title | the ineffable rapture of heaven & earth
series | no series
chapter | four. the break of stars
author | moirataliesin 「fka mallowcakes/inkcapgoblin」
fandom | supernatural
pairing | m/m, dean winchester/castiel 「destiel」
rating | eventually r
genre | romance
warnings | eventual m/m smut
word count | 1.4k
summary | castiel & dean are transported to another dimension where they have apparently lived for 5 years. together. as a married couple. there's no magic, castiel's angel powers aren't working, and somehow they know everything about the lives they've been pushed into. so, what the hell is going on here? and how can the get out?
notes | thanks goes out to my betas, chelsey-jorax diggory and musingfangirl. double thank you to my friend, brohne, for being a pair of second eyes and turning me on to some great inspirational music.

for more of this, and things like it, check out my profile.
as always, likes and comments are appreciated and encouraged.

It had been two weeks since the cookout and Cas and Dean had fallen into a routine. They went to work. They came home. Cas usually had dinner made before Dean walked through the door. They'd watch movies or play games. They would enjoy time with their cats. On their days off, Cas would lay around cleaning or hanging out with their neighbors while Dean worked out or played Playstation with his friends.

Dean was down to just a pair of denim shorts on one of the hottest days of the summer mowing his front lawn. Sweat was pouring down his body as he looked at the last few strips that he had left and sighed. He wiped an arm across his brow before taking hold of the mower grip again.

"Dean!" He heard a voice call from behind him.

He turned around to see Castiel walking over to him with a glass of what looked to be lemonade.

"Cas!" He smiled as Castiel handed him the glass and tipped the drink into his mouth quickly and gulping it down.

"I hope you like it, Dean." Cas told him, "I tried a new recipe it's spiced with cinnamon and ginger."

Dean didn't stop until the only thing left in the glass was ice. He spun the ice in the cup and handed it back to Cas.

"That was great! It really hit the spot."

"Would you like some more?" The angel said, looking at the glass in his hand.

"No thanks. I'm almost done with the lawn."

Castiel nodded and turned to head back inside the house.

"Where do you think you're going?" Dean said before he had the chance to take a step.

Turning back around, he raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Dean made a quick, almost unnoticeable gesture towards the other side of the road where some neighbors were outside.. Almost as quickly, he pulled Cas him towards him and planted a kiss on his cheek.

The blush that rose on the angel's cheeks didn't go unnoticed by Dean, but he didn't mention it for fear he might not have been able to talk. The feeling in his stomach confused him, but as Cas turned to go back in the house he turned as well to finish his lawn work.

Back inside, Cas leaned against the closed door, his heart loud in his chest as he tried to cool his cheeks. Dean had never had that effect on him before and Cas was a little confused as to why Dean had that effect on him now. He decided to blame it on the fact that they had to act so close lately. Waving the thought away, He let out a deep breath and walk towards the kitchen.

A few minutes later, Dean came in. Cas was glad that he had gotten himself together first. He didn't want it to be awkward and he wasn't quite sure what this feeling meant anyway.

"Dean." Castiel said as his fake husband walked into the kitchen, wiping his head with an old towel, "I need to make dinner but I'm out of carrots and potatoes. Can you run to the store while I prepare everything else?"

Dean threw the damp towel down the basement stairs and grabbed his shirt off the barstool, pulling it on.

"Sure thing. I'll shower when I get back. Do you need anything else?" He said, grabbing the keys off the counter.

"No. Just carrots and potatoes. You can pick up some flour if you want me to bake later tonight."

"Flour too then." Dean smiled and walked out the front door.

It was an hour and twenty minutes later when Castiel started to get the feeling something wasn't right. The store wasn't that far away and Dean was never late. He wished that his angel powers were intact so he could zap to wherever Dean was and check on him.

Not being able to just sit around and wring his hands he picked up the phone to call Dahlia when it rang.

"Hello?" He said, his voice worried and his heart starting to pound harder in his chest.

"Castiel Winchester?" An woman's voice came from the other end. It sounded far away to him almost like a pinprick.

"Speaking."

"You're married to Dean Winchester. Am I correct?" She asked him.

"Yes." He swallowed the lump in his throat.

"There's been a car accident. It's nothing to worry yourself about, it's just a broken leg but he's told me to ask for you. He needs someone to pick him up."

A wave of relief rushed over him. A broken leg. Dean would be okay. Well, physically he'd be okay, the rest depended on how the Impala looked.

Saying thank you and hanging up the phone he called Dahlia and told her what happened. She sounded worried but still tried to reassure Castiel that everything would be okay. She told him that she'd send Leon over as soon as possible to help him go pick up Dean.

Hours later, Dean was finally home and the couch pull-out bed had been made up for him. Castiel helped him lay down and put on a Godzilla movie. He was a little stoned off the pills the hospital had given him and would just mumble things. The angel simply nodded at him.

"I called off work." Castiel told him, hoping he was lucid enough to understand him, "For the rest of the week and maybe some of next week."

"You didn haf do tha." Dean mumbled, nodding off to sleep.

"I did, Dean. You need someone to take care of you." Castiel turned off the lights and slumped into bed next to him without worrying about the food.

The next morning, Castiel awoke to Dean watching the same movie from the night before. The drugs had clearly worn off and he was in a good mood even with the pain. The hunter in him was used to getting hurt, Castiel told himself, so it was obvious that he didn't really need the help. But, the shopping trip was his fault and he was going to help Dean get better even if he had to force it.

"Mornin'." Dean said, the last pieces of sleep still in his voice, "Sleep good?"

"I believe so, yes. You?"

"Best sleep I've had in awhile. My leg don't hurt so bad. It isn't my first break, after all. You totally could go to work if you wanted. You don't have to take care of me."

"How would it look to the neighbors if could stay home from work but I went anyway?" Cas stuck out his tongue.

Dean smiled, blushing slightly at the gesture and Castiel smiled back.

It was then that Dean's eyes caught Cas' dimples for the first time. and his stomach turns.

"Well," He said, dismissing the foreign feeling, "You don't have to take care of me."

"Too bad." Castiel said, sitting up, "Do you want your DVD changed?"

"Nah, I'm good with this for now."

Later that night, after the first full day of Dean actually letting another person take care of him, he was starting to let himself be okay with it. It was nice to take a rest and just exist for a while and let Castiel do what he was clearly happy doing.

It was dinner time and Cas had finished the food from the night before. He brought two trays to bed filled with food and gave one to Dean and set the other one on the bed. He went to the TV and changed a few of the DVDs out before setting down beside Dean and helping him sit up so they could eat together.

"I know you like movies from the 1980's so I got The Goonies and a horror movie called House. I hope you enjoy them."

Dean smiled, glad it was dark because he blushed again, "Yeah, I like both those flicks."

"You should also take your pain pills before you eat. I set them on that paper towel."

Dean took the pills and started eating. It was some of the best food he had so far.

"This is delicious." He told Castiel.

"I'm glad you like it, Dean. I've been watching the cooking channels to try to get a little better."

"So good." He said through a mouth of chicken as he watched the movie.

Cas was ecstatic. He has never been so proud of something he created before and the fact that Dean had complimented him on it was even better.

They weren't even through The Goonies when Cas looked over and Dean had fallen asleep with his head laid back. He got to his knees and moved slowly to get the food tray and set it in the floor beside him. He hoped the cats were somewhere asleep and not going to get into the crumbs that were left. His face was inches from Dean's and his insides liquified watching the hunter sleep. Dean never looked more at peace. Cas watched Dean's chest rise and fall in a rhythmic pattern.

He held his breath and leaned closer planting a quick kiss on his lips. He was still holding his breath when he laid down beside Dean and closed his eyes, ready to fall asleep.