(AN: Thank you all for the follows/Favorites, and I'm sorry it's taken me a week to get this new update out. (I know that's how most authors regulate their posts, but I like to post once or twice a week.) I've been very busy since in the past week I've gotten a life and I have no clue what to do with it. I hope you enjoy this chapter since it's mostly Destiel fluff. I promise in the next couple chapters it'll pick up again. So enjoy this chapter and please review. (You know, since reviews are my Advil and I have a giant headache.))
Chapter 10
Dean watched the face of the man that was wrapped in his arms with awe. The slight movement of Cas' eyes behind the lids caused the long, dark lashed to dance over his pale cheekbones as he dreamed, and the normally untamable hair fell in even wilder tufts across his forehead. He was beautiful. Dean smiled, but chewed his bottom lip as he thought. Normally this was when he made his escape. He would slip back into his clothes silently as his partner slept, completely unaware that he had left. This time was different… He didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay. He wanted to see the beautiful blues that made up Cas' irises. He wanted to see Cas smile when he made a joke. Dean had never wanted that before. He had always just assumed he would never see his partners again, and if he did, there would be a few moments of awkward conversation and possibly (most likely) a slap before they left in a huff. He didn't want the next person to do that to him to be Cas… And that revelation scared him. He'd never been good at relationships. He was a hunter. They didn't get to be happy. They didn't get the opportunity to be happy, because once they were, the crap that followed them around like a shadow, found the people they cared about and exploited that weak point. Hunters couldn't have weak points.
Dean's thought were interrupted when the smaller man shifted closer to him as his eyes fluttered open. A smile spread across Cas' face, and it took Dean's breath away. Everything about this man was perfect. From his pearly white teeth, to his unruly black hair, and even the crinkles around his eyes when he smiled.
"Good morning, Dean."
None of that even mentioned his voice. It was deep and rough, but at the same time it was soft and soothing.
"Dean, are you alright?"
That amazing voice sounded concerned this time, and it snapped Dean out of his thoughts.
"Yeah, Cas. I'm fine. I was just distracted. I got too into my head and my thoughts were distracting me."
The dark haired man smiled broadly. "What were you thinking about?"
Dean bite his lip as he contemplated what to tell the other man. He could say that he had just been thinking about a hunt, but in the end he decided to answer truthfully.
"I was thinking about you."
"Only good things I hope?" Soon after this left Cas' mouth, he stopped smiling. "You're not regretting our time together are you? I know finding out we share a profound bond can be a lot to take in at once… I know I was shocked… and I can't force you to do anything… Well, I could… I'm a prince, but I won't. You won't be made to do anything that you do not want to do. I would not for-"
His words were cut off by Dean as the hunter captured the prince's lips with his own. The kiss was short, but sweet and it calmed Castiel's nerves considerably. Once Dean pulled away, he smiled.
"As sexy as your voice is, and as cute as you are when you ramble, I had to stop you. There is no way I could regret our time together. It has been awesome."
"Then what were you thinking about?"
Dean sighed. "I was thinking about how amazing you are, and how I don't deserve you… And how unlucky hunters are when it comes to the people they care about."
The prince frowned. "Unlucky? What do you mean?"
"Well…" Dean sighed and rolled onto his back so he could stare up at the ceiling. He smiled when he felt Cas' soft hair tickling the underside of his jaw as he snuggled closer to him and put an arm over his bare chest. "Hunters make a lot of enemies. All the things that go bump in the night want to kill them. It's wild. Kill or be killed… So whenever something supernatural gets wind of a hunter's weakness… They take advantage of it… Even if that weakness is a person." He sighed and closed his eyes. "That's what I was thinking about."
Dean heard Cas sit up, but he refused to open his eyes, even when he felt the other's man's gaze on him.
"Dean… I am a prince… I am well protected. By the guards… and by you."
The hunter's eyes flew open. "You trust me that much? You hardly know me… You don't know if I can protect you from everything…"
Castiel's smile made Dean's heart swell with an emotion that the younger man couldn't quite identify… But he liked it. He also liked it when Cas reached up to rest a hand on his cheek, and he liked it even more when the prince rubbed soothing circles over his cheek bone with his thumb.
"Dean, if what I have been told by Anael is correct, we are soulmates. I do not believe that a man such as yourself would let your other half die. Not without one hell of a fight beforehand. Not without doing everything you possibly can to save me. I believe a man like you would die to protect me, but I also believe that you won't let it get that far to begin with."
Dean sighed. "Cas, you don't know tha-"
This time, it was the prince's turn to cut the other off by kissing the man before him. When he pulled away he smiled.
"I trust you, Dean Winchester. I trust you enough to believe in this… this bond we share. And this bond is what is going to save me from a loveless life… If you allow yourself to."
Dean smiled. "How would I do that?"
Cas bit his lip. "If I don't get married by the time I turn twenty five I will be forced into a loveless marriage by my father to create stronger bonds between kingdoms… My birthday is in a few months and I have to be married by then or… Or I have to live that loveless life…"
Dean looked up at him. "And I am your other half…" Dean looked down, breaking their gaze with a sigh. "Cas…best when it comes to commitment. I'm not…" The hunter trailed off when he saw the dejected look on the prince's face… And he really hated to see that look of pain. He hated that he was the cause of that pain. "But… I'm willing to try… For you, Cas. For you I would do anything… So yes, Cas… If you're asking me to marry you my answer is yes… If you're not asking then… Castiel Novak, Prince of Falinta el Cielo… Will you marry me?"
The dark-haired man stared down at him in shock without responding. As the silence continued, Dean began to feel self-conscious. Maybe he had read the situation wrong. Maybe the other man hadn't been asking him to marry him. He cleared his throat.
"Cas? If… If you don't want to just say so… Don't just leave me hanging here… I kinda just went against everything I've ever done… Ever… So if you could just… You know… Say something? I kinda need an answer. A nod. A shake of the head… something…. "
He still didn't get a response, so he sat up and grabbed his trousers from the floor next to the bed. He pulled them on quickly and walked across the room to grab his shirt from where it had been discarded by the door. He didn't go through the trouble of putting it on as he reached for the doorknob, but before his hand touched the metal he was spun around by his shoulder and pressed against the cold, dark wood of the door. Cas stared into his eyes, a smile paying across his lips. A smile that Dean could only describe as mischievous.
"So, you were planning on leaving so soon after proposing? I don't think that's the best idea you've ever had. Which is funny, considering you followed up your best idea with your worse."
Dean's eyes had gone wide. "Wait, Cas… Is this a yes?"
In response, the prince simply kissed him passionately and pressed him even harder against the door. When they remembered they both needed, they broke the kiss. Dean was still pressed against the door, and both of them were breathing heaving, but both were smiling widely.
"I'm gonna take that as a yes."
"You're very intuitive."
Dean smiled and looked deep into Cas' eyes.
"Dean?"
"Yes, Cas?"
"Would you like to come back to Falinta el Cielo with me? I believe we need to tell my parents so that they will stop trying to marry me off."
Dean smiled and pressed a quick kiss to the other man's lips. "I wouldn't let that happened anyway… But can we invite Sam to go with?"
Cas nodded. "But Sam is Gabriel's personal manservant now… Gabriel would have to allow Sam some time off… Or knowing Gabriel and his obsession with your brother… He'd have to come with."
"I think I could live with that." The hunter chuckled. "If you promise me that I can kick his ass if he pisses me off."
"I think I can be convinced to agree to that." The shorter man said with a wide grin.
"Oh? And what would I have to do to convince you?" Dean asked as he kissed the other man.
"I think you know." Castiel smiled as he wrapped his arms around his lover's neck.
With these words, Dean pushed away from the door and lead both of them back to the bed as both laughed.