AN: This chapter will move pretty quickly, because I don't really want to write out the happenings of each day, so, from here on out, only important events shall be documented! Starting with Christmas... ENJOY!

Time flew. Dean and Cas were forced to spend less time together, having to study for finals, but managed to at least put every Sunday aside, never even complaining if they had to share their limited time with Gabriel or Sam.
Finals came and went and it was suddenly Christmas. Dean had been putting in as many hours as possible at the garage so he could get Cas a half-decent present. John arrived on Christmas Eve, pulling his boys and Bobby in to a crippling hug. For the first time in a long time, the Winchester were able to celebrate Christmas properly, and Dean and Sam didn't want to start without their father, so a bare fir tree had sat in Bobby's front room for nearly two weeks. John had barely set foot in the house when Sam dragged him to the front room, thrusting a box of ornaments at him. Laughing, he took them and helped his youngest son decorate the tree so it was hideously gaudy, whilst Dean assisted Bobby decorating the rest of the house. After a couple of glasses of extra-strong home-brewed mulled wine, even Bobby had begun showing signs of Christmas cheer. They sat up until 2am watching terrible Christmas films, John sat in the middle of the safe, his boys curled up at either side.
Bobby jerked awake when a suspiciously jolly rendition of Jingle Bells began playing on the TV. He shut it off and glanced over at the sofa; the three Winchesters were fast asleep. Bobby smiled, haphazardly threw a blanket over them and shuffled up to bed. Dean's phone going off the next morning woke them. Groaning, Dean fumbled with his pockets, too tired to pull his phone out. He had a collection of texts from the Novaks.

"Happy Xmas! Let's get shit-faced until next year! -Balthazar"

"I know why Santa is so jolly. He knows where all the naughty girls live! Happy Xmas! -Gabe"

"Happy Extreme-consumerism-posing-as-a-christian-holiday-which-is-really-a-fat-lie-day! -Crowley"

"Merry Christmas, Dean. I'll ring you later. Castiel, xx"

John smirked over Dean's shoulder; "someone's popular."

Dean chuckled; "this is just the start! I know at least three other Novaks have my number, and there's Becky and Chuck."

John laughed and ruffled Dean's short hair, pulling himself up from the sofa. Bobby had already started on dinner, and the wine. The four of them had a relaxed Christmas, passing out presents, wearing the paper hats from their crackers, watching more terrible films. Castiel rang at just gone four; Dean excused himself to the porch.

"I got another iPhone!"

Dean laughed; "good God!"

"Do you think Sam will want it? I'm running out of ideas with what to do with them!"

"Yeah, Sam'll take it off you... What else did you get?"

"Bits of clothes, books... The usual gifts really."

"Yeah, same."

"Are you having fun?"

"Yeah, this is the best Christmas in ages!"

"You're sure I'm not intruding tomorrow?"

"No! Cas, you're more than welcome! We're having quite a few people over! Jess is coming, Gabe was until he said he found a better party."

Castiel chuckled; "you do know what he's doing, don't you?"

"Yeah, strippers... But really, Cas, my dad's kind of looking forward to seeing you again."

"...Really?"

"Yeah!"

"Well, ok then..."

The two of them spoke for just under an hour about anything and everything they could think of; usually summarising what was happening at their respective houses. Eventually, John called Dean back inside so they could set up for the barbecue they planned on hosting the following day, making sure the garage was tidy and the spare-spare room was emptied so guests could stay. It didn't take them too long, and were soon all asleep, tired from the eventful day.

The next morning, the four men got up early - which for them meant before noon - and finished the last minute preparations; such as setting up the seats in the yard, and checking the barbecue was clean. At just gone eleven, a car horn sounded out in the driveway. John jumped to his feet and ran through the house, Bobby, Sam and Dean quickly following. A silver Land-Rover was parked by the side of John's pick-up, a blonde woman and girl climbed out, grinning. John rushed over, pulling the woman in to his arms, laughing and spinning her round.

"Ellen! Good to see you!"

"Lovely to see you too, hun. Happy Christmas."

John put the woman down and turned to the girl; "Jo! You've grown."

"Damn right I have, old man."

Laughing again, he pulled her in to a quick one-armed hug, beckoning his sons over; "boys! You remember Ellen and Jo?"

Dean grinned; "sure do. Hey Jo."

Jo smirked; "hey Dean, looking good."

Sam elbowed his brother out of the way; "don't even bother, Jo. He's taken."

Ellen smiled and leant on John; "are you now? What's she like?"

Dean continued to grin; "well, you'll meet him, in a bit. Which reminds me, I've got to go pick his ass up."

Jo turned to Sam and hid her mouth from Dean's view, miming; "he? He's gay?"

Sam chuckled and held up a finger, signalling he'd tell her once Dean had left. Dean gave Ellen a hug and quick peck on the cheek before hurrying over to his car. The moment he'd gotten halfway down the drive, Ellen and Jo turned to the remaining Winchesters.

"Dean's dating a boy?"

John chuckled; "he is. He's a nice guy, too."

"Well, I never would have guessed. Dean. Gay," Ellen smiled, slinging an arm around Sam, pulling him closer.

"Oh he's not gay. Apparently!" Sam laughed. Jo frowned.

"How is he not gay?"

John shrugged and began grabbing the bags from Ellen's car; "it's complicated, let him explain when he gets back. But Cas is a really nice guy. Really weird too."

Ellen grinned; "well, we'll see won't we. No boy is stealing any of my babies from me."

"You don't have to worry about me then," Sam smirked, going to help his dad.

"Oh really? Tell Ellen about Jess, then."

"Jess? Who's Jess?"

Sam began to flush pink; "she's, uh, my girlfriend."

"What's she like?"

"Well... You'll meet her later."

"Ooh I'm going to have fun tonight!"

Dean was dragged in to the Novak house by Gabriel, grinning and bouncing from foot to foot. He was instantly greeted by Balthazar and Anna who each gave him a hug, and in Balthazar's case, followed by a firm handshake.

"Cas is upstairs. How was Christmas?" Gabriel asked, still bouncing. Dean smiled.

"Yeah, it was great, how about you guys? Get much candy?"

Gabriel laughed "loads! And yeah, Christmas was great!"

"So, when are you off out?"

Balthazar grinned; "soon, we're waiting on Crowley."

"Of course you are. I'm going to go see my boyfriend now."

"You do that, sweetie."

Dean smirked and hurried up the stairs, knocking on Cas' door before letting himself in. Castiel was lay on his bed reading; he smiled and put his book down when Dean entered.

"Good morning."

Dean grinned; "good morning to you!"

Cas sat up as Dean perched himself on the edge of the bed, reaching an arm around Castiel's waist.

"I missed you."

Cas chuckled; "it was only just under 48 hours!"

"Too long," Dean mused, nuzzling his face in the crook of Cas' neck. Cas smiled broadly and wrapped his arms around Dean, pulling him closer. They sat holding each other for a few moments until Castiel finally pushed Dean away slightly, looking in to his eyes, still smiling.

"Are we going to yours?"

"Yeah, sure..."

They both stayed perfectly still, neither tearing their eyes apart. After a few long moments, Castiel finally stopped the staring by leaning closer, pushing his lips against Dean's. He smirked, a smug look on his face when the pulled away, climbing up off his bed. Dean grinned.

"What was that for?"

"I'm sorry, did I offend?"

Chuckling, Dean stood up too and slid an arm around Cas' waist, pulling him flush against his chest; "of course not."

"Good," Cas quickly pecked Dean on the lips; "come on. We've got to pick up Jess, too."

"Yeah, fine, come on then..."

Castiel quickly gathered his things, pulling a large package, wrapped in Christmas paper from under his bed. He smiled up at Dean and ushered him from his room, grabbing his coat on the way. Gabriel apprehended them once more before they left.

"That's from Cas and I, by the way. Don't let him take all the credit," he grinned, motioning to the present in Cas' hands. Dean grinned.

"Well, he'll be getting all the thanks."

"I don't get anything?"

Laughing, Dean pulled Gabe in to a quick hug; "you'll get your present when the mail finally comes!"

Gabriel pouted; "can't you just tell me what it is?"

"Nope, it's a surprise!"

"Fine! Anyway, off you pop. Have fun!"

Dean ushered Castiel out of the house and in to the car. Before starting up the car, Dean pulled Cas in to another warm hug.

"You ready to meet the rest of the in-laws?" Dean grinned, pulling away. Castiel smiled.

"Are they nice?"

"Oh yeah, Ellen's a sweetheart, Jo, is, well, she might give you a bit of a hard time, last time I saw her, she was crushing pretty hard on yours truly."

Castiel laughed; "I hope she knows I'm prepared to fight for you."

Dean laughed, even louder; "dude, that's great and all, but she'd kick your ass."

"Probably. Now, why are we still in my driveway?"

"Hint taken..."

Dean quickly put the car in drive and made his way to Jess' house, quickly explaining to her grand-parents he wasn't her boyfriend - that her boyfriend was a six-foot-four nerd - before pulling her in to his car and speeding back to Bobby's. He slung his arms over both Jess and Cas and led them both round to the back yard, where Bobby was already grilling some meat, John and Ellen were chatting and laughing by the cooler over a beer, and Sam and Jo were arguing about something.

"We've arrived!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look at the three new arrivals. Ellen and Jo instantly hurried over, John and Sam close behind. Dean grinned.

"This one's mine," he said, tugging Cas closer to his side; "and this one's Sam's."

"Wow, Jess, you're, gorgeous!" Ellen smiled, reaching to pull Jess in to a friendly hug. John grinned.

"She is. Well done kid."

Sam grinned too and quickly pulled Jess to his side. Ellen then turned her attention to Cas.

"So. You're, Castiel I believe?"

Cas smiled; "I am. It's lovely to meet you, Ms. Harvelle."

"Oh please, Sweetie, it's Ellen."

He went to offer a handshake, instead Ellen wrapped him in her arms, which he nervously returned after a prod in the back from Dean. When she finally let go, he went to turn back to Dean, but instead got a face full of Jo.

"Castiel, huh?"

Castiel nodded; "yes? You're Jo?"

"Yeah."

Dean elbowed Jo out of the way, wrapping an arm around Cas; "play nice, Joanna."

Jo scowled as Dean pulled Cas up on to the decking, sitting him down on the bench, watching Ellen chat happily with Sam and Jess whilst John went to help Bobby with the food. Dean suddenly realised Castiel was still holding Dean's present. He jumped up.

"I'll be right back! Tell Jo nothing!"

Before Cas could ask what Jo could possibly ask, Dean charged in to the house and up the stairs. He grabbed the presents from him wardrobe and almost jumped down the rest of the stairs, back out on to the deck, breathing heavily as he slumped back down. Castiel smiled.

"That was quick."

"Yeah. Give me... A minute..."

He took a few moments to get his breath back before finally pushing his gifts in to Cas' lap. Castiel did the same with Dean's present before gingerly beginning to unwrap the paper from his. There were five in total, all leather-bound copies of his favourite novels. He grinned and pulled Dean in to a hug.

"These are great!"

Dean grinned back; "they'll be a great addition to the library I know you're going to have one day."

Cas let out a soft chuckle; "hmm... Open yours! Gabriel assured me you'd love it."

Nodding, Dean made easy work of shelling the paper from his gift, looking at the back of a frame. When he turned it round to see what was in the frame, he almost dropped it.

"Fuck! Cas! Is this? You didn't?"

Castiel smiled and took it from him before he actually dropped it; "Led Zeppelin II, Multi-Platinum disc? Yes, it is."

"Holy fucking shit!"

Everyone had stopped what they were doing to look over. Dean carefully took the disc from Castiel, putting on the bench next to him before pulling Cas in to a bone-crushing hug, slamming their lips together. They pulled away when they heard Jo wolf-whistle and Bobby grumble about getting a room. Dean, still grinning, jumped up, grabbing his present.

"Dad! Look what this, idiot got me!"

John came closer and almost dropped his beer when he saw; "what the Hell?"

"I know!"

"Dean, marry that fool!"

"One day, dad."

He turned back to Cas, who was looking at him with a look of total adoration, grabbed his hand and pulled him in to the house. Cas quickly managed to grab his books and let Dean pull him up to his room.

"I take it you like it, then?" he asked, Dean setting the disc carefully on the desk, propping it up against the wall. He spun round and grinned.

"Cas, you're the best, really."

"Well, Gabriel helped. I told him Led Zeppelin was your favourite band, and Ramble On was your favourite song, and, he suggested getting you that."

Dean smiled and took Cas' new books, putting them on the desk too before taking Cas' hands in his; "you know my favourite song?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"Just, even Sammy doesn't know what it is."

"I'm sure you know things about me."

"I remember your stupid coffee order!"

Castiel smiled and stroked the back of Dean's hands with his thumbs; "well, if that's not commitment, I don't know what is."

Dean laughed and pulled Cas a little closer, letting go of his hands and resting them on his waist; "you're amazing, Cas. You really are."

"As are you."

Dean hummed and tugged his boyfriend even closer, ducking his head slightly, waiting for Cas to meet him in the middle. Their lips brushed just slightly, lingering whilst Castiel snaked his arms around Dean's neck before pulling him in to a full kiss. Dean smiled in to the kiss, pulling Cas flush against his body. They embraced until someone cleared their throat at the door.

"This is lovely an' all, but don't you two girls think about hiding up here all day. I've got a bucket of meat that needs eating! Your dad and I can only get through so much!"

Dean grinned at Bobby; "yeah, we'll be down. We were just-"

"-I know what you were "just" doing, now get, come on."

"Fine!"

Sighing, Dean grabbed Cas' hand and pulled him out of the room, dragging him back outside. Soon the barbecue got properly under way; John managed to get some music to play, Jo and Sam started a fire and everyone of legal age and Dean were drinking. Ellen had managed to collar Cas, asking him as many questions as she could think of, starting with "what's with the suit?" Dean lounged back on an old car seat, watching his family and friends, not recalling ever feeling as happy as he did in that moment. He watched as Sam stuck an old newspaper on to the end of a stick and poked it in to the fire, with Jess under his arm. He watched his boyfriend be subjected to a whole manner of questions and pokes and prods from his pseudo-mother and sister. And his father and uncle-who-isn't-really-his-uncle set big slabs of meat on fire and laugh whilst drinking cheap booze. After his third beer, Dean finally decided to go rescue Cas, attempting to distract them with Jess instead whilst he manhandled Castiel back to where he'd been sitting.

"Sorry for leaving you with them, it was funny for a while."

Cas smiled meekly; "it's ok... How much have you drank?"

"Just three, the beer's pretty cheap and so it's pretty, crap. Not very good for getting drunk off."

Castiel went to reply when he felt Dean's hand creep around his waist, squeezing gently before travelling down to his hip, squeezing again, then to his thigh. He eyed it nervously before looking back at Dean, who seemed blissfully unaware he was groping Cas.

"Shall we we go speak with Sam and Jess?" Cas suggested, standing up. Dean shrugged and pulled himself up, grabbing another beer from the cooler as he followed Castiel down to the fire.

"Having a good time?" Dean grinned, slinging an arm over Cas' shoulders. Sam smirked.

"Yeah, bit lame we're stuck on soda though."

"One day, Sammy. Maybe when you don't need that training bra!"

Jess giggled and gave Sam a quick peck on the cheek.

"Laugh it up, Dean. Drinking doesn't do anything for your image."

"Are you kidding? It makes me look big and bad!"

Sam rolled his eyes and pulled Jess in to his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head as they watched the flames. Dean leant closer to Cas, nuzzling his neck, placing a few kisses behind his ear before slipping his arms round his waist. Cas forced a smile and tired to edge away slightly so he wasn't standing to so close. Still oblivious to how uncomfortable Castiel was, Dean just smirked and tugged him back against his body. Sam glanced over, noticing how troubled Castiel looked and frowned. Dean's hand, meanwhile, began travelling around Castiel; sliding down to his thigh, then across to his waist on the opposite side, gently skimming across his crotch as it went, before resting on his shoulder, Dean pulling him to stand in front of him as he rest his chin on the other shoulder. Castiel at this point looked absolutely terrified.

"Boys! Come get some food!" Bobby shouted, throwing more meat on to the grill. Dean grinned, pressed a sloppy kiss to the side of Castiel's head and wandered over in the direction of the barbecue, stroking his hand across Cas' backside as he went. Castiel squeaked and stood frozen for a few moments, before hurrying away from where everyone was. Sam smiled meekly and kissed the top of Jess' head.

"Go get me something, before Dean scoffs it all? I'll be right back."

Jess smiled and pressed a quick kiss to Sam's lips, watching him hurry in the direction Castiel had gone. He quickly found him sat on the hood of a blue junker, eyes wide as if he'd witnessed something deeply traumatic. Sam frowned and sidled up beside him.

"You all right?"

Cas looked up and shrugged; "yeah."

Sam sighed; "Dean's just... He gets kind of, handsy when he's tipsy. I don't think he realises that, he's making you uncomfortable."

"Yes, I know he's not doing it intentionally. I just needed to get away, calm myself down."

"Do you want me to talk to him? He doesn't know good touch from bad touch when he's had a couple of drinks. He doesn't want to upset you."

"It's ok Sam. I'll rejoin the party in a bit. I just need some time."

"Well... All right... You want some food?"

"...No."

Sam watched Castiel for a few moments, frowning even harder, before pushing himself off the car, stalking back to the yard. He spotted Dean lounging on the car seats again, happily munching on burgers. He quickly hopped over to Jess, told her he'd be right back, and stormed over to Dean, grabbing his wrist and dragging him in to the house.

"Hey! Sammy! What the Hell?"

Sam snatched the food from Dean and put in on the table; "stop drinking. Now. Get some water, sit down, and sober up."

"What, why!"

"You've been touching Cas."

"...Right?"

Sam sighed loudly; "ok, you've been inappropriately touching your intimately awkward boyfriend!"

Dean paused before his eyes widened; "shit!"

"Yeah! So sit down, and sober up!"

"Fuck, is he all right?"

"He's fine, just a little, disturbed."

"Fucking fuck. I need to talk to-"

Sam grabbed Dean's shoulders and forced him down in to a chair; "-no! Sit. Drink water. I'll make sure he doesn't leave."

Dean sighed and dropped his head on the table. Sam frowned and quickly filled a glass with some water, placing it in front of Dean who was now hitting his head repeatedly on the table.

"Dean, you don't have the brain cells to spare to be doing that. Just drink the water and stop being a douche."

Dean groaned and lifted his head; "thanks Sam."

"Yeah, you owe me man."

After fifteen minutes of sitting alone in the kitchen drinking glass after glass of water, Dean finally ventured back in to the yard. Sam noticed him and pointed in the direction Cas was. Dean gave him a quick thumbs up, jogging over to Cas. He frowned when he saw his boyfriend sat cross legged on the hood of a car, staring at his hands like he was lost. He leant on the hood of the car and cleared his throat.

"Cas?"

Castiel lifted his head; "hmm?"

"Look, man, I'm so sorry! I don't realise I'm doing it, and, my ability to read people goes right out the window and... Fuck. You know, I think I'll just go back to asking you if it's all right."

"No, Dean, it's ok. Really. I mean, I shouldn't be so prudish about-"

Dean grabbed Cas' arms; "-no, fuck that, Cas! You are not at fault here. You be as awkward as you like, I shouldn't be touching you up. Dammit, Cas..."

Castiel chewed his lip; "Dean? Please don't feel guilty."

"I don't. I just feel like a terrible fucking person. How could I do that to you? I'm supposed to-"

Castiel quickly pushed his hand to Dean's mouth, shutting him up; "Dean stop. You made a mistake, you apologised, I accept your apology, can we just, kiss and make up, and move on?"

Dean sighed and looked in to Cas' eyes; "ok. But I'm still not taking any more liberties. I want written permission before I so much as hold your hand."

"Well, I don't have a pen on me... I'll take liberties then..."

Before Dean could reply, Castiel cupped Dean's face and pulled it to his, crushing their lips together. Dean flailed his arms in shock, quickly sinking in to the kiss, wrapping his arms around Cas.

"Now, let's go back," Cas smiled when they pulled away. Dean nodded and went to offer his hand, but hesitated.

"Yes, Dean, you may hold my hand."

Dean smiled and took Cas' hand once he'd slid off the hood. They wandered back to the yard, it seemed like only Sam and Jess had noticed they left, everyone else was too busy doing their own thing. The two of them wandered back over to the fire, Sam handed Dean a soda as Jess held out two plates of food.
The rest of the evening remained to be uneventful, to an extent. John got a little drunk and set a batch of hotdogs on fire, Ellen sat Sam down and gave him the abridged version of "the talk" whilst Jess stood far away enough to not be roped in but close enough to hear every word and see Sam's face, and giggled. Dean spent the rest of his evening being mindful of Cas' issues, instead doting upon him like he was unable to do anything for himself. After it had gotten dark, Bobby and John set up some fireworks, and the extended family stood around the fire - everyone with an arm around someone else - watching the sky light up hues of pink, blue, and green.

Jo and Ellen left the following day, as did John, and Dean, Sam, and Bobby were left to themselves again. Dean found a place for his Led Zeppelin disc to hang, spending most of his time away from Cas staring at it, musing about how amazing Castiel was.

For New Year, Sam and Dean went to the Novaks, leaving Bobby to sit a be grumpy by himself, as per his request. There weren't as many people at the New Year's party as there usually were at Novak parties, but there were enough to fill the garden with mostly intoxicated, some under-dressed teenagers. Dean and Castiel spent some time saying hello to people and being sociable, before retreating up to the room, sitting watching the chaos down in the garden.

"So, what do you think next year's got in store for us?" Dean smiled, squeezing Cas' hand.

"Good things, I hope."

"Obviously."

Cas smiled and snuggled up to Dean, tracing patterns on the back of Dean's hand; "I don't know. It's gone by so quickly, but I don't want to just jump ahead with hopes and expectations."

"...What kind of hopes?"

"Uh... In August you move to Cambridge with me?"

"Cambridge?"

"Cambridge, Massachusetts. I'll be going to Harvard, but I don't want to go alone. I know Crowley's going, but he'll be living in the dorms."

Dean stared at Cas in slight shock; "you want me to come to Harvard with you?"

"Well, yes, but no. You don't have to go to college but, you could move there with me? I'll be there for four years."

"Wow, Cas, that's, pretty serious!"

"You don't have to. I'd just, like it if you did."

Dean nodded; "right... I'll think about it."

"What about you, Dean? Any hopes?"

"Not really, just that things go well."

"Things being?"

"Well, you and me-"

"-You and I."

Dean laughed and elbowed Cas; "stop it. You and I, I hope Sammy does well, and he and Jess do well... I don't know. I just want to be happy."

"That's very reasonable."

"Don't you want to be happy?"

Cas smiled; "I am happy."

"Oh."

"Of course I'm happy, Dean! I have a wonderful albeit dysfunctional family, I have friends now! I'm soon going to be off living my life, and I have you. You make life, worth it!"

"Life's always worth living."

"I know, but I wasn't living, I was just existing. I went went through the motions of life, not really feeling, and now, you! I'm happy, I'm sad when you're not there, I'm envious when girls hit on you, I'm angry when Zacharia speaks ill of you, I'm content when you hold me, I... Well, I don't want to end this year without telling you."

"Telling me what?"

"That... I love you."

Dean's eyes almost bugged out of his skull; "you what?"

Castiel shrugged; "I know it's probably too soon, but, I do... You're probably wondering how I know when you're my first, but... I just know."

"...Actually, I was wondering how you could love, me! Out of every human on this planet, you chose me."

"I did. No one else was willing to accept me, for me. And no one else needed love and acceptance more than you... We give each other what we need without even realising..."

"But me, Cas! I'm a major screw-up, I'm, terrible boyfriend material, I can't believe you still want me!"

"I've warned you against these inhibitions, Dean. And yes, you are a flawed human being, and probably terrible boyfriend material to other normal people but... I'm not normal, and I like your flaws, it makes you human! In fact, you know what, Dean, I'm not arguing this with you. I love you, so, deal with it."

Dean grinned; "you're an idiot sometimes... I love you too."

Castiel grinned too; "really?"

"Yes, I don't not have sex for just anyone, Cas. And like you said, I don't want to end this year without you knowing."

"You're an idiot too, you know."

"Yeah I know. But you love me anyway."

"I do."

Still grinning, Dean lifted his hand, stroking Cas' face softly; "I'm going to kiss you now."

"I'd be offended if you didn't."

Both boys leant in to each other, arms sliding around one another as their lips pressed together softly. Dean almost pulled away in shock when he felt the gentle press of Castiel's tongue against his bottom lip; instead, however, he opened his mouth enough for the action to be reciprocated. Their breathing became heavier quite quickly and Castiel began grabbing at Dean as if he was a life jacket in the ocean. Dean smirked to himself and guided Cas through the kiss, like every other time, not pushing too much, letting Castiel feel like he was in control. When they pulled away, they rest their foreheads together, grinning and panting slightly.

"You'd better give me a kiss that good at midnight, or I'll be upset!"

Castiel laughed and pulled Dean in to a tight hug.

When school restarted, things began to get hectic. Castiel had a lot of studying to do to make the grades he needed, and a lot of organising for his move to Harvard. It got to the point where their lunch break was the only time they got to see each other. When Castiel locked himself in his room, Dean either hung out with Gabriel, or worked. He did however take a day off for Dean's birthday, the two of them spending most of the day by the lake, just being with each other.

"I've been looking at job opportunities in Cambridge," Dean announced, after ten minutes of content silence. Castiel smiled and turned to face Dean.

"Really?"

"Yeah... There's a couple of garages around, a few bars I could tend in, you know, bits and bobs, enough to, I don't know, look after us?"

"...I was going to go look at houses with Balthazar in a week or two... Would you like to join?"

Dean smiled and rolled on to his side, raising his hand to stroke Castiel's cheek; "yeah, I'd love to."

"You're really serious? About doing this? With me?"

"Of course I am. We've moved really quickly but, no regrets so far. I'm looking forward to, having a future together."

"But, you're fine moving 1,000 miles across the country, leaving your family and friends behind, to go somewhere that you have no real reason to go?"

Dean smiled and pressed a quick kiss to Cas' forehead; "yes, Cas. I have a car, I can go visit Sammy when I want, he could come stay with us! And, you're reason enough, I'd follow you to Mexico and back."

"So would I."

"So, I don't want to sound like a bitchy boyfriend, but could you stop trying to dissuade me from coming with you?"

"I just don't want you to regret it."

"I won't!"

Castiel smiled; "good... It'll just be you and I, you know?"

"Brilliant. How I like it."

"And I'll have a lot of work to do."

"So will I."

"I'll probably shut myself away during the day."

"I'll get to see you at night, and in the morning."

"I'm very particular about my food."

"I make a mean pie."

Cas chuckled; "ok, I can see there's no stopping you."

"No, now stop it! And whilst you're doing nothing..."

Dean slipped his arms around Cas' waist, pulling him closer, a mischievous smirk on his face. Cas smiled back, fondly. The two both leant closer, their lips pressing together softly; Cas' hand carded through Dean's hair as Dean gripped Cas' waist, pushing their bodies together. They kissed softly, but passionately, until Castiel needed to pull away for air. Smiling, he rest his forehead against Dean's.

"I love you, Dean."

"I love you too, Cas."

AN: Tah-dah! The big L word! It's out there now! They're in love! And I had to make Dean a bit douchey, they need to have some obstacles to cross, so, Dean and his tipsy wandering hands can be it. From here on out it should be plain sailing, maybe a few more things to come, but yeah, review? Go oooon ;)