Missing
Title: Apples and Pears (Sequel to Working Relationship)
Rating: R
Characters/Pairings: Dean/Cas or Dean Smith/Castiel Murphy, this chap features Gabriel.
Warnings/Kinks: chubby!Cas, pearshaped!Cas, bodyissues!Dean, chubby!Dean, weight gain, mentiones of homophobia.
Summary: So, this has blown up and become a verse, lol. Part one is here and part two is here. This 'verse is set in the Sandover universe.
Dean lying sitting on his couch, watching Castiel make chocolate oatmeal cookies.
“So these are for who, again?” he asked, stretching a little, and his stomach bulged out over his sweat pants.
Dean didn’t want to think about the fact that he really needed to buy new pants again. The pants he had bought with Castiel three months prior were more than a little tight, and even his sweat pants dug into his waistline now.
“Sam Wesson, in IT,” Cas replied, “he just got engaged to to Ruby Faust.”
Dean grunted. “Who?”
“Ruby Faust,” Castiel replied, walking into the living room, a large bowl of batter in his hands, “she works in HR, remember?” Cas raised an eyebrow. “It’s really not the best place for her...she’s not exactly what you’d call a people person.”
Dean frowned. “Is she that hostile chick with the brown eyes?”
Cas nodded. “That’s the one.”
Dean chuckled. “How did a little mouse like Wesson end up with a tiger like her?”
Cas shrugged and spooned a little batter out of the bowl, holding the spoon out to Dean. “Maybe opposites attract. Here.” Dean took the spoon gratefully and licked off a little batter, sighing contentedly.
“This is awesome, baby,” he said, eyeing the rest of the bowl, “and anyway, I thought Wesson was gay?”
Castiel rolled his eyes. “You think everyone is gay. Besides, you’re one of the bosses, it’s not like you’re in on the water cooler gossip. They’ve been dating for six months.”
Dean’s eyebrows shot up. That seemed really soon to be getting engaged. He had Cas had been dating about as long and they hadn’t even moved in together yet. Cas pushed him gently on the shoulder.
“Hey,” he said, “I know that weird, brooding look. I’m fine with where our relationship is right now, stop worrying.”
Dean shifted. “You know me too well. So...are all those cookies for Sam and Ruby?”
Castiel laughed. “Don’t worry, Dean, I’m making two dozen. There’ll be plenty.”
Dean rose happily off the couch and kissed his boyfriend, hands worming their way around the large mixing bowl to rest on his hips. He frowned a little and pulled away.
“Cas,” he said, looking his boyfriend up and down, “have you lost weight?”
Castiel shrugged. “Maybe. Some of my pants are less tight.”
Dean stood back and surveyed Cas, carefully. The other man did look a little leaner, in fact, he looked like he’d dropped a good ten pounds or so.
“Have you been trying to lose weight?” Dean asked, perplexed.
Cas shook his head. “No, my weight’s always gone up and down. I’ve been getting a little more exercise, I suppose; I’ve been walking more. Sometimes at night when I can’t sleep I go out and walk around for a bit.”
Dean nodded. That made sense, he supposed. Since he and Castiel had been together he’d noticed that the other man had irregular sleep patterns, whereas as Dean was out as soon as he hit the mattress.
“Well er - good for you, baby.” Dean smiled, and tried to ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. “You look really good.”
Cas grinned. “Thanks, Dean. Now, if you’ll excuse me, these need to go into the oven.”
Dean watched Cas walk back into the kitchen, and as soon as the other man wasn’t paying attention he rushed into his room, heading straight for his full-length mirror.
He stared for himself for a few moments.
Shit.
He had gotten really big. His stomach bulged out obscenely, so large that he almost looked pregnant. It wasn’t enormous, not yet, but it was definitely big. He raised a hand slowly to his face and slapped the underside of his chin, and was taken aback when it jiggled. He didn’t have a double chin facing straight on, but the underside of his jaw was soft, and when he lowered his head a small double chin was indeed forming. His arms were softer, and when he turned to inspect his ass it was clear that it was much wider and had much more jiggle than it used to.
Dean;s eyes slid towards his bathroom door, the silver scale on the other side of it mocking him. He hadn’t weighed himself since that awful day three months ago when he and Cas had gone to the movies, but glancing at his chunky reflection in the mirror, he knew it was time to step back on the device that he had come to fear in the past few months.
He walked into the bathroom and stripped naked, knowing very well that his sweat pants and white tee shirt probably wouldn’t make all that much difference, but it couldn’t stop him from hoping that the clothes were somehow adding ten pounds. He stepped on the scale and closed his eyes as tight as they would go.
When he opened them and looked down he felt an immediate sensation of panic rise in his throat. He stepped off the scale, just in case the reading had been inaccurate, and then stepped back on. The same number as before flashed up at him.
240 lbs.
Dean shook his head. It couldn’t be possible, that was only sixty pounds away from 300! He didn’t feel that big, and he didn’tlook that big...did he? Looking at his chest naked he could even see the beginning of man boobs...
With a shock he realized that Castiel probably weighed less than him now. It wasn’t that he wasn’t happy for his boyfriend with his recent weight loss, because he really was, but when they had gotten together Dean had definitely been...well...the hot one. He shook his head, knowing how bitchy that sounded, but it was just the rule of relationships. Even when there were two good looking people in one relationship, one was always slightly hotter than the other; if it ever happened any other way the laws of the universe would be overturned.
Dean looked into his mirror, and realized with horror that he was fat. Not huge, but he had definitely gone beyond chubby and had landed firmly in the fat zone. From now on, when people talked about Cas, they’d say things like, “You know, Cas? The guy with the blue eyes who’s dating that fat guy from sales?”
Dean dressed hurriedly and made his way out the kitchen, getting there just in time to see Castiel put the first tray of cookies into the oven. His boyfriend stood up and smiled at him, holding out his arms for a hug. Dean walked tentatively into them, his eyes fixed on the ground.
“Dean?” Castiel’s voice sounded concerned. “What’s wrong?”
“Cas,” Dean said, quietly, in a voice so low it was almost a whisper, “why didn’t you tell me I’ve gotten so fat?”
Cas made a little noise of sympathy and kissed Dean, hard.
“You’re not fat, Dean.”
Dean shook his head. “Cas, I am. I just weighed myself -”
Castiel made an indignant sound. “I knew I should have thrown out those scales.”
“Cas I’m 240 pounds.”
Cas shrugged one shoulder. “So? I’ve weighed that much before.”
Dean bit his lip. “How much do you weigh now?”
Cas shook his head. “I have no idea. I stopped weighing myself about three years ago.”
Dean looked down and grabbed a handful of fat from his midsection. “I don’t like this, Cas. I want to lose weight.”
Castiel smiled kindly and nodded. “All right, Dean.”
Dean’s eyebrows shot into his hairline. “You’re okay with that? The last time I said I wanted to lose weight you freaked out on me.”
Cas turned and put the now empty batter bowl into the sink.
“No, Dean, I freaked out because you wanted to lose weight in an unhealthy way,” he turned to face his boyfriend, fixing him with a stare, “if you want to lose weight, of course I’ll support you, I just want to make sure you do it right. I’ll bake less, and we can eat healthier stuff, of course, and if you want you can start walking with me every night.”
Dean shifted his feet. “I don’t know, Cas. Doing it that way is gonna take a hell of a long time.”
Cas groaned. “That’s the point, Dean! If you take the weight off slowly it will stay off.” He smiled. “We’ll do it together, all right? Don’t freak out, you’re not the first person to put on some relationship weight, and you won’t be the last.”
Dean sighed. “I know...you’re right. I’ve just, I’ve never weighed this much before, Cas. I’m huge!”
“Hey,” Castiel walked over and rubbed Dean’s belly, “you’re not huge, you’re just bigger than you used to be, and besides, you’re still incredibly sexy.”
Dean snorted. “I think you’re stretching there, Cas.”
Castiel shook his head and held Dean tighter. “Never.”
Dean smiled and pressed a kiss to Cas’ lips, working his tongue into the other man’s mouth and moaning at the hot wetness he found there.
“Cas,” he said, pulling away and staring into Castiel’s blue eyes. “I...”
He looked at Cas, nervous. He hadn’t said those words to anyone but his family since college. His stomach was flip-flopping, and his tongue felt like it was tied in a knot.
Cas smiled, knowingly. “Would it help if I said it first?’
Dean nodded, dumbly.
“Dean, I love you.”
Dean let out a sigh of relief. “I love you too, Cas.”
The next day found Dean and Cas taking a brisk walk around the block, and Dean was ashamed to find that it was making him a little out of breath.
“So,” Castiel said, slowing down a little, and Dean pretended it wasn’t for his benefit, “I’ve been thinking.”
Dean puffed out a breath of air. “Yeah?”
“My brother Gabriel is coming into town next Saturday,” Castiel continued, “and I’d really like for you to meet him.”
Dean had heard a lot about Castiel’s brother. Gabriel was the second youngest of four boys, and the sibling Cas was closest to. When Dean questioned Castiel about his other brothers, Michael and Luc, Castiel simply stuck to the simple explanation of ‘they’re dicks,’ and left it at that. Gabriel, on the other hand, was apparently a great brother, fun and outgoing, if not a little rebellious. Castiel had been unable to stop laughing when he told dean how Gabriel had dropped out of college his sophomore year, moved to Vegas and subsequently made a fortune playing blackjack. Now he was apparently making most of his money from stocks, but Vegas was still his home base, so Castiel didn’t get to see him as much as he liked.
“Yeah,” Dean huffed out, speeding up again, “that sounds good.”
He tried not to dwell on the thought of what Gabriel would think of him. Would he wonder what the hell Castiel was doing with such a fat ass?
“I figured we could go to that nice thai place you like? Gabriel loves spicy food and there’s a couple dishes you can have there, even on your diet.”
Dean nodded. The night before he and Castiel had sat down and made a plan for Dean’s weight loss, which to his dismay, didn’t include any kind of juice fast or detox, but Cas assured him that with enough exercise and hard work, Dean would never have to drink kale juice again. Dean had pointed out that he liked kale juice, but Castiel called bullshit.
He wanted more than anything to fall back into old habits, to go on the cleanse and drop twenty pounds in two weeks, but the more Castiel talked about healthy dieting, the more Dean had to admit it kind of made sense. Since his first initial weight gain after high school, Dean had been in what felt like a constant battle against his weight, always in a state of dieting in order to keep the pounds off. Maybe if he tried it the slow way, like Cas wanted, he could actually find a happy medium.
A week later Dean was standing on the scale, frowning down at it. He had forty minutes until he and Cas had to meet Gabriel, and he thought, what the hell, now was as good a time as any.
“Well?” Castiel said, from the doorway.
“Half a pound,” Dean said, dejectedly.
Cas’ face split into a grin. “That’s great, Dean. See? I told you this regime would work.”
Dean huffed. “If I were on the cleanse I would have lost seven pounds already.”
Castiel rolled his eyes. “And most of it would be water weight. Now come on, get dressed, we have to meet Gabriel.”
Dean sighed and walked into his bedroom, pulling on the new clothes he had bought in the past week, after he had finally admitted that none of his other clothes fit. He’d even had to buy new shirts, because all his button-ups were straining over his belly, and his tee shirts more often than not rolled up obscenely over his flabby gut.
Castiel was already dressed, and in Dean’s opinion, he looked amazing. He was wearing his corduroy trousers (which were a lot less snug on him, but still hugged his ample ass in all the right places) and a white button up with a black sweater vest over the top. Dean sighed. There was definitely no doubt who the hot one was in the relationship.
“Why don’t you wear that new purple shirt?” Castiel asked, “It looks very nice on you.”
Dean pulled on a new pair of jeans (they were forty-fours...jesus) and a black tee shirt, then pulled on the aforementioned purple button up over the top. He gazed at his gut in the mirror.
“Do you think this would look better buttoned or open?”
Cas scrutinized the outfit. “Leave it open, it looks nice the way it is.”
Dean turned his gaze back to the mirror. Cas was right, the outfit would have looked good...on a thin guy, but all Dean could see was his chunky arms, double chin and flabby tummy. He let out a deep breath.
“I kind of wish I wasn’t meeting your brother like this.”
Castiel arched an eyebrow and waltzed over to Dean.
“You look fine,” he said, planting a kiss on the back of his neck, “more than fine, actually, if I didn’t know Gabriel would rather die than betray me, I’d be worried about him stealing you for himself.”
“Your brother’s gay?” Dean inquired.
Cas chuckled. “My brother is everything,” he offered, by way of an explanation, “now come on, we’re late.”
Dean stared down at the menu, trying to pick out a dish that wouldn’t completely blow his diet. Gabriel was a few minutes late, which gave Dean more time to make a decision.
“You could get the chicken goong,” Cas said, leaning over, “it’s just hot and sour soup, no coconut milk or anything.”
Dean nodded. “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking too.”
“It says on the menu they have brown rice, as well. You could get a side of that too, it’ll fill you up, but it’s not as unhealthy as white rice.”
Dean smiled. “Sounds good.” He pressed a kiss onto Cas’ lips.
“Now now, none of that,” said a snarky voice from above them, and Castiel stood up and threw his arms around the short man that was standing next to their table.
“Gabriel!” he said happily, pulling away, “It’s so good to see you! This is Dean.”
Dean stood up and shook Gabriel’s hand, shocked at how short the other man was compared to him and Cas. There was no family resemblance at all.
“Nice to meet you, Gabriel,” he said, his eyes crinkling in a smile.
Gabriel was grinning. “It’s nice to meet you too, Deano. Cas won’t shut up about you whenever we talk.”
Castiel blushed and Dean arched an eyebrow.
“Oh really?”
The three of them sat down, and after they had ordered Gabriel turned to Dean.
“So,” he said, his amber eyes twinkling, “has my little brother been treating you right? As a relative I am fully licensed to kick his ass, you know.”
Dean smiled, amusedly. “I thought you were meant to threaten me off hurting him, not the other way around.”
Gabriel chuckled. “I’m not one to follow the rules, Dean, as I’m sure Cas has told you.”
Dean smiled. “Well, yeah, Cas is great.” He reached over and took Cas’ hand, and Gabriel gagged.
“Gross,” he said, nonchalantly, “so Cas?”
“Yes Gabe?”
“Have you spoken to Mom or Dad recently?”
Castiel frowned.
“You know I haven’t, Gabriel.”
Dean looked from one brother to the other, confused.
“Cas?” He asked, “What’s going on?”
Gabriel’s eyebrows shot up. “You haven’t told him? Haven’t you guys been together for like, six months?”
Castiel shrugged. “It isn’t important.”
“What isn’t?”
Gabriel sighed. “You wanna tell him, Cas? Or should I?”
Castiel snorted. “Tell him, if you think it’s so important.”
Gabriel turned to Dean. “A year ago Cas finally came out to our parents. They didn’t take the news well. It’s been pretty awkward since then, and then all the drama with Michael’s wedding -”
“What happened?”
“Michael didn’t invite me or Cas,” Gabriel said, his mouth twisted, “apparently he didn’t want a ‘fag’ at his wedding, and he called me ‘a whoring layabout.’” Gabriel shrugged. “I just think he’s mad that I make more money than he does.”
Dean’s eyes widened. “Holy shit.”
Cas sighed. “I called my mother, and asked her if there was any way she could change Michael’s mind. She said that he was her son and she had to support his decision. To which I answered, ‘well, I am also your son, does this mean you support my being gay?’ Needless to say, she was stumped for an answer. We haven’t spoken since.”
“Fuck,” Dean whispered, “guys, I’m so sorry.”
Gabriel shrugged. “It’s okay. I still talk to them occasionally, mostly just to get news about the rest of the family, but I can’t get behind how they treat my brother,” he patted Cas’ arm, “so we don’t talk too often.”
Cas huffed. “So, why were you asking if I’d spoken to her?”
Gabriel shifted in his seat. “Apparently Luc has gone missing.”
Cas gasped. “What?”
Gabriel nodded. “He left a note saying that he couldn’t deal with his life anymore; that he was leaving. The weird thing though, he signed it as Lucifer.”
Castiel raised his eyebrows. “Lucifer? Why would he do that?”
Gabriel shrugged. “No idea, but now Mom’s all freaked out that ‘the devil’ has something to do with his disappearing.” He glanced at Dean. “Our parents are nuts,” he explained, needlessly.
Dean laughed, nervously. “Yeah, I can see that.”
Gabriel looked hard at Cas. “Anyway, mom told me to ask you to call her. She said she’s sorry, and she doesn’t want to lose another son.”
Castiel grit his teeth. “Oh? Now I’m her son? She didn’t think so when I came out. As I recall she claimed she had ‘picked the wrong one.’”
Dean looked at his boyfriend, confused, and Castiel bit his lip.
“I’m adopted,” he said, “I’m the only one, the rest of them” he gestured at Gabriel, “are biological brothers.”
“Doesn’t make a damn difference to me,” Gabriel said, firmly, “you’re more my brother than that asshat, Michael.”
Dean shook his head. “I just got a whole bunch of information too quickly...why haven’t you ever told me any of this before?”
Castiel blushed. “I was...ashamed.”
“Hey,” Dean said softly, squeezing his boyfriend’s hand, “you have nothing to be ashamed of, okay?”
“Anyway,” Gabriel interrupted, “I’m only telling you all of this because apparently Luc mentioned you in his letter. Said that he needed to find you. I just want you to be on your guard.”
Castiel nodded, grimly. “Thank you, Gabriel, I appreciate that.”
Dean sat back in his chair in disbelief. This night had gotten really dramatic, really fast.
Still, at least no one had mentioned his weight.
Rating: R
Characters/Pairings: Dean/Cas or Dean Smith/Castiel Murphy, this chap features Gabriel.
Warnings/Kinks: chubby!Cas, pearshaped!Cas, bodyissues!Dean, chubby!Dean, weight gain, mentiones of homophobia.
Summary: So, this has blown up and become a verse, lol. Part one is here and part two is here. This 'verse is set in the Sandover universe.
Dean lying sitting on his couch, watching Castiel make chocolate oatmeal cookies.
“So these are for who, again?” he asked, stretching a little, and his stomach bulged out over his sweat pants.
Dean didn’t want to think about the fact that he really needed to buy new pants again. The pants he had bought with Castiel three months prior were more than a little tight, and even his sweat pants dug into his waistline now.
“Sam Wesson, in IT,” Cas replied, “he just got engaged to to Ruby Faust.”
Dean grunted. “Who?”
“Ruby Faust,” Castiel replied, walking into the living room, a large bowl of batter in his hands, “she works in HR, remember?” Cas raised an eyebrow. “It’s really not the best place for her...she’s not exactly what you’d call a people person.”
Dean frowned. “Is she that hostile chick with the brown eyes?”
Cas nodded. “That’s the one.”
Dean chuckled. “How did a little mouse like Wesson end up with a tiger like her?”
Cas shrugged and spooned a little batter out of the bowl, holding the spoon out to Dean. “Maybe opposites attract. Here.” Dean took the spoon gratefully and licked off a little batter, sighing contentedly.
“This is awesome, baby,” he said, eyeing the rest of the bowl, “and anyway, I thought Wesson was gay?”
Castiel rolled his eyes. “You think everyone is gay. Besides, you’re one of the bosses, it’s not like you’re in on the water cooler gossip. They’ve been dating for six months.”
Dean’s eyebrows shot up. That seemed really soon to be getting engaged. He had Cas had been dating about as long and they hadn’t even moved in together yet. Cas pushed him gently on the shoulder.
“Hey,” he said, “I know that weird, brooding look. I’m fine with where our relationship is right now, stop worrying.”
Dean shifted. “You know me too well. So...are all those cookies for Sam and Ruby?”
Castiel laughed. “Don’t worry, Dean, I’m making two dozen. There’ll be plenty.”
Dean rose happily off the couch and kissed his boyfriend, hands worming their way around the large mixing bowl to rest on his hips. He frowned a little and pulled away.
“Cas,” he said, looking his boyfriend up and down, “have you lost weight?”
Castiel shrugged. “Maybe. Some of my pants are less tight.”
Dean stood back and surveyed Cas, carefully. The other man did look a little leaner, in fact, he looked like he’d dropped a good ten pounds or so.
“Have you been trying to lose weight?” Dean asked, perplexed.
Cas shook his head. “No, my weight’s always gone up and down. I’ve been getting a little more exercise, I suppose; I’ve been walking more. Sometimes at night when I can’t sleep I go out and walk around for a bit.”
Dean nodded. That made sense, he supposed. Since he and Castiel had been together he’d noticed that the other man had irregular sleep patterns, whereas as Dean was out as soon as he hit the mattress.
“Well er - good for you, baby.” Dean smiled, and tried to ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. “You look really good.”
Cas grinned. “Thanks, Dean. Now, if you’ll excuse me, these need to go into the oven.”
Dean watched Cas walk back into the kitchen, and as soon as the other man wasn’t paying attention he rushed into his room, heading straight for his full-length mirror.
He stared for himself for a few moments.
Shit.
He had gotten really big. His stomach bulged out obscenely, so large that he almost looked pregnant. It wasn’t enormous, not yet, but it was definitely big. He raised a hand slowly to his face and slapped the underside of his chin, and was taken aback when it jiggled. He didn’t have a double chin facing straight on, but the underside of his jaw was soft, and when he lowered his head a small double chin was indeed forming. His arms were softer, and when he turned to inspect his ass it was clear that it was much wider and had much more jiggle than it used to.
Dean;s eyes slid towards his bathroom door, the silver scale on the other side of it mocking him. He hadn’t weighed himself since that awful day three months ago when he and Cas had gone to the movies, but glancing at his chunky reflection in the mirror, he knew it was time to step back on the device that he had come to fear in the past few months.
He walked into the bathroom and stripped naked, knowing very well that his sweat pants and white tee shirt probably wouldn’t make all that much difference, but it couldn’t stop him from hoping that the clothes were somehow adding ten pounds. He stepped on the scale and closed his eyes as tight as they would go.
When he opened them and looked down he felt an immediate sensation of panic rise in his throat. He stepped off the scale, just in case the reading had been inaccurate, and then stepped back on. The same number as before flashed up at him.
240 lbs.
Dean shook his head. It couldn’t be possible, that was only sixty pounds away from 300! He didn’t feel that big, and he didn’tlook that big...did he? Looking at his chest naked he could even see the beginning of man boobs...
With a shock he realized that Castiel probably weighed less than him now. It wasn’t that he wasn’t happy for his boyfriend with his recent weight loss, because he really was, but when they had gotten together Dean had definitely been...well...the hot one. He shook his head, knowing how bitchy that sounded, but it was just the rule of relationships. Even when there were two good looking people in one relationship, one was always slightly hotter than the other; if it ever happened any other way the laws of the universe would be overturned.
Dean looked into his mirror, and realized with horror that he was fat. Not huge, but he had definitely gone beyond chubby and had landed firmly in the fat zone. From now on, when people talked about Cas, they’d say things like, “You know, Cas? The guy with the blue eyes who’s dating that fat guy from sales?”
Dean dressed hurriedly and made his way out the kitchen, getting there just in time to see Castiel put the first tray of cookies into the oven. His boyfriend stood up and smiled at him, holding out his arms for a hug. Dean walked tentatively into them, his eyes fixed on the ground.
“Dean?” Castiel’s voice sounded concerned. “What’s wrong?”
“Cas,” Dean said, quietly, in a voice so low it was almost a whisper, “why didn’t you tell me I’ve gotten so fat?”
Cas made a little noise of sympathy and kissed Dean, hard.
“You’re not fat, Dean.”
Dean shook his head. “Cas, I am. I just weighed myself -”
Castiel made an indignant sound. “I knew I should have thrown out those scales.”
“Cas I’m 240 pounds.”
Cas shrugged one shoulder. “So? I’ve weighed that much before.”
Dean bit his lip. “How much do you weigh now?”
Cas shook his head. “I have no idea. I stopped weighing myself about three years ago.”
Dean looked down and grabbed a handful of fat from his midsection. “I don’t like this, Cas. I want to lose weight.”
Castiel smiled kindly and nodded. “All right, Dean.”
Dean’s eyebrows shot into his hairline. “You’re okay with that? The last time I said I wanted to lose weight you freaked out on me.”
Cas turned and put the now empty batter bowl into the sink.
“No, Dean, I freaked out because you wanted to lose weight in an unhealthy way,” he turned to face his boyfriend, fixing him with a stare, “if you want to lose weight, of course I’ll support you, I just want to make sure you do it right. I’ll bake less, and we can eat healthier stuff, of course, and if you want you can start walking with me every night.”
Dean shifted his feet. “I don’t know, Cas. Doing it that way is gonna take a hell of a long time.”
Cas groaned. “That’s the point, Dean! If you take the weight off slowly it will stay off.” He smiled. “We’ll do it together, all right? Don’t freak out, you’re not the first person to put on some relationship weight, and you won’t be the last.”
Dean sighed. “I know...you’re right. I’ve just, I’ve never weighed this much before, Cas. I’m huge!”
“Hey,” Castiel walked over and rubbed Dean’s belly, “you’re not huge, you’re just bigger than you used to be, and besides, you’re still incredibly sexy.”
Dean snorted. “I think you’re stretching there, Cas.”
Castiel shook his head and held Dean tighter. “Never.”
Dean smiled and pressed a kiss to Cas’ lips, working his tongue into the other man’s mouth and moaning at the hot wetness he found there.
“Cas,” he said, pulling away and staring into Castiel’s blue eyes. “I...”
He looked at Cas, nervous. He hadn’t said those words to anyone but his family since college. His stomach was flip-flopping, and his tongue felt like it was tied in a knot.
Cas smiled, knowingly. “Would it help if I said it first?’
Dean nodded, dumbly.
“Dean, I love you.”
Dean let out a sigh of relief. “I love you too, Cas.”
The next day found Dean and Cas taking a brisk walk around the block, and Dean was ashamed to find that it was making him a little out of breath.
“So,” Castiel said, slowing down a little, and Dean pretended it wasn’t for his benefit, “I’ve been thinking.”
Dean puffed out a breath of air. “Yeah?”
“My brother Gabriel is coming into town next Saturday,” Castiel continued, “and I’d really like for you to meet him.”
Dean had heard a lot about Castiel’s brother. Gabriel was the second youngest of four boys, and the sibling Cas was closest to. When Dean questioned Castiel about his other brothers, Michael and Luc, Castiel simply stuck to the simple explanation of ‘they’re dicks,’ and left it at that. Gabriel, on the other hand, was apparently a great brother, fun and outgoing, if not a little rebellious. Castiel had been unable to stop laughing when he told dean how Gabriel had dropped out of college his sophomore year, moved to Vegas and subsequently made a fortune playing blackjack. Now he was apparently making most of his money from stocks, but Vegas was still his home base, so Castiel didn’t get to see him as much as he liked.
“Yeah,” Dean huffed out, speeding up again, “that sounds good.”
He tried not to dwell on the thought of what Gabriel would think of him. Would he wonder what the hell Castiel was doing with such a fat ass?
“I figured we could go to that nice thai place you like? Gabriel loves spicy food and there’s a couple dishes you can have there, even on your diet.”
Dean nodded. The night before he and Castiel had sat down and made a plan for Dean’s weight loss, which to his dismay, didn’t include any kind of juice fast or detox, but Cas assured him that with enough exercise and hard work, Dean would never have to drink kale juice again. Dean had pointed out that he liked kale juice, but Castiel called bullshit.
He wanted more than anything to fall back into old habits, to go on the cleanse and drop twenty pounds in two weeks, but the more Castiel talked about healthy dieting, the more Dean had to admit it kind of made sense. Since his first initial weight gain after high school, Dean had been in what felt like a constant battle against his weight, always in a state of dieting in order to keep the pounds off. Maybe if he tried it the slow way, like Cas wanted, he could actually find a happy medium.
A week later Dean was standing on the scale, frowning down at it. He had forty minutes until he and Cas had to meet Gabriel, and he thought, what the hell, now was as good a time as any.
“Well?” Castiel said, from the doorway.
“Half a pound,” Dean said, dejectedly.
Cas’ face split into a grin. “That’s great, Dean. See? I told you this regime would work.”
Dean huffed. “If I were on the cleanse I would have lost seven pounds already.”
Castiel rolled his eyes. “And most of it would be water weight. Now come on, get dressed, we have to meet Gabriel.”
Dean sighed and walked into his bedroom, pulling on the new clothes he had bought in the past week, after he had finally admitted that none of his other clothes fit. He’d even had to buy new shirts, because all his button-ups were straining over his belly, and his tee shirts more often than not rolled up obscenely over his flabby gut.
Castiel was already dressed, and in Dean’s opinion, he looked amazing. He was wearing his corduroy trousers (which were a lot less snug on him, but still hugged his ample ass in all the right places) and a white button up with a black sweater vest over the top. Dean sighed. There was definitely no doubt who the hot one was in the relationship.
“Why don’t you wear that new purple shirt?” Castiel asked, “It looks very nice on you.”
Dean pulled on a new pair of jeans (they were forty-fours...jesus) and a black tee shirt, then pulled on the aforementioned purple button up over the top. He gazed at his gut in the mirror.
“Do you think this would look better buttoned or open?”
Cas scrutinized the outfit. “Leave it open, it looks nice the way it is.”
Dean turned his gaze back to the mirror. Cas was right, the outfit would have looked good...on a thin guy, but all Dean could see was his chunky arms, double chin and flabby tummy. He let out a deep breath.
“I kind of wish I wasn’t meeting your brother like this.”
Castiel arched an eyebrow and waltzed over to Dean.
“You look fine,” he said, planting a kiss on the back of his neck, “more than fine, actually, if I didn’t know Gabriel would rather die than betray me, I’d be worried about him stealing you for himself.”
“Your brother’s gay?” Dean inquired.
Cas chuckled. “My brother is everything,” he offered, by way of an explanation, “now come on, we’re late.”
Dean stared down at the menu, trying to pick out a dish that wouldn’t completely blow his diet. Gabriel was a few minutes late, which gave Dean more time to make a decision.
“You could get the chicken goong,” Cas said, leaning over, “it’s just hot and sour soup, no coconut milk or anything.”
Dean nodded. “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking too.”
“It says on the menu they have brown rice, as well. You could get a side of that too, it’ll fill you up, but it’s not as unhealthy as white rice.”
Dean smiled. “Sounds good.” He pressed a kiss onto Cas’ lips.
“Now now, none of that,” said a snarky voice from above them, and Castiel stood up and threw his arms around the short man that was standing next to their table.
“Gabriel!” he said happily, pulling away, “It’s so good to see you! This is Dean.”
Dean stood up and shook Gabriel’s hand, shocked at how short the other man was compared to him and Cas. There was no family resemblance at all.
“Nice to meet you, Gabriel,” he said, his eyes crinkling in a smile.
Gabriel was grinning. “It’s nice to meet you too, Deano. Cas won’t shut up about you whenever we talk.”
Castiel blushed and Dean arched an eyebrow.
“Oh really?”
The three of them sat down, and after they had ordered Gabriel turned to Dean.
“So,” he said, his amber eyes twinkling, “has my little brother been treating you right? As a relative I am fully licensed to kick his ass, you know.”
Dean smiled, amusedly. “I thought you were meant to threaten me off hurting him, not the other way around.”
Gabriel chuckled. “I’m not one to follow the rules, Dean, as I’m sure Cas has told you.”
Dean smiled. “Well, yeah, Cas is great.” He reached over and took Cas’ hand, and Gabriel gagged.
“Gross,” he said, nonchalantly, “so Cas?”
“Yes Gabe?”
“Have you spoken to Mom or Dad recently?”
Castiel frowned.
“You know I haven’t, Gabriel.”
Dean looked from one brother to the other, confused.
“Cas?” He asked, “What’s going on?”
Gabriel’s eyebrows shot up. “You haven’t told him? Haven’t you guys been together for like, six months?”
Castiel shrugged. “It isn’t important.”
“What isn’t?”
Gabriel sighed. “You wanna tell him, Cas? Or should I?”
Castiel snorted. “Tell him, if you think it’s so important.”
Gabriel turned to Dean. “A year ago Cas finally came out to our parents. They didn’t take the news well. It’s been pretty awkward since then, and then all the drama with Michael’s wedding -”
“What happened?”
“Michael didn’t invite me or Cas,” Gabriel said, his mouth twisted, “apparently he didn’t want a ‘fag’ at his wedding, and he called me ‘a whoring layabout.’” Gabriel shrugged. “I just think he’s mad that I make more money than he does.”
Dean’s eyes widened. “Holy shit.”
Cas sighed. “I called my mother, and asked her if there was any way she could change Michael’s mind. She said that he was her son and she had to support his decision. To which I answered, ‘well, I am also your son, does this mean you support my being gay?’ Needless to say, she was stumped for an answer. We haven’t spoken since.”
“Fuck,” Dean whispered, “guys, I’m so sorry.”
Gabriel shrugged. “It’s okay. I still talk to them occasionally, mostly just to get news about the rest of the family, but I can’t get behind how they treat my brother,” he patted Cas’ arm, “so we don’t talk too often.”
Cas huffed. “So, why were you asking if I’d spoken to her?”
Gabriel shifted in his seat. “Apparently Luc has gone missing.”
Cas gasped. “What?”
Gabriel nodded. “He left a note saying that he couldn’t deal with his life anymore; that he was leaving. The weird thing though, he signed it as Lucifer.”
Castiel raised his eyebrows. “Lucifer? Why would he do that?”
Gabriel shrugged. “No idea, but now Mom’s all freaked out that ‘the devil’ has something to do with his disappearing.” He glanced at Dean. “Our parents are nuts,” he explained, needlessly.
Dean laughed, nervously. “Yeah, I can see that.”
Gabriel looked hard at Cas. “Anyway, mom told me to ask you to call her. She said she’s sorry, and she doesn’t want to lose another son.”
Castiel grit his teeth. “Oh? Now I’m her son? She didn’t think so when I came out. As I recall she claimed she had ‘picked the wrong one.’”
Dean looked at his boyfriend, confused, and Castiel bit his lip.
“I’m adopted,” he said, “I’m the only one, the rest of them” he gestured at Gabriel, “are biological brothers.”
“Doesn’t make a damn difference to me,” Gabriel said, firmly, “you’re more my brother than that asshat, Michael.”
Dean shook his head. “I just got a whole bunch of information too quickly...why haven’t you ever told me any of this before?”
Castiel blushed. “I was...ashamed.”
“Hey,” Dean said softly, squeezing his boyfriend’s hand, “you have nothing to be ashamed of, okay?”
“Anyway,” Gabriel interrupted, “I’m only telling you all of this because apparently Luc mentioned you in his letter. Said that he needed to find you. I just want you to be on your guard.”
Castiel nodded, grimly. “Thank you, Gabriel, I appreciate that.”
Dean sat back in his chair in disbelief. This night had gotten really dramatic, really fast.
Still, at least no one had mentioned his weight.