Dean is wasted. Completely, totally, unapologetically wasted.
He's standing on top of his coffee table, microphone in hand, belting out Bon Jovi's Wanted Dead or Alive at his insanely loud, off-key best. He's so drunk, he's sweating like a whore in church, he's barefoot, and he's stripped off everything except his torn, sinfully tight black jeans, and they've slipped down and are riding the very edges of his hips. He's leaning backwards, head tossed back, finding his inner Robert Plant, really into his song, singing his heart out like his life depends on it.
Castiel can't take his eyes off of him.
Dean's so smoking hot like this, Castiel wants to yank him right off that table and drag him upstairs. He watches as a bead of sweat rolls down Dean's bare chest, and he'd like nothing more than to lick it off.
Sam is just as wasted, and they're singing, or rather screaming, the chorus at each other. Climbing up on the table next to Dean, Sam's also really getting into it, his arm tossed around Dean's shoulders, but the alcohol gets the best of him and he loses his balance and almost tumbles off the table.
"Get the fuck off my stage, Sasquatch, you're gonna dent my ceiling!" Dean yells, giving Sam a hearty shove. Sam giggles, and gets down, grabs a beer and heads outside. Jess shakes her head, and hands Castiel another container to put in the fridge.
"Those two," she sighs, "should not be allowed to consume alcohol…ever!"
Castiel smiles, and looks around the kitchen. He and Jess cleaned up most of the mess, and she's putting the last few dishes in the dishwasher. He grabs himself another beer, and heads out to the deck to cool off, laughing as he passes the living room. Dean's pulled both Jo and Benny up on his stage, and they're loudly singing Thunderstruck at the top of their lungs, Adam cheering from the floor where he landed after his last song.
All the "grown-ups" have left, Bobby, Ellen, and Rufus leaving together, and Andrea took the girls home, telling Benny to stay and have fun. Lisa, Ben and Vic left not too long after Andrea. Ash and Garth are on the couch, loudly discussing Star Trek with Charlie and her girlfriend Gilda, who were late to the party, but are catching up quickly.
He smiles at Charlie, who smiles back, all while bombastically making a solid point about the merits of one Kathryn Janeway.
Everyone except Jess is drunk, even Castiel's past his usual limit.
He finds Sam sitting on a chair out in the yard, sprawled out under the hundreds of fairy lights Jo and Adam strung up in the trees. Smiling at Castiel, he indicates the chair next to him, and Castiel flops into it, taking a long sip of his beer.
"So is this when you give me the "don't hurt him or I'll kill you" speech?"
Sam bursts out with a loud chuckle, and leans back in his chair, draining his beer. "How many times did you hear that today?"
"Several. Bobby first, then Ellen, Rufus, I think Ash, but I'm not sure, Ben, and Lisa. So I figured you were next."
"Nah, man, I think you got the idea."
"I have to tell you though, the only one that really scared me was Benny."
Sam laughs again. "Yeah. Well, Benny's like that. He and Dean served together, I think there may have been some lifesaving in there at some point." Castiel stares at Sam.
"Served together?"
"Yeah, in the Army. Dean signed up after 9-11, convinced he had to save the world. Him and Benny went through a couple deployments together, Fallujah, Kandahar, I don't know. They refer to the whole Sandbox as "Purgatory" and they do not talk about it."
Castiel's a little taken aback. Ok, a lot taken aback. All those long phone calls, all the time they've spent together, and Dean's never mentioned the Army before. He doesn't know what to think about this, save for the fact that it really has been only two weeks.
"Cas? You ok?"
"Yeah, just, Dean's never mentioned that before."
Sam snorts. "Yeah, and I wouldn't read too much into it. He really, really doesn't like talking about it. Ever. I have no idea what he went through over there, but he was not himself after the last one. It took him a while to move past it. All I know is him and Benny went through something over there, and it was enough that Benny packed up Andrea and moved up here to work at the shop with Dean. Bobby retired, and Dean took over, like he should have all along."
"Is that why he missed so much of Ben's childhood?"
"Oh yeah. Boy, when Lisa found out he enlisted. Whew, it got pretty ugly. Ben was only about two, and Dean had been pretty involved in his life, but not totally there, not like he should have been, he was working all the time, and Lisa felt like enlisting was the same as running out on Ben. Dean just felt like he had to sign up to make the world safer for his kid. It's what broke them up too. But they worked it out ok." Sam leans forward, looks Castiel in the eyes. "Cas, seriously, he's not trying to hide it from you, he just doesn't want to talk about it, ok? Please don't be pissed with him."
"I'm not. Really."
"Good." Sam leans back, tilts his head back, looks up at the stars. "He's really happy you know? I haven't seen him this happy in years, if ever." He looks back at Castiel. "And that's all you."
Castiel smiles.
"So, I'm not going to give you the speech. I'm just going to ask you, please, don't hurt him. I mean it. If you think this is something you're not looking at as a long term thing, then walk away now, because Dean can't, he can't…" Sam trails off, looks down at the ground, "I just don't think he can go through something like that again. I mean, he's a tough guy and all, but he wears his heart on his sleeve, and I just…I don't want to see him hurt again."
"Sam, when I look at Dean," Castiel sighs, and looks back in the house, where Dean is still dancing on the coffee table, huge grin on his face, and Castiel smiles too. "When I look at Dean, Sam, I see forever."
Sam grins. "That's good, Cas. That's really good." The music in the house switches to Bob Seger's Night Moves, and Sam grins even wider. "Oh buddy. My brother is heading out here and he's got fire in his eyes." Dean struts across the lawn, and plops down in Castiel's lap, straddling his hips, looping his arms lazily around Castiel's shoulders, beads of sweat still rolling down his bare chest. He tilts his head back to look at Sam, almost hanging upside down in Castiel's lap.
"Hi, Sam."
"Hi, Dean."
"I'm drunk, Sam."
"Me too, Dean."
"I wanna make out with my boyfriend. Go away, Sam."
Sam laughs, and pulls himself out of the chair, swaying a bit, and ruffles Dean's hair as he walks past. "Thanks for the awesome party, bro."
Dean completely ignores him, zeroing in on Castiel's lips, kissing him long and deep, tangling their tongues together. He starts singing the song in his low, not so off-key tone that he gets when he's being a little more serious, although he seems to be making up some of the words as he goes.
"Out in my backyard, let's get heavy
Out in the back seat of my '67 Chevy
Workin' on mysteries without any clues
Workin' on our night moves"
He grins at Castiel.
"Is that an invitation, Winchester?" he smirks, tilting his head over towards the drive, where the Impala sits gleaming in the moonlight.
"Fuck, yes."
Dean wakes up, naked, sweaty, sticky, and completely disoriented.
His face is stuck to something, which upon closer inspection, turns out to be his baby's back seat. Cas is tossed over him, just as sticky, but awake, and grinning at him.
"What the hell are you grinning at?"
"You. What you say we find our pants and move this back up to your room?"
"The idea has merit." They squirm around in the back seat, hunting down their clothes. Dean suddenly remembers that all he has to find is his jeans, which is all Cas bothers to find, and they sneak back into Dean's house, bare-chested and holding hands.
It's 3:30 am, and Dean's living room looks like a war zone, bodies everywhere.
Benny and Jo are gone, no big surprise really, since Jo lives in the house next to his, and Benny is directly across the street.
Adam's passed out on the living room floor, Garth's head on his stomach. Charlie and Gilda are intertwined on the couch, Ash has zonked out on the kitchen table. Sam and Jess are nowhere to be found, and Dean figures Jess loaded Sam into the car and drove home, or dragged him downstairs to the pull-out couch.
Cas and Dean walk through the house quietly, shutting off lights and locking doors, then head up the stairs, which is when Dean realizes he's still extremely drunk, as he trips and falls up the last two, landing with a crash in front of his bedroom door, and he lays there and giggles for ten minutes before Cas stops laughing and helps him to his feet.
He strips his jeans off just inside the door, and Cas pushes him into the shower, scrubbing him clean from head to toe, and then there are blow jobs.
Or at least he thinks he remembers blow jobs, when he wakes to sun streaming in his windows the next morning, his head screaming with a hangover. Cas is there, already awake and looking perfectly fine, a big glass of ice water and several Tylenol in his hand.
"Ugh, turn off the sun!" Dean groans, after taking the pills with a big gulp of water, and he yanks the sheets up over his head. "Not getting up," he grumps, voice muffled by the comforter.
"Oh, come on, is it really that bad?"
"Yes."
Cas laughs, the bastard.
"How are you not hurting too? You're like, not human, dude."
"I'm plenty human, I just barfed it all up after you went to sleep, or should I say, passed out."
Dean flips the sheet back. "You ok?"
"I'm fine. I was hoping you were going to get up sometime this year though, I need a shower, and they're more fun with you."
"Didn't we take one last night? I swear I remember that. And blow jobs? There were blow jobs, right? Please tell me I didn't imagine that."
Cas chuckles. "No, you didn't imagine that. But I barely got you dried off and in bed before you passed out, and I need another one, believe me."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be," Cas smiles, running his hand through Dean's hair and then cupping his cheek. "You have no idea how adorable you were last night. Singing and dancing and acting crazy, then dragging me out to the Impala to have your way with me. It was a great night, and Sam loved every minute of it. I got to meet your whole family, and everyone was so welcoming. It was a wonderful night."
Dean smiles, his whole face lighting up with it, his green eyes sparkling, and he reaches out and wraps his arms around Cas, pulling him flush against his chest. He tangles his fingers around Cas's, pulls their joined hands to his mouth and kisses them. Cas makes a little contented sound, snuggling in close, and they lay like that for a while, Dean gradually feeling better as the Tylenol kicks in.
There's voices from downstairs, he's pretty sure he can hear Sam, but his door is shut, and no one's going to come up and bother them, and he's really starting to appreciate morning sex, and he tells Cas this, and they both laugh, and a few minutes later, the rest of the world's completely forgotten.
By ten, Castiel and Dean are making breakfast for eight people, including themselves, in various hung-over states and one glowing pregnant lady.
Eight becomes nine when Jo waltzes back in, apparently fine, one of those annoying people who never seems to feel a hangover. She loftily tells Castiel that it's because she grew up in The Roadhouse, her mom's bar, and had beer in a bottle as a baby, which instantly has Ash muttering some unintelligible crap about blood, Bud, and beer nuts.
Dean starts loading the table with platters stacked high with pancakes, bacon, sausage, eggs, and a huge bowl of fresh fruit. Castiel thinks it's probably a good thing he owns such a large table, as the rowdy group crowds around it. Poor Jess gets a whiff of the food, and dashes off to the bathroom, leaving Sam to exclaim in wonderment, "That's why she's been barfing all the time!"
Everyone laughs, and throws food at him, until he gives them all this "hurt puppy" look, eyes big and wounded, but he can't hold it, and bursts out laughing, which only nets him a pancake to the head.
Castiel watches Dean, pleased to see the huge grin on his face. He's having the time of his life, all these people here in his home, and Castiel thinks they should all consider themselves lucky to be so loved by this man, with his big heart and generous spirit. Even Charlie, who Dean's only known as long as he's known Castiel, is clearly considered family already, Dean having adopted her as another little sister, Gilda welcomed just as warmly.
Castiel thinks it's just another reason Dean is so remarkable.
The party finally starts breaking up after the kitchen is tidied, Charlie and Gilda the first to head out, Ash and Garth not long after. Jess, Adam, and Sam all grab showers, then help Dean and Castiel clean up the yard and stack the tables for the rental company to pick up. Castiel moves his rental car into the driveway while Dean discusses some paperwork with Sam, handing him a large stack of papers to look over, then Castiel and Dean stand on the porch and wave as Adam drives off in his truck and Sam and Jess in the M5.
Castiel wraps his arms around Dean, and kisses his neck.
"Alone at last," he whispers, pulling Dean back into the house, closing the door behind them.
They end up making out on the couch for a while, then Dean's stomach growls.
"I think we need to feed you," Castiel says with a smile. In the kitchen, they pick through the leftovers, each claiming a burger and a corn on the cob and some of the salads. They're perched on the counters, talking about the party, when Castiel remembers Napa.
"So there's this thing coming up at the end of May, it's a food and wine thing in Napa. Bobby Flay will be there, and a bunch of other guys, and I always stay in this really gorgeous house with the Flays, the Symons, Giada and her husband, and Ted and Barry. I'm always the only single. Can I not be the only single this year? Come with me, please?"
Dean grins. "Dude, of course I'll come with you."
"Yes! It's four days, starts on Thursday and goes over Memorial Day weekend. We'll have to get you a tux, one night is a black tie thing."
"Ok, I can go rent one or something."
"Nah, we'll go up to KC and buy you one."
Dean's face blanches. "Cas, look, I'm not hurting for money or anything, but I sure as hell can't afford to buy a tux."
"I'll buy it for you."
"Dude…"
"Seriously, Dean, I've been banking every last penny I've made since I opened the restaurant. I have cookbooks now, and a line of crap with my name on it being sold in stores. I have money, and I never spend it because I don't have anything, or anyone, to spend it on. Let me spend it on you. It's not charity, it's me wanting to do things for you because I can. Ok?"
Dean nods.
"So today, you should pack a bag and plan on staying in a nice hotel up there with me, and we'll go shopping and eat at that Arthur Bryant's place, and just have a great time."
"I have to work tomorrow, Cas. Tomorrow's Monday."
Castiel grins. "I already talked to Benny and Jo. You're in the clear. Get packing."
Dean smiles to spite himself, and a little while later, they're out the door, and off to KC.
They spend the whole day shopping, and by the time they finally check into a hotel, Dean's exhausted and all he wants to do is sleep.
He's got a new tux, a black one with a black vest, and two different bowties, one white and one black, and it fits him like it was made for him. Then Cas saw this suit, and insisted on getting that for him too, and shirts, and ties, and two new pairs of shoes, then he drug him to several other stores and bought him a new watch, and socks, and underwear, and dressier casual clothes, and just so much stuff.
Cas wouldn't take no for an answer, and wouldn't let Dean see any of the receipts. They had an early dinner at Arthur Bryant's, Cas declaring that he'd found the rib place to end all rib places, and of course, all the foodies in the restaurant recognized him, and they got to tour the kitchen, then they went to a movie.
Dean's so damn glad to be back at the hotel, because he was having trouble staying awake in the theater. He'd really love to have sex, but he's pretty sure that, between all the shopping and the party, and all the alcohol, he's not going to be able to stay awake long enough to do a damn thing.
Cas doesn't seem to mind, and they strip down to boxers and curl up in bed together, wrapped around each other, and Dean falls asleep, warm and comfortable.
They make up for the lack of sex the next morning, first in bed, then in the shower, because Cas really seems to enjoy fucking in the shower, and who the hell is Dean to tell him no?
Then they order breakfast, eggs benedict for Cas, and a mushroom and swiss omelet for Dean, coffee and fresh fruit, and eat snuggled up in bed, watching CNN, the anchor talking about some soldiers getting killed in Afghanistan, and Dean really doesn't want to watch that, so he changes the channel to cartoons, laughing at the antics of Scooby and crew, hoping that Cas didn't notice, because not only does he not want to see it, he damn well doesn't want to talk about it.
Checkout's at eleven, and they're dressed and on the way back to Dean's by noon. Cas is staying 'til Tuesday morning, and they've already agreed that Cas will come back up alone, and drop off the rental, because Dean can't miss another day of work, especially if he's going to take a chunk at the end of the month to go to Napa.
Castiel's quiet on the way home, Dean's not sure what that's about, unless he's just feeling bummed about going back to NYC.
Dean hopes he hasn't screwed up somewhere. Maybe he's really not ok with spending all that money on him, and he's thinking about how much all that shit cost, and that Dean's a bum who can't pay his own way. Dean's working himself into a panic attack, when Cas suddenly undoes his seatbelt, and slides across the bench in the Impala, snapping on the rarely used middle belt. He leans his head on Dean's shoulder, and that's where he stays for the rest of the drive back to Lawrence.
Yeah, Dean thinks, I could definitely get used to this.