Song: A Time For Us, Love Theme from the 1968 movie, Romeo and Juliet
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The night of the play had finally come, and everyone was rushing around backstage making sure that all was in order. Castiel was in his dressing room, looking into the mirror mounted on the wall and adjusting the tight purple clothes he was wearing. While he hated the tightness of the pants and shirt, he liked the rich purple and the golden flowing cape attached to the shirt. He could have passed as 13th century royalty.
But his inner thoughts still lingered on the day before. Dean had talked to him afterwards, but he was a lot more distant than the usual warm self he was. It was as if he suddenly changed.
Now was not the time to think those things, though. He had to focus on the play and on Mercutio, not focus on Romeo or the actor playing him. It was a lost cause, anyways. It would be a miracle if he and Dean were to go back to the way it used to be, let alone have him realize that he cared about him more than just a good friend. Just as he thought that, he heard a knock on the already-open door. Castiel turned around and was met with familiar green eyes, but they weren't glowing as they used to around him.
Dean was adorned in a similar costume to Castiel's, except it was a navy blue and had no cape. He was casually leaning on the door, his hands shoved into his pockets. The clothes were tight on him as well, but they defined his body well and Castiel forced himself not to look.
"What is it?" Castiel asked, and he hated how distant his voice sounded. They were talking as best friends merely a day ago. Why did they have to ruin it all?
Dean looked as if he wanted to say something, but then shook his head and brought his gaze to the floor. "I... Uhm, Charlie wants us all backstage in a couple minutes."
Castiel nodded gently, looking at himself in the mirror. Dean was still standing in the doorway, as if about to say something else. "Is that all?"
He heard a sigh coming from him. "Cas, I'm so sorry about yesterday. I... I don't know what got into me."
He could have started an argument. He could have shouted at him until he was satisfied. He could have told him that he truly did feel things for him, and that a simple acting mistake wasn't going to eradicate those feelings anytime soon. Instead, Castiel nodded. "I'm sorry too."
He finally stepped into the room, his hands curled up into a fist as he gently hit the wall in frustration. "I care about you so much, Cas. It's just that... I need time. I've never..."
"Yeah, I get it." Castiel squeezed his eyes shut. Opening night was supposed to be perfect, and now Dean was attempting to console him for an accidental kiss that he actually thought was real. "I guess the worst part was that I actually felt the same about you, huh? At least, I thought it was the same."
Castiel turned around, leaning against the edge of the table. Dean's eyes were so wide he felt as though he could get lost in the green hues forever. "You... Cas, I-"
"I guess we're both at fault for what happened," he interrupted, not wanting to hear about it anymore. His love life was slowly started to escalate into a play, now that he thought of it. Two best friends, one falls for the other, accidentally kiss, and pretend like it all was a mistake.
Dean was silent, and Castiel walked out of his dressing room. It felt like a reminder of how he had left the Eden Theatre all alone yesterday, leaving a silently stunned Dean all alone.
The theatre was nearly full, and when Castiel wasn't thinking of Dean he was filled with nervousness over the reactions of the audience to his acting. The play had started, and many of the scenes included Dean. But Castiel's very first one was with him. He just had to let it go, forget about it, just remember his lines.
He acted out his lines perfectly, throwing himself into the role. It let him forget everything, even if only for a while. The thing that would remind him of it was the first meeting of Romeo and Juliet. The only difference was that it wasn't him that Dean was kissing onstage. And it never would be.
Castiel had stopped watching the play a while back, only coming in whenever his character would come in. His script was still in hand, however, reading through the lines so that he knew when to come in. At that point, Castiel came in at about two scenes away. He went over to a table filled with water and granola bars, and grabbed a bottle. Just as he was ready to walk away, he bumped into someone and his script fell to the floor.
Castiel cursed. "I-I'm so-" He turned around to apologize to whoever he crashed into, but he turned to see Dean's bright green eyes. "I'm sorry."
"It's alright, Cas." A small smile appeared on his face as he stooped down to pick up the packet. "This is pretty nostalgic."
Castiel smiled bittersweetly, nodding as he took the script from his hands. Dean's hair was slightly matted on his head, from the heat and sweat of being under spotlights with tight, thick clothing. Once he touched his hair, he realized that it had the same problem. Dean cleared his throat, licking his lips a bit. "Cas, about what happened yesterday? I wasn't leading you on or anything, if that's what you thought. I just... I thought I was going too fast."
Castiel's eyes widened as he looked up at his friend. He dared to believe it. But Dean would never lie to him. "R-Really?"
A small smile carved itself onto Dean's freckled face. "I thought I was going fast and you didn't want it... But you should know that I--I really..." He hesitated for a second, until his strong arms wrapped around Castiel, pulling him closer.
"Dean?" Castiel questioned, glancing at the others who were standing a couple feet away from them. They were so close that he could make out every little pattern of freckles across his cheeks and nose. His green eyes were practically glowing again and his heart was beating faster than what had to have been considered normal. He hoped with all his heart that it wasn't a figment of his imagination when Dean's eyes fluttered shut and they leaned into each other.
That is, until Castiel was called for a costume change.
When his eyes flickered open, they were less than an inch apart. Their eyelashes were brushing against each other as Castiel brought his hands away from Dean's chest. It pained him greatly to separate from the one thing he had been longing for that whole night. "I'm... I'm sorry," he sighed, pulling away from him gently. He took a tentative step back and slowly walked away, leaving Dean by the table all alone.
The rest of the play went by smoothly, and Castiel was having the time of his life. But he couldn't resist keeping his eyes off of Dean, couldn't keep hold of his overwhelming feelings for him. He was turning into a damn soap opera.
Finally, the play was over, and the cast was standing behind the curtains waiting to be called up by their names. Castiel's smile was wide as he stood there with pride, but it somehow grew wider as he felt a hand slip into his and looked up to see Dean standing beside him. "I always believed in you," he whispered, leaning into him.
Charlie, a director of the play, called the names one by one, going in order of importance of their roles. Castiel was called somewhere in the middle but definitely before Dean, which meant that he was the first to let go of their interlocked hands. His senses felt like soaring as he walked onstage, people cheering for him and his portrayal of Mercutio. More names were called, and finally, Romeo and Juliet was called to the stage. They had the loudest applause, obviously, but what served as the biggest oddity to him was when Dean was given the microphone by Charlie.
The crowd had quieted down as soon as he had lifted it to his mouth. He thanked a series of people, including the audience for attending the show, and Castiel assumed that that was it. Yet after the applause, he still had the microphone in his hand. The strangest part was that his next words weren't the type of speech that a play would usually end on.
"I know that the word love is an extremely loose term in this play," he paused with a small smile on his face as people laughed. "But... During these last few months, I think I've really found out what it is."
What was he doing? Castiel tried to steady his shaking hands and quick-beating heart, but they wouldn't have it. "Love is portrayed as a thing that may come and go in this story, but nevertheless, it has always been portrayed as a profound bond. Before having this experience, I just assumed that crap like that only existed in these stories."
The audience was silent as Dean spoke. "But I started to feel it with one of my co-stars." His head slowly turned to the side and irrevocably, his green eyes locked onto his blue. "Cas."
He could feel Amara and Charlie nudging Castiel forward, and his feet seemed to hover off the ground as he stepped forward to stand beside Dean. He turned away from the crowd and his eyes stayed on his, as if giving him strength. Good thing, since he felt like he could have fallen off the stage. "I was afraid at first to admit it." Castiel's breath seemed to cease. "But I love you, Cas."
A pin drop could be heard from the theatre at that moment. Castiel, meanwhile, was frozen in place. How would the audience react? Would they get up and leave immediately? They seemed to be waiting for his reaction.
"I... I understand if you-" started Dean, sounding resigned and slightly disappointed. Without a second thought, Castiel grabbed the collar of his royal blue shirt and brought his lips to his. Dean nearly stumbled back in surprise, but he slowly handed the microphone off as his arms wrapped around Castiel's waist and pulled him as close as possible.
Everyone was silent as they saw the exchange in front of them, of the two actors who professed their love for each other and were holding each other close. But he found himself not having a care in the world, stretching out his arms and wrapping them loosely around his neck.
The silence was starting to get to Castiel after a while, and he wondered if they should just stop. But he didn't want to let go of Dean, even though they were in public. It felt as though Dean was wondering the same thing, as his lips were slowly becoming more tentative. All of a sudden, just as they were about to separate, a single person began to clap from the theatre. Seconds passed, and the applause grew louder and louder until the sound was deafening in Castiel's ears. Dean pulled away, but as they turned their gaze to the crowd, Castiel could feel tears of joy forming in his eyes.
Every single person in the auditorium was standing, smiles on their faces as they clapped loudly. Castiel turned back towards Dean, wrenching his eyes away from their standing ovation. "I love you, Dean." His voice may have been hard to hear, but a smile brighter than the spotlights shining on them appeared on Dean's face as their lips met once again.
Their love was like a play. And while Romeo and Juliet did not have a happy ending, he would make sure that he and Dean did.