The party lasted into the wee hours of the morning – well, what would have been the wee hours had time flowed in Heaven as it did on Earth. Here, it seemed more like a perpetual motion thing, not that anyone was complaining.
Dean glanced around the room as he skillfully guided Jo across the crowded dance floor.
Sam and Eileen were wedged in a corner, swaying in place more than actually dancing. Their arms were locked around each other, Sam's taller body curved protectively over that of his wife. Every now and then their lips met in a tender kiss. Dean swore he saw tears glistening in his brother's eyes. Tears of joy, but tears nevertheless. Dean choked up a little himself, just looking at them.
Close by the oblivious couple, John and Mary were slow dancing. Mary had her head nestled against John's shoulder. Her eyes were closed, his open as he looked down at her adoringly; they both were smiling.
Clearly, Sam's 'Welcome to Heaven' celebration was a huge success.
Even Bobby was up and dancing, with Karen in his arms and a sheepish look on his face.
So many happy, familiar faces... Jody, Donna and Claire in a complicated three-way pseudo waltz, Kevin and his mom, Charlie, Adam, Pamela, Missouri, Rufus, Balthazar and too many others to name. He was surrounded by smiles and laughter, people crowding the dance floor, the gentle rumble of dozens of conversations all happening at once...
Yeah, Heaven really knew how to throw a party.
Ellen kept the drinks coming, a commanding presence behind the bar, though she occasionally turned things over to Ash while she danced with her husband, Bill. Jack was here, there and everywhere, passing trays of food around and chatting happily with everyone he met. And Gabriel...
Well, Dean hated to admit it, but Gabriel was one hell of a DJ – never mind how stupid he looked wearing that backwards NY baseball cap. He read the mood of the room perfectly. One song flowed into the next with scarcely a moment to take a breath, never mind time to switch partners. Not that there was a lot of switching happening. It seemed that almost everyone had paired off with their soulmate: reunited in Heaven at last, Sam's arrival making the circle complete.
Almost complete.
His gaze shifted to Gabriel, and the angel nodded. Now, he mouthed.
Dean felt his heart pound a little harder in his chest. It was time.
"I'm gonna hit the can," he told Jo, waltzing her over to a wall where Garth stood at the ready.
"Really, Dean?" she whispered. "That's the best excuse you can muster?"
"Shut up," he replied, dumping her into Garth's arms with a little more force than necessary. They both were laughing as they twirled away, but Dean ignored them in favour of hastening down a dimly lit hall. However, instead of turning left to go to the men's room, he continued on down the passageway and slipped out the back door. Quietly, he made his way around the side of the building, and there, as he had expected him to be, was Castiel: his nose literally pressed against a window pane.
"Ahem," Dean coughed.
To his credit, the angel didn't appear overly startled. Slowly, reluctantly he turned around to face the human. "Hello, Dean," he said.
"Where you been hidin' yourself, Cas?"
"I have not been hiding. I've been... busy. Helping Jack. I came as soon as I could."
"Yeah, I call bullshit," Dean snorted. "You wouldn't be here talking to me now, if I hadn't caught you by surprise before you could flap away. Do you think I haven't sensed you hanging around, lurking just out of sight?"
"I am an angel of the new Lord, Dean. I don't have time to lurk."
"Then why did you spend so much time riding around with me in my car? I could feel you there, Cas. Sometimes in the front seat, but mostly in the back. As if you didn't want to usurp Sam's place."
"I was incorporeal... How could you possible know that I was there?"
"Honestly? I didn't know. I guessed. And you just confirmed it. You were there when I arrived in Heaven too, weren't you? You overheard my conversation with Bobby."
"Yes..."
"Bobby knew you were there," Dean said slowly. "Both of you were sitting there waiting for me. Only you panicked and went invisible on us when I arrived. That's why Bobby casually slipped your name into the conversation. He was hoping you'd man up and reappear. So why didn't you?"
"Because I heard you say, 'It's almost perfect.' And Bobby replied, 'He'll be along.' I knew you were waiting for Sam to make your heaven complete. So I decided to postpone seeing you until Sam lived out his life. And then I decided to wait a little bit longer, until he settled in."
"But you couldn't stay away."
"No," Castiel admitted wearily. "I couldn't."
"And it never once occurred to you to wonder who the 'he' Bobby referred to might be?"
"Who else would it be but Sam?"
"Sam was a given. I didn't need to worry about him anymore. You, on the other hand... What was I supposed to think when you didn't show up?"
"I had my reasons, Dean. My duties."
"And greeting my arrival into Heaven wasn't one of those duties? Never mind that I'm the Righteous Man and due a little respect. Above and beyond that, I'm your friend. The friend you supposedly love. Or has that changed, Cas? Is that heavenly stick stuck up your ass again now that you have your wings back?"
"No. I feel as I have always felt towards you: I love you, Dean. But I knew you needed time to digest that unwelcome revelation. I have been giving you that time."
"You mean, it's been easier on you to avoid me. I never pictured you as a coward, Cas. Don't you want to hear what I didn't have a chance to say before The Empty took you?"
"No. I told you then I can't have what I want. That hasn't changed."
"Maybe there's no need for it to change."
"What do you mean?"
"Maybe the answer I would have given you has always been the same."
"I doubt it. I've always known I could never compete with Sam."
"It's not a competition, Cas. Sam is my brother. But you... it's different with you. With us. It's... more." Dean paused and drew a deep breath, scrubbing a hand across his face before continuing. "You know I'm no good with words, but I want you to really listen to what I'm trying to say. I love you, Cas."
"Stop, Dean. Don't give me hope where there is none. I'm family. I know what family means to you. I can be content with that."
"Family? Yeah, funny thing about that. Didn't you notice that I took off without going to see Mom and Dad? That I didn't bother to look up any of my friends? Not even Charlie. I got in my car... and I drove."
"Killing time. Waiting for Sam."
"No, Cas. I was looking for you."
"Dean..."
"Every mile put me closer to you. I felt you were just around the next bend in the road. That I'd suddenly see you standing there. Waiting for me."
"Dean..."
"Don't you know Heaven isn't Heaven without you by my side? I'm in love with you, Cas. Can you look me in the eye and tell me that isn't how you feel about me?"
"Oh, Dean..." Castiel sighed. His shoulders sagged under the terrible inevitability of what he was about to say, but his gaze was steady and sure. "Of course I'm in love with you."
"Then haven't we wasted enough time? You and Jack are reshaping Heaven into the eternal reward that it should always have been. Don't you think you deserve to share in that reward too?"
"Serving Heaven is my reward. Anything more..." Castiel shook his head. "Impossible."
"Anything is possible now. Like Bobby said when I got here, everything I could ever want, or need, or dream is mine. I did a lot of dreaming in the past, Cas. I buried those dreams down deep."
"You never said... I never knew..."
"I know. And that's on me. But the walls in Heaven are down now. Let's lower the wall between us, too. You are what I want and need. You're the dream I dream. Good things do happen, Cas. I believe that now. And I can't think of a happier end to my story than sharing my afterlife with you."
Suddenly, from within the Roadhouse, Elvis Presley's 'A Little Less Conversation' began to blare at a deafening volume, the very walls throbbing in unison with the bass notes.
Dean thought-projected the finger at Gabriel and his heavy-handed hint, but he had to agree with the sentiment behind the advice.
"Come on, Cas," he said, taking Castiel's hands in his and tugging him closer, pleased to note that the angel offered little resistance.
Scant inches separated them as they stood face to face, staring into each other's eyes as they had done countless times before: green lost to blue, blue lost to green. But, this time, it was easy for Dean to take the final step to bridge that forbidding distance.
Dean wrapped the angel in a tight embrace, and Castiel's arms crept firmly around him in reply. They came together like two puzzle pieces slotting into place, each completing the other. And as their lips met for the first time, Dean truly felt himself to be in Heaven. He and Castiel were finally on the same page, and an infinity of tomorrows lay before them.