Devasena glared at her husband, who darted out of her way playfully. Her body heavy with the baby, she could hardly imitate his graceful steps. At Baahu’s side, Kumara Verma laughed. “So, the unbowed Princess of Kuntala can’t even catch a man who is deliberately being slow! Fie, Devasena, I had expected better of you.” Baahu grinned. “Kumar, it’s alright. I had believed that nothing could hinder Devasena from enjoying a hot day like this, but it seems I was wrong” he said, making a comically sad face. Devasena was incensed. As she looked around for some stress-relief (probably something to throw at her irritating husband), Baahu sighed. “And I so wished to go for a swim, cool myself down. But with my wife in this condition…” A swim? Devasena had an idea.
She smiled sweetly at her husband, who smiled back, innocent of her plan. Kumar, however, had grown up with her and knew well enough to be suspicious of a suddenly pliant Devasena. He squinted at her.
Devasena winked. That was enough for her childhood playmate to understand, and he inclined his head slightly to indicate his silence on the matter.
Baahu, now that the fun was done (or so he thought), was quite the solicitous gentleman, carefully leading her to the miraculously unoccupied pond. He let go of her hand and stumbled slightly on a branch he had not noticed. Devasena seized her chance and pushed him with all her might. Baahu flailed wildly, his mouth a moue of surprise, but he could not maintain his balance, and he fell into the water with a splash.
It was Devasena’s turn to laugh. “The water cold enough for you, Baahu? Fie, I had not thought that Mahishmati’s best warrior could be taken by surprise by a slow, pregnant woman such as I.” She arched her eyebrows, affecting surprise.
Baahu being Baahu saw the humor in the situation and began laughing himself. It was he who had the last word however, for, in the jubilation of her triumph, she did not notice him sneaking up on her until he’d pulled her and Kumar into the water too. The water in the pond was deliciously cool and fresh.
“The water cool enough for you, Princess?” asked Baahu cheekily. With nothing left to say, Devasena nods. Baahu grins again. Devasena joins him, as does Kumar. Together, the three of them spend a playful sunny afternoon in the cool refuge of the water.
It was early enough that the sun wasn’t quite risen yet. Dean blinked up at the ceiling, stretching and only half-awake. Beside him, a lingering warmth still clung to the sheets. Soft footfalls padded away from the room towards the other side of the house.
Dean didn’t move to get up, preferring to lounge lazily across the bed. His absent companion’s scent still clung to the pillows, and though Dean would never in a million years admit it to Sam or anyone else, he was absolutely the type to go a little sappy and bury his face in his lover’s pillow.
It was the quiet sounds of the kitchen radio that finally roused him enough to get up. Pulling on a shirt against the morning chill, Dean made a quick stop at the bathroom before wandered into the kitchen to find Cas, drowsily making coffee. He walked over, wrapping Cas in an embrace, tucking his face into Cas’s shoulder. Cas hummed in appreciation, pressing back into Dean.
Dean could practically hear Cas’s smile as he spoke.
“Hello, Dean.”
“Hey.”
“Coffee?”
“Sometimes you’re a real angel.”
Cas snorted, passing over a mug. Dean, still wrapped around him, freed one hand to take it. No way was he letting go of Cas this early, even for coffee.
“The amazing part is how you still think that’s funny.”
“Hey, I’m hilarious.”
“I’d use the word deluded, but alright.”
“Fuck off,” Dean laughed out.
“Fuckin’ rude. And after I made you coffee.”
Dean only wiggled his eyebrows, taking a long drink. Cas rolled his eyes, hiding a smile behind his own mug as he turned to face Dean.
The early dawn light lit up the room with a pinkish glow, making everything look soft and unreal. Dean leaned back, eyes tracing over Cas all sleep-rumpled. He was human looking, hair a mess and slouching back against the counter and dressed in no more than an old shirt of Dean’s and a pair of boxers, but he so much more than that too. Grace and light and energy, a storm – a star! – all folded into this small body with only invisible wings left trailing out, and he still drank coffee every morning like an addict. He slept in Dean’s bed every night like it was a luxury, stealing the duvet every time and hell it was so perfect Dean didn’t even care.
God, Dean loved him so much.
Cas took another sip, arching one eyebrow above a smirk as he studied Dean right back.
“You’re looking hungry, Dean,” he said, voice far too innocent. “I could make you some toast?”
“’s’real generous of you, sweetheart.”
“I wouldn’t get too used to it.”
“With your cooking, I don’t wanna get used to it.”
“Asshole. I’m not that bad.”
“You burnt an omelette so bad we needed a new pan once.”
“Only because you were distracting me.”
“I didn’t hear you complaining.”
“Dean, why in the world would I complain about you blowing me?”
“What can I say? You’re tasty, baby.”
“Likewise. The pan catching fire is still your doing.”
“Not my fault your grace goes all wonky when you get a happy ending.”
“Your attempt at projecting innocence is both laughable and obnoxious.”
“I’m adorable.”
Dean was already in Cas’s space, but he leaned in closer, putting his drained mug down before crowding him against the counter. His hands found Cas’s waist, slipping under the shirt to brush across bare skin. Cas, still smirking, placed his own empty mug to the side before smoothing both hands up Dean’s chest and onto his shoulders. His thumb rubbed slowly at the skin of his jaw, drawing Dean closer until their lips touched.
“Again, not the word I’d use, but-“
Dean silenced him with another kiss, and another. Slow. Soft. Cas tasted like coffee, more bitter than Dean liked but he didn’t care because beneath that he could taste that light bright buzzing that was Cas’s grace. The real Cas, not just his vessel. Cas hummed, shifting until they were pressed closely together from chest to hips. Dean felt Cas’s wings as they moved forwards to envelop him, a barely there sensation of pressure and static. The kiss stayed languid as Dean grinded against him a little, just to hear Cas groan. Sure, they were both horny, but there was no rush. This was good too, just enjoying each other’s company.
Dean had never imagined it would be like this. That things could be this good. Half the time, he was convinced it was all another djinn dream. He knew it wasn’t. No way could he have this. No way did he deserve it. But, hey, he was selfish enough not to question his good luck.
Two years ago, Lucifer had been walking the earth, causing havoc. Angels and demons alike had been hunting them. Sam was fighting an addiction to demon blood and Bobby had been in a wheelchair. Cas had been slowly losing his powers, turning more human every day, and Dean had been trying desperately just to keep everyone alive and safe.
Now, things were different. Better. So much fucking better.
They weren’t even really kissing now, just breathing each other in. Cas was warm beneath his hands, vibrant and alive. Dean could pick out hundreds of shades of blue within his eyes.
The music changed, and Dean found himself grinning, something happy and silly growing in his chest. Reaching up, he took Cas’s hands, stepping back into the centre of the room. Cas followed, a questioning tilt to his head, eyes shining with amusement.
Slowly, Dean began to shift to the beat, not so much dancing as swinging their arms together and dragging Cas to follow his movements. Cas looked close to laughing, which only made Dean’s grin wider, and he exaggerated his movements in response, wriggling his shoulders and shimmying his hips until Cas snorted out, covering his face with one hand in a vain attempt to stifle his sniggering. Stepping closer, Cas lifted their joined hands until Dean twirled, following the lyrics of the song. Dean stumbled as he came out of the spin, dragging Cas closer again and they were both laughing now. Slipping an arm around his waist, Dean led Cas in some terrible imitation of a waltz, rocking back and forth as they shuffled around the kitchen, bumping into the table and the counter on the way. Dean even tried lowering Cas into a dip, and the angel played along, throwing one leg into the air and throwing them both off balance.
As the song ended, they were a little calmer, swaying slowly as the song came to a close. Cas still looked about a second away from laughing. A faint glow was coming from his cheeks, almost imperceptible in the morning light but definitely there beneath his skin. Dean traced his thumb across it, nearly reverent. That glow was the real Cas, Castiel the angel, shifting and singing beneath the skin of his vessel, the Cas that was so bright and holy he would burn out Dean’s eyes. It seemed impossible that this celestial being could even take notice of little ol’ Dean, all human and imperfections, let alone love him.
Because Cas did love him. Dean could see it in his eyes, feel it in his touch. Cas would whisper it against his skin when they lay in bed together, bite it out against his lips when a hunt went by and Dean had been in danger.
Dean didn’t question it. Cas deserved better, he deserved so much better than a battered part-time hunter, but if it was Dean he wanted he certainly wasn’t gonna tell him no. Because this way, Dean got to have Cas too, and he couldn’t think of a better person to fall in love with.
“You’re glowing again.” Dean whispered, pressing a kiss to Cas’s cheek. Cas hummed, ducking to hide his face as the glow got brighter.
“You’re imagining things.”
“I’m not, you always glow when you’re really happy.”
“And why would I be happy, here?”
Dean kissed the top of Cas’s head, one hand trailing down his back as he shuffled closer.
“Maybe ‘cause a gorgeous guy is all wrapped around you?”
“Certainly not a humble guy.”
“What do I got to be humble about? I’m awesome.”
The air behind Cas shimmered slightly, something that could easily just be the sunlight picking out dust motes. Dean knew it was something more, his eyes tracing eagerly across the arching shapes. There were three pairs, all moving slowly and fluidly as if they were absorbing energy from the sun. Cas’s wings, only ever visible like this or as dark silhouettes picked out by grace-fire.
“Maybe you’re all happy, ‘cause this gorgeous guy loves you.”
“Nah. It’s definitely from watching your attempt at dancing.”
“You saying I can’t go professional?”
“Pretty much. It was awful.”
“Bastard. Say that to my face.”
Cas, still grinning, lifted his head to meet Dean’s eyes.
“Your dancing was awful.”
Dean kissed him. Cas sighed into the kiss, following it with another. In the background, the radio switched over to the 6 am broadcast, a far too energetic host beginning to chatter about the news.
“We’re going to be late at this rate.”
“Sammy won’t mind.”
“You’re the one who wanted to drive. I’m not flying us across the country just so you can be lazy.”
“Ah, fine.”
Cas hummed, making no move to disentangle them, the hypocrite. His glowing began to fade a little before the brightening sunlight, but it was still there, illuminating his eyes from within.
It was the rumbling of Dean’s stomach that finally separated them. Dean rolled his eyes, stepping away to check the fridge. Cas turned back to the coffee machine, probably to make a new batch. If he was human, Cas’s coffee addiction would be a serious problem.
They managed to leave by around 7:30, heading out from their secluded house on the edge of Lebanon, Kansas, for San Francisco. Turns out Sam missed the big city life, or something. He was all set up now, taking classes part-time to get him back up to scratch after five years out of the system, and working as a computer tech the rest of the time. That job was how he met Charlie, a computer genius and a complete nerd who Dean had practically adopted as a little sister. Sam still ran hunts sometimes, couldn’t stay away, but tended to stick to the west coast area, along with his hunter girlfriend Eileen.
Things had been a bit more complicated for Dean.
After Lucifer was slam-dunked back into the Cage by Death – turns out nothing pissed the horseman off more than attempts to control him, who knew? – they’d both been a bit lost. With Azazel dead and Lilith dead, there was no one left to get revenge on, which wasn’t a bad thing of itself but it did settle a lot of the anger that drove them to hunt. Gabriel had shown up in time to give Lucifer the finger, before flying upstairs to have a go at Michael. Everything had been tense for a few weeks before Cas got a call. Turns out Gabe had managed to talk some sense into his dick brothers, and they were putting an indefinite halt on Armageddon. Cas’s powers were restored in full, and before he headed back up to Heaven he made sure Bobby got his legs healed. Finally.
There was nothing really keeping them from living a normal life.
Except when were things ever that simple? Hunters didn’t get out of the life – they didn’t settle down or have families. Even if they managed to kill whatever brought them into the life, most couldn’t leave knowing innocent people were out there getting killed. Dean certainly couldn’t just sit back and ignore the poor suckers.
Bobby saw things different. With Ellen and Jo practically moving into his house, he saw no reason why either of the brothers couldn’t at least try to make a life for themselves, hunting or not. Dean had to admit he had a point, but mostly because the house was getting a little crowded, even with Ellen and Bobby sharing a bed.
The thing was, Dean hadn’t known where to start. He was a high-school drop out with loads of skill at semi-legal ways of making money, but not a single marketable skill besides fixing cars. Turns out these days, they wanted a certificate even for that. He was good at organising stuff, and charismatic enough to do anything that involved talking to people (his brief role in Sandover’s marketing team had proved that, thank you Zachariah) but the idea of working in an office again just wasn’t him. Besides, it would be a lot harder to duck out and take care of a quick hunt while working somewhere with regular hours.
Sam had suggested Dean try things with Lisa again, but honestly Dean wasn’t too fond of the idea. What sort of guy turns up out of nowhere and just asks to be part of your life? Dean couldn’t just leave his baggage at the door, he knew he was a little fucked up after everything, and Lisa deserved better than that. Besides, being with her would mean giving up hunting completely, and Dean just couldn’t do that. He couldn’t bring that home to her.
What it all came down to was Dean didn’t know how to do normal.
And then Cas came back.
Honestly Dean had never expected to see the dorky little guy again. To say he was thrilled was an understatement. Dean didn’t know when exactly it had happened, but Cas had managed to get onto Dean’s unfortunately short list of friends and loved ones, and seeing him fly up to Heaven to never return had been harder than expected. Honestly, Dean hadn’t taken it too well at all, but that hadn’t stopped him from sending prayers up to Cas. Just updates about life, really. Sam getting accepted to school again. Jo meeting a guy who appreciated her knife collection. Ellen failing to scare the guy off when Jo announced she was dating him. Stuff like that.
Now Cas was back, and apparently for good. Turns out after hanging around Heaven for a few months, he’d managed to get himself “demoted” to guardian of the Winchester line as punishment for his rebellion. Gabriel had sent him to Earth to think about his actions and repent, or some shit, and he was forbidden to return to Heaven until Dean and Sam had both died. Dean had to admit, on occasion he liked Gabe’s sense of humour.
And maybe Dean still didn’t know what to do with his life, with Sam and Bobby and Ellen and Jo all moving on with things, but his best friend was back and the guy was even more clueless than Dean. Bobby had had enough, though. There just wasn’t the room at his house to have three extra houseguests hanging around all the time, even if one of them never slept. He’d practically thrown them all out, sending them on a road trip to “find their own goddamn house, idjits, and stop sleeping on his couch like a couple o’ freeloaders”. Dean didn’t take it too harshly.
After travelling for around a month, sorting out a few demon hunts (blessing an entire town’s water supply was a genius move) and fixing Cas up with his own proper fake ids, Sam decided it was time to move back to California and get settled before the new term started.
Dean dropped him off at a small place in San Francisco a few weeks later, after a send-off at Bobby’s of course. This time, both brothers swore to keep in touch.
Travelling around with just Cas was different somehow. Of course, Dean knew why now, but back then he’d still been a little naïve when it came to crushing on guys. He would have sworn he admired Dr Sexy for how good he was with the ladies, rather than admit maybe he liked the idea of making out with the sexy doctor in an elevator. Or admit that maybe Dr Sexy began to morph a little in Dean’s mind until he had short wild hair and vibrant blue eyes with a voice low enough it did funny things to Dean’s insides.
It had been a very good time, those first few months with Cas, driving across the country, trying to convince him to try as much human stuff as possible. There had been loads of firsts. First burger. First milkshake. First cinema trip. First time wearing clothing that wasn’t a suit and trench coat. First time driving.
Cas’s first kiss wasn’t with Dean, unfortunately. By then, she had been drunker than was probably appropriate, but she’d been flirting all night and Dean had nudged Cas towards her. Flirting was a useful skill for any hunter, after all, and Cas could be far too blunt. The kiss was unexpected, the girl launching herself onto Cas’s lap and practically assaulting his mouth. Luckily her friend was a bit more sober, and guided her away when it was clear Cas wasn’t into it.
Dean had spent the rest of the night complaining about lost opportunities. It was clear Cas deserved to have an awesome kiss, and that had not been it. It was only when Dean realised he’d been imagining teaching Cas kissing technique until they were both breathless that Dean realised he had a bit of a crush on Cas. Which had been awkward. Cas, of course, was none the wiser to his midnight revelation.
After a few days of trying to convince Cas to try flirting again, Dean gave up. If one bad kiss was enough to turn the obstinate angel from the idea of kissing, then Dean wasn’t going to force him. The upside was that Dean didn’t have to watch him sucking face with anyone else. The downside being Cas’s obvious disappointment at the idea of failing when it came to human courtship rituals, as he called them.
It all became moot after their next hunt anyway. It had been a bad one, the creature some sort of dog spirit gone vicious. Dean still wasn’t the best at dealing with large dogs after his run-in with Lilith’s hellhounds, and he had frozen at the wrong moment. Cas had got him out of the way, but it turned out pissed-off Japanese dog spirits were enough to actually harm an angel when normal weapons didn’t. Dean had been ready to leap back into the fight before he realised Cas had calmed the damn mutt down. Apparently, some hunter had attacked it out of nowhere, managing to chop off its leg and sending the dog into a rampage. It hadn’t actually meant to hurt anyone, and hadn’t killed a single soul, so Cas set the thing free after easing its pain a little.
Dean had learned later that spirit dogs like it tended to act as guardians against other supernatural stuff, and the inexperienced hunter had managed to mistake it for the werewolf the dog had already taken care of. It was a weird hunt.
In that moment, though, full of angry worry and adrenaline, Dean had grabbed Cas close and kissed him full on the mouth. Cas had jerked back almost immediately, eyes wide and startled, his blush visible even in the low light from the nearby warehouse, his fingers coming up to trace his lips. A second later, and the angel was gone, flying away. Dean had felt like an idiot.
At least until he got back to the hotel room an hour later. Cas had appeared within seconds of Dean entering the room, pressing Dean against the door as his lips made an unskilled but enthusiastic assault on Dean’s mouth. Dean had gotten with the program pretty quickly, guiding the angel until his technique was practically flawless, even spinning around to press Cas into the wall at some point. Cas had really liked that.
So that was how Dean found out Cas had been nursing a crush on him too, since at least that awful time back when they got kicked out of the brothel. Cas just hadn’t imagined Dean would ever like him back, having shown a preference almost entirely for girls and exclusively for humans. That had been an awesome couple of weeks, filled with a whole different list of firsts.
That had been a year ago now, last summer. The house, settling down, finding a legit form of making money, all that had come later.
Dean looked over to where Cas sat beside him in the Impala. Cas was staring out of the window, a gentle smile on his face as he watched the scenery go by. It was a 25 hour drive to get to Sam’s place, so Dean was planning on stopping at this great diner he remembered from a small town in the middle of Utah. They had some of the best home-made pie of any place he’d ever been.
Cas caught him watching, his smile growing wider as he took Dean’s free hand. Yeah, there were some times Dean couldn’t believe his life. That they had all lived through the actual fucking Apocalypse. That Sam was training to be a bigshot lawyer again, with a steady girlfriend. That Dean’s best friend was an angel. That said best friend was living with him, would stay with him literally his whole life, whether it was hunting or domestic. That he and Cas loved each other.
Screw normal. Life was awesome. They’d work out the details later.
