Epilogue

It was moving day.

Dean and Cas had spent the past month living at the bunker with Sam, needing a safe space to rest and recuperate. Neither of them had been willing to return to the house; Jeremy had tainted it. Even though he was gone, they would never be able to look at the house across the street without remembering how he had been watching them, and the knowledge that he had broken into their home would have haunted them as they tried to go about their lives.

But Dean had meant what he said about retiring, and he knew they couldn't hide in the bunker forever.

It had taken a while to finalise the details, but they had managed to sell the house and put down a payment on a new place in Lebanon, Kansas. It was five minutes from Sam, but had all the hallmarks of normal civilian life – a green lawn, a letter box, a white picket fence and everything.

Going back, even briefly, was harder than Dean expected. There were a lot of fond memories in the old house, but they were overshadowed by everything that had happened. He froze on the threshold, flashing back to the moment when he had woken up to discover that Cas was missing.

Cas twined their fingers together and squeezed gently. "Whenever you're ready."

Dean took a deep breath and stepped through the doorway.

Panic lingered at the fringes of his mind as they began packing up their belongings. He jumped at shadows and the smallest sounds. Movement he saw out of the corner of his eye left his heart pounding, long after he realised it was just a curtain fluttering in the breeze from an open window.

He's dead, Dean had to keep telling himself. He's dead; he can't hurt us anymore.

He almost stopped breathing altogether when he opened the fridge to discover that the remaining beers from the drugged 6-pack were still there. Cas calmly reached past him and took them out. Without any dramatic fanfare, he tipped the contents down the sink and threw away the bottles.

"I'll finish in here, if you want to do the bedroom," Cas offered.

Dean found their wedding photo sitting on the nightstand, right where he had left it. He took a moment, sitting on the bed with the frame in his hands and letting the memories of that day wash over him.

"I'm worried that I'm going to step on your toes," Cas whispered.

Dean slipped one arm around his husband's waist and gently folded their hands together. "Just follow my lead," he murmured.

The music swelled around them, but Cas didn't move. He was wide-eyed, nervous. "Everyone is watching us."

"Look at me."

Blue eyes hesitantly lifted to meet his gaze.

Dean smiled at him. "Mr Castiel Winchester, may I have this dance?"

Cas exhaled, and the tension drained away from him, leaving his muscles loose and pliant. "You may."

Dean pulled him closer so Cas would be able to feel the movement of his hips. He started them off slow, swaying gently in time with the music. As Cas settled into the rhythm, Dean nudged his knee and they stepped together. Cas looked down at their feet, focusing hard, but Dean leaned forward and kissed him. Castiel's eyes fluttered closed, and his body shifted instinctively to move with Dean.

Before long Dean was sweeping him across the dance floor. He spun Cas into a twirl and then caught him in his arms. Cas laughed breathlessly, his cheeks flushed and his shirt-tails hanging loose.

"You're a natural," Dean told him fondly.

"I think I like dancing."

Dean glanced quickly behind him to make sure Sam couldn't overhear. "Me too."

The music changed and Dean led Cas in a gentle waltz. Usually he was hesitant about public displays of affection, but every person here loved and accepted them just as they were, and he knew that if he wanted to stare into his husband's eyes all night long he could.

He drank in the sight of those baby blues and thought that he was the luckiest man on the planet.

The corners crinkled into a smile and they sparkled with amusement. "You are a bit smitten with me, Dean Winchester."

Dean didn't try to deny it. "Guilty as charged."

"We're going to be happy, aren't we?"

Dean leaned in to kiss him, soft and slow. "Yeah," he breathed. "We are."

Peace settled over him.

When he emerged from the bedroom with two boxes and a few bags, he found that Cas had finished as well.

"The moving company will get the rest," Cas said.

Dean nodded. The furniture was due to arrive at the new place a couple of hours after they did.

They packed up the car, and Dean took his rightful place behind the wheel. He glanced to where his husband was sitting, right beside him, where he belonged. "Well, Castiel Winchester, are you ready to go home?"

"Home is wherever you are."

Dean swatted him lightly on the shoulder. "Sap."

Cas just smiled and took his hand. "You know you love me."

Dean used to be afraid of that word, as though to use it out loud would make him vulnerable. He had hoped that his actions would speak loud enough for the people he cared about to understand how he felt, but after everything that had happened he realised that life was too unpredictable to let the important things go unsaid. Besides, loving Cas wasn't a weakness. It was what gave him strength.

Dean drew their hands up to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss to Castiel's knuckles. "Yeah," he admitted. "I do."

ooOOoo

The End

A/N: Special thanks to TiA995, babyreaper and LuNaLoverAlex for commenting throughout the story. I always love to hear the reactions of my readers!