A/N:

This will be the final chapter in this story!

Thank you guys so much for favoriting, following, and reviewing! Your kind words and support mean so much to me! Reviews are like my new drug hahahah ;)

I hope you guys enjoyed this story and I hope to continue writing and improving, so if you liked this story, keep an eye out for my next work!

School was finally out and Dean decided to take the next 2 weeks off. He was going to be leaving town to go visit Sam. I am most definitely NOT avoiding Cas, he tried to convince himself. I've been wanting to meet Sam's new girlfriend for a while now, and it's a good time. Vinny said he could watch the shop for the week. I need a vacation. And so Dean found himself packing for a roadtrip.

Dean breathed a sigh of relief once he was out on the open highway. He loved driving and he loved his car. It was a black 1967 Chevy Impala and he lovingly referred to her as "baby," something Sam had always teased him about. Sam just didn't understand cars. He wondered what Cas drove. He realized cars had never come up in their conversations. Then he realized he was thinking about Cas again. Dammit. He turned up the radio and let Metallica take him away.

His vacation had been awesome. He hadn't realized how much he missed Sam. They used to be so close when they were younger, especially after their parents died. There had been a house fire when Sam was just a baby, and they had been the only two who made it out. Growing up, Dean had seen it as his responsibility to tell Sam about what their parents had been like and be a role model to his younger brother. People always told Dean he grew up too fast. He knew it was true; he'd given everything to Sammy. And he didn't regret a moment of it, even though he'd put his own dreams on hold. He shook his head to clear the memories.

Sam's girlfriend, Jess, had been sweet, and he was sure they would end up married soon. Dean could see how in love the two of them were. He expected to attend their wedding by Christmas. He was happy for them, but his heart also ached. He wanted to experience their happiness for himself.

He finished unpacking and decided to throw in a load of laundry. He scooped up the pile of dirty clothes he had been throwing on the floor, and turned around. His breath caught in his throat.

On his dresser sat the wilted flowers from 3 weeks ago. Was it really that long ago? I haven't seen Cas in almost a month. And I still get sad when I think about him. Dean cleared his throat and looked away, blinking rapidly. Get over yourself, he thought.

When Dean went back to work the next week, he was feeling slightly better, but was still nervous. He didn't think Cas would come back, since he was certain Cas had been trying to gently let him down. He had to have seen all of Dean's awkwardness and realized Dean had a crush on him. Dean sighed. I'm thinking about him again, he frowned.

Just before closing time, Dean decided to start his closing duties, starting with checking the stock in the backroom. A few moments after he disappeared into the back, the bell above the door chimed. He frowned. 4:55pm. Damn, I really wanted to get out on time today, he thought with a sigh.

When he emerged from the backroom, he was in no way prepared for what he saw. Standing in front of the counter in jeans and a faded blue t-shirt, was Cas. His hair looked even more ruffled than normal and as Dean watched, he ran a hand through it, messing it up even more. He was staring down at something he was holding in his hand.

Dean sucked in a breath, and Cas looked up. Their eyes met and held contact. Neither of them spoke. Dean didn't know what to say, but his heart was hurting and his throat was tight. After what felt like an eternity, Cas looked away. He shuffled his feet slightly and cleared his throat. Dean felt his breath catch at the anticipation of what Cas might say.

Cas was looking at the thing in his hand again. Dean found himself looking at it curiously. It was some sort of… flower? It looked like it had come from a tree of some sort, since it seemed to be attached to a branch or a twig. Reddish, cone-shaped flowers sprouted from the sides of it.

Cas looked up, and their eyes met again for a brief moment, before Cas cleared his throat and looked away again, seeming to focus in on something just beyond Dean's left shoulder. "Do you have any red roses?"

Dean looked down. "Yeah there are some in the back, let me grab them."

Dean had to arrange the bouquet. It was the worst experience of his life. Cas had seemed to pull himself together while Dean was grabbing the flowers and was chattering on. Dean considered it chatter because it was meaningless. Instead of talking and learning more about each other, Cas was rambling on about the weather the past few days.

Eventually he asked where Dean had been for the last two weeks and they briefly talked about Sam. While Dean was telling Cas about how happy and in love Sam and Jess obviously were, he thought Cas looked almost… wistful. Longing. As though that was exactly what he wanted for himself. They were finally starting to loosen up and talk more normally with each other when Dean finished up. He turned to ring up the flowers. Cas did not ask for an extra.

Dean felt like his heart was about to break into a million tiny pieces. He handed the bouquet to Cas. Cas was still looking down at the flower he was holding. After a long moment, he looked up at Dean. He held up the flower. "This is a flower from a black poplar tree."

Dean looked at it. He wasn't sure what to say, so he didn't say anything. He looked at it for a moment, before looking back at Cas expectantly.

Cas took a deep breath. "When I saw it today, it was just so fitting. It means courage."

Now Dean was just confused. Why was that fitting?

"I needed courage today. Would you like to know why?"

Dean really wasn't sure he wanted to know why. He felt like he had a pretty good idea of why Cas would need courage. He thought about the red roses. Dean was pretty sure they had something to do with love and romance.

"Roses, red roses, they mean… love. The true kind of love, the kind that's deep and real. They're very romantic, that's why they're so popular at Valentine's Day…" Cas rambled on.

Dean's heart hurt and his head was spinning and he was pretty sure he really didn't want to hear this.

"Because they have so much meaning, I needed courage. I needed lots of courage or I would never have been able to do this." Suddenly, Cas took a step forward. And he held the roses out to Dean.

Dean stared at him blankly. "Wh-what?" he finally stuttered.

Cas looked incredibly nervous. "Dean, I-I want you to have these roses. I know you might not feel the same, but I needed you to know that I love you, Dean."

Dean could not believe his ears. He was pretty sure he was just staring at Cas open-mouthed.

"That first day I walked in here and was met with the greenest eyes I'd ever seen, that was when I started to fall in love with you. And then when we started talking and you were so sweet and funny and charming and beautiful, I just kept falling more and more in love with you. Do you know how hard it is to find an excuse to come into a flower shop every week? I started bringing Jimmy's wife flowers every week, or giving them to Claire, because I needed to see you. And I have another confession to make." Cas looked embarrassed, his cheeks slightly pink as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I would wander past early in the day on my way to work and I would look to see what was coming in on the truck, just so I could ask for those flowers because I wanted you to have to make a custom arrangement just so I could talk to you more. And I just… I don't know what happened a few weeks ago. I wanted you to know how much I appreciate you and enjoy talking to you, but I think I went about it the wrong way. I wasn't trying to push you away, Dean. I just wanted you to know how I felt. Even if you don't feel the same way." Cas finished his speech and looked at the ground.

Dean was positively floating. He was so completely, utterly, stupidly happy at that moment. Cas loves me. Cas LOVES me. He thought with glee. His brain took a minute, but it finally caught up. Cas is waiting for me to say something, damn, quick, say something before he leaves. Dean quickly reached out and took the flowers from Cas' outstretched hand. Cas looked up, his eyes widening in surprise.

Dean was silent for a moment, collecting his thoughts. "Oh Cas, I started falling in love with you from the moment I met you too. I just couldn't imagine you could ever love me back." A brilliant smile was stretching across Dean's face as he spoke.

Cas' answering smile could've blinded Dean. "Do you really mean that Dean?" His amazement was clear.

"Yes, Cas, I really mean it."

Cas stepped forward, arms open, and Dean stepped into his embrace. Dean rested his head on Cas' shoulder, and they stood there for a moment, relishing in the feel of finally being in the arms of their love. Cas whispered softly in his ear, "oh Dean, how could I not love you?"

Dean felt a grin stretching his face. He looked up, and their eyes met.

"Can I kiss you now?" Cas whispered it as though he was afraid that saying it too loudly would shatter their tender moment.

Dean's heart was about to beat out of his chest. "Yes," he whispered.

Their lips met, soft and sweet, and full of promise.