The courtyard was glowing under the mixed colors of bright paper lanterns strung overhead. Cas had worked with Pam to get certain things in place. He had made sure that Ash was available for the performance. He had put in a special request for "Earth Angel." Dean had been acting weird for the past week, and Cas hoped that it wasn't a sign. He wanted to have everything just work.
Timing was everything. He had spent the past year in a state of happiness that he had never thought would be possible for him or anyone that got close to him. He and Dean had grown closer, and had even decided that renting two apartments made zero sense. So, Cas had moved his items over to Dean's. They kept his couch and dining room furniture. They kept one of Dean's recliners and sold the other. They chose Cas' bed over Dean's. They found a shelf for "Cat that Waves." Dean built a little table for the record player. It had a place for the records to be stored underneath it.
It had been a good year for both of them. Dean worked a standard shift, four days on, three days off. Cas would trek out to his parent's place when Dean worked in order to utilize the office. He also got to be a presence in his parent's lives. He knew that it made them happy, and in the end that truly mattered.
He had learned that the moments mattered, and that you never get enough time. He sometimes felt like he had an excess of time, but he never took it for granted. He had Sam to thank for that and Dean too. It was almost seven. He made his way down to the courtyard.
He had gotten dressed up a little. His shirt was a grey button up over black slacks. He threw on a long black overcoat. He hummed a little of "Earth Angel" as he made his way down the hall and to the elevator. He could hear the party that was already started as he made his way out the hall door and into the courtyard. Ash was pumping his fist up in the air and singing something unfamiliar and harsh. Cas smiled and sent him a little wave that turned into his own little fist pump into the air.
Charlie was already occupying a space by the drinks. She was talking to Chuck and Becky. Ruby was talking with Missouri. Cas had introduced them some months ago, and somehow they had found that they had enough common interests to forge a friendship. He wandered over to them. "John and Mary here yet?"
"No, but I talked to them earlier and they said that they'd be here." Ruby reassured him with a pat to the shoulder. "You getting nervous?"
"What me? Never." He wiped his hands down the sides of his slacks.
Missouri asked, "You think it might not go well?"
"No. I just don't want to mess up." Cas kept sending glances back at the door. He pushed a hand into his pocket and kept it there.
"Boo!" Charlie squeezed his shoulders as she said it in order to scare him. Cas jumped. "Gotcha."
"Like I needed that." He pulled her into a hug though. His parents had strolled over and stood off to the side with grins. Ash changed the music abruptly, which had been their cue that Dean had arrived. Cas turned back to the door and saw that Dean had not arrived alone; he had arrived with his mom and dad behind him. What was more surprising though was how he was dressed. He did not look like he had just come from work. He had on a full suit, complete with a tie. He looked like a fed. Cas grinned at him. He didn't often get to see him like this. It was certainly a look that he needed to see more of.
Dean walked right up to him across the courtyard. His approach was heavy with purpose. Cas sucked in a breath and held it. He could feel his heartbeat pounding away a reminder that he was so alive, so gloriously, happily alive. Dean got within a foot of him and stopped. "Hey, Cas."
"Hey, Dean." He let his eyes sweep over him. "You sure got dressed up. You look great."
"You do know that it is our anniversary don't you?" He smirked. Ash seemed to be lowering the volume on the music so that it was just background noise.
"I may have gotten the memo." He reached out to Dean and took his hand in his.
Dean swallowed and seemed to falter a little as he was about to speak. "I have something that I want to tell you."
"Oh, me too. I mean, I have something to tell you too." Cas was still holding Dean's hand, but he had one hand free that he pushed into his pocket.
Dean took a deep breath and looked steadily into his eyes. "I hope this is okay, Cas." He pulled out a box from his jacket pocket. He held it in front of him, and said, "Cas, I've never told anyone else that I loved them. I mean, I love my family and such, but I have never said it to someone that wasn't already my family. And I want you to know what it means when I say it to you. It means that I want to spend every moment with you. It means that I want to grow old with you. It means that I want all of the time that I have left to be spent in the best company I know, yours. I also want you to know that when I say I love you, I'm really saying that you are family. You are mine as much as I am yours, and I never ever need anything more than that." He took another breath and opened the box. In it was a silver band that had a woven pattern to it. He held it up to Cas and added, "I love you, Cas. Will you marry me?"
Cas stood there trying to remember to breathe. Dean was not exactly one to share his feelings publicly, and this was not what he had expected. Before he could answer outright, he pulled his hand out of his pocket. He had a band of simple silver too. He held it up to Dean. Cas grinned. "Like I said, I have a few things to tell you too." Dean looked a little shocked. "You mean the world to me. You have literally saved me, Dean Winchester. I was a lonely fool that spent a lifetime pushing away everyone that loved me. When I met you, I wanted to stop doing that. I never wanted something so bad before. I wanted to live. I wanted to dance. I wanted to take long walks, and fantasize about what it would be like to hold your hand. I don't think that I have ever met someone more beautiful or more awe inspiring than you. I fell for you so fast. You were everything that had been missing in my life. You are my future, and my dreams. I love you, Dean Winchester, and I will marry you. Will you marry me?" They both still held the rings out to each other, but they just stared for a bit.
Dean's dad said, "Well, you gonna say yes?" He gave Dean a little push.
Becky pushed Cas a little, "Well, Cas?"
They both smiled at each other and said, "Yes." They each took turns putting the rings on each other's fingers. The crowd around them cheered. Even Michael and Lucy seemed happy off to the side. They had just gotten back from a couple's retreat. Cas had heard that there had been a sweat lodge and a lot of time spent in close quarters working out their issues.
Dean pulled Cas close, and Ash started playing "Earth Angel." Dean gave him a thumbs up over the crowd. "I really do love you." He leaned into a kiss as Cas wrapped his arms around Dean's waist.
"I really love you too." And the crowds moved off a little and some danced. The two of them swayed together in the courtyard, under the night sky. The moonlight and lanterns sent down little bits of light that danced off of their rings. They felt the world fall away from them for a spell, and all that existed was time, and the warm promise of so many days, and years to come.
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AN: Thank you all for reading my first DCBB. I appreciate the comments. Special thanks to Igniting who gave me medical advice in the early days of planning this fic. Thanks to all of my usual readers and followers for the kind words. As always, you all can find me on Tumblr as SpearyWritesStuff. I'm also on Ao3 as Speary where you might find more of my ficlets. Love to ya all. Thanks again.