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Romeo, save me, they're trying to tell me how to feel
This love is difficult, but it's real
Don't be afraid, we'll make it out of this mess
It's a love story, baby, just say "Yes”
:::
Everything looked normal in the Hampton’s household. If a neighbor could look inside their house, they’d see two men in love; holding hands, kissing, and dancing around the house. Cooking together. Smiling together. They seemed happier than ever.
But then the phone rang. It was Connor’s mother saying she would like to visit her son in his house for the first time. It probably upset him, because he rushed to the kitchen and started to look through the cabinets until he found what he wanted. Rat poisoning.
Oliver arrived behind him, not understanding what was happening. Not until he saw what was in his hands. He promptly grabbed a knife. They walked to the living room.
They didn’t seem like a happy couple anymore.
:::
“Morning, Dean,” Sam says when Dean enters the library. His brother is sitting in front of his laptop with a deep frown on his face. “I have a case for us.”
Shit. Dean groans. Can’t I for once drink my coffee in peace?
He has barely slept since their last hunt and he feels his body begging to stay in bed all day.
“Hit me,” he answers, his tone of voice indicating he is most likely saying it in a more literal way.
“So, you better sit down before I say it, it’s pretty odd and… sad.” Dean walks towards the table and takes a seat beside his brother. “In the past three months, eleven couples have committed suicide.”
“Wow…” Dean answers, taken by surprise. “Shit, that’s awful. But how is it a case?”
“Well, they all happened in adjacent cities. The high number of suicides is already raising concern among them, and the city is even planning a mental health event. Here, take a look. Those were the last victims.”
Dean comes closer to look at the screen.
“Connor and Oliver, apparently happily married,” Dean reads. “Both were found dead in their living room. The cause of death?”
“The same in every couple. One died by poisoning, the other, by stabbing themselves.”
“Wait, all eleven couples died the same way? Is it a trend or something? And how do they know it’s suicide?”
“There were no signs of anyone else being there, and the angle they were stabbed indicates they did it themselves.”
“What kind of monster kills their victims like that? Can’t it be like a pro serial killer?”
“I think we should at least take a look. See if we find anything suspicious.”
“Yeah, sure.” Dean presses his lips in a thin line. Something about this case makes him extremely uneasy. Could it be the fact he got his rest disturbed? Or perhaps the morbidity of the case? “Good thing Jack is with Jody. I’ll get Cas, you get in the car.”
“Yeah, you do that,” Sam says with a smirk. Dean furrows his eyebrows in confusion at his brother, but chooses not to say anything.
Dean goes to Cas’ room, knowing he’s probably there reading something. He wonders if the angel will be too tired to go on another case. He hasn’t been in his best form lately and maybe Dean is just looking for an excuse to stay home.
He pushes the door open slowly, peeking in and seeing the angel lying on his bed, a book in his hands like Dean figured.
Dean can’t help but notice what an adorable view that forms. Cas is narrowing his eyes at the pages, holding the book tightly with both hands, like it contains a complex piece of information he just can’t figure out.
“Uh, hey Cas,” Dean says finally.
“Dean,” he answers, eyes still focused on the book.
“Reading something good, buddy?” Dean walks into the room and approaches the bed deliberately. The angel just nods, not really paying attention. “Sorry to interrupt. Sam found a case, are you coming with us?”
“Of course, Dean. I’ll always go with you.” Dean hums, turning away to hide the blush that covers his cheeks.
“Let’s go then, I’ll just finish my coffee.”
:::
The three hour drive to Omaha is more than enough time for Sam to fill Cas in on the information they have about the case.
Dean stays mostly silent during the drive, his mind still wandering around the idea of having one, at least one, peaceful evening. If he could only have a goddamn day of rest, without all the weight he has always carried ever since he was four… But then again, Dean doesn’t know what rest is. He doesn’t even know if he would be happy with it. Most of the time, he doesn’t feel like he deserves it.
And as if induced by that thought, his eyes drift to the rear view mirror and are met by a pair of intense blue eyes staring right back at him. Dean feels the urge to look away, pretending he was just checking the road, but he can’t. His eyes get stuck in a motion between the road ahead and him . There has always been something about Castiel’s gaze that gets him trapped. Even when Dean didn’t trust Cas, Dean had always found it hard to break away from it.
And it’s not just because they are the most beautiful set of eyes he has ever seen. There is something else. A strong, powerful energy emanating from them. Even if Cas sometimes looks like a normal, kinda nerdy guy, and even if he’s not half as powerful now as he once was, when Dean looks in his eyes, he’s immediately reminded of Cas’ divinity. He’s confronted with the thought that his best friend is a fucking angel. And not the dickish kind of angel. The one who stayed around to protect him even when that was no longer his duty. The one who went against heaven to be by his— their side.
“Dean.” He hears Sam saying loudly, like he’s been trying to gain his attention for a while. “Are you listening? I was saying I have a few guesses.”
“Uh—sorry, no, I was—I wasn’t listening,” he stutters, mind too busy trying to lock those things away.
“So, I was saying that maybe we’re dealing with possessions,” Sam clarifies. “I mean, most monsters have their own way of killing their victims, and none of them that I remember consist in inducing suicide. But perhaps that’s some demon’s sick game?”
“Yeah, sure,” Dean says without a single note of truth in his voice.
“I think that’s a clever guess, Sam,” Castiel says, looking seriously at Sam.
“Thanks for your support, Cas,” Sam says, turning back to face the angel with one hand on his chest, pretending to be touched. Dean snorts and shakes his head at the two of them.
“Anyways…” Dean clears his throat. “It could be some kind of mind control. Maybe a witch?”
“Or an angel,” Cas adds.
“Yeah, we’ll have to study all of those possibilities.”
“Is there anything the victims have in common besides the fact that they’re all couples and they all died the same way?” Dean asks.
“Uh—nothing I could see by the news I found online. They’re a diverse group: there are straight and queer couples, cis and trans people, some are white, some are people of color. We should probably visit the people who knew the victims, as many as we can. Maybe there’s something else connecting them.”
Dean hums in response. It is a weird case and it bothers Dean in just the wrong way. Why does it sound so familiar?
:::
It’s mid-afternoon when they arrive and Dean’s stomach is growling, reasonably making their first stop a diner.
“I’m fucking starving,” he says while the three of them walk to a booth in the furthest corner.
“Yeah, me too,” Sam replies. “We should’ve stopped somewhere on the way to eat.”
“Yeah, sorry for that, I think I just wanted to get here as soon as possible.” Dean scratches his head.
He’s happy he can finally order himself his well deserved burgers, using Cas as his cover up for the extra one. One of his favorite things about going out with Cas is that he could eat twice as much and no one will give him the stink eye, besides Sam, of course. Angels don't eat and they need to look normal; Dean eats too much and doesn’t want to be judged: it’s a win-win situation really.
“So, Cas,” Dean says, turning his whole body to look at the friend sitting by his side. “Are you sensing any angelic bullshit in the area?” Castiel frowns at him, like he often does, but answers nonetheless.
“No, Dean. I am not.” Dean admits it was a poor attempt at small talk, but he doesn’t have to try harder, as Sam starts talking.
“Do you guys think we should split up while we talk to the families? I mean, we don’t have a fresh crime scene, and this town has four of the couples… Might save some time.”
“Well, in my experience, splitting up means getting killed,” Dean says, not leaving the horror movie 101 lesson open to discussion.
“Dean, one of us is literally an angel. And you and I have died more times than we can count. We’ll meet up before investigating any further.”
“I can go with Dean if he’s scared of going alone,” Castiel says in a flat tone. Dean scoffs.
“I’m not scared to die!” He says a bit more loudly than is wise, gaining a few glances.
“Of course you’re not,” Sam rolled his eyes, “but maybe Cas is right. You two go together to the last couple’s house. If there’s anything scare-worthy, it might be there. I’ll run to one or two of the other families.”
“So, Cas and I are going to talk to Connor and Oliver's family while you go around the city by yourself?” Dean asks with a raised eyebrow. “How’ll you get around? I’m not leaving Baby with you.”
Before Sam can give Dean one of his famous bitch faces, they hear someone say: “You’re talking about the Hamptons?” The three men turn their heads quickly at the voice, wondering how much of their conversation was overheard.
“Uh- yeah,” Dean tries to answer only to be interrupted by Sam.
“Did you know them?” She nods, her mouth turning into a twisted line, like she’s trying not to cry.
“They always stopped by to eat. We became friends quite easily. They both liked to talk for hours, even after their food was gone. But I never realized they were…” Her voice gets stuck and she shakes her head. “I guess we never know.” Dean gives her a sympathetic smile while she puts their food on the table.
“We’re so sorry for your loss,” Sam says.
“Thank you… And what about you, you knew them?”
“Uh… not really,” Sam picks up again. “We’re in town for the mental health event. We’re looking for the people who knew the victims.”
“Oh… Right, the event. I don’t think their families would be of much help. They weren’t really close. I don’t even know if they have ever been here. They didn’t really accept Connor and Oliver’s relationship… stopped talking to them when they got married. And I heard the families are blaming one another for what happened.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that,” Cas says. Dean turns his head again to look at him. The angel has a frown on his face.
“Thank you… Let me know if I can be of more help.” she says softly before turning around and going to another table. Sam lets out a loud sigh.
“Well… does that mean there’s no one in their house?” Dean asks.
“Yeah, I think so…” Sam answers. “Well, slight change of plans, you two will break into their house, run the usual tests, EMF, see if you find traces of sulfur, cold spots, angel activity, hex bags, anything. I’ll stay at a motel and look up their friends on Facebook. I hope they can tell us more about how it happened, what they were like… and then you two pick me up when you’re done and we’ll meet as many friends and families as we can today.
“No more divide to conquer bullshit, then,” Dean says, satisfied.
“Well, we’re still splitting up for the first half,” Cas points out.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let’s eat or we won’t be leaving this town anytime soon.”
As Dean takes the first bite of his burger, his mind starts to drift away. Those thoughts have been running through his mind ever since he saw the victims names, but now what the waitress said is making his head spin.
They got married and their families never talked to them again. That hurts Dean more than he can start to explain. It’s not like he has much of a family to leave him besides Sam, but he can’t help but wonder what would happen if his parents were still alive. He knew his dad would never accept him being in love with a man. No, he made that clear many times as he grew up. Even when Dean didn’t know, it was like John did, and he hated it. He hated Dean for who he was. What he was.
And Mary… Dean didn’t have time to figure it out. He likes to think that she would listen to him and hold him and tell him he should follow his heart. But damn, he can’t even imagine himself opening up about his feelings. Not to his mom, definitely not to his dad, not even to Sam. And not to Cas either. God, no.
“Dean,” Cas interrupts his thoughts. “You’re not gonna eat?” The angel is frowning, his head inclined in the most adorable way possible. Only then does Dean notice that he never made it past the first bite. He starts to eat again, trying not to let his mind wander this time, concentrating on the amazing taste.
“And you, Sammy, when are you going to eat real food?” Dean says with his mouth full, pointing at his brother’s plate. Sam raises his eyes from his food only to grimace at Dean and look away. Dean turns to Cas and sees that, for some unknown reason, the angel’s eyes are glued on his chin. “What?” he asks while still chewing his burger, switching his gaze between the two men.
“There is sauce on your face,” Cas answers, “I don’t remember getting so dirty while eating when I was a human.” He tilts his head and keeps staring at Dean’s chin. Dean furrows his eyes and looks over at Sam, who is now laughing with one of his hands over his mouth.
“I don’t think anyone does, Cas,” Sam says, “that’s Dean’s special ability.”
“Oh… I see.” The angel stops, as if pondering about the subject before continuing: “Here, let me help you.” Cas reaches out to wipe Dean’s chin with his thumb and then cleans his finger with a napkin, like the obvious choice wasn't to clean it with the napkin in the first place. Sam’s laughs get even louder, but Dean stops registering. His brain goes completely blank for fifteen whole seconds while he tries to process the small touch.
Okay, Dean’s a grown ass man. He and Cas have touched several times. Yeah, like, many times. On the shoulders for reassurance; that was also where Dean held a mark of Castiel’s hand for a while. On Dean’s forehead, cheeks, hands and arms when Castiel had to heal him. And of course, they’ve hugged a few times. A great amount of touching goes there.
So there is no reason for him to feel nervous about it. Nope. Not a single reason.
“Dean, are you okay?” Castiel asks.
“Yeah, Cas. But you can’t just stick your finger on people’s faces. Personal space, remember?”
“Oh, right.” Castiel moves his eyes to the table, face unreadable.
Dean feels guilty for putting up his walls against Cas, especially when he’s let him in more times than he’d like to admit. It feels like a betrayal, but he can’t help it. He’s been built to pretend he’s someone he’s not. Built to reject any act of kindness coming from a man. So he just proceeds to eat, trying not to make a mess this time.
:::
After dropping Sam at the nearest motel, Dean drives to the victims’ house with Cas in the front seat. The silence is killing Dean, but his brain power is being fully spent in staying out of certain thoughts. Castiel doesn’t seem to mind, his stillness never shaking. It kind of drives Dean insane sometimes how Cas can stay motionless for hours—he doesn’t even want to know the guy’s personal record—while Dean’s brain seems to be constantly on the highest activity mode.
Not too long has passed when he parks in front of the house. Instead of running into action, he stays still, really wanting the other man to be the first one to move, although he has no idea why. But Cas doesn’t move, he just keeps staring at Dean through the mirror, eyebrows furrowing in confusion, but other than that, completely still.
“How do you do it?” Dean asks exasperated, breaking his pose to turn his body to the angel.
“Do what?” He asks genuinely. Damn, there’s many ways I could answer that. The amount of inexplicable things Cas does that drive Dean insane… in all the worst and best ways. No, he doesn’t even know where to start.
“Nothin’, let’s go.” He gets out of the car and runs to the door, not looking to see if Cas is following him, but knowing he is nonetheless.
He knocks and waits for a minute, just in case someone is there.
“Well, I think we’re clear. Do your angel thing,” Dean finally turns to look at Cas and motions at the door. Cas snaps his fingers and the door opens. Dean grins widely and walks in. They look around in basic protocol: no sulfur smell, no hex bags—though they were really lacking in salt. Dean doesn’t see any when he looks in the kitchen—no cold spots.
Wait.
A chill runs through Dean’s spine and he only then remembers to grab the EMF from his pocket, not getting the whole way there before his whole body freezes and his mind goes numb. Wait, he thinks again. Why am I moving? Where am I going? I’m not doing this.
He looks through the eyes of his own body, but can’t control it. He’s completely stuck.
“Love!” his mouth involuntarily moves. “Where are you? Did you get the other?” It’s his voice. I’m definitely not alone here .
“Yes, my beloved,” Cas says emerging from the stairs.
Wait. It was beyond Dean’s comprehension why they were talking to each other like that.
It didn’t take long until it hit him.
Damnit, we just got possessed by ghosts. And they’re in love.
:::
The motel room where Sam is staying is warm, way more than he’d like it to be. There’s no air conditioner, his forehead is sweaty, and the motel’s internet connection is terrible. When he finally receives an answer from Ria, Oliver’s best friend—or so said his Facebook profile—he allows himself to rest against the headboard. She wants to meet at the diner they ate at earlier. Good. If Dean and Cas take too long, I’ll just walk there.
But he doesn’t have to wait too long. The motel door opens wide and the both of them walk in. Sam immediately notices there’s something weird with them. For starters, Dean hasn’t said anything stupid and it has been a whole second since they arrived. But what else? They’re smiling at each other. A lot. Yeah, that’s a once in a lifetime event, not something he was expecting to see right after a scene investigation. And they’re totally ignoring him. He can’t hear it properly, but the two of them spend minutes whispering to each other before acknowledging Sam’s existence.
“Hey, guys. What took you so long?” He asks, bringing the attention to himself.
“Nothing,” Dean answers quickly. Sam raises an eyebrow at them.
“Sam,” Castiel’s voice startles him. He looks at his friend and thinks there’s a hint of something in there. Something weird.
“What is it, Cas? How did it go?”
“I was just going to say Ju—Dean and I have to go.”
“You guys got a lead?” He asks and gets up fast, resting his laptop on the bed.
“Yeah…” Dean says slowly. “A lead.”
“Well, I got a lead too, I’m going to talk to a friend. She’ll meet me in the diner. Maybe you can drop me off there before going?”
Dean seems reluctant to answer, but he finally speaks. “Of course.”
Sam passes between them and leaves the room.
“But, hey, anything there hinted at what the monster is?” he asks on the way to the car. He’s met with profound silence and when he looks back to see if they are following him, he sees them exchanging worried glances.
“No, nothing.”
Weird.
“So what’s the lead?”
“We’ll tell you once we’re sure,” Dean answers.
They stop by the car and Sam notices Cas passes the Impala’s keys to Dean. Wait, did Dean let Cas drive the Impala? He decides not to ask. Maybe that’s an important step in their insufferable longing for each other and Sam doesn’t want to make them feel ashamed of it.
When he opens the door to the passenger seat, he notices Cas gives a step toward it, but quickly takes it back.
“Uh, hey, man, you wanna go in the front?” He offers.
“Yes, thank you,” Castiel answers, his face lighting up.
Nothing else weird happens during the ride, except their mirror stares increase in a way that gets Sam afraid Dean’s going to hit something, for he often turns his head to look at Cas, in the most obvious way he’s ever seen. Dorks .
When he arrives at the diner, the woman is already waiting for him. Ria seems very shaken and Sam notices she really wants someone to talk to. He tries to be his kindest even while his mind is busy gathering information, being careful not to take too many notes.
“Did you notice them acting differently in the weeks before?” he asks with a small, comprehensive smile on his lips.
“Weeks, no, but days… yes. They were very weird. I mean, they were a happy couple, everyone knew it, but they were… too much. Too lovey-dovey, even for them.”
“So they didn’t seem… depressed?” He furrows his eyebrows.
“No, not at all. They seemed to be weirdly happy. I called them to hang out a few times, but they refused. They seemed to be in the honeymoon phase again, you know? They only had eyes for each other.”
“Did they complain about something weird happening?”
“Like I said, they were mostly ignoring their friends. We heard almost nothing from them. I wouldn’t know so much if I didn’t go over there a few times to check on them.”
“You seem like a very good friend,” he says, smiling.
“Yeah, I mean, I have known Oliver ever since we were kids. He is… he was my best friend.” She stops talking to hide a sob that erupts from her throat, tears emerging from her eyes.
“Ria, I’m very sorry for your loss. I wish I didn’t have to bother you in this delicate moment, but can I ask you one more question?” She nods. “Do you know any of the other couples who died?” She nods again. “Could you give me any information on their friends? A phone number? It’ll be very important to know if there’s anything we can do to prevent these cases, if there are any dangerous patterns.”
“I didn’t know many of Steph’s friends, but she worked in the coffee shop downtown.”
“Thank you so much for your help,” Sam says. “Take care of yourself too, alright? Friends of the victims… they are at high risk.”
“I’ll be fine, thank you. The city offered free counseling for a month to anyone close to the victims.”
Sam says goodbye and gets a cab to go to the coffee shop. He tries to call Dean on the way there, but it goes to voicemail. He shrugs, assuming they must be in the middle of something. I just hope it’s a case related thing. He laughs and shakes his head at the thought. If they could only sort out whatever is going on between them.
Arriving at the coffee shop, he sits at the table by the door. It doesn’t take long until someone comes to take his order, but he doesn’t lose time asking for anything.
“Actually, I just wanted to ask a few questions.” When he sees the waiter’s worried face he quickly adds. “It’s something important. It’s about Steph. She used to work here. Did you know her?”
“The suicide girl? No, I got here after she left.” Sam grimaces at that.
“Right… Can I talk to someone who knew her?”
“Hey, Drika, come ‘ere,” he screams to a blonde girl on the other side of the room. She walks to them with a puzzled face.
“What’s the matter?”
“Dude here wants to talk about Steph.” Then, Sam received a suspicious face from the woman.
“What about her? I’m not selling info for the press.”
“No, no. I’m not from the press. I’m just doing research… for the state, they want to know more about the reasons behind the deaths that happened the past month. If I could only ask you a few questions…” He uses his best good boy face, but she doesn’t seem to be buying any of it.
“Look, I don’t know if you were really sent here on official business, but I’m not keen on discussing the reasons my best friend killed herself.” Her voice is quavering and Sam suddenly feels guilty.
“I am very sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.” He frowns and tries to fix his mistake. “I just really need to talk to someone who knew her, who saw her the week before what happened.”
The waitress sighs and tells the other waiter to leave. She then sits in front of Sam, looking very tired. “She was happy, she was giggly, she was having the time of her life with her fiancée. She had just quit the job, she didn’t tell me why, what was weird, but damn, she was smiling. She hadn’t in a while. I thought things were getting better with her mom… And then this.”
“I am very-”
“Sorry, yeah, I know. But none of this will take away the guilt I feel. I don’t know why it happened, but I should’ve known! I should’ve been there for her, even when she pushed me away, saying she wanted some time alone with her lover.” Her eyes are shining with tears. She fumbles with her hand while looking intently at them, not once glancing at Sam.
“You said she wasn’t well before…” Sam starts to formulate a question, but is stopped by the waitress.
“She had a big fight with her mom about her engagement. She was sad, but I never thought… I never thought it’d get to this point. And she seemed like she was moving forward. I met her in the mall and she was smiling like it was the first time she had ever been in one.”
“Was there anything weird about the way she was acting?” Sam asks.
“Weird?” The woman tears her gaze from her hand for the first time since she started to speak. “I wouldn’t use this word, but both of them were acting… different. ”
“How so?”
“They were being a bit dramatic, you know? Like they were living in an epic romantic movie. Using big words, some I didn’t even understand. I think it was a new thing they were doing, like an inside joke.”
Sam narrows his eyes. Some of what she says matches with the other victim: parents weren’t happy about their relationship; the couples entered some sort of honeymoon stage; and they all seemed happy the days before it happened. But the epic talk is new. Sam wonders if the Hamptons were doing it too. Is it a trace of how the monsters talk? Like ancient spirits or something?
“I can’t imagine how you’re feeling…” Sam says before leaving. “But know that you’re not guilty. You couldn’t have known. Believe me.” The look on her face shows him she doesn’t. “Take care of yourself too.” He offers her a kind smile. “It’s not easy to carry something like this alone, but you don’t have to.” She nods and he thinks it’s finally time to leave.
On the sidewalk, he calls Dean again. Damn, has he hid the thing up his ass? He looks for a cab. Night is falling and he really needs to add some things to his research.
He’s entering the motel room when it hits him. Disapproving families, couple commits suicide. Epic romantic movie. He runs to his laptop and types out his suspicions.
“The deaths of Romeo and Juliet occur in a sequence of compounding stages: first, Juliet drinks a potion that makes her appear dead. Thinking her dead, Romeo then drinks a poison that actually kills him. Seeing him dead, Juliet stabs herself through the heart with a dagger”
He inhales deeply. So the deaths are definitely a reference to Romeo and Juliet, but… is it a copycat or could it be the actual Romeo and Juliet? It wouldn’t be the weirdest thing to ever happen to us . If there was a troubled death that could cause the spirits to be bound to Earth for so long it was theirs. Tell me I won’t have to travel to Europe to burn some bones, Sam groans.
:::
“Oh, Romeo, it’s been so delightful to visit all these different places! They have such a big variety of foods!” Dean says against his will. At this point he was almost agreeing to be a part of it, as resisting it was causing him mental pain and just letting go was actually pretty comfortable, for some reason.
“Indeed, my sweet Juliet! I promise you, we’ll try out thousands of restaurants throughout eternity together.”
Cas has the most dreamy face ever made and his hands are holding Dean’s from across the table. Dean knows that if he were in control of his own body, he’d take his hand away, he’d get up and say he needed to pee. But now he doesn't have to do any of these things, he can just appreciate it.
Castiel’s body leans on the table and smiles. “Juliet, you’re so gorgeous that the stars cry every night because they can’t be half as bright as you are.”
Dean feels his cheeks blush furiously, even though it’s the most cheesy thing he has heard in his entire life. Though he had to admit there’s some charm to it when it’s said in Cas’ voice.
“Oh Romeo! And you’re a lovely piece of marchpane!” Juliet speaks through him so seriously and he wonders if Cas is laughing as hard as he is, or if the angel is too busy trying to work a way out of this.
It finally occurs to Dean how weird it is for Cas to be possessed by a ghost. How strong does it have to be to overpower an angel? Or how weak is Cas? He feels worry building up inside of him, but for some reason, it doesn’t consume him as usual. It’s much more of a breeze than a hurricane and it slowly fades away as his mind is brought back to the scene in front of him.
“I like these two,” Juliet says quietly, squeezing Romeo’s hand. “they’re different.”
“Yes, I agree. I can feel this one’s love burning,” he says and it hits Dean really hard. He's suddenly glad he's not able to show his own emotions through his body.
“I can feel it too. And the pain… I feel like we’ve finally found the right couple.” Dean’s voice is a higher pitch than usual, which bothers the hell out of him. But not even that is able to drive his mind away from the implications of what they are saying.
Is it possible?
Could he… Could Cas love me?
“I won’t let the past events happen again,” Romeo says in Cas’ voice.
Dean looks at him.
For a moment, he really believes it’s his angel talking to him. Saying he won’t allow all the bad that happened between them to ever be repeated. No more betraying, no more running, no more pushing away, no more dying.
He feels hopeful.
Because that’s all he ever wanted. Even if they’re wrong and Cas doesn’t love him. Even if Cas doesn’t want to be with him the way he wants. If he at least agrees to stay by his side as long as he’s alive…
But he isn’t allowed to answer and words he doesn’t intend to say slip out of his mouth.
“Oh, Romeo! We’ll finally live our love the way we were supposed to.”
Just like that, the spell is broken.
“I feel like we’re really doing something good this time, Juliet. They’ll finally be free to love one another and without interference.”
He suddenly remembers what happened to the other couples. The poisoning and stabbing. And suddenly it hits him how maddening it is to be stuck inside a body he can’t control. Castiel is safe, he thinks. No poison can hurt him. But he doesn’t want to die. Not anymore. Not since… Anyways.
He wants to live.
He wants to understand why they are targets in the first place. They aren’t in a forbidden love story. Of course, every angel on this planet hates him. And John… He would’ve killed Cas as soon as he heard the word angel. But they’re definitely not a couple. Not in the traditional way at least. But if that means it isn’t one sided after all, he needs to hear it from Cas.
He has to get out of this. Fast.
“I love you so much, my beautiful Juliet.” Cas says, looking deep into Dean’s eyes.
Dammit.
Even though it’s not his name, it’s still his eyes Cas is looking to and it’s Cas’ voice speaking. It gets ten times harder to keep his mind on the mission. He struggles and he screams and he wants it to be real . Until he hears…
“I love you too, Romeo.” The words roll out of his mouth, like they’ve been said a million times.
Dean feels a wave of anger filling him.
He’s furious that he got to say those words in front of Cas—words he’s definitely not ready to say—while not being in control of his body. And it bothers Dean deep in his bones that these ghosts can be so open about their love, even when they’re fucking dead while he has to keep it hidden, locked inside his own heart, too worried to let it out. Worried about a friend he could lose, worried about disappointing the other spirit who constantly haunts his mind, John, and worried about a stupid society that can’t take its head out of its ass.
And even though he thought he’d like it at first, the fake hand holding, the fake sweet talk, the fake stares, it all starts to take Dean to another level of anger. One he hasn’t been in since… Well, he doesn’t even want to think about it. But when he thinks he’s about to snap out of control, when he feels his mind a little bit closer to his body, he’s suddenly standing.
“I think we better go,” Juliet says with Dean’s deep, serious tone.
“But, my love, our food hasn’t even arrived…” Romeo protests, but he seems to change his mind pretty quickly after looking better at Dean’s—Juliet’s—expression.
Once again, Dean is shoved deep inside his head, his senses start to fade and, suddenly…
Nothing.
:::
“The story is, indeed, based on the life of two real lovers who lived and died for each other in Verona, Italy in 1303. Shakespeare is known to have discovered this tragic love story in Arthur Brooke's 1562 poem entitled “The Tragical History of Romeo and Juliet.”
“Alright…” Sam says out loud. “So their bones are in Verona, Italy. Location probably unknown…”
He has no hope of finding it even if he had the money to travel. He looks for similar cases in Verona, but there’s nothing like it anywhere but multiple cities of England. They’re tied to something there. Something related to Shakespeare’s story.
It is time to go after Dean and Cas. If they won’t answer their phones, Sam thinks, I’ll track them.
It doesn’t take long until he’s in a cab again, going to the Hampton's house. He had no idea what they could be doing there for so long without answering. Dean isn’t one to not answer unless it’s a life or death situation.
He enters the Hampton’s house, waiting for a fighting scene, but it is extremely quiet. He walks around carefully, salt gun in hand. The living room is clear. He walks to the next room’s door, stopping beside it before sticking his head carefully to look inside. He expects to find nothing, as the lights are out, but the scene before him startles him to the point he lets his guard down.
Right in front of him, in the middle of the kitchen, are Dean and Castiel, kissing.
Are they fucking kidding me?
“Guys!” He screams, kind of outraged, kind of happy for them. “I’m working on the case while you’re here making out?” The two of them stop the kiss to look at Sam, a scared look on both faces. “Hey, don’t worry, I’m not mad. I’m actually relieved.”
“You won’t get in the way of our love.” Dean says, his expression turning creepy.
“Uh— alright? I’d never. Cas is actually not my type. No offense.”
“Our families are a threat to our love. We won’t run away anymore.” Castiel says, walking towards Sam, angel blade on his hands.
Fuck. Sam thought. What are the chances the ghosts confused them for a couple?
“Romeo. Juliet. I’m not a threat to you as long as you don’t hurt my brother and friend.”
“Your whole family must die!” Dean screams.
“Yeah, they’re all dead already. Nothing to worry about.” Sam walked back, hands in the air.
“Stop right there. Many have tried to deceive us,” the ghost inside of Dean says. Which one is it? “That mother who called this week? I could tell she was planning something. I had to act immediately.”
Suddenly, Sam feels a hand around his neck and he’s slammed against the living room’s wall. Dean follows him and keeps talking, while he’s stuck against the wall suffocating.
“We feel like these bodies are strong enough to hold for a while. We won’t leave this time. And we’re going to get married and no one,” Sam starts choking, “is going to be between us. You understand?”
“Please. Stop.” Sam manages to say.
He suddenly feels the pressure ease and he almost falls on the floor. He tries hard to catch his breath.
“I know how much you must have suffered, being stuck all these years here, with all these people constantly talking about and remembering your tragedy. But there’s a way out. There's Heaven and life after death. You just have to let it go.” Castiel laughs like an evil witch. “What you’re doing, it’s hurting people.”
“We’re helping them. These two… they couldn’t even talk about how much they love each other. They were stuck because of people like you—”
“You’re wrong. I’ve known there was something there for a while. I’ve begged these two to come to terms with their feelings countless times. I’m so sorry if I never made it clear to Dean that he has my approval, but I would love for Cas to be my brother-in-law. Please. You two are stuck on your death loops. Our friend there is an angel.” Sam points to Cas. “He can call a reaper. If you let go, it’ll take you, and you’ll live together forever.” It was mostly a lie, especially because they were more likely going to hell, but he had to try.
“You can’t help us.” Castiel says. “No one can. We tried to let go for decades when we were stuck in the British Library. There were so many sad people around there. Begging for their love to go right, for their families to accept them, for the society to accept them. They related to us, we could feel.”
“You were immortalized through the work of Shakespeare.” Sam sighs. “But you can’t keep doing it. You gotta let people live their lives. Make their own choices. Don’t you think Dean and Cas have the right to live their own love story? To have the chance you two didn’t have?”
It’s quiet for a moment.
Dean and Castiel look at each other.
“What do you think, Juliet?” Cas says. “Should we let them go?”
“I don’t want to.” Juliet grabs the possessed angel’s hand and rests Dean’s forehead on his.
“Do you hear him screaming too? Inside of you?” Romeo asks and Juliet nods. “Maybe we’re doing to them what our families did to us.”
“But we—”
“Our love has surpassed physical matter, my dearest. We can make it.”
“I don’t want to suffer anymore.” Dean’s voice is soft. It sounds like he’s crying, but Sam can’t see it.
And suddenly, the lights flicker.
:::
The moment Dean can move his own body again feels like pure liberation. At first, he’s weak and feels like he’s about to fall, only staying up because of Cas’ arms holding him. It takes a moment too long before he notices it isn’t Romeo and Juliet who are close like that anymore. It’s Dean and Cas. And when he realizes that, he immediately pushes Cas away, like he’s committing some crime.
It’s stupid at this point to try and hide what’s happening inside his mind, but he can’t help it. His defense mechanisms are still up and he feels like they always will be. Cas looks hurt, he can see that now. He’s not one to show many emotions, but when you know someone for eight years, those things become more apparent.
“Guys? Are you okay? Are they gone?” Sam’s voice interrupts the painful staring.
“Uh, yeah. They’re out of us at least.”
“We can’t know for sure if they’ve left this plane.” Cas says.
“We can only hope they won’t be doing this to anyone for now. I’ll contact some hunters in the UK to finish this up for us.” Sam says. “You’ve probably figured who they were, I guess.”
“Romeo and fucking Juliet, yeah.” Dean’s face is flushed and he’s feeling dizzy, maybe because he was possessed for most of the day. He needs a rest just like everybody else. “Let’s just… get out of here. We can finish anything else tomorrow after I sleep and drink some coffee.”
“I feel pretty worn out, I might need some rest as well,” Cas says to both of the brothers’ surprise. Well, it’s not so much of a surprise to Dean. He’s been ignoring the angel’s problems for a while now and perhaps it’s time to stop. But that’s something they can figure out another day.
They head to Dean’s car and drive to the motel silently. There’s a lot of tension in the car because of everything that happened. Sam’s words are still ringing in Dean’s head. Did I make it so obvious? He feels ashamed. He feels ridiculous. And most of all, he feels scared that Cas might have seen it all along and yet left him countless times.
When they arrive at the motel, Sam leaves the car fast like he needs to go to the bathroom, but Dean knows he just wants to give them time to talk. A lot was said in their names, things they didn’t have the opportunity to say by themselves. Or, perhaps, things they’d never have the courage to say by themselves. He still doesn’t know if this night is a blessing or a curse. Maybe the outcome will dictate that. And God, doesn’t he want the outcome to be good.
So he has to speak.
“Cas,” he tries. He’s met by silence. He’s too afraid to look in the rear view mirror. He doesn’t want to meet those eyes. Not now.
But he has to.
He feels forced to.
He raises his head and green eyes meet blue. Castiel’s gaze is intense. It cuts deep to his bones, but he can’t look away. Not now. He can’t hurt Cas again.
“I don’t even know what to say, man,” he tries again. “After everything that happened today. I can’t believe half of it.”
“I disagree,” Cas says in a soft tone. He’s got a smile on the corner of his lips, one so beautiful it makes Dean’s head spin. But he isn’t distracted enough to not feel outraged by what he said.
“Excuse me?”
“To be fair, Dean, the less believable thing that happened today was you letting me drive your car.” The memory of it brings pain to Dean’s chest. It was the moment he felt more helpless and desperate.
“I hope you enjoyed it, buddy, because it’s not happening again. Ever.”
“But really, Dean. I’ve been waiting. For a while now. Waiting for things to calm down.”
“What are you talking about, man?”
“Romeo was telling the truth. What I feel about you, whatever it is, it burns inside of me.”
It shuts Dean up. He can’t bring himself to digest that. It’s different knowing Castiel was actually saying it. He can’t start to unpack how much he’s feeling, and how much he’s pushed down, because he never thought…
“I never thought that someone… that an angel of all things, could ever…” He can’t finish it, because Cas didn’t say it. Not with every word.
“You don’t think you deserve to be loved?” he asks softly. And his eyes are melting, Dean can see it. It’s kind, and it’s human and it’s letting so much out for him to see. Like Cas is purposefully being vulnerable, letting him see that—That maybe he could be too.
But he can’t.
“Ever since… I was so little. John…” Dean’s voice breaks. “He always knew. He knew something was different with me. He thought he could tell me how to feel, he used to tell me to man up, that I had to be there for Sammy. That I couldn’t be weak. That I couldn’t be…” He can’t say it. But Cas knows. “I think I’ve been living with this feeling, like he’s still lurking around me, like his spirit is still watching me and waiting for me to fail him.” The tears in Dean’s eyes start to fall down, but he can’t care anymore. “I don’t want that anymore, Cas.”
Castiel moves forward a little, bringing his head closer to Dean.
“He’s not in control anymore, Dean. He’s not here to judge you. And forgive me, but he was an asshole.” Dean laughs quietly. “You can let him go.”
Dean feels grateful. And sad. He has to hold himself from crying even harder. He shouldn’t be crying at all. It’s so stupid , he thinks.
“Is it bad that I felt kinda… happy? Back in the kitchen,” Dean says, his eyes focusing on the car’s seat instead of Cas.
“Why?” The angel asks.
“I felt happy that I could do that… with you. But still, not being responsible for it. Like, I had someone to blame it for. It’s fucking stupid, I kn—” But before he can finish it, Castiel grabs his neck and gently kisses him.
Dean was wrong. All along he’s been so damn wrong.
There’s no dream he could ever have dreamed that could compare to this. It’s better than the kiss in the kitchen. It’s better than all of his fantasies.
Of course it is, damnit. It’s real. It’s Cas. His fucking best friend. The only person not from his family to be in his thoughts every day for the past eight years.
They break the kiss, but Cas doesn’t go far. They’re still nose to nose, eyes locked.
“I don’t even know how to do this,” Dean whispers.
“Your kiss was satisfyingly good,” Cas says while tilting his head like he does when he’s confused. Dean laughs.
“I mean… the rest. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”
Cas ponders for a second before saying: “You just have to say yes.”
“To what?”
Cas sighs loudly. “The human ritual of dating.”
Dean’s smile grows on his face and he’s feeling happy like he hasn't in a while. That’s his Cas.
“Well, then. Yes.”