Chapter Forty

Dean woke the next morning, when Cas stirred beside him. The sun warmed his face through the window, and Cas's hand wandered over his chest. Dean smiled sleepily, but didn't open his eyes until Cas shuffled over and started kissing his neck.

'Morning,' he murmured, putting an arm around Cas, and biting his lip at Cas's kisses.

'Good morning, Dean,' Cas whispered in his ear, before moving his kisses to Dean's lips. Before long, Cas was on top of him again, pushing the hem of his shirt up.

'When did you get so horny?' Dean asked with a laugh.

'I've always been this way,' said Cas, 'I'm just better at hiding it than you are.'

Dean allowed Cas to strip him. He didn't have the same frenzied energy as he had the night before, but Dean enjoyed the way Cas savoured him just the same.

'You wanna go again?' Dean asked, parting his knees.

Cas kissed his stomach, then gave him a nervous look. 'Actually, I was hoping that we could try it the other way around.'

Dean grinned. 'I think I could give it a shot.' He hooked a leg around Cas, then flipped him onto his back.

'You seemed to enjoy it, I was feeling a little left out,' Cas teased.

'Well, we can't have that.' Dean ran kisses across Cas's collarbone, then hesitated. 'Have you… practiced much on yourself?'

Cas's already flushed cheeks reddened even further, and he shook his head.

'We'll go slow then.'

Dean took his time, running his fingers over every inch of Cas's skin that he could reach, waiting for the slight hitch in Cas's breathing that told Dean he was ready. He used his finger for a while, getting Cas used to the sensation. Then, when he felt Cas relax a little more at his touch, Dean slid himself into Cas

Cas immediately tensed.

'Breathe,' Dean murmured in his ear. 'Relax.'

Cas nodded, but after a moment, he pressed his palm to Dean's shoulder. 'S-stop,' he stammered. 'I d-don't like it. I don't like it.'

Dean pulled back and sat up, bringing Cas with him. 'Are you okay?' Dean asked breathlessly.

'I- I just didn't like it,' said Cas. 'I'm sorry.'

'Hey, it's okay, you don't have to like everything,' Dean said.

'Are you disappointed?'

Dean cupped his cheek. 'Not in the slightest. The opposite, if anything. I love to hear about the things you like, but I always wanna hear about things you don't like.'

Cas kissed his hand.

'Besides, there are plenty of other things we can get up to.'

Cas smiled, and then his eyes travelled down Dean's body. 'I know what I did like.'

'Oh yeah? Why don't you show me?' Dean grinned, resuming his position on his back.

'It would be my pleasure, while we're still here. It's not really an activity we can do at home.'

'Aw, why not?'

Cas chuckled. 'You - uh - make a lot of noise. Not that I don't enjoy it,' he added, 'but I don't think everyone else would feel the same.'

'Good point,' Dean said, his breath speeding up. 'We'll just - ah - have to - to go to - to hotels more often then.'

'I like that idea.'

Then Cas was inside him again, and his ability to think greatly diminished, so he floated away on the waves of pleasure, safe in Cas's arms. When he returned to his body, his legs were shaking and his heart thumped painfully in his chest, but Cas gently stroked his cheek and softly kissed his lips before bringing him another bottle of water.

Dean lay in the bed while he regained strength in his legs, and once they were clean and showered, they packed their bags, ready to check out.

Cas strapped his boot back on and shouldered his bag.

'Breakfast?' Dean asked, rubbing his hands together, now ravenously hungry.

Cas nodded and carried Dean's bag downstairs for him, ignoring his weak protests.

They sat down in the hotel restaurant, and Dean eagerly browsed the menu. He ordered himself a stack of pancakes, scrambled eggs, and sausages, with a glass of orange juice to wash it down.

Cas went for pancakes too, but he added bacon and fried eggs to his, and a glass of lemonade. He watched in amusement as Dean shoveled food into his mouth.

'You were hungry,' Cas said.

Dean grinned. 'Yeah, well, getting railed is hard work,' he said smugly, laughing when Cas blushed bright red.

Finally, they finished their food and it was time to go home. They went out to the car, Dean's arm around Cas's shoulders.

'I'm glad we did this,' Cas said, giving Dean a tight hug.

Dean lifted Cas's chin with a finger and kissed him. 'Me too.'

Mary was waiting for them when they got home and demanded all the details from prom.

Dean showed her pictures he'd taken of Cas in his crown.

'They made you prom king? That's so sweet!' Mary beamed.

'Dean was queen for a moment,' Cas said. 'Alfie said he'll put the pictures in the yearbook.'

'They should be ready to publish any day now,' said Dean.

'I should hope so, there are only a couple more weeks of school left,' said Mary.

Dean's stomach flipped. They were still waiting for their final results, and though he was fairly confident, a part of him still expected his unexpected offer to Carnegie Mellon to be ripped away from him.

Cas, however, was excited for the upcoming week. His physiotherapist planned to decide whether he could finally have his boot off, and he was desperate to attend graduation without it.

Dean had been right about the yearbook, and a stand appeared in the hall near the entrance, stacked with books. Alfie manned the stand, a huge, proud smile on his face. Dean insisted on buying a copy for Cas, and picked out two shiny hardcovers.

The first signature Cas asked for was Alfie's, cracking open the book the moment it was in his hands.

'You worked so hard on this, of course I want you to sign it.'

Alfie seemed touched, and eagerly signed Cas's yearbook, then Dean's as well.

They spent homeroom getting signatures, and by the end of the day, Cas's was filled with signatures from the sports teams and the cheerleaders. He was delighted to give out his own to anyone that asked, but he was getting overwhelmed by the afternoon, so ended up having to put on his headphones and sunglasses. Despite this, he was still determined to sign as many yearbooks as possible, and he wouldn't have had it any other way.

The requests for signatures slowed down by Wednesday, but Cas was too excited for his appointment to care.

Dean drove him to his appointment and waited in the parking lot, leaning on the Impala in the sun. Soon enough, Cas emerged from the building, boot free, with a huge smile on his face. He ran to Dean and slammed into him, crushing their lips together until Dean laughed and pushed him off.

'Come on, you still gotta be careful with it,' he grinned.

Cas gazed at him, flushed. 'Do we have to go home right away?' he asked.

'No, why? You got something else in mind?'

Cas smiled wickedly. 'You could say that.'

Dean laughed. 'You're gonna wear me out, you know.'

'Maybe that's the idea.'

Mary had covered their dinner for them, and Dean set about heating it up. John was still sitting at the table, and Cas approached him.

'D-Dad?' he said, and John looked up.

'What's up, kid?'

'I got my boot off.'

'Seems that way,' John smiled.

'Could we start driving practice again?'

''Course we can,' said John. 'I gotta work late tomorrow, but the day after?'

'Sounds good.'

Dean put an arm around Cas when he came over, checked over his shoulder, and whispered in Cas's ear, 'I love you.'

'I love you too, Dean,' Cas murmured.

Another two days passed, then, while they were chatting together in homeroom, Kevin got a notification on his phone. He gasped and went pale.

'What is it?' Jo asked.

'Our final results are up,' he said, furiously tapping on his phone.

They all reached for their own phone, and Dean's heart leapt to his throat.

Silence fell over the room as everyone logged into the school portal to check their results.

'YES!' Kevin exclaimed, jumping on his desk and punching the air.

Jo turned pink with delight, and Crowley looked smug.

Cas let out a long sigh of relief, then noticed that Dean was still staring at his phone screen, not yet logged in to the portal.

'It's all right, Dean,' he said softly. 'You did it, I know you did. Now you just have to open it and see.'

Dean took a shaky breath and finally logged in. His eyes went down the list, his heart lightening the further he went. He was giddy by the time he got to the end.

'Well?' Jo prompted.

'I got it,' he said. 'All the grades I need.'

Cas reached out and stroked his cheek. 'I knew you would.'

Dean held Cas's hand to his cheek. It was real. He was really going to Carnegie Mellon.

The feeling was mixed throughout school that day. Not everyone got everything they needed, and some weren't able to graduate at all.

For the first time in weeks, Dean's thoughts turned to Rhonda, and it seemed to him a great justice that she wouldn't be experiencing the same relief and happiness that they were. For another year, at least. Then Dean realised that he hadn't felt nauseous at the thought of her, and smiled to himself.

As soon as they got home they showed Mary their grades, then Cas slipped on his running shoes to go for a jog. He came back sweating and pink in the face.

'How did it go?' Dean asked him.

'It was a good start,' Cas smiled, but it hadn't been nearly enough to expend his energy, so he ended up in bed with Dean that night, holding a hand over his mouth to keep him quiet.

With his boot gone, Cas was a lot busier in the following days, always out either driving with John, or building up his strength and speed. Dean found himself at a loss, so when he got bored, he drove down to John's garage and worked on whatever projects he felt like.

A couple days before graduation, however, Cas slowed down, and Dean noticed his mood darken. He didn't bring it up until Cas broke into tears as they lay in bed.

'Talk to me,' Dean murmured, wrapping his arms around Cas's waist.

'I wanted Gabriel to come,' Cas stammered, 'but he hasn't responded to my messages, and he won't answer my calls.'

Dean sighed and cuddled him close. 'I'm sorry, Cas,' he said. 'I know you want him, but maybe he's just not ready to be a big brother again.' He gently turned Cas to face him, and kissed his nose. 'Anna and Charlie will be here tomorrow. Try to focus on that, okay?'

Cas nodded, and curled into Dean's chest. 'Maybe he'll still come,' Cas said hopefully. 'I saved a seat for him.'

Dean stroked the back of Cas's head. 'Yeah, maybe…' he said. He knew it was unlikely, but with the ceremony so close, Dean was unwilling to crush Cas's hopes, so he kept it to himself. When Cas was asleep, however, Dean carefully took his phone and copied Gabriel's number.

Dean

I hope you know if you don't show up you'll break his heart

But he got no response.

Welcome back! Thanks to EmilyAnnMcGarrett-Winchester for the review!