"So…Jimmy and I are thinking about taking a road trip during the summer. I mean, we've been planning it for a couple of months but nothing has really been decided yet. What do you think?" Dean asked.
It was a month after Jimmy had found out about him and Cas. They were sat outside on the deck while Cas smoked and Dean drank from a bottle of beer. Cas looked over at Dean with a lazy smile and nodded his head. Dean smiled back at the idea of spending the whole summer driving around the US with his best friend and boyfriend. It was a good thought.
"Where are you thinking of going?" Cas asked as he leant next to Dean.
"Everywhere, Jimmy wants to go to all these random places and I really wanna check out Vegas." Dean said. They had started planning the trip a few months previous. Jimmy had a long list of bizarre places he wanted to check out and, even though he would never admit it, Dean thought that a few of them actually sounded kind of cool.
"My brother is actually on board with letting me come with you to Vegas? That doesn't sound right." Cas said with a snort. Dean rolled his eyes. Sure he had heard some crazy stories about Cas but the guy seemed to have slowed down now that he and Dean were together.
"He doesn't really get a say. If he says no to Vegas then I'm saying no to going to see that goat who can blow smoke rings." Dean said. That damn goat had been the only thing Jimmy had talked about for nearly three days.
"You wouldn't dare." Cas said in mock horror.
"Oh I would." Dean said with a wink. Cas winked right back and Dean felt a spike of desire rush through him. Even after all these months Cas was still able to reduce him to nothing but a hormonal teenager.
"Is it safe to come outside? You guys aren't naked are you?" Jo called from inside.
"Yeah we are Jo, it's all dick and balls out here." Cas called back. Jo snorted loudly and came outside, clearly not believing Cas for a second.
"If Dean had said that I might have believed it." Jo said sitting down opposite them with a beer in her hand. "What are you guys talking about?"
"The road trip this summer." Dean said
"You fuckers, I wish I could go." Jo whinged. During the summer Jo was going back home to help out at her mother's bar. Whenever Jimmy or Dean brought up the trip she would get pissy.
"I could always try to convince Ellen to let you come with us."
"Yeah like that is going to happen. My mama makes you want to piss your pants." Jo said. Cas snorted loudly. "You think I'm joking Novak, the first time Dean met her he tried to hit on her then swiftly learnt that Ellen Harvelle could kick his ass."
"Your mother is an attractive woman."
"Gross, I think I prefer you talking about Cas' junk." Jo said wrinkling her nose.
"I always enjoy that topic of conversation." Cas said with a smirk. Both Dean and Jo rolled their eyes at that. Dean and Jo went back to drinking their beers while Cas smoked. They were quiet but Dean enjoyed the silence. He enjoyed the calm he felt when Cas was with him.
The road trip was going to be Dean, Cas, Jimmy and Dean's younger brother Sam. Dean and Jimmy finished in the last week of May with Cas finishing a week later. On Sam's last day of school the three of them were going to travel to Kansas then the four were going to head off the day after.
Sam was the first to bail. He got a summer job at their father's insistence. Dean tried to be pissed about it but when Sam started talking about a girl, Ruby, who worked there he knew that there was no point.
Jimmy was the next to bail. Months prior he had applied for a summer internship and then had swiftly forgotten about it. That was until he had gotten a phone call securing his place. Once again Dean tried to be pissed but Jimmy was really excited about the internship.
"Looks like it's just going to be you and me." Dean to Cas over the phone the day before he planned to drive out to Olympia.
"Just you, me and the open road until Labour Day weekend? However will we keep ourselves entertained?" Cas asked with a chuckle.
"I can think of a few things."
"They better include getting naked in that sexy ass car of yours." Cas said boldly. Dean promised him that those plans certainly did. "Can't wait Farm Boy. This is certainly going to be an interesting summer." Cas replied.
Jimmy saw him off the next morning. "You better look after my brother." He said.
"What do you expect me to do? Ditch his ass on the side of a random highway?" Dean asked. He threw his duffel bag into the trunk of the Impala and gave Jimmy a quick hug goodbye.
"Hey the thought has crossed my mind more than once." Jimmy said with a grin. "Nah, just look after him. He acts all tough and cool but he's still Cas. He's still my brother." Dean rolled his eyes and assured Jimmy that he would keep his eyes on Cas at all times. "And you looked over my list?" Jimmy asked.
"You mean the list entitled 'Things Dean and Cas Are Not Allowed to do on Their Road Trip'?" Dean replied. Jimmy nodded. Dean sighed but pulled out the piece of notebook paper covered in Jimmy's scrawl.
Things Dean and Cas Are Not Allowed to do on Their Road Trip
By Jimmy Novak
Gross photos on social media. We don't need to have Facebook filled up with you two gross assholes
No naked photos. I don't need to see either of your guy's dicks
Cheesy tattoos. Cas, you don't have any space left for tattoos apart from your ass.
Don't get arrested. Seriously guys, sex in public is not something I'm bailing you out of jail for.
Cas you're not allowed to feel Dean up while he's driving. He will crash and John will kill him if he fucks up the car.
Seriously guys, I don't need to hear any gross stories.
TAKE A PHOTO OF THE GOAT THAT BLOWS SMOKE RINGS
SERIOUSLY GUYS. I NEED TO SEE THAT GOAT.
If I find bodily fluid in the car when you come back I'm gonna be so grossed out. The thought of you two having sex is kind of gross.
That's not homophobic Cas so don't give me any shit.
"Is there anything else you want to add to this weird ass list?" Dean asked.
"Nope. I mean it about the cheesy tattoos. You guys are better than that." Jimmy said giving Dean one last hug before Dean got into the car. "Oh and make sure that Cas actually eats. Coffee and cigarettes are not a food group."
"Yes mother!" Dean called from the window.
Dean fired off a quick text to Cas as he pulled out the street.
I'm setting off now. You all packed?
Jumbo box of condoms, lube and as spare pair of boxers. That's what you mean by being packed right? Cas fired back. Dean snorted and shook his head. This was going to be an interesting trip that much was clear.
Dean was all packed. The impala was full of all the last minute things he needed to take to Missouri for the wedding. His suit was already there. Anna had assured him several times that she had picked it up for him. Dean had pointed out that she didn't have to tell him that several times and Anna's reply had been very short.
As he hit the highway Dean found his mind wandering yet again. The wedding was only a few days away and it really had been a stressful road leading up to the big day. He wished that people would stop staring at him with a pitying look all the time but he knew it was only going to get worse over the weekend. He was close to yelling "I AM PERFECTLY FINE WITH BEING HERE SO STOP ACTING LIKE I'M GOING TO BREAK BECAUSE OF MY OWN FAILED MARRIAGE!" Anna would probably kill him if he did that.
Speak of the devil. Dean had only been driving for thirty minutes and already Anna was ringing him.
"Yes?" Dean asked as he accept the call and switched his cell phone to loudspeaker.
"Hey, I'm just checking in and seeing if you're ok." Anna said sounding calmer than she had in weeks.
"Yeah Anna I'm fine. Fucking hell, you're not going to start with the pity are you?" Dean asked groaning. He couldn't handle it if Anna started with the pity as well.
"No I'm not so don't get pissy. I'm just asking if you're ok."
"Yeah Anna, I'm fine." Dean said.
"I just want to make sure. I know you've said you're ok with all of this but you've got to be thinking about him. It's only natural." Anna said. Dean owed Anna a lot. She had been there to help him pick up the pieces after everything went to shit. Anna had stayed with him for several days after Cas left. She made sure that Dean was eating and there was even that one time she held him while Dean cried. Dean owed her a lot.
"Have you heard from him?" Dean asked. He and Anna hadn't spoken about Cas for months, nearly a year actually.
"Not a thing. I sent an invitation via email because I don't know whereabouts he is at the moment but he never got back to me. I wish he would call but that's asking a lot." Anna said sounding sad. One of the things Dean hated the most about the divorce was that Anna and Jimmy had lost their brother. Cas hadn't just left Dean, he had left his whole family. "I know it's going to be hard but just try not to think about him this weekend. This is about Jimmy and Amelia."
"I know it is." Dean said rolling his eyes.
"Don't roll your eyes at me Dean Winchester." Anna said. How the fuck did she know? "So you're going to be here in a few hours right?"
"Yeah. When's the party again?" Dean asked. Instead of an engagement party (because the engagement had been so short) Anna had planned a pre-wedding party. Amelia and Jimmy had forgone a normal bachelor and bachelorette party. Apparently they had far too much to do to waste three das recovering from killer hangovers. They may have had a point there.
"It starts at eight. You'll be there by that time right? I need you there."
"Anna I know you're secretly in love with me but calm yourself, this is Jimmy's weekend."
"Shut up Dean, you know what I mean."
"I know, I know. I kind of need you there too. You can drag my drunk ass to bed at the end of this."
"Oh Dean, you sure know how to treat a woman." Anna said. Dean snorted loudly. "I've got to go Dean, the caterers are here. Call me when you're nearly at mine ok?"
"Yeah sure thing. See you later Anna." Dean said before Anna hung up. Once off the phone Dean turned up the radio and let the sounds of The Who fill up the impala. He only had to get through the next week without fucking up then Dean would be fine. Ok, that was easier said than done but Dean was going to try.
"Wait...say that again. I could have sworn you said something stupid then." Jimmy said over the phone. Dean and Cas had been travelling around for a few weeks and by that point they had been in Vegas for two days. Not that Dean could remember a lot of it.
"In my defence we were drunk and it was Cas' idea. I think." Dean said. "I don't really remember much." He added as he tried to think over the previous night. Really, it was all a blur.
"Dude I said look after my brother not to marry him in Vegas." Jimmy shouted down the phone. "You've been...whatever for like, six or seven months? Most people just get a fucking cat or dumb ass tattoos. They don't get married." Dean was silent. "Aw fuck, you got dumb ass tattoos didn't you? Did you not read my list?" Jimmy groaned.
"They were cheaper than wedding rings." Dean said looking down at the simple inking on his ring finger. Cas, who was lying next to him in bed, mumbled something in his sleep and flung an arm across Dean. Dean siled down at his…well his husband and smiled. True, Jimmy was yelling at him down the phone but he had Cas next to him. That made everything ok.
"Your mama is gonna freak." Jimmy said.
"Mom loves Cas." Dean pointed out. Mary did, she loved both the Novak twins. She'd always doted on Jimmy and now she accepted Cas easily, even with all his weirdness.
"Ok your dad is gonna freak." Jimmy did have a point there.
"No change there then." Dean said. The less John said about his relationship with Cas the better. John had only met Cas once and that had been painful enough. Dean didn't want to think about what John would say when he found out that Dean had drunkenly married Cas in Vegas.
"When are you two idiots coming home?" Jimmy asked.
"Cas wants to go to San Fran so we're heading to California after this. We'll be back in Kansas in two weeks maybe?"
"Then what?" Jimmy pressed.
"You want me to tell what I'm planning to do with your brother?" Dean asked with a snort. Jimmy had a firm 'Don't talk about fucking my brother' rule.
"Be serious Dean, what are you two gonna do?"
"Rent a place? I don't know...I don't know if I want to move or Cas does." Dean said. "Fucking hell Jimmy, I'm far too hungover to talk about what me and my husband are gonna do once we're home."
"Fuck...you're really serious about this aren't you? Like it's not just some drunk thing that you two are regretting?" Dean really looked at Cas. Yes he was scruffy and blunt, he said thgins he probably shouldn't and he had more tattoos than his parents would ever deem acceptable. Dean loved him though, he really loved him.
"Honestly Jimmy...this feels right. This feels like it." Dean said and he meant it. He never expected to marry anyone after six months, let alone have it be Jimmy's twin brother, but this just felt right.
"Mary and John are going to have a fit." Jimmy said.
"I'm accepting that. So...you're not pissed."
"I'm furious but what can I do? I'm here in Kansas, my mom is in Missouri with Anna and you and you're wife are in Vegas."
"I doubt Cas will be happy to know you think he's the wife." Dean said with a snort. Dean knew that Jimmy was rolling his eyes at him. "Look, I know you're gonna kill us both when we get home but…but this feels right Jimmy. It really does."
"I can't believe that you're married. I can't believe that you're married to my brother. This is going to take some getting used to." Jimmy said. From his place in the bed, Cas groaned loudly and opened his bloodshot eyes. Someone was seriously hungover.
"My whole body hurts." Cas groaned.
"Is that Cas? Pass the phone over, I want to yell at him." Jimmy said quickly.
"If you yell at him I think his brain will explode." Dean said while Cas continued to groan. "How's the head babe?" Dean asked Cas. Cas groaned yet again. "Yeah, his brain will definitely explode if you yell." Dean said.
"Fine but as soon as he stops feeling like death I want to talk to him." Jimmy said. He soon hung up while Cas rubbed his eyes and prayed for the room to stop spinning.
"I swear I'm never drinking that much fucking alcohol ever again. I feel like total fucking shit." Cas groaned. God he really did have a potty mouth. "Dean…why does my hand hurt?" he then asked before looking down at his hand and spotting the simple inking on his ring finger. "Ok…ok…was it just a really drunken dream or did I suggest that we get married last night?"
"You suggested that we should get married. You then dragged me to one of those shitty little chapels and a fat guy dressed as Elvis married us." Dean said as he scrolled through his phone. He had very little memory of this so was getting the information off his phone. Cas simply stared at Dean with a shocked look on his face. "Hey don't look at me like that, it was your idea."
"I suppose I could do a lot worse than some farm boy from Kansas." Cas finally said.
"Gee thanks Novak, I'm so glad I married a foul mouthed tortured hipster now."
"Fuck off Winchester, you love me and you know it." Cas said grinning over at Dean. Dean couldn't even be bothered to fight the smile that spread across his face as he looked at Cas. He leant over gently and captured Cas' lips in a kiss. "You know what will cure this hangover?"
"Bacon?" Dean suggested.
"No, a blowjob. After that I'll try some bacon." Cas said before he grinned wickedly at Dean. God, Dean was married to this scruffy, good looking man.
Dean was married. Holy fuck. This was going to change everything.
Anna's backyard was full of people and Dean was sure he was in hell. Everyone was milling around chatting to one another or picking small canapes off the trays various waiters kept offering. Dean had only been there for thirty minutes and he was already totally done. As if by magic Anna appeared at his side with a glass of something in her hand. She handed Dean the drink.
"Whiskey." She said before Dean even had to ask. Dean gave her a thankful smile. "You doing ok?" She asked with concern.
"Oh yeah, this is a barrel of laughs." Dean said sarcastically. "Your cousins have been eyeing me up since I got here. I'm waiting for one of them to ask me something inappropriate." He added with a weary sigh.
"I'm betting all my money that it will be Gabriel. He never could hold his tongue." Anna said glancing over to where her three cousins, Michael, Lucifer and Gabriel, were stood. All three of them were drinking heavily and Dean was just waiting for one of them to approach him. He'd only met once but that had been enough.
"How's Jimmy and Amelia holding up?" Dean asked nodding over to where the happy couple were stood talking to various relatives. Dean had already had an awkward encounter with Jimmy's mother. He hadn't seen much of her over the past two years but when he had she had looked at him with so much sadness.
"I keep sneaking Amelia glasses of wine. I should probably stop soon before she becomes a drunken mess." Anna said though she really didn't look that sorry. Dean snorted and shook his head. "I'm just making sure she enjoys herself."
"You're such a good bridesmaid." Dean said.
"Come on, stop being such a sour puss and dance with me. I hired the band for a reason." Anna said letting Dean drain his drink before she grabbed his arm and lead him towards the makeshift dance floor. The music was some sort of light, airy jazz song which seems fairly easy for Dean to follow. He held onto Anna and just let his mind wander while they danced together.
He knew this week was going to be a difficult week, it always was when he was around Cas' family as it brought up so many memories, but Dean knew that he needed to put his feelings aside. This week wasn't about him, it was about Jimmy and Amelia. They were the ones who mattered.
"Oh holy Jesus." Anna gasped as she looked behind Dean. Before Dean could even spin around he heard a voice he hadn't heard in two years. Two long years.
"Hello Dean." Dean's stomach dropped. Slowly he let go of Anna, turned around and came face to face with none other than Castiel Novak, previously Castiel Winchester. "How are you?" Cas asked, his voice just as deep as it always had been.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" Dean snapped before he could think of anything else to say. Cas looked taken aback at Dean's harsh tone.
"It's my brother's wedding." Cas said, his brow furrowed. "Why wouldn't I be here?" He then asked. Dean said nothing. What the fuck? What the actual fuck? It had been two years. Two years since anyone had seen Cas or had any real contact with him. Now he just showed up completely out of the blue? Anna had said he wasn't going to be at the wedding. Dean thought he was safe.
"I…you never…you didn't call me." Anna stammered looking between Cas and Dean. Dean just continued to stare at Cas. He hadn't changed much in two years. His hair was still a complete mess, his stubble just as wild. Like every other man at the party he was in a suit but the sleeves of his shirt and jacket were rolled up to his elbows many of his tattoos were visible. He was still as good looking as he had been the last time Dean saw him. That didn't mean shit though. Dean couldn't think about Cas like that anymore.
"Yeah, I'm sorry. It's been crazy. I've only just got back into the country and-" Whatever Cas was going to say next Dean didn't want to here. He turned around and walked away. He looked around the backyard and hurried over to Jimmy as soon as he spotted him.
"Your brother is here." Dean said as soon as he got to Jimmy's side. Jimmy's mouth dropped open and he scanned the backyard until he saw Cas stood next to Anna. Anna was talking very animatedly, waving her hands around in front of her. Dean couldn't hear her but it was clear that Anna was pissed.
"Fuck." Jimmy said.
"Yeah, fuck." Dean said. "I can't do this Jimmy, I'm sorry but I can't." He said as his breath became shallow. "I…I gotta get out of here." Amelia looked stricken but nodded her head. Dean was staying at Anna's house until the wedding so he tore back into the house to quickly get changed out of his suit.
Fuck. Fuck!