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Dean wakes up with an itch underneath his skin.
He is forgetting something, he knows it. Something remotely important.
Though apparently not important enough to stay stuck in his brain, unfortunately.
He groans to himself and rubs his palms over his face. He hates when this happens. It will bother him all day and drive him insane in the process.
Not a fun way to start the day.
After taking care of his business and indulging in the quickest shower in human history he walks into the kitchen to find Castiel struggling with the coffee machine. The poor guy has the hardest time figuring this thing out and would probably rather revert to grinding the beans with his teeth than pressing any more buttons.
Dean smiles at him fondly. How did he get so lucky?
“You’re cute when you cuss out the coffeemaker,” he informs his husband who in response just glares at him over the shoulder.
Yeah, Castiel really needs his coffee first thing in the morning.
So Dean takes mercy on him and gets the machine to cooperate by making some adjustments, feeling a little smug when it immediately spurs to life, much to Castiel’s chagrin.
“We need a new one,” Castiel grumbles, glaring at the device like it personally insulted his entire family.
“We just got this thing,” Dean reminds him with a laugh.
“I hate it,” Castiel states with the most adorable pout.
Dean snickers some more before kissing it away. Castiel stiffens for a brief second at first, obviously determined to be a grump about it all, but in the end he leans into it anyway. And then pulls Dean closer.
So they end up making out like teenagers right there in the kitchen.
Well, until the coffee is done and Castiel grabs for it without saying another word. Dean watches it all in amusement before starting to make breakfast.
Sometime later, as they eat their pancakes and Castiel is a little more cheerful after finally having some caffeine in his system, Dean remembers that itch again.
“I’ve got the feeling I’m forgetting something,” he tells Castiel.
“I’m sure you do,” Castiel is quick to respond, the corner of his mouth tugging upwards. “After all, you’re getting old.”
Dean huffs. “I just passed forty, dude.”
“Some would call that ancient.”
“Yeah, kids and teenagers,” Dean answers, rolling his eyes. “Besides, you’re older than me.”
“I’m not the one forgetting things.”
“Are you sure about that?” Dean wonders, arching his brows. “’Coz I’m pretty sure I asked you to mow the lawn over a week ago.”
Castiel barely twitches a muscle. “I didn’t forget. I just wasn’t in the mood.”
Yeah, Dean is the luckiest guy in the universe.
They bicker back and forth like that for a while longer, without much avail. Okay, yeah, Castiel agrees to mow the lawn eventually (and since Dean promises him a massage that evening in reward for it he is quite certain that Castiel will actually do it this time), but Dean still can’t figure out what’s tickling in the back of his mind.
“I wouldn’t bother to wreck your pretty head over it,” Castiel tells him. “It’s obviously not important enough to remember it.”
Dean nods in agreement.
And then he smirks widely and asks, “So, you think I’m pretty?”
Castiel just sighs and heads into the backyard.
The rest of the day passes pretty normally. Dean does their weekly grocery run and works on Baby for a time while Castiel, after finishing with the lawn, gets lost in the latest book he purchased a while ago.
Around afternoon Dean ends up chatting with his brother over the phone for a while before Sam eventually says, “Well, I guess I better go, huh? I’m sure you’ve got some big plans tonight.”
Dean blinks, confused. “Big plans?”
“Yeah. Dinner? Dancing underneath the stars? Something like that?”
Dean still finds himself bewildered. “Why would we do that?”
Sam snorts. “Don’t tell me the romance is already dead. You’ve been married for only five years, that doesn’t mean –”
Dean stops listening.
The itch that has continued to bug him the entire day suddenly turns into a wildfire and he actually finds himself flinching.
Of course.
He did forget something.
Something somewhat important.
Their freaking wedding anniversary of all things.
He ends the phone call without another word, cutting Sam off mid-sentence, and rushes into the house to search for Castiel. As expected he finds him in his little reading nook, sitting on his armchair and barely looking up from the words in front of him as Dean comes to a screeching halt right by his side.
“Our anniversary,” Dean blurts out.
Castiel is puzzled enough by that to lower his book and stare at Dean. “What?”
“Our wedding anniversary,” Dean repeats, emphasizing every single word. “That’s what I’ve been forgetting all day.” And then he halts and corrects himself, “That’s what we have been forgetting all day.”
Castiel opens his mouth, clearly on the verge of dismissing Dean, but then he becomes pensive, obviously calculating in his head and trying to figure out what day it is.
In the end he raises his eyebrows in surprise.
“Huh. You’re right.”
“Of course I’m right,” Dean huffs. “How could we forget our friggin’ anniversary?”
Castiel tilts his head. “Because it’s not important.”
Dean’s not gonna lie, that actually hurts a little.
Castiel seems to realize that right away and hurries to add, “I mean, it’s not important because every day with you is the best day of my life. A date in the calendar doesn’t change that.”
Dean softens right away and leans forward to steal himself a little kiss.
“You’re lucky you’re cute,” he mumbles against Castiel’s lips.
Castiel smiles as he wraps his arms around Dean’s neck and pulls him even closer.
“How about we order some food in, watch one of your ridiculous cowboy movies and make out on the couch the entire time?” Castiel proposes.
Dean grins. “A), those movies are not ‘ridiculous’,” he has to point out, “ and b) that sounds like the best anniversary ever.”
And so they end up doing just that later on and as Dean is sitting on the couch, his belly full, his husband on his lap, kissing him like his life depends on it, Dean vows to himself that from now on they’re gonna spend every single anniversary exactly like this.