This chapter isn't very sexy. it skips forward roughly a month from the last one. Sorry it took so long!
I'm trying to decide between two stories for my next one, but I feel like I can't! UGH. Would you guys be up for a small poll on what you'd like to see from me?
Note from present-day me: The poll was put up, I will tell you how to get to it sometime before the story is over. Something already won and it was "Into the Moors", which is still one of my favorite destiel AUs I've written. It's already posted on this account if you'd be interested in checking it out!
Chainmail clinked as Dean walked through the throngs of people, Charlie leading him along happily. She was practically skipping, and people didn't even take a second glance. They parted like the red sea for her, their soon-to-be queen. Now, the only problem she had was making sure her handmaiden kept up.
"Charlie, slow down!" Dean teasingly shouted. Charlie stopped entirely in her tracks, making Dean have to dig his heels into the ground to stop moving in time. She turned on her heel, her eyebrows raised.
"I'm going at a perfectly normal speed, you're the one that made me late when you had to spend twenty minutes on your hair, Dean Winchester." She said. Dean had to think quickly to dodge the playful hand that swept up to mess it up. He really had put a lot of work into his hair, and he didn't want to have to redo it. Once he was certain he was in the clear, he grabbed Charlie's arm and turned her back around, his other hand snaking out to wrap around her chest and pull her back.
"My, my, how the tables have turned. Hey, I wonder if princesses are still ticklish?" he questioned, lightly skimming his fingers up her side. She jumped from it, her eyes widening as she struggled to get out of his grasp. He let out a long laugh.
"Dean Winchester, you'd better not!" She threatened. That, of course, made the icing on the cake for Dean. He quickly began to run his hands along her sides, holding her still as she tried desperately to escape. She chuckled and laughed and even snorted a couple of times, and Dean still wouldn't stop. Finally, when she was gasping for breath and squirming in his arms, he let her go. She stumbled a few steps before she turned and looked back at him, revenge and mischief bright in her eyes.
Suddenly, she took off. She was weaving through people and around booths, too fast for Dean to possibly follow. He sprinted after her, but unfortunately, the crowd didn't part for a handmaiden. Dean had always been a good runner, though, and he kept up for the most part. His legs were slightly achy and sore, his lungs burned, but he didn't actually know the way to the feasting tent so he really had to keep up. Eventually, though, she rounded a corner and he hunched over, panting. Nobody he knew was in sight.
He shook his head, blinking hard. He started to walk in the direction she had went, hoping to find her. He called out her name a couple of times, hoping she would emerge from a corner and give up her game. He rounded a couple of corners and went around a couple of tents, hoping to find her there waiting for him. Unfortunately, all that he came across was empty space and a lot of other people.
Finally, he rounded a corner to see a bright flash of red disappearing into a tent. He narrowed his eyes and plowed after, waiting just a second outside the door, listening to see if he heard her voice. Once he was sure he did, he plowed through the tent flap-
And ended up face-first with Castiel, their bodies bumping together as he, startled, looked down. Cas's electric blue eyes gazed back up at him with an eery calm, and he felt a small blush rise as he realized he'd unconsciously wrapped his arms around the other man.
"Well, uh, hey there." He said, lamely. Cas's eyebrows raised and somebody in the room coughed, who Dean couldn't be sure. He finally released his lover from the awkward hug, Cas smirking just the smallest bit.
"Hey there indeed. You're late." Cas rumbled. Dean rolled his eyes and smacked Cas's butt as he passed, going to take his seat by Charlie. Cas didn't have a real reaction to it, just letting it go and taking the seat on the other side of their Princess. People were watching their small group now; Dean hoped they didn't come off as pretentious and clique-y. Because they weren't like that; they were just close.
Jo and Ash sat, giving each other the sexual tension bedroom eyes again. Dean wished they would get it over with already and fuck; they were driving everyone crazy will all of the constant bickering or teaming up against people. They were so obviously pining after each other that it hurt.
The meeting commenced. It was long and a little bit boring, but about halfway through it he ended up in a subtle three-way foot war with Charlie and Cas. That, needless to say, made things a bit more interesting. After an hour of what seemed like the endless droning of when and where the next convention would be held, battle safety, yada yada, they were finally dismissed to eat.
Dean dug in, keeping his eye on Cas most of the time. His boyfriend had a very peculiar way of never getting anything on himself, no matter what they were eating, and Dean still couldn't figure out how he fucking did it. The most he'd ever seen was a small chunk of apple pie on the side of his mouth, and Dean had kissed that away... Now, if he had seen it, he probably would have just stared. Because it wouldn't be every day it happened again, and he was gonna appreciate something like that.
Cas didn't have a crumb on him when the plates were taken away. Charlie stood and stretched, shaking her shoulders as she let her muscles expand. She bent over the table and stretched her legs, her eyes scanning the strategy map for the battle they would be having later. Dean had agreed to be in it, so he would be fighting alongside Cas and all of his friends. It seemed like everything was going great.
"Cas!" Every head in the tent turned towards the loud, accented exclamation. Dean's eyebrows rose as Cas reluctantly stood still as arms were wrapped around him and squeezed. The man pulled away, his blonde hair sticking up in all directions and his chainmail hanging oddly off of his gangly body. He couldn't weigh more than Charlie, but he was at least five inches taller than her.
"Who's this?" Dean asked, forcing himself not to get jealous. Cas gave a sigh and patted his friend on the shoulder. Everyone else was awkwardly silent, waiting to see how this would unfold.
"Dean, this is my friend Balthazar. We were room mates in college. He won the crown for me and has helped me to find and keep my job through his relationship with my boss, Crowley." Cas introduced, stepping away. Balthazar stuck out a hand and Dean slowly returned the gesture, tightening his grip as they bobbed up once, down once, up once, released. It was the stiffest hand shake he'd ever gotten, and he could feel something a little more tense crawling through the air.
"I'm Cas's boyfriend." Dean introduced himself. He wasn't much one for public displays of affection (most of the time) but his hand reached out numbly to grab Cas's, and pulled him a little closer. For some reason, he felt like Balthazar was probably a pompous, arrogant, douche nozzle.
"Oh, lay off. This is all much too formal. Come here, our darling Cassie has already told me all about you." Balthazar leaned forward and his voice dropped an entire octave, but his words were still loud enough for others to hear. "He said you're quite the pleasant partner in the bedroom."
"I never said that." Cas interjects. Dean pulls back, uncertain what to make of the situation. Balthazar laughed, his smile reaching his eyes. It made Dean's stomach churn.
"I know, but the way you talked about him I knew he couldn't be anything but. You've not been so in love since your little girlfriend... Meg? Was her name? Yes, her. And you were head over heels for her." He explained. Castiel's face went pale, and Dean felt hatred well up for the pompous douche who had caused it.
"Lay off." He said, pulling Cas a little closer. Cas unfroze at that point, physically pulling himself away from Dean. Dean tried not to be hurt by it.
"It's fine. Yes, Dean is incredibly pleasant in bed. Much more so than you." Cas jabs back. Balthazar, instead of looking offended, beams with pride like his child's just taken it's first steps.
"Good for you Cassie, it's always good to see you taking up some attitude. I suppose I should leave you two to talk then, shouldn't I?" He questioned. Without waiting for an answer, Balthazar waltzed out of the tent like he fucking owned the place and disappeared into the crowd.
The rest of the guild looked awkwardly at the mounting tension with which Dean and Cas were looking at each other before they all collectively decided it was time to bolt, leaving the two staring at each other intensely. The tent was soon empty, and the silence was thick in the air like a midday fog.
"You've slept with that jerk? You're friends with that jerk? I mean, Cas, I'm not one to judge, but seriously? And who is 'Meg'?" Dean asked. He felt a little bit scandalized; if something was as important as this sounded, he thought he probably should've heard about it before now. He felt a little bit like Cas had been keeping secrets from him, and he knew from previous experience how well secrets went.
"Listen. He wasn't... Trying to be a jerk. Balthazar has been my close friend for awhile now." Cas has transitioned from standing awkwardly to sitting on the table, eyes on the ground. Dean wished that for once, he would look at him while he was talking. "Yes, we slept together. We were drunk as hell and it was college. That was after I'd lost Meg, and I really didn't know how to cope.
"I- I knew she wasn't good for me. She was sweet and seductive and seemed kind at the time. She was very beautiful, and I fell for that. She disappeared, though. She left and I was heartbroken. I probably should have known that she would at some point, but I was too naïve to realize that her intentions were never to actually stay with me. I should have been smarter about it, and I wasn't.
"Balthazar and I have been talking. I actually wanted to tell you about Meg for awhile now. I couldn't find a window to sneak the information in, so he decided to create one himself. I'm sorry I wasn't brave enough to tell you on my own. That's why I haven't let myself really be with anyone, in a long time. I've been scared of a repeat offense. Really, I should have warned you. I'm broken and damaged and I understand if you don't want that in your life- Especially since I was too much of a coward to-"
Cas is finally cut off by Dean's lips pressing heatedly into his, in a borrowed move. A move Cas himself had pulled on Dean, many times.
"You're not a coward. I can tell that this is something that really hurt you. I want you to know, though- I'll be there for you no matter what. I'm not like she was, Cas." Dean says, his breath warm as it ghosts over Cas's lips. Cas is still panting, the intensity of Dean's eyes as their foreheads rest together not helping him to de-accelerate his heart beat.
"I know. I knew from the moment you kept showing up. Not very many people stick around once they get to know me. I make an excellent leader, not so much a good friend." Cas said, chuckling a little. He still sounded the vaguest tones of bitterness in his voice, and Dean felt his heart squeeze.
"You're a great friend! I mean, the Guild loves you, Sam loves you, that Balthazar guy loves you- Just because some asshole named Meg up and left years ago doesn't change that. You can't let her hurt you that way." Dean said, intensely. He knew how it felt, to have somebody push you around, take advantage of you... He knew that the scars could stick an entire lifetime. He couldn't let Cas be weighed down by it any more. "Okay?"
Cas vaguely nodded his head, lips pursing. His eyes were glazed over as he looked at Dean, and he found his hands slowly moving from the table to Dean's hips. Once they were firmly situated there, they began to slowly pull Dean close, lips ghosting over his as their torsos met in the middle. One of Dean's hands went to the small of Cas's back while the other one rested on his thigh, making Cas's breath hitch. They were so close to kissing-so close, with challenge in their eyes. This was a contest to see who breaks first.
Dean's hand inched just a little higher on Cas's thigh.
Suddenly, Dean's head turned sharply at the fluttering sound of the tent cloth. It had been pulled apart so that Balthazar could stick his head in, looking like a judgemental prick as always.
"Cassie, no offense, but now's really not the time to get laid. The battle is in thirty minutes, yes?" He asked. Castiel gave a deep sigh before he nodded his head and Balthazar disappeared.
"Well, I guess we probably should get out of here." Dean said, dejectedly. Cas nodded and hopped off the table, walking towards the door. Dean followed closely behind, confused when Cas stopped again. An arm firmly grabbed his hand and pulled him down, so that Cas's lips were level with him ear.
"Later tonight, I'm going to ride your dick like it's the last safety boat on a sinking ship." Cas purred. Dean was left standing and staring as Cas released him and walked out of the room, looking entirely unfazed.
After the battle had finally cooled down, and Dean was finally killed by an opposing team member, they all sat in a line on the grass. Sweat stuck to their skin and they stretched their sore muscles, several of them guzzling down water like it was their only hope. They were laughing and smiling, teasing around with each other as they came down from the high of battle.
"I'm exhausted." Dean declares. There's a small thump as Castiel sits down beside him, his armour clinking. Somehow, despite Dean's extensive fighting training, Cas had lasted longer than him.
"I hope you're ready to be exhausted a lot more often. In January Charlie and I get crowned, and that means we'll be attending large amounts of the events all over the country. I hope it isn't presumptuous of me to assume that you'll be attending, too." Cas declares, taking off his helmet.
"Dude, I was born ready. Do you know how sexy you look in that armour?" Dean teases. Cas shrugs, pretending yet again to be unaffected. "Besides, we're gonna road trip everywhere together, remember? If some of it is taken by the SCA then who the hell cares? I can still show you the highlights of the town."
Cas pauses, scanning his mind for the vague memory. Once he finally finds it, he lets out a small and warm smile. Dean had discussed travel with him, back when he didn't even know they lived in the same apartment. Cas was glad that the whole thing had been sorted out, and he was glad to see that Dean was so willing to actually go through on what they had agreed on. Cas had been dreaming about a trip like that since he was young.
"That sounds wonderful." He says, smiling at Dean. Somebody in the guild clears their throat and they tear their eyes away from one another, remembering again that they weren't actually alone, and they had to behave in public.
"I think we should go home now." Dean says. Because he's sick and tired of having to keep his hands off of Castiel at this point, and a nice, slow love-making session would do both of them some good right now. In the month it's been since their first time, they've been more and more frequently slowing down, making love slow and easy and gentle. And Cas or Dean always stayed afterwards, sometimes the big spoon and sometimes the little spoon. Somehow, things worked between them like that.
"I agree with the notion." Castiel says flatly. They both stand and wave their friends goodbye, walking back to Dean's car and climbing in. The ride home is a little longer than they originally thought, traffic being even more of a bitch than usual.
By the end of it, they're both too damn tired to do much that night. They're sweaty and smell like too much deodorant (because they had to use too much deodorant) so they hop into the shower. About half of it is actually washing away the layers of seat and grime, and the other half is Dean sloppily kissing along Cas's neck as he pins both of them up against the wall, hand around their aching cocks slowly stroking both of them to completion. As Cas cums with a soft gasp of his name, Dean groans and lets himself go, too.
All Dean can think as they relax into bed together is that he'll be looking forward to more days like this. Friends and fighting and adrenaline and lazily getting off before collapsing into bed together. Yeah, he likes the idea a lot.
And, of course, Dean wakes up in the morning with Cas's mouth wrapped around his morning wood, head bobbing up and down like he tasted as good as a lollipop. Yesterday's promise of riding him did not go unfulfilled.