'Let Mary answer the door. Let Mary answer the door. Let Mary answer the door.' Cas thought as he hoped the silent mantra would be enough to bend the will of God. The sound of John Winchester clearing his throat was enough to not only let Cas know how wrong he was, but also made him realize that he was standing at the Winchester's front door with his eyes closed like some crazy person. He opened them quickly.

"Hello Mr. Winchester."

"I keep telling you to call me John. Dean's not here."

"Yes sir, I know. Dean is in his final class before Thanksgiving holiday. I was actually hoping to speak with you and Mrs. Winchester."

"Mary" he heard in the background."

John looked slightly confused, but ushered Castiel inside. "You look a little nervous boy, you want a drink or something?" Castiel sat down in the recliner, but quickly stood up when John and Mary sat down on the couch.

Mary grabbed Castiel's hand. "Are you okay dear, you have me a little worried."

Pulling away "I am fine Mrs. Winchester, Mary. I just need to say something to you both and I just ask that you let me finish before you say anything. If I stop, I might not be able to start again." They both nod their heads, not daring to say anything.

Castiel closed his eyes and took a few deep breathes, before opening his eyes again. "You both know that Dean and I met when we were very little, the first day of first grade. We have been best friends since almost day one. As a matter of fact, I think it is safe to say that I have loved Dean in one way or another ever since then. I realized that I was in love with him in ninth grade. It was Thanksgiving and you were nice enough to invite my family over to share the occasion with your family. I ended up staying the night, like I often did. About midnight, Dean and I decided we needed a snack, well Dean decided really. When we got to the kitchen, we found that there was only one piece of pecan pie left. Of course, I told Dean to just eat it and I would find something else. He pulled out two forks and shrugged saying that we would share it. As you know, Dean never shares pie and I said as much. He responded so quietly, I almost didn't hear him. He said 'well, I want to share it because that's what boyfriends do. They share when they normally don't and if you want to be my boyfriend you gotta share my pie.' I am sure you already knew that story, but it seems important to say now. We have been together ever since. Well, technically, I guess that isn't true. We did break up once our freshman year of college. My mother had put it into my head that we both needed to date other people before we got so committed with each other. I broke up with Dean that very night, afraid I would lose my nerve. Of course, I was a crying sniveling mess. Dean found me thirty minutes later, crying in the laundry room. He simply pulled me into a hug and informed me that my mother didn't know what she was talking about and we weren't breaking up and that was that. I don't believe either one of us has even thought about it since. My mom has even apologized for 'almost' ruining my life." Cas let out a little laugh and realized that he had not even looked at the Winchester's since he started talking. He looked at them then. Mary looked confused, yet hopeful. John looked...well, John just looked a little constipated. It was fitting, the man usually refrained from showing emotion, until he was sure which emotion he should be feeling. Cas kept going. "Sorry, I know I am rambling. I am almost done I promise. I know that you do not like the fact that Dean and I are together, but I love him with all of my being and since Thursday will be our ten year anniversary and we will both finish Grad school in May… He had to stop for a moment and catch his breath. He closed his eyes again before continuing. "What I am trying to say is that I would be very grateful and honored if I could get your permission to ask Dean to marry me. I know it is not needed and is old fashioned, but I would feel better if you both supported me when I get down on one knee in front of both families." He looked up, finally finished with the long, unnecessary, speech.

John still looked constipated, but he held up a hand to let Mary know that he wanted to speak first. "Castiel, sit down. You look like you are about to fall over." He didn't continue until Cas was firmly seated in the recliner. "I don't know where you got the idea that we don't like you and Dean together, I am almost insulted that you would think that. Of course, it isn't like we had a choice. You say that you became boyfriends when you were in ninth grade, but in our eyes, you have been a couple since Dean's seventh birthday party. Hell, you boys used to hold hands more than Mary and I ever did. There was never any time to think about whether we liked it or not, it's just the way it has always been. Now, I just have three questions for you Mr. Novak."

Now Cas was worried.

"Did you get my son a ring?"

"Yes sir, I have rings for both of us. I've been saving up for them for over a year."

"Good. Now, do you plan on taking Dean's name or do you expect him to take yours?"

"I figured I would let Dean make that decision. I figure we will either hyphenate Winchester-Novak or just Winchester." Before another word could be said, he found himself wrapped in the arms of Mary Winchester.

"Alright, final question. What can we do to help?"

After Castiel had left the Winchester's, he expected to feel anxious about the upcoming proposal. Truth be told, he knew that Dean would say yes. They had talked about marriage before. It had always been hypothetical, of course. The first time it was brought up was actually the night Cas had tried breaking up with Dean.

After they worked things out, they made love and cuddled for hours. "See Cas, what we have is perfect. Out of the billions of people out there, you are the only one I want. Your mother is crazy if she thinks there is anyone else for you either."

"I know Dean. I'm sorry." Castiel had said with a guilty look covering his face. He'd known the minute his mother suggested otherwise that she was wrong but he tried so hard to give her the benefit of the doubt.

"I promise you Cas, you are it for me. If it were legal, I would marry you so hard." Dean chuckled, giving Castiel the perfect view of that sparkle that only seemed to happen when he smiled so wide that it tipped over into his eyes. It was a small laugh but big enough to make his insides feel warm and his pulse to speed up.

"You think about that?" Castiel was shocked to hear Dean's confession, he didn't seem the type that would put much extra thought into their relationship. He knew that Dean loved him, and that he wasn't nearly as unintelligent as he led people to believe, but his opinion on romance didn't really spur images of wedding bells.

"About what? Marrying you? Hell yeah I do. I have for a long time." Castiel could tell that Dean was borderline offended that he'd thought otherwise, but that he wouldn't let it bother him. His boyfriend just wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him in tight as reassurance.

Dean cleared his throat, bringing him back into the present. Cas could tell that he was getting worried when he wouldn't get out of the car. The small look of concern on Dean's face was enough to clear his head. "You gonna get out of the car or do I have to tell my parents and your mom that you won't be joining us this year?"

Cas leaned over and kissed his boyfriend, blushing lightly. "Sorry babe. I was just thinking. Let's go."

It was a madhouse when then entered the Winchester home. Cas and Dean were the last to arrive, having been thirty minutes late. They might have decided to save time by showering together, it didn't work, but the memory would serve as an improvement on the already special day.

"Mom. Dad. We're here," Dean shouted as they stepped through the entryway. Castiel could smell dinner cooking and his stomach gave an eager growl. Very few people could cook like Mary Winchester and Naomi Novak, and when they got into a kitchen together you could kiss whatever size jeans you were wearing goodbye.

"You're late young man," Mary said as she barged out and went straight to Cas for a hug, then turning to Dean. Castiel saw a worried look on Dean's face that seemed to lighten when his mother pulled him into a crushing hug.

"Nice, Mom. So, I'm late once and you start hugging my boyfriend before me now?"Castiel could easily tell that his boyfriend was joking, but Dean's fake hurt expression wasn't nearly as funny as he thought it was.

"Yep," she answered, before turning on her heel and going back into the kitchen without another word.

They spent another thirty minutes saying hello to the rest of the motley bunch that made up their family. John and Sam were already watching the game, joined by Cas' brothers Michael and Gabe, as well as Mary's dad. Castiel's sister Anna Novak and several of Dean's cousins joined their mothers in the kitchen. It was rowdy and maybe a little too loud but Cas wouldn't trade it for anything.

They all sat down to enjoy the meal that Mary and Naomi had prepared. Everyone was on their best behavior, even Gabe hadn't offended anyone, a sign of the oncoming apocalypse he was sure. Castiel smiled as he watched them talk and laugh happily together, thankful he'd waited for Thanksgiving because it was in fact, a perfect day.

Finally, it was time for pie. Cas helped Mary pass out plates to everyone around the table. When he got to his and Dean's, he sat down one slice with two forks.

"Cas, there's plenty of pie. You can get your own." Dean said, looking at him like he was officially crazy. Castiel laughed to himself a little when he realized Dean's forehead was like a neon sign reading ,why settle for half a piece of pie when you can have a whole one.

"I know, but that's what fiances do. They share pie when they don't have to."

At first it didn't seem to register, Dean had taken the first bite and chewed slightly before his face showed any sign that he'd gotten it. Cas watched as Dean turned to face him with a huge smile and an expectant look.

"If you want to be my husband, you have to share this pie with me," Castiel said, pulling a box from his pocket, and sliding down to one knee. "There's another thing I want you to share with me, Dean; your last name. Will you marry me?"

He barely got the words out of his mouth before Dean fell to his knees "Of course I will." he said. as he pulled his fiance into his arms.

"Everyone might want to look away, I'm about to kiss the love of my life." He did just that, the sound of "awwww" could be heard from several (everyone) around the table, but it was ignored.

"Alright, give me my ring and let's share this pie already,"Dean joked, pulling himself and Cas up from the floor.

After the pie was eaten, Dean looked around the table suspiciously. There was no way Castiel had managed to pull all of it off without someone knowing something. The poor guy couldn't keep a secret to save his life.

"How many of you knew about this?" Of course, everyone raised their hands.

Sam was the first to speak up. "Why do you think I was so hell bent on getting you to wait until black friday to buy Cas a ring?"

"You all suck for keeping me in the dark, but thank you. So far, this has been the best Thanksgiving ever."