Chapter Text
31st October 2020
Castiel leaned out the window, breathing in deeply to smell the cool air, getting the unmistakable smell of fall which was heavy in the air deep into his lungs. It made him feel alive, reminded him of the best times of his life.
The pumpkins which Jack and Claire had carved earlier - the reason Cas had come outside in the first place - were flickering away happily on their wooden porch, lighting a small amount of the decking around them as the tea lights managed to stay lit even with the wind doing its best to blow them out. He could hear excited voices from the kitchen, and knew that Dean and the kids would be in there baking their traditional Halloween treats which only seemed to get more delicious every year.
He had helped them carve the pumpkins, doing most of the actual carving for Jack - who was way too young to be given a knife for carving, but had seemed quite happy to just mess around with the seeds - while taking on a more advisory role with Claire, who could easily carve on her own, and just needed a bit of help with the logistics of her designs sometimes. Cas had just put them out on the porch after they spent the morning sitting in the kitchen, but he didn't feel like going back inside yet.
Instead he leaned against the porch railing, leaning his head back to stare up at the clear sky, the large full moon shining up in the sky, bright enough to give Castiel enough light to vaguely see his surroundings.
This Halloween wasn't like other ones, the world was such a mess that he'd almost forgotten their family's favourite holiday, the year going by in the blink of an eye even as it felt like it was lasting forever. It felt like it should be December already, while also feeling like the middle of March. It was just weird, though there wasn't much confusion what date it was right now with all the pumpkins and skeletons.
A particularly loud giggle came from the open kitchen window, dancing in the silence of the night and bringing a small smile to his face. He was happy with his life, glad that this was what the universe had given him, after everything.
Castiel wasn't sure if he believed in a higher being, and had never thought he believed in soulmates. But if he had one, it was Dean Winchester-Novak.
His husband was perfect for him, and had absolutely changed his life.
Cas had hated Halloween as a very small child. He could barely remember it any more, just a few memories of how much he'd hated it, but his earliest vivid memory was of Halloween before he had even started school, how even at that age he thought it was a waste of time, and he just wished it was over already.
And then a slightly younger boy in a cowboy costume with an almost lost hat had all but adopted him, dragging him into the joy of the holiday, showing him how much fun it was. Once Dean had shown him how good it was, he started finding the joy everywhere.
His family's traditional trip to the pumpkin carving avent had always seemed so stupid, but after that day meeting Dean, he'd realised how much fun it was - though none of thome times he went with just his family were anywhere near as fun as any of the times he went there with Dean.
Suddenly dressing up wasn't a chore, and trick or treating wasn't a pain, and pumpkin carving wasn't just a mess, and although parties were still stupid, they were fun while Dean was there.
His life would have been nothing like his present one if he'd never met Dean. It wouldn't have been as fun, as happy, as fulfilling. He wouldn't have two beautiful kids, a loving marriage, and a million happy memories to go with Halloween.
He wouldn't have the love of his life.
"You look like you're thinking heavy thoughts," Dean said from just behind him, walking over to lean on the railing next to his husband, a blissful smile on his face when he closed his eyes and breathed in deeply.
"I'm just thinking of how much I love you," Cas replied honestly. "Through all these years all you have done is make my life so much better, I don't know how to ever thank you for that."
Dean laughed, wrapping his arms around Castiel's waist, burying his face into Cas' neck. "You don't need to thank me," he told Cas fondly. "You've given me as much as I've given you. That's what we do. We love, and we give, and we be happy together."
"Who are you and what did you do with my husband?" Cas asked teasingly, "the real Dean is never that profound."
"Nah, I normally leave that up to you don't I?" Dean pressed a gentle kiss to the skin of Cas' neck in front of his mouth, and Cas could feel Dean smiling.
"Where are the kids?" Cas asked, leaning into Dean and enjoying the quiet of night, quiet voices from the house telling him that they were still inside.
"Watching A Nightmare Before Christmas," Dean replied with a fake shudder, "apparently they agree with you about it being a Halloween movie."
"You're just bitter that we are right," Cas teased, bopping Dean on his nose.
"It's a November movie!" Dean argued, lifting his head to stare at Cas, "It has both Halloween and Christmas in it!"
Castiel smiled fondly. Dean was adorable when he got rilled up over the silly things. "Okay dear."
Dean huffed, dropping his head back against Cas' chest. "Stop doing that!"
"Doing what?"
"Using pet names to win arguments!"
Castiel held back a laugh, smiling innocently at Dean. "But sweetheart, it's not my fault if you haven't got used to it after over twenty years!"
"They're my weakness okay! You can't blame me for that!"
"I can try."
They just stood there for a long moment, enjoying each other's warmth and love, rocking in place a little as they clung to each other.
"It's October 31st," Dean whispered, "Seems like a good time to remind you that I love you."
Cas pressed a fond kiss against Dean's head. This was one tradition he had never hated, and would never get bored of.
"It's Halloween," he whispered back, "I hope you don't need reminding, but just in case you do, I need to tell you that I love you."