July 25th, last day before the wedding. It was only 10 AM, and already Dean's head was ringing with orders and requests. Help Sam bring out the tables into the garden. Hitch up the fairy lights with Jess. Get your father away from the fridge. Give Mrs Moore a hand with those plates. Find an extra fork. Get your father away from the fridge. He was running left, right, front and back all at once, then suddenly it was noon and all he wanted was a damn beer. Mary had wanted him to make sure the tables were bolted down properly, but Jess, his knight in shining armor, assured him she had it covered.

With another glance to ensure his mother wasn't paying attention, Dean scurried off to the direction of the house, and ducked in through the glass door. Upon seeing the kitchen was thankfully empty, he grabbed at the fridge's handle, ripped the door back and picked out the coldest bottle. He slumped into the chair closest to him, popped the cap off and took a deep draw.

Head hanging over the back of his chair, he smacked his lips in relief. "Thank the freakin' lord, that's good."

"Dean Winchester, are you slacking?" His vision flew to the arch opening into the entrance hall, and found Castiel standing in the middle, arms crossed over his chest comically.

"Hey, fuck you, I've been working my ass off," Dean shot back without any real venom. "Two hours, man. I needed a damn break." After another sip of his drink, he jerked his chin at the Novak. "Anyway, where have you been?"

"Helping you father and Mr Moore with the flower and food arrangements," Cas replied while he settled in the seat across. Making grabby-hands at Dean's beer, he went on, "Everything is in order, though."

Dean passed him the bottle. "My dad annoy you?"

"I annoyed him plenty," John's voice wavered above his head, "about how too good he is for you." Dean and Cas shared a chuckle, and the senior Winchester helped himself in the fridge. "Where's your mother?" he asked and picked up the bottle opener in front of Dean.

"Outside."

John threw his head back and chugged back a good half of his drink. He warned, "Neither of you have seen me." Dean offered a salute to his father, which the other returned with an absent wave as he wandered out into the living room. Dean turned back to find Cas already watching him. Their eyes met instantly, and shared a hidden, soft smile.

Fuck it, Dean thought. It was now or never. He couldn't take it anymore. If things worked out, great, he'd get laid tonight. If not, they'd be home in a few days anyway, and then he could hide away from the world, wallowing in as much self-pity as he could muster.

"Cas." His voice sounded annoyingly shaky and rough. "I, uh- That thing you wanted to talk about with me. Do you wanna...?"

Castiel, suddenly refusing to meet his eyes, nodded mutely. "May we go somewhere private?"

The Winchester threw a look over his shoulder, confirming his suspicion of the pantry being empty. He locked eyes with Cas again, and nodded over to the hall behind them. As the two quietly stood from their seats, Dean decisively ignored the painful pounding in his chest. No way was he losing his cool now, he was going to handle the situation, damn it. He tried to mentally prepare himself for several different resolutions, but by the time the pantry door clicked behind them, he had nothing.

He sighed sharply through his nose, then forced the words out before he chickened out. "Okay, cards on the table, Cas. I need to know what's up with you and me, man. What- How do you stand here?" He gestured between them.

When Cas' eyes turned gut-wrenchingly miserable, well, that was when Dean's heart started sinking. "I don't think you'd want my answer," he said.

Cue heart plummeting into his stomach. Dean pinched the bridge of his nose. "Look, Cas, it's fine, okay? Just tell me, 'cause I get it- I do, man."

"I'm sorry, Dean."

"No, it's- it's okay. We don't- You don't have to see me anymore, if you don't want to."

Dean expected Cas to thank him politely and leave. He expected that they'd probably never speak to each other again except when needed.

But he didn't expect Cas to glare at him so indignantly, like he'd slapped him or offended his mother. "What-? No!" he hissed. "I'm in love with you, idiot, why would you possibly think I'd want that?"

Dean choked on his own spit. "What?"

"What?" Cas' brow furrowed. He squinted at Dean as if he'd grown a second head.

"Since when?!" Dean spluttered.

"Since we were fifteen," he admitted, his voice broken, like he was on the verge of tears.

"Fifteen- Jesus fuck, Cas, why didn't you say anything?!"

"And lose the only friend I had?" Cas countered heatedly. "You would've been furious! I- I would've-"

Dean searched his friend's face helplessly, and then like a ton of bricks, it hit him. The way Castiel looked at him like he'd kicked his goddamn puppy, the way he sounded so distressed now... He thought he was losing him. Cas loved him, and he thought he was losing him.

Feeling like shit was an understatement at the moment. Idly, Dean wondered if he'd ever wrongly put someone behind bars, with detective skills like that.

He seized Cas' face, his thumbs rubbing soothingly over his stubbled jaw, the same way he'd done so many times before when the Novak had distressed over his father's absence, resulting in near-panic attacks. "Cas, fuck, fucking fuck- of course I'm not mad!" A shaky laugh escaped his throat, and his entire body vibrated. "I thought you'd be pissed 'cause of me." He gave him a gentle jolt, his words barely a murmur. "I love you too, Cas. Jeez, I'd never- When was I ever mad at you, man?"

"There was that one time I dropped a potato chip in the Impala," Cas supplied quietly.

Dean clicked his tongue. "Rhetorical." A burst of snorts and chuckles filled the air, chasing the tension out. "Son of a bitch, Cas, how is it possible we were both such dumb-asses?"

"Michael says romantic attachment clouds sixty percent of our reasoning, resulting in inanity and jumping to conclusions."

Most of Cas' words flew over his head, so Dean settled for a blank, "Right."

He realized that, for the first time, there was no one around them, no obligation to pretend to be anything. Whatever he did, he did because he wanted to. So he angled Cas' chin, leaned down and brushed their lips gently. No need for something fancy and impressive. Just a simple affirmation that he'd finally got his head out his ass.

Cas, it seemed, didn't appreciate the gesture, because he grabbed the hairs on the nape of Dean's neck and yanked him back down.

Dean's gasp was lost in Cas' mouth. "Boy, you sure know how to charm a guy, don't you, Cas?" he managed to mumble.

"Fourteen years, Winchester. Do it properly, or I will," the other murmured.

"Do you always expect everything to be your way?"

"Do you always talk when you shouldn't?"

Smirking, Dean wrapped his arm around the Novak's slim hips and pressed him closer to his chest. Cas let him lick into his mouth without protest, swallowing Dean's soft moan at the warm, wet contact. As his hands went to his chest, tugged at the Henley's soft material, the Winchester decided to move the party along, slip his hands under the back of Cas' shirt and experimentally play with the waistband of the peeking boxers.

Castiel jumped at touch, before muttering, "Not now, Dean. Later."

"Mm, why not do it now, and then later again?" Dean suggested.

"Because we're in a pantry, Dean. There is food here. Food we eat."

The other pouted playfully at him, but held his hands up in defeat when he saw there was no changing Cas' mind. His grin faded, and Dean started seriously, "Cas, you- You sure you wanna do this, with me? I mean for real this time? 'Cause you know my family better than anyone. It's gonna be torture. Sammy's a bitch most of the year, my dad's unnerving at best, and my family friends? They won't let this go for years to come."

For a horrifying moment, Castiel seemed to consider his words. But a smug smile bloomed on his face as he said, "Only if you're willing to go through the same with mine."

The ceremony, on the whole, wasn't that bad. The service was beautiful. Everyone was happy and friendly. Sam and Jessica were adorable. Dean will admit he teared up a little.

What he had really been looking forward to though, was the after-party. Partly because he was completely starved to death, but mostly because it meant that he could drag Cas off to a secluded, dim room to make out (and possibly more). But now there he was, hours later, at the party's peak, and Cas was nowhere in sight. That didn't make Dean too happy.

After the toasts were given out and the food eaten, they had temporarily split ways; Dean to go to the bathroom, and Cas to help Mary with the cake. When the Winchester came back, the guests were chomping down on the dessert, but Castiel was gone.

That had been some fifteen minutes ago. Dean was two seconds away from getting to his feet and heading back into the house to look for him, when- speak of the devil- Castiel emerged on the back porch, making his way through the guests scattered around the garden.

"Where have you been?" Dean asked, standing up as the Novak approached him.

"I'm sorry, Michael called me. I lost track of time." And to emphasize on his apology, Cas pecked Dean's lips softly. After that, Dean's brain wasn't really good for much else. "How was the cake? Did you try some?"

The other shrugged. "Not bad. I'm more of a pie guy, though."

Cas' bright laugh was enough to make Dean rest their foreheads together, noses brushing as they locked their mouths together in earnest. The faint groan Cas let out was lost against their joined lips, as he dragged his fingers through the short blond strands on the nape of Dean's neck. An annoyed huff and a couple of cat-calls sounded from Bobby, and Jo and Ash respectively, but neither payed much attention.

"Dean," Cas murmured, his voice a little stifled, "would you be extremely angry if I asked you to dance with me?"

Dean chuckled in return. "After the embarrassment my family's put me through this past week? I don't think I have any more dignity left to lose," he said, before he let Castiel lead him to the middle of the garden.

Luckily, the song was from a fairly newer era (if the 80s counted as 'fairly newer') and not the classical stuff, meaning there would be none of that ridiculous waltz thing. It was slower, more of a love song than anything else, which in hindsight, agreed with the occasion. In the mass of the slow-dancing people, Dean spotted his parents, Garth and Jess' cousin, and in the dead centre, Jess and Sammy.

"So," Dean started while he wound Cas' arms around his neck and placed his own on the Novak's hips, "anything new on Michael's end?"

Castiel grimaced slightly. "It seems that my side has finally found out."

Dean's eyebrows rose. "What, about-?" He subtly gestured between the two of them.

"Michael is shocked we've managed to keep it secret for so long, Lucifer and Balthazar are appalled that I didn't tell them, and Gabriel claims he's known all along."

"Apparently, Gabe's not the only one," Dean supplied, referring to practically everyone around them. "How'd Michael even find out?"

"My brother makes it his business to know everything." Castiel hummed amusedly, then went on, "They all want me to bring you over for dinner, though. The minute we get back to Lawrence."

"Yeah, that'll be fun." Dean snorted. "Three hours of sitting around a table with Gabriel's innuendos, Lucifer's smug face and Michael's evil glares. How could I possibly say no?"

"Gabriel will make pie, Lucifer will be occupied with Balthazar, and I will make sure Michael doesn't bother you too much," Castiel promised. "Please, as a favour for me? In return, well..." A sly smirk played on his lips and he leaned in close. Dean shivered at the feeling of Cas' breath against his cheek. "I don't have classes until September, and as far as I know, you don't have any cases in dire need of solving. I could take you to my summer house outside of town. Just you and me."

"Alone?" Dean growled playfully, tugging Cas' body into his.

"Utterly and completely."

The Winchester moistened his lips, his eyes trained solely on Castiel's perfect mouth. "Well, I'm nothing if not understanding."

A/N: As always, thanks a bunch to everyone who left kudos, commented, bookmarked and stuck with the story. I'm super grateful for the feedback! Helps to steer me in the right direction. And of course, thanks to Audrey the beta, and Em the sister.

I'm relieved to have this story finished so quickly, since my exams are starting in two weeks. I most probably won't be publishing anything new this month, but let's see what December brings.

Once again, huge thanks, and kisses and hugs to all of you :D

EDIT: There's now a mini prequel to this! Featuring destiel high school shenanigans, as told by Michael Novak. You can find it on my profile, it's called The Hardships of Michael Novak.