It had been a long day, and Dean was exhausted. First, the Impala was acting up and he had to do a roadside repair, which didn't completely fix the problem. Then, when he finally got to his job at Bobby's garage, an asshole came in with an almost totaled Mustang on a flatbed and demanded that it be done by the end of the week. The hits just coming all day long. The air conditioner in the shop stopped working and no one could figure out why; he started working under an older truck while Bobby dealt with the Mustang and hit a valve wrong and got covered in god-knows-what; the lunch he ordered from the deli down the road sent a bad sandwich that ended up making him sick.
Above all else, though, it seemed like no one had remembered that it was his birthday.
He had spent the entire day compulsively checking his phone, but he didn't even his yearly "happy birthday" email from the car forum that he wrote for occasionally, let alone anything from his brother or his boyfriend. It was shaping up to be the worst birthday he's had in years.
He was under the Impala trying to fix the leak he found in the engine when Bobby banged on the hood to get his attention.
"Damn it!" Dean yelled, banging his head on the underside of the engine.
"What're you bangin' yer head for, boy?" Bobby asked, rolling his eyes as Dean pulled himself out from under the car.
"Maybe because you scared the shit out of me, Bobby, jeez," Dean ran his hand over the back of his head. "What do you want?"
"I need you to close up shop. Ellen called and I need to help her out at the Roadhouse."
Dean sighed, resigned to the fact that he wasn't going to get recognition that it was his birthday and frankly just over the day in general. "Yeah, Bobby, I'll close up."
"All right, after yer done come on over to the Roadhouse for some dinner. Ellen's makin' burgers tonight," Bobby smiled, pulling on his hat and coat, ready to go. "Thanks, Dean."
Dean smiled slightly, pulling himself back under his car to finish up. "Burgers would be great if they came with pie and Jo drunk singing happy birthday," he said to himself, hoping that Bobby had already left for the night.
"Is the boy stayin' over at the shop for a little while?" Ellen asked the second Bobby walked into the deserted Roadhouse.
"Nice to see you too, Ellen," he said sarcastically. "I had a great day today, thanks for asking."
"Don't be a smartass, Bobby," Ellen rolled her eyes. "Is Dean working late tonight or not?"
"He would be with me if he wasn't, woman!" Bobby hung up his coat on the back of a chair and walked back behind the counter to find himself a glass and some whiskey to put in it. "You should have seen him today, Ellen. I think that boy checked his phone more often than Jo does while she's waiting for one of those damn hillbillies to call her back."
Ellen laughed, reaching under the counter to grab the whiskey out for Bobby. "And you're sure that Sam and Cas didn't spill the beans?"
"Nah, there's no way," Bobby took a long drag out of the glass that Ellen handed him. "I don't know what upset him more- the fact that Sam didn't say anything, the fact that Cas didn't make him breakfast in bed like he did last year, or the fact that the car forum he writes for didn't send him that tacky ass email like they do every year. He wouldn't stop with the mumblin' all damn day."
"Speakin' of Sam and Cas, where are those two with the presents and Dean's pie?" Ellen settled herself on a barstool, content and waiting for the rest of the party to be here. "I already cooked and decorated, they least they can do is show up before Dean gets here."
"Should be here any time now," Bobby ran his hand through his beard, scratching slightly. "Where's Jo?"
"She'll be here later with her new boyfriend. Some little oddball by the name of Garth this time."
The door banged open, followed by a laughing Sam and Cas. Cas was carrying a small, pink bakery box and Sam's arms were full of packages in varying shapes and sizes, all wrapped in the standard newspaper that the Winchesters had become used to wrapping all presents in.
"What took you two so long?" Ellen asked sharply. "I sent you out two hours ago to get those things."
"Loverboy here couldn't decide what kind of pie would tell Dean he was sorry for not making breakfast in bed or calling or texting all day the most, so we spent almost forty-five minutes in the bakery," Sam was quick to place the blame, knowing that if Ellen was mad that he didn't want it focused at him. "Then we had to drive all the way to my apartment to get all of the presents."
Ellen pursed her lips, looking at the guilty face of Cas and the innocent puppy face of Sam. "I guess that's acceptable. Go find a place to put the presents and bring that pie to me. What kind did you end up getting, anyway?"
"Apple," Cas said with a smile. "It's Dean's favorite, and I hope that means that he'll forgive me for ignoring him today."
"You got it bad, son," Bobby said with a smile.
Sam was putting all of the present down on the table when they finally heard what they were waiting for – the roar of the Impala as she pulled into the parking lot.
"Hide!" Sam said in a forced whisper.
There were only a few cars in the parking lot when Dean pulled in, which was strange for a weeknight at one of the best bars in this town. Usually they were packed to the brim with the local alcoholics that Ellen had become too fond of to throw out when they got rowdy.
Not really thinking too much about it, Dean locked up his car and walked in, stomach growling at the lingering smell of beer, pretzels, peanuts, and burgers.
"SURPRISE!" yelled Bobby, Ellen, Cas, and Sam as he came through the door.
Dean stood in the threshold, momentarily stunned into silence, before a large grin spread out over his face. "You guys are assholes," he said, the grin not leaving his face. "Thank you so much!"
Cas came forward from the others, a shy smile on his lips. "Happy birthday, Dean," he said softly, pulling Dean into a warm hug.
Dean bent down and pressed a kiss to his boyfriend's face, the horrible day he was having suddenly forgotten.
"Best birthday ever," he whispered before kissing him once more.