Fireworks & Falling in Love
Castiel
“Dean! Come here!”
I look in the same direction as Sam, wondering which one of these people could be his brother. I nearly gasp when the man working the grill just a few feet away looks up. He’s not who I expected.
Not at all.
Whereas Sam is a complete nerd with his sweaters and his books and his green tea, Dean is… damn. Dean Winchester is sex on a god damn stick. He’s wearing low-hanging shorts and a ‘kiss the cook’ apron with no shirt beneath. Tattoos swirl around his skin, covering one leg, his left arm, his left shoulder and pec, his back, his right shoulder, his right arm, and his right ribcage. The ink brings his muscles out in high definition.
I’m pretty sure I could spend the rest of my life just watching this man work a grill and I’d die a very happy man.
Things just get worse when he starts toward us. The sun shines through the tips of his hair, making it nearly glow. Freckles are scattered along his nose and cheeks. And his eyes….
His eyes are breathtaking. One glance sends me spiraling back in time to when I was a small boy, lying in the freshly cut grass on a warm summer day. I can almost feel the breeze on my face despite the fact that there’s no wind today.
“This is Cas,” I hear Sam say from a distance. It takes effort, but once I manage to force myself to look away from Dean’s eyes, I come back to my senses.
“Sammy’s roommate, yeah.” Dean wipes his hand on the apron before offering it to me. His smile is dazzling. Bright white teeth. Soft pink lips. They’re glistening as if he just licked them. I wonder what they taste like. I bet they’re good. I bet they’re damn good. “It’s great to finally meet ya.”
I open my mouth to say something polite but what comes out instead is, “You look like someone I’d very much like to kiss.”
I’m not sure what’s more awkward in the following moment. Perhaps the way Dean’s eyes widen and his head tilts like he’s unsure of what just happened. Maybe the way Sam chokes on his own spit beside me. Of course, there’s the fact that my face is so hot that I know it must be bright red.
Or, above all, it could very well be the fact that I’m still holding Dean’s hand.
I twist my wrist with the intention of breaking free but Dean just tightens his grip.
He’s recovered now. I took him by surprise, that was clear, but the man has bounced back. The smile he gives me is even more charming than before with just a hint of mischief in it. His calloused thumb runs along the curve of my finger and I’m very proud of myself for not whimpering like I desperately want to.
“You would like to kiss me,” Dean assures, his voice dipping low with lust. “I’m an excellent kisser.”
“I-” I nearly swallow my tongue and shake my head.
I don’t have 'game'. Like… at all. Never have. There’s a reason Sam and I are best friends. We both would prefer hanging out at our off-campus apartment together reading books and drinking tea than hitting a party. We’re both virgins. We’re both dorks. We go to comic con and play D&D.
We do not flirt with the Dean Winchesters of the world.
“Question is,” Dean continues. “Are you a good kisser, Cas?”
“I - well, um…” I glance over at Sam to find that he walked away.
Walked away! Can you believe that? Just abandoned me with a sex god that’s looking at me as if he wants to eat me alive! The audacity.
I am 100% messing up his alphabetized bookcase when we get back to school.
100%.
“I didn’t mean it,” I blurt out, feeling my face getting even hotter - something I didn’t know was possible.
“You didn’t mean what?”
“The… the kiss thing.”
“You didn’t mean it, or you didn’t mean to say it out loud?”
The knowing smile he gives me, as well as the one step forward so that our bodies would be pressed flush against each other if our hands weren’t in the way, lets me know Dean is fully aware of which one of those two options is the truth.
“You’re Sam's brother. I can’t kiss you.”
It’s weak.
He laughs.
“Sammy’s been in love with my best friend Gabe since the kid popped his first boner. He doesn’t get a say.”
Gabriel.
The infamous Gabriel.
Yeah… I’ve heard all about him.
Shit, shit, shit.
“In fact,” Dean whispers in my ear, crushing our joined hands against our chests. “That’s where he just went off to. He’ll be following Gabe around like a puppy all night, so we’re free to do whatever it is you’d like to do, Cas.”
I’m unable to answer.
Instead, I just close my eyes and pretend I’m not here.
After a very mischievous yet dark chuckle - one that sends shockwaves through my entire body - Dean steps back and lets go of my hands. I open my eyes to look at him, praying that he can’t see the grief I’m experiencing at the sudden loss.
“I’ll see ya around, Cas.”
“I - uh.” He turns around before I can formulate real words, heading back to the grill. A friend of his comes up and hands him a beer before the two of them start to bullshit. Dean laughs.
He doesn’t look over at me.
Not once.
“Yes,” I finally manage to whisper, even though it doesn’t matter anymore. “See ya around, Dean.”
Dean
I don't see much of Castiel after that first encounter but I'm not too concerned. From what I've heard from Sam, alongside the one interaction I've had with him, he's probably off hiding somewhere. I let him be most of the day, focusing on my friends instead. We take the boat out on the lake. We jump off the docks and swim. We play yard games. We build a bonfire as the sun goes down.
It's when the fireworks begin that I go to find Castiel.
Just as I had hoped, the boy's guard is down as he stares up at the display in the sky. It also probably helps that he's climbed onto my damn roof. He probably thinks no one will find him up here.
He startles when I come to sit beside him and I immediately put out my hand to keep him from falling. The look he gives me in return is unimpressed. It's an interesting shift from the flustered boy from before but I have to say I enjoy both versions. This one seems riled up and haughty.
I start to plot ways to make him blow.
"Wanna kiss me yet?" I tease, looking up at the sky instead of him like I could care less about his answer.
I should care less about his answer. There's no reason for me to suddenly be so hung up on one guy when I could have my pick of men, women, or non-bi's at this party.
Truth is - though I'd never admit it - I haven't hooked up with anyone in 7 months. Yeah, you heard that right. Dean fucking Winchester hasn't been laid in 7 fucking months. I've been actively avoiding any and all scenarios that would lead to a night of no strings fun this past year. It sounds cheesy, and the old me would roll over in his imaginary grave if he knew, but I'm just… over it. I'm over getting wasted every weekend. I'm over going home with people I can't name. I'm over sneaking out after they've fallen asleep to avoid any awkwardness in the mornings. I'm over eating breakfast by myself.
I want a partner. Someone to be there when I'm watching movies on a rainy night. Someone to listen when I talk about something funny that happened at work. Someone to cook dinner with as we laugh and dance to music on the radio. Someone to hold at night.
I realize that Castiel still hasn't answered me so I elbow him and ask, "What, not interested anymore? I'm hurt." I put a hand over my heart for emphasis.
He side eyes me before returning his gaze to the sky. "It's bad enough I made a fool of myself in front of my best friend's brother who I'm probably going to end up seeing more than just today. You don't have to ruin my entire 4th of July, too."
"Ruin it?"
"Yeah. I'm mortified. I'm sure you've told all of your friends." Castiel looks at me and my breath catches in surprise. Tears are in his eyes. "It's my first 4th of July where I get to be normal. I've never seen fireworks before. Please, just… just leave me alone, okay? I get that taunting the nerd with a crush is fun but-"
I cut him off by grabbing the back of his head and quickly guiding his mouth to mine. A word or two is swallowed up between us before he fully registers what's happening. He tenses for half a second but just before I can pull away to apologize, he knocks me over so I'm on my back and starts kissing me like his life depends on it. It's sexy but adorable. I'm entranced by him as he mauls me like a wild animal but does it with such clumsy moves that I know for sure he's inexperienced.
I stop him when his hand goes to my belt, rolling us back over so I'm on top of him. After a glance over my shoulder to make sure we're nowhere near the edge of the roof, I look down at him and smile softly. "One hell of a kiss there, kid."
He glares but a smile ghosts across his lips. "I'm not a kid. I'm only a few years younger than you."
"I stand corrected. That was one hell of a kiss there, young man of a considerable age." He laughs and it might just be my new favorite sound. I run a hand through his messy curls and ask, "Why have you never seen fireworks before?"
"My dad. He's a veteran and hates them. My family spends every 4th of July at the movie theater. You can't hear them in there."
I nod in understanding, thinking of my own father binge drinking every 4th of July. Though, John Winchester takes almost any excuse to binge drink, so that's not saying too much.
Just as I'm about to suggest we watch the rest of the show together, everyone starts to clap and cheer. It's the only noise in the air. The fireworks are over.
"Shit." Guilt starts to swallow me up. "I'm an asshole. You missed the show."
"It's okay… they come every year. This is-" he pauses and looks away, his cheeks pinking up enough for me to see in the darkness. He finishes - "Once in a lifetime."
"Doesn't have to be."
He raises an eyebrow at me. "Sam says you never tap the same ass twice - your words, according to him."
I flinch. "That's not me anymore."
"You're just saying that to get in my pants."
"Trust me, Castiel. I have no intentions of getting in your pants tonight."
He seems to consider me for a moment before carefully nodding. “Okay.”
“Though, just to go on record - since I’ve been trying to work on communicating with friends and family better - you look like someone I’d very much like to sleep with one day.”
Castiel laughs softly. “That line sounds strangely familiar.”
“I heard it earlier from a guy that I’m starting to really like.”
“Is that so?”
“It sure is.”
“Maybe-” Castiel pauses and looks over to his left. At first I don’t know what he’s doing but then I hear the same thing he must have.
Someone is calling my name.
I look down at Castiel again, not wanting to leave him.
“Guess you have to go, hey?” The sadness in his voice makes my decision very easy.
“No.” I kiss him again. Slowly. Thoroughly. Against his lips, I whisper, “I don’t wanna be with whoever that is. I wanna be here with you.”
Castiel laughs nervously. “You barely know me.”
“So... let’s change that.”
----
Exactly a year later, back up on that same roof, Dean Winchester proposes to Castiel Novak. At the very moment Castiel says yes, the firework show begins. They miss it again. How could they not? Castiel can’t help but make out with Dean in celebration until their lips go numb.
They miss the show the next year when they get a flat tire on the way to the 4th of July party at Sam and Gabriel’s house.
The next year they’re on their way to the beach to watch it with all of their friends when they get the phone call from their adoption agency. A 7 month old baby boy and his 3 year-old big sister were orphaned. They wanted to know if the newly married couple were interested in them.
They’re convinced their fifth show will be the lucky one. Then their son Jack has a meltdown just minutes before the show starts, hating the earmuffs they were making him wear, which set off their daughter Claire into a tantrum about her ‘stinky brother that ruins everything.’
The following year, they start their own tradition. On the 3rd of July, after receiving a permit from Sheriff Mills, they have family and friends over for a party and set fireworks off the end of the dock over the lake. They aren’t as large as the professionals, and there aren’t as many since those things are damn expensive, but Castiel still stares at them like they’re the best thing in existence.
Castiel never loses that sense of wonder. Every year that follows, when they have their 3rd of July party and firework show, he stares up at the fireworks like it’s his first time seeing them.
What Dean loves even more, though? The moment when the show ends, smoke filling the air and people clapping, when Castiel turns his head and looks at Dean with a goofy grin. Dean swears in those few seconds every year, they’re back on that roof again, two idiots that had no idea what a beautiful, messy life they were about to get into.
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