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When he woke up this morning, Dean thought it would be another routine hunt. They've taken down Leviathians, Archangels and God Himself. A vampire nest should be easy, right?
He really should have listened to his gut. He'd had a bad feeling when he'd laid his eyes on the familiar vampire, Jenny, but he'd brushed it off easily.
Now, faced with a tearful Sam, Dean knows he's rambling. He's not entirely sure what he's saying, but he knows this is it. Oddly enough, he doesn't feel any pain, even though he knows this wound is fatal. Logically, he's aware that outside of supernatural intervention, he's not making it through this, and he's surprisingly okay with that. He's tired. More so than his age belies. He's been through so much and he really doesn't know what else to do with himself other than hunting.
“I need you to tell me....tell me it's okay.” he hears himself ask Sam. Even now, he needs to know Sam will be okay without him.
He sees Sam's tears, and that makes him hesitate, but he knows that Sam will get though this. He's managed without Dean before. He doesn't need him.
“Dean...it's okay,” Sam struggles to get it out, even as he attempts to look reassuring, “you can go now.”
Dean pulls Sam in, for one last hug before he bids his brother goodbye for now. He closes his eyes.
Dean blinks his eyes open, squinting into the light. He sees a beautiful mountain range and grins to himself.
“Well, at least I made it to heaven.”
“Yep.”
Dean startles at the familiar voice, turning around to find Bobby, lounging in a chair outside what looks like Harvelle's Roadhouse. He furrows his brow, confused.
“What memory is this?”
Bobby chuckles, “it ain't, ya idjit,”
Dean moves towards him, wanting to be sure this isn't a trick of his mind.
“Yeah, it is...cause last I heard, you...you were in heaven's lock up.”
Bobby rolls his eyes, a move so familiar it makes Dean's heart ache.
“Was. Now I'm not,” he pauses, taking a drink of his beer, “That kid of yours, before he went...wherever, made some changes here. Busted my ass out. And then he...well, he set some things right. Tore down all the walls up here. Heaven ain't just reliving your golden oldies anymore. It's what it always should have been... Everyone happy, everyone together.”
Bobby pauses, standing from his seat, clapping Dean on his shoulder, “It ain't just Heaven, Dean. It's the Heaven you deserve...and we've been waiting for you.”
Dean struggles to grasp the concept, “So...Jack did all this?”
Bobby gives a little half smile, “Well...Cas helped.”
Dean feels his heart jump in his chest, “C-cas?”
“Like anything could keep him from you,” Bobby grumbled, “They had some help too.”
Dean just blinks, stunned. He's afraid to hope, but this is Bobby. He'd never be this cruel.
Bobby just grips him by the shoulders, “Now then, you ready to see everyone? They've been waiting.”
Dean nods, still a little shocked, as Bobby guides him through the doors of Harvelle's.
“SURPRISE!!!!” he hears a voice yell, before he's tackled in a hug, red hair partially obscuring his vision. The person is familiar, and he instinctively hugs back, before looking down to see Charlie grinning up at him. She steps back slightly, allowing him to take in the rest of the room.
He sees all his friends and family scattered around the room, smiles on their faces as they notice his arrival.
“I've missed you so much!” Charlie gives him another tight hug, before releasing him, “I'll let you go see everyone else, but you better not leave without saying goodbye!” she threatens, but it's tempered by her huge grin.
Dean's gaze trails after her, watching as Charlie hops up onto a seat at the bar, happily accepting a drink from Ellen. He lets his gaze wander over the rest of the bar, catching sight of his mom smiling at him from a secluded corner booth. He makes his way over to her, only stopped once by Rufus, who smacks his shoulder and grumbles, “Took your sweet time didn't ya?”
As he approaches the booth, the broad silhouette of John Winchester comes into view, making him hesitate slightly. But Heaven seems to have done wonders for the man's attitude, as John seems relaxed, nursing a cold beer with a rare smile on his face, his other hand loosely holding Mary's.
Mary stands to greet her son, sweeping him into a warm hug.
“Dean!” she laughs into his ear, her grin evident from her tone. Dean catches his father's eye over her shoulder, and John raises his beer in toast, wide smile spreading over his features, to Dean's surprise.
Once Mary lets him out of the tight hug, he's pulled down to sit on her other side, as she eagerly shoves a warm slice of apple pie at him.
“Sam good?” John asks, tone neutral.
“Sammy's a big boy, he can take care of himself.” Dean responds, a little defensive, as Mary squeezes his hand.
Dean's almost expecting John to argue, but all he does is lean back with a smile. “That's my boy. You did good son.”
Dean's stunned into silence at his father's attitude, and quickly shovels a forkful pie into his mouth instead of responding. As he goes to swallow, he's startled into choking by a loud 'pop' sound, as Jack appears at the table.
“Hello Dean!” he grins, hand raised in his usual wave, small frown on his face, “We were hoping it'd be a bit longer before you showed up.”
“I don't know how you did it, kid,” Dean starts, “but this is way better than the old Heaven.”
Jack beams proudly at him, eager as always for Dean's approval. “Cas did a lot of it.” he admits, smiling, “we wanted to make sure it was good enough for you.” he continues, earnestly.
Mary shoots Dean a sly grin, which he pointedly ignores.
“Where is he anyway?” he asks, trying not to sound too eager.
Jack pauses, tilting his head to the side in a move so reminiscent of Castiel that it makes Dean blink. He seems to be communicating with Castiel, frowning.
“He's...” Jack pauses, as if trying to find the right words, “...busy with something.”
Dean's face falls, and it doesn't go unnoticed by any of the others at the table. Mary nudges him out the booth gently, “Don't let us hog you, there's a lot of other people who made time to come see you today, Dean.”
Dean opens his mouth to argue, but Mary beats him to it, “Nope, no arguments, just make sure you don't forget to visit us once you've settled in,” with that, Mary gets up from the booth, pulling John along, and they give him final hugs before heading out the front door of Harvelle's.
Jack smiles up at Dean, “I have to go check in on something, but if you need me, just pray, and I'll hear it.” he disappears with another 'pop', leaving Dean alone in the corner.
He's still trying to collect himself, when he hears a feminine voice clear their throat pointedly. “You know, it's rude to keep a lady waiting!”
Dean spins around, only to find a smirking Rowena lounging in another booth, beckoning to him, surrounded by Crowley, and Meg, who both look annoyed to be there.
“-how?” Dean stutters, confused. Last he checked, Rowena was running Hell, and Crowley and Meg were both lost to the Empty.
Meg smirks at him, “Did you really think our little tree topper would leave the Empty without us?”
“No more dilly-dallying!” Rowena exclaims, “we're on borrowed time as it is,” she reminds them, gesturing to the steadily trickling hourglass in the middle of their table.
Dean can't help but laugh incredulously, even as Crowley smirks, “You little boyfriend really made Heaven perfect just for you Squirrel.”
Dean settles in, eager to catch up with his long-lost friends.
After what seems like hours, Dean has finally made his way through all his friends and family, as they slowly trickled out with reminders to visit when he could. The only people left are Bobby, Ellen and Jo, as even Ash and Charlie take their leave, chattering about some new web project they're currently working on.
Dean lets out a sigh as he sits at the empty bar, watching Bobby and Ellen bicker good-naturedly.
“Aren't you eager to get home?” Jo asks from the seat next to him.
“Home?” he asks, confused. He thought this was home.
“Yeah,” she rolls her eyes, “pretty sure Cas and Jack have a pretty sweet set up for you somewhere. They've been talking about it for weeks.”
“Has everyone seen Cas but me?” Dean grumbles, frustrated as he moves to stand, which only makes Jo laugh.
“Headed out, boy?” Bobby calls, as he and Ellen come to the door to give him last hugs.
“He misses his boyfriend!” Jo yells from the bar, laughing.
“Joanna-Beth! Mind your own damn business.” Ellen scolds, shushing her before turning to Dean, “I'm sure he'll turn up real soon.” she whispers as she hugs Dean.
Dean leaves, heart a little heavy, as he climbs into Baby, heading down the single gravel road. As much as he enjoyed seeing all his old friends, there is one person who he's been missing more than anyone. As he drives down the road, he has time to stew, only growing more and more annoyed at his favorite angel.
Before he knows it, he's pulling into the driveway of a homey cottage, complete with detached garage. It's late, but the lights are on inside, making him hesitate, but somehow, he knows that this is his house. He shoves the door open, light spilling out into the night and he catches sight of a familiar figure in a trenchcoat, standing in the doorway to the kitchen.
“Hello, Dean,” Cas greets him, clearly nervous.
Dean just stares at him, mouth agape, as words seem to fail him. He was more than ready to yell at Cas about not showing up to his welcome party, but seeing him again, after all this time, all the fight just drains out of him. He stares at Castiel, still unable to believe he's really here.
Cas clears his throat awkwardly, shifting his weight as the silence stretches on.
“Maybe I should-,” he starts, gesturing vaguely upwards, as if to leave, finally snapping Dean out of his trance.
“Don't you fucking dare!” Dean growls, startling Cas, as he strides forwards with purpose, stopping momentarily in front of Cas before reaching out and pulling him into a bone-crushing hug. Castiel tenses for a moment, before he melts into the embrace, arms coming up to hug Dean back.
“Fuck, I missed you,” Dean mumbles into Cas' collar, before he pulls back, hands still clutching onto the lapels of Castiel's trenchcoat, as if afraid that if he let go, Cas would just disappear again.
Cas blinks, trying to focus on Dean's face. “I....I wasn't sure if I'd be....welcome...” he trails off, averting his gaze, sounding embarrassed.
“Why the fuck not?” Dean demands, still refusing to let him go.
“The last thing I said...” he starts, but seems unable to go on.
Dean looks at him sharply, an angry glint in his eye, “About that,” he starts, clearly aggravated.
“I'm sorry Dean,” Cas says, without meeting his eyes, “I know that probably wasn't what you wanted to hear...”
“The hell are you on about Cas?” Dean demands, stepping back, willing Cas to meet his gaze.
“I didn't want to make you uncomfortable, but that was the only way.” Cas states, a pleading note in his voice.
“Uncomfortable?” Dean is incredulous, “What the actual hell Cas?”
“Maybe I should leave...”
“DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE, I'M NOT DONE!” Dean practically yells, making Cas finally look up.
He takes a deep breath, trying to gather his thoughts.
“The problem -” he starts, “The problem was...”
He holds up his hand to stop Cas when he sees that Cas is about to interrupt.
“The problem was, that was a really shitty ass thing to do to me Cas. No, let me finish.” he says, stopping Cas once again, “ I need to get this out now. Like, who the fuck tells someone they love them, then fucking dies and goes to super angel hell? Huh?”
“Dean, I-”
“Nope, shut the fuck up Cas. It's my turn to talk.”
Cas seems to shrink in on himself, as he prepares to let Dean shout at him.
“Like, I didn't even get the chance to say anything! And then you were gone! Gone, Cas!” Dean yells, giving Cas a rough shove backwards into the wall.
“I barely had time to get my head around what you said before you were TAKEN from me!” Dean rants, slightly hysterical, “I NEEDED YOU!” Dean seems to deflate after that outburst.
“I needed you, Cas,” he says again, quietly, “Why would you do that?” he asks, hurt.
“Dean...” Cas starts, reaching for him, trying to comfort him, but not quite knowing how, “if there had been any other way...”
Dean seems to shake himself out of it, “I prayed to you every night, hoping you'd manage some sort of miracle.” he mumbles, almost to himself.
“Dean...” Cas looks distraught.
“I couldn't even bring myself to wash the jacket,” he says, almost as if he's talking to himself, “that was the only thing I had left...”
“Oh, Dean,” Cas seems to be upset at how much his 'death' seems to have affected Dean, “I didn't think-”
“What?” Dean snaps, “That I'd care? That I'd feel like a part of me was missing? You're my best friend Cas!”
“I know, Dean,” Cas sighs, “but what I said, it would have changed things.”
Dean stares Cas in the eyes defiantly, “Would it?”
Cas furrows his brow, confused, “Of course it would, how I feel about you Dean, no matter how one-sided-”
“Well you didn't even give me a chance to respond!”
“Dean, there's no need to pretend-”
“Cas, I prayed to you.” Dean states.
“Yes, Dean, many times.”
“I PRAYED to YOU. In purgatory,” he says, “I gave you a mixtape!”
“Which I appreciated very much Dean.”
“Jesus Christ Cas,” Dean shouts, before grabbing fistfuls of the trenchcoat, shoving him back against the wall, before crushing his lips to Cas'.
Castiel freezes in shock, unable to do anything but blink. Dean makes a muffled sound and starts pulling away, and that's enough to spur Castiel into action. As Dean tries to pull away, Cas chases his lips, pulling him Dean against him and pressing their lips together, startling Dean into a moan. Castiel takes the opportunity to deepen the kiss, groaning as he pulls Dean flush against him.
After a few minutes, they break away, panting. Dean leans against Cas, “That's how I would have responded.”
“That was...unexpected,” Cas says, still holding him close, “You never cease to surprise me Dean Winchester.”
“Gotta keep your attention somehow,” Dean grumbles, before letting out a yawn, “this is heaven, why am I tired?”
“Humans like routine,” Cas says, matter-of-fact, “people are far happier being allowed to stick to their usual habits.”
Dean pushes off gently, before turning and heading for the stairs. When he reaches the foot of it, he turns to Cas, “Well?”
Cas simply raises an eyebrow in question.
“Are you coming with, or what?” Dean demands, clearly expecting Cas to say yes.
Cas grins, wide and gummy, “You know I don't need to sleep Dean,” he says, even as he moves to follow.
“Yeah, yeah, stupid angel bullshit,” Dean grumbles, “you can 'watch over me as I sleep'...or...”
“..or?”
“...or we can find other things to do in the bedroom...” Dean teases.
“I like the sound of that,” Cas smiles, as he crowds Dean onto the bed, “we have all the time in the world...and there are many things I would like to try with you Dean.”
THE END