A/N: It's finally over, at least as far as I had planned. I feel bad for Balthy but we all knew where this was headed. Hope you enjoyed it and this final part!

Life was almost back to normal after that. Castiel and Balthazar stuck around Seattle for a few more days before heading home. Turns out the woman who owned the house they were looking into had called and told Balthazar it was theirs. They moved in soon after they got home and held a housewarming-slash-engagement party a week after they had finally settled in. Castiel was in the kitchen, not really in a party mood and feeling restricted by the suit he was wearing, when Anna walked. He was rubbing at a non-existent smudge on the stainless steel stovetop when she threw herself into the barstool directly across from him.

"You do know you're supposed to be happy, right?" she said, raising an eyebrow.

"What are you talking about? I'm elated," Castiel said, trying to smile. It came out more as a grimace.

"Cas," Anna said, a warning in her voice.

"Drop it Anna, I'm fine."

At that Anna lifted herself off the stool, smoothed out her dress, and walked around the island to wrap her arms around him. Castiel held her close and let his head rest on her shoulder.

"I know. It's everything I've ever wanted. It's just…" he trailed off.

"I don't know what happened to you while you were gone, but you're different," Anna said, offering him a small smile as she pulled away a little, "I hate seeing you this miserable."

Castiel smiled a little and pulled her in for one more hug before finally letting go.

He was standing with Balthazar, talking to another couple. Balthazar was talking about the house and the engagement.

"So I'm between meetings when she calls," Balthazar says, "and she offers us the house. But before I can give an answer she asks in we're married. I told her we weren't and I could hear the hesitation in her voice now and I just interrupt her and say, 'But we're going to be.' Then we get everything settled and I realize, well, why not? We would've gotten around to it eventually anyways," Balthazar finishes, looking at Castiel and smiling that smile that used to make Castiel weak in the knees.

"Excuse me," Castiel mumbles and makes his way to their bathroom, hearing Balthazar immediately start talking to the other couple about something. He heads to the sink and splashes water on his face to clear his head. Castiel doesn't know why he's freaking out. Or, he won't admit it, at least. It's everything he's ever wanted, but something's missing.

He wanders into their bedroom and sees his suitcase sitting on the floor in the corner, scuffed and dirty, nothing like it was when he'd first used it. Just as he's about to head back into the throng of people in the living room, an alarm goes off. It sounds like a fire alarm and he can hear people hurrying out the door. As the guests make their way outside, Castiel can hear Balthazar gathering up things from his office.

"…still haven't put it on Facebook," Castiel hears Balthazar say as he walks into their bedroom. "Hurry up, grab anything valuable. I think the alarm's just malfunctioning but we should get out, just in case," Balthazar adds as he picks up his phone off the nightstand. Something clicks then in Castiel's head and he grabs his phone from the other table and exits the room quickly. He's gone by the time Balthazar comes back in and drops everything, a lost expression on his face when he sees the ring shining where Castiel's phone had been moments ago.

It was warm when Castiel pulled up in his small rental car. It was around noon and the place was packed with the lunch rush. He made his way to the bar slowly and sat down when Sam's back was turned. When the taller man turned around, he noticed Castiel and his eyes lit up and a smile broke out on his face.

"Cas!" Sam shouted. "Didn't think I'd see you 'round here again."

"My plans changed," Castiel said. Sam's face lit up in a knowing smile.

"Do you want me to get Dean?" Sam asked, turning around quickly when Castiel just nodded. He watched as Sam stuck his head through the door in the back and said, "Dude, there's someone here for you."

Castiel watched the door intently as Dean walked out, drying his hands on a towel, before catching Castiel's eye and dropping the towel.

"Hello Dean," Castiel said quietly, feeling his face grow warm. Dean didn't seem ready to believe Castiel was actually there as he stuttered out "H-hey Cas."

Neither man said anything for the next few moments, neither of them letting their gazes drop. Sam decided to take things into his own hands and walked over to where Castiel was sitting and said, gently, like he was afraid of spooking a wild animal, "Why don't you two go talk in the kitchen."

Castiel got up slowly and made his way around the counter and followed Dean's still-shocked form into the kitchen. They stared at each other for another moment until Dean broke the silence, saying, "Where's Balthazar?"

Castiel shrugged, "But I'm sure he doesn't want to see me," he added, his voice heavy with guilt. "Dean, I-" he started, but he wasn't sure how to finish. He had missed Dean, yes, he loved him, that he was certain about, but he didn't know how Dean would respond to any of these so he fell silent. Dean was looking at him carefully now. Suddenly, he walked out of the kitchen and down the hall Castiel knew led to his room. Castiel was frozen in place, unsure of what to do. Had Dean rejected him? That seems like the only reason he'd just leave. He was determining whether he could get out the back door without being notice when Dean walked back in. He looked nervous and excited and Castiel was officially lost. Dean walked right up to him and took one of Castiel's hands, the left one. Dean pressed something into his hand and took a step back, putting a respectable distance between them. When Castiel opened his hand, he saw a ring lying there.

"It's not…y'know. I just figured, since you convinced me to go get it, should be yours," Dean said, his eyes never leaving Castiel's.

Castiel surged forward, kissing Dean and pushing him back against the counter. Castiel was so intent on mapping out the inside of Dean's mouth with his tongue that neither of them heard the door open. They did, however, hear Sam's deep, bellowing laugh as he shouted, "Not in the kitchen guys. We don't need a citation from the health department."

Dean had to get back to work, much to the dismay of both men. He told Castiel to make himself at home and they parted with one more lingering kiss. Castiel made his way down the back hallway and completely ignored every door except the one on the end. He stepped through slowly, letting the sun warm his face as he walked to the car that was exactly where it had been the first and only other time he'd been back there. Castiel pulled the door open and climbed in. He sat there for a moment, taking in the smell of old leather and Dean before grabbing the tape out of his pocket and sliding it in. He had been wandering through a music store in New York a few days after getting home and found the tape he'd thrown out of Dean's car all that time ago. He hadn't been sure what he was going to do with it then but now he was glad he had bought it. Now he just had to figure out a way to repay Dean for the sandwich.

Fin

A/N 2 – If you guys want to know about any other parts, I'll try to write them. Just no porn. I don't think I could write that decently and then it'd be awkward…