Chapter 11: Going Home
Red and pink blossoms floated down from the tree overhead as a gentle breeze stirred the branches to dance. Some of them landed on the small pond, nestled between the lily pads or clinging precariously to the rocks along the edge, while others littered the shaded grass. One of them landed on the knee of an aging man occupying the stone bench protected by the ancient tree, almost as if taunting him. John looked down at the flower, remembering the conversation he had with Dean out by this same tree so many weeks ago after the failed meeting with the town matchmaker, and he carefully cupped the blossom in his hand. Sam, who had been in the garden practicing with one of his father's training swords earlier, collapsed in the grass at his father's feet, knowing that the older man was thinking about Dean again.
Dean approached the curved archway to the back garden, having guessed where his sire might be this time of the afternoon. The journey home had been easier than the one to the Imperial City; as expected, there was a southern path that allowed him to avoid all of the snow and freezing cold in the mountains that he had not been sure he could handle with only a small tent and no friends for warmth. He had released Khan into his paddock with his travel-worn bags and small tent piled haphazardly in the barn in his haste to reunite with his family. Dean carried Dick's sword wrapped in some heavy cloth to protect the blade, still wearing the crest of the Emperor around his neck, and he had returned to wearing the omega robes he had borrowed from the palace laundry almost a week earlier. Biting his lip, Dean adjusted his grip on the sword and headed toward the aging alpha seated on the stone bench.
John looked up from his flower as Dean reached his side, pushing himself to his feet. "Dean," he managed in a shocked whisper, falling back onto his bench as Dean hit his knees in the grass before him. Sam, too shocked at the sudden presence of his older brother's scent in his life again to move, just stared at the omega, eyes wide, unable to focus on the sword or seal that Dean carried. His brother was alive and he was home.
"Father, I brought you the sword of Dick Roman," Dean announced, bowing his head first to show his great respect to his familial alpha, not sure that he could keep his composure if he looked the man in his eyes. He had brought great dishonor on his family by running away, more when he masqueraded as an omega, and despite the Emperor forgiving him his own sire might not be able to. He hoped that John would understand why he had done what he did. He looked up and held the weapon out, waiting until John took the cloth-wrapped blade before slipping the cord holding the Emperor's seal over his head. "And the crest of the Emperor," he continued, placing the golden disk on top of the sword in his sire's hands, searching John's expression for any note of understanding or forgiveness. "They're gifts to honor the Winchester Family." He bowed his head and sunk back onto his heels, waiting patiently for the alpha's judgment.
John dropped the sword and seal on the grass beside Sam, not even looking at them as he fell to his knees in front of Dean. The omega stared at the two trophies for a moment in shock, not understanding his sire's actions, only looking away when John wrapped his arms around his son. Hesitantly, not sensing any anger or rejection from his father, Dean returned the embrace, even turning his head slightly to familiarize himself with his familial alpha's scent.
"The greatest gift and honor," John murmured, "is having you for a son." He leaned back then, cupping Dean's face in his hands, noting the new hardness and strength warring with that gentle omega softness that his boy had always possessed. A single tear escaped from Dean's eye and John carefully wiped it away, his alpha's urge to confirm his son's presence through touch too strong to ignore. Dean was home and he was alright. John had been sure that the boy would be dead, killed by his commander when his identity as an omega was revealed, not returned home so healthy and carrying the sword of a great Hun commander and the seal of the Emperor. He offered a silent prayer of thanks to his ancestors and family guardians, whoever had looked out for Dean on his reckless journey. He pulled Dean back into a hug, feeling Sam wrap his arms around both of them as he joined the reunion circle. "I've missed you so."
"I missed you, too, Dad," Dean replied, content to be held by the alphas of his family for as long as all of them needed to rebuild their bond.
From the stone archway that led into the garden, their reflections dancing in the clear waters of the pond, a teary-eyed Mary and Ellen watched the reunion. Adam, who had been helping the women with the daily chores, tucked close to Mary's side and watched his brothers and father, not willing to intrude on their moment but deliriously happy that Dean's plan had worked and he had returned home, not just safe but a hero!
Mary sighed happily at the scene, wrapping an arm around Adam's shoulders as her friend placed her hands on her hips. Ellen, who was exceptionally fond of the omega, resisted the urge to shed tears, but her scent was warm and her voice softer than usual when she did finally speak. "Great, he brings home a sword," she began, waving one arm dismissively. "If you ask me, he should have brought home an alpha!" Mary narrowed her eyes, ready to snap back at her friend, but a masculine voice and a sudden woodsy alpha scent silenced her retort.
"Excuse me, does Dean Winchester live here?" The man who asked, a raven-haired alpha in the uniform of a captain, carried John's old helmet in his arms, his azure eyes darting between the two women as he tried to decide if one of them was Dean's dam. The teenage beta clung to the blonde one, and Cas seemed to remember that Mary had been blonde, but he wasn't sure if this was the same woman who had placed a baby in his arms twenty years ago. The women, both shocked into silence, just pointed through the stone gate toward the garden, staring at the tall alpha as he walked past them. "Thank you."
"Woo, sign me up for the next war," Ellen managed as soon as the alpha had passed them. Mary glared at her friend, but she couldn't deny that the man was gorgeous, and if he was here looking for Dean perhaps there would be grandpups in her future after all. He looked very familiar.
John stood as he caught the scent of strange alpha, watching stoically as a tall, raven-haired soldier with the uniform of a captain and a bright red cloak approached him. Behind him, Dean and Sam also stood, hugging each other briefly before turning to see who had come to visit.
Cas bowed as he reached John, recognizing the general at once from the man's infrequent visits to the court over the past two decades. "Honorable John Winchester, I—Dean!" He had looked up just as the omega stepped out from behind his sire, struggling to control his alpha as their eyes met. Brilliant jade smiled at him as his scent exploded with discomfort, uncertainty, nervous tension, and insecurity, all of his confidence from a moment before shattered. He had never been so out of control before, but seeing Dean again in his family home, dressed and smelling like an omega, was almost too much for him. What was it about those jade eyes that turned him into a babbling idiot? "Uh . . . uh . . . you forgot your helmet," he managed, holding his burden out toward Dean, then glancing at John and thrusting it toward the older alpha instead. "Ah but well, actually, it's your helmet, isn't it?"
John glanced at his son, surprised to see that Dean was his height when he was standing tall and confident, instead of slouching and trying to look small as he had when he tried to meet the many expectations thrust upon an omega in their society. The time in the army had done the boy good, the old alpha decided. Smiling reassuringly at Cas, Dean reached out and took the helmet from his hands, wondering if he had lost it in the City itself or on the trail home. It didn't matter, he knew that Cas had used the piece of armor as an excuse to visit, and it would only be polite to extend him an offer to stay. Clearly, his father approved of the alpha, and Dean's despair about his feelings being one-sided started to fade. "Would you like to stay for dinner?"
Ellen's voice sounded a follow-up question from her position at the gate. "Would you like to stay forever?" She was quickly silenced by Mary, who reminded her that she was already quite happily engaged, Ellen responding that Bobby would learn to share.
Dean and Cas both turned at the outburst, both of them shaking their heads as they turned to let their eyes meet again. "Dinner would be great," Cas replied, hoping that he could find a way to show Dean that he did care about him and say all of the things he should have said at the palace.
From the shrine on the hill, the Great Ancestor watched the small cluster of humans with a smile on his face. Dean was home, he had clearly befriended an alpha who could potentially become a compatible mate, and the war was over so John and Sam would not be asked to serve. All told, this was a pretty reasonable outcome. Kevin climbed up beside him, the dragon having admitted that he had chased after Dean himself after being unable to wake the Great Stone Dragon.
"C'mon, who did a good job? C'mon, tell me who did a good job." Kevin tugged on the Great Ancestor's ear, grinning uncontrollably as the ancient spirit pulled back and rolled his eyes.
"Oh, all right; you can be a guardian again."
"Yeeeeeaaaaaahhhh!" Kevin cheered, jumping back up to the empty overhead shelf that he had occupied as the Dragon Guardian of the Winchester Family. "Whoohooohooohoooooo!"
On the floor, Cri-Kee grabbed the padded mallet and rang the gong, awakening the ancestors to celebrate Kevin's success. They were significantly happier now, glowing as they each claimed the part of themselves that Dean had inherited to achieve his greatness, all of them pretending that they had not scorned and mocked him just a few weeks earlier. One of them managed to summon music from somewhere, Kevin jumping to the ground to dance with Cri-Kee as the ancestors did the same overhead.
Kevin looked outside of the small shrine and spotted Dean walking toward the stairs, dashing out to intercept him. Technically, the living were not allowed to see the spirits of their ancestors, only the guardians who protected the family, but it was clear that Kevin had been the omega's target. He glanced over his shoulder at the gate of the garden where Cas had followed his family into the main building, smiling as he knelt down beside the small dragon. "Thank you, Kevin," he murmured, offering the guardian a quick peck on the forehead before rising and returning to his family. In that brief moment of contact, with all of Dean's walls down and his true self no longer hidden behind the manner and scents of an alpha, Kevin finally realized why the Great Stone Dragon had not responded to his attempts to wake it. The beast, a powerful spirit that had guarded the family for centuries, had taken up residence in that young omega, giving him the strength and confidence he had needed to masquerade as an alpha for so long.
"Wow," Kevin whispered. "How did I not see it before?"
"Kevin," the Great Ancestor called, ordering the guardian to return to his perch and go back into stone slumber until he was needed again. Grinning, Kevin chose to keep this small revelation to himself, wishing Dean and Cas a happy future together.
"Until I wake again," he whispered.
Dean settled into his normal spot at the table, Cas seated prominently by John's side as his two brothers, Ellen, and Bobby filled out the remaining space. Jo would be home soon, Metatron sending messages to all of the other training camps to release the soldiers to their homes now that the war was over, Cas mentioned as they all sipped at their soup.
"What about the army? It was completely decimated, and our camp was all that remained."
"Everyone has been released from service," Cas replied, trying to learn how to meet Dean's eyes without getting lost in that ever-changing green. "In a few weeks, notices will be sent out that anyone who signs on for a permanent position will be eligible for a bonus, either a commission or titles and land. Most of the soldiers you met will return. It won't be very exciting duty, wall patrol and the like, but we do need people."
"And you?"
Cas grinned and dropped his eyes self-consciously. "I will retrieve my family from the town they were sent to hide in and my father will promote me to general upon my triumphant return. At the turn of the year, after Bartholomew's troop retrieves all of the bodies from that burned-out village and we have mourned Zachariah for a suitable length of time, I will be offered the post of Grand Commandant that he held."
Mary sucked in a breath in shock, knowing that her mate reflected her surprise but would not voice it. "Grand Commandant? You're only thirty years old."
Cas shrugged. "I know, but I am the most experienced military officer we have serving, and it would have been my post one day anyway. Lucifer is training for the position of Chancellor and will likely be appointed within a year. I wouldn't be surprised if a number of Minister positions suddenly became available over the next year or so for the heroes who defeated the Huns." He glanced at Dean, waiting a few moments for the tension to become palpable in the room before he spoke again. "Especially for the hero who buried hundreds of Huns in an avalanche and used fireworks to take out Dick Roman single-handedly."
Dean cleared his throat and looked away. "Metatron said that there were no Council positions open when the Emperor brought it up."
"The Emperor offered you a Council position?" Sam had moved from awe to near hero-worship of his brother after hearing the story of how the Huns and their leaders had been defeated by Dean's creativity and ingenuity.
"I mean, yeah, he did, but I wanted to come home." Dean stirred his soup for a moment, staring at the golden broth to avoid meeting anyone's eyes. "Anyway, no omega has ever been on the Council, it's only for well-connected alphas and betas."
"No omega has ever served in the Chinese Army either," Cas pointed out. "I have it on good authority that the Minister Herald will be retiring soon and has yet to train a successor."
Dean looked up at that, eyes wide. "What? Really? I thought . . . well, I didn't think that the offer was genuine."
"It was; my father never speaks falsely. I know you needed to come home, Dean, but would you consider returning to the Imperial City? I'd like to have you for my right-hand man, and you can train to be a minister at the same time. If you want to return to your old life, make a family in this town, I would understand, but I must live in the Imperial City and I would want my mate to live there with me."
Dean's sharp inhale was nothing compared to the icy sharp scent of shock that filled the room, not only from him but from his brothers, too. The adults controlled themselves better, but even John's eyes widened somewhat. This was the first proposal Dean had ever been offered, and this alpha met every one of the boy's stated preferences. Ellen grabbed Bobby's arm reflexively, willing her best friend's pup to accept this proposal. After all of those years of negotiating with other family dominants in town, after that miserable day at the Matchmaker, Dean had gone off and found a mate on his own. It was unheard-of, but then Dean had already defied every omega stereotype and broken every law that it just made sense that he would do this his own way, too.
"Cas?"
"I mean it, Dean. I have never felt so connected to anyone in my life, and everything with you was so easy and it always made sense, even when I thought you were an alpha. I hated that we would never be able to be together, that's why I offered you a commission on the mountain. I meant it then, and I mean it now: I never want to be parted from you. Will you accept my suit to become your mate, Dean Winchester?"
The omega gulped and looked at his father. "Aren't you supposed to ask him?"
"I get the feeling that you make your own decisions," Cas replied wryly.
"When you were a tiny pup, on your presentation day, I let Castiel hold you," Mary interjected, knowing that her son needed a moment to compose himself. "You looked at him with such joy and trust that Rowena offered to match you then and there. She said that she has never been wrong, and now I see that I shouldn't have doubted her. You are destined for each other, Dean, and you certainly have our blessing if you wish to agree." John nodded, remembering that ten-year-old prince even though this was the first he had heard of Rowena's words.
"I was going to take you the Imperial Matchmaker anyway," John pointed out. "She was trained by Rowena and certainly knew about every pairing that woman ever made. Donna would have offered you to Castiel if we had gone."
Dean turned to his captain at that, slowly reaching out one hand and smiling as Cas took it. "When I was rejected at the Matchmaker, I thought my life was over. Dad offered to take me to the City, and there were times during training that I hoped that might still be possible. I wanted to have a chance to be matched to you, even after you found out my secret and left me on that mountaintop. I always thought I would mate someone in this village and live here for the rest of my life, but I think I would like the Imperial City. I would be honored to accept your suit, Cas, and to stand before the Matchmaker with you."
Cas surged from his seat and walked three steps around the table to pull Dean into his arms, the two soldiers allowing themselves to scent each other for the first time, cheers erupting from the table. John leaned over to whisper in Mary's ear, "we should see if they can stand in front of Rowena; I think she would approve of her match." The blonde beta grinned her agreement.
Cas released Dean and pulled the omega to the seat beside his, waiting for the younger pups to shift over before both could return to their meal. Now that his proposal had been accepted, Cas could barely keep his hands off Dean, wanting nothing more than to hold him close until their ceremony. He satisfied his urge by placing a hand on Dean's arm, using his free hand to return to his meal. "I'm glad you agreed; Claire and a few of the soldiers should be here in a few days with your betrothal gifts."
Sam tilted his head, raising one hand slightly to catch Cas's attention. "What if Dean had not agreed? Don't you think betrothal gifts are a bit premature?"
Cas shrugged. "Then they would have become courtship gifts, bribes if you will. I truly felt that Dean and I connected on that mountaintop and I hoped he shared my feelings."
"I do," Dean replied quickly, pushing his empty bowl away. "Do you really think I can return with you and rejoin the army? I mean, I would need to request time off for heats, for pups, and to see my family because I don't think I can be gone from them for years at a time."
"As the future Grand Commandant, I can assure you that your requests will all be approved." Cas smiled, that secret joy that was only for Dean, an echo of the bond they had formed on that mountaintop marching toward the Tung-Shao Pass. "Besides, I think I'd like to have some time off to spend with our pups, too."
The reality of it hit Dean then, the thought of tiny little raven-haired pups running around the house with practice swords in hand as they chased each other in imitation of their sire. He felt his cheeks flush as he thought about having a partner for his heats, someone who would make the whole ordeal one of pleasure rather than burning, pain, and unfulfilled omega needs. The first hint of omega arousal filled the room as Dean met Cas's eyes and the alpha smiled, reached out to cup his cheek in one heavily callused palm. "I, uh, think I'd like that."
Sam snorted. "Of course you'd like it; you've wanted pups of your own since before your first heat. And Mom is sitting there calculating how long until she might have grandpups."
"I mean, it's going to take a few months to plan the wedding, then it could be up to six months until Dean's next heat, assuming Castiel is reasonably fertile . . ." Mary trailed off and coughed self-consciously before taking a sip of her drink. "What?"
Cas smiled as he subtly sniffed the air. "You know, I smelled it that morning in the tent, I just didn't realize what it was. Cinnamon and apple blossom, it's an interesting combination. I'm guessing that whatever you did to hide yourself wore off overnight."
Dean nodded. "It only lasts half a day or so, but I got more careful after that. It'll be nice to serve in the army without going through all of that nonsense every day."
"You don't think having an omega in the army will be a distraction?" Adam, who had been his customary unobtrusive self during the meal, finally spoke up. He was happy to have his brother home, even happier that the young man would finally have the mate and pups he had always wanted, but he still had questions.
Cas shrugged. "It might be, but no more than having female betas around and they have been allowed for hundreds of years. Besides, the core of this new army will be formed exclusively by the soldiers who faced the Huns with us, and they all already know what Dean did. They are in awe of him, they know him as the Hero Who Saved China, and they will have no issues with his omeganess. And if he and some of the other soldiers become the new Ministers to my brother's Emperor, it's possible that rules restricting omegas throughout China can be updated."
"Wow," Dean whispered. "You really think so?"
"I had a lot of alone time while I was following you back to your village, and this was one of the things I contemplated. Lucifer will inherit the Counsellor position within the next few years, I will be Grand Commandant as soon as I return to the City, Balthazar has been chosen to take over the post of Minister of the Imperial Clan, and the three Ministers who report to Maggie are all on the edge of retirement. With a few well-placed mating proposals from minor Imperials and some offers of land and titles, I think I can free up two of the Minister positions who will report directly to me. Once the Council is stacked with people who know you, who went to war with you and had any omega prejudices burned away, things will change. That's the gift I offer you if you will return to the City with me and take that Council position my father offered. We can change all of China."
"Then I will take that Council position, after our wedding," Dean agreed, reaching out to lace his fingers with Cas's. How wonderful it was to be allowed to touch his alpha whenever he wanted to, no societal pressures or subterfuge separating them anymore. He let himself enjoy that label for a moment, his alpha, before returning to his food. The conversation turned to wedding plans, John's memories of the Imperial City and specifically the area near the Palace where Castiel would be granted an estate by his father once he was married, and even plans to rebuild the old army into something fiercer that could respond more quickly to Hun threats in the future. Dean let the conversations flow around him, deliriously happy to be home with his family but to also have Cas here, choosing to be part of his life, in a way that he had never hoped to have.
Hours later, the sun already hidden below the buildings of the town as the last blush of red faded from the sky, Cas sat with Dean on the bench overlooking the small pond in the garden. When Dean sat here the day of the matchmaker fiasco, he had felt like his life was over, worried that he would never have a loving mate and pups of his own, but now his future spread before him in comforting surety, spelled out in his mind's eye against the placid surface of the night-dark pond. "My mom is not the most subtle of women."
Cas chuckled, the sound vibrating against Dean's side where the alpha pressed close against him. Cas would be sleeping in the alpha wing of the house, of course, and Dean would be in his old room—how alien it seemed to him now!—but they could share this twilight before they were forced by tradition and appearances to separate. "She is eager to see you with a pup in your arms. I cannot say I disagree with her anticipations. Despite the scandal surrounding her birth, Claire was a lovely pup and she bonded to me immensely. I was often training or with my unit at the wall, but her nurses said she asked about me every day. I wrote her constantly, letters that she begged her nurses to read again and again until she mastered the written form herself. I kept myself apart from all potential suitors, no matter what my parents tried, but the longing in my breast for another little one never faded."
"You've changed my life, Cas, and given me a future I thought I lost on the day I stood in front of Crowley and was soundly rejected. Even when we were fighting the Huns, I hoped I might survive so Dad could present me to the Imperial Matchmaker as he promised and find me a mate at last. You, if the Ancestors willed it."
"You thought I wouldn't recognize you when you came to the city? Even if we had not been called to fight and you had returned home, unremarked with your secret undiscovered, do you think I would not see Steve in Dean's eyes?"
The omega shrugged and offered Cas a reproving smirk. "You didn't see Dean in Steve's eyes until all of my scent blockers and eye medicine had faded away. I didn't know you had held me as a pup, but I know that our society is so concerned about appearances and scents that your mind might have convinced you that two brothers should look alike, that John Winchester's omega son would necessarily resemble the alpha you had met on the mountain. I could have ensured that you didn't meet Sam until much later."
"Clever," Cas praised, reaching up to run his fingers through Dean's dark blond hair. Omegas, especially the unmated ones in the city, tended to keep their hair long, looping it in ostentatious designs and securing it with collections of golden combs worked into exquisite designs and heavy with precious stones to emphasize their family's great wealth and status and their own eligibility. Cas was certain that Dean's hair had been long before his subterfuge, but he thought that the shorter cut suited the young man's face more. "It would probably have worked, you know. As little choice as omegas have at the Matchmaker, I wouldn't say that alphas have much more. Michael was told the name of his intended mate, her pedigree, and saw her in person one time before their ceremony and he's to be the next emperor. There was a moment, though, at the training camp, when I almost knew you. When you were sitting on top of that pole, the morning when you figured out the test, your eyes looked like gold-shaded jade to me. I thought it was a trick of the sun, but it was your medicine wearing off, wasn't it?"
"Yeah, it was. I was proud of myself; I know that my eyes would have flashed gold at that. I put the drops in again as soon as I returned to my tent, hoping that you hadn't seen anything to give me away. You didn't say anything about it, so I figured I was safe."
"It wasn't enough to stir that memory in me, not until you were kneeling in the snow on the mountain." Cas looked down at his hands, imagining that sword and the awful law he had tried to obey when Dean was discovered. Dean covered his hands with his own, already knowing the direction of his alpha's thoughts.
"I don't blame you, Cas, so don't blame yourself. I broke a number of laws, and you were well within your right to execute me. I'm glad you didn't."
Cas chuckled at the boy's lopsided smile. "I couldn't. I saw your eyes, I knew who you were, and I couldn't swing the sword. I knew that the troops would understand if I spared you because you saved my life during the avalanche, but Metatron was furious. I was worried he would find a way to send someone to your village later to finish the job; now I don't have to worry about that. You saved me, you saved my father, and you saved all of China from those Huns. I can only hope that my hand in marriage can be payment enough."
Dean nudged Cas playfully with his shoulder, breaking the alpha out of the last of his pensive mood. "I mean, it's not as cool as the sword and seal your dad gave me, but it's a start."
"Oh? And what else would you like, my omega?"
Dean mouthed those words, my omega, having been long past hope of hearing someone say that to him one day. "I mean, a nice house in the City, one of those fancy carriages to come visit my family, and a handful of pups would be a start."
"You will have all of that and more, whatever I can give you," Cas promised, completely sincere despite the teasing in Dean's tone. "You know, being a prince, I was never taught to care about much at all. We Imperials serve the people of China, we protect and provide, but we are not known to express great excess of emotion, even to our own family. My mother is fond enough of my father, but I would never characterize it as love, not like the love your parents clearly share. I care deeply about my siblings, I would say that I love them, but you were willing to face death, dishonor, and who knows what else just to keep your brother from going to war. You did that for love, true love, and you are the most caring man I have ever met. These last few weeks with you have taught me some of that, and I find myself changed. When I spared you, I risked many of the same things that you did when you joined the army, including dishonor, ejection from the family, or even death, and none of that mattered to me as long as you didn't die. I cared about you, loved you even, in a way I never thought I could. I don't know that I have ever shown Claire that depth of emotion, or knew that I was capable of it. My father pardoned you, but I realized as I followed you trail here that there are other omegas who are like you, beaten down by a society that only values their ability to breed, and I cared about that. I cared about the whole world because of you. I want to fix it, I want to make everything better, and I want to find a way to show you my love every day we are together. You changed me, Dean. I love you."
Dean swallowed past his own tears, resting his cheek on Cas's shoulder so he could take in the alpha's scent. He had sensed an icy core in the alpha when they first met, a detachment that was expected of Imperials, but he had softened over time and had been warm, open, and gentle at the end of their trek through the mountains. Dean had not realized that he had been a part of that slow transformation, but he sensed the truth in Cas's words. He, too, had taken time to think during the handful of days it took to get home, alone on his horse with only Kevin and Cri-Kee for company. He had decided that he would still ask his father to take him to the City and try to win Cas's hand, despite the alpha being so formal and aloof on the palace steps. He had spent his life eager to be wanted, to be mated, but now he couldn't settle for less than the love he had begun to feel for Cas, even if he spent his whole life alone. Dean wasn't good at talking about his feelings, and Cas's confession had stirred up more inside him than he knew how to express, but he knew that there would be time to sort through all of that later. For now, he did know one thing for absolute certain. "I love you, too, Cas."
AN: This marks the end of the Mulan part, I will now be going significantly off-script to do the Mulan II part (aka the future, the 3 princesses part, marriage and pups and the like). If you were only here for Mulan and that's it, this is the end for you. If not, I'll be posting another chapter soon.
