- This is (obviously) a work of fanfiction. I don't own anything but the original characters. I don't claim ownership over the characters or storyline of the TV show Supernatural, no matter how grateful I am for them, which is hella.

- Thanks to the Sister Husbands, who are my best friends in the whole world, and happen to be gracious enough to also beta most of my works for me. I don't know what I'd do without you girls, but I certainly wouldn't be doing this.

- All words that are italicized and in quotations are in sign language.

Dean is nervous.

"Are you nervous?" Sam asks, all smug and floppy-haired.

Dean scoffs. "No."

They both know it's a lie, but because of the occasion, Sam lets it go. Dean is grateful as hell.

He looks back at the floor-length mirror. In the background is the hotel suite he's staying in, per tradition, which he thought was stupid and Cas insisted on. He still thinks it's stupid, but when Cas hits him with those big blue eyes, goddamn if Dean has ever found a way to say no.

The focus, though, is Dean himself. He's in a traditional tuxedo, all black and white and sharp lines. His hair is gelled and styled within an inch of its life, and he has a bowtie on, for fuck's sake. If there's ever been a doubt as to how far gone he is on Cas, it's been obliterated by this whole shindig. At least I look good.

Sam comes up to stand behind him, looking just as sharp in his own tux. "It's gonna be fine," he says gently.

Dean swallows hard, refusing to meet his brother's eyes in the mirror. "Yeah, yeah, I know, I just…" He shrugs.

The music changes and Sam claps a hand down on his shoulder. "Time to go. Ready for this?"

Dean takes a deep breath and nods once, sharply. "Yeah. Let's go."

The next few minutes are a blur of making sure he's in the right place, making sure everyone else is in place, and making sure that he knows what the hell he's about to do.

There was a lot of discussion about where to have the wedding. A church was obviously out, not only because they weren't sure they'd be able to find one in their area willing to host a gay wedding, but because Cas' parents are religious. Religious as hell, actually, and when he came out to them, they disowned him on the spot. No regard for his spotless military history or the shiny medals on his chest, the lack of any sort of trouble-causing ever, or the regular church attendance despite his quiet disbelief. They just… Dropped him like a hot rock.

(Luckily, his older brothers Michael and Gabriel were furious and immediately cut ties with their parents. Dean's mother had to be physically restrained from going next door and kicking Cas' mom's ass. It would have been awesome if Dean hadn't been holding a sobbing Cas against his chest.)

They finally decided, after much back and forth, on Cain's apiary. He and Cas struck up a friendship when Cas got back from battle strangely passionate about honeybees. He apprentices there three times a week, and with Cain getting older and having no kids, Dean thinks the older man is gonna leave the place to Cas when he retires.

The music changes again, and Dean is knocked out of his thoughts as the procession starts.

Dean grumbled and bitched about Mary walking him down the aisle, but he's grateful beyond belief when her small hand slips into his arm, squeezing lightly.

Her eyes are shining up at him, already wet with tears. "Doing okay?"

He smiles. "Yeah, I'm all right, ma."

Charlie sends him the Vulcan salute from where she is in the front of the line. He winks at her, trying to exude a confidence that he does not feel. She immediately sees right the fuck through him, rolls her eyes, and steps through the big white arch on Michael's arm.

Charlie's support was invaluable when Dean realized that he was gay just out of high school. She put up with not only his big gay panic (which he insists was not that bad), but with the fact that he realized he was gay because he realized that he was in love with Cas two days after Cas left for the Army. She's the one who gave him the courage to tell Cas, to write Cas a long, detailed letter and send it off, even though Cas was gone and there was no way he'd be able to come back any time soon. She also whooped and cheered the loudest when, the moment Cas got off the plane on his first visit back home, he kissed Dean in a classic movie dip.

None of them would even be here without Charlie.

Next up is Jo, who flips him the bird, because Ellen raised her wrong somehow, and steps forward next to Gabriel.

Jo was there for Dean when Cas was gone, keeping his spirits up and convincing him that long-distance, even though it was hard, was gonna be worth it. She organized game nights and pub crawls and did pretty much everything she could to keep Dean's mind off of how far away Cas was, especially after his deployment.

And when Dean got the call that Cas had been injured in the line of duty, Jo was the one who drove him home and took care of him as the details came through, bit by bit.

Last is Sam, who just gives Dean a knowing "don't fuck this up" look and walks down the aisle with Jess on his arm, who's glowing with happiness and excitement.

"Almost our turn, darling," Mary says with a smile, and Dean's heart drops into his feet.

"I know he'll love it," she continues softly, "but I also know you. So I know that you're nervous, and I just want you to know something." She turns to look up at him with a blinding smile. "If you don't go through with what you have planned for that wonderful man out there, Dean Winchester, I will be most disappointed."

He frowns. "Disappointed is just 'mom' for mad."

She gives him another beatific smile and tugs him forward when it's their time.

The thing is, outside of that first letter that Dean wrote him, Cas has taken all of the big steps in their relationship, assumed all of the risks. He kissed Dean when he visited home. He asked Dean to move in with him when he got to come home for good. He proposed to Dean, at The Roadhouse on a regular date night, totally blindsiding Dean. Cas has taken every big step they've gone and never complained once.

It's not that Dean doesn't feel the same way, because he does. He always has. It's just that Cas is so goddamn thoughtful and careful and prepared, he always manages to take Dean by surprise.

When they get to the arch, it's officially too late to back out. The music fades, and everyone frowns and looks around when it changes. Cas is clued in to the fact that something is different, but he just tilts his head and never takes his eyes away from Dean.

Dean takes a moment to soak him in. Cas is handsome as fuck in his full uniform, medals on his chest, standing at attention. It's even better because Dean knows that under that hat is wild sex hair that even the Army couldn't tame, and under that uniform Cas is wearing boxers with little bees all over them.

Nerd, Dean thinks fondly.

Mary steps forward without him, leaving Dean standing at the end of the aisle, staring at the love of his life.

Mary walks up the aisle and presses a gentle kiss to Cas' cheek before taking her seat. He gives her a warm smile, then looks back at Dean.

Dean takes a deep breath, takes one step forward as jaunty percussion music starts to play, and raises his hands to begin signing along with the song.

"L is for the way you look at me
O is for the only one I see
V is very, very, extraordinary
E is even more than anyone that you adore"

A year into their long-distance relationship and in the final month of Cas' deployment, Dean got the call that Cas was injured on the battlefield and was being rushed home.

The hours between when the phone dropped from his numb fingers to when he was at Cas' side in the hospital holding his hand are a blur for Dean. He knows that Jo picked him up, and he's told that Michael went all righteous fury on a doctor who tried to insist that Dean couldn't go back to be with Cas because he wasn't family. All he remembers is how small Cas looked, how pale and tragic.

Cas' eyes are filling with tears and he has one hand covering his mouth.

"And love
Is all that I can give to you
Love is more than just a game for two
Two in love can make it
Take my heart and please don't break it
Love was made for me and you"

Dean takes a couple of steps forward.

Cas recovered almost a hundred percent. The only thing he lost permanently was his hearing. Dean's still not real clear on how that happened, he's just grateful he has Cas, whole and in his arms every day.

The road back to being at a hundred percent was long and hard. Cas has always been strong, a rock in the hurricane that has been their lives, but there were a few times he broke down, positive he wouldn't be able to move forward, certain that Dean couldn't possibly want to stay with him now that he was disabled, deaf, broken (his words, never Dean's).

In those times, Dean became the rock. He held Cas as he cried, he went with Cas to the sign language classes, and when their landlord was a dick about making accommodations for Cas, Dean bought a house that they could modify to their hearts' content. He remains steadfast and outspoken in his certainty that Cas can do anything, if not more, that he can.

"L is for the way you look at me
O is for the only one I see
V is very, very, extraordinary
E is even more than anyone that you adore"

There are tears in Dean's eyes now, too, and Cas is unashamedly crying, not even trying to wipe his face. Dean takes another few steps forward as he continues to sign.

Now, Cas doesn't work. He was honorably discharged and gets a decent pension from the Army, so he just hangs out with Cain and signs about bees, as the older beekeeper is also deaf. Dean suspects that's a big part of why they're so close.

It doesn't bother Dean. He makes plenty of money as a mechanic to keep them comfortable, if not rich. Cas has never wanted to be rich, anyway. Cas has always just wanted to be with Dean.

Dean loves Castiel Novak more than he thought possible. He's loved Cas as long as he's been aware of himself. He's stood with Cas through deaths and fights and loss, and they have come out the other side together each time. There's nothing, nothing he wouldn't do for Cas.

When they were planning the wedding, with Cas beaming at him as he interpreted for the wedding planner, it occurred to Dean that he really, really wanted to do something for Cas. Not something to show Cas how much he loves him, because Cas already knows that. Not even to show anyone else how much he loves Cas, because they already know, too.

He just wanted to make a grand gesture for the man he was marrying just because.

"And love
Is all that I can give to you
Love is more than just a game for two
Two in love can make it
Take my heart and please don't break it
Love was made for me and you"

He's almost there, and Cas is reaching for him with one hand.

"Love was made for me and you"

He's finally here, standing in front of Cas.

"Love was made for me and you"

Cas has loved this song since elementary school, and he knows when Dean's done. As soon as he's finished with the last word, Cas' hands are engulfing his own, squeezing them as he stares up at Dean with blatant adoration in his eyes.

"What was that for?" he whispers, the only volume of speech he's comfortable with since he's lost his hearing. It's still a bit louder than it was before, but Dean will go to his grave with that secret.

Dean grins. "I just love you, baby."

Cas beams.

Jodi is smiling, too, where she stands next to them, Bible in hand. "All right, all right, are you two ready?"

Dean doesn't look away from Cas. "Always have been."

("Ha, gay," Gabriel whispers.

"Behave," Michael hisses, though he is trying to suppress a smirk.

Jess is crying too hard to hush either of them.)

- Hi. First of all, I'm not deaf, nor do I have any deaf friends, nor do I speak sign language. If there are any major inaccuracies, please know that I meant no disrespect whatsoever. Feel free to point them out so I can correct them.

- Hi again. Second of all, I'm not in the armed forces, nor is literally anyone I know. I have no idea how pretty much any of this works. If there are any major inaccuracies, please know that I meant no disrespect whatsoever. Feel free to point them out to me so I can correct them.

- I've been itching to write a short one-shot for weeks and this one came to me in a flash of inspiration today. I hope you enjoyed!

- Feedback gets my motor running.