upstairs to his room and laid him on the bed. Dean, being a handsy drunk kept touching and feeling Cas, who refused any invitation to have sex because he didn't want to take advantage of Dean.
It didn't take long for Dean to pass out and Cas took his jeans off to make him more comfortable, he placed a bottle of water and two aspirin on the bedside table then proceeded to strip down to his boxer briefs and get into bed beside Dean; who instantly wrapped an arm around him and nestled in close. Soon Castiel drifted into sleep, he could feel Dean's warm breath on the back on his neck.
The ceiling was lit with flames that seemed to come out of nowhere. Dean was there, he ran to his father. He was as himself but Sam was still just a baby. John handed Dean the wad of blankets and shouted "Take Sammy and run, I'll get your mother." Dean didn't look back he just ran and ran until he was outside standing on the grass looking up at the burning building. Cas was there, why was Cas there? He thought.
"Dean I'm going in, I'll get your parents." Dean grabbed Cas' wrist to pull him back.
"Cas no I can't let you, you can't go on there." But Castiel just pulled away and was soon lost in the flames that engulfed the house.
"CAS! COME BACK! His voice was shaky, it cracked but he continued to shout despite the smoke trying to choke him. "CAS PLEASE I CAN'T LOSE YOU."
He was shouting tears streamed down his face. He can't lose Cas. He loved him too much. He can't bear that pain again; the heart wrenching pain of losing someone you hold most dear.
Castiel woke up slightly, he could feel Dean nuzzling his back; it felt nice on his bare skin. Somehow, something didn't feel right though, Dean was mumbling something, his legs twitched every now and then. Maybe he was still a little bit tipsy? Castiel ignored it and fell back to sleep.
Later he was awoken by his name being shouted. He woke with a start and noticed Dean still sleeping. He tried to look round at him, Cas could see his eyes rolling ferociously beneath his eyelids, as if he were searching for something. The urge to turn round and comfort him built inside but Dean's stomach was still pressed against Castiel's back, an arm slung over his waist and a hand pressed to his chest pulling him tighter. He couldn't move.
Castiel lay his head back on the pillow, calming himself and placing his own hand over Dean's, squeezing gently. A warm liquid trickled down Castiel's shoulder blade. Is Dean crying?
Again Cas' name rang out. "CAS PLEASE!" He felt his heart pound against his rib cage. What's going on? Have I done something? His mind was racing.
"CAS COME BACK PLEASE. DON'T LEAVE ME HERE. I CAN'T LOSE YOU." By now Dean was sweating as Cas could feel it, his stomach lurched. He's having a nightmare. What do I do? Dean was squirming, he had his arm wrapped so tightly around Castiel, he was finding it difficult to breathe and his tears were heavier against Cas' back.
Dean's outcries became quieter but he continued to squirm. His sobs were heart breaking for Castiel to listen to. "Please. Cas, just come back. I need you. You can't leave me now, not like this. I won't lose you too. I love you too much!" Castiel's own tears were now streaming down his face, he pulled away from Dean's grasp and sat up. He grabbed Dean's shoulders and shook him.
"DEAN! WAKE UP DEAN!" Startled, Dean opened his eyes, they were swollen, bloodshot and puffy. He had tears and sweat stains on his own shirt.
"Cas?" He murmured.
Castiel pulled him tightly, letting Dean's head rest on his chest and he kissed his hairline. "Shh, I'm here, it's okay. I'm not going anywhere, I promise." Dean wrapped his arms around Castiel's waist and they sat like that for what seemed like hours. Heavy, staggered breaths were the only noises that filled the room. Neither boy allowed himself to let go.
