“Oh, come on,” Dean huffs, leaning against the wall. “Have you seen this?” He turns his phone screen towards Castiel, seated at their table, who reaches up to take it from him. He squints to read the tabloid headline and then frowns, dread creeping into his stomach.
Are Dean Winchester and Castiel Novak finally tying the knot? Sources close to the rock star couple say yes—and just yesterday our photographers caught Dean already wearing an engagement ring.
In front of him, Dean continues. “And ‘hashtag destiel wedding’ is trending on twitter.” He scoffs. “I mean, really. A guy wears a ring on the wrong finger once and it’s front page news. Where do they even get this stuff?”
Castiel sighs, tuning him out, and gently places Dean’s phone on the table in front of him. “Dean,” he starts, cutting his boyfriend off in the middle of another tirade about the paparazzi not respecting boundaries or privacy, “would it be that bad?”
Dean pauses. He frowns. “Would what be that bad?”
“Being engaged.”
Dean blinks. He looks confused. “Well, no, I mean—of course not, but we’re not. Right?”
“I think getting engaged is something you remember,” Castiel deadpans, and now he’s looking at Dean in that way he does when he’s missing something painfully obvious.
There’s another few seconds of silence before Castiel puts him out of his misery, starting with a heavy sigh and avoiding eye contact. “The press doesn’t think we’re engaged because you happened to wear a suspicious ring. Although I’m sure that didn’t help.” He turns back to Dean, and although his gaze is steady his hands are fidgeting, and Dean realizes that he’s nervous. “They think we’re engaged because my brother can’t keep his mouth shut.”
It takes Dean a second to connect the dots, but when he does, he feels like the biggest asshole ever.
“Fuck,” he mumbles, once he’s realized, once he’s done staring at Castiel in open-mouth shock. “Wait, were you— and I just— you were gonna propose?”
Castiel nods. “Yes. Well—I’m still going to. If that’s—”
The end of his sentence is cut off by Dean walking around the table, hauling Castiel out of his chair, and kissing him soundly.
“Wait—” Dean pulls back suddenly. “Do you have a ring?”
Castiel narrows his eyes, irritated at the kiss being cut short. “Yes.” He leans forward again but Dean pulls back further.
“Can I see it?”
“No,” Castiel huffs, and Dean pouts.
“Come on,” he whines, leaning in to pepper kisses along Castiel’s jaw, and now it’s his turn to squirm out of Dean’s grasp.
“No, Dean—hey.” He playfully pushes Dean’s shoulder. “I have a plan, you know. And Gabriel hasn’t ruined the entire surprise, so I would like to still, you know…”
“Propose?” Dean supplies, grinning, and Castiel smiles back.
“Yes. That.”
“I’m gonna say yes.”
Castiel gasps in mock horror. “Dean,” he chastises. “That’s part of the surprise.”
Dean just chuckles and leans in to kiss him, softly this time. They stay that way for a moment, trading soft kisses and softer touches, before Dean pulls back to lean their foreheads together.
“I love you,” he says quietly, just loud enough to be heard in the space between them. “Or is that also part of the surprise?”
“No,” Castiel replies, just as quiet. He brings a hand up and runs his thumb along Dean’s cheekbone. “That hasn’t been a surprise for years.”
Kansas wasn't where most people would expect to see a world famous superstar. It wasn't where they'd expect a celebrity to go to a park, put his feet up against a bench, and watch kids play. It wasn't where they'd expect him to sit on that bench with a book in his lap, smiling slightly at the words that he was reading. Especially when the book was a classic, not some gossip magazine.
Of course, there were a lot of reasons for them not to expect this. One could be the risk that Dean was throwing himself into by being so out in the public, the fact that a fan could just notice him there, swarm him. But this was his home. What was wrong with spending a little bit of time at home, a book in his lap? It wasn't like anyone would recognize him for who he was, anyway.
Summary: Castiel Novak is a low level reporter for the New York Post, up until he gets his big break: ASL star Dean Winchester has broken a goal scoring record and Castiel has been assigned to his personal story, meaning two weeks of close proximities. Except, the thing is; they've kind of got history.
