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The day started rather calmly at the brewery. It was around eight in the morning, the first to have woken up was Dean. Neither Castiel or Crowley had the need to sleep but they had gotten used to it. A kind of idyllic retirement they all thought that it was time to deserve. If anybody would have been coming for the former hunter, both the angel and the demon were ready to protect him. They were at peace. Happy even.
Crowley soon got woken up by the smell of bacon and its sizzling sound. He kept his white t-shirt with an eloquent 666 written on it with flames — a gift from Dean last Christmas — which showed the meatsuit’s tattoos, then he put on a pair of black trousers. He then gave a small nudge on Castiel’s side.
“Feathers. It’s time to wake up.” Crowley whispered in the angel’s ears softly.
“Mhhh.” Castiel mumbled.
Cas opened reluctantly one of his eye. Now that he had been used to a human rhythm, he had started to value sleep more, much more than he had ever had even when he had been a human. As he looked at Crowley, a smile started to form on his face.
“Hi, you.” The angel added in an even raspier voice than the usual.
“You? Is this the way you decide to greet me?” The demon joked. “I expected something more eloquent.”
Crowley was really fond of these deep blue eyes. The angel’s waking state was something which always struck him anyways, especially as he was letting his soft side talk more and more. Castiel’s messy hair, his scruffy cheeks… Hell, if someone had told him he would have been able to contemplate that years prior, he would have never believed it.
“Is your highness more appropriate?” Castiel retorted.
Crowley was happily surprised. “Wow! Feathers trying sarcasm, I thought this day would have never come!” He clapped his hands lightly a couple of times. “But yes, much more appropriate, indeed.” He joked once more before kissing the angel’s forehead. “I ought to tell Squirrel how much improvement in humour you have made. Come when you feel like it.”
“Thanks.” Cas mumbled as he saw Crowley vanish.
It made the angel smile. He couldn’t help it but it was funny to him to see how much Crowley did not like walking at all. If he could he would even teleport himself for a few steps. That was the kind of situational humour he was enjoying.
Castiel rolled out of bed after a minute, he was wearing an AC/DC tour t-shirt he had stolen from Dean. The more exact term was that Dean was lending it to Cas, it was one of his most prized possessions. It happened to be the t-shirt of the first concert he was able to go to, Bobby had brought him to it with his little brother as their father was on a hunt on his own.
The angel tilted his head as he looked at their shared closet. So many black clothes and flannels. Everywhere. Castiel had a few clothes, however, he did not have a lot of variety. He mostly had white shirts, with a few black or blue suits, and a handful of blue ties, some striped, some plain. His two boyfriends had tried to make him wear other things by the past but he had to admit, in a day to day life, it made him fairly uncomfortable.
Unlike Crowley who dressed up neatly to feel stylish and keep a posh British appearance, Castiel was mostly due to sensory issues. It made him feel better to have multiple layers. It was comforting. And they did their best to respect Castiel’s feelings. He did not struggle from heat or cold — the perks of not being human. It wasn’t an issue towards his health, so unless he told Crowley or Dean he wanted to wear something else and they would give him some of their clothes, he would end up in his usual outfit.
The angel was in a happy mood, he decided to swap his usual blue tie for a blue one with little bees embroidered on it. It was his favourite. He knew that Crowley and Dean had spent time finding one, and it made him very grateful for the love he had. They were always thoughtful when it came to him, and kind about his specific interests.
As he put his trench-coat on, he went out of the bedroom and climbed down the stairs to directly go to the kitchen. To his surprise, only Dean was there. He was turning his back to him, as he was in front of the stove, a spatula in one hand, and the other the handle of the pan.
He was humming some song, Cas believed that it was part of the ones Dean had tried his best to teach him about. Hell or Highwater by David Duchovny from what he remembered. It was fairly easy as Dean had gone into an hour long rant on how he had crush on the guy when he was younger. Not to forget that his role in the X-Files was the one who made him go through his gender awakening and made Dean realise that he was in fact a man.
Dean was wearing a pair of blue jeans, and his favourite shirt opened up. Did he ever wear his shirts buttoned? Castiel tilted his head as he wondered, but it occurred to him that no, he did not. It was the shirt Dean was proud to call his bisexual one, a plaid flannel with a mix of pink, blue and purple. The angel really loved it as well, it suited him perfectly. He was certain Crowley shared the same feeling.
“I’m back with the eggs, as you asked, Squirrel.” The demon said as he appeared right next to Castiel.
Dean jumped as he turned and saw both of them. He had under his shirt an old washed up band t-shirt.
“Crowley, you’re a fucking jumpscare.” Dean muttered as he had one of his hand on his heart still, which made the demon smirk. “Morning, sunshine. I didn’t hear you coming.” Dean then added looking at Castiel.
“I didn’t want to bother you.” Castiel admitted as he liked seeing Dean that carefree.
“You’re never ever bothering me. ‘Kay?” Dean said very seriously before walking towards him and cupping the angel’s scruffy cheeks and kissing him. “Come here, I know you want one as well.” Dean chuckled before kissing Crowley too, this time he had to lean more.
The demon tried not to smile too much — it was an old habit that was still strong — and handed over to Dean the little plastic bag he was holding.
“And thanks for the eggs, Bumblebee.” Dean added.
Crowley liked to have a nickname, he felt like he truly belonged, which warmed his heart. Dean thanking him was just a cherry on top.
“What did you need eggs for?” Castiel asked, squinting a little.
“I wanted to do the usual breakfast at first but… Bumble’ told me about your new achievement at human-ing.” Dean was proud. “So I wanted to make pancakes to celebrate.”
“I didn’t do much—“ Castiel stopped talking as soon as he heard. “Pancakes?”
The angel had a bright smile. He had somehow learnt to appreciate more food with time. Maybe was it because he was accustomed to human ways better, or maybe was it because of Dean’s stubbornness of making him try every possible food? He was not sure. He was glad to not only taste molecules nowadays, and one thing he was sure about — he loved pancakes.
“I even brought blueberries. And the raspberry jam.” Crowley added.
Castiel’s eyes lit up even more, it was his favourite fruits.
“Thank you.” Castiel approached Crowley before kissing him and pulling him into a hug.
“Well, if I had known that, I would have brought some more often.” The demon chuckled and patted his back. “You’re welcome, Feathers.”
Dean put on the household’s baby pink apron. It was supposed to be Crowley’s as he was the one the most invested into cooking — him being meticulous, he enjoyed being in control of what was happening in the kitchen — but Dean from time to time was stealing it. He loved the little ruffles on the side and the front pocket in the shape of a heart. Although Crowley was the king of meals, Dean was the most eager to bake, his passion for pies had taken up his free time and it had extended to any kind possible of pastries existing with time.
The former hunter was ready to make his pancakes. As everything else was already ready.
“I’m setting the table, you can relax, Feathers.” Crowley said as he was already about to take the plates.
“Alright. I’m going to feed Juliet and Growley then.” Cas replied as he grabbed a pack of meat from the fridge.
“You’re going to become their favourite daddy.” Crowley teased.
“They remain your hellhounds, first and foremost.”
After his last sentence, Castiel went away as the hellhounds were currently playing outside. The trio was lucky to have found a rather big house with a nice garden and the hounds enjoyed any possible earthly pleasure — being in fact, nice dogs. Sometimes they barked after the postman but what scared them was not actually the hounds but the fact of not knowing where the growling was coming from.
Dean could not believe his eyes at first, he had never thought he would end up having that. He did not even think that he deserved it, but both Crowley and Castiel had helped him through. To make him see that he was indeed, worthy of a good ending. Life had been good.
He was just regretting something these days, being human. Dean found himself quite ridiculous sometimes but he was a tad jealous of the ability of Castiel to see the hellhounds. He had to wear glasses to see them. They were all sharing responsibilities over the hounds, he just wanted to be their full time dad as well.
His stream of thought go cut short whilst he was making the pancake batter as he could feel a tight embrace around him. He looked at the tattooed arms and let out a sigh of relief. He hated to be spiralling without even noticing sometimes. As he kept on following the recipe he had found on his phone, Crowley stayed against him.
“I will find a way, Squirrel.” Crowley solemnly said.
“Huh?”
“I know what you were thinking about, don’t imagine that I don’t see your sad puppy eyes when I talk about the hellhounds. I’ll do whatever it takes for you to be able to see them full time.”
“Crowley… you don’t have to.” Dean replied even though he appreciated the demon gesture.
“No, I shall. I’m a son of a witch. I should be able to find a way. Even if I have to find a dragon for it; or fight whatever creature, or even create a new spell from scratch… I will everything I can, Dean.”
Dean fully knew that when Crowley said his first name, the demon meant it and was fully serious. That moved him. Thinking how much Crowley would do for him, even thinking about how he noticed his feelings, Dean felt lucky to have them both.
“Damn it, don’t you dare make me cry.” Dean tried to laugh out his emotions. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Squirrel.” Crowley answered back as he stopped his embrace. “And when I said the glasses really bring out your eyes, I meant it.” He added with a smirk which reassured Dean and made him slightly blush as well.
When they finally got to eat, it felt like nothing wrong could ever happen. It was the domestic life they had always wanted, especially Dean.
Dean had his pancakes with bacon on the side, and a cup of black coffee. He had poured it in one of his favourite mugs. It was a fairly simple one, fully white but with some lettering on it: being my big brother is really the only gift you need — love you —. It was a gift from Sam a few years ago. Although as cheesy as it was, he cherished it with his whole being. It meant always so much to him when his Sammy was calling him big brother. He had never admitted it since that day but he cried of joy once he had been alone. And after that said day, the mug had become his lucky mug. Every single day.
Castiel had one of his numerous bee mugs. It was a gift from his two lovers, again. It was a rather large white mug, with a few bees drawn on it and with a lettering, Let it with a little swirl after the words. But what Castiel loved the most about this mug was its yellow handle with a bee sculpted on top. It made him joyful to look at it. And there he was, sipping his warm milk and honey — which they managed to find at a local beekeeper. Of course, he had a small pile of pancakes with jam and berries.
Crowley’s mug was more of a joke one — Dean’s idea again. Castiel had had a hard time understanding why it was funny. It was a white mug with a big font telling Go to hell in yellow with an orange outline. It had clouds on the sides and beneath it, a rainbow above it little stars and hearts — either yellow, red or blue. He was enjoying his Twinings Earl Grey tea with some honey and a splash of milk. He had some pancakes with maple syrup.
After finishing his first cup, Dean served himself again. He needed it, it was about to be a long day at the brewery. It was trivia quiz night. He had prepared the question the day before and he had to admit, he did not sleep much but it was worth it, he was proud of his pop culture quiz.
“I’m taking care of all our accounts today.” Crowley wanted to inform both of them, they nodded. “And please, for the love of everything do not touch it ever again, any of you two. It was gibberish.” He frowned as he drank more of his tea.
“That was me, sorry.” Dean sheepishly admitted.
“…it’s okay.” Crowley grumpily answered rolling his eyes. “You both know I can’t be angry at you for too long.” He looked at the angel. “Please never touch it, Cas.”
“I won’t, it’s way too human for me.” Castiel replied.
Crowley frowned.
“Sorry.” Castiel added as he now caressed the demon’s hand gently knowing how Crowley hated to be reminded of how close to being a human he was.
Dean was smiling looking at them both. He was glad that they could get along so well, and was happy of what they achieved after retiring from the hunting world. He had had trouble finding a purpose in a civilian world but as he had two loving persons supporting him all along, he soon realised that what he was enjoying was providing and giving for people, acts of service was his thing.
At first, he had thought about being a mechanic, but he wanted at the same time to go away from what he had known his whole life. He was uncomfortable as it was making him think about John he could not do this. He knew he was not strong enough to bear it, and he did not want to be in such a macho world either, he was now free to be himself, and nothing could stop him. He could finally strive as the man he had always wanted to be, he did not need to overcompensate anymore.
He had talked to Bobby about it, the man who was after all the one he truly considered as his dad, and he told him that passions did not have to be a job. The way he explained to Dean that although he was doing something else he could always work on cars and even go to the Salvage Yard to do it, convinced him furthermore.
Dean then thought about opening a burger restaurant. His love for greasy food almost won, but he thought how he would have less freedom about how to do it. And then a luminous idea came into his mind. A bar. A brewery even. It mixed everything he liked, he could choose the music, the drinks, the decorations, he could do small fun events, small bands could do gigs, even. Moreover, he could still sell some food, it would just not be the main thing.
He wanted a family kind of business, and even if his two partners in life were a tad less enthusiastic than he was, when he told them that the motto would be serving people, pouring drinks, the family business, they could not help but fully support him. Dean was growing away from his past, for the greater good. That was how the Family Business Beer Company was created. Needless to say that both Castiel and Crowley were moved to be part of what Dean considered to be his family.
Crowley was the businessman. He was good at this, it had not been an issue for him to adjust. Business and numbers were his favourite parts of ruling Hell, he was thriving.
As for Castiel, it was not really evident at first, he struggled slightly to find what he could do. He tried multiple things, as a cook? He was a disaster. He was way too clumsy, he did not even had to try at the brewery itself to know that, only one dinner attempt at their house made it clear. Behind the bar counter? He was not so good either and truth be told, that was Dean’s place.
Then they noticed how much people loved Castiel. He was gentle with everybody and everyone really gave it back to him positively. That was how he happened to begin to serve people as a sort of waiting staff. Truth be told, Castiel loved it as well. He missed caring about people freely without fearing something bad to happen. Dean was safe and Crowley could defend himself. So there he was, everyday at the brewery, with a little notepad in hand — he sometimes had an apron but wearing it meant leaving the trench which he was not always fond of.
Usually, when they were working during the late evenings Dean and Castiel ended up serving people whereas Crowley was sitting at the counter, drinking his dear old thirty years of age Craig. This night did not derogate from the rule, as he wore his usual grey floral tie and his full black stylish suit.
All day long they had been serving drinks and burgers. Dean thought about every recipe itself — even the names. There was the Moose, he had decided to think first and foremost about his Sammy, if his little brother had to come to see his odd and beloved family, he had to be able to eat something, so he made sure to have a vegetarian burger. The name had made Sam’s wife Eileen laugh, and Dean knew that if she approved, everything was good.
Full on vegan cheese, a really big mushroom to replace the steak — Dean wanted to make it the more accessible as possible — sun-dried tomatoes, onion confit, chives and the sauce the cook they hired made greatly.
Then Dean decided that it was only fair to have a burger named the Squirrel, the cheesiest cheeseburger of all, the Feathers, the chicken burger — it made Crowley laugh although Castiel did not endorse it — and the Hunter which was the meatiest.
As for the drinks, Dean had been having a lot of imagination and creativity. From the name of the brews themselves, to the cocktails and the mocktails, he made sure that everything was done for everyone in order to spend a good time. Coming alone, for a date or with your family? Everybody could feel included, that was his pride.
The decoration inside the brewery was pretty simple, the key word was coziness. Dean has his mind set on the kind of old school bar people could see in old tv shows, he liked the rustic big chunk of massive wood.
Both Castiel and Crowley agreed to that, the demon’s reason was that he was old fashioned and it reminded him of when he was human — although he would never admit that out loud — and the angel was genuinely happy as long as his two longtime boyfriends were enjoying it.
They still added a bit of their own touch to the overall decoration with some small things. Castiel was more of the family friendly kind with embroidered buntings with sunflowers and bees and sometimes the lettering Bee kind which he thought to be nice.
Crowley on his side had put a few wooden placards which hung on the walls, one was next to the counter If you’re rude to the staff… NEXT, another one was next to the restrooms Don’t be an artist, they go straight to hell — which was to him, his funniest idea — and last but not least, Enjoy yourself as if it was your last day on Earth. The latter was slightly hidden behind a plant, both Dean and Castiel had found it slightly too ominous for the common civilians to understand.
When it came to the decoration the trio approved together, they agreed on the fact of putting on the mirror behind the counter a few polaroid pictures taken by Dean’s Instax. The device was a birthday gift from his lovers as they both thought about how Dean liked to keep souvenirs and memories of people he loved.
The amount of pictures drastically went up along the time — they had been in the business for two years — it was family and close friends pictures as they came by the brewery. On the top of all the pictures were Sam and Eileen, all smiles — Dean was proud of that one, seeing his little brother blooming was the most comforting thing to him — then was Bobby with Dean — the old man had the proudest dad stance of the universe, both Castiel and Crowley were happy for the retired hunter to have such a supportive presence in his life.
To carry on with the family pictures, there was one of Gabriel and Balthazar, both having the other’s hand behind their back, their fingers making ears above their respective heads — Castiel was the happiest to have at least these two supporting him, all the family issues were far behind them — another with Claire and the trench coated angel hugging.
Most surprisingly, there was a picture of Rowena with Crowley. She was leaning her head against him, without tricks, and one could see on the little picture how pleasantly surprised the demon was. Which was sweet was the “I’m proud of you, Crowley - R” written in a neat cursive writing beneath the picture which had the trio especially as they noticed how genuine it was.
Then came the friends pictures: Garth and Beth — even Crowley came to fully appreciate the werewolf, which was not something expected but it was a relief — then, was Charlie’s with written underneath “+1 in charisma! xoxo”, a blurry Polaroid of Jody — that one was taken by Claire — a very close up shot of Donna which was one of the most chaotic selfie one could be able to see in their lives and lastly, there was one of Mick Davies.
That British man ended up closer to them than what they would all have had ever expected but after he ran away from the British Men of Letter, he became quite a good hunter and more importantly, a friend — even if Dean was at first overly protective when it came to interactions between his lovers and Mick.
As it was trivia night, people were starting to be gathering inside the brewery. It was not a surprise, Dean’s trivia were deeply enjoyed in the neighbourhood and with word-of-mouth recommendations from the regulars, newcomers often went by and ended up coming back.
Dean was glad that his pop culture knowledge had finally come to be useful in his everyday life, and those who were able to answer correctly were winning prizes: it was either drinks, snacks, or some stickers — it depended on the question’s difficulty mostly. He was wondering in the whole space with his microphone, always with a big grin — Crowley always called it a goofy grin instead.
The last question of the day was always something easy for the regulars as a way to thank them to be there.
“To end our great trivia night… What is the best car in the universe?” Dean asked fairly proud of his idea.
When they heard it, Castiel tilted his head in confusion wondering why there would be only car worth to have this title whereas it was such a subjective statement and Crowley on his side, was sighing, shaking his head as he took a sip from his drink.
A few regulars lifted their hands up in the air waiting to be picked to answer.
“You! You put your hand in the air first.” Dean said as he pointed his finger as a rather young man whom was usually coming with his friends.
“A… 67 Chevy Impala?” The man answered shyly at the microphone Dean was handing him.
“And that’s correct! You win the burger of your choice for tonight or for the next time you come over.” Dean winked. “Please know that I would have had accepted the Batmobile as an answer too, bonus point if you bring a real one over on the parking lot!” He added chuckling. “Have a great end of evening here and be safe as you go back home! Thanks again for being that many coming, it means the world to me— to us. We’ll make more events in the future, we’ll let you know what’s cooking up on our social media and yup we’re going to update it soon.”
The end of the evening was much calmer as families were leaving, and then when the trio finally was alone in the brewery after all was cleaned, Dean was having a beer at the counter and he served Castiel a raspberry mojito mocktail which they conveniently named Fallen Angel on the menu, which the angel himself found funny as it was one of his favourite.
“Tell me Squirrel, what do you plan as future activities?” Crowley asked with a new glass poured.
“I thought about karaokes.”
“Feeling nostalgic?” The demon scoffed.
“Shut up, karaokes are cool.” Dean rolled his eyes.
“I like karaokes too.” Castiel shyly added.
“You do?” They both asked in unison, surprised.
“People are happy as they sing. It’s a joyful moment. And I would love to sing with you both.” The angel explained.
“This can be arranged. Only for your pretty eyes.” Crowley smirked as he drank.
“Let’s go then. We should invite your brothers too, Cas, they know how to make a party.” Dean thought.
“They will love that.” Castiel took some sips from his cocktail.
“I’m looking forward seeing Balthazar’s face if someone sing some Céline Dion. Frustrated angels are the funniest.” The demon almost cackled at his own observation.
Before Castiel could even react to that Dean continued to talk about what the other activities could be. “We could invite small groups or solo singers to come and play. Like the indy artists you enjoy.” He finished to talk, looking at Castiel.
“Really?” The angel grinned.
“Yup. It could be easy to bring them over.”
“Squirrel has a good idea for once, I can take care of this.”
“Thank you both.” Castiel hugged Dean and then hugged Crowley as well, being genuinely happy.
“I’m glad if you like it, Cas.” Dean smiled as he enjoyed every single second of the embrace. “I also have another idea.”
“We’re doomed.” Crowley chuckled.
“It can’t be that bad.” Castiel added, yet a bit doubtful.
“Hey! Have faith! I thought about themed nights? You know like Halloween but with a more specific theme maybe once in a month with themed drinks and stuff as well, we could even dress up too—“
Dean did not even have the time to finish his sentence. “If it’s another one of your shenanigans for us to wear a cowboy hat, I will be out that night, Squirrel.” Crowley lifted an eyebrow.
“Come on, please, Bumblebee.” He looked at him feigning a sad face. “Cas, convince him, please?”
“Dean, I— I’m not sure that cowboy hats really suit either of us.” Castiel tried to explain. As the angel saw Dean almost pouting, he quickly added “But… knowing how much you enjoy this… yes. I will wear it.”
“What? I beg your pardon?” Crowley put his drink aside. “Feathers we talked about this! You should’ve been on my side!” He feigned being offended.
“Sorry.” The angel mumbled.
“You dared plotting against me? Your beloved boyfriend? Cowboys are the coolest thing on Earth!” Dean continued.
“Good thing I’m not from Earth strictly speaking.” Crowley smirked.
“You know what I mean.” Dean drank his beer. “And they’re sexy.” He added in a low voice.
“Fine. I’ll wear one as well.” The demon finally admitted.
“You will?” The retired hunter asked dumbfounded.
“Don’t be so flabbergasted or I’ll change my mind.”
“Thank you both.” Dean kissed Crowley and then Castiel passionately.
“Yeehaw.” Castiel interjected with his raspy voice.
“Feathers… don’t do that ever again.” Crowley sighed, trying not to laugh.
“I love you so fucking much.” Dean had the biggest grin looking at the angel. “And I love you too grumpy guy.”
“You better.” The demon’s eyes flashed red.
“Show off.”
“I know you like them, Dean. And these too.”
As Castiel mentioned it and shone his eyes in a light blue colour, Crowley had a satisfied smile and Dean was getting flustered.
“Let’s get home— we uh. Had a long day.” He drank the rest in one go.
Dean’s lovers followed up and they finally closed the brewery for the day. They took the Impala to get back home. Crowley was sitting on the back seat whilst Castiel was on the passenger seat. They both usually switched seats every time they took the car, and sometimes one of the two supernatural beings was the one driving the car, which they both appreciated deeply as it was the ultimate proof of love coming from Dean.
Once they were home, they quickly got undressed and Dean crashed the bed in a black boxer with a pizza slice pattern on it. He was exhausted. When it was like that, Dean rolled on a side of the bed as Crowley lay on the middle and Castiel on the other side. The angel and the former hunter had their heads resting on Crowley’s chest, the demon putting his arm around them, his hands caressing his lovers.
“Sweet dreams, loves.” The demon murmured.
“G’night babes.” Dean mumbled already half asleep.
“Good night, Crowley. Good night, Dean. I love you both.” Castiel closed his eyes a gleeful smile waiting for another beautiful day to be lived with his significant others.
