To say the afternoon went perfect was an understatement. Cas' face was lit up with excitement and joy the entire time which meant Dean's face lit up with the same enthusiasm. It was hard not to be enthused with the man grinning as he was. They had spent the day exploring the city and wandering around with no true destination. Sure, Dean had a plan but he was in no position to deny Cas anything and therefore went along with anything Cas suggested.
They first went out to Liberty Island where they caught the first fairy they could to visit the Statue of Liberty because, to quote Cas, "It was a special moment in history, Dean, it represents so much. We need to see it in person" and of course Dean didn't object. Once they arrived, they became the traditional tourist as they blended in with the crowd and fell into the ways of the travellers as they took photos of everything and anything as well as asking people to take photos of them in front of the statue. At one point, Cas had pretended to be from Russia and not being able to speak any English just to make Dean laugh and to confuse some of the other tourists. Surprisingly, Cas did a great Russian accent.
Once they (mostly Cas) were done with patriotic motifs, they ended up at Times Square where they checked out what all the hoopla was about. Before long, they grew bored and annoyed at all the pushing and shoving and ended up requiring a change of location.
They decided to pay their respects to those who had lost their lives in the terrible terrorist attacks at ground zero. They took the time to send a prayer to those who had lost their loved ones in the attack and also to those currently fighting for freedom in the wars that followed. If Dean shed a tear seeing all the names of the thousands of people that died, Cas didn't say anything just pulled him closer into his side and gave him a peck on the cheek.
As they took a stroll, they found a small secluded diner to get some lunch. It was a little after three when they made it to the diner which left them a solid four hours until they needed to be at the hotel. The great thing about New York was whenever they needed a cab, there was one not far away which gave them heaps of time to actually explore the places they were visiting and not just take a photo and leave.
They sat down in a booth near the back where Dean slid in first and expected Cas to sit on the other side opposite him but the man slid in next to Dean and lifted Dean's arm and placed it round his shoulders so he could snuggle into Dean's side. The memory it bought back had a smile playing on Dean's lips.
"This is just like the morning after our first night together" Dean whispered into Cas' ear and watched as the man squirmed from the warm air that tickled his ear.
"I know" Cas replied once he stopped wriggling "That's why I sat here." He glanced up at Dean as he spoke a small smile on his lips all for Dean. Dean smiled back before he leant down and placed a soft kiss onto his lips.
"You're gorgeous, Cas" Dean whispered while he looked into Cas' deep blue eyes and saw nothing but love reflected back. Seeing his eyes filled with cheerful emotions slowly erased the nightmares that had haunted him of seeing the hurt, pain, and anger that was there when he had left. He never wanted to see that ever again and if by just cuddling in a diner it made the man happy then Dean was going to cuddle with him in a diner.
Cas blushed at Dean's words and it never failed to amaze him that even after so long together, the man still reacted as he did to Dean's words of praise. Dean couldn't resist any longer and leant down placed another kiss onto Cas' lips.
They were forced apart by a throat being cleared. They both quickly turned their heads to see the interruption was from the waitress. She greeted them with a warm smile and told them how cute they were together. This time it was Dean's turn to blush. Dean Winchester was not cute.
After they ordered themselves some burgers, they resumed their position content to sit in silence in one another's arms before Cas broke the silence.
"So, what's happening tonight?" He asked as he picked up the glass of water in front of him and took a gulp.
"Well," Dean began "We need to be back at the hotel at 7 to get ready and leave by 8. We don't go on till 10 so you can hang out with us back stage if you like until about 9.30 when you can decide whether you want to be in the crowd or side of stage. It's up to you" he shrugged
Cas seemed to think it over for a moment "Where do you want me to be?" he asked
Dean shrugged again. "Doesn't really matter. I guess if you want the full concert experience, the crowd is the place to be" It didn't matter where Cas was tonight. The surprise was still going to be the same from wherever he viewed the show.
"Hmm" Cas pondered out loud "I guess it'd be nice to experience the crowd especially seeing it's a sell-out."
"Alright then. That's settled then" Dean smiled down at Cas just as the waitress appeared with their orders.
Once they were finished, they made their way outside and hailed down another cab to take them to Central Park. Cas was dying to go for a stroll through the park even though it was hitting late November and it was freaking freezing outside but Cas wouldn't take no for an answer and barked at the cab driver to take them to the park. Dean was just glad he bought a coat today as Cas dragged him all over the city as he wanted to see everything they could fit in.
Dean glanced at his watch when they stepped out of the cab and saw that they had a couple of hours until they needed to be back at the hotel. Dean pulled his black woollen button down coat around him a little tighter and put his hands into the coat pockets as he waited for Cas to hurry up and get out of the cab. On the way over, he had struck up a conversation and asked the man what it was like to live in the city and where the best places to visit are as he tried to get a residents point of view on where to go.
When Cas finally joined him and wrapped himself up in his own jacket similar to Dean's but grey, Dean linked their arms together and dragged Cas along into the park more. It was freezing and he just wanted to get moving. He said as much to Cas who just laughed and told him to nut up because apparently "it's not that cold".
They took a short stroll and ended up coming across a small mountain of rocks. With a grin at Dean, Cas unlinked their arms and scampered up the rocks with a "Race you to the top" thrown over his shoulder. Dean quickly followed as he tried to catch up to Cas who had an unfair advantage of starting earlier but Dean didn't mind. This way he had a pretty decent view of Cas' perfect ass.
When they reached the top Dean was short of breath and Cas was there with a smirk on his face directed at him. His breath not at all laboured. "You getting unfit there, Dean?" he teased.
Dean pouted in reply before he spoke "Well it's kind of hard with our schedule to just go work out, Cas"
"Uh huh" Cas replied not believing Dean even for a second "Or maybe you were just too busy moping?"
With that, Dean leapt forward and took Cas up in his arms before he threw him over his shoulder and moved towards the edge of the rocks. It wasn't a far drop but if they did fall they wouldn't come away without injury.
"Dean!" Cas protested "Put me down!"
Dean chuckled as he bounced Cas up and down on his shoulder for a bit. "Not until you apologise and tell me I have the body of a god"
"I didn't insult your body, Dean. Only your fitness" Cas snorted
"Well then," Dean started as he stepped just a little closer to the edge and turned his back to it while he slid Cas down his back a little more so he was more or less dangled over the edge. "I guess you really do want to fall"
"Fall? You're threatening to throw me over. There is no falling involved Dean" Cas reasoned
"Oh but there is, Cas. You see, when the cops ask me questions, I'm going to feign innocence and say you fell over the edge"
When Dean felt a hand slide into his jeans and squeeze his ass along with a mumble of "I love your ass" he knew that it was over. Cas was distracted and there was no way Dean was going to keep it up much longer. He started to chuckle as Cas' other hand joined and squeezed the other cheek perfectly content where he was positioned apparently not noticing that he was still slung over Dean's shoulder.
Once they were safely away from the edge, Dean heaved Cas back over his shoulder and placed his feet back on the ground. His face was red from the blood rush and his hair stuck up more than usual but he grinned like an idiot as he slid his hands around Dean's waist and back into Dean's jeans.
"Your ass is nice and warm and my hands are cold" Cas claimed. Dean was just glad he wore boxer briefs today because Cas' hands were cold and didn't think he'd be able to survive if it was skin on skin.
"You're so fucking weird" Dean snorted
"Yeah but you love it" Cas replied without missing a beat as he imitated their conversation from the night before.
Dean smiled in reply before he leant in and claimed Cas' lips. Cas' hands squeezed Dean's butt cheeks as they bit at each other's lips. Dean smiled into the kiss and felt Cas' do the same. The sound of a child giggling pulled them out of their kiss and forced Cas to quickly remove his hands from Dean's jeans and turn his head around to find the source.
Dean's gaze landed on a small girl no older than 5 who looked at them with a huge grin on her face. "Are you two in love?" the girl asked as she still looked at them with a grin.
Cas started to giggle as he hid his face in Dean's jacket so Dean took it upon himself to reply. "Yeah kid. We are"
"You two are so cute" she said before she climbed back down the rocks. Dean groaned as Cas continued to giggle into his shirt.
"That's twice today we've been called cute" Dean growled out. "I refused to be called cute"
Cas finally managed to control his giggle and pushed himself back to look Dean in the eye "I think it's sweet. Just shows we're meant to be together"
"Why can't they just say that instead of calling us cute then? We're two dudes. Dudes are not supposed to be cute" Dean argued
Cas just shrugged as he went to sit on the ledge of the rocks that looked out to the city skyline. Dean followed and sat himself behind Cas and wrapped his arms over Cas' shoulders and pulled the man into his chest. Cas moved his arms up and crossed them over his chest to hold onto Dean's arms. They sat in silence as they watched the people walk around the park below content to just enjoy being with each other as they had the rest of the afternoon. They had to be back soon even though he really just wanted more time to be with Cas, he was ecstatic with the fact that soon he was going to surprise Cas with his new song. He was nervous but equally excited for Cas' reaction.
Dean turned his arm over and pulled back the sleeve of his jacket to check his watch. "We should probably get going. We got to be back soon" he nuzzled into Cas' neck and smelt the man's scent.
"Mmm" Cas hummed as he leant back a little more into Dean's chest "Five more minutes"
Dean chuckled against Cas' neck "That's the third time you've said that today" but he made no movement to get up. He wanted the five more minutes before he had to head back to the chaos of the upcoming gig.
As he pressed a couple of lazy kisses into Cas' neck, Dean picked himself up of the rocks before he brushed his jeans to get rid of the dirt and threw a hand out to help Cas up. Once Cas had done the same, they climbed back down the rocks and linked their hands together once they reached the bottom.
"Can we get the train back? I want to check out the Grand Central Terminal and that whispering thing" Cas asked
Dean just nodded and pulled Cas in closer and kissed him on the cheek "Anything you want, Sweetheart as long as we're back on time."
Cas grinned in reply and pulled Dean along a bit faster so they could find a cab to get them to the terminal. They could easily walk it but they were pressed for time so decided it would just be faster to catch a cab.
They checked the timetable once they arrived seeing there was a train that went to the station near their hotel departing in 20 minutes. Cas grinned that they had quite a bit of time before they needed to be at the platform which meant they had more time at the whispering dome.
When they arrived, there weren't many people about and Cas suddenly abandoned Dean's hand and ran to the other side of the dome and took a place in the corner while he waited for Dean to make his move to the other one. Dean was somewhat reluctant to do this. It seemed rather childish but Cas was all giddy and smiling and Dean didn't want to disappoint him by telling him so. Instead, Dean moved to the corner and waited for Cas to speak.
"Hello Dean" Cas whispered
"Hey Cas" Dean replied as he heard Cas giggle from across the room and he turned around only to see Cas still faced towards the corner. He noticed Cas do a little head check before he leant forward to whisper again.
"I want to suck your cock" Dean froze and then blushed before he too looked around to see if anyone had overheard but the people that were around paid them no mind and carried on their way as Cas continued to talk "I missed it so much, Dean. I want to put it in my mouth and suck you dry"
"Cas" Dean hissed "Stop it" but apparently Cas wanted to keep going
"Mmm Dean, I'm getting hard just thinking about it. I want to fuck you so bad, Dean"
Dean could do nothing to stop the man apparently because he just kept whispering obscene things until Dean was achingly hard and couldn't take it anymore. He left his corner marching up to Cas and spun him around and pressed him into the corner while he claimed his lips in a hungry kiss.
"Little shit" Dean growled as he pulled back from Cas' lips. "Think you're so funny don't you, Cas?"
Cas only laughed in reply before he pushed Dean off him and ran off towards their platform. As he glanced down at his watch again he saw they only had 5 minutes before their train was supposed to arrive so Dean quickly followed after Cas while he tried to will his erection away.
Finally, he caught up with the man again only to see him disappear onto the train. Dean ran to catch up and jumped on the same carriage as Cas and took a seat next to the man.
"Seriously dude, stop with the running" Dean panted. Cas grinned at him and placed a kiss on his lips before he moved into Dean's side and rested his head on Dean's shoulder as the train started to move.
Today had been perfect. Dean just couldn't wait for tonight.
-
Castiel couldn't believe how perfect the day had been so far. It was as if he and Dean had never had any issues and were just back to normal again. Castiel had dragged Dean all over New York as he wanted to see this and that and the man had come mostly without persuasion and had apparently enjoyed every minute of it except of course when he had teased Dean to no end at Grand Central Terminal only to run off for their train. Castiel would just have to make it up to him after the show.
Castiel was stood about halfway back from the stage in a mix the crowd in complete awe of everything that had happened so far on stage. They were about halfway through their set and they were nailing it. Castiel thinks it's probably due to the fact that they were over halfway through their tour now and were used to playing in front of large crowds but still their stage presence was amazing. Dean placed the microphone down into the crowd and got them to sing the songs along with some awesome solos from Sam and Ash put the crowd into a frenzy.
The crowd had sung along with every single song and Castiel had joined in too. He had particularly enjoyed the ones that Dean had sung to him when he needed to hear them. He may have teared up a little during "Never Let You Go" with the memories that it brought back.
Castiel glanced down at his watch and saw they had about another 20 minutes to play which meant they'd get another four or so songs plus the two for their encore. Dean hadn't let him look at the set list as he said it was a surprise and that he'd just have to wait and see. He worked through the songs they had already played and tried to guess which songs they would play next. He was just eager for them to start the new song that he hadn't recognised at the sound check so Castiel could finally find out this big surprise.
When the end of the current song came, Dean stepped up to the microphone while he panted a little from the big note at the end. Castiel couldn't help but be aroused at the state of Dean. He was completely drenched in sweat from being under the lights and rocking out on stage. His black tee shirt was soaked and stuck to his body leaving nothing to the imagination.
"So," Dean began once he had caught his breath "When we started this tour, I wasn't in the greatest of places…" Castiel's breath caught what was Dean doing? "My boyfriend and I just had a huge argument and we were heading off on tour and we went on a break which completely broke both of us" the audience gave a sympathetic 'aww' as Dean spoke and Castiel couldn't help but let a small smile cross his lips. His fans really cared about his will being. "We uh, we didn't talk until two days ago when I finally woke up and smelled the roses" Dean let out a snort amused at his own stupidity apparently.
"But those two months were some of the hardest of my life" he continued "I was in a really dark place and I don't think I've been that way for a long time" Castiel felt a pang of sympathy in his gut that Dean compared this to when he had left his father behind and moved in with Bobby. He didn't have to voice that for Castiel to know what he meant. "We," Dean gestured to the band "Wrote this brand new song together while I was trying to cope and I uh, I guess this is just a song to show how much I love this man and how much I wanted him to come back. So uh Cas," Dean looked out at the crowd then searched for Castiel and he knew Dean wouldn't be able to find him with the lights shone at him but Dean knew the general direction Castiel was stood in and just addressed towards that way "I'm sorry, and this is for you. It's called 'You Belong Here'"
Dean stepped back from the microphone then and started to strum his guitar. Castiel could feel his heart beat faster and faster and started to think that everyone around him knew exactly who he was when in reality no one in the crowd gave him a second glance. That didn't stop him from feeling like everyone's eyes were on him but his gaze was solely focused on the man on the stage that had slowly stepped up to the microphone again and started to sing.
His voice was soft and delicate as he sang the intro
"You belong here.
You were meant for me.
You belong here.
You were meant to be with me."
The band joined in now with the stage lighting up and Castiel was just blown away caught up in the excitement of the crowd. Everyone cheered before they quietened down again for the first verse
"You've got the better part of me
Always have and always will
You've got the better part of me, oh
And you know that I'm right
And I know I'm asking too much
And I know I'm taking control
But, a heart that's not worth breaking isn't worth much, not at all.
Isn't worth much at all"
Castiel's heart beat faster. Dean wrote this song for him. He'd never written a song especially for Castiel before and let Castiel hear it but now here he was listening to a song that was about him; about how Dean wanted him with him. How he had missed him and longed for Castiel to be by his side just as Castiel wanted to be with him. Suddenly the chorus broke out and Castiel found himself smiling like an idiot
"You belong here
You were meant for me
You belong here
You belong here with me
You were meant to be with me"
Castiel was lost in the song as he watched Dean's reaction as he played while he searched the crowd looking to see if he could spot Castiel. Castiel knew it was useless due to how far back he was but at least Dean tried. The second verse kicked in and Castiel didn't realise he could love this man any more than he already did but he was proved wrong as Dean continued to sing
"You are the better part you'll see
Always have and always will
You'll be the better part of me, oh, for the rest of my life
And I know I'm asking too much
And I know I'm all control
But, I'll give you all I have
It isn't much, much at all
I'm not much at all"
He was surprised to see how much of Dean's own emotions came through in his songs. He hardly ever spoke of his feelings to Castiel but when his pen hit paper, Dean just let it all out and Castiel was just glad to be along for the ride.
"You belong here
You were meant for me
You belong here
You belong here with me
You were meant to be with me"
The crowd was fully cheering now completely caught up in the song and they loved it. Dean had them eating from the palm of his hand. They were already singing along with the chorus and Dean smiled as they sang. The band quietened down again for the bridge and Dean sang again
"But, I'll give you all I have
It isn't much, not much at all
But, a heart that's not worth breaking isn't worth much, not at all"
The chorus was sung again before the song died out and the crowd went absolutely insane it was deafening. Castiel had teared up halfway through the first chorus and the tears ran down his cheeks as the band rounded out the song. He quickly wiped them away before he joined in with the cheering of the song with the crowd. He really just wanted to run up and be with Dean right then but there was still another three songs to go so he would just have to wait it out and be with him after.
One thing was for sure though; they were not hanging around for very long before they headed to the hotel.
A/N The song is 'You Belong Here' by Anberlin