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Cas knew he shouldn't have been eavesdropping. It was a bad habit, he knew, but he couldn't help it. He wasn't suspicious or jealous or anything like that - he knew Dean was just having his weekly chat with his brother. He was just… curious. That was all. He'd come in from work and had been walking towards the semi-open bedroom door when he'd heard Dean mention his name, and then he'd heard him talk about Valentine's Day, and… well, his interest had been piqued. So now he was hovering outside the door, trying not to breathe too loudly, and hoping that Dean didn't start wondering where he was.
'…so you think that sounds okay?' Dean was asking. There was a pause, presumably while Sam replied, and then Dean laughed. 'Yeah, yeah, I know. Don't tell anyone, okay? I don't want you ruining my reputation by letting it slip that I'm the wine-and-dine sort of guy.'
Cas stifled a laugh of his own. He and Dean had been together for nearly seven years now - not counting the four-year break they'd had after Cas had gone to college in another state and Dean had stayed in Kansas to train as a firefighter - and he was well-accustomed to experiencing Dean's supposedly secret romantic side.
There was another pause, and then Dean spoke again. 'Hey, don't say a word about this, but I picked up Cas's gift yesterday. I won't tell you what it is, but let's just say… diamonds.'
Cas's breath caught in his throat and he almost coughed and gave the game away. Diamonds? Surely that meant some kind of jewellery? He didn't really wear any jewellery, though. Dean knew that. So why would he…?
It couldn't be… could it? Cas stared at the bedroom door, hardly daring to let the thought enter his mind. Could Dean really be planning to… propose?
God, Cas hoped he was right. They'd been together for so long, and they both knew they didn't want anyone else. They were both settled into good, stable jobs, and had an apartment together. It was the perfect time to make things more official.
Cas knew he could still act surprised on Sunday night. He hadn't seen the ring yet, after all, and he didn't know exactly what Dean was planning. He'd never have to know that Cas had overheard him. But this gave him some time to think about how he was going to react, and how to not look like a complete idiot when the love of his life asked him the most important question in the world.
Realising that Dean was now finishing his conversation with Sam, and that his eavesdropping would be discovered soon, Cas tiptoed back to the front door of the apartment, quietly opened it, then let it close again with a bit of a bang.
'I'm home!' he announced cheerily.
Dean came out of the bedroom, smiling widely, and went over to give his boyfriend a quick kiss. 'Fun day?' he asked.
Cas made a face. 'About as fun as it ever is.'
'Serves you right for working for a big-ass, boring corporation,' Dean teased.
'Thank you for reminding me,' Cas said wryly. 'At least it's the weekend now.'
Dean smiled. 'Yeah. I hope you're free Sunday night.'
'Oh?' Cas replied, feigning innocence. 'Why? Is something happening?'
Dean winked at him. 'Fancy going out for dinner with a hot firefighter?'
'Which one? I thought you said none of the guys in your team were that good-looking,' Cas remarked slyly.
'Ass,' Dean muttered, smacking Cas's arm playfully.
Cas grinned and caught Dean's hand, pulling him closer. 'What a good idea,' he murmured, his fingers trailing round the top of Dean's belt to rest on his ass.
'You're impossible,' Dean replied, copying Cas's actions and stealing a kiss.
'And don't you love it,' Cas said with a grin. Dean tried to go in for a second kiss, but Cas stopped him with a finger on his lips. 'Anyway,' he said. 'You were talking about tomorrow?'
'Was I?' Dean asked, nibbling the tip of Cas's finger instead.
'Something about having dinner with a hot firefighter?'
Dean laughed. 'You up for it?'
'Fuck yes,' Cas replied.
'Seven-thirty?'
Cas answered that question with another kiss.
-----X-----
Saturday seemed to pass in a happy haze, and Sunday morning was much the same. Dean was out on his shift at the fire station, and was due back shortly after six. Cas had intended to finish a book he'd been reading, but right now he just couldn't concentrate. He knew Dean was going to ask him. He just knew it. He'd even seen Dean hiding what had looked like a small black box that morning. It was actually happening. Tonight. In about eight hours.
Cas hadn't even had to think about what his answer was going to be. There was no question about it. Dean had been the one for him right from the start.
They'd met during their freshman year in high school, and were notorious for being practically inseparable. Since neither of them were the type to go for sappy public displays of affection, they'd taken to pranking each other instead: Cas had hidden a fart machine in Dean's bag during school and stuck a balloon over the end of the exhaust pipe of his beloved car, while Dean had wrapped all of Cas's school books in tin foil and given him doughnuts filled with mayonnaise instead of cream. All that had been interspersed with heated make-out sessions behind the bike sheds and dates at their favourite burger place, and later, frequent slumber parties which had never involved very much actual sleeping.
When Cas had moved to Chicago for his degree in theology, Dean's absence had bothered him far more than he'd thought it would. They'd kept in contact, of course, and even met up for a few dates during Cas's vacation time, but it just hadn't been enough. Whatever he had with Dean, it wasn't just some fleeting high school romance that just disappeared when they became adults. Cas wanted Dean around all the time, and it turned out that Dean had wanted the same thing. Moving in together straight after Cas's graduation had been a rather spontaneous idea, but they wouldn't have changed it for the world.
Cas had considered pulling another prank for Valentine's Day this year, but since overhearing Dean's conversation on Friday, he'd changed his mind. They didn't normally do anything special for the day - except have completely mind-blowing sex - and Cas didn't want to spoil whatever Dean had planned. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he was getting more and more excited about it as the day went on. Dean was going to propose. They were going to get engaged. They were going to get married. Tonight. Well - not married tonight, but still. Engaged. Tonight.
-----X-----
When Dean arrived home just after six o'clock, Cas was practically buzzing with excitement.
'You're eager,' Dean remarked, as Cas tried to kiss him before he'd even had a chance to take his shoes off.
Cas grinned. 'I have a hot date tonight.'
'So do I,' Dean replied with a wink. 'I need to jump in the shower first, though.'
'Mind if I join you?' Cas asked cheekily.
Dean laughed and shook his head in mock-despair. 'You know we've only got about an hour before we have to leave, right?'
'That's never stopped us before,' Cas pointed out. He leaned in closer and lightly nibbled Dean's earlobe.
Dean sucked in a breath. 'God, Cas,' he breathed. 'I can't ever say no to you.'
'Good,' Cas said smugly. 'Now: shower.'
-----X-----
They ended up being ten minutes late for their reservation at the Italian restaurant Dean had chosen, but thankfully the place had kept their table for them. It really was a nice place, Cas noted as they sat down. They hardly ever went to places like this, both of them usually going for a good, greasy burger whenever they went out to eat. But this was nice. Not too fancy, certainly not stuck-up and pretentious, but it was classy. And romantic.
The food was delicious, as was the wine, and they ended up sharing a lemon tart for dessert, occasionally feeding each other forkfuls of pastry, filling, and maybe a little too much whipped cream. Cas may have gotten some on Dean's nose at one point. Accidentally, of course.
Then the meal was over and they were just sipping their wine, their hands intertwined on top of the table. The restaurant wasn't as full as it had been earlier, but it was by no means empty and music was playing quietly from speakers hidden in the ceiling. Cas was feeling very… content. He squeezed Dean's hand, and Dean leaned over for a kiss.
'Hey, um… I got you a little something,' he said, blushing slightly. 'I know we don't usually do gifts, but…'
Cas's heart did a little backflip as Dean placed an envelope and a small, rectangular box on the table between them. This was it. Oh God, this was it.
'Open the box first,' Dean prompted.
Cas found that his hand was shaking as he reached out and picked the box up, and he mentally berated himself. He needed to get a grip, otherwise Dean would know that he knew what was going on. The box was slightly heavier than he'd expected, and was made of polished dark wood instead of the usual velvety material, but then again, Dean had always liked to do things a bit differently. Cas untied the silver ribbon around it and lifted the lid to reveal -
A pack of playing cards? Cas blinked in confusion.
'You like it?' Dean asked.
Cas looked up and gave him a bemused smile that hopefully hid his disappointment. He had been so sure…
'Um - yes,' he replied, a little cautiously. 'Er - why playing cards, exactly?'
Dean gave a triumphant grin and took the deck, flipping through it until he pulled one of the cards out. 'Diamonds! See?'
Cas just stared at the card, then at Dean. 'Diamonds,' he echoed, a laugh bursting out of him at the ridiculousness of how certain he'd been. Then - wait, he wasn't supposed to know about the diamonds, was he? He'd only overheard it. He quickly tried to cover his mistake. 'Er - diamonds?'
Dean was grinning even more now. 'What, you think I didn't realise you were listening to my conversation with Sammy?' he asked. 'Man, Cas, you've gotta learn to walk a bit quieter if you want to eavesdrop properly.'
Cas was feeling like a complete and utter idiot now. God, Dean had known he'd been listening… The whole 'diamonds' thing had been a prank all along, and he'd fallen for it completely.
'Hey,' Dean said, tapping the envelope. 'You can open this now.'
Cas laughed again and shook his head, despairing of his own gullibility. As disappointed as he was that Dean hadn't actually proposed, he had to admit, the prank was a brilliant one. Much better than anything he'd have come up with. He took the envelope and opened it, pulling out a rather adorable card with a chubby cherub firing a golden arrow into a large red heart. Inside, Dean had written -
''Just kidding'?' Cas read aloud. He looked up at Dean. 'What -?'
But Dean wasn't in his seat. Blinking, Cas lowered the card and stared. Dean was on the carpet, kneeling down, a black velvet box in his hands and a hopeful, slightly sheepish smile on his face.
'Cas?' he asked, opening the box to reveal a slender silver band. 'Will you marry me?'
Cas let out a surprised (and embarrassingly loud) laugh, one hand coming up to his face to hide his rapidly growing blush.
'God, Dean,' he managed to say. 'God, yes, you sneaky, sappy son of a bitch. Yes!'
Dean's smile changed from hopeful to a mixture of relieved and overjoyed, and he gently slid the ring onto Cas's finger. There was applause coming from somewhere in the background, but Cas didn't pay any attention to it as he leaned down and kissed Dean full on the lips.
When they eventually broke apart and Dean returned to his chair, Cas looked down at the ring and laughed delightedly.
'Hey - diamonds!'
Dean grinned and winked. 'Diamonds.'