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Dean figured being dead excused any dating formalities.
No worrying about the perfect date spot. No having to arrange busy schedules. Most importantly, no meeting the parents. It was perfect.
Until Castiel reminded Dean he’d never actually met John Winchester.
Dean stared up at the sky for far longer than he should have. He wanted to tell the angel he’d met Bobby and his Mom, and that was enough. As happy as he was to see his Dad in Heaven, sometimes memories crept upon him that he didn’t want to deal with. Heaven had a way of brushing them quickly to the side, never letting him dwell on them for more than a few moments, but it was still aggravating.
“Dean?”
Right. Castiel was waiting for an answer.
“We can go see them,” Dean said. He couldn’t deny his angel such a simple request. As it was, he was making up for lost time. If his Dad did make a stink, and Dean wasn’t sure he would, considering Castiel’s status as Heaven’s de facto leader, they’d just leave.
Easy and painless.
Then why did Dean feel like his stomach was in knots?
“Would you like to drive or fly?”
The gentle question eased some of Dean’s concerns and he smiled at Castiel. “Drive of course.”
“You are as predictable as ever.” The angel’s voice dripped with laughter and Dean smiled easily as he got into Baby. Castiel fell into the passenger seat and they pulled out onto the main stretch that cut through Heaven.
Line Break
Why was he doing this again? Oh, right, the cute angel with baby blue eyes that seemed to take away all of Dean’s higher reasoning.
“Dean! What brings you by today?”
His mother swooped out of the house she and his father lived in, Dean’s childhood home, and swept him up in a hug. Dean hugged her back and as soon as he let go she’d moved to hug Castiel.
“You, on the other, don’t come by anywhere near enough.”
Castiel sheepishly smiled at the admonishment.
“I will do my best to rectify that,” Castiel placated her. She hummed and turned back to him with a smile.
“Your father will be happy to see you.”
Dean chuckled, trying to hide his unease at what was coming. “Well, that’s good. Cas and I are actually here to see him.”
She tilted her head, looking between the two curiously. Dean could tell the moment she realized something had shifted between him and Castiel. Her eyes sparkled brightly and his mother dragged him through the door without further prompting.
“I’m so glad you realized what was right in front of you, Dean. Even if it was a little late.” The last part was muttered and Dean snorted. He shot a look back at Castiel who walked through the door, shutting it gently behind him.
They entered the kitchen and his dad looked up from the book he was reading. Dean couldn’t get over how easily his dad smiled now. It was nice to see that Heaven was doing some good for him.
“Hey, Dad.” Dean suddenly felt small, so he decided to focus on what he was here to do. “There’s someone I wanted to introduce you to.”
“Oh? I thought we’d met everyone at this point.” John chuckled and set the book down, his eyes darting behind Dean. A single eyebrow was raised in question but his dad remained silent as he waited for Dean to continue.
“Yeah, you’d think that. Sam and I met a ton of people over the years.” Dean smiled softly despite the wave of melancholy that washed over him, his thoughts briefly going to those who weren’t in Heaven. Those who’d given everything with no divine reward on the table for them. “Cas?”
The angel stepped forward and Dean cleared his throat. “Dad, this is Castiel. He, uh, runs the joint these days. Cas, this is my old man.”
“It is a pleasure to finally meet you, John Winchester.”
Dean looked nervously between Castiel and his dad. While alive, he doubted his dad would have trusted Castiel. This was Heaven though and angels kinda came with the territory. The fact Dean was introducing the number one angel to his dad should be the hardest bit to swallow.
“Castiel, huh?” His dad sized Castiel up. “Mary’s talked about ya.”
That didn’t surprise Dean. His mom had practically adopted Castiel during her brief time alive again.
“Your wife is an amazing woman. I was glad to have the opportunity to fight alongside her for a time.”
Dean snorted at Castiel’s formality, but also couldn’t help but be impressed. Complimenting his mom was a quick way to get on his dad’s good side. John hummed and gestured toward the table.
“Some of the stories I’ve heard are pretty damn impressive.”
Dean exhaled, relieved that things hadn’t gone tits up. He pulled a chair out for Castiel as he took his own. John frowned, a thoughtful look crossing his face but he remained quiet as Mary joined them at the table.
“How have you been Castiel? I know you were busy for a while.”
Castiel tilted his head, a slightly pained look crossing his face at Mary’s question. Dean twisted his fingers through Castiel’s under the table, trying to give some comfort.
“It took a long time for Jack to bring back the angels needed to keep Heaven running. After that, they also needed to understand things had changed…”
Dean swallowed, not having realized that would be an issue. It was dumb in hindsight. Lights were on, which meant angels were alive. Jack would have had to do something drastic to manage that.
“Changed how?”
Dean winced at the mild accusation in his dad’s voice. Maybe he should have brought Bobby? Castiel signed and met John’s gaze head-on.
“Between an apocalypse, a civil war, being kicked from our home, and another two apocalypses to round it off, my brothers and sisters were rather wary of being brought back to life by a...new God.”
John raised an eyebrow at the list. “Sounds like a lot. Were you a part of all of it?”
“Yes,” Castiel flatly responded. “I rebelled for your sons during the first apocalypse. I lead the opposition against Raphael and I was mostly to blame for my brothers and sisters being banished to earth. As far as the two apocalypses...well, my family is rather messy at times.”
Dean let out a snort of laughter at his angel’s sarcasm. Castiel’s lips lifted in a ghost of a smile, and the hand around his tightened slightly.
“We gave you the cliff notes version of our lives,” Dean quickly added at his dad’s dubious look. “There is so much we’ve done that it’s hard to believe.”
“How did you both meet?”
The change in questioning surprised Dean, but he grinned easily to hide his surprise.
“How did you say it, Cas?” Castiel chuckled as Dean looked back at his dad. “Cas is the one who gripped me tight and raised me from perdition.”
Dean put as much gusto behind it as he could, but the admission brought down the mood in the room. His mom looked sad at the reminder of his time in Hell and his dad winced.
“I see,” John said.
An awkward silence filled the room and now Dean really wished they’d brought someone else. Maybe not Bobby, but maybe Sam? Sam was always good at this shit.
“Well, isn’t there something else you wanted to mention, Dean?”
His mom’s pointed look at Castiel made Dean swallow. Main event time, huh? Castiel squeezed his hand tightly and Dean understood what the angel was trying to convey. If he wasn’t ready, he didn’t have to bring up what was going on between them. The only people who knew for sure they were an item were Sam and Bobby. Dean just hadn’t bothered mentioning to the others he saw at the Roadhouse. Still, he didn’t want to hide from his own damn parents. He’d done enough of that while alive.
“Yeah.” Dean dragged out the word for a moment before giving a roguish grin. “Cas and I are seeing each other. So, he should be around more often now when he’s not off being the holiest angel in Heaven.”
Castiel rolled his eyes at his joke but did smile softly at the declaration. His mom smiled and clapped her hands together.
“As I said before, about damn time. Winchester men can be rather thick-headed.”
John snorted and Dean was surprised he didn’t look upset. His eyes moved back to Castiel for a moment and Dean watched them harden.
“Heaven or not,” his dad said softly. “Hurt my son and I’ll kill you.”
“Dad!” Dean couldn’t believe the threat and felt his face redden. This was absolutely mortifying. Castiel just hummed and tilted his head in understanding.
“I have spent the better part of a decade keeping your son in one piece. I have no intention of hurting him.”
John nodded firmly and Dean found himself at a loss for words. Had he fallen into the Twilight Zone? When had his dad ever been agreeable? Heaven really had been good to the man.
“Why don’t you tell me more about what things were like after I died,” John said. “It seems you and Sam kept things far too sparse. Maybe Castiel will be a better storyteller.”
Dean was still trying to wrap his mind around what happened as Castiel began fencing the questions his dad asked. A gentle hand pushed his jaw up and he looked over at his mom who smiled softly.
“Pie?”
Dean shook his head and smiled. “Hell yeah.”