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The first time it happened, everyone was pretty shocked.
Maybe the fact that it was Adam and Michael getting married made Dean feel just comfortable enough to experiment with his own sexuality. Maybe the fact that they were both only a couple months out from nasty breakups made them both just barely sad and desperate enough. Maybe the obvious sexual tension that had been building between the two close friends had just finally hit a bursting point. Maybe they were just trying to freak everyone out.
Whatever the reason, nobody was expecting Dean and Castiel to start making out in the corner of the reception, but… there they were.
"Uh… You think I should go stop that?" Benny muttered, leaning over to Sam. When Sam looked in the direction he was pointing, he nearly choked on his champagne.
Then he nearly choked on it again laughing.
"Dude, no. If Dean's drunk enough to stick his tongue down Cas's throat, then it's time for him to learn that actions have consequences." He clapped Benny on the shoulder. "Let him embarrass himself. They're tight enough, it's not like they're gonna stop talking or anything. He'll be humiliated for a couple of days, Cas will glare at him and tell him to get over himself, it'll all be fine."
Eventually Sam got too wrapped up in talking to Michael's cousin Jess to worry about how his brother might be humiliating himself with his best friend. Especially once he learned that Jess lived in San Francisco, too, and was also only in town for the wedding.
And everything seemed to work itself out. As Sam had predicted, there was no big falling-out over the indiscretion. If anything, Dean seemed to be spending even more time with Cas in the months after the wedding incident. Sam, for his part, was a good little brother and never brought it up again.
Then came Benny and Andrea's wedding.
Sam hadn't even thought that Dean was all that drunk, but the impressive hickey he was leaving on Cas's neck said otherwise. Cas seemed perfectly fine with it, and Sam wondered for a moment if they might have some kind of friends-with-benefits thing going on that they weren't telling anyone about.
But that seemed ridiculous. They were way too close for that. Hell, Cas came to family holidays and shit half the time. No way would they want to complicate things that much. And anyhow, he knew Cas wasn't into the casual thing as much as Dean was—as far as Sam knew, Cas had never had a one night stand in his life. Making out a couple times a year, in public where they couldn't even take it that far, was one thing. He couldn't see Cas and his brother fucking regularly and still managing to maintain a totally normal friendship.
So he just laughed about them with Jess all night.
When Dean called him up a couple months later, he thought the whole weird thing was finally at an end.
"Hey, I got some good news!" Dean said, and Sam could practically hear his smile.
"Yeah? You get a date with that hot waitress you've always liked at the diner by Bobby's house?" Sam teased. He kind of hoped that the news was that Dean was seeing someone, honestly—it'd been nearly a year since he and Lisa broke up, and while he assumed Dean must have had some dates, there'd been nothing that had lasted long enough for him to tell Sam about.
"Ah, fuck you, man, not funny," Dean said, actually sounding mildly annoyed. Sam wondered if maybe he had gotten up the nerve to ask out the waitress and been shot down. "No, bitch, when my lease is up at the end of next month, I'm gonna move in with Cas."
Sam blinked. That was cool and all, but not quite call-your-brother-worthy. Cas had an actual house, much nicer than Dean's crappy little apartment, so Sam could see the appeal. But they were both nearing thirty—not really the time when most people are gaining roommates.
"Cool," Sam said, not quite managing to mask his confusion. "He's got a nice place. You guys'll have a lot of fun living together. Um… why now, though?"
"Why now?" Dean repeated, sounding even more confused than Sam. "I dunno, why not now? Seems like the thing to do, right? Aw, Sammy, you worried we're moving too fast? Protecting your brother's honor?"
Sam snorted at Dean's dripping sarcasm. "Yeah, like you have any honor to protect. I think you left it all in the back seat of Rhonda Hurley's car on prom night."
"Hey, I don't have to take this abuse. How are you and Jess doing? I need something to give you shit about now."
After they got off the phone, Sam let go of any stray ideas about Dean and Cas sleeping together on the sly. If that were the case, no way would Dean move in with the dude, and no way would he be able to joke with Sam about the idea of them being together. If they were doing shit and hiding it, he'd be more likely to splutter and choke up at the implication than to make his own joke about it.
Which made it all the more shocking when it happened a-fucking-gain at Sam's own wedding six months later.
Dean had been acting strange about dating and shit for months. He'd agreed readily to be Sam's best man, of course. But every time Sam brought up anything about having a date for the wedding, Dean got weird.
"Sooooo, wedding's only a couple months away. Anyone you're thinking of bringing?"
"Uh…. I dunno, Cas?"
"Besides Cas, dumbass."
"Why would I bring someone besides Cas?"
"Whatever, dude. Did you get the info Jess emailed about the tux fitting?"
Then a few weeks later…
"Y'know, Jess's friend Annie is the only bridesmaid who's single, but she's pretty hot."
"Jess know you're after her buddy?"
"Ha ha, jerk. She's totally your type, though. I could give you her number before the wedding."
"Yeah, ha ha back at you. Didn't you call me for a reason? Something about a florist you need me to go talk to?"
Sam knew that Dean and Cas had become pretty inseparable since they'd moved in together, but even he was kind of surprised when he got back to town. Cas had been more or less a member of the family for a few years, but Sam hadn't been expecting him to be involved in wedding prep. But there he was at their mom's house every day, helping Dean fold programs or put together favors. He even came to the rehearsal dinner. Sam wondered seriously if he needed to have an intervention and tell Dean that he and his BFF were maybe getting a little codependent.
And then, a few hours into the reception when everyone was kind of tipsy and having fun on the dance floor, he looked over and saw what was very definitely his brother making out with what was very definitely his brother's roommate. He kept sneaking glances as he and Jess danced, and when the two finally came up for air and Dean headed to the bar, Sam met him there.
"You, uh, you sure you need any more, Dean?" Sam said, eyeing the two glasses of whiskey the bartender was pouring.
"Ah, I'm fine, dude. Not gonna drive or anything, I'm good." Dean was definitely on the drunk side of tipsy, judging from his slightly slurred words. "Don't get trashed much anymore, but m'little brother doesn't get hitched every day!"
"Just… don't do anything you'll regret in the morning, okay?" Sam cast a pointed, if worried, glance in Castiel's direction.
"Nah, Cas is great at gettin' me through hangovers, I'll be fine." Dean picked up his glasses.
"I wasn't exactly talking about hangovers, Dean," Sam gritted out. He really hoped he didn't have to come out and say don't get so drunk you fuck your male best friend whom you now live with. "I… saw you guys. In the corner."
Dean just laughed. "Don't worry, man, we won't do anything too dirty 'til the parents have all gone home. That's you and Jess's job, anyhow." Then the fucker winked at him and took the drinks back to Cas.
Sam rolled his eyes and ordered another beer for himself and a martini for Jess. Let Dean make his own dumb mistakes, then, if he wasn't going to listen to Sam's warnings.
The next day, Mary hosted a brunch that all of their out-of-town guests were invited to. Sam wasn't as surprised as he thought he should be when Dean showed up with Cas in tow.
What was really weird was how totally-not-weird they were acting. Both men were sporting hickeys, and everyone in the room must have seen where they got them, but neither seemed at all embarrassed. They sat next to each other and talked and ate like there was nothing strange at all, and Sam started to wonder if he'd been wrong about the friends-with-benefits thing, because if they could act like this after that, then maybe they could hide anything.
As they were clearing the table afterward, the guests hanging out in the living room, Mary put an arm around Dean's shoulders.
"Well, that's one son married off. When is it going to be two, Dean?"
Dean shrugged her off and put a pile of plates in the sink.
"C'mon, mom, Sam's been married for less than a day, can't you just enjoy that for a little while before you start up with the whole peer pressure thing?"
"Dude," Sam said, loading some glasses into the dishwasher, "if she moves on to you then maybe she won't bug us for grandkids just yet."
"I most certainly will," Mary said with a smile. She patted Dean's cheek. "You know I just want to see you happy, honey. Speaking of…"
Her eyes landed on Cas, who had just appeared in the doorway. She went over and took his arm in hers.
"Castiel, why don't you and I go out on the porch and have a little talk?"
"Mom!" Dean spun around, splashing water from the plate he was rinsing everywhere. "Don't, okay? Do not start with Cas."
Cas, however, had always had a strange bond with their mother, and the fact that Mary talking to him was freaking Dean out seemed to only energize him. His eyes reflected the sparkle in hers as he led the way to the door.
"I would love to chat with you, Mary," he said, flashing a devious look Dean's way.
Dean turned back to the dishes, grumbling.
"Man, if those two gang up on you, you'll be walking down the aisle before you know it," Sam teased him. Dean just shook his head as he rinsed a plate, but he was blushing. Weird.
Also weird was the fact that Cas was also blushing when he and Mary came inside. Sam started to wonder if maybe something actually was going on, but they acted perfectly normal for the next two hours, until Sam and Jess left for their honeymoon.
So he put it out of his mind, and didn't really think about it again until he returned to town three months later for Charlie's wedding. They'd been planning to get in the night before, but their flight was cancelled due to bad weather in Denver where they had a layover. So he and Jess only got into KCI and drove into Lawrence with an hour or so to spare before the ceremony.
Charlie was Dean's best friend from high school (way earlier, really), and Dorothy was Cas's best friend from high school. So, since Dean and Cas had introduced them, they made the two their best men. Which meant that Sam did not get to see Dean until the ceremony. And even afterward, he only got to say hi briefly in the receiving line before the best men were expected to go do wedding party photos while the guests headed to the reception.
Sam and Jess went around and said hi to Benny and some of Dean's other high school buddies while everyone ate the appetizers and got their first glasses of wine. Eventually, Dorothy's sister, who was her bridesmaid, came in and found a mic.
"Okay guys, the rest of the wedding party is here, we're just waiting for the lovely brides themselves to finish up a few last photos and join us. They'll probably be here in the next ten or fifteen minutes, so start making your way to your seats!"
Sam and Jess found themselves not too far from the head table seated next to Dorothy's cousin Becky and her boyfriend Chuck. Right after they sat down and the two couples introduced themselves, Becky excused herself to the restroom.
When she returned, her eyes were wide and she seemed to be bursting with news.
"Oh my god, you guys," she squealed quietly, "you will never believe what I just saw!"
Sam and Jess exchanged a questioning glance and then leaned in to hear.
"The two best men are totally making out in the hallway just past the bathrooms!" She looked way too excited about this for someone who had never even met either Dean or Cas. "They look so hot together! No offense, sweetie." Becky smiled at her boyfriend, who just shrugged.
Sam and Jess burst out laughing.
"Wow, they're starting early," Jess said between giggles.
"Sorry," Sam said to Becky as he got his laughter under control. "Dean's my brother. They, uh, they do that. They usually wait until they've had some to drink, but who knows how much the wedding party's had already."
"So they're together?"
"No, they just… make out at weddings. I dunno, it's their thing, I guess. This makes… huh…" He thought for a second, counting. "I guess this is the fourth one now?"
"They sure look like they've done it before!" Becky said, her enthusiasm starting to border on creepy. But just then, Charlie and Dorothy came in, and everyone stood up to clap for them.
Sam noticed his brother and Cas slipping in after them, Dean wiping at his mouth and both of them sneaking glances at each other as they quickly made their way up to the head table.
The usual wedding stuff happened. Mediocre food was served and eaten, and speeches started up. Dean related a couple of embarrassing childhood stories about Charlie, then told the story of how he and Cas had introduced them, which had Charlie and Dorothy gazing at each other lovingly and everyone in the audience cooing. Then it was Cas's turn.
"Since Dorothy and I did not meet until ninth grade, but did not go to college together, unlike Dean I do not have any stories to share that involve anyone streaking down the street naked." He paused while everyone laughed. "However, I can embarrass both of us by explaining how we both thought we were straight when we were fourteen, and the disastrous two months we spent trying to date before we figured everything out…"
Dorothy hid her face until Cas had finished his story.
"Unfortunately, Dean seems to have stolen the second half of my speech, and while the tale of love at first sight when these lovely ladies met is a timeless romance, I worry that none of you will be able to eat the cake after hearing it twice in a row. Therefore, I will move on to another topic entirely, which Dorothy and Charlie encouraged me to include here." Dorothy's head whipped up at that, and both she and Charlie's eyes went wide, as did their grins. "Dorothy was my best friend for several years—until I met Dean Winchester. And as Dorothy has reminded me several times recently, this is Dean's second best man stint in just a few months, and his third time in a wedding party in the past year." He looked straight over at Dean. "Always a bridesmaid, never the bride," Dean flipped him off at this, which only made Cas laugh, "and for some reason, my love, our friends think that it's my job to fix that. And that it would be very appropriate for me to do so at a wedding reception."
Sam frowned. What the hell was going on here? This just got really weird. He watched as his brother's face went slack with disbelief, as Cas put down the mic and crossed behind Dorothy and Charlie (who were absolutely squealing and bouncing in their seats by this time) to him, as Dean said "No way!" in a way that did not sound nearly as confused as Sam thought it should.
His jaw dropped as Cas got down on one knee, pulled out an actual ring in an actual ringbox, and asked Dean to marry him. Dean hid his eyes with one hand for a moment, and Sam fully expected him or Cas—or Charlie, or Dorothy, or somebody—to burst out laughing right then and somehow explain the joke to the room.
Instead… instead when Dean moved his hand away he was actually wiping away tears. Actual, literal tears. From his eyes. Sam exchanged a very confused look with his wife. Dean stood up and pulled Cas to his feet, too, and then into a tight hug. Sam was seated just close enough to the head table that he could hear what Dean said next, even though it seemed to be aimed only at Cas. At least, he thought he could, but his brain could not quite wrap itself around the idea of his brother responding to this whole thing by saying "Of course, you asshole." The asshole part, sure, but what did he mean by—
But Sam's brain did not manage to solve that mystery before it was re-broken by the fact that his brother and Cas were now kissing openly, in front of everyone. And Charlie and Dorothy were screaming and clapping as if this all made sense. Actually, most of the room was clapping by that point. Sam looked around frantically, and saw that their mother was also clapping and crying as if her son had actually just gotten engaged, which definitely was not what had happened. Was it?
"What the fuck is going on?" Jess whispered to him, as she started to clap along with everyone else.
"I have no fucking clue," he muttered. Dorothy and Charlie were now attacking Dean and Castiel with hugs while Dorothy's sister made a joke about how they'd be moving on to the cake cutting if nobody else had any proposals they'd like to get out of the way first.
They got through the cake cutting, and the cake eating, and some toasts and such, and finally the first dance and a couple other traditional dances with the brides' families and the wedding party. With Dean and Cas doing an amazing impression of a newly-engaged couple through all of it. Finally, Sam saw his brother sneak out toward the bathrooms, and he went after him.
As soon as Dean came out of the bathroom, he pounced.
"Dude," was all he said at first. Dean was all smiles.
"Dude, I had no idea he was gonna do that. Apparently it was Charlie's freakin' idea, he says the brides had to talk him into it because he didn't want to step on their special day. What a dork."
Dean was… actually really happy. Excited. Sam was conflicted—on the one hand, he didn't want to ruin that, but on the other hand, he felt like someone had to point out to Dean that he and Cas weren't even together?
"Dean, what—you and Cas?"
Dean waited for a second, then when Sam didn't continue, he frowned. "Me and Cas what?"
Sam gestured helplessly. "What was that?"
"Uh…" Dean held up his left hand, which was now sporting the ring. Sam blinked at it dumbly. "That was me and Cas getting engaged? Kinda thought it was obvious?"
"But you—" Sam took a deep breath and lowered his voice. "Since when are you and Cas even dating, Dean?"
Dean's face contorted in a way that would have been hilarious if Sam weren't so completely at sea. "What'd'you mean, since when are we dating? For like two years, maybe? Dude, we've been living together for almost a year! How much have you had to drink, Sammy?"
Sam's eyes went wide. "Two years? I thought—I thought you guys were just roommates. You have separate bedrooms, Dean!"
Dean's face wasn't quite as twisted up, but he was still looking at Sam like Sam was an idiot. "You know Cas's had a bad back since he fell. I sleep in there, like, maybe once every week or two when he can't deal with having someone else in bed with him."
Sam squinted at his brother. That did explain why Dean's room seemed so uncharacteristically clean the few times Sam had seen it.
"Sam." Dean looked mildly horrified. "You didn't really… you saw us making out at your wedding."
"You two make out at lots of weddings," Sam said weakly.
"Because we're dating! You seriously didn't know? How did you not know? I basically freaking announced it right after we got together, at… oh." Dean's face fell. "Shit."
"When did you announce it?" Sam asked incredulously. He definitely had never heard an announcement.
"Uh. At the brunch at Kate's house the day after Adam and Michael's wedding?" Dean said with a wince. "That night, that was the first time we hooked up at a wedding, that's… when we got together."
"You mean, the brunch I wasn't at because I had to fly back to San Francisco that morning?"
"Yeah, that one. But dude, that was two years ago! How did you never figure this out?"
"I have never once seen you two kiss except at wedding receptions, Dean," he pointed out, feeling slightly less crazy. At least there was a reason he didn't know about it at first.
"We're two guys dating in Kansas, Sam. We've had to get used to holding back on the PDA, it's just kind of automatic now most of the time."
"But not even, like, at mom's house, or in your own home!"
Dean shrugged. "Like I said, it's kinda automatic not to hang all over each other, but dude, I know we kiss at mom's house all the time. I dunno, man, you're not here much, I guess you just… never happened to see?" Dean's eyes grew wide. "You were actually trying to get me to bring a date to your wedding! Like, a not-Cas date!"
"And at no point did you say, no Sam, I'm bringing my boyfriend, because I have one of those!" Sam hissed.
"I told you I was bringing Cas! I didn't specify why because I kinda thought it was obvious!"
Sam sighed. Okay. His brother and Castiel had been dating since the first time he'd seen them making out, and somehow he'd missed this despite what he had to admit now were some fairly clear signs, and now they were engaged. He could deal with that.
He pulled Dean into a tight hug.
"Congrats, man," he said quietly. "I mean, first congrats on getting together, since apparently I'm two years late on that, but super congrats on tonight. I might be really confused, but I'm also really happy for you."
Dean patted his back somewhat hesitantly. "Thanks? I mean… you're really cool with this, when you didn't even freaking know we were dating?"
He pulled back until he was holding Dean's shoulders in his hands. "I'm totally cool with it. I'm so fucking happy for you guys, Dean. Look, part of the reason I had no idea is because the way you guys act around each other never changed—like, at all. Which isn't because you act like normal friends now, it's because you've been making puppy eyes at each other practically as long as you've been friends. I think you two were the only two who didn't know you guys were in love, like, way, way before Adam and Michael's wedding."
He heard footsteps approaching them, and turned to see his soon-to-be brother-in-law. He released Dean and watched, smiling, as the two kissed.
"Babe, you will not believe what I just found out about my dumbass little brother…"