Normally, angels don't sleep. But normally, they don't eat either. Or drink. Or act human at all. Being with the Winchester's for so long, Castiel had adopted more and more human behavior, human needs, and human feelings. The last being a burden he felt very strongly these last few days. It put a lot of stress on him. So, perhaps this is the reason that Cass finds himself actually waking up in the morning. It takes him some time to realize this, so he needs a moment longer to notice that Dean isn't at his side anymore. Confused, Cass gets up and looks around the room. Nothing unusual. He carefully makes his way to the door, listening to every sound he can make out. Then he opens it and steps out into the hall. Still nothing. The door to the bathroom is open, also empty. Feeling worry rise in his chest, Cass makes his way down the hall to the kitchen, where he hears the sound of cutlery.
Sam is sitting at the table, eating a bagel. When Cass enters, he looks up surprised and tries to see past him. Then he asks: “Where is Dean?” Cass replies: “I was about to ask you the same! When I woke up, he was gone!” Sam gets up, but then stops, puzzled: “Wait... you woke up? I thought angels didn't need sleep. You're supposed to be our watchdog!” “Forget it, I'm not playing fetch for you.”, Cass gives back, walking past the young hunter to look out the window facing the front. “It's just an expression, because you are always... Hhhh, alright never mind. You're not gonna find him there, I've been here since half past eight, and now it's... almost ten. And I didn't hear or see either of you. I thought you guys were gonna sleep in.”, Sam explains. Then he furrows his brow and after some thought asks exited: “Hey, does that mean he's back to normal? Did you find... I mean did something good happen?”
Castiel's heart aches as he remembers the previous night and he responds: “Not that I'm aware of, no.” “Really?”, Sam inquires, “It sounded like...” “Like what?”, the angel swings around, tense. “Well, um, I just thought... Nothing, I guess I was wrong.”, Sam backs up. He doesn't want to embarrass the other man by revealing that last night he had heard something that sounded like his brother moaning, and that he had hoped, whatever they were doing helped release Dean's tension. Instead he focuses on the current situation and suggests: “See here Castiel, it shouldn't be a problem for you to find out where he is, right? I mean, with your bond, you always knew where he was and if he needed you, so why not just check on him this way?” But to his astonishment the angel answers: “I'd rather not.”
Sam inquires: “But why not? It should be easy enough.” The angel answers evasive: “Usually I'd have to agree with you. But since this change in Dean's personality, it is... hard on me.” The hunter eyes him bewildered: “How so?” Cass tries not to look at him as he confesses: “It's just... The bond I have with Dean pulls me close to him and lets me feel what he is feeling! But now, that is something very... painful for me. It's just wrong and irritating. And during the last week I was constantly near him, so I didn't have to use it, but it still started to affect me. So, I would like to wait a little before trying to find Dean that way, because it will... put me in his shoes. And that's very unpleasant for me right now!” Sam is impressed, but also sympathetic with the angels struggle, that seems to have battered him quite a lot.
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The young Winchester is about to say something compassionate, when Dean suddenly appears, entering the flat through the main door. Both Sam and Cass look at him perplexed: He is wearing a dark, ironed shirt over his black jeans, his shoes are clean and shiny and he must have gotten a haircut. Even his hands look like he treated them to some care and he's carrying a big hand-tied bouquet. Smiling fondly he makes his way to Castiel. Then he hands him the flowers and coyly declaims: “Here love, I got these for you! I hope you like them. The big blue one is an angel trumpet and these little white ones are called angel wings!”
Cass is embarrassed by this considerable token of affection, so when he is handed the bouquet he quickly passes it on to Sam, mumbling: “Ah, Sam, find a vase for these please?” Sam accepts the flowers and lays them on the table to start checking the cupboards for a vase, or bowl, big enough to hold them. When he finally comes up with a pot, he notices a note laying between the stems. Meanwhile, Dean keeps standing close to the swamped Castiel and continues: “I didn't want to worry you, but after what you said to me last night, I just had to go out and get you this!” Sam, raising an eyebrow, turns to his brother, who pulls out a small box from his pocket. And goes down on one knee.
Sam's eyes widen and Cass gasps in fright, exclaiming: „Oh my God, no!“ But the hunter calmly delivers a speech: “My darling Castiel, I love you so much, that I wish never to be parted from you again! I want to take care of you, and protect you with my body and my soul! I want to please your every desire and fulfill your every wish! So I ask you: Would you make me the happiest man on earth and honor me by accepting my hand?” He opens the box, offering his beloved a silver ring, decorated with a tiny diamond surrounded by two engraved wings. It is inscribed with the compliment: 'To my angel Castiel, forever yours, Dean.' Cass is speechless, shaken by his emotions, and doesn't know where to look. Dean assures him: “Baby, I promise, if you marry me, I will make you happy, and you'll never be lonely! I will love you forever, stay by your side, and shield you from all evils. What do you say?”
Cass is covering his mouth with one hand, trying to hold back, but he can't prevent the tears that form in his eyes. It's so unfair, all this pain, and he thinks: 'Lord, why do you test me so much? How have I wronged you, to deserve this?' Sam observes the scene in a state of shock. This wasn't his brother! Dean would never deliver such a sappy speech, he's not the type to buy anyone expensive flowers or jewelry. Heck, he isn't the type to even buy anyone cheap flowers or jewelry! And to top it off, he now mirrors Castiel's reaction, tearing up while still holding out his gift. Dean is getting worried, while Cass finally decides 'To heck with it!', and grabs Dean's hand holding the ring. Unable to speak at first, he starts nodding frantically, until he lets out a long, tear-stricken wail: “Yhhesss. Yes, yes of coursssse...”, he sniffles, “Of course I'll marry you!”
A loud clanking bang erupts, as Sam drops the pot, petrified with horror, making the angel jolt. Dean jumps up too, but to embrace Cass, tears of joy streaming down his face and saying: “Ah baby, thank you, thank you so much! You won't regret it, I swear! Here, let me!” And with that, the hunter takes his angels trembling hand, and slips the ring on his finger. It's a perfect fit, as Dean has spent the last nights carefully memorizing Castiel's hands. Still crying, Cass looks down at the tiny gem with its wings and admits: “It's beautiful.” “Like you!”, the older Winchester replies, wearing a radiant smile. Then he turns to his brother, walks over to him and asks happily: “Sam, will you be my best man?”
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The young Winchester is still dumbfounded, so he simply nods, only to also be pulled into a bear hug by his big bro. After that, the giddy Dean starts storming out of the kitchen, just to turn on his heel, double back to Castiel and kiss his now ringed hand. “I'm so happy you said yes!”, he assures, “And as promised, no sex before the wedding night! And no inappropriate touching! Oh, I will make the wait so worth your while sweety, you won't be disappointed! I'll go wash the car now, I'm taking you out to brunch to celebrate! You too Sam! See you, my love.” With that he gives Cass a peck on the cheek, flies out of the kitchen and exits the flat.
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After a moment of silence, Cass drags his shaking body to the table and lets himself fall into a chair. There he rests his elbows, cups his head in his hands and weeps. Sam sits down next to him and comments: “What, in the ever loving fuck just happened? Did Dean just propose to you?? And you accepted???” “You were there Sam, you heard it, believe it.”, Cass whispers. “Well, yeah, but I also heard him say he would take us out for brunch and that just proves, that this has to be a really weird dream!”, Sam retorts. But the angel shakes his head: “It hurts enough to be real.” “Dude, seriously what the F? Why, how, what... What have you two been talking about last night?”, Sam demands. Cass regards the bouquet lying in front of him and reaches for the card. Dodging the awkward conversation, he starts reading:
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“Why your partner chose this bouquet for you!
A little explanation guide to the language of the flowers:
Blue iris – good news, lust for life;
white iris – honesty, unconditional trust;
white orchid/angel wings – admiration, yearning;
red orchid/angel sword – lust, fervor;
red roses – passionate love;
red chrysanthemum – deep love, willingness to commit;
blue forget-me-not – true love, faithfulness;
white freesia – unconditional love, fondness;
white lily – pure love, light in the darkness;
red lily – divine grace, sensuality;
white altar-lily – immortality, admiring beauty;
blue angel trumpet – holy destiny, overcoming obstacles;
blue brunnera/silver heart – pure soul.
Supplementary note: Customer requested red, white and blue flowers, as symbol for his own deep passion and for his loves pristine spirit and piercing blue eyes.”
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“I'm sensing a pattern here!”, Sam observes, after reading over his shoulder. Then he watches Cass long and hard, before blurting: “He tried to sleep with you, didn't he? And you told him to put a ring on it first! That's what happened, am I right?” Cass cringes, but nods mutely. “Oh my God, I knew it! I knew I heard something!”, Sam calls out, but quiets down as soon as Cass looks at him. Then he resumes: “Well, it's like the book said, the victims efforts intensify with every day. That also explains this whole courtship! Honestly, I've never seen my brother put this much struggle into winning anyone, ever! Like, sure, the florist will have told him about what flower symbolizes what, but he actually chose a theme, kept to it and was willing to pay bulk loads of money for it. And don't get me started on the ring, that must have cost an arm and a leg! I'm sure those wings were custom made, and that's a real stone, goddammit! AND he managed to get all that done in one morning, while also prinking himself up!” “Yeah. He looked real dandy.”, Cass utters weakly. When Sam gives him a baffled look, he doesn't even try to hide his remark. He is just so done with it all!
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The rest of the day develops surprisingly pleasant and unrushed. The Impala is shiny and tidied up, and Dean takes them to a nice bistro up town, where they order brunch. It's just awkward that EVERYONE seems to know about the engagement, as total strangers give them questioning looks and switch to knowing smiles, when they see Castiel's hand with the ring. Some even congratulate him! “Well, at least they are supportive... guess we are no longer in redneck county.”, Sam comments. Cass is just embarrassed, but Dean seems to enjoy the attention, standing or sitting close to the angel with his arm around him as if to say: 'Look everyone, this is my man!'. The only bit of excitement comes after they had brunch and are sitting over coffee.
When Dean leaves for the bathroom, not without giving Cass a big kiss on the cheek and chiming: “Be right back, my love!”, Sam leans over to the angel and asks: “Hey, what did the other angels say to this?” Castiel looks at him horrified and mutters under his breath: “Are you crazy? I'm not gonna tell them about this!” Sam rolls his eyes and retorts: “Not the proposal you twit, I mean, did anyone come up with an idea about the spell?” Cass' face is flushed with shame, and he turns away, saying: “Oh. Well... I didn't tell them about that either.” Sam blinks, but then bursts out: “Excuse me? You're giving me a hard time, because I, a single human, didn't come up with a solution, working my ass off trying to translate nearly unreadable books and looking for clues in other spells, but you have an army of supernatural, immortal experts that you can talk to over angel radio with one thought, and you didn't even consider asking them for help? Are you fucking kidding me???”
“I can't tell them, okay?”, Cass shoots back, angry and hurt, “You humans still don't understand how this connection works! If I open my mind to the others, they know and feel, what I know and feel! So I can't tell them about Dean and me, because it's painful, and horrible, and embarrassing, and I just can't stand it!” Cass has gotten up during his speech and is now standing over Sam. The whole bistro has gone quiet and everyone is looking over to them, as the angel was shouting the last sentence. He looks around and hates himself for losing control like that, just when he hears Dean's shaking voice behind him: “Is that how you really feel?”
As he turns to him, Cass can see the fear in the hunter's watering eyes, damn he can even hear his silent plea: 'Don't leave me, please don't leave me...', and it breaks his heart. So he goes over to Dean and states: “No. It's just... you know, the others like me... my family! They would never understand this. They would laugh, or judge, or be appalled... They could never understand.” It IS partially true. Angels are not humans. They don't grow old and die. They're not supposed to have emotions like these! Having a boyfriend, a lover, a husband for heavens sake... it was unheard of! Yes, some angels were more... carnal than they should be. But none ever seriously got 'engaged' with a mortal. And of course, they didn't feel love. Not this kind anyways.
So he doesn't want the others snooping inside his thoughts and feelings. Dean, hearing Castiel's excuse, immediately calms down and pulls him into a tight hug, as he exclaims: “Oh darling, that is so sad, I'm sorry. Look, you don't need to tell them, if it pains you so. Just forget about them. I love you, and I will be your family, me and Sam, we'll both be there for you! I mean, that's what marriage is about, right? Becoming a family! And I promise, I will never judge or laugh at you. I love you!” Cass awkwardly hugs him back, and the other customers sigh 'Awws' and applaud, while Sam just cringes, rubbing his forehead.
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