fic, SPN: I'd be proud if you would wear my name (Dean/Cas, others), PG
Title: I'd be proud if you would wear my name
Pairing: Dean/Castiel, Sam, Balthazar and Bobby also star
Word count: ∼5800
Rating: PG
Spoilers: up to 6x20, wild speculation after.
Warnings: none of the serious kind.
Disclaimer: ... none of this is mine, not even the title. Look at the summary.
Summary: wherein Dean and Castiel get married. More or less properly.
A/N: errr so I'm trying to finish some late five acts fills. In ladyyueh's list there was marriage. I don't even know how this monster happened, considering that it was supposed to be comment fic. Yeah, right. Also, I did some research but I obviously never had a civil marriage in Iowa and I followed an apparently general scheme for that kind of wedding, so apologies in advance for any related mistakes. Title stolen from Bruce Springsteen. Using for my kissbingo card for the square location: honeymoon, though it's a pretty loose definition of honeymoon.
Now, part one:
There are a lot of things that Dean Winchester had considered before understanding that hunting is a job that prevents you from any kind of normal relationship.
Marriage hadn’t exactly been in the lot, though - he had never imagined himself going that far. He had never thought about that even while he was living with Lisa, but it’s not like he ever saw the appeal. With her, and that’d have really been the only one out of all Dean’s relationships with half a chance to progress into more than just sharing a house, it wouldn’t have changed anything except for putting a heavier load on his shoulders, and not one he had felt ready for at that time. And when Dean was young, marrying was - something that other people did. People that weren’t Winchesters and didn’t save people and hunt things. And after all, if you love someone, what’s the point in tying the knot? He just never saw it.
Still. He had imagined, a couple of times when he was really, really drunk, that if it ever happened, then he’d have done it properly. He’d have proposed seriously, bought the girl a ring, worn his best clothes. He wouldn’t have picked a church to get married in - hey, he was a convinced atheist until an angel resurrected him, and to be honest, considering how much of a fuck-up God has revealed himself to be until now, he thinks that atheism felt a lot better. Anyway. Not the point. Sam would have been his best man, his dad would have been there, maybe Bobby too. It’d have probably meant quitting hunting, but then again he had been drunk while making this whole fantasy up. It also included a lot of other pretty stupid and pathetic things, but that’s not the point.
The point is that Dean does, in fact, get married. And Sam and Bobby are there, as well. And it’s most definitely not in a church.
All the rest is not matching.
First thing: he had imagined to do it in a nice, small city - probably the city from which the other person came, it’s not like he’s had a home that isn’t a car lately. Not only it isn’t a small city - is goddamn Des Moines.
Second thing: there’s one reason he’s getting married in Iowa - it’s because the decision was taken while at Bobby’s, and Iowa happens to be the only state within a reasonable driving distance from South Dakota where same-sex marriage is legal.
Right, and there’s the third thing: that he’s getting married to Castiel, aka former angel of the Lord, and none of this had really been planned.
Or, it went like this:
Then, part one:
The war in Heaven does end, and Cas does win, except that Cas more or less uses up all of his powered-up-by-way-too-many-souls-Grace during his and Raphael’s stand-off. Meaning: stupid feathered idiot blows up Raphael, the warehouse they were in and most of the forest outside it, and the only reason that Dean and Sam survive the whole shebang is that Balthazar had teleported all of them somewhere else before it happened. Then they go back and they find Cas barely alive under the warehouse’s debris. He does survive, but he’s one hundred per cent human material.
Then he stays comatose for five days, which he spends in the bed in Bobby’s guestroom. Days during which Balthazar drops by and actually tells them everything that has been going on, and by the end of the speech Dean feels like the world’s biggest ass for having thought that Cas had turned his back on them, and for the ring of fire, and for everything else. When Cas wakes up there’s hugging which hadn’t been in anyone’s plans, there are apologies and a lot of other things of the chick-flick kind, and that at least ends better than Dean could have thought.
Then, part two:
That was the premise. This is the real deal, which brings us to what’s going on right now: after two months, Cas hasn’t exactly adjusted to humanity. Between nightmares, moments in which he seems to zone out for entire minutes, throwing food up for his entire first week as a human and what Dean thinks are symptoms of angelic-war-related PTSD, Cas isn’t doing that great. One month in, Dean tries to get Cas to talk about it and it ends with the both of them on the bed, kissing until they need air, and that’s pretty much the only fairly good thing that has happened until now. And Dean can’t help wishing he had fessed up before - maybe they’d have avoided a whole damn lot of problems, if he had.
Anyway, as things are, they could be better. Not to mention that Dean can’t help thinking that he was so stupid, to think that Cas would always come back. Not when he has died twice and almost a third, and all along it had been all for them - who’s he kidding, for him.
He’s sure that he isn’t doing enough to make Cas get that he has realized it, and that he fully intends to make amends for it, and that it took him years, but he isn’t going to have a gay freak out over the fact that he’s apparently in love with a fallen angel in a guy’s body.
Then one day during month three after the end of the war, Cas wakes up half-screaming, cold sweat running down his face, looking terrified. He doesn’t put up resistance when Dean pulls him close, and he does relax a bit, but usually he calms down. Today - he just stays distressed.
“Hey,” Dean asks, “talk to me?”
“I’m fine, Dean,” Cas starts, and Dean huffs.
“You think I don’t know when I’ve been dealing with the same kind of shit for years? Come on, spill. I know you ain’t. And I know you hate this. Believe me, I know you got the short end of the stick, and I’m -”
“It’s not that I hate being human,” Cas says, his head leaning on Dean’s shoulder. “It’s just that I don’t want to hold you back.” He speaks quietly, and he looks like a wreck, and shit, Dean will never not feel guilty for not having realized how bad it had gotten.
“What? You aren’t -”
“I am,” Cas replies, looking at him straight in the face. “You’re not - you’re not going on hunts because of me. You aren’t doing anything else because of me, and I can’t ask that of you. And still, I don’t even want you to go anywhere because if something happens to you -”
Cas stops, swallowing, and Dean gets it and damn, he doesn’t even know what he should say -
That’s when Dean gets the idea. Which will be probably filed, in a couple of years, in the bad-ideas-which-might-actually-be-genius-if-seen-from-another-perspective category, and which Dean figures he’s had enough times.
“You know what?” he interrupts. “Let’s get married.”
Cas looks at him like he has grown two heads.
“What did you just say?”
“Let’s get married.”
“Why - what - I don’t get what it has to do with -”
“Okay, listen to me. You’re not a burden. You could never be. The only thing I’d take back of that speech I gave you back then is that I’d have used any means, to, you know. The rest is valid. Heck, considering what we’ve been doing, even more than valid. I want you exactly where you are and I can do without hunting - shit, I’ve done that all my life and I’m sick tired of that. And to be honest, I acted on things a month ago, but this - this thing that’s between us - it’s been there for ages and you know it, and I know it. I’m pretty sure that you’re… well, it for me, I guess. And I could bet that the contrary’s valid.”
Cas nods, once, and Dean figures it’s good enough. “Okay. Iowa’s just over the stateline and we can get married there. We can just, take the car, grab Sam and Bobby, we go and we do it. And then I don’t have any excuse to let you out of my sight again.”
“You’re serious,” Cas breathes out.
“Do you really need me to ask you?”
“What?” Cas says, but it’s obvious that he’s playing hard to get right now.
“Well, fuck, will you marry me?”
Cas’s face suddenly goes from half-miserable to beaming, and Dean doesn’t really regret that.
“Yes,” he chokes, and then Dean has to kiss him stupid into the mattress. And then he checks what time is it.
“Okay. It’s three. If we leave now we can be in Des Moines by nine this morning. Let’s just grab Bobby and Sam and some clothes, we can buy other stuff we need when we’re there, first courthouse we find, we go inside and we’re done. So?”
“… I’ll get your clothes,” Cas says moving from the bed.
Then, part three:
Dean then proceeds on banging on both Sam’s door and Bobby’s.
“Hey,” he says to the both of them, “me and Cas are going to Des Moines to get married. And I need you two to come. Get ready because we’re leaving in half an hour.”
Bobby and Sam both look at him like he’s crazy. Bobby actually tells him that he’s twelve kinds of crazy, and that he’s gonna make some coffee for the drive since he figures that there’s no point in trying to talk some sense into the both of them.
During the drive, Bobby and Cas are in the back and Sam’s in the front, and Cas is positively glowing as he looks out of the window.
“Uhm, Dean,” Sam says as the sun rises on the horizon, “don’t you need like, rings in order to get married?”
“I can buy them when we get there,” he says.
“Yeah, you buy for the two of you?” Bobby says.
“I think I would like to pick mine,” Cas says, and so it’s decided that Sam is going ring-shopping with Cas and Bobby with Dean as soon as they get there, and then they’ll see each other at the courthouse whenever they deem suit.
The only sound in the car until they cross the border is Dean’s Led Zeppelin tape. And then Sam has the horrible idea to speak again.
“Uhm, Dean, so it’s just the four of us?”
“Do you know anyone else we could call?” Dean replies, and yeah, who should they call? Rufus is dead, Ellen and Jo are dead, that was pretty much the extent of their close extra-familiar relationships. Not to mention that whole part where Cas’s family is what it is and -
“I know someone,” Cas says then, not specifying, his voice sounding not exactly sure.
Dean thinks about it for a second but - if two and two makes four, then it means that the only other person coming would be Balthazar. He glances in the rearview mirror and Cas is looking… not exactly hopeful. And fuck, fine, Dean doesn’t like Balthazar, but he and Cas are getting fucking married, if he can’t compromise now, how is he supposed to do it later when there’s the need?
“You can invite that someone. As long as you don’t do it now, because I’d like not to crash my car for wanting to strangle him. Also, it’d be cramped back there.”
Cas doesn’t answer, but the small smile he gives Dean in the rearview mirror lights up his face and Dean is just going to suck it up and deal with it.
Then, part four:
They find a courthouse and they’re told they can come in at two that afternoon. Dean swallows when someone goes on the outside and adds Winchester on a sheet hung outside the door - it’s in the only blank spot. Most probably the only twenty minutes of the day that weren’t booked already.
It’s half past nine in the morning and so they all agree on meeting in front of the place at half past one, and then Sam drags Cas away while he looks something up on his blackberry - Dean isn’t sure he wants to know.
“So,” Bobby tells him, “you wanna get that ring or what?”
Dean tries to calculate how much money he has on his current credit card as they walk, looking for a place, and then Bobby huffs and rolls his eyes before punching him in the side.
“Hey, what -”
“Stop worrying about the price, you idjit. I have a proper card, it can be my present. Not like you bothered to give us a couple days to find you one.”
Dean swallows, not knowing what to answer, but he doesn’t have to because Bobby has just pushed him into an ethnic jewels store which doesn’t look too pricey and sort of classy, too. Except that Dean is a fish out of water here because it’s not like he ever bought any girl a ring, and -
He sees a ring and he just knows it’s the right one without thinking about it twice. It’s exposed right on his left and damn that was a lucky find. He checks the price, which is reasonable for the occasion. Bobby walks next to him, hums, tells him that it’s a good choice, and that’s how Dean gets out of the shop with a box in his pocket that seems to weigh too much for its size. They get back to the car and Dean checks the clothes that Cas had packed for him - there’s a clean shirt and jeans that aren’t ripped and his dad’s leather jacket. Dean swallows and then closes the trunk, tells Bobby that he’ll change in the bar in front of the courthouse before their appointment. And then it’s ten thirty AM and they’re pretty much done. But hey, there’s a bar in front of the courthouse, right?
“Bobby?”
“Yeah?”
“Let’s just go inside and I’ll buy you breakfast. Hell, it’ll be my bachelor party.”
“Just you,” Bobby mutters, but before he can follow Dean inside, Balthazar appears out of thin air next to them.
“The fuck,” Dean gasps, after jumping about two feet back.
“Hello yourself,” Balthazar says. “And thanks for the invitation.” He smirks and Dean tries to smile back. Guy’s about to become his brother in law, right?
“It’s a pleasure.”
“Well, good to know, but I also wanted to ask you something. Like, maybe, when you had this idea, did you think that you’re legally dead, and that if you weren’t, you’d be on some FBI server? And that neither of you has any valid stupid identity document whatsoever?”
Fuck. Dean hadn’t thought about that. The ring suddenly seems heavier, and he can feel his face falling. Shit, he shouldn’t have acted on impulse, but it had seemed such a good idea, he hadn’t thought -
Balthazar claps him on the shoulder so hard that Dean almost screams. “What…”
“Oh, lighten up! So you’re really convinced! Which is good - Cassie there has been through too much gibberish already. But it’s still good anyway - hey, he likes you too much, I’m not sure why, but then again you make him happy so whatever, his life, his choices. Anyway, since I’m that nice, I’ll just give you a wedding present, shall I.”
Balthazar stays still for a second, eyes closed, then suddenly a stack of papers appears out of thin air, and there are two birth certificates on top.
“What -”
“I just erased your face and your brother’s from the FBI database - and by the way, you’re not legally dead now. That stuff, half it’s whatever crappy human documentation you might need with your name on it and a request for a license that you should have done at least three days ago. In theory. The other half is - well, I just made up a little sob story to give Cassie some semblance of legal identity. I also took care of the fact that the request for the license needs to be approved when you go inside. And now I have more pressing matters to attend, so I’ll go and leave you to it - and oh, one thing.”
“Yeah?”
“The first mistake you make, you’re dead. Clear?”
“… clear.”
Balthazar disappears without answering and Dean lets out a huff. “Well, guess he ain’t that bad.”
He looks over the papers while having breakfast - Cas became Castiel Smith, Smith because he grew up in an orphanage in Utah and he was never adopted, so he just took a common random surname. The documents all look good, and the ring doesn’t weigh as much anymore.
At one thirty, Dean is wearing the clothes Cas picked and he waits at the car with Bobby. He sees three people coming - definitely his brother, Balthazar and Cas. Cas is wearing his old suit, which was ruined beyond repair until last day so maybe Balthazar just mended it or whatever. It still looks old, but at least it’s in one piece. When they arrive at the car, Cas looks at him in a way that almost makes Dean’s knees melt, and it’s such a change from ten hours ago.
“So, uh, should we go?” he asks.
“Dean, you didn’t even ask me to be your best man. I’m wounded,” Sam says, turning the hurt-puppy-dog-eyes on him and - oh, seriously?
“Come on, I thought it was implied!”
Sam’s expression goes from hurt to bitchface in a second.
“Fine, fine. Will you be my fucking best man, Sammy?”
And fuck, now Sam is hugging him in the middle of the street. Did he just have some hormones injection, the big girl?
Still, Dean hugs back and when Sam moves away he hands him the ring box. Balthazar waves a hand and grabs Sam’s arm. “Well, guess that I’m the other one then. So let’s go in, shall we?” he says, and Sam lets himself be dragged.
“Well,” Bobby says, “this already looks like the weirdest wedding I ever attended, and don’t expect me to walk you down the fucking aisle, but congratulations.” And then he gets into the courthouse too, leaving Dean and Cas outside.
“So,” Dean asks, “are we going?”
Cas doesn’t answer and takes his hand.
Now, part two:
So that’s how Dean is standing in a courthouse in Des Moines, with the judge officiating the whole thing looking pretty fucking perplexed (and she’s probably skipping lunch in order to marry them), wearing his dad’s leather jacket, with Sam behind him and Balthazar behind Cas, and fake documents in his hands and damn but he hasn’t thought about the vows.
Well, fuck, he’ll just make it up as he goes, he figures. The judge checks the papers and deems them all right, then checks Sam’s and Balthazar’s too (figures, bastard must have forged some for everyone but Bobby), and deems them right as well. Then places another stack of papers on the desk in front of her, checks their names again and clears her throat.
“All right. The documentation is valid and everything is ready, and since I guess you’re in a hurry, I won’t lose time with frills.”
Dean could kiss her right now, if only - well, you know.
“We are gathered - though it might be too much of a word, considering the number - we are gathered here today to witness and celebrate Dean Winchester’s and Castiel Smith’s wedding.”
Dean thinks that he likes her sense of humor, sort of, and then Sam elbows him - his hands are shaking behind his back.
“I don’t know who you are or why are you here now so I guess we can skip that whole part and go straight to the point. Dean, are you here of your own free will, and do you intend to marry Castiel?”
Dean doesn’t even hesitate - his hands might be shaking but the more time passes, the more this whole thing seems the right one to do. “I do.”
The judge turns to Castiel. “Castiel, are you here of your own free will, and do you intend to marry Dean?”
“I do,” Cas replies, without missing a single beat.
“Okay. Any of you three in this room know of a reason why they shouldn’t marry?”
“Miss,” Bobby says from the bench in first row, “I can only think of reasons why they should.”
“I’ll co-sign that,” Sam says.
Balthazar doesn’t say anything but he doesn’t object either.
“Good. Please join your hands and face each other,” the judge says, and Dean does. Cas’s hands are blissfully dry and not shaking, and when Dean raises his head and meets Cas’s eyes, he has to stop himself from just moving and kissing him now. Cas looks just so happy right now, his face relaxed, his eyes looking up at Dean’s still with the I-can-see-your-soul stare, and there’s such a fondness in his stare that Dean’s knees buckle for a second.
“You may say your vows.”
“I’ll start,” Cas says, and Dean is sort of grateful because he isn’t sure he could have talked first, not with the lump currently lodged in his throat.
“Dean, I’m quite sure you don’t remember the first time we met, and maybe it’s a good thing that you don’t, but you… definitely managed to capture my attention, if we can put it like that. I’m also quite sure that you remember the… other first time. A lot of time has passed, and we’ve been through a lot, and I guess we did things we both regret. At times I’m sure I’ll never completely understand you, but meeting you is the one thing that I never will regret as long as I exist. I existed for an eternity without knowing you and now I can’t imagine my life without you in it. And - I want this.”
Dean thinks that he’s about to cry here - shit, he’s sure no one has even ever thought about him in those terms, and he isn’t sure that anything he says next will match, but… fuck, he isn’t going to back down in front of the vows, not now.
“Cas, I’m half-sure I’ll never say it as well as that, but - I’m not here because if it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t be anywhere at all, and I’m not here because I feel obligated or some shit like that. Also yeah, I remember that other first time, and with everything that went on since then I’m still not sure of why you’d want me, but I’m damn grateful that you still do even if I did stuff that’d have made anyone else change idea. I just - I never had much that I’ve wanted to keep close in my entire life. Mostly because I always seem to lose it. And I really - I really want to keep you close. As close as it gets. Because it really looks like you’re it and if this means I can make it official, then I want to. And I’m just sorry I never told you half of this before.”
And then - shit, Cas’s fingers thread around his, and Dean would say that Cas is crying if his vision wasn’t completely blurry as well. He blinks, trying to get a hold of himself, and shit, they’re both crying, and Balthazar behind Cas is desperately trying to keep a straight face. And Sam is definitely crying behind him, and noisily enough that Dean can hear him.
Suddenly he hears sniffing from his left - he turns and sees that the judge has taken a tissue and is wiping the corner of her left eye. Dean can't seriously believe that she’s crying, but then she shakes his head and puts the tissue away.
“You may - you may exchange your rings.”
Dean leaves Cas’s hands reluctantly, then takes the box from Sam; when he turns back to Cas, he has taken one from Balthazar. Who, by the way, looks dangerously close to emotional right now, and Dean is almost scared.
“Well, here it goes,” he says, opening his own box. Dean’s ring is a titanium band, about half an inch wide, the color plain grey. The surface is smooth, interrupted only by a small blue stone in the middle of it - he isn’t even sure it’s a real sapphire, but it doesn’t exactly matter, does it? He takes it out of the box and looks at the one Cas is holding between his fingertips - it’s a simple thin band made of white gold, which wouldn’t clash at all with Dean’s usual clothes, and while noticeable, it’s also pretty discreet.
“I hope it suffices,” Cas whispers as he moves closer and takes Dean’s left hand between his, slipping the band on his ring finger.
“Oh, it does,” Dean breathes out, doing the same - he’s sure his hand shakes a bit as he slips the ring on Cas’s finger, but when he’s done - it looks good on him. Really. And there’s no awkward moment - it fits perfectly.
“That’s - that’s good,” the judge says, still sounding like she’s about to cry again, and then turns the papers towards them. “You need to sign these, and then the witnesses. And - oh, this is strange.” She turns towards Castiel, looking apologetic. “Whoever did this forgot to put in your surname.” She indicates the empty spot where Smith should have been, had they requested the license properly. Then again Dean is sure that Balthazar has done it on purpose, if -
“I guess we can add it now,” the judge says. “It’s not exactly proper procedure, but I’m sure it won’t matter.”
“Wait,” Cas says, moving closer. “I’ll - I wish to take his. My surname was… was never mine anyway,” he says, and Dean - shit, Dean isn’t sure that he can do this without losing all of his dignity. He moves closer, his hand wrapping around Cas’s, and when the judge looks at him, he gives her a nod. She leans down and writes Winchester next to Cas’s name and Dean is half sure that his heart is going to stop at some point.
“That’s it,” she says, turning the certificate towards them. “Please sign, you and the witnesses.”
Dean signs, his hand miraculously steady, and Cas does too (his fingers shake for a second when he’s about to add Winchester). Then they take a step back as Sam and Balthazar move over, and Dean takes the occasion to look at what Bobby’s doing.
Bobby has just taken a handkerchief out of his pocket and his eyes are definitely misty. Dean wonders if this whole thing is all real, and then the judge coughs. He and Cas both look in her direction - Sam and Balthazar have stepped back and the certificate is signed and official, with date and hour and minute, and shit, this is too much.
“Well then, everything is in order, I - uh, how did it go…” she looks lost for a second, then shakes her head and raises her hands. “Sorry, this is the first time I marry two men. I might be confused on nouns, here.”
Balthazar snorts and soon after the entire room is sort of laughing, judge included. “Hey,” Dean says when he’s recovered enough, “that’s cool. Just go with whatever.”
“Then, in front of the witnesses, I pronounce that you two are married, by the authority vested in me and the laws of this State. And since I’m sure that you’re itching for it, I’ll spare everyone embarrassing formulas . You may kiss,” she says, producing another tissue from her pocket. Dean turns to Cas, his left hand reaching for Cas’s hip, and Cas goes without a hitch, his right hand on Dean’s shoulder and the left on Dean’s cheek (and the ring - shit, feeling it against his skin is making Dean feel things he can’t even name).
For a couple of seconds they just stay still - Dean figures that they’re just taking it all in. Cas looks the good kind of overwhelmed, and fuck if Dean doesn’t feel the same.
“Hey,” he whispers, “so, do we give them a show?”
Cas doesn’t even answer and closes the distance between them - and fuck for keeping this a chaste wedding kiss, Dean doesn’t have the patience for it. He crushes Cas against his frame, his free hand going to Cas’s hair. He parts his lips, Cas does too, and then they’re kissing and there’s tongue, but it’s slow and thorough. Cas’s lips are soft against his, pliant, and Dean keeps the kiss going until they can possibly stand it. When they part there’s a second of silence, and then Balthazar has to talk.
“That was intense, huh,” he says, sounding half-impressed, and then Sam starts clapping, Bobby follows, Balthazar follows, the freaking judge follows and Cas looks as embarrassed as he feels, but it’s the good kind of embarrassed, so what the hell, they’ll just wait for that to be over.
It doesn’t last much, thankfully, and he sees the judge signing the license as well before handing it over to Dean. “Well,” she asks, “for being my first same sex marriage, I think that you’re not the norm, are you?”
“Not really,” Dean agrees, his right hand closed around Cas’s, his left taking the license.
“I figured. But - let me tell you, I’ve been doing this for a while and this was the only time when I cried. Take it as you want,” she says.
Dean checks her name on the signature. “Well then - Amy? Thank you. Really.”
“I’ll agree that marrying those two isn’t the easiest task,” Balthazar comments, and then he shuts up when Cas glares at him.
“Oh, it wasn’t that bad. I won’t go and wish you healthy children, but I’m pretty sure I won’t see you here to divorce anytime soon. Good luck,” she says, shaking Dean’s hand and Cas’s later, and they all leave the room. Dean is pretty sure there was someone else scheduled after them and they’ve been inside way more than twenty minutes.
When they walk out of the room they end up facing at least fifty people. On their right there’s a young couple, she’s all dressed in white and he’s wearing a brand new tux, and she has bridesmaids, and Dean almost runs into a six-year old girl dressed in pink satin. Or, what one would define a proper damned wedding. Hey, Dean is wearing a leather jacket, Cas a suit which is old and shows it, Balthazar has only changed those stupid v-necks for a shirt, but it’s still half-open and he looks like he’s about to go search for a whorehouse, and Bobby and Sam are wearing the flannels they had on this morning when they left.
And then Dean feels Cas’s hand tentatively squeezing his, and he realizes that really? He doesn’t give a shit about the six-year old scrutinizing them like she’s sure that there has to be a bride somewhere, or the little old lady on the bride’s side looking at them like she doesn’t know what to make of the whole thing.
He just turns towards the groom and squeezes Cas’s hand back.
“Hey there man,” he says. “Congratulations. I hope that when you get out of here you’ll feel half as good as I’m feeling right now.”
And before he can receive an answer, he sees that people are moving in order to let them pass (they understood that maybe it was necessary) and drags Cas towards the exit, everyone else following. When they get out in the sun he turns to Cas and damn, Cas is literally beaming as he kisses him in the middle of the streetwalk. And Dean feels so elated that he just kisses back, and if someone else wants to complain - well, shit, he just got married, who cares.
“That was a nice show,” Balthazar interrupts, but he looks as close as happy-for-them as he can get so Dean will just shut up. “Also, I’m sure you weren’t planning on going on a honeymoon, were you?”
Dean shrugs, Cas does too. “I hadn’t thought that far.”
Balthazar brings a hand to his forehead, tutting under his breath.
“Boys, boys, do I have to think about all this when I’m not even human? Oh, whatever. I’ll just bring those two back to South Dakota. You two just go do some sodding sightseeing.” And before Dean can even protest, or Sam and Bobby can, Balthazar has touched both of their arms and they’re gone.
“Well,” Dean says, “I could have worse in-laws.”
Cas doesn’t answer, but the way he leans against Dean is enough of an answer.
“Now, point is, what the fuck does someone see in Des Moines, anyway?”
“There are… some early twentieth-century buildings,” Cas tentatively says. Right, former angel, kept at least the whole thing about knowing everything there’s to know about historical sites. “The post office. And the public library. There’s the Capitol. And a zoo. And I think there’s an amusement park somewhere within driving reach.”
Dean thinks about it for one second, then shakes his head. “That doesn’t look too exciting.”
Cas shrugs in agreement. “How long do… honeymoons generally last?”
“Uh, two weeks? More or less. People usually do huge trips. Like, Paris or some tropical island? Not like I ever was that fond of flying.”
“Staying local will not hurt anyone.”
“Y’know, I’ve never been to San Francisco.” Dean doesn’t even know why he actually went and said that, but he has kinda always wanted to go there and apparently ghosts hate northern California. It’s kind of sad, the number of places in the States that Dean hasn’t visited even if he spent thirty years driving coast to coast.
“It sounds good,” Cas replies. “Maybe along the way we could stop in some proper hotels.”
“And if I speed up maybe we can make it in two days.”
Cas is openly smirking by now as he leans back against the car’s trunk.
“It sounds like a plan. So are we officially on honeymoon?”
Dean moves so that they’re standing right in front of each other, his hand going to the small of Cas’s back again. “Why, yes, Mr. Winchester, I’d say we are.”
“I like how that sounds,” Cas says against Dean’s lips.
“Mm, I like that too,” Dean answers before kissing Cas again, slow, unhurried, already looking forward to the trip and to finally visiting a city just for the sake of it and without a hunt on his head. He knows that this won’t make things that much easier, and that when they go back to Bobby’s they’ll have to deal with way less exciting matters, but as things are - he doesn’t care.
And this might not have been his ideal wedding day once, but when Cas’s left hand touches his neck to bring him closer (and deepen the kiss) and he feels the shape of the ring pressing against his skin, he can only think fuck ideal. It couldn’t have been more perfect than this.
End.
Pairing: Dean/Castiel, Sam, Balthazar and Bobby also star
Word count: ∼5800
Rating: PG
Spoilers: up to 6x20, wild speculation after.
Warnings: none of the serious kind.
Disclaimer: ... none of this is mine, not even the title. Look at the summary.
Summary: wherein Dean and Castiel get married. More or less properly.
A/N: errr so I'm trying to finish some late five acts fills. In ladyyueh's list there was marriage. I don't even know how this monster happened, considering that it was supposed to be comment fic. Yeah, right. Also, I did some research but I obviously never had a civil marriage in Iowa and I followed an apparently general scheme for that kind of wedding, so apologies in advance for any related mistakes. Title stolen from Bruce Springsteen. Using for my kissbingo card for the square location: honeymoon, though it's a pretty loose definition of honeymoon.
Now, part one:
There are a lot of things that Dean Winchester had considered before understanding that hunting is a job that prevents you from any kind of normal relationship.
Marriage hadn’t exactly been in the lot, though - he had never imagined himself going that far. He had never thought about that even while he was living with Lisa, but it’s not like he ever saw the appeal. With her, and that’d have really been the only one out of all Dean’s relationships with half a chance to progress into more than just sharing a house, it wouldn’t have changed anything except for putting a heavier load on his shoulders, and not one he had felt ready for at that time. And when Dean was young, marrying was - something that other people did. People that weren’t Winchesters and didn’t save people and hunt things. And after all, if you love someone, what’s the point in tying the knot? He just never saw it.
Still. He had imagined, a couple of times when he was really, really drunk, that if it ever happened, then he’d have done it properly. He’d have proposed seriously, bought the girl a ring, worn his best clothes. He wouldn’t have picked a church to get married in - hey, he was a convinced atheist until an angel resurrected him, and to be honest, considering how much of a fuck-up God has revealed himself to be until now, he thinks that atheism felt a lot better. Anyway. Not the point. Sam would have been his best man, his dad would have been there, maybe Bobby too. It’d have probably meant quitting hunting, but then again he had been drunk while making this whole fantasy up. It also included a lot of other pretty stupid and pathetic things, but that’s not the point.
The point is that Dean does, in fact, get married. And Sam and Bobby are there, as well. And it’s most definitely not in a church.
All the rest is not matching.
First thing: he had imagined to do it in a nice, small city - probably the city from which the other person came, it’s not like he’s had a home that isn’t a car lately. Not only it isn’t a small city - is goddamn Des Moines.
Second thing: there’s one reason he’s getting married in Iowa - it’s because the decision was taken while at Bobby’s, and Iowa happens to be the only state within a reasonable driving distance from South Dakota where same-sex marriage is legal.
Right, and there’s the third thing: that he’s getting married to Castiel, aka former angel of the Lord, and none of this had really been planned.
Or, it went like this:
Then, part one:
The war in Heaven does end, and Cas does win, except that Cas more or less uses up all of his powered-up-by-way-too-many-souls-Grace during his and Raphael’s stand-off. Meaning: stupid feathered idiot blows up Raphael, the warehouse they were in and most of the forest outside it, and the only reason that Dean and Sam survive the whole shebang is that Balthazar had teleported all of them somewhere else before it happened. Then they go back and they find Cas barely alive under the warehouse’s debris. He does survive, but he’s one hundred per cent human material.
Then he stays comatose for five days, which he spends in the bed in Bobby’s guestroom. Days during which Balthazar drops by and actually tells them everything that has been going on, and by the end of the speech Dean feels like the world’s biggest ass for having thought that Cas had turned his back on them, and for the ring of fire, and for everything else. When Cas wakes up there’s hugging which hadn’t been in anyone’s plans, there are apologies and a lot of other things of the chick-flick kind, and that at least ends better than Dean could have thought.
Then, part two:
That was the premise. This is the real deal, which brings us to what’s going on right now: after two months, Cas hasn’t exactly adjusted to humanity. Between nightmares, moments in which he seems to zone out for entire minutes, throwing food up for his entire first week as a human and what Dean thinks are symptoms of angelic-war-related PTSD, Cas isn’t doing that great. One month in, Dean tries to get Cas to talk about it and it ends with the both of them on the bed, kissing until they need air, and that’s pretty much the only fairly good thing that has happened until now. And Dean can’t help wishing he had fessed up before - maybe they’d have avoided a whole damn lot of problems, if he had.
Anyway, as things are, they could be better. Not to mention that Dean can’t help thinking that he was so stupid, to think that Cas would always come back. Not when he has died twice and almost a third, and all along it had been all for them - who’s he kidding, for him.
He’s sure that he isn’t doing enough to make Cas get that he has realized it, and that he fully intends to make amends for it, and that it took him years, but he isn’t going to have a gay freak out over the fact that he’s apparently in love with a fallen angel in a guy’s body.
Then one day during month three after the end of the war, Cas wakes up half-screaming, cold sweat running down his face, looking terrified. He doesn’t put up resistance when Dean pulls him close, and he does relax a bit, but usually he calms down. Today - he just stays distressed.
“Hey,” Dean asks, “talk to me?”
“I’m fine, Dean,” Cas starts, and Dean huffs.
“You think I don’t know when I’ve been dealing with the same kind of shit for years? Come on, spill. I know you ain’t. And I know you hate this. Believe me, I know you got the short end of the stick, and I’m -”
“It’s not that I hate being human,” Cas says, his head leaning on Dean’s shoulder. “It’s just that I don’t want to hold you back.” He speaks quietly, and he looks like a wreck, and shit, Dean will never not feel guilty for not having realized how bad it had gotten.
“What? You aren’t -”
“I am,” Cas replies, looking at him straight in the face. “You’re not - you’re not going on hunts because of me. You aren’t doing anything else because of me, and I can’t ask that of you. And still, I don’t even want you to go anywhere because if something happens to you -”
Cas stops, swallowing, and Dean gets it and damn, he doesn’t even know what he should say -
That’s when Dean gets the idea. Which will be probably filed, in a couple of years, in the bad-ideas-which-might-actually-be-genius-if-seen-from-another-perspective category, and which Dean figures he’s had enough times.
“You know what?” he interrupts. “Let’s get married.”
Cas looks at him like he has grown two heads.
“What did you just say?”
“Let’s get married.”
“Why - what - I don’t get what it has to do with -”
“Okay, listen to me. You’re not a burden. You could never be. The only thing I’d take back of that speech I gave you back then is that I’d have used any means, to, you know. The rest is valid. Heck, considering what we’ve been doing, even more than valid. I want you exactly where you are and I can do without hunting - shit, I’ve done that all my life and I’m sick tired of that. And to be honest, I acted on things a month ago, but this - this thing that’s between us - it’s been there for ages and you know it, and I know it. I’m pretty sure that you’re… well, it for me, I guess. And I could bet that the contrary’s valid.”
Cas nods, once, and Dean figures it’s good enough. “Okay. Iowa’s just over the stateline and we can get married there. We can just, take the car, grab Sam and Bobby, we go and we do it. And then I don’t have any excuse to let you out of my sight again.”
“You’re serious,” Cas breathes out.
“Do you really need me to ask you?”
“What?” Cas says, but it’s obvious that he’s playing hard to get right now.
“Well, fuck, will you marry me?”
Cas’s face suddenly goes from half-miserable to beaming, and Dean doesn’t really regret that.
“Yes,” he chokes, and then Dean has to kiss him stupid into the mattress. And then he checks what time is it.
“Okay. It’s three. If we leave now we can be in Des Moines by nine this morning. Let’s just grab Bobby and Sam and some clothes, we can buy other stuff we need when we’re there, first courthouse we find, we go inside and we’re done. So?”
“… I’ll get your clothes,” Cas says moving from the bed.
Then, part three:
Dean then proceeds on banging on both Sam’s door and Bobby’s.
“Hey,” he says to the both of them, “me and Cas are going to Des Moines to get married. And I need you two to come. Get ready because we’re leaving in half an hour.”
Bobby and Sam both look at him like he’s crazy. Bobby actually tells him that he’s twelve kinds of crazy, and that he’s gonna make some coffee for the drive since he figures that there’s no point in trying to talk some sense into the both of them.
During the drive, Bobby and Cas are in the back and Sam’s in the front, and Cas is positively glowing as he looks out of the window.
“Uhm, Dean,” Sam says as the sun rises on the horizon, “don’t you need like, rings in order to get married?”
“I can buy them when we get there,” he says.
“Yeah, you buy for the two of you?” Bobby says.
“I think I would like to pick mine,” Cas says, and so it’s decided that Sam is going ring-shopping with Cas and Bobby with Dean as soon as they get there, and then they’ll see each other at the courthouse whenever they deem suit.
The only sound in the car until they cross the border is Dean’s Led Zeppelin tape. And then Sam has the horrible idea to speak again.
“Uhm, Dean, so it’s just the four of us?”
“Do you know anyone else we could call?” Dean replies, and yeah, who should they call? Rufus is dead, Ellen and Jo are dead, that was pretty much the extent of their close extra-familiar relationships. Not to mention that whole part where Cas’s family is what it is and -
“I know someone,” Cas says then, not specifying, his voice sounding not exactly sure.
Dean thinks about it for a second but - if two and two makes four, then it means that the only other person coming would be Balthazar. He glances in the rearview mirror and Cas is looking… not exactly hopeful. And fuck, fine, Dean doesn’t like Balthazar, but he and Cas are getting fucking married, if he can’t compromise now, how is he supposed to do it later when there’s the need?
“You can invite that someone. As long as you don’t do it now, because I’d like not to crash my car for wanting to strangle him. Also, it’d be cramped back there.”
Cas doesn’t answer, but the small smile he gives Dean in the rearview mirror lights up his face and Dean is just going to suck it up and deal with it.
Then, part four:
They find a courthouse and they’re told they can come in at two that afternoon. Dean swallows when someone goes on the outside and adds Winchester on a sheet hung outside the door - it’s in the only blank spot. Most probably the only twenty minutes of the day that weren’t booked already.
It’s half past nine in the morning and so they all agree on meeting in front of the place at half past one, and then Sam drags Cas away while he looks something up on his blackberry - Dean isn’t sure he wants to know.
“So,” Bobby tells him, “you wanna get that ring or what?”
Dean tries to calculate how much money he has on his current credit card as they walk, looking for a place, and then Bobby huffs and rolls his eyes before punching him in the side.
“Hey, what -”
“Stop worrying about the price, you idjit. I have a proper card, it can be my present. Not like you bothered to give us a couple days to find you one.”
Dean swallows, not knowing what to answer, but he doesn’t have to because Bobby has just pushed him into an ethnic jewels store which doesn’t look too pricey and sort of classy, too. Except that Dean is a fish out of water here because it’s not like he ever bought any girl a ring, and -
He sees a ring and he just knows it’s the right one without thinking about it twice. It’s exposed right on his left and damn that was a lucky find. He checks the price, which is reasonable for the occasion. Bobby walks next to him, hums, tells him that it’s a good choice, and that’s how Dean gets out of the shop with a box in his pocket that seems to weigh too much for its size. They get back to the car and Dean checks the clothes that Cas had packed for him - there’s a clean shirt and jeans that aren’t ripped and his dad’s leather jacket. Dean swallows and then closes the trunk, tells Bobby that he’ll change in the bar in front of the courthouse before their appointment. And then it’s ten thirty AM and they’re pretty much done. But hey, there’s a bar in front of the courthouse, right?
“Bobby?”
“Yeah?”
“Let’s just go inside and I’ll buy you breakfast. Hell, it’ll be my bachelor party.”
“Just you,” Bobby mutters, but before he can follow Dean inside, Balthazar appears out of thin air next to them.
“The fuck,” Dean gasps, after jumping about two feet back.
“Hello yourself,” Balthazar says. “And thanks for the invitation.” He smirks and Dean tries to smile back. Guy’s about to become his brother in law, right?
“It’s a pleasure.”
“Well, good to know, but I also wanted to ask you something. Like, maybe, when you had this idea, did you think that you’re legally dead, and that if you weren’t, you’d be on some FBI server? And that neither of you has any valid stupid identity document whatsoever?”
Fuck. Dean hadn’t thought about that. The ring suddenly seems heavier, and he can feel his face falling. Shit, he shouldn’t have acted on impulse, but it had seemed such a good idea, he hadn’t thought -
Balthazar claps him on the shoulder so hard that Dean almost screams. “What…”
“Oh, lighten up! So you’re really convinced! Which is good - Cassie there has been through too much gibberish already. But it’s still good anyway - hey, he likes you too much, I’m not sure why, but then again you make him happy so whatever, his life, his choices. Anyway, since I’m that nice, I’ll just give you a wedding present, shall I.”
Balthazar stays still for a second, eyes closed, then suddenly a stack of papers appears out of thin air, and there are two birth certificates on top.
“What -”
“I just erased your face and your brother’s from the FBI database - and by the way, you’re not legally dead now. That stuff, half it’s whatever crappy human documentation you might need with your name on it and a request for a license that you should have done at least three days ago. In theory. The other half is - well, I just made up a little sob story to give Cassie some semblance of legal identity. I also took care of the fact that the request for the license needs to be approved when you go inside. And now I have more pressing matters to attend, so I’ll go and leave you to it - and oh, one thing.”
“Yeah?”
“The first mistake you make, you’re dead. Clear?”
“… clear.”
Balthazar disappears without answering and Dean lets out a huff. “Well, guess he ain’t that bad.”
He looks over the papers while having breakfast - Cas became Castiel Smith, Smith because he grew up in an orphanage in Utah and he was never adopted, so he just took a common random surname. The documents all look good, and the ring doesn’t weigh as much anymore.
At one thirty, Dean is wearing the clothes Cas picked and he waits at the car with Bobby. He sees three people coming - definitely his brother, Balthazar and Cas. Cas is wearing his old suit, which was ruined beyond repair until last day so maybe Balthazar just mended it or whatever. It still looks old, but at least it’s in one piece. When they arrive at the car, Cas looks at him in a way that almost makes Dean’s knees melt, and it’s such a change from ten hours ago.
“So, uh, should we go?” he asks.
“Dean, you didn’t even ask me to be your best man. I’m wounded,” Sam says, turning the hurt-puppy-dog-eyes on him and - oh, seriously?
“Come on, I thought it was implied!”
Sam’s expression goes from hurt to bitchface in a second.
“Fine, fine. Will you be my fucking best man, Sammy?”
And fuck, now Sam is hugging him in the middle of the street. Did he just have some hormones injection, the big girl?
Still, Dean hugs back and when Sam moves away he hands him the ring box. Balthazar waves a hand and grabs Sam’s arm. “Well, guess that I’m the other one then. So let’s go in, shall we?” he says, and Sam lets himself be dragged.
“Well,” Bobby says, “this already looks like the weirdest wedding I ever attended, and don’t expect me to walk you down the fucking aisle, but congratulations.” And then he gets into the courthouse too, leaving Dean and Cas outside.
“So,” Dean asks, “are we going?”
Cas doesn’t answer and takes his hand.
Now, part two:
So that’s how Dean is standing in a courthouse in Des Moines, with the judge officiating the whole thing looking pretty fucking perplexed (and she’s probably skipping lunch in order to marry them), wearing his dad’s leather jacket, with Sam behind him and Balthazar behind Cas, and fake documents in his hands and damn but he hasn’t thought about the vows.
Well, fuck, he’ll just make it up as he goes, he figures. The judge checks the papers and deems them all right, then checks Sam’s and Balthazar’s too (figures, bastard must have forged some for everyone but Bobby), and deems them right as well. Then places another stack of papers on the desk in front of her, checks their names again and clears her throat.
“All right. The documentation is valid and everything is ready, and since I guess you’re in a hurry, I won’t lose time with frills.”
Dean could kiss her right now, if only - well, you know.
“We are gathered - though it might be too much of a word, considering the number - we are gathered here today to witness and celebrate Dean Winchester’s and Castiel Smith’s wedding.”
Dean thinks that he likes her sense of humor, sort of, and then Sam elbows him - his hands are shaking behind his back.
“I don’t know who you are or why are you here now so I guess we can skip that whole part and go straight to the point. Dean, are you here of your own free will, and do you intend to marry Castiel?”
Dean doesn’t even hesitate - his hands might be shaking but the more time passes, the more this whole thing seems the right one to do. “I do.”
The judge turns to Castiel. “Castiel, are you here of your own free will, and do you intend to marry Dean?”
“I do,” Cas replies, without missing a single beat.
“Okay. Any of you three in this room know of a reason why they shouldn’t marry?”
“Miss,” Bobby says from the bench in first row, “I can only think of reasons why they should.”
“I’ll co-sign that,” Sam says.
Balthazar doesn’t say anything but he doesn’t object either.
“Good. Please join your hands and face each other,” the judge says, and Dean does. Cas’s hands are blissfully dry and not shaking, and when Dean raises his head and meets Cas’s eyes, he has to stop himself from just moving and kissing him now. Cas looks just so happy right now, his face relaxed, his eyes looking up at Dean’s still with the I-can-see-your-soul stare, and there’s such a fondness in his stare that Dean’s knees buckle for a second.
“You may say your vows.”
“I’ll start,” Cas says, and Dean is sort of grateful because he isn’t sure he could have talked first, not with the lump currently lodged in his throat.
“Dean, I’m quite sure you don’t remember the first time we met, and maybe it’s a good thing that you don’t, but you… definitely managed to capture my attention, if we can put it like that. I’m also quite sure that you remember the… other first time. A lot of time has passed, and we’ve been through a lot, and I guess we did things we both regret. At times I’m sure I’ll never completely understand you, but meeting you is the one thing that I never will regret as long as I exist. I existed for an eternity without knowing you and now I can’t imagine my life without you in it. And - I want this.”
Dean thinks that he’s about to cry here - shit, he’s sure no one has even ever thought about him in those terms, and he isn’t sure that anything he says next will match, but… fuck, he isn’t going to back down in front of the vows, not now.
“Cas, I’m half-sure I’ll never say it as well as that, but - I’m not here because if it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t be anywhere at all, and I’m not here because I feel obligated or some shit like that. Also yeah, I remember that other first time, and with everything that went on since then I’m still not sure of why you’d want me, but I’m damn grateful that you still do even if I did stuff that’d have made anyone else change idea. I just - I never had much that I’ve wanted to keep close in my entire life. Mostly because I always seem to lose it. And I really - I really want to keep you close. As close as it gets. Because it really looks like you’re it and if this means I can make it official, then I want to. And I’m just sorry I never told you half of this before.”
And then - shit, Cas’s fingers thread around his, and Dean would say that Cas is crying if his vision wasn’t completely blurry as well. He blinks, trying to get a hold of himself, and shit, they’re both crying, and Balthazar behind Cas is desperately trying to keep a straight face. And Sam is definitely crying behind him, and noisily enough that Dean can hear him.
Suddenly he hears sniffing from his left - he turns and sees that the judge has taken a tissue and is wiping the corner of her left eye. Dean can't seriously believe that she’s crying, but then she shakes his head and puts the tissue away.
“You may - you may exchange your rings.”
Dean leaves Cas’s hands reluctantly, then takes the box from Sam; when he turns back to Cas, he has taken one from Balthazar. Who, by the way, looks dangerously close to emotional right now, and Dean is almost scared.
“Well, here it goes,” he says, opening his own box. Dean’s ring is a titanium band, about half an inch wide, the color plain grey. The surface is smooth, interrupted only by a small blue stone in the middle of it - he isn’t even sure it’s a real sapphire, but it doesn’t exactly matter, does it? He takes it out of the box and looks at the one Cas is holding between his fingertips - it’s a simple thin band made of white gold, which wouldn’t clash at all with Dean’s usual clothes, and while noticeable, it’s also pretty discreet.
“I hope it suffices,” Cas whispers as he moves closer and takes Dean’s left hand between his, slipping the band on his ring finger.
“Oh, it does,” Dean breathes out, doing the same - he’s sure his hand shakes a bit as he slips the ring on Cas’s finger, but when he’s done - it looks good on him. Really. And there’s no awkward moment - it fits perfectly.
“That’s - that’s good,” the judge says, still sounding like she’s about to cry again, and then turns the papers towards them. “You need to sign these, and then the witnesses. And - oh, this is strange.” She turns towards Castiel, looking apologetic. “Whoever did this forgot to put in your surname.” She indicates the empty spot where Smith should have been, had they requested the license properly. Then again Dean is sure that Balthazar has done it on purpose, if -
“I guess we can add it now,” the judge says. “It’s not exactly proper procedure, but I’m sure it won’t matter.”
“Wait,” Cas says, moving closer. “I’ll - I wish to take his. My surname was… was never mine anyway,” he says, and Dean - shit, Dean isn’t sure that he can do this without losing all of his dignity. He moves closer, his hand wrapping around Cas’s, and when the judge looks at him, he gives her a nod. She leans down and writes Winchester next to Cas’s name and Dean is half sure that his heart is going to stop at some point.
“That’s it,” she says, turning the certificate towards them. “Please sign, you and the witnesses.”
Dean signs, his hand miraculously steady, and Cas does too (his fingers shake for a second when he’s about to add Winchester). Then they take a step back as Sam and Balthazar move over, and Dean takes the occasion to look at what Bobby’s doing.
Bobby has just taken a handkerchief out of his pocket and his eyes are definitely misty. Dean wonders if this whole thing is all real, and then the judge coughs. He and Cas both look in her direction - Sam and Balthazar have stepped back and the certificate is signed and official, with date and hour and minute, and shit, this is too much.
“Well then, everything is in order, I - uh, how did it go…” she looks lost for a second, then shakes her head and raises her hands. “Sorry, this is the first time I marry two men. I might be confused on nouns, here.”
Balthazar snorts and soon after the entire room is sort of laughing, judge included. “Hey,” Dean says when he’s recovered enough, “that’s cool. Just go with whatever.”
“Then, in front of the witnesses, I pronounce that you two are married, by the authority vested in me and the laws of this State. And since I’m sure that you’re itching for it, I’ll spare everyone embarrassing formulas . You may kiss,” she says, producing another tissue from her pocket. Dean turns to Cas, his left hand reaching for Cas’s hip, and Cas goes without a hitch, his right hand on Dean’s shoulder and the left on Dean’s cheek (and the ring - shit, feeling it against his skin is making Dean feel things he can’t even name).
For a couple of seconds they just stay still - Dean figures that they’re just taking it all in. Cas looks the good kind of overwhelmed, and fuck if Dean doesn’t feel the same.
“Hey,” he whispers, “so, do we give them a show?”
Cas doesn’t even answer and closes the distance between them - and fuck for keeping this a chaste wedding kiss, Dean doesn’t have the patience for it. He crushes Cas against his frame, his free hand going to Cas’s hair. He parts his lips, Cas does too, and then they’re kissing and there’s tongue, but it’s slow and thorough. Cas’s lips are soft against his, pliant, and Dean keeps the kiss going until they can possibly stand it. When they part there’s a second of silence, and then Balthazar has to talk.
“That was intense, huh,” he says, sounding half-impressed, and then Sam starts clapping, Bobby follows, Balthazar follows, the freaking judge follows and Cas looks as embarrassed as he feels, but it’s the good kind of embarrassed, so what the hell, they’ll just wait for that to be over.
It doesn’t last much, thankfully, and he sees the judge signing the license as well before handing it over to Dean. “Well,” she asks, “for being my first same sex marriage, I think that you’re not the norm, are you?”
“Not really,” Dean agrees, his right hand closed around Cas’s, his left taking the license.
“I figured. But - let me tell you, I’ve been doing this for a while and this was the only time when I cried. Take it as you want,” she says.
Dean checks her name on the signature. “Well then - Amy? Thank you. Really.”
“I’ll agree that marrying those two isn’t the easiest task,” Balthazar comments, and then he shuts up when Cas glares at him.
“Oh, it wasn’t that bad. I won’t go and wish you healthy children, but I’m pretty sure I won’t see you here to divorce anytime soon. Good luck,” she says, shaking Dean’s hand and Cas’s later, and they all leave the room. Dean is pretty sure there was someone else scheduled after them and they’ve been inside way more than twenty minutes.
When they walk out of the room they end up facing at least fifty people. On their right there’s a young couple, she’s all dressed in white and he’s wearing a brand new tux, and she has bridesmaids, and Dean almost runs into a six-year old girl dressed in pink satin. Or, what one would define a proper damned wedding. Hey, Dean is wearing a leather jacket, Cas a suit which is old and shows it, Balthazar has only changed those stupid v-necks for a shirt, but it’s still half-open and he looks like he’s about to go search for a whorehouse, and Bobby and Sam are wearing the flannels they had on this morning when they left.
And then Dean feels Cas’s hand tentatively squeezing his, and he realizes that really? He doesn’t give a shit about the six-year old scrutinizing them like she’s sure that there has to be a bride somewhere, or the little old lady on the bride’s side looking at them like she doesn’t know what to make of the whole thing.
He just turns towards the groom and squeezes Cas’s hand back.
“Hey there man,” he says. “Congratulations. I hope that when you get out of here you’ll feel half as good as I’m feeling right now.”
And before he can receive an answer, he sees that people are moving in order to let them pass (they understood that maybe it was necessary) and drags Cas towards the exit, everyone else following. When they get out in the sun he turns to Cas and damn, Cas is literally beaming as he kisses him in the middle of the streetwalk. And Dean feels so elated that he just kisses back, and if someone else wants to complain - well, shit, he just got married, who cares.
“That was a nice show,” Balthazar interrupts, but he looks as close as happy-for-them as he can get so Dean will just shut up. “Also, I’m sure you weren’t planning on going on a honeymoon, were you?”
Dean shrugs, Cas does too. “I hadn’t thought that far.”
Balthazar brings a hand to his forehead, tutting under his breath.
“Boys, boys, do I have to think about all this when I’m not even human? Oh, whatever. I’ll just bring those two back to South Dakota. You two just go do some sodding sightseeing.” And before Dean can even protest, or Sam and Bobby can, Balthazar has touched both of their arms and they’re gone.
“Well,” Dean says, “I could have worse in-laws.”
Cas doesn’t answer, but the way he leans against Dean is enough of an answer.
“Now, point is, what the fuck does someone see in Des Moines, anyway?”
“There are… some early twentieth-century buildings,” Cas tentatively says. Right, former angel, kept at least the whole thing about knowing everything there’s to know about historical sites. “The post office. And the public library. There’s the Capitol. And a zoo. And I think there’s an amusement park somewhere within driving reach.”
Dean thinks about it for one second, then shakes his head. “That doesn’t look too exciting.”
Cas shrugs in agreement. “How long do… honeymoons generally last?”
“Uh, two weeks? More or less. People usually do huge trips. Like, Paris or some tropical island? Not like I ever was that fond of flying.”
“Staying local will not hurt anyone.”
“Y’know, I’ve never been to San Francisco.” Dean doesn’t even know why he actually went and said that, but he has kinda always wanted to go there and apparently ghosts hate northern California. It’s kind of sad, the number of places in the States that Dean hasn’t visited even if he spent thirty years driving coast to coast.
“It sounds good,” Cas replies. “Maybe along the way we could stop in some proper hotels.”
“And if I speed up maybe we can make it in two days.”
Cas is openly smirking by now as he leans back against the car’s trunk.
“It sounds like a plan. So are we officially on honeymoon?”
Dean moves so that they’re standing right in front of each other, his hand going to the small of Cas’s back again. “Why, yes, Mr. Winchester, I’d say we are.”
“I like how that sounds,” Cas says against Dean’s lips.
“Mm, I like that too,” Dean answers before kissing Cas again, slow, unhurried, already looking forward to the trip and to finally visiting a city just for the sake of it and without a hunt on his head. He knows that this won’t make things that much easier, and that when they go back to Bobby’s they’ll have to deal with way less exciting matters, but as things are - he doesn’t care.
And this might not have been his ideal wedding day once, but when Cas’s left hand touches his neck to bring him closer (and deepen the kiss) and he feels the shape of the ring pressing against his skin, he can only think fuck ideal. It couldn’t have been more perfect than this.
End.