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It all starts with a Yule wish.
In the dark of night, from a barred window of stone in a dark, tall tower, a young man spots a shooting star moving across the sky. He closes his eyes and, despite feeling foolish, makes a wish from his heart.
When he opens them again he’s still trapped in his tower, but he feels a renewed sense of purpose.
His future is waiting for him and it’s not inside these walls.
With one last glance out the window, he gets to work.
***
Dean leads a pretty unremarkable life these days.
And honestly? He prefers it that way.
He and his brother live in a small village near the very border of the kingdom, under the tutelage of their uncle Bobby, the king’s official blacksmith. Dean is his star apprentice and he’s more than happy with his small village life, especially after all the hopping from village to village that he had to do when he was younger and still under the care of his vagrant father.
But those days are past and Dean is content with his life now. The village has a fair share of pretty ladies to flirt with, a decent enough school for his dork of a brother who insisted on getting a formal education and things are good. Sammy’s made some friends they won’t have to say goodbye to in a week, and Dean seriously can’t imagine wanting anything in his life to be different.
… So of course that’s when he meets Castiel and his entire world gets turned upside down.
Dean is down by the river on that day. He’s only there because Bobby sent him to collect some kind of special herb that supposedly only grows near water (although Dean suspects it had more to do with the fact that the master blacksmith had wanted to be left alone with Ellen, the village’s mayor, who Bobby has been gruffly and awkwardly courting for years), but Dean’s already been searching for about an hour and he’s yet to find the freaking thing, so he’s seriously considering just going back home and risking Bobby’s ire.
And that’s when he sees him.
A man who looks about his age, with dark, messy hair. Maybe a little leaner, but with strong legs. Like he’s more of a runner than someone who works with his arms like Dean does—not that Dean is checking him out, of course not. But the guy’s kneeling right there across from him to drink from the river and it’s not like Dean couldn’t notice and—Shit. He’s wearing the colors of their neighboring kingdom. You know, the one they’ve been at war with for the past 40 years.
Shit.
So of course, just as Dean comes to that helpful realization, the stranger lifts his head and finally notices Dean standing there like a doofus, freezing in his tracks and hesitating as he looks between the water and him, probably trying to figure out if Dean’s about to attack him and whether he can sneak in another drink (the man looks like he just ran a marathon to get here, so Dean doesn’t blame him for wanting to risk it).
Not that he should worry about that—Dean’s too busy staring into those blue, blue eyes to have any thoughts about murder.
He forces himself to lift a hand in a ridiculous little wave and the gesture seems to help the stranger relax, who tilts his head and stares at Dean like he’s some sort of puzzle to be solved.
They don’t say a word for a while longer and the man eventually goes back to his drinking, only pausing once he stands to leave, lifting a hand and waving hesitantly at Dean in return. The gesture’s awkward and stiff, like he’s not quite sure he’s doing the whole waving thing right, and it brings a small smile to Dean’s face.
And maybe it’s Dean’s hyperactive imagination, but he’s pretty sure he gets a smile back just as the stranger turns away and disappears in between the trees.
Dean’s heart throbs once he realizes he’s alone, his legs tensing with the urge to cross the river and go after him—to find out his name.
But he doesn’t move.
(He regrets it instantly.)
Once he gets back to the village, Dean promises himself he won’t go back to the river to look for the stranger after that. Reminds himself of just how idiotic it would be.
So of course he goes back the very next day.
And the next.
And the one after that.
And to make matters worse? The man—Castiel, he learns—always shows up, glancing around hesitantly, like he was looking for Dean too.
Shit. He’s in so much trouble.
***
They never do more than sit across from each other and chat quietly about everything which doesn’t involve the war, which maybe seems pretty stupid, but Dean has never been happier. He looks forward to their conversations all day.
During them, he learns that Cas (as he’s taken to calling him) is the youngest of five brothers. That he loves books and walking, and the sounds of the forest. Sometimes he’ll ask Dean to just close his eyes and listen, and while Dean would normally be wary of doing something like that, with Cas… with Cas he doesn’t even think about it. He just does it. And he tries to understand what Cas means when he says ‘each forest has a song’.
Sometimes he’ll find himself closing his eyes and listening in other places, places where Cas won’t be able to visit, just to see the grateful smile on his face when Dean recounts his impressions.
Bobby and Sam catch him at it a few times and give him odd looks, but neither one of them asks. Dean is grateful for that.
Sometimes, some days… Cas seems a little sad. His eyes will be duller and he’ll stare at the ground far more often than at him, and it’ll be all Dean can do to stop himself from crossing that stupid river that divides them so he can sit down next to Cas and wrap a comforting arm around him, or just hold his hand or…
It’s frustrating. But Dean manages to resist.
They get about a month of peace before it all goes to hell.
They’re by the river again, dressed in their warmest clothing. Yule is around the corner and both their villages will be holding festivals to celebrate the festivities. They’re comparing notes about their village’s differing traditions, Dean arguing that their food is better and Cas replying, affronted, that Dean is only saying that because he hasn’t tried his brother Gabriel’s cooking.
Dean’s about to tease Cas by asking if he’s indirectly asking him to visit his home to meet his parents, when he finally hears the telltale sound of armed boots approaching. He gets to his feet and Cas mirrors him, turning towards the sound with wide, terrified eyes. It’s a strange look on him when he’s usually so calm, so Dean quickly starts looking around for anything he might be able to use as a weapon.
“The royal guard. They found me,” Cas whispers, turning towards Dean, hand stretched towards him, “Dean, please, you have to run. If they find you here, they will surely kill you.”
So that’s why he looks so freaked out. He’s scared for Dean. The knowledge makes something warm surge in his heart, but he pushes back the feeling to focus on the now, “There’s no way I’m leaving you here to get arrested. Cas, why are they after you? What did you do?”
Cas isn’t looking at him directly anymore, looking between the river and the ever louder voices of the approaching guards, his panic obvious, “Please, Dean, they will behead you. I will be fine.”
“Not until you tell me what’s going on.”
Cas lets out an exasperated sigh, hesitating a moment before the imminent danger finally makes the decision for him, “I ran away from the castle. They’re following King Michael’s orders to bring me back home.” He pauses to make sure Dean understands his meaning, biting his lip, “My brother’s orders to bring me back home.”
Dean is speechless.
Cas shakes his head sadly, turning away from Dean, “If you won’t leave then I will. I will attempt to lure them away from you. As long as you stay within your kingdom’s borders, you should be fine.” His hands clench at his sides, “Goodbye, Dean.”
Dean is halfway into the river before Cas has given a single step, “Cas, wait!”
Castiel seems to waver between just leaving and listening to Dean, but in the end, he must probably figure out that if he doesn’t, Dean will just go after him, so he stays, “Dean, if they catch us together…”
“I know,” Dean doesn’t move from his spot. “You have to go. I get that. But promise me something,” He can hear the guards getting closer. They have to hurry, “Promise me you won’t get caught. Promise me that you’ll hide until the Yule festival.”
Cas finally turns to face him again, his brow furrowed in confusion, “The Yule festival?”
“Meet me back here on that night,” Dean pauses, swallowing a little nervously. He’s sure about what he wants to do, but it’s not like he knows how Cas will react, “That’ll give me enough time to come up with a plan and the guards will be distracted. We’ll run away—lie low for a few months. Just until things calm down. My uncle Bobby’s got good friends all over the realm. They won’t be able to find us.”
“You… would do that for me? Leave behind your entire life?” Cas stares at him, disbelief clear on his face, but also what Dean reads as a tiny bit of hope, “But what about your brother? Your uncle?”
Of course Cas would ask. He knows how important Sammy is to Dean. It makes Dean want to hug him. “Don’t you worry about that, we’ll figure it out.”
The guards are almost upon them, so needless to say, Dean’s a little surprised when he suddenly finds himself with an armful of wet prince, who’s leaning up to press an awkward kiss to his cheek, eyes shining with so much emotion, “Thank you, Dean.”
Dean’s flustered alright, but let no one ever say he doesn’t recover quickly, “You owe me a promise. Stay safe until the festival.”
Cas nods, his voice solemn like only Cas can sound, “I promise. Now run.”
And then, before Dean can say anything back, Cas takes off running into the woods. Dean lets out a shaky breath and runs out of the river himself, managing to hide behind a thick tree just as the royal guards find their way to their little spot. Dean stays hidden until he hears them go back into the woods, trying to ignore the dread he feels deep in his stomach when he notices they went in the direction Cas was running.
It’ll be alright. Cas will be fine.
He promised.
He’ll be alright.
(That night, for the first time since his mother’s gruesome murder, Dean prays.)
(He hopes it’s enough.)
***
The Yule festival cannot arrive fast enough.
There are many preparations to be done and lots of explanations to give, but Dean can’t help wanting to see Cas again.
As he imagined, Bobby yells at him for a good two hours about the foolishness of befriending enemies of the kingdom and then deciding to help smuggle them into the realm like some kind of knight in shining armor, but eventually he relents and just mutters the random insult every couple of hours under his breath while looking through his private documents for the current location of a friend he believes will help them, which Dean takes as a good sign.
Sam is considerably more understanding. While he does question Dean’s judgment at first, all it takes is one look at Dean’s lovesick smile while he’s talking about how much Sam would like Cas for him to make up his mind. He then proceeds to interrupt Dean with threats of puking if he doesn’t shut up about his new boyfriend already, but while Dean is spluttering in indignation, he breaks into a grin and tells him to plan a trip for three.
Bobby has previous engagements in the village that he can’t just abandon (not to mention Ellen), but Sam is not about to let his brother and his new boyfriend go off on their own. Someone needs to be the brains behind the operation while the two of them are too busy making eyes at each other, he informs Dean and earns himself a loving headlock with a side of tickling.
Though, okay, Dean might be a little grateful. Not that he’s telling Sam that. Bobby will be okay without him for a few months and Sam probably would have been too, but it’s always been Dean’s job to look after Sam. Thinking about leaving him behind was just unimaginable.
After all is finally set and done time seems to slow down to a crawl, driving Dean crazy with the uncertainty of whether Cas had managed to escape, whether he was safe, if he had enough warm clothing for the cold winter. Was he out there, sleeping in some damp barn? Was someone helping him? Dean hoped so.
When the day finally came, Dean could barely contain his nerves. He checked that he had everything ready about ten times within the span of an hour, until Bobby had shown up and dragged him and Sam out into the village to go look at the booths everyone had set up for the festival. When Dean had asked him what the point of it was (after all, Bobby did hate crowds), Sam had smiled knowingly and Bobby had called him an idjit, and told him if he was going to be missing the Yule celebration itself, they might as well spend the day together.
Dean didn’t complain after that.
They eat candy and all sorts of silly festival food, though they still manage to make some room for Ellen’s traditional pie when they get to her booth.
All in all it’s a good day, and Dean’s grateful to Bobby—both for forcing him to go out and for all the help he’s given them.
When the time to say goodbye comes, Bobby pulls them both into a hug at the door to their house and tells them to stay safe. Reminds them both to contact him if something really bad happens.
Just as Dean is pulling away, Bobby tugs him closer and tells him in a stern whisper that he better bring his boyfriend home eventually. Tells him he’ll get him a bigger bed. And then he seems to reconsider as he turns to go back inside the house, “But no fooling around under my roof.”
Dean can only punch Sam in the arm when he laughs at Dean’s flustered face, but he knows the words for what they are.
They all have a home waiting for them once things calm down.
***
Cas is late.
Cas is late and Dean can’t stop pacing, because what if he got caught that day when they last spoke? What if he’s all the way in the capital by now? What if he’s in some cold dungeon, a prisoner in his own home, unable to get to Dean? Dean knows his own king isn’t a saint, but King Michael is known for being particularly cruel.
It must be nearing midnight and Dean’s about to lose his mind, seriously considering crossing that damned river that separates their kingdoms and starting the trek to the capital to go save Cas, when he finally, blessedly, hears the sound of approaching footsteps. Sam is waiting in a clearing nearby with their horses in case they run into trouble and need to lose someone in the forest on foot first, so Dean knows it can’t be him. And then the noise gets closer and closer, until Cas finally appears in between the trees.
He looks a lot more disheveled than he did before, and his clothes are torn in some places, but he looks okay otherwise (if a bit tired), but the bright relieved smile he sends in Dean’s direction when he sees him standing on the other side of the river is enough to send his heart into overdrive.
“Hello, Dean,” he rumbles happily in that deep voice of his, and then they’re hurrying towards each other and meeting halfway again in the shallower part of the river, ignoring their wet clothes as they cling to each other.
Dean can only laugh and tighten his hold.
Eventually, they make their way out and to where Sam is, not even bothering to hide their joined hands when Dean introduces them. Sam’s grin is teasing, but he’s the very picture of charm, and just as Dean thought, he and Cas seem to get along just fine.
They mount their horses (Castiel with some difficulty—apparently he’s never been very good at this) and, hidden under the cover of night, start making their way towards a faraway village where an old friend of Bobby’s is supposed to live. They don’t talk much, but Dean can’t stop stealing glances at Cas, smiling when more often than not, he catches him looking at him as well.
When they finally stop for the night, Sam goes to sleep right after a fire has been built, leaving them with the first watch. Cas and Dean argue for a bit about who should stay up (‘You should get some rest, Dean’, ‘Hello? I’m not the one that’s been on the run.’), but eventually they agree to just cover the first watch together. It’s a good decision. It’s pretty cold outside, so they get to sit close together, Cas leaning his head on Dean’s shoulder as they look up at the stars.
Neither one of them says a thing for a long time, and Dean is half convinced that Cas has fallen asleep, but then he hears him murmur a soft, “I was afraid you wouldn’t be there. That you would have… changed your mind,” and that just makes Dean want to hold him closer, so he does.
“Couldn’t do that. We made a promise,” Dean turns his head to nose against Cas’ temple, “Thank you for keeping up your end of the bargain.”
Cas straightens up to look at him, hesitating for a moment before choosing to look down at his restless hands on his lap instead, “Dean...”
Dean hums his agreement to show he’s listening.
“You’ve never asked me why I ran away.”
Which is true. Dean shrugs, “I figure you’ll tell me when you’re ready.”
That makes Cas look at him, and Dean would normally feel a little uncomfortable being stared at so openly, but this is Cas, and it’s not like Dean can stop himself from doing it either.
“You’re a good man, Dean,” Cas finally murmurs with a small smile, “Thank you.”
The words make Dean turn a little red in the face, but he manages to keep his composure.
“Oh, almost forgot,” He says, looking to change the subject. Cas watches him curiously as Dean tugs his rucksack closer, searching for something inside, “Aha! Here you go. Hold up your hand.”
Castiel follows his instruction without delay, and Dean hesitates only for a second before placing a simple silver ring hanging from a chain on his outstretched hand.
“I’m not really much of a jeweler,” He tells Cas, his voice betraying some of his uncertainty as he hurries to add, “I mean, I’m actually a blacksmith. Which you know. But, uh,” He shrugs and glances over towards where Sam is sleeping, propped up against a tree, “It’s Yule and you’re supposed to give presents to your loved ones today, and I had some free time while Bobby was getting in touch with his friend, so—”
Cas interrupts him by resting a hand on his arm, “Dean, it’s beautiful.” The smile he gives him then makes Dean’s stomach fill with butterflies, “Will you help me put it on?”
He offers the chain and his back to Dean then, and after it’s on, Cas turns back around to tug Dean into a hug, “Thank you, Dean. But…” He pulls back. There’s a frown on his face and he looks upset, his voice so very, very apologetic, “I don’t have anything to give you. I didn’t bring anything with me when I ran away from the castle.”
Dean can only laugh at his adorable distress, pulling Cas back into a hug, “That’s okay, Cas. You can make it up to me next year.” It seems a bit presumptuous to assume they’ll still be together then, and Dean can’t help if it comes out more like a question. This thing between them is so new, and he has no idea how long it will last. Cas is a freaking prince, for crying out loud. And Dean’s only a blacksmith’s apprentice.
But Cas smiles at him then, full of warmth and fondness, and the sight is exactly the soothing balm Dean’s frayed nerves need, “I look forward to that.”
And when Cas hesitantly leans up to press their lips together for the first time, Dean can’t help thinking that having him in his arms right now is present enough for him.
***
A year later, finally back under Bobby’s roof after a long time away, Castiel also presents Dean with a thick silver ring (which Bobby helped him craft), to match the one Cas always wears over his heart.
On the inside, there’s a clumsily engraved star. When Dean asks about it, Cas flushes an adorable shade of red and leads him outside by the hand to sit somewhere they can look at the night sky.
There, he tells Dean about his prison, about the many years he spent there, waiting for his brother to engage him to some faceless noble in a neighboring kingdom for political gain. He tells him about how much he liked to look at the sky from his little window, and then, his voice growing quiet, he tells him about making a wish on a shooting star exactly a month before Yule.
“Back then, I knew I was going to run away, that I didn’t want to be a pawn, married off to someone I didn’t love and I was hoping...” Cas pauses here, playing nervously with the ring under his shirt, a sign he’s feeling nervous about how Dean will react. It’s endearing and one of the million things Dean loves about Cas, “I asked the star to guide me down the right path. I begged it to lead me to my true love,” His eyes meet Dean’s, “And it led me to you. My Yule wish came true.”
Dean doesn’t know how to respond. His chest is bursting with the million things he wishes he could say, but it’s like there’s a blockage keeping all the words inside. So he does the thing he does best. He lets his actions speak for him.
Cas lets out a relieved breath when Dean tugs him closer into a tight hug, burying his face against Dean’s neck and hugging him back just as enthusiastically, “I love you, Dean.”
Dean’s chest fills with the weight of the words, but for once, the feeling doesn’t scare him. He pulls back so he can meet Cas’ eyes while he puts on his new ring. And then he can’t resist, because Cas is smiling down at the sight of Dean’s hand wearing it, looking so happy and contented, and grateful, when it’s Dean who should be grateful for having this kind, intelligent man in his life, “I love you too,” He finally rasps out, smiling a bit when Cas lifts surprised eyes to his, his voice full of warmth, “Of course I do, you doofus.”
Castiel laughs—so happy, so surprised, and it’s the most beautiful sound in the world.
Under the stars, outside their new home, they share a kiss full of unsaid promises and hopes.
(And unbeknown to them, over their heads, a bright star shoots happily across the sky.)