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Castiel is currently on a plane, flying out from his post in a classified location and going back home for the first time in nearly a year, 10 months to be exact, and his heart is beating so fast, there’s more than a probable risk that it might come flying off his chest.
It’s been 10 months since he’s last seen Dean. Beautiful, vibrant, gorgeous Dean, his husband of 4 years, lover of 7. He’s taken being the significant other to someone in the military extremely well, Castiel can’t believe he’s been so lucky. Navigating a relationship like this can be quite hard with Castiel not being able to be there for him as much as he’d like to, an issue that Castiel has faced many times in the past with other partners, or potential ones, but not Dean. Mind you, there’s been issues, real issues, huge even, but nothing that their love couldn’t endure.
You see, Dean comes from a military family himself, with his dad having served in the marines nearly all his life, he’s accustomed to it. Although John hasn’t been a very good role model, with his anger issues that nearly hurt Dean every time they flared and came to the surface, but he still carries a huge level of respect to that institution itself. After all, John has always been Dean’s hero, even though he could see he was a man of many flaws, he always believed he did his best and nothing less and to Dean, that’s all that mattered.
But John left quite the marks on Dean, both on his psyche and his body, scars that wouldn’t ever fade but Cas takes pride in knowing how to soothe them, because no one would ever love Dean as much as he does, and no one will ever know him better. When they first met, Cas said that he could see Dean’s soul right from the moment they set eyes on each other, how bright and good it was. Mind you, Cas might’ve been under the effects of the anaesthetic they administered when they were treating him at the hospital. He was rushed there 7 years ago after having crashed his car into a light pole and having lost consciousness right at the moment he got hit, only to have woken up to the sight of the beautiful nurse with his jade green eyes, looking at him worriedly and saying calm down, that everything is gonna be alright.
Dean always says that Cas is his angel, always watching over him, but that’s not Castiel’s version of the story. Dean was his primary caregiver during his period of recovery, once he found out that Cas had no one to take care of him at home once he was let out of the hospital, he offered to be his live-in nurse for a while until he’s back on his feet. He doted on Cas, took care of his every need, to the point where he was not sleeping, forgetting to eat, Castiel was falling for him more with each day, it was as easy as breathing, loving Dean, until that one day when he couldn’t keep it hidden anymore, he grabbed Dean and kissed him for all his worth, and kept on going with his heart almost fluttering off his chest once he felt Dean kissing him back, it was the best feeling in the world, Dean loving you back, and Cas wouldn’t hear otherwise.
People, on Cas and Dean’s side were baffled with how fast their relationship was progressing, Dean just never moved out once he got in, to Cas’ delight. It may have been crazy, sure, but why fix what doesn’t need fixing. They stayed boyfriends until Cas suddenly popped the big question, and Dean said yes.
Coming home to Dean was the best feeling in the world. If Cas keeps saying that in relation to Dean it’s because he is absolutely smitten for his husband, and doesn’t pretend otherwise.
He was so deep in his thoughts, recounting his and Dean’s relationship reel, that he barely paid attention to the flight attendant announcing that they’d be landing soon. Finally, he’s the closest he’s ever been to Dean in 10 months. Saying he’s happy would be a true understatement.
Once he’s out of the airport he takes a Taxi and heads straight for the hospital where Dean works, only stopping to get flowers on his way over - Dean absolutely loves flowers, even he’ll pretend otherwise for the sake of his macho appearance, all who truly know him know he’s a big softie.
He enters the hospital and recognizes Garth, Dean’s coworker and kind friend at the information desk, so he goes straight there and says “Hello Garth”
Garth looks up and he’s genuinely happy to see Cas, gives him an all-too-strong hug and says “CAS! You’re finally back! How’s it been?” Castiel truly appreciates the fervor with which Garth is receiving him, but he believes that if one more minute goes by without him seeing Dean he might just explode, plus he’s never been great at small talk, one would say a military career where everything was cut and dry made the most sense to someone with Cas’s personality and proclivities “I’m well, thank you, just glad to be finally home, do you happen to know where Dean is”
“Yeah, man, sure! Let me call him up for you” Garth says, then proceeds to call in the mic at the information desk in his professional tone to come straight to the information desk and then tells Castiel “he’ll be here shortly” and Castiel is Cas finds a corner at the hospital’s lobby to stand at, waiting to come and surprise Dean. And, suddenly, here he was, looking more tired and thinner than Cas has ever seen him, but as beautiful and glorious as always, his darling Dean hasn’t been taking care of himself, but that’s okay, Cas is here now and he’ll make sure he takes care of Dean for as long as he can, and as thoroughly as Dean would tolerate, God knows Dean has had to carry too much on his shoulders, to take care of everyone around him, at work and in his personal life, has to always be strong. Cas can carry the weight for a bit now, which is what he can’t wait to tell Dean.
“Hello, Dean” he says loudly, to make sure Dean hears Castiel’s husky voice that he was never able to resist, and Dean turns around ever so slowly and just stares at Cas, not saying a word, tormenting Cas with not hearing his voice for himself, hearing the term of endearment that Dean chose for him and only him that everyone copies but Cas only likes it when it’s uttered with thise perfect pouty lips.
Dean appears to be frozen on the spot, and it’s up to Cas break the distance between them. He does so slowly, looking at Dean right in the eye, never veering, he’s not sure he’s even blinking, just taking the time to take his loved one all in, bask in the glory of all his details, memorizing them in his mind’s eye.
Once he’s standing chest to chest with the love of his life, he gently raises his hand to caress his soft cheeks, and Dean, ever the responsive closes his eyes and goes along with the touch, deeply breathing in and relaxing. He must’ve relaxed too much because he whispers the word “Cas” the one Castiel yearned to hear for nearly a year ever so gently that he couldn’t have possibly heard it if he hadn’t been that close and suddenly Dean’s knees buckle and he’s falling like a cordless marionette doll.
Thanks to Cas’ impeccable reflexes, he catches Dean right as he’s about to hit the floor and cradles him to his chest like he’s the most precious person in his world, which he is without a doubt. He yells “DEAN, DEAN! What’s wrong, sweetheart? Please wake up, please! I’m here and I’m not letting you go again, Help please, anyone!"
Suddenly, Garth appears right next to him, taking Dean's pulse and assessing his breathing, says to Cas "He's been working himself too hard, this is his 3rd day working non-stop, it's been like this for 3 months or something, it was bound to happen"
"But how can you have let him do this to himself? You know he forgets to eat and can go days without sleeping, what if he's done some serious damage to himself?"
Garth stops for a second, looks straight at Cas "Calm down, please, fighting and tension won't do him any good, we're all doing the best we can, you included. I'll go get a gurney and get him to a room and hooked up to an IV, he'll wake up very soon"
Just as suddenly as this bout of anger came, it went, and a worry so overwhelming it was bound to consume Cas whole overtook everything. He hold Dean tighter against his chest and brushes his hair from his forehead and gives him a gentle kiss there saying "I'm here now, you won't be alone anymore, I'll take care of you, forever if I have to sweetheart, and gladly"
A gurney appears as if from thin air right in Cas’ line of sight and he effortlessly stands up with Dean carried bridal-style in his arms as if he’s a feather-weight, and the vise-like grip around Cas’ heart seems to tighten a bit more, he must’ve underestimated the amount of weight Dean has lost. It must’ve been 10 minutes since Dean has lost consciousness and still, there are no signs that point to his waking anytime soon. He gently lays him down on the gurney, albeit reluctantly and relegated himself to only be holding his hand as they proceed to situate him with a bed in the ER.
He knew this way of life must’ve been taking its toll on Dean, even if he puts on a brave fave whenever they get to talk together or see each other using facetime. Dean always thinks he has to shoulder it alone, to not make people worry about him, even though every second of every day, Cas worries. How can he not? Dean is there at every moment, at every thought, his first priority until the day he dies, even after, he’d do nothing but watch over him. Seeing Dean so utterly exhausted that he passes out right in Cas’ arms gives him the vindication he needs that he took the right decision. Anything to not have a repeat of what happened a few minutes ago is a win in Cas’ book.
They find him a bed and go about situating him in it, hooking him up to a saline IV to rehydrate him, all while Cas stands there, an unwavering, steadfast presence next to Dean, not moving from his post until Dean opens his eyes.
After they’re done, Garth givee him a pat of solidarity on his shoulder and brings a chair for Cas to sit and says “I’ll bring you a coffee, do you take it black like this caffeine psycho?”
Cas can’t help but chuckle and nod, then resumes watching over Dean as Garth exits the room quietly.
Castiel passes the time by watching Dean for any sign of waking up, he brushes his hair, his cheeks, committing this peacefulness to memory.
About 4 hours pass by, and just when Cas is about to nod off, exhausted from his flight and the day’s happenings, Dean finally begins to stir. It takes him a minute or two to truly wake, and once he finally does he says in a hoarse voice “You’re really here, I wasn’t dreaming then?”
“No my darling, I really am here, how are you feeling”
Dean gives a feeble chuckle and says “exhausted and embarrassed, did I really faint like a little girl in the middle of the hospital?”
Castiel laughted minutely and said “not quite, it was more like a princess rescued by her gallant prince” and then, without giving him a chance to respond and continue the banter he proceeded to give Dean a passionate kiss, rediscovering every bit of his mouth with fervour as if doing so for the very first time, going deeper and deeper as if that’ll make up for the months they weren’t together, and when they finally broke for air, Cas said “my darling Dean, I’ve missed you so, so much”
Dean’s eyes were filled with tears and beginning to overflow, he responded “you can’t imagine how awful these months were Cas, I felt like I was living a half life without you being here, please don’t let me go through it again”
Cas stood up, gently depositing himself behind Dean and letting him rest on his chest, enveloping him altogether and said “never again my love, before you gave us all quite the scare, shaving off a few years of my life, I was just about to tell you that I asked to not have any oversees assignments anymore due to family reasons and they’ve agreed to my demands, so you’re gonna be stuck with me for the foreseeable future”
The news gave Dean back his strength, it seems, for he jumped off the bed and gave Cas quite the hug, kissing his neck and laughing madly, saying “Cas, oh my God! That’s the best news you could possibly tell me, you can’t believe how happy you’ve made me”
“I can imagine, sweetheart, for I feel the same, now lay back down again, you mustn’t tire yourself before I give you the dress down you ought to have”
“You’re mad at me? But, why?” Said Dean, truly surprised.
“Why? As if you don’t already know? Dean you passed out from being dehydrated and exhausted. Why were you working this much, what if I came home and you were seriously ill? Do you not know that that would’ve killed me? Knowing that there’s anything wrong with you? You have to take care of you when I’m not here to do it Dean, I have to trust you to do that because anything happens to you… God, it would absolutely kill me, Dean” Cas said, with passion, but he deeply regretted it once he saw how upset it made Dean.
“I didn’t mean to” Dean said, “being at home without you, I couldn’t bear it Cas, the house felt empty, and to stay sane I had to give my all to my work, please don’t be upset with me, please”
“I’m not upset Dean, seeing you like that scared me, but that doesn’t matter now, because I’ll be here for you from now on, I love you Dean, please know that”
“I love you too, Cas, so much” Dean said, “now, can we please go home so I could thank you properly” and these words are the best Cas could’ve asked for because if Dean has the energy to talk lewd, then he must be fine, after all.
“I’m gonna go find a doctor to release you to my care darling, but I’m afraid we won’t be doing any of the sort tonight, in fact you won’t be doing anything but resting in bed while I make you dinner in bed and then get a long night sleep”
“Anything sounds like heaven with you Cas, anything, now go find me a doctor, babe”
And Cas went, excited for what the night, the morning, and what the future will hold for them both, together, as they should be.