Fic: It's the Heart that Really Matters in the End
Title: It’s the Heart that Really Matters in the End
Author: mummyluvr314
Rating: G
Pairing: Dean/Nick, mentions of Dean/Castiel
Summary: Nick Campbell has made a lot of choices in his life. He chose to run away from home, to marry a monster, to let the Devil in, to stay in what was supposed to be a form of punishment. But this, right here, is the biggest decision yet.
A/N: The finale for my schmoop_bingo ‘verse, written for the “Engagement” prompt. It’s been a wild (not always schmoopy) ride, huh, guys? The title for this one’s from Little Wonders by Rob Thomas.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not ever.
Previous Chapters: Please see the Master Post.
Nick stood in front of the mirror, running his hands repeatedly over every inch of smooth, unblemished skin he could find. And that was pretty much everything.
He had to admit, he hadn’t expected to be given anything other than a painful death by the archangel he’d been partly responsible for murdering, but he was willing to accept the gift. And it really was a good one.
He was already planning all of the things he’d do with Dean. They could go on a date and not worry about being stared at - well, at least not for the face. They could go to the beach, or the pool, and he wouldn’t be embarrassed. They could take pictures. They could start over.
That was the plan. That was the plan until Gabriel had found him and told him everything. He didn’t quite understand how Dean could still be so worried after so many years together, had to wonder if the younger man truly believed that he was so tarnished that only someone equally marred would accept him.
He’d asked her to take it back. To take every mark Lucifer had left on him and put them back, painting his body like a broken canvas of evil and destruction.
She’d refused. Told him to wait. Told him to talk to Dean. Told him that Dean should decide.
Of course, Dean would choose to keep this perfect, smooth face, if only because that was what Nick had wanted. Dean never thought of himself.
Nick sighed, scrubbed a hand over his face and through his hair, and went to talk to the younger hunter. He found Dean sitting on their bed, staring at something in his hands, his face a network of concerned lines.
“You ok?” he asked, even though he could tell from the doorway that he wasn’t. The hunter didn’t respond, so Nick sat down beside him, peering over his shoulder. “What’s that?”
Dean held it up for him to see. “Ring,” the younger man said simply.
It was indeed a ring. A thin golden band with a single line of sapphires inlaid. “Where’d you get it?”
“Gabriel.”
“Why did Gabriel give you a ring?”
Dean shrugged. “Threw it in a lake a long time ago. Dunno when she found it.”
“So it’s yours?” Nick asked.
The hunter shrugged again. “Cas,” he said. “I was gonna give it to Cas.”
Nick frowned at him. “You were going to give it to the angel?”
“It’s stupid,” Dean muttered, starting to turn away.
Nick stopped him, throwing and arm around his shoulders and pulling him back around. “Tell me.”
There was silence, brief and thick, before Dean finally sighed. “He stared at me a lot. A lot. He looked at me like I was something special, and I liked that. I liked him. He didn’t see me the way everyone else did. I think I loved him. Maybe. I told him I did, anyway. I thought, if I did make it through the big fight at the end, since he was human, maybe I could help him. I could teach him things. I loved him and I thought he loved me, so I bought a ring in Detroit. I bought this ring in Detroit, and I was going to ask him to marry me after we saved the world. Then he disappeared and he didn’t come back and he didn’t even say good-bye, so I threw it in a lake in Indiana. Gabriel found it.”
“Why do you think she did that?” Nick asked.
Dean snorted. “How the hell am I supposed to know?”
“Well, what do you want to do with it?”
The hunter turned his gaze to the ring in his hand, inspecting it. It was still perfect, after nearly two decades underwater. Still unblemished and shining with promise.
Dean glanced at him, a sideways, calculating look. “He left me,” the younger man said, his voice barely a whisper. “I had everything planned out, and he left me. And every time I thought someone was different, I’d start to get scared. Jewelry stores scare me. I tried so many times to go in, to get another one, but I couldn’t. He didn’t even say no, and I’m terrified. So I don’t know what to do with it.”
Nick nodded slowly, his eyes raking over the younger man. He knew Dean now, knew every part of him, every chink in the armor, every insecurity. He knew what the hunter wanted, what Gabriel had given him. He knew because Dean had told him once, late at night, asking what it was like to be married, to be linked by law to someone, to have that kind of permanence and chosen love in such a small space. It wasn’t just a commitment to him, it was a sign of affection, a choice to be made.
He curled Dean’s fingers lightly around the band, smiling as he helped the hunter slide the warm metal onto his own finger. Nick smiled. “Yes, Dean,” he said as the hunter’s gaping mouth slowly morphed into a beaming smile. “And I don’t just say that to anyone anymore.”
Author: mummyluvr314
Rating: G
Pairing: Dean/Nick, mentions of Dean/Castiel
Summary: Nick Campbell has made a lot of choices in his life. He chose to run away from home, to marry a monster, to let the Devil in, to stay in what was supposed to be a form of punishment. But this, right here, is the biggest decision yet.
A/N: The finale for my schmoop_bingo ‘verse, written for the “Engagement” prompt. It’s been a wild (not always schmoopy) ride, huh, guys? The title for this one’s from Little Wonders by Rob Thomas.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not ever.
Previous Chapters: Please see the Master Post.
Nick stood in front of the mirror, running his hands repeatedly over every inch of smooth, unblemished skin he could find. And that was pretty much everything.
He had to admit, he hadn’t expected to be given anything other than a painful death by the archangel he’d been partly responsible for murdering, but he was willing to accept the gift. And it really was a good one.
He was already planning all of the things he’d do with Dean. They could go on a date and not worry about being stared at - well, at least not for the face. They could go to the beach, or the pool, and he wouldn’t be embarrassed. They could take pictures. They could start over.
That was the plan. That was the plan until Gabriel had found him and told him everything. He didn’t quite understand how Dean could still be so worried after so many years together, had to wonder if the younger man truly believed that he was so tarnished that only someone equally marred would accept him.
He’d asked her to take it back. To take every mark Lucifer had left on him and put them back, painting his body like a broken canvas of evil and destruction.
She’d refused. Told him to wait. Told him to talk to Dean. Told him that Dean should decide.
Of course, Dean would choose to keep this perfect, smooth face, if only because that was what Nick had wanted. Dean never thought of himself.
Nick sighed, scrubbed a hand over his face and through his hair, and went to talk to the younger hunter. He found Dean sitting on their bed, staring at something in his hands, his face a network of concerned lines.
“You ok?” he asked, even though he could tell from the doorway that he wasn’t. The hunter didn’t respond, so Nick sat down beside him, peering over his shoulder. “What’s that?”
Dean held it up for him to see. “Ring,” the younger man said simply.
It was indeed a ring. A thin golden band with a single line of sapphires inlaid. “Where’d you get it?”
“Gabriel.”
“Why did Gabriel give you a ring?”
Dean shrugged. “Threw it in a lake a long time ago. Dunno when she found it.”
“So it’s yours?” Nick asked.
The hunter shrugged again. “Cas,” he said. “I was gonna give it to Cas.”
Nick frowned at him. “You were going to give it to the angel?”
“It’s stupid,” Dean muttered, starting to turn away.
Nick stopped him, throwing and arm around his shoulders and pulling him back around. “Tell me.”
There was silence, brief and thick, before Dean finally sighed. “He stared at me a lot. A lot. He looked at me like I was something special, and I liked that. I liked him. He didn’t see me the way everyone else did. I think I loved him. Maybe. I told him I did, anyway. I thought, if I did make it through the big fight at the end, since he was human, maybe I could help him. I could teach him things. I loved him and I thought he loved me, so I bought a ring in Detroit. I bought this ring in Detroit, and I was going to ask him to marry me after we saved the world. Then he disappeared and he didn’t come back and he didn’t even say good-bye, so I threw it in a lake in Indiana. Gabriel found it.”
“Why do you think she did that?” Nick asked.
Dean snorted. “How the hell am I supposed to know?”
“Well, what do you want to do with it?”
The hunter turned his gaze to the ring in his hand, inspecting it. It was still perfect, after nearly two decades underwater. Still unblemished and shining with promise.
Dean glanced at him, a sideways, calculating look. “He left me,” the younger man said, his voice barely a whisper. “I had everything planned out, and he left me. And every time I thought someone was different, I’d start to get scared. Jewelry stores scare me. I tried so many times to go in, to get another one, but I couldn’t. He didn’t even say no, and I’m terrified. So I don’t know what to do with it.”
Nick nodded slowly, his eyes raking over the younger man. He knew Dean now, knew every part of him, every chink in the armor, every insecurity. He knew what the hunter wanted, what Gabriel had given him. He knew because Dean had told him once, late at night, asking what it was like to be married, to be linked by law to someone, to have that kind of permanence and chosen love in such a small space. It wasn’t just a commitment to him, it was a sign of affection, a choice to be made.
He curled Dean’s fingers lightly around the band, smiling as he helped the hunter slide the warm metal onto his own finger. Nick smiled. “Yes, Dean,” he said as the hunter’s gaping mouth slowly morphed into a beaming smile. “And I don’t just say that to anyone anymore.”