Summary: Will Dean be the prince Castiel has hoped for? Do they have a chance for a Happily Ever After?

Note: This chapter is dedicated to my dear friend Amanda – don't let the world get you down and thanks for always telling me the same! Thanks again to Sarah for beta reading this :) working with you is simply perfect.


Chapter Three

Once upon a time… Cas was about to go on a date with the hottest guy in the universe and it was all thanks to little Mary Winchester.

True, the whole situation had probably been the most embarrassing in his life (and with Gabriel as a brother that was saying something), but in the end he had gotten a date out of it. Before he could ride off into the sunset with his prince, however, he had to endure the torture his three friends put him through. He didn't mind though and nothing they said or did could wipe the happy smile off of his face.

"You're so disgustingly sweet, Clarence," Meg told him in the end, not giving up on teasing even after Hannah and then Anna had already done so. "Told you you'd find your true love this way."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Cas croaked out, grinning when he remembered Dean telling him the same. As if summoned by that thought, the man in question strode back into the store, Mary still in his arms, looking like the prince in shining armor he hopefully was. Checking his watch, Cas saw that he was right on time.

The moment Mary spotted him she let out an excited squeal of "Prince Cas!" and squirmed in her uncle's arms until he let her down. Castiel stepped around the counter and her arms wound around his legs. "Prince Cas, are you ready for your date? We're here to pick you up."

"Sure, little Mary, let me just get my things from the back." He looked at his friends to check again if it was alright for him to leave early, but all they did was nod and smile. Meg and Anna even made little shooing motions with their hands. How did he even deserve such awesome co-workers and friends?

Looking back at Dean, he found the man smiling at him. "I'll just be a minute," he told him, although Mary was still attached to his legs and didn't seem keen to let go.

"What do you say, little Princess," Anna asked, coming to his rescue. "Would you like to help us sort all the plushies while Prince Cas gets ready for the date?"

The little girl seemed to think about it for a few seconds before she let go of Cas' legs and ran after Anna and Meg with an excited "Yes!" Taking her hands, the two women led her over to the section with the soft toys.

Throwing one last smile at Dean, Cas hurried off to the staff room. He quickly changed out of his uniform and back into his dark jeans, shirt and black hoody. Throwing on his tan trench coat, he briefly wondered if it would be a hindrance while ice skating. But he had no other warm jacket with him and he didn't want to burden Dean with a detour to his house to get another outfit. Or his skates, for that matter. He would just rent some down at the park where Dean most likely planned on going. And the trench coat should be fine; he wasn't planning on trying jumps and spins, after all. Actually, now that he had time to think about it… when was the last time he had been on ice? Was this something you could forget how to do? Or was it like riding a bike? When was the last time he rode a bike?

Cas realized that he was panicking. What was he even doing, going on a date with a complete stranger? Not that he thought Dean would kill him (hopefully), but what if he gave dating another chance and the result was the same as before? What if everything crashed and burned and tore his heart to pieces and then –

"Breathe, Castiel."

The slim hand on his shoulder and the soft voice made Cas jump slightly, but he caught himself quickly. Hannah was standing next to him, giving him her kind smile.

"He's a good man; you can see from the way he's doting over the little girl. He won't kill you and I don't think he'll treat you like that snob you dated last."

Cas let out a small chuckle. For all her calm and sometimes even stern demeanor, he was pretty sure Hannah was the one who could read him the best.

"What makes you so sure?"

"I have faith," was her simple answer, while she rubbed his back soothingly. "You simply deserve to be happy for all the good you've done on earth."

He wanted to say something, contradict her, but he couldn't find his voice. For one, he knew he would never convince Hannah otherwise. She wasn't one of those people who tried to force her beliefs on others – but on the other hand, no one was able to make her waver in her own beliefs. And two… maybe Cas just wanted to believe it himself this time.

With a slight nod, he turned around and gave Hannah a short hug, thanking her without words. When he released her, she smiled at him and wound his blue scarf tightly around his neck. "You go out there and have fun. Enjoy it and don't compare him to all the assholes you dated in the past."

Choking out a laugh, Cas stared at Hannah with wide eyes. He had never heard her swear before.

"What?" she asked with a grin. "They were, and they definitely didn't deserve you. Now go and don't let your prince wait any longer."

After a quick kiss to her cheek, he got his backpack and left the staff room, seeing Dean and Mary waiting close by the door. There were still some customers in the store, but it seemed to be slowly dying down. He still felt a little bit guilty, but he also knew that there was no arguing with his friends, so he wouldn't waste his breath. In her arms, Mary had one of the fluffy Flounder soft toys, even bigger than her own head. Whilst she played with it, Meg talked to Dean which left Cas with an uneasy feeling. If anyone of his friends was going to get the "you hurt him, they'll never find your body" speech across convincingly, it was most definitely Meg. And Anna wasn't there to save Dean, probably somewhere else helping a customer.

"Ready?" he asked loudly, getting their attention. Dean looked slightly uneasy, but he hid it well behind his smile. The minute Cas saw that smile, his panic attack was well and truly forgotten.

"Prince Cas, look what Lady Anna gave me," Mary said, holding her new toy up in delight. Cas was pretty sure "Lady Anna" had given it to her as a prize for getting Cas a date – he just hoped she hadn't told this to the girl. As if summoned by Mary's words, Anna appeared next to them, most likely to see him off as well. After thoroughly gushing over how perfect Flounder was, Cas finally got kicked out by his friends, a laughing Dean right behind him.

"Alright, alright," Dean said while picking up Mary. "We're going. Mary, say goodbye to Sebastian, Flounder, and Scuttle."

The looks on his friend's faces left Cas roaring with laughter.


By the time they got outside, Cas had calmed down a bit. Looking around, his eyes landed on a sleek, black classic car, one of those he had always wanted but never had the money to buy. Sending it a loving gaze, he looked back up to Dean, only to find his eyes on him, a grin playing around the man's lips.

"You like the Impala?"

"I love classic cars in general, but she's a real beauty. Too bad I'll probably never ride in one."

"Why?" Dean asked, now positively grinning. "Were you planning on walking?"

Totally confused, Cas tilted his head slightly. What was Dean talking about? It only clicked once Dean started to walk in the direction of the Chevy. "Wait, she's yours?"

"Yep," Dean answered, pride easy to detect. He opened the back door to put Mary in the kids' seat. "Got her from my old man. Had to build her back up from the ground once. Worth every penny and drop of blood and sweat."

"Yes, absolutely," Cas replied, unable to hide his admiration not only for the car but also for the man who could fix a car like this. Dean was holding the door open for him, and as he slid in Cas closed his eyes and inhaled the scent of this beautiful car. It smelled of rich leather and something earthy that Cas couldn't put a finger on. When he heard the door close on the driver's side, he opened his eyes again, turning towards Dean.

"So, you're a mechanic then?"

Chuckling at that, Dean started the car, letting the deep roar fill the silence, before he answered. "Nope, not really. I mean I could have been. Learned it all from my old man and my uncle. But when Sammy left for college to become a lawyer, I decided that the family business wasn't for me either. So I followed my baby brother, went to college, and now I'm a teacher at the elementary school."

"Oh, that sounds nice. Do you like it?"

"I love it. I guess I just love kids," Dean added, almost as an after-thought, sending a smile back to Mary through the rearview mirror.

"No wonder you're so good with them. They seem to like you too." Remembering the minutes back in the store when all the kids had swarmed around Dean, Cas almost missed the flicker that passed across Dean's face. It was gone before he could even understand what it was.

"So, I was thinking," Dean continued as if nothing was wrong, eyes back on the road. Maybe Cas had just imagined things. "You're probably hungry. Would you like to grab a bite before we hit the ice?"

"Yeah, sure, what did you have in mind?"

"Mary," Dean said instead of answering, getting the girl's attention right away. "Tell Prince Cas what we have for dinner Saturday nights."

"PIZZA," came the excited scream at once, making both men chuckle.

Taking his eyes from the road once more, Dean looked over at Cas. "I hope you like pizza, man. She'll throw a fit if she doesn't get her "pepperoni-extra-cheese-no-onions-please"-pizza."

Seeing the excitement in Mary's eyes, Cas was sure her uncle wasn't kidding. "I take it you do that often?"

"Yeah. Sammy is this health freak, ya know? Honestly, sometimes I wonder if we're even related. Jess is a bit more chilled with her own diet, but she's on the same page with Sammy when it comes to Mary. Poor munchkin only gets healthy food at home. I mean, no kid can live on that alone, am I right?"

"So you made it your mission to only have her eat unhealthy food?"

"I'm a great uncle, aren't I?" Dean replied, winking at Cas, the grin on his face giving him a boyish look.

Laughing at that, Cas turned back to Mary. "Are you excited to go ice skating?"

Squeezing Flounder tightly to her chest, Mary's nodded her head wildly, sending her brown looks flying.

"She loves it. Jess is already thinking about paying for lessons, let her do it professionally."

"How old is Mary, if you don't mind me asking."

"It's cool, don't worry. Mary's four and a half. They had her pretty early on. She wasn't..." Sending a quick glance to the girl, Dean started anew. "Well, my brother had just turned 22 when she was born and they married a few weeks later, if you get what I mean."

Cas did. It wasn't hard to understand that Mary hadn't been planned.

"It was great though. Sam and Jess had met when they both started college, half a year later they were already talking about marriage and kids and all that. So she might have come a bit early, but she would have been with us sooner or later."

It was fascinating, the love and adoration that shone so clearly in Dean's eyes when he looked at his niece and in his voice when he talked about her.

"What about you?" Cas found himself asking. His question seemed to throw Dean off for a second. The glance he gave him was only quick, but Cas could see his eyes were opened wide in shock.

"Me?"

"Yeah," he went on. "Do you want kids?"

The same look as before seemed to flit over Dean's face. There was a silence that threatened to become awkward. All Cas could hear for a minute was Mary humming a Disney tune over the rumble of the car. When Dean finally looked at him again, his smile was back, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Look at that, first date and we're already talking kids? Thought we were taking it slow. I mean, at least buy me dinner first."

"That can be arranged," Cas gave back with a grin, taking the change of topic as what it was. The topic of kids was clearly off the table. If Cas was honest with himself, it only intrigued him even more with the man next to him.

Thankfully, they were spared any attempts to lighten the mood as they had reached the park. A little Christmas fair sat next to the skating rink and Cas was sure they would visit it afterwards. For now, they had to feed the little monster in the back, chanting "pizza, pizza, pizza".

Dean found a parking spot on the other side of the street, which was lined by various diners, cafés, and other food places. After a little discussion about Flounder staying in the car or coming with them – which Mary won – Dean got their ice skates out of the trunk along with a backpack that Cas guessed held warmer clothes for Mary. His own backpack stayed in the car, just after he put his money and phone in the pocket of his jeans. Together, they took off to get the girl her pizza, the minor unease in their conversation forgotten by now.

The pizza place Dean and Mary chose wasn't too far away and they got a booth at the window with a great view of all the Christmas lights adorning the fair. Cas was happy to let the little girl order for him, which made her positively thrilled, being allowed to choose the food for a prince. The way she ordered not only her own but also Dean's pizza underlined how often the two of them seemed to come here.

"I have her almost every weekend," Dean explained when he saw Cas' bemused expression. "I'm trying to introduce her to other great food, but for now the little munchkin is dead set on pizza and who am I to deny her the third greatest food human kind has invented?"

"What're the other two?"

"Mary?" Dean asked his niece, once again letting her answer for him.

Her answer was instant. "Pie!"

"That's my girl," Dean smiled, taking the knife she was playing with from her. When she took the fork, Dean took that from her as well. Mary didn't even complain, just continued to play with Flounder. It fascinated Cas to no end, since he was sure most other kids would throw a fit if you took away the toys they were playing with.

"The other great food is burgers," Dean took over explaining, still having an eye on Mary and her hands, checking if there was any other possible weapon close. "But she'll get those often enough once grill-season starts again, right munchkin?"

"Burgers!"

God, Castiel was pretty sure he could watch these two for the rest of his life and never tire of how adorable they were together. When Dean looked back at him, Cas could see a slight blush on his cheeks. It was cute, really. And it accentuated his freckles and those stunning green eyes.

"I'm sorry, Cas, I'm the one doing all the talking."

"Oh no, it's fine," Cas assured him at once. "I love listening and right now it's easier for me anyways. Tell me a bit more about you."

Dean did and the next few minutes he swept Cas away with stories about his job and the kids. Their pizzas arrived close to the end of a funny story and once Dean had finished, a comfortable silence fell over them while they all enjoyed the third best dish in the world. Looking at uncle and niece, Cas once more was able to detect the family resemblance by the way the two wolfed down bite after bite.

Mary was the first to break the silence. "Uncle Dean?"

"What is it, munchkin?"

"Can I have a milk from Uncle Benny?"

"Milk from Uncle Benny?" Dean asked, pretending to be completely surprised when Cas could clearly tell that he had anticipated the question. "I thought you wanted hot chocolate after ice skating."

"Yes."

"So which one is it?"

"I want the milk now and the hot chocolate later," Mary explained as if it was obvious. It probably was for her.

Dean tried really hard to hide his smile and at least pretend to be stern with Mary – Cas was sure the little girl would end up with both drinks, although he had no idea why the milk would actually be a problem.

"Sweety, you can't have both, it's too much sugar and –"

"Please, Uncle Dean, please, please, please."

"Mary –"

"Pleeeeease." Mary put both her little hands on Dean's arm and gave him the most impressive pleading eyes Cas had seen in a long time. In an odd way, the whole scene reminded him of Simba from The Lion King and his way of pleading with his dad. Just like Mufasa, Dean yielded.

"Alright, go tell the nice lady that we want to pay."

Mary complied at once, hopping off her chair with a triumphant shout, both men looking after her as she made her way to get the waitress.

"I hate it when she uses her puppy eyes," Dean mumbled, just loud enough for Cas to hear. Turning back to the man opposite him, Cas just smiled. Dean could complain all he wanted, he wasn't fooling Cas. "She got those from her father. You'd think I'd be immune to them after Sammy has used them on me for over 26 years now, but it looks like this will never change."

"Good to know," Cas replied flirtingly, knowing full well he was able to pull off the puppy dog eyes as well.

Dean's eyes went wide for a second, before he seemed to catch himself. He didn't get a chance to answer, however, because Mary came back to their table, followed by the waitress.

After Dean paid for them ("It's a date, Cas, and I asked you out. Put your money away.") they stepped back outside. It was a bit chilly, so Cas pulled his scarf tighter around his neck, while Mary took off, clearly with a certain destination in mind. Dean let her run a bit ahead of them, still keeping a watchful eye on her. It was quite obvious that this was just another routine for them, but for some reason, it didn't feel like he was intruding at all.

"Is Benny your brother as well?" he started their conversation again.

Keeping his eyes on the bouncing girl, Dean shook his head. "No, at least not by blood. He's my best friend and his son is Mary's age. They've grown quite close."

When Cas' eyes finally left Dean's handsome face, he searched for the little girl again – only to find her gone. Before he could panic, Dean went for a door to a building Cas quickly identified as a coffee shop. He held it open and let Cas enter first. Mary was being lifted up by a huge man, all beard and crinkly smiles.

"Uncle Benny, guess what."

"What, little Miss Mary?"

"Uncle Dean is a prince and today he broke the curse and now he is on a date with Prince Cas and I'll be flower girl when they marry."

"Oho, now that sounds exciting. Think I can be his best man?"

He threw a wink at Dean and while Mary babbled on, his eyes wandered over to Cas. It was probably just his imagination, but it felt like a challenge to Cas, so he held the eye contact until Benny nodded shortly before finally giving Mary the attention she demanded. "You here for your Special, little missy?"

"Yes!"

"Alright." He put the girl on a chair at the bar before walking back behind it. "What about the soon to be wedded couple? I'll make you a special price to celebrate the day," he added, grinning like a school boy.

Cas felt the heat on his face once more, while he looked over to Dean to gauge his reaction. The man next to him seemed to be equally embarrassed and Cas saw him mouthing a quick, yet clear "shut up" towards his friend. Out loud, he said: "Cas, do you like warm milk with honey?"

Where has this man been all my life?

Nodding, Cas tried not to look too much like a crazy maniac staring at Dean.

"Any allergies?" Benny added, to which Cas was able to choke out a "no". A few minutes later, he held the best warm milk with honey he had ever tasted in his hands. It was spiced with almond and nutmeg and Cas couldn't believe he'd never thought of it in all his years of drinking this little piece of heaven.

Mary seemed to have the same as him, while Dean had a strong black coffee, only spiced with some chili. Cas would have loved to taste it, but he was pretty sure they hadn't reached that level of intimacy yet.

Instead, he listened to Dean and Benny talk for a little while, mostly about the man's wife and son. Other than that, Mary was quick to retell the events of the day, making all three men smile, although Cas and Dean were both slightly blushing.

"So," Benny asked once Mary mentioned the date once more. "You're gonna join these two on the ice?"

"That's the plan, yes," Cas replied politely, trying to cover up that he had been staring at Dean once more. He should probably try and stop, but it was just so damn hard not to look at the gorgeous man.

"Hope you're good at it, 'cause these two sure are."

Sipping the last of the delicious warm milk, Cas nodded his head slightly. "I hope I'll manage, but I haven't been on the ice for quite some time now. Let's just hope I'll get back into it again quite quickly."

"Don't worry, Prince Cas," Mary told him with a reassuring smile. "I'll show you, and Uncle Dean can catch you." Leaning over towards him, she tried to whisper: "I know, because I fell a lot, but Uncle Dean was always there."

Trying not to imagine some cliché scenario from a bad rom-com, where the guy would catch the girl, but the girl was so adorable and awkward the guy fell for her anyways, Cas gravely thanked the little girl. It wasn't long after that they said their goodbyes to Benny, who promised to take care of Flounder and bring him over once he closed the coffee shop. It was the only way to get him out of Mary's clingy hands. Finally, they crossed the street towards the park.


Ice skating was not like riding a bike. At least not the first few steps and at least not for Cas. He'd loved it so much when he was younger, but the last few years, he'd never had anyone to go with, and since skating alone was just plain boring, he hadn't been on the ice in at least five years. And the trench coat totally didn't help. He hadn't even been on the ice when he'd come to that conclusion. As had Dean, apparently.

"Cas, you sure you can skate in the long coat? Might be a bit of a hindrance."

"I know, but it would be too cold without."

Holding up a hand to signal him to wait, Dean had leaned back down to the backpack he'd left with their normal shoes. When he'd turned back around, he'd been holding an olive green jacket in his hands. It didn't seem to be that warm, but on the other hand, it wasn't that cold outside. Neither of them was wearing gloves or beanies, and Cas' scarf was only there because of his voice. Mary, of course, was a different story. She wore a knitted set of gloves, beanie, and scarf.

"Since we're not gonna be standing around, this should be warm enough," Dean had told him. Cas had only hesitated for a second before shrugging of his trench coat and putting on the jacket Dean handed him. Thanks to his bulky hoody it fit him perfectly.

"Looking good," Dean had said, winking at him before leading the way to the ice rink.

Which was where Cas found himself now. Three careful steps had brought him on the ice, yet he felt slightly shaky, not really wanting to let go of the railing. Had it really been that hard a few years back? He was going to embarrass himself so much in front of Dean... maybe he should say he felt dizzy. Dean didn't know he'd lost his voice thanks to his assbutt of a brother... maybe he could pretend he'd just had a cold and was still not feeling that well... maybe –

Dean stopped right in front of him, his smile so genuine Cas found himself unable to lie when Dean asked if he was feeling alright.

"It's just been a while. I feel a bit more shaky and unsteady than I thought I would."

"Well, you'll never get the hang of it back when you keep clinging to that railing," Dean answered, holding out his hand for Cas to take.

God, this is so cliché.

As was the fact that Dean's eyes mesmerized Cas and held his attention. They were just so green and he was sure he had never seen kinder ones. Dean could have made fun of him, but he didn't. Following every cliché in the book, Cas took Dean's proffered hand and let himself be pulled away from the side. Trying a few shaky glides it didn't take long for him to get back into the rhythm. A few more glides and Cas was sure ice skating was like riding a bike after all – you never really forgot how to do it.

"Look at you," Dean smiled, his hand still there, giving Cas a feeling of safety. "Already looking like a pro again."

That made Cas laugh. As if to contradict Dean, his next glide was not as accurate, making him lose his balance and falter. Dean's grip immediately grew tighter, giving him the support he needed to right himself. "You were saying?" was all Cas said once he was back to gliding relatively smoothly over the ice.

But Dean was right; it didn't take long to get the hang of it again. Whenever he started stumbling or getting wobbly on his feet, Dean would tighten his hold to steady him, but as the minutes passed, those instances became less and less until Cas was sure he wouldn't need Dean's help anymore. Yet, he really liked the feeling of the man's hand in his… he just didn't want him to feel obliged to do it.

"I think it's better now," he started, trying not to make it seem as if he wanted Dean to let go of his hand. "If you need to pay more attention to Mary, please do so. I don't want to monopolize you."

Dean's raised eyebrow and his slightly mocking smile showed Cas that the man wasn't fooled. "Oh, it's alright, Cas, I think she can manage."

He was right. Of course he was right. Mary had been skating right in front of them the whole time, holding herself as if she'd never done anything else. It wasn't hard to see why her family thought about paying for lessons – she was good without even trying and the spark in her eyes whenever she turned back to them as well as the huge smile that seemed to be a constant on her face ever since she'd stepped on the ice, was a testimony to how much she loved every second of it.

"But," Cas tried again, "this is your time together, your thing. I don't –"

"Cas, stop."

He did right away, knowing his arguing was weak at best.

"You're not intruding on anything, really. Sure, this is Mary's and my 'thing', but it was the little munchkin that wanted you here. And so did I." It was probably proof of how much Cas had improved on the skates that neither Dean's words nor his enticing gaze and smile made Cas stumble. And neither did the lure of Dean that pulled him in. He was still sliding over the ice while his eyes were locked on rosy cheeks with freckles, amazing green eyes and soft lips. Oh, those lips. He had the unbelievable need to lean forward and kiss those lips again, taste them once more. They'd probably taste of coffee and chili this time. Cas really wanted to see if he was right.

Only the little hands taking hold of his free right hand pulled him back to reality. They also made him realize how close he had gotten to Dean, all while still being in sync with him, gliding carefully over the ice. Huh, maybe it really was like riding a bike.

"Prince Cas, will you watch me? I wanna show you something."

"Sure, little Princess. I'm watching you."

They spend the next hour or so watching Mary show what she was able to do on the ice, talking as much as Cas' voice would let him (which was by far more than he had thought – Benny's Special seemed to have some healing power of its own) and circling the rink round after round. They were laughing and flirting and the more time passed, the more a warm feeling took hold of Cas. It only grew with each smile Dean would give him. The whole time, Dean's warm hand never left his.


They left the ice when Mary started to get tired – which of course she was adamant wasn't the case. For the first time, Cas witnessed Dean winning an argument and not letting Mary have her way. Oh sure, he gave in to her pleas of "just five more minutes" once, but who wouldn't? After that, he put his foot down and got the protesting girl off the ice.

"In case you're wondering," Dean told him while getting the skates off of the pouting girl. "Yes, it's always this big a drama to leave the ice."

"She loves it, I get it. It really is nice." Turning around, Cas let his eyes wander over the rink, watching the people still skating on it. "I can't believe I forgot how much I loved it," he whispered, almost as if to himself. Dean might not even have heard it, if he hadn't been right by his side all of a sudden.

"You know... you could join us again, maybe? I mean... only if you want to..."

Drawing his eyes away from the field of ice, Cas was touched to see a slight blush bloom on Dean's face, fitting his shy statement and the eyes that wouldn't quite meet his own. Dean really meant it. He made it sound like a casual thing, a meeting with both him and Mary to simply have fun again, but his demeanor revealed what this truly was: Dean was asking him for another date. Cas couldn't have been more thrilled.

"I'd love to. Very much so."

They shared a secret smile before both sat down to get out of the skates and back into their shoes. Cas left Dean to deal with Mary, who was still pouting, and to get her into dry clothes, while he gave back his rented skates. When he got back, Mary held Flounder in her arms, all smiles and happy-chatty princess once more. Cas looked around, but Benny was nowhere to be seen.

"He had to go home. Said something about cookies that needed to be baked and relatives arriving tomorrow. To be honest, it sounded more like 'I don't want to intrude'."

Cas had to laugh at that, amused not only by Benny, but by Dean being so blunt about it.

He switched back into his trench coat, already missing the way it had felt to wear something of Dean's. Dean made a quick run to his car to put their things away, leaving Mary with Cas – which absolutely floored the man. It was one thing to take a stranger to join in on the fun with his niece. It was a completely different thing to leave said stranger alone with her. He was gone for just two minutes, but still. After all, that would have been enough time for Cas to kidnap the sweet little thing.

Maybe, just maybe…

Cas was pondering about what this trust meant. Maybe Dean was feeling like he did. As if they weren't strangers anymore.

Hello there, cliché, Cas thought, but he couldn't deny it: never before had he felt so close to another human being in such a short time. It was as if they just clicked. And not just because of the attraction that was quite obviously mutual. But also on another level. Cas was pretty sure they had a good chance at becoming close friends even if it didn't work out romantically between them. That thought alone made him quite happy.


When Dean came back, they started to tour the Christmas fair. Cas bought a little cherubim that was supposed to be the archangel Gabriel, telling Dean all about his older brother. While Mary was distracted by all the other things on display, he slipped in how he'd really lost his voice. Dean did show some pity, but was mostly laughing, telling Cas some of the shit he'd done to his own little brother.

"You do know this really doesn't improve my picture of you, right? Knowing you're as much of a tormentor as my big brother is."

"Aww, come on, Cas, that's what big brothers do. It's our job."

"Still not working in your favor to impress me," Cas replied, putting the little Gabriel figurine in one of the pockets of his trench coat.

Dean was still smiling, gravely unimpressed by Cas' momentarily pretend-sour look. "No? And what would work in my favor?"

When Cas didn't answer, Dean took his hand. "This?" He intertwined their fingers. "Or this?" He pulled their joint hands to his lips and kissed each of Cas' knuckles. "Or maybe this?"

Cas had to swallow hard before he was able to croak out an answer. "That's a good start." For once, he was pretty sure his weak voice had nothing to do with the loss of it the previous days. Dean's green eyes were sparkling and he sent Cas a dazzling smile. Keeping their hands joined, Dean pulled him towards the booth with the hot chocolate, Mary bouncing a few steps ahead of them.

They sat down at a wooden picnic-table, each of them with a hot chocolate with whipped cream on top, sprinkled with cinnamon and cocoa. Joking around and keeping Mary entertained, Dean made sure to drink his hot chocolate in a way that would leave a whipped cream mustache on his upper lip. They all laughed at it, Cas trying hard not to give in to the urge to just lean over the table and kiss the mustache away. Dean seemed to notice and for a second, Cas was sure the green eyes grew darker, Dean's gaze wandering to Cas' own lips.

The moment was broken when a squeal nearby got their attention. "Look, Mommy. It's the prince from Disney and his prince who saved him."

"It sure is, sweety."

When Cas turned towards the voices, he saw a young girl, maybe about Mary's age and in a similar winter attire. She pulled two beautiful women with her, right up to their table. One of the women had honey colored curls, the other flaming red hair. They all smiled at them, the little girl with excitement in her eyes. "Is your voice really back? Are you married now?"

"No, they're on a date," Mary answered. "But they will marry soon and I'll be the flower girl."

"Wow." The girl's eyes were huge and in pure amazement. "That is so cool."

Cas could feel the heat creep back in his cheeks. How was Dean going to explain to his niece that they weren't going to get married right away? Wait! What was he thinking? Scratch the 'right away'! How was Dean going to explain they weren't going to get married, period. Because surely they wouldn't be… right?

Am I seriously thinking what I'm thinking I'm thinking… I'm thinking I'm confusing myself, I should just stop.

Cas tried to focus back on the girls, who were still chatting as if they were best friends. Mary had introduced herself – this little girl really did have manners – and she had even introduced "Uncle Dean, he's a prince" and "Prince Cas".

"I'm Dori. And these're my moms. Mommy" – she pointed to the redhead – "is a queen and Mum" – to the one with curly hair – "is a fairy."

"Wooow." It was Mary's turn to be amazed. "That makes you a fairy princess. Uncle Dean, can I be a fairy princess, too?" Her head had snapped around to Dean so fast, Cas was scared she'd give herself whiplash. She was almost crawling on his lap, puppy eyes on full force.

"Sure my little munchkin. Everything you want to be," Dean told her, kissing her head gently. Cas was pretty sure that the slight infatuation he had with this man was dipping into crush-territory right then and there.

Mary squealed and jumped down from the bench, Flounder tightly pressed to her chest, the rest of her hot chocolate long forgotten. Once she was in front of Dori, it was as if the two girls were speaking their own language, babbling about everything and nothing. Cas had a strange feeling they were planning the perfect wedding…

"Sorry for interrupting you guys," the red head spoke up, smiling at them. She had one of these open smiles that were simply captivating and infectious. "We were at the store earlier and Dorothy wouldn't shut up about the two of you the rest of the day."

"It's alright, don't worry. You guys wanna sit down for a moment?" Dean asked, indicating the free space on the benches at the picnic table. "I mean…?" he suddenly faltered, looking at Castiel.

"Oh yeah, sure, that's fine," Cas was quick to jump in, nodding in the direction of the girls. "It doesn't look like you'll be able to leave anytime soon."

"Very true," the red head said, sitting down next to Castiel. "I'm Charlie, by the way. And this beautiful fairy is my wife, Gilda."

Gilda smiled and said her hellos, while sitting down next to Dean, taking Mary's vacated seat. Cas studied the two women and was pretty sure that, yes, he had seen them in the shop earlier that day.

It took no time at all for the four adults to fall into a comfortable chit chat just like the kids. Charlie and Gilda wanted to know the real story behind the show, as they called it, and both Dean and Cas took turns telling it, careful that the girls couldn't hear. After that, they found out that Charlie was indeed a queen: Queen of Moondoor, the greatest and largest LARPing game in the world – at least according to Charlie. The fiery woman was obviously quite passionate about her hobby, while Gilda smiled at her wife fondly. They had given her the role of a fairy when she had wanted to join just once to see what all the fuss was about.

Cas was enjoying Dean's poorly hidden excitement about the topic and after just a few minutes, Charlie had roped him into trying to play at least once.

"You can be my handmaiden, I actually need one."

"Wait, I'm a prince, please don't forget that."

"Well, I'm the Queen, never forget that," Charlie threw back, grinning like a maniac and not giving Dean a chance to retort. Turning towards Cas, she fixed him with a calculating gaze. "Hm… mhh… oh, I know! You could be an angel. We introduced the new species just before the holidays; you could still join that group."

"I…" He had absolutely no idea what to say to that.

"Hey!" Dean threw in, looking deeply affronted. "Why does he get to play such a cool part and I would be your handmaiden?"

"Well, duh. Look at him. He just looks like an angel, doesn't he?"

Everything went silent as three pairs of eyes studied Cas and, yep, that was a blush on his cheeks once more. It only got worse when he looked up and found Dean's heated gaze on him, a playful smile grazing his lips. "Yes," Dean answered Charlie, never breaking eye contact with Cas. "Yes, he absolutely does."

Isn't it supposed to be cold outside? Cas suddenly had the urge to rip his scarf off, he felt way too hot. A snicker from the woman next to him let him snap out of it.

"I guess we should leave you two to your date again," Gilda spoke up, already getting up and taking her wife's hand, probably to pull her along. "It was so nice meeting you two."

Cas and Dean both told her the same, while Charlie asked her to hang on a second, rummaging in her many pockets. Gilda let her and picked up Dori, while Mary already crawled back on the bench. Cas could see that she was much quieter and for a second he worried. Had something happened? Even during the talk, the adults had kept their eyes on the girls who had been playing around in the snow and with Flounder. But maybe they had missed something? The moment Mary cuddled up so close to Dean she was practically on his lap, arms tightly around his arm, head resting against his biceps, Cas realized that Mary was simply starting to get tired. He quickly checked his watch. It was way past 10 pm. No wonder the sweet little girl was getting tired, even with all the sugar in her blood.

"Ha, found it," Charlie exclaimed, handing Dean and Cas both a card with her name and number. "Let's stay in touch; I really loved talking to you."

"Yeah, sure," Dean assured her enthusiastically, checking out the business card. "A photographer, eh? You don't, by any miracle, have time before Christmas?"

"Depends," Charlie answered truthfully.

"My brother – Mary's father – wanted to have a family portrait taken while Jess is still pregnant. He just forgot that everybody would either be busy or not working around Christmas. But the baby could be here any day now, so –"

"Sure," Charlie interrupted. "Just give me a call on Monday."

"Great, thanks. I certainly will."

They all said their goodbyes, Dori already half asleep on her mother's arm, Mary not far behind her, snuggled close to Dean.

Once the three ladies were gone, it took Cas and Dean a few minutes to stop watching Mary being all cute and adorable. Flounder was still in her arms, squished tightly to her chest and Dean's arm.

"I hate to say it, but I think we need to leave. Princess needs her sleep." While he said it, Dean used his other hand to gently caress her head, stroking some of the hair that had escaped her beanie out of her eyes.

For a wild second, Cas wished those hands would do the same to him.

"Yes, let's go," he choked out, keeping his breath and voice regular.

Picking Mary up, Dean positioned her against his chest and shoulder in a way that would be comfortable for both of them. Flounder was dangling dangerously on their side, one little hand barely holding on to one string of his blue hair. Carefully, Cas took the stuffed fish from her as he fell into step next to Dean. The man shifted Mary a bit so one of his hands became free. Taking Cas' hand again, he gave him an adoring smile, leading the way back to his car.


The ride back to Cas' house – well, Gabriel's house really, but whatever – was way too short in Cas opinion. They were holding hands the whole way. It felt surreal, yet so perfectly right. As if something between them just fit and that was it.

Cas used the first few minutes of the drive to put Dean's number in his phone and ring him, so he would have Cas' in return. After that, he sat back and watched the handsome man right next to him.

"Is it just me?" He asked Dean after a few silent minutes in which he hadn't been able to take his eyes of him.

Dean seemed to have the same problem, as his eyes constantly left the street and wandered over to the man in the passenger seat. This time, he looked at him questioningly.

"I mean… This might sound stupid, but… I feel like…"

"Like we have a connection?"

"Yeah," Cas nodded. "Yeah. Is that weird?"

"Maybe." Once more, Dean's eyes wandered over, holding his gaze. "But I don't care. It just… it feels right, you know?"

Yes, Cas did know.

"So, you don't think it's weird that we hardly know each other, yet we have this connection? We just trust each other?"

Dean was quiet for a long time. When he spoke again, Cas wasn't sure if he was changing the subject or not.

"Back in the store, did you hear Mary mention the name Hans?"

Having no idea what Dean was playing at, Cas simply nodded.

"I never dated a guy named Hans." A twisted smile played at Dean's lips. As if he was remembering a bittersweet memory. "His real name was Brady. He was a college friend of Sam's, so my brother had known him for many years and so had I. By chance, we met again shortly after Mary was born. We kinda hit it off and started this on and off relationship thing. I… well I'd had some bad experiences with women and relationships at that point, so I had no interest in them anymore, at least for a while. So no matter how often Brady and I broke it off, eventually we would end up back together. Of course that meant that he was also part of Mary's life. We had no idea how or why, but she never once called him Brady. From the moment she could talk – and the moment she'd first watched Frozen – she'd call him Hans. We tried to find explanations: maybe the name Brady was too hard for her to pronounce, maybe in her eyes he looked like him. When she was finally old enough to rationalize things, I asked her. Her answer was so simple it really cut me. 'Because, Uncle Dean,' she said, 'he's just like Hans.' It got me thinking. At first, I thought he might have been mean to her, you know? She'd never really liked him, but she didn't shy away from him either, like you would expect a kid that had been hurt by an adult. It took me two more months to finally get it."

"What happened?" Cas quietly and gently prompted when Dean seemed to have a hard time continuing.

"I found him in my bed with another guy."

Cas closed his eyes, painfully able to imagine what Dean must have felt back then and now. He squeezed his hand, giving him his silent support. Words wouldn't help here anyway.

They were quiet again for a few minutes, just a few blocks down from where Cas lived.

"Mary loves you already," Dean spoke again and Cas actually needed a second to realize that Dean wasn't starting a new topic. He never had. That was his explanation. When their eyes met again, Castiel's suspicion was confirmed: Mary trusted him, so Dean could as well. Because a kid was a better judge of character than most adults could ever be.


When they pulled up at Cas' driveway, it was close to 11 pm, but he didn't want to let go. Mary was asleep in her seat, Flounder right next to her.

Dean cut off the engine. "I guess I don't have to tell you, but: I had a great evening."

"Me too," Cas replied, watching Dean in the semi darkness. The next streetlight was a few yards away and the lights in the surrounding houses were all off. It was a quiet neighborhood.

Dean looked up, catching Cas staring at him. People had often told him that he would weird them out with his staring, yet Dean didn't seem to mind. On the contrary, he stared right back.

"I know it's only our first date." When Dean spoke again, he was whispering and Cas was thankful for it. He didn't want the moment to ever stop and speaking too loud would surely ruin it. He had no idea how long they'd already been sitting there, staring at each other. Could have been seconds, could have been hours. "But I really want to kiss you right now."

Cas heart skipped a beat before thundering back to life twice as fast.

"We've already kissed," he whispered back, voice hardly audible. It didn't have to be, Dean was already so close to him. "I don't think normal dating procedure applies to us."

"Good," Dean replied, eyes already fluttering shut, closing the last little gap between them.

Just like before, Cas couldn't suppress the tiny gasp that escaped him. He'd felt embarrassed about it the first time, but just like then, Dean's kiss intensified and Cas couldn't find it in him to be embarrassed now. He could feel Dean's hand in his hair, his pinky grazing the nape of his neck just so, almost tickling him. It felt amazing. Without a conscious decision, his own hand wandered to Dean's jacket, gripping it tight, pulling closer, never wanting to let go. He parted his lips and this time, Dean took the invitation. He tasted of hot chocolate with just a hint of chili.

It was almost impossible to suppress his moans. The first kiss had been amazing, but this…this kiss…

Heaven.

It was pure heaven with maybe just a tiny bit of hell. Because Cas wanted more, so much more, but the awkward position made it almost impossible. He wanted to straddle the man and God knows he most likely would have, had it not been for Mary. She was sleeping peacefully, yes, but she was still there and whatever would happen once he climbed on Dean's lap was most certainly nothing child friendly.

So instead, Cas slowly let this wonderful kiss draw to an end. Without hesitating, Dean followed him, not letting his lips get too far away. Cas gave in willingly, reveling in the feeling of being wanted by a man like Dean.

When his want for this man started to actually hurt, he tried again to bring the kiss to an end and this time, Dean gave in, letting his forehead rest against Cas' instead.

"I could do this all night long," Dean told him, eyes still closed, voice still just a whisper.

Cas couldn't help being a tease. "Trust me, if you were free tonight, kissing wouldn't be the only thing I could do all night long."

He had to bite his lips to hold back his laughter when Dean actually groaned at his words, shifting his hips just enough to make Cas realize that he had the same effect on this gorgeous man as Dean had on him.

"Please don't say that," Dean begged him, hand starting to massage Cas neck, their foreheads still touching. It started to hurt, being forced to look cross-eyed, so he closed his eyes again.

"Why?"

"Because if I think about it too much, I would wish I didn't have Mary to stay."

"You don't mean that," Cas chided him, huge smile clear in his voice. He could feel Dean shake his head no.

"No, I don't mean that. But maybe I would lock my door for the first time."

God, he was so adorable. How often had Mary wandered over to her uncle's bed in the middle of the night? The picture made Cas grin even wider. He pulled back slightly, giving Dean a sweet kiss on the tip of his nose. That seemed to finally get the man out of his trance. He sucked in a deep breath as if just waking up, opening those green eyes at last. His hand was still in Cas' hair and they stared into each other's eyes for a few more minutes.

Cas had no idea what Dean was thinking about, but maybe it was something close to the things that shot through his own head.

How is this real? How is this possible? Where has this man been all my life? How did I get so lucky that I met him? And why are there bees in my stomach, doing somersaults?

"Are you free tomorrow?"

Cas could only nod.

"Mary and I are going to make Christmas cookies. If you promise not to eat Mary's portion of the batter, I'm sure she'd be happy to have you."

"But the batter is the best part of baking."

A smile twitched at Dean's lips. "We can share my half."

"That sounds perfect. I'd love to."

In lieu of an answer, Dean kissed him once more, just a single, closemouthed press to his lips, but it was enough to let the hive of bees in Cas' stomach buzz again.

"I'll text you my address tomorrow."

"Okay."

They kissed once, twice more, before Dean pulled his hand out of Cas' hair. With one last glance back at the still sleeping girl, Cas finally took his backpack and got out of the car. At his door, he turned around once more, smiling at the black car almost in complete darkness. It wasn't until he had safely closed the front door and sagged against it with a happy smile that he heard the low roar of the Impala, getting quieter the further it pulled away.

"Well, hello there."

Cas was pretty sure he had a heart attack just then and there.

"Gabriel!" he choke-screamed out, glaring at his brother. The assbutt had the audacity to just grin at him and chuckle.

"I was just about to come outside and ask if you'd like a blanket and some pillows."

"… What?"

"I was wondering if you and whoever's face you were sucking wanted to sleep outside."

Cas must have looked pretty stupid, as Gabriel simply pointed to the clock they had hanging on the wall.

It was almost midnight.

They had just made out in the car for about an hour.

"Good thing you got home before midnight or that sweet ride would have turned into a pumpkin and I'd had to come to your rescue."

He'd just made out with a man he hardly knew, who made the bees inside him buzz whenever he thought of those green eyes and those lips and these hands. All Cas could do was to give a beatific smile as he pushed off the door and past his brother.

"Wrong fairytale," he told him, leaving a confused Gabriel in his wake.


He was already in bed but unable to sleep, still high from thoughts of Dean, when his phone buzzed like bees. He took it off the nightstand and opened the message.

It was a picture of Mary in Ariel PJs, fast asleep and cuddling close to Flounder. The text read Dreaming of her prince?

Before he could answer, a second picture popped up. It was a selfie of Dean's profile, head on a pillow, eyes closed as if he was sleeping, a soft smile playing on his lips. The text was so cheesy and Cas couldn't help feeling absolutely giddy: I know I am.

Dork :)

Quickly, Cas took a selfie with a similar pose, only his profile the other way around so if they had been in the same bed, they would have been facing each other. He added just two simple words and sent it, before putting the phone back on the nightstand and going to sleep, a content smile on his lips.

Me too.


Note: I hope you didn't drown in all the fluff :)