Sam and Castiel were sitting in the living room and talking when Dean and Aroura both walked in holding pizzas.

'So you found him,' Dean grinned, striding over to Cas and plopping down next to him.

'He found me,' Castiel corrected. 'He wandered in when I was cleaning Freckles and invited us to watch Game of Thrones with him and Aroura. Hi, by the way,' he added, smiling pleasantly at Aroura who perched on Sam's lap, putting their pizza on the coffee table next to the other one Dean had put there.

'Hey,' Aroura grinned, sparkling and alive with life as usual. 'That's funny that Sam invited you guys to do that, because I did to. I mentioned it to Dean.'

'And I said hell yeah,' Dean said gleefully. 'Any excuse to revisit Westeros. Come here, brother,' Dean decided, standing up and going over to where Sam was sitting.

Aroura dodged out of way of Dean so he could hug Sam, and Sam hugged him back a little surprised at first but when Dean pulled back and Sam saw his face he looked from Dean to Aroura while Dean sat back down. Sam pouted.

'She told you.'

'I have no idea what you're talking about. When's the wedding?'

Sam glared at Aroura, who smiled innocently.

'I had to,' she told Sam's accusation. 'It just … came up and I didn't want to lie'

Sam rolled his eyes at her.

'The date is undecided,' Sam told Dean, answering his question, 'but one things for sure. We're not going to elope.'

And now it was Dean's turn to glare at Cas.

'He figured it out on his own,' Castiel replied, putting his hands up defensively. 'So ... all of the secrets are out.'

'Guess they are,' Dean agreed.

'Great,' Sam grinned. 'Because we have a wedding to watch.'

They watched the wedding DVD while eating pizza, and Sam kept making overly dramatic comments and big 'AWWWW's and Aroura laughed at every single one of them, where Dean glared and Cas looked with raised eyebrows, unimpressed. But Sam stopped kidding around once it was over and gave more sincere congratulations, and so did Aroura, and now all four of them were together Sam and Aroura asked to hear the story again even though they'd each already heard it from one of them, and Dean and Cas obliged giving as much detail about the talk that led to their decision, to the decision and the trip and the stay in Vegas as possible, and in turn Sam and Aroura relayed their week with Aroura's grandparents.

Dean found the character of uptight Francis very amusing and was almost disappointed when he found out she'd warmed completely up to Sam the second after she found out he proposed which was what she'd been hinting at Sam to do the whole time; Francis believed that any woman over the age of thirty who wasn't married, even by a day, had ruined their life forever and so Sam was the only hope for her precious little Aroura, at which Aroura got pissed off but didn't say anything because Sam hadn't gotten all of the hints and had been planning the proposal anyway.

It was a good hour before they got into watching Game of Thrones, an hour during which they'd covered all of the light hearted subjects, including Sam and Aroura inviting Dean and Cas to the wedding of Aroura's friends, and avoiding heavier, more serious ones like if Sam and Aroura planned to move out or not.

Cas, the newbie in the room, liked Game of Thrones a lot, and during it Dean kept murmuring in his ear what happened in the books, and pointed out lines taken directly or almost directly from the books, and it got a little annoying so Cas moved so that Dean could no longer access his ear, resting his head on Dean's lap instead.

They got through four episodes, and then the four of them talked some more before finally parting for bed, although Cas was reluctant to move because Shrek had been laying against him for some time now and he didn't want to disturb him.

It was nice to be back in their own room, but nicer to be back in their own bed, even though it felt cold and stiff from their absence. The extravagance of hotels was good for a time, but nothing could beat their home, a home which they were realizing that though weird and unconventional with a dungeon and other unusual rooms, they didn't want to leave. They could still do that whole ribboned dog thing from the bunker, and at least here they didn't have to pay bills or taxes.

'So it seems like what we predicted is pretty much coming true,' Dean said thoughtfully, sliding close to Cas for warmth on the cold sheets. 'Sam and Aroura. Doing that whole thing. Making a life.'

'We got there first, though,' Castiel reminded him. 'We got married before they did, and tomorrow we get to start our life.'

'Oh yeah? And what do you propose we do?'

'I propose we begin some intensive training. Hunter training so I can improve, remember? We talked about it.'

'So that's our whole future?' Dean asked. 'Hunting?'

'No, Dean, of course not,' Castiel said quietly, taking hold of Dean's face. 'But I still want to improve and learn, so that if something does come up, we can stop it. Or if we come across a case we can't deny. I'm not saying we let it take over our lives, I'm just being logical in the fact that we can't escape it, at least not permenantly. I know I could, but I know you can't.'

'That's true,' Dean reasoned. 'I see what looks like a case and I just … straight off. Hunting mode. I just don't want that to be all we do.'

'It won't be,' Castiel promised. 'We can have what you want for Sam too. We can have a life and a future I never thought it possible for me to ever want. We can have whatever you want, and I'll want it, whatever it is.'

'But I don't know what I want yet.'

'Well, then,' Castel shrugged. 'We can wing it.'

'I guess,' Dean agreed. 'Get you trained up for whatever we might run into. Offer our help planning a wedding. Yikes – can you imagine if we'd gone down that route?'

'No,' Castiel replied.

'Neither can I. What we had … that's what I wanted. Small. Private. Perfect. Oh, and we need to tell the rest of our friends too, don't we?'

'We should do that,' Castiel realized. 'Tomorrow. At some point. Make some calls or send some texts or something.'

'We will,' Dean nodded. 'I suppose Sam will want to, too. Because of him and Aroura. Maybe it'd just be easier if we visited at some point.'

'But we just got back,' Castiel protested.

'I didn't mean now,' Dean calmed, 'I mean at some point. Or … Sam and Aroura will probably invite them to their wedding, right?'

'Right.'

'Well they'll have to make calls to do that and when they show up … we can tell them our news too.'

'That sounds reasonable.'

'That's me, the voice of reason,' Dean grinned.

'I would also like to be the voice of reason and suggest we sleep,' Castiel added. 'It's been a strange few days of driving. We want to get back on some kind of normal track.'

'Yes, I agree,' Dean said, nodding overly-seriously in agreement to make Cas laugh. 'Yes, dear old husband, it's time you and I put this mundane, normal day of paying bills and arguing over who used the last of the milk to an end. Put down your book and I'll put away my knitting. Glass of warm milk first?'

'Oh shut up,' Castiel muttered, sliding down into a laying position and turning his back to Dean. He heard Dean's adorable little giggle behind him and had to turn over again to kiss him and then lay down more comfortably with Dean curled next to him.

They didn't need to wish each other a goodnight, and fell asleep in mutual laughter.

In the morning they were all set for the weirdness to start. Last night had been good and easy, almost like a double date, but this morning with two very official and very serious couples living together in one place, things were bound to get weird …

… or so they thought, but things seemed to be perfectly normal. Sam had just come back from his jog and was sweaty and eating rabbit food with milk for breakfast before he went off to shower, and Aroura was off walking Shrek. Of course, Sam and Dean got into a fight almost straight away when Dean said, 'so Aroura hasn't weaned you off rabbit food yet, huh?' and Sam got pissed and started insisting it wasn't rabbit food, while Cas crunched toast and laughed his ass off watching Sam attempt to put Dean in a sort of headlock so Dean's face was in Sam's sweaty armpit.

'Don't you fucking laugh at me, Castiel,' Dean snapped sternly at Cas once he'd escaped with a scrape of his dignity intact. 'You're my husband. You're supposed to help me, not find pleasure in my suffering.'

'No, I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to find pleasure in your suffering,' Castiel countered lightly. 'Toast?' he asked, offering Dean the last corner of his slice.

'Eat my ass,' Dean muttered.

'Okay,' Castiel replied with a sweet smile.

'Oh, look at that,' said Sam with a sarcastic sigh. 'Well done, Dean. No more rabbit food because now I feel too sick to eat it.'

'Hey, it's a thing, Sammy,' Dean said with a jaunty grin. 'People lick other people's buttholes like most folks lick a popsicle. It's a fact of life. Get used to it.'

'You disgust me,' Sam declared, standing up and taking his nearly-finished bowl to the sink, 'and you're no better,' he shot at Cas, pointing at him as he couldn't wipe the toothy smile off of his radiantly shining face. 'I, on the other hand, am far more dignified than the likes of you.'

'We get it, Sam,' Dean replied with a falsely annoyed sigh. 'You chose vagina. No need to rub it in our faces – especially not Cas's, he's gay.'

'Crude,' Sam scoffed. 'Careful, or I'll rub my armpit in your face again. Like, dude, ugh. Talking about licking buttholes is gross.'

'If it makes you feel better,' Castiel chipped in, 'we always shower first. Sometimes we do it in the shower.'

'Suddenly … I don't want to shower,' Sam decided on his way to the door.

'Sam, shower,' Dean commanded. 'You smell like dead feet.'

'Feet can't die. They don't have a consciousness of their own.'

'Well you still fucking smell like dead feet.'

'Okay. Fine. I'm showering.'

'Hope you drown,' Dean said sweetly as Sam gave him the finger on his way out.

'You're so mean to him,' Castiel disapproved of him.

'No, Cas,' Dean corrected, 'we're so mean to him. We're a real power couple, you and me.'

'Who are you two mean to?' asked Aroura, strolling in with Shrek right on her tail.

'Your future husband,' Dean replied simply, Cas distracted at once by the furry, tail-wagging sack of joy that came up to him, sniffing for scraps. 'But he tried to suffocate me, so he deserves it.'

'Did he do that thing where he tries to make you smell his armpit after jogging?' Aroura asked, looking squeamish.

'He's done it to you?'

'Four times.'

'Yikes. Are you sure you want to go through with this whole marrying him thing?'

'Yup. Pretty sure.'

Aroura gave a thoughtful, quirky little mouth movement that made her look about sixteen years younger than she was. Dean heaved a heavy, false, sigh. Castiel laughed because Shrek had jumped into his lap and was trying to lick toast crumbs from his lips.

'Hey, back off buddy,' Dean grumbled, 'he's mine.'

'You two should get a dog,' Aroura mused, pouring herself some coffee. 'It'd be nice for you guys to still be around one if Sam and I end up … you know. Not around as much.'

Ah. So it was beginning. The talk of her and Sam leaving.

'I'll think about it and consider it,' Dean said slowly.

'I'll look up places to get dogs right after I finish my coffee,' Castiel decided. 'And ribbons.'

'Ribbons?' Aroura asked curiously, making her way over to the table across from them.

'Dean knows,' Castiel said, flashing his husband the smallest of smiles.

'But I'll pretend I can't tell the difference ribbon for ribbon,' Dean smiled right back at him.

Aroura looked puzzled. Shrek stuck his nose in Cas's coffee cup and then shook his head, spraying everyone with coffee droplets.

'Well, I guess I'm finished,' Castiel stated a little flatly, looking mildly surprised and amused by how Shrek had changed the course of things. 'I think I'll do look for a dog.'

'Take Shrek with you,' Aroura encouraged, 'maybe he can help by licking the picture of the dog you should get. They're going to be friends.'

'Good idea,' Castiel grinned. 'Come on, Shrek. I need your help.'

'Don't let him on our damn bed,' Dean warned.

'And you can lay right on Dean's side of the bed.'

'Fuck you. And as for you,' he said, turning to Aroura sternly, 'you do know I don't even like dogs that much, don't you?'

'You do know that I can see right through your lies, don't you?' Aroura shot back. 'You love dogs, Dean. Come out of the closet already. It's twenty sixteen, no one cares if you like furry little animals jumping all over you.'

Dean downed the rest of his coffee in one gulp.

'You're evil,' he decided.

'I'll start my killing spree soon,' Aroura promised.

'You do that,' Dean said sarcastically. Aroura, tiny and innocent looking up at him sweetly like that, wouldn't hurt a fly and he knew it. 'Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to stop my husband from deciding he wants to buy ten dogs and a wolf or some shit like that.'

'Good luck,' Aroura offered, 'and I meant it about that killing spree!'

'Yeah, sure,' Dean brushed off. 'Tell it to your pet moose and see if he believes you, because I don't.'

'You will,' Aroura said slyly. 'Believe me. You will.'

Dean left with a roll of his eyes, off in Cas's footsteps hoping he hadn't but that damn dog on the bed yet but secretly hoping he had so he could pretend to be pissed about it and then be forced to grudgingly spend time with it and then kiss Cas and apologize and say he was right all along.

Cas had thankfully reached the bedroom, and the dog was right up against Dean's pillows, so thankfully that little situation got to play out a Castiel scrolled through a website of people with pets advertising them to be given away. He ended up on a page of people who had dogs who had just had puppies and were giving away the puppies and began to scroll through that.

'Look at that one,' Castiel encouraged Dean, who was sitting with Shrek in his lap and sniffing at his chest, 'it's two months old and it's so cute. It's even cuter than its siblings.'

'It's also two hundred dollars,' Dean pointed out. 'Free dogs are cute too y'know, Cas. Why not go back to the ad giving away those little brown dogs? The ones with the sticky up ears?'

'This one is cuter,' Castiel insisted. 'It's a … Bichon Frise. This one is male. If you want, we can call him Derek Shepherd. Or Derek. Or Shepherd.'

'Shepherd sounds more like a dog's name,' Dean nodded, then he sighed. 'You really want that dog, don't you?'

'Yes,' Castiel said decidedly. 'And he's small too, so he won't get in your way. It says he already has all his shots. And look – they live in Kansas. We won't even have to leave the state to pick him up. And look at his collar. It's purple. You like purple.'

Dean groaned. He looked from Cas to the screen to the dog on his chest which at that moment decided to whine loudly as if beginning on Cas's behalf. Dean whined, too, as he gave in with a sigh.

'Fine,' he decided. 'But you have to make the call. It's your dog.'

'Fine,' Castiel agreed. 'Then I will.'

He picked up his phone and began dialing the number displayed on screen, and Dean watched with a disapproving mask that hid how happy he was that Cas was happy with this turn of events. Shrek let out a bark and Dean locked eyes with him.

'What?' he demanded.

Shrek cocked his head to the side in a way that reminded him of Cas and then licked Dean's chin. Dean had to give in and sigh and start stroking that annoyingly cute little overgrown rat with a wagging tail because Aroura had been right. It had taken him a while but … Dean loved dogs.

But not as much as he loved Cas and not as much as he loved how much Cas loved dogs.

Castiel made an arrangement to meet that afternoon, and if they were lucky they'd be taking the dog home with them. Dean pretended to be pissy about it as Cas dug through their money and pulled out three hundred, the extra hundred for dog accessories and food and what not.

'No more expressive buying things after this,' Castiel decided. 'You had thousands and now you barely have over one thousand.'

'The money's not an issue, I can win more,' Dean shrugged. 'It's not like we're going to be buying a house and paying expensive bills. And any other expensive things we buy that we don't need to pay cash for we can just resort to the old credit card scams.'

'Like we did for the bedroom furniture and my first clothes shop, and like Sam and I did for all the Christmas things.'

'Exactly,' Dean grinned wickedly. 'We pay cash for what's important and for things that are small and make us happy. Like a dog.'

'Make … us happy?' Castiel asked slyly.

'If you're happy, I'm happy,' Dean shrugged. 'So did you get the dog's address?'

'It's not the dog's address,' Castiel corrected. 'It's the address of the man who owns the dog's parents. And yes, it's in Salina which is an odd name for a place in my opinion.'

'Two hour drive if I remember right,' Dean mused. 'Right. So, maybe we should get going now, grab lunch there and then head over to the dog's house – and yes I know it's not the dog's house, I'm saying it as if the dog owns the house to try and make you laugh.'

'Well, you didn't succeed,' Castiel replied, laughing.

'Didn't I?'

'Shut up,' Castiel decided. 'I'm going to write down the exact address so I don't forget it. And you're going to go to the kitchen and gather some snacks and drinks for the road.'

'Oh, I am.'

'Yes, you are.'

'And who's going to make me?'

'Me,' Castiel replied simply. 'I'm your husband. It's my job to boss you around.'

'Fine,' Dean muttered, as if defeated. 'I'll leave the furball with you and you can give him back to Aroura and your way to meet me at the car. Capiche?'

'Yeah, I capiche,' Castiel nodded.

Dean remembered the last, which was also the first time he'd heard Cas say those words. He was so fucking glad Cas said them so certainly and cheerfully, unlike the last, defeated sounding time. He left Cas to finding paper, which Cas quickly did and turned towards Shrek when he'd finished writing down the address.

'Dean doesn't mean it when he calls you "furball" you know,' he said gently, walking over to pat the dog. 'He just does it to sound tough. He's not actually tough. He's basically a dog too. A puppy, like the one we're getting. So just ignore him.'

Shrek gave a little bark as if he knew what Cas was talking about. Castiel smiled and folded up the paper, placing it in his pocket and he jerked his head for Shrek to follow him out, which he did obediently.

Aroura was still in the kitchen, washing up everyone's dishes from breakfast even though she didn't have to and she didn't technically … no, she did live there. She definitely lived there. So her doing the dishes was sort of more justified by that.

'I heard about the dog,' Aroura grinned at him when he entered. 'Did Shrek help at all?'

'We had a delightfuly intellectual conversation about it,' Castiel joked. 'Here, just bringing him back to you.'

'Did he shed on Dean's pillow?'

'No, unfortunately not.'

'Bad dog,' Aroura said disapprovingly, making Cas laugh. 'Good luck. I hope you get the two hundred dollar dog.'

'So Dean came here to whine,' Castiel mused. 'Interesting.'

'More like ask a dog owner how the hell a dog can be so expensive. Don't worry, no whining.'

'Then I don't have to yell at him and make him sleep on the couch,' Castiel approved. 'Noted. I should go. See you later.'

'Bye-eee,' Aroura sang as Cas left the kitchen with some difficultly because Shrek wanted to follow.

When Castiel got into the car the first thing he said was, 'take me to the dog, husband.'

'Yes, your highness,' Dean replied sarcastically, starting the car and tossing the snacks for their trip at Cas. Castiel grinned and opened a bag of chips even though he'd only just had breakfast a little while ago. 'So, back on the road again.'

'It seems like all we do,' Castiel commented as Dean pulled out of the parking space. 'Drive around. Do stuff.'

'Welcome to my world,' Dean said with a satisfied sigh. 'Just be glad we're not driving around aimlessly and hunting every day. This is better. Even if we do have to get a dog.'

'Dean, shut up,' Castiel commanded. 'You love dogs. You know you love dogs. So quit your pretending because it's not going to work on me.'

'Alright, alright,' Dean grumbled. 'Just know that the thing's not sleeping in bed with us.'

'Yes, it is.'

'Dude.'

'Dude,' Castiel mimicked in a childish impersonation of Dean.

'It at least has to leave the room when we have sex.'

'Where will it go?'

'Uh … I don't know.'

'How about it has to be asleep on the other side of the room?'

'Yeah, fine. Whatever. It's just weird. Fucking in front of an animal.'

'So? You're an animal. It'd probably think it's just watching one of its siblings.'

Dean whacked Cas lightly on the arm and Castiel laughed giddily to himself. Dean muttered some detached, annoyed words under his breath while Cas continued his smug, quiet laughter.

'When it – why do we keep saying "it?" It's a he – when he gets older he can have his own room. But as a puppy he should stay close,' Castiel reasoned.

'So how do you plan on toilet training this thing?' Dean asked reasonably.

'Are there like … cat litter trays but for dogs?'

'Probably.'

'Then I'll figure it out with whatever there is that's the equivalent of a litter tray.'

'Some people use newspaper. But they probably sell special pads or mats or something in pet stores.'

'Then newspaper will be out last resort. The news is boring anyway.'

Dean laughed at how casually Cas insulted the news. And honestly, he didn't care how they were going to deal with this thing as long as Cas remained this relaxed and happy. Dean wanted to wrap Cas in his arms and squeeze him until he snapped in half because he was so damn cute right now, but he'd rather not crash so he kept his hands on the wheel and his eyes on the road as Cas turned on the radio and when he discovered there was nothing on it he picked one of Dean's tapes at random and slipped it in, leaning back in his seat and stretching his legs out as far as they could go in front of him, casually tossing chips in his mouth as he stared out of the windshield onto the near-lifeless road. Every so often he put one to Dean's lips and Dean ate it out of his fingers, and every so often Dean licked his fingers sloppily to piss him off, and he bit him once.

'That's it,' Castiel decided after the biting incident. 'That's the last time I'm feeding you anything.'

'Puppies bite,' Dean pointed out slyly. 'They bite a lot when they're playing. How are you going to handle that if you can't handle me biting you?'

'You're not a puppy,' Castiel said grumpily. 'You're a big, blundering ape. And don't listen to Shrek if he says I compared you to a puppy because that dog is a pathological liar. For example, when you left the room he told me you seemed like a nice person who doesn't bite people. Clearly, he was being untruthful, either that or his judgement is just very off.'

'You and this dog seem to have a lot of conversations behind my back,' Dean said suspiciously.

'We're conspiring against you, actually,' Castiel informed him. 'We're planning to sell you in exchange for thirty seven dogs. One for every year you've been alive, you see.'

'Oh, is that so?'

'Yes, it is.'

'Well good luck finding somewhere to stick your dick when I'm not around.'

'I can just use my hand,' Castiel shrugged as if it didn't bother him. 'Not a problem.'

'So what do you actually keep me around for, then?'

'Something pretty to look at and flaunt when we walk around together.'

'And if I got a horrible, face disfiguring scar? Would you just leave me on the side of a highway somewhere?'

Dean glanced at Cas expectantly and Cas considered it. And then he broke out of his casual non-Dean-needing façade and leaned to the side to kiss Dean's cheek.

'Of course not,' he said quietly. 'Even if you had eight heads and none of them growing out of your neck, I'd keep you around. Because y'know, I kinda like you.'

'Is that so?'

'Yes, it is.'

'Huh. Shocker.'

'I know. I'm incredibly good at hiding it.'

'Damn right you are.'

Castiel laughed and reached out a hand for Dean to take as they continued on the road, and thankfully with the remainder of the chips, there was no more biting.

Still a lot of slobbery licking though. But Cas wiped it on Dean's jeans, so it was all good.

'Just preparing you for the dog,' was what Dean kept saying about it. 'I'd lick your face, but I'm driving. Oh, and remind me to sniff your butt later.'

'… You're weird.'

'Weird or not. You're stuck with me.'

'And I wouldn't rather be stuck with anyone or anything else.'

Dean beamed with pride as they plowed on forward, time ticking away quickly as if being eaten by some kind of time consuming monster, and pretty soon they were arriving in Salina in driving around in search of a place to stop for lunch. They found a place that specialized in tacos, so they decided to pick it for something different to their usual with a taco each and a shared plate of nachos between them. It was a satisfying meal and the people were friendly; hopefully all of the people in Salina were so friendly, friendly enough to entrust a puppy to complete strangers.

It took a little driving around to find the house, but there were a few helpful people around who were kind enough to point them in the right direction and they were soon pulling up outside the place and Castiel took charge, Dean walking behind him as Cas rang the doorbell and greeted the man who answered, referencing the conversation they'd had on the phone and then introducing Dean, too, who smiled politely and gave some casual greeting.

'Please, come in,' the dog owner by the name of Keith offered. 'It's the male you wanted to look at, right? I'm only asking because I've got a couple of people interested in the last female I have left..'

'Yes, it's the male,' Castiel confirmed.

'Let me introduce you two to him,' Keith said helpfully, leading them through the house. 'He's fully weaned off his mother and I've been keeping them separated for the last two weeks while waiting for an interested buyer. And I've got papers to prove he's pedigree if you want them too. The price seems insane for a dog that's not pedigree.'

'Papers sound good,' said Dean. 'Something to whip out and show off to people. Sort of an "our dog has better genes than yours" sort of thing.'

Castiel laughed, and so did Keith, and Cas was very happy to hear Dean calling the dog "our dog". Being interested. Being happy and pretty and cute.

'The temptation to boast is always there,' Keith agreed. 'I'll let you two spend some time with the puppy to see if you like each other while I go dig up the papers. He's alone in there so there's no need to worry about seeing if it's the right one.'

Dean and Cas thanked him and then they entered the room alone.

Castiel dropped to his knees at once because hOLY FUCKING SHIT THE PUPPY PADDED RIGHT OVER TO HIM AND BEGAN CHEWING ON HIS SHOE AND THEN HE WAS JUMPING UP TRYING TO NIP AT HIS FINGERS AND DEAN HAD NEVER SEEN ANYTHING MORE ADORABLE IN HIS ENTIRE FUCKING LIFE.

'He either likes me or hates me,' Castiel said warily.

'He likes you,' Dean assured, 'I'm sure of it. Aw, man. Look at him. He's so white and curly. He looks like a fucking sheep. I want to rub him all over my face.'

'I wouldn't recommend doing that here,' Castiel advised. 'Come on. Get down here. Tocuh – ow – him. Oh my god, Dean. He just licked me. Dean. Oh my god, Dean.'

'I know, I s– yikes. I warned you puppies bite. Gah! Dude! As if my sleeve isn't already torn enough!'

The dog barked, like tiny little "yapping" noises. Castiel looked like he was going to cry. Dean was beaming down at the puppy highly unexpectedly. The puppy went between Dean and Cas as if confused, unsure of who to jump on, putting his tiny little paws on Cas's legs …

'Do you think I can pick him up?' Cas asked.

'Sure, I guess,' said Dean. 'Do it. Dude, do it.'

'Oh my god, he weighs less than my wallet does. Oh my–'

Castiel cut off because then the puppy started licking his face. He licked his nose over and over again and his cheeks and even around his eyes, like Cas's face was covered in the most delicious tasting food ever invented.

'Can I?' asked Dean.

Cas was almost reluctant to hand the puppy over, but then he was licking Dean's face like he was trying to eat his freckles and Cas was very glad he did because he got to witness that sight.

Keith entered the room while the puppy was licking Dean's face ferociously, holding the papers.

'I see he's taken a liking to you,' Keith commented. 'Do you two feel the same way?'

'Yes, yes, definitely,' Castiel said quickly, getting to his feet.

'I agree,' Dean added, putting the puppy down and standing up only to have the puppy start chewing on the end of his jeans almost violently.

'He's yours for the two hundred,' Keith offered. 'Including papers and the food I've been feeding him, wet and dry. I'll even throw in a few puppy pads. He's trained to recognize the pads to use as a bathroom, but he's a little fussy about where you place them. I wish I could part with the bed and the dishes, but I'll need them. I've got another batch of puppies on the way soon from my pug.'

'We'll take him,' Dean said decidedly, stealing Cas's line. 'Cas, pay the man. But keep enough to buy me some new jeans after this guy is done with them.'

'Buy your own jeans,' Castiel said curtly, pulling out two hundred and handing it over to Keith, who in exchange handed over the papers.

'Excellent,' Keith replied. 'Pick him up and follow me and I'll grab the food and put it in a plastic carrier bag for you. Oh, and there's a leash too – it matches the collar. He's not trained to walk on it yet, so that'll be a fun job and bonding experience. Got any names yet?'

'Shepherd,' said Cas, who had picked up the puppy and begun to follow Keith out, Dean behind them.

'After the brutally and unnecessarily killed-off Derek Shepherd,' Dean added.

'Grey's Anatomy, right?'

'Yeah.'

'That episode came as a real shock to me,' Keith said with a sigh. 'The show will never be the same again.'

'Right? Damn, I'm glad this puppy is coming from a sensible home.'

That got a laugh out of Keith, and the three exchanged some casual small talk about the show until Dean and Cas left, back in the car, puppy on Cas's lap, quiet and secure.

'Can I borrow him a sec?' asked Dean, pulling out his phone as he asked.

'… Nice wording, but sure. What are you doing?'

'You'll see.'

Dean turned on his front camera and held Shepherd the puppy right up to his face and pulled the most ridiculous "blue steel" face in the world. He placed the puppy on his lap while he sent that picture to Sam captioned "pet sheep" which Cas rolled his eyes at while he took the puppy back.

'Just take us to a pet store,' Castiel muttered. 'We'll need to stock up on this food and get a bed and toys and more of these pads things.'

'First priority,' Dean decided, 'chew toys.'

As if on cue, Shepherd started chewing on Cas's finger. It pinched a little, and was even more slobbery than Dean had been earlier when eating the chips.

'A vast assortment seems to be needed,' Castiel agreed. 'Although I don't object to him chewing on my fingers.'

'You objected to me chewing on your fingers.'

'Take a look in the mirror, Dean. You're not a puppy.'

'But Shrek might lie to me about you comparing me to one,' Dean shot at Cas in reference to their conversation from earlier.

'Yes, and as I said. He's a pathological liar.'

'Are you talking about the dog, or you?'

'A little bit of both, Dean,' Castiel replied mysteriously. 'A little bit of both.'

Dean laughed as he spotted a pet store he began to veer towards up the street. Castiel stared at Dean's face, smiling at how relaxed and pretty and goofy he was, then looked down at the puppy. Their puppy. Castiel was man with a husband and a puppy when just a few months ago he'd been an angel with a trench coat and no purpose.

'Do you think we can bring him into the pet store?' Castiel asked, looking at Dean worriedly.

'Well, he's a pet,' Dean shrugged. 'So I'm gonna say yes. And if they try to kick him out I can stay outside with him and you can buy whatever you want to buy for him.'

'Are you sure you'll be okay with him on your own?' Castiel asked cautiously. 'Because, you know, you don't like dogs.'

'I love dogs,' said Dean.

'So you're able to admit it now?'

'Yes. Because that damn dog … he changed me, man. Look at him. Look at him.'

'I'm holding him, Dean.'

'And doesn't he make you just … feel things?'

'That question worries me.'

'It's hard to explain,' Dean grumbled. 'But I love that dog, Cas. I love that dog.'

'Yes, Dean. You've made that abundantly clear.'

Castiel undid his seatbelt as Dean pulled into a parking space and got out first when the car had stopped. It was excellent timing, because as soon as Dean was out of the car Sam replied to his text with "nice sheep" so it was good that he didn't have to check that while driving.

'Alright,' Dean proclaimed, 'let's get some sheep food.'

Cas laughed as he followed Dean into the store, still very much worried and hoping dogs were allowed inside.

Dogs were very much allowed inside.

They were stopped by practically everyone in there for them too coo over Shepherd and ask questions about him while Dean and Cas attempted to shop. For some reason they all seemed to find it incredibly cute that they'd only gotten him today and he already seemed so attached, sitting quietly in Cas's arms and cuddling up to his chest, the arms he was in secure and locked together even though he was so small that Cas could have just carried him around by the middle in one hand.

Since his collar was already purple, they got him a purple bed and purple food and drink bowls. They got several portions of each food and several packs of puppy pads and a whole bunch of small toys for chewing on. Ones that squeaked, ones that didn't, small ropes, and they got a grooming brush because his fur was in loose curls now, but when it grew it would be tighter and more difficult to keep knot-free. The store even did ribbons; they got those in purple too.

While in the store they also picked up a treat for Freckles, a new thing to put in his tank for him to swim around while aimlessly opening and closing his cute fishy mouth.

They left the store with a bag of things on one of Dean's hands and the squishy, cushioned bed in the other, and Shepherd in Cas's arms with what was most likely a considerable ego boost after everyone fawning over him in there. And then they set off on the two hour drive home, Cas having decided to sit in the back seat to give him and the dog more room.

'Y'know, once upon a time I had a no dogs in the car rule and right now I don't even care if that thing pees in here because I know it can be cleaned easily,' Dean called back to Cas who was holding one side of a squeaky toy Shepherd was chewing on.

'You've changed, Dean,' Castiel replied. 'You've changed a lot.'

'Yeah, I know,' Dean agreed. 'Don't tell Sam about how nice I am now. Make him think I bitched and moaned the whole way home and kept calling the dog a sheep unironically.'

'Tell him yourself,' Castiel said curtly. 'I'm not going to lie for you. Ouch. My finger is not a rubber chicken leg, Shepherd!'

'That's what you get for refusing to lie for your husband,' Dean said smugly, laughing at Cas's minor injury that probably barely even stung for more than a second.

'If you keep laughing at me I'll make you stop over and get water and make him drink it all so he pees,' Castiel warned. 'And if I'm lucky, it will be while I'm holding him over your head.'

'I love you, Cas,' Dean said sweetly.

'That's what I thought,' Castiel replied sternly.

While Shepherd was taking a break from playing with his new toys, Cas got out the purple ribbons and picked some locks of fur near his ears to tie them around in neat, loose bows, not so loose that they'd fall off, yet still not tight enough to be troublesome to remove.

'There,' Castiel announced proudly. 'We have a ribboned dog, Dean.'

'Now all we need to do is hunt down some poltergeisteous cats,' Dean grinned at him, looking at him in the mirror.

'And get old ladies to pay you for getting rid of those poltergeisteous cats so you can build up your savings again'

'Or get old ladies to pay us so we can build up our savings again.'

'Or that,' Castiel agreed.

Shepherd barked. It was the cutest fucking bark any dog had ever barked.

'I agree,' Castiel told Shepherd very seriously.

Shepherd padded forward and put his front paws on Cas's leg, looking up at him eagerly. When Cas tried to pet him, he went into biting mode again, jumping whenever Cas lifted his hand. So Cas rubbed him tail to head to piss him off, then ran his hand back down over him to smooth his fur again, then picked him up to hold in front of his face. As a result, he got his nose licked for a while until Shepherd's fur was tickling his face too much for him to let it continue.

By the end of the journey, Cas was flat on his back in the back seat, knees up and legs bent due to having no more room, and Shepherd was asleep on his chest. Even when Dean stopped the car and opened the backseat door so Cas's legs flopped out, Cas stayed still, reluctant to move.

'He'll wake up if I sit up,' Castiel whined.

Dean rolled his eyes and got the dog's bed from the front seat, put it on Cas's stomach and gently picked up Shepherd and put him into it. He then picked up the bed where Shepherd was now continuing to sleep and backed away so Cas could slide out and grab the rest of the dog things from the front seat.

'I like how you seemed to change your thought process on this whole getting a dog thing pretty much as soon as you saw Shepherd,' Castiel commented as they walked across the parking lot together. 'It was almost comical. You went from a hardened grudging dog-liker to someone who looks as though they would buy a thousand puppies and hand raise them all.'

'When I think of dogs I think they're just … pretty cool,' Dean shrugged. 'Cute sometimes. Shrek can be cute. But then there was Shepherd and he's just this tiny little innocent puppy jumping up and down and he just … he's like an infection I can't stop from spreading. Look at him, Cas.'

'I saw him,' Castiel stressed. 'I picked him, Dean. I'm the reason we have this specific puppy. So you're welcome.'

'Thank you.'

'I've already said it but I'll say it again. You're welcome.'

'PUPPY!' came a sudden shout, and Sam was suddenly in front of them blocking their path as they made their way through the bunker to their room. 'Puppy. Puppy!'

'Oh, great, Sam. You woke him up,' Dean muttered.

'I'm sorry, I'm sorry,' said Sam, sounding very much like he was. 'What's his name?'

'Shepherd.'

'As in Derek?'

'Hey, Cas chose it!' Dean defended himself.

'I suggested it as a name so Dean would be more open to the idea of getting him in the first place,' Cas pointed out. 'And now he's like in love with him or something so I think it worked.'

'So, just like the real Derek Shepherd then?'

'Pretty much,' Cas confirmed.

'I'm not in love with the dog,' Dean huffed. 'Uh, I mean sheep.'

'So how old is he?' Sam asked.

'Two months,' said Cas. He hooked the carrier bag around one wrist so he had his hands free to pick Shepherd up and hold him close to his chest. 'We bought him a bunch of toys and he has papers confirming he's pedigree and everything. I can show you if you want.'

'Papers? Seriously? Damn right I want to see those. Come on, me and Aroura are hanging out in the living room with Shrek and watching Netflix. You can join us if you want – you too, Dean,' Sam called back to Dean who was walking a few steps behind them lamely carrying the puppy bed.

'Oh how nice of you to think of me,' Dean said sarcastically.

'We were thinking of continuing our Game of Thrones rewatch tonight,' Sam added, ignoring Dean's comment. 'Aroura was going to go grab us some food from somewhere. Not pizza. She was going to go a little father because you know … what she can do.'

'I'll eat anything,' said Cas. 'I haven't eaten since lunch. But what about Shepherd? We'd need to put down water and a pad … just in case … for … y'know.'

'Put it behind the couch,' Sam suggested. 'Or beside one of the chairs. He'll find it. So, Dean? Are you in too?'

'Oh, I'm in,' Dean said enthusiastically. 'But here's something that's bugging me, Sammy. Aren't you a health nut? What's she going to order you, a salad or some shit like that?'

'Aroura hates salad,' Sam shrugged. 'She can eat like, ten pizzas in one sitting and she won't even gain weight. So she convinced me to go rouge for this week because last week we ate all the weird stuff her grandparents' chef made.'

'Good for you,' Dean grinned. 'We'll have you converted into a normal human being in no time. Right Cas?'

'Right,' Castiel agreed with a wicked grin. 'Aroura seems to be good for you, Sam. For all of us. She's the one who suggested we get a dog of our own.'

'You're welcome,' said Aroura, who'd heard, as Cas said it just as they were entering the living room where Aroura was lounging in one chair with Shrek on her lap. 'Now show me the dog. Or sheep, as Dean texted.'

'Aroura, feel his head,' Sam suggested, as he'd been stroking him in Cas's arms almost the entire walk to the room. 'He's so soft. He's so small.'

Shrek stuck his head up and started sniffing the air curiously. He barked, and when he got no response he barked again. He waited, and then Shepherd stretched forward in Cas's arms and yapped. Shrek jumped to the floor and started jumping up at Cas, so Cas tenderly placed Shepherd on the ground and Shrek licked his head. Shepherd yapped again and began trying to nip at Shrek's legs, and then they were jumping around on top of each other and nibbling each other and there was no stopping them.

It was a good evening full of on-screen death and off-screen dog. The four of them had food and Shrek and Shepherd played together and then lay together, and they both played with toys and Shepherd used his puppy pad once and ate some dry food. He was fed wet food when Dean and Cas were going to bed and Cas strategically set up several objects of varying heights next to the bed so Shepherd could use them as stairs and climb down to the pad or the water they'd set up at the end of the bed in the night if he needed to.

Dean and Cas enjoyed being next to each other, but just for the first night they had Shepherd between them and he was asleep before they were, his ribbons off and on Cas's bedside table. They barely bothered to comprehend the fact that everything they'd wished for themselves was coming true, because at this point, was it even surprising that they were finally getting the happy ending they deserved at last?