ONE MONTH LATER
Dean sighed and looked in the mirror. This was it. This was his last date. Then he would be at the garage full time and he wouldn't have to lie to people anymore. He wouldn't have to lie about who he was dating or what he did for a living. He could finally be honest. He was dating an amazing man that he was falling for (maybe a month was too soon for the word love, but he was definitely falling into something), he would have a great job with his uncle and one of his best friends, what more could somebody ask for?
He walked out to his car and got in. He was meeting this woman (Celeste) at a bar with her parents. Apparently, she was a lesbian, but didn't want her parents to know, so in stepped Dean. "An easy one" Meg had said. His last date and an easy dinner with the folks that would not lead anywhere, for sure. He drove to the bar and looked around for "striking red hair" as she had described herself. He saw one girl that fit that, but she was sitting by herself at a high-topped table. She waved him over and Dean walked over.
"Hi, are you Celeste?" The girl took a sip of something that looked fruity and sugary, then nodded and offered her hand.
"I am, and call me Charlie." Dean took and shook her hand before sitting down.
"Charlie," Dean smiled. "Nice to meet you, Charlie. So, tell me about what the plan…" Charlie held up her hand.
"The plan, sweetheart, is you're going to tell me about what's going on with you and my Cas." Dean's blood ran cold. HER Cas?
"I…um…I didn't know…Cas never told me that he was dating…" Charlie started laughing.
"Oh, no no no no. Haha, no. Not my Cas in THAT way. I am actually a lesbian, didn't they tell you that? I mean, he's blowing me off for you, he and I have barely talked about anything BUT you, and what does that mean? I'm sure he's talked about me, right?" Charlie raised an eyebrow at him and he chuckled. He remembered now.
"Of course, he has. You're his best friend. In fact, it was your idea that he come to Crowley's in the first place, right?" Charlie beamed.
"I did. My girlfriend had done an article on your place for her magazine…"
"Dorothy, right?" Charlie nodded before continuing.
"And I told him if he needed a date, why not give it a try. Little did I know that I'd be setting him up with the love of his life." Dean blushed, just in time for the waitress to come over.
"What can I get ya, hun?"
"A whiskey, neat." Dean looked over at Charlie's glass and noticed it was almost empty. "And another one of whatever she was having." The waitress looked at Charlie, waiting for he to respond.
"Bahama Mama." Charlie answered. The waitress nodded and walked away.
"The love of his life, huh?" Charlie shrugged and drank the remainder of her glass.
"My opinion. I've heard him talk about people he was in love with, and then I heard him talk about you." Charlie looked directly into Dean's eyes. "The smile when he mentions your name, or when I ask him how you are. He has nothing but good things to say about you. He just seems…different now."
"Good different?" Dean asked sheepishly. The waitress dropped off their drinks.
"Great different. He isn't tied down with the Hannah thing anymore, he's been talking to Gabriel and his parents more, he just…he's happier." Dean couldn't help but grin. "Now, I've heard about you from Castiel, but the real reason that I wanted this was to get to know you. Who you are and what your intentions are with my Castiel?" Dean took a drink of his whiskey.
"Well, my name is Dean Winchester. I'm an Aquarius, I like long walks on the beach,"
"Stop. I want to know you. Your favorite things, where you grew up, your family, everything." Dean smiled and dove into his life. He let Charlie know about things that he'd only told a few people. She was easy to open up to, and she reciprocated. By the end of the night, Dean felt like he might have had a new friend.
Three whiskies and two Bahama Mamas later they were bonding over The Lord of the Rings when Charlie looked over her shoulder and smiled wide.
"And I think that's my cue to leave." Dean glanced over his shoulder and held up his glass to the person that had just walked in. They walked over and looked between the two of them.
"Hello, Dean. Charlie?" Castiel cocked an eyebrow at her. She giggled.
"I wanted to meet him! It's been a month and all I've heard is you talk about this guy and I wanted to meet him." Charlie stood up and threw her arms around Dean. She pulled away after Dean gave her a squeeze and looked to Castiel. "And I approve. Matter fact, if I was straight, you'd have some competition, but since I'm not, we should go on a double date! Soon!" Charlie clapped her hands and Castiel laughed.
"Is Dorothy going to pick you up?"
"No, I'm fine. I really need to get going though. She'll kill me if I'm late. I'll see you guys at our double date!" Charlie waved, gave Castiel a kiss on the cheek, and walked out. Castiel took Charlie's now empty seat.
"I thought this was your last day at work." Dean grinned.
"It was." Dean nodded towards the door as he finished off his whiskey. "That was my last date, and I'm realizing now that I've got to pay for her drinks."
"Oh, she'll love you for that." The waitress came again.
"Another drink for you, sweetheart?"
"Make it two," Castiel replied. The waitress smiled at him and walked away. "So, you got the third degree from Charlie, huh?" Dean chuckled.
"If you could call it that. She's sweet. And worried about you. She just wanted to make sure that I'm good enough for you, I guess."
"And you got her to like you. That's great." Castiel smiled. He hadn't dated since being in Chicago, but he knew that he wanted Charlie's approval. The two continued their night, turning it into a date and if Castiel ended up in Dean's bed for the night, so be it.
TWO YEARS LATER
Dean slammed the hood of the car he'd been working on for the past two hours. His back ached, his hands were covered in grease, and he was physically exhausted, but it was the happiest he had been at work. Working with Bobby and Benny made the days go by much faster and he actually enjoyed it. He loved his job, and he loved his boyfriend. Castiel and Dean had been living together for almost a year now, and Dean enjoyed every second of it.
"So, ya ready for tonight?" Benny smacked Dean on the back. Dean smiled.
"Yeah, gotta pick up the Novaks at the airport in an hour before Cas gets off. You're still okay with them hiding out with you until the party?"
"Yup! Sam's gettin things set up with Ellen at The Roadhouse."
"You two idjits gonna keep yappin' or ya gonna get some work done?" Bobby called from the office.
"We're done, old man!" Dean yelled back. It was true. Dean had been finishing up the last car that was in the garage.
"Then get your asses in here and help me with the inventory!" Benny and Dean rolled their eyes, but went into Bobby's office.
"Actually, Dean, you go get cleaned up. You look like hell."
"Gee, thanks, Bobby." Dean knew that it was actually meant as a dismissal from work. It was Bobby's way of telling him that he needed to go and get ready. "I'll see you guys at The Roadhouse, right?"
"Yeah, yeah, just go get ready, lover boy." Benny whipped his rag at Dean and chased him out of the garage.
An hour later, Dean was waiting by the luggage carousel, waiting for Chuck, Becky, and Gabriel to arrive. Gabriel was coming from California, but he had managed to get a flight that had a close arrival time to his parents. Dean had invited Michael and he had politely declined. Via email. Which Dean considered to better than what could have happened. Lucifer was still missing, according to the family, but to be honest, they were the only ones that Dean wanted there were going to be there.
Dean saw Gabriel first. He was bouncing on the balls of his feet coming down the escalator. He came down and ran to Dean, wrapping his arms around him.
"DEAN-O!" Dean laughed and hugged Gabriel back.
"Hey, Gabriel, take it easy, man." Gabriel pulled away, beaming.
"I know, I know. I'm just so excited to be a best man, and I've got my speech all planned out already, and…"
"I haven't even asked him, yet. Calm down." Gabriel rolled his eyes, but grinned.
"He'll say yes. Now where are my parents?" Dean looked over Gabriel's head, but didn't see Chuck and Becky yet.
"Not here yet, still waiting."
"How did I beat them here? Anyway, let's grab my bags."
"Bags?! You're only here for a few days!"
"I know that," Gabriel replied calmly, "but one never knows which occasions may arise." Dean rolled his eyes, but followed Gabriel to the luggage carousal. They made small talk about Gabriel's most recent play, his latest fling (his own understudy) , and what Dean and Castiel had been up to.
"So, who's all going to be here?"
"Well, you, your parents, my Aunt Ellen, my Uncle Bobby, my brother Sam, my best friends Jo and Benny, Castiel's best friend Charlie, her girlfriend Dorothy, um…"
"Did he already mention us?" A voice behind Dean asked. They turned and smiled at Becky and Chuck. They all hugged and then grabbed everybody's bags. They were walking out to Dean's car as Becky and Chuck filled them in about everything happening in Wisconsin.
"…gave him a piece of my mind, I'll tell you that! I'm just glad to be getting away for a few days. So, where will we be going?" Becky asked, once inside the car.
"My friends' place. Jo Harvelle and Benny Lafitte. They'll drive you to The Roadhouse, and Cas and I will show up soon after."
"That sounds fun." Chuck smiled. Dean drove to Jo and Benny's apartment. They carried everything up to the apartment and knocked. Jo answered the door and smiled at them all.
"Hello, soon-to-be in-laws!" Jo pushed Dean out of the way and hugged Gabriel first and then Chuck and Becky.
"Really? That's rude." Dean commented before they all walked in the apartment. "Anyway, Gabriel, Chuck, Becky, this is one of my best friends, Jo Harvelle. Jo, this is Gabriel, Chuck, and Becky Novak. Cas' family." Dean had gestured to each of the Novaks in turn.
"Seriously, it's so nice to meet you all. And I'm glad this day is finally here. Dean's been, well as my boyfriend would say, jitterier than a rabbit in a snake's hole." Dean blushed and gave Jo's shoulder a shove.
"I have not been." However, that was a lie. Ever since Dean had asked Chuck and Becky (and Gabriel) for Cas' hand (God, that still sounded so cheesy, even in Dean's head), he'd been freaking out about it. He didn't know how to do it, until Gabriel gave him some advice.
"Castiel won't care how you do it, as long as it's you doing it." With that in mind, Dean decided the best place to do it was a place they had been many times. A place that they both loved and had people that they loved there. The Roadhouse.
Dean left when Gabriel and Jo were discussing the best drinks that they've ever had. He needed to get home before Castiel did, otherwise none of it would work. Castiel would be suspicious, and then not want to go out. Dean took a deep breath before walking into their house. How was he going to keep his cool for the hour before they were going to leave. Dean ran up to their room and grabbed the ring box out of his little hidey hole in the floor that he'd discovered after they had moved in. He opened it up and glanced in. Still inside, was a thin black tungsten ring. It was more Castiel's style than anything the girl at the jewelry shop had shown him. He also received confirmation from Charlie and Gabriel that Castiel would love it.
"Dean!" Castiel called. Dean placed the box in his pocket and came out to the living room.
"Hi, sunshine. How was work?" Dean walked over and gave Castiel a kiss. Castiel sighed.
"Long. Difficult. You?" Dean shrugged.
"Bobby yelled, Benny talked, I actually worked. The usual. But, they want to go out to The Roadhouse." Castiel groaned.
"I just want to relax with you on the couch. Why don't you go and I'll stay here and we can have fun when you get home?" Castiel attempted to waggle his eyebrows. Dean almost started sweating.
"No, come on, Benny and Jo want to see you."
"Dean, I just…"
"Please, Cas? Just one beer, that's all. I'll even ride home with Benny so you can drive home whenever you want." Castiel gave Dean a glare for a moment before walking up the stairs. "Where are you going?" Dean yelled after him.
"To get ready for the stupid Roadhouse!" Dean smiled, happy he'd gotten Castiel to agree to go. He took a deep breath and sat down. He began rehearsing the speech again.
"Cas, I love you, and you've made me a better person. I want…I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Get down on your knee and bam. Right. Okay." Dean sighed.
"Ready?" Dean called up to Castiel. Castiel came bounding down the stairs. He was rolling up the sleeves of his white button up. He held out his hands.
"Ta-da. Let's go. The sooner we get there the sooner we can leave." Castiel grabbed Dean's hand and pulled him out the door.
"There are a lot of people here tonight." Castiel commented when they pulled in to the parking lot. There were a few more cars there than normal, but the bar was actually closed down for the party tonight. Dean parked the car, and the two sat in silence for a moment. Suddenly, Dean felt Castiel's hand on his knee. Dean looked at it, and then at Castiel.
"Your knee was bouncing." Castiel smiled and Dean couldn't help but smile back.
"Sorry, ready to go?" Castiel sighed and nodded. The two got out of the car and walked up to the saloon doors, and then through them.
"SURPRISE!" Everybody yelled. Castiel jumped slightly, and Dean grabbed his hand and laughed.
"Castiel!" Becky and Chuck broke away from everybody walked over to them.
"Mom? Dad? What are you doing here?"
"Oh well, your father just finished another book and I want to take a break before I try to get through it."
"Rude." Chuck pouted for a moment and then hugged his son. Becky did the same, and then gave Dean a kiss on the cheek.
"Good to see you two."
"Yeah, I…"
"CASSIE!" Dean was being pushed aside as Gabriel threw his arms around his brother.
"You're here, too?" Castiel raised an eyebrow, and Gabriel waggled his.
"Oh yeah. Mom and Dad invited me to crash everything."
"Crash what, exactly?" Castiel shot a glance to Dean, but Dean just smiled.
"I'll grab us some drinks. Beer? Something stronger?"
"Beer is fine, thank you." Castiel was still looking around suspiciously.
"So, answer this question for your big bro." Castiel met Gabriel's eyes and Gabriel nodded over Castiel's shoulder where Dean was talking to a man that was taller than him with shaggy brown hair. "Who's your boy toy talking to?" Castiel turned to look and then back to his brother.
"That's his younger brother Sam, and no."
"What do you mean?" Gabriel bat his eyes in an innocent way.
"You want to hook up with Sam. And no. Leave him alone." Gabriel rolled his eyes and held up his hands.
"Fine."
"Everything alright?" Dean offered Castiel his beer. Castiel accepted it.
"Gabriel wants to hook up with Sam." Castiel took a sip of his beer while Dean shot daggers at Gabriel. Gabriel blushed and then held his hands up in defense.
"All I asked was who he was. And now, I'm going to introduce myself." Dean grabbed Gabriel's arm and looked into his eyes.
"No. I'll go with you." Dean kissed Castiel's cheek and then Dean and Gabriel walked over to Sam. Sam smiled at both of them.
"Hey, Dean."
"Sammy, this is Cas' brother Gabriel, Gabriel, this is my little brother, Sammy." Sam deadpanned at his older brother.
"It's Sam." Sam offered his hand to Gabriel. Gabriel took and shook it.
"Nice to meet you. Pity we're going to be brother-in-laws shortly." Gabriel raked his eyes up and down Sam. Dean noticed Sam's cheek tinge pink before he took a sip of his drink.
"Are you done? I need to do this soon or I'm going to…I…I don't know, but I'll screw it up somehow."
"Dean," Sam put his hand on Dean's shoulder and smiled. "Everything is going to be fine. He will say yes, and you will live happily ever after."
"That sounds like a chick-flick."
"You love chick-flicks." Sam teased. Dean looked over at Castiel talking to his parents and Charlie. He watched Castiel snicker at something that Charlie had said as Dorothy joined them.
"Alright, I'm going to do it now." Dean walked over to the karaoke area and picked up the microphone. He flipped it on and there was a screech of feedback, getting everybody's attention.
"Hey, guys, I uh…I'm Dean, but you all knew that. I uh…I have called everybody here for, well, you all know why, except one of you. So, Cas?" Castiel's eyes opened widely. "If you could come up here?" Castiel glanced at everybody, and Dean saw a look of realization come across his face. Castiel slowly walked up on the small platform and Dean couldn't help but smile.
"Cas," Dean could feel his voice shaking. "I love you, and I've wanted to ask you this for a while now, so, Angel," Dean pulled the box out of his pocket and fell to one knee. Castiel's eyes watered and Dean's vision began to swim as well. "Will you marry me?"
"Of course, I'll marry you." Castiel whispered with a nod. He didn't trust his voice. He held out his hand and Dean slipped the ring on, and the entire bar broke out into applause. Dean stood up and kissed his fiancé. The first people to hug them when they got off the stage was Becky and Chuck. Becky hugged Castiel first and then hugged Dean.
"I'm so happy he found you." She whispered in Dean's ear. Dean pulled away and looked at her. She had a genuine smile on her face and tears in her eyes. "Welcome to our family, Dean." Dean hugged her again.
The rest of their friends and family gave them hugs and handshakes and congratulations, but none of them had touched Dean the way that Becky's words had. She had finally come around to Castiel being happy without Hannah.
"Drinks on the house all night!" Ellen called and everybody cheered again.
Some people left and came back, but around midnight, it was just the family.
"So, Cassie, I'm assuming your wedding is going to be big and expensive?" Gabriel asked at the bar. Castiel rolled his eyes.
"Yes, because Dean and I are like that." Gabriel shrugged.
"You never know. Maybe Dean is a diva and wants to have a big swanky wedding. You might have to get a second job."
"I could just have Dean be a hooker again." Castiel replied with a sip of his beer.
"…What do you mean, again?" Castiel sighed and looked at his family. They were all staring at him, but Dean's family had amused grins on their faces.
"We preferred the term escorts, Cas." Dean smiled.
"I…this…I am so confused."
"Well then, gather 'round, and I'll tell you the real story of how Cas and I met."
You guys, I am so so sorry this was like…what? 6 weeks late? I just got caught up in other things and didn't have the time or energy to write. So, thank you guys for your patience. And, as always thank you for your reviews (Angelwings910, rainwolf88, and Applejax XD), favs, and follows. You guys are amazing, and I love all of you for even just reading the story. So, one last time: THANK YOU!