There was a chorus of cheers as Dean expertly popped open the bottle of champagne, spilling some on the floor of The Roadhouse and earning a look from Ellen, who Cas had learned ran the bar they were currently at, and was the wife of Bobby.
Cas didn't have much time to worry about the mess though, because Sam and Jess were already helping Jo, Ellen and Bobby's daughter, clean up and then suddenly, Dean was kissing him.
He heard the click of Anna's Polaroid and the world melted away; The kiss was soft and gentle and chaste and this time there were no fireworks or sparks, but something better – a wave of warmth that filled him up, spilling out from his heart and the warmth of Dean's lips on his and rushing to every corner of his body: the cracks in between his toes, the crooks of his elbows, the tips of his ears. Every inch of him is saturated with love.
Dean was the first one to pull back, both catching theirs breaths as they grinned at each other. Cas held his soulmate's face in his hands. "Dean," he breathed, "I-"
"Okay, okay, you all need to settle down." Ellen scolded, and the whole group rushed to find a seat at the counter. Dean sighed, grabbing Cas's hand and finding two seats for the both of them next to Sam and Jess. "I made dinner for all you hooligans, because ya'll need to eat something instead of chugging down drinks." There was a collective groan, and Ellen let out a smile, ruffling Dean's hair while she set down plates of burgers. Cas liked her immediately.
They ate, laughing and talking and poking fun at each other throughout. Somewhere to the right, Jo complained about too many tomatoes on her burgers and Eric accidentally poured 10 times more ketchup than needed onto his plate, causing Anna to snort out in laughter. Sam was wiping off Jess's mustard mustache with his thumb, and Dean was telling Ellen stories about Bobby at work enthusiastically with a deep voice and a fake mustache he made by holding up his index finger below his nose.The (insanely bad) impersonation was setting Ellen into a laughing fit, almost hunched over and holding her stomach.
It was perfect.
"Alright guys!" Anna yelled out, holding up her beer, rather tipsy, "I have something to say!"
"When don't you have something to say?" Dean asked, earning laughter and a (slightly off) eye roll from Anna.
"Let her speak, guys," Cas said, knowing from previous experience that Anna would get out what she had to say no matter what, and everyone went quiet.
"Okay! So! I just wanted to say that I am so proud of my baby brother-"
"You are literally two minutes older than me!"
"For recovering and staying strong, stronger than anybody I know, and...and...for kicking ass out there in catching Agnesse and testifying...and...." Anna drifted off, out of words, "Yeah!" She finished, thrusting a fist into the air, "To Cas!"
There was a chorus of kind of cheesy but nice nonetheless "To Cas!'s", making the blue eyed boy blush crimson and Dean kiss him on the cheek, beaming.
Dean dragged his lips down to Cas's ear, making him squirm. There was a warm hand on Cas's upper back and Dean's voice was rough as he spoke. Whew.
"Listen I know you're kinda the guest of honor here but uh..." Dean cleared his throat, and Cas was very much aware of Dean's hand slowly making its way to his tailbone, "why don't we get out of here as soon as we can, huh?"
Cas felt giddy, finding weird pleasure in the way Dean was treating this like some kind of one night stand...thing. Feeling bold, he smirked, looking at his soul mate under his eyelashes and ignoring how this was his first time trying to flirt and he had no idea what the hell he was doing. That and the fact that he was in public, sitting right next to his sister. He forgot all of that, because honestly?
He didn't care.
**********************
It was a mad frenzy to get home, Dean getting up too quickly and announcing to everyone with his wide green eyes that they had "a thing that they really needed to get to" before dashing off, hand in hand. They probably all knew what was going on, judging by the looks they gave each other.
Cas felt crazy as Dean pushed him against the door of his apartment, nosing at his collarbone whilst frantically trying to work open the door-which was literally a doorknob-making Cas groan out in anticipation and open it forcefully.
They walked backwards, Cas taking the lead. Drunk on endorphins and hungrily kissing Dean, Cas's back hit a wall, and he realized that they had made his way into his bedroom. His brain lit on fire and the warmth spread throughout his entire body.
Woah. This was happening.
He didn't know who turned on the switch, but light was flooding into the room, and suddenly he was being pushed onto the bed and Dean was kissing him like his life depended on it. He opened his mouth to let out a low moan, making Dean grunt in pleasure. Dean pulled back, straddling him with his pupils dilated. He raised his eyebrows, his hair sticking up like Cas's on a normal day. Cas knew that he was asking for permission.
He nodded, expecting Dean to lunge forward.
Instead, Dean got off Cas and walked out of the room.
Wait.
What.
"Um," Cas said, confused, his voice raspy. He cleared his throat. That had clearly been a nod, right? Had Dean gotten the wrong message? Cas pushed himself up with his elbows, patting down his hair, trying to tame it, and stared at the door. "Dean?" He felt lightheaded as he smoothed down his shirt, crumbled up and a complete mess. "What just happened?"
Dean's face suddenly appeared back in the doorway. "Hey!" he said a little breathlessly, his bright eyes shining and shirt already half off. "Sorry, I had to just...." he trailed off, waving a condom around in the air in his right hand that Cas hadn't noticed before.
Cas turned bright red. Oh God. This was really happening.
"Um," he said for what seemed like the second time in 3 seconds. "Okay."
Dean grinned, resuming his position from before and kissing Cas behind the ear. "You alright?"
He nodded. "I'm fine. I've done this before, remember?" He stopped, cursing himself for not thinking about anything that came out of his mouth, but Dean just nodded.
"Yeah. I remember." There was a pause as Dean leaned in closer, mapping out Cas's chest with his wide open palms. He broke into a grin. "I may not be your first, but right now I'm preparing myself to be your last."
Cas laughed, kissing Dean once more. "That was so cheesy."
"Hey, hey," Dean argued playfully, starting to unbutton Cas's shirt. "Says the guy who quotes poetry every so often."
"Touché"
Cas knew that the mood they had before was broken, that passionate one where if they had kept at it a few clothes would have been ripped off, but that was okay. This one was just fine too. This way it would be slower, more thoughtful. He hummed tunelessly, kissing Dean's nose as his soulmate finished unbuttoning the last button on his shirt. Dean helped him take it off, throwing the dress shirt on the floor. Cas felt warm bare hands on his chest, and he sighed in pleasure.
"Hey Dean?" he mumbled.
"Hmmm?"
Cas ran his fingers through Dean's hair, and Dean smiled at him. God, he looked so beautiful. Before, Cas had never thought it possible for a man to be beautiful, but here was Dean. With his sparkling green eyes and his freckles and his marvelous jawline that Cas spent way too much time admiring.
"How come we need a condom? It's not like any of is going to get pregnant."
Dean chuckled, leaning his face towards Cas's touch. "This is for other things, angels."
"What other things?"
Dean laughed again, and Cas was utterly perplexed, but all was forgotten when Dean leaned down towards his neck. Cas felt a hot breath on his neck, then the tender brush of lips, burning as they made contact with him. A hand ran down his hair as the kisses become more harder and more urgent, and Cas drew out a moan. He had done this before, yes, but nothing like this. This was more sensual, more intimate than anything he had ever done.
Another hand sliced around Cas's waist, pulling him close to Dean's peppermint and gasoline scented body. Cas's hands started roaming with a mind of their own; They fell down his soulmate's back as his head swam, all previous thoughts stopped in their tracks.
He helped Dean out of his shirt, pulling it over his head. Cas was pretty sure that his neck was going to be covered in hickeys tomorrow, and they were going to be a bitch to cover up. Ahh well, it was December. Scarves covered everything.
Dean flipped them over, Cas ending up on top, and handed him the condom. "You wanna?" he asked, barely coherent.
Woah. Woah.
He nodded. Hell yeah he "wanna".
Dean kissed him again, a soft, tender kiss this time.
"Good," he said breathlessly, huffing out a laugh, "now take your pants off, angel."
That was the second time in his life that he had heard that phrase. The first time he had been pressed up against a wall, and the person who had said that had been a woman who terrified him and had quite literally scarred him for the rest of his life. Cas knew that he hadn't been the same, that he would never be the same than he was before that horrible moment. And that was okay. Because right now, he was in bed with his soulmate, who was saying the same words to him with nothing but adoration and love in his eyes, and things couldn't be better.
"Dean, you are the love of my life," he found himself saying unexpectedly, and Dean blinked, a little surprised, before breaking out another one of his smiles, his eyes crinkling up in the way that Cas loved. "Everything I have, and everything I am, is yours. Forever."