Take Two - Destiel Fanfiction
Title: Take Two
Authors: pippin1983 & lotrspnfangirl
Pairing: Destiel, some Cas/Balthazar
Rating: R (may change)
Summary: Dean and Castiel get drunkenly married at 19. It's bold, it's rash, it's being a young and in love. After Dean walked out, Castiel tried to move and after ten years, he's decided to marry again. The only thing standing in his way is his legal marriage. Dean, however, wants a second chance to prove that he's grown up, he's matured, but his love for Castiel has never changed.
Warnings/Spoilers: Angsty! Totally AU.
Beta(s): Huge thanks and hugs to oldbatj for working with us on this! Jude, you’re fantastic!
A/N: We own nothing! We are taking these characters and playing with them nicely. Our fic was based off of this prompt.. Bibi primarily wrote Dean and Dani primarily wrote Cas. Our eye banners are used to signify scene changes and not POV, even if they coincide. We just think the boys have pretty eyes <3
Chapter One
“Will you marry me, Castiel?”
It had not been the first time Castiel had been asked that question, but he hoped it would be the last. He was finally happy, he had a man who was charming and handsome, held a steady job and above all else, seemed to love Castiel completely. Most importantly, he wanted this. Castiel and Balthazar had been together for the better part of the last five years, living together for the last three, and it was no surprise when he finally got down onto one knee in the middle of a crowded restaurant to proclaim his love and ask for Castiel’s hand.
There was only one problem.
“Cas… babe, I want to marry you. I wanted to marry you yesterday.” Balthazar was sprawled across their bed, legs hanging over the edge as he watched Castiel do up the buttons on his shirt.
“I know, Balt.” Cas sighed, tossing a smile over his shoulder. “It’s not exactly like it’ll be easy for me to drop everything at work and travel across the country, you know?” He finished buttoning up his shirt and reached back into the closet for a tie, slinging it around his neck.
“For me, baby?” Balthazar slipped off the bed and crossed the space between them, grabbing the ends of the tie and pulling Castiel in for a kiss. Cas hummed against Balthazar’s lips, pressing into them for a moment before batting him away and grabbing his tie back.
“I’ll put in the request at work, happy?”
“Yes,” Balthazar smiled, kissing him quickly before retreating into the master bathroom. “Do you want me to come with you?” He called out.
“No,” Cas said quickly. “I’ll only need a few days, don’t worry about it. Dean will probably be grateful to sign the papers, glad to officially get rid of me, you know?”
Balthazar’s response was drowned out by the start of the shower. “I’ll see you tonight!” Cas called before exiting the room and collecting the rest of the things he needed for work.
In the fridge he found a brown paper bag with his name written across it in Balthazar’s curly script. He smiled, shoving the bag into his briefcase. He would put the request in at work and get his divorce done and over with, Balthazar deserved that.
As he slipped into his company car, he let his mind wander to Dean Winchester, the first man he had ever loved. Dean had rolled into town when they were sixteen years old and swept Castiel off his feet -- literally.
“Incoming!” Castiel looked up quickly to see a kid on a skateboard, arms flailing wildly as he tried to catch his balance, heading straight for him. He had only a moment to widen his eyes and open his mouth to yell out when the kid slammed right into him. Castiel felt his feet fly up and the two of them tumbled down in a tangle of limbs onto the pavement, as the skateboard skittered away down the sidewalk.
“What the hell?” Cas wheezed, gasping for air. The kid pushed up and removed his elbow from Cas’ stomach, allowing him to breathe again.
“I’m so sorry…. I yelled out a warning!” The skateboarder offered hastily.
Cas looked up, ready to tell the kid where he could shove his two-second warning, but the words got lost on his tongue. This kid had sandy-blonde hair, kicked up in soft peaks as if he’d just rolled out of bed, and his eyes were a captivating, vibrant green that Cas found himself lost in.
“Hey…Did you hit your head or something? Are you alright?” The kid looked at him in confusion and concern until Castiel finally shook his head, before shoving the kid off of him.
“No, I’m fine, no thanks to you.” He muttered, collecting his backpack and the book he had been carrying from the ground as he stood up.
“Let me make it up to you. Dinner?” The kid smiled, waiting for his response.
“Fine. Dinner.” Cas sighed, hiking the bag up over his shoulder.
“I’m Dean.”
“Castiel.” He took Dean’s extended hand, and shivered at the touch. Dean simply smiled and went to retrieve his skateboard.
“Meet you here at 6?” He called, climbing back on the board and skating away, not bothering to wait for Castiel’s response.
Cas rubbed at his elbow when he pulled up to a stop sign, fingers tracing over the thin scar that was the only proof their collision had ever happened. Dean had definitely done a number on him. Cas sighed, punching the radio button to flood the car with the music to try to block out the thoughts and memories of Dean. It was too bad Cas was the only one who had fallen hard.
By lunch, Castiel was completely ready to give up for the day and go home. He’d had four patients cancel their appointments for today which meant the outpatient therapists were breathing down his neck about reinstating consequences over patients not giving 24 hour notices. The nurses from the inpatient floor were complaining about their coffee machine not working, again, as if Castiel didn’t have more important things to do than worry about coffee. And… the Joint Commission decided to surprise him and show up three weeks early to start their inspections of the nursing floor.
He wanted to pretend, for once, he wasn’t the CEO of the most successful rehabilitation hospital on the East Coast and head back home to bury himself back under the covers until Balthazar got home and could have his wicked way with him.
“Hannah?” He poked his head out of his office, looking towards his secretary’s desk, glad she was sitting there and hadn’t gone out for lunch.
“Yes?” She turned around and he recognized the look in her eyes. She was just as worn out as he was.
“Since J-Co came this week, I’m going to take a few days off next week. I have to head back to my home town for… some family stuff.” He stumbled at the end, tossing her a nervous smile and hoping she wouldn’t push for a more detailed explanation. Hannah was his longest employed secretary, going on four years now, and she was starting to get too comfortable with his personal life.
“Okay,” she said, spinning back around in her computer chair. She pulled up a calendar and started clicking away faster than he ever would’ve been able to keep up. “You don’t have much scheduled next week, I’ll just move a few things around. Will you be back by Thursday?”
“Yeah, Thursday.” He nodded, offering her another smile before disappearing back into his office and sinking back against the door when it closed. He would have almost an entire week back home. He exhaled slowly, letting his eyes fall closed. Here, alone in his office, he could let the nerves worm their way through his stomach.
He hadn’t seen Dean in nearly ten years. Ten long years since Dean had walked out of their little apartment without a second thought about Castiel’s feelings. And in those ten years Castiel had put himself through college, gotten his degree and a really good job. He had shown the world that he moved on from Dean Winchester and that little town in Kansas. But here, alone in his office, he could admit to himself that he had never truly moved on.
Some nights, when he wasn’t fully in the mood and Balthazar was, he would find himself picturing Dean’s green eyes staring down at him as he slipped into Cas, fucking into him like Castiel was the only one that mattered. And sometimes, he would find himself letting his hands wander when he had extra minutes in the shower, his thoughts filled with memories of Dean sucking him down under the hot spray or opening him up and taking him against the shower wall. Afterwards, Cas always felt guilty as if he’d cheated on Balthazar. But down deep, he realized his subconscious just didn’t care.
This was the last step. Getting Dean to sign the papers would remove any lasting connection they had ever had. Dean could officially become nothing but a memory and Castiel could finally move on and focus all of his attention on Balthazar and the life they were building together. He was too old now to be focusing on childhood fantasies.
Pushing himself away from the door he moved back to his desk and picked up the phone, dialing his fiance's number so he could thank him properly for his thoughtfully packed lunch. This was what life was meant to be, a future husband who made him lunches and picked up his phone calls with a smile in his voice. A man who would be waiting for him when he got home, ready to cook dinner together and fall into bed at the end of the night wrapped around each other. His fingers were shaking as he hung up the phone, and he clenched his fist together to stop them. This was what Castiel deserved, it was what he wanted.
“Castiel!”
“Hey, Dad,” Cas smiled as he made his way up the wooden porch steps and fell into his father’s outstretched arms. “It’s good to see you.”
“You could see me more often you know,” his dad smiled, squeezing his shoulders again before letting him go. “Come on… let’s get your stuff inside.”
Cas nodded and followed his father into the house, letting his eyes trail over walls that hadn’t changed since he had left.
The same pictures were still hanging on nearly every inch of the walls going up the staircase with a few additions from his college graduation and a few more candid shots of him with Balthazar. He paused at the foot of the stairs and looked at the last photograph of him and both of his parents. He felt his Dad smiling sadly behind him.
“Come on, get your stuff upstairs and I’ll start on some dinner,” his father offered gently.
Cas smiled down at him and shifted his bag before taking off up the stairs to his old room. He let out a soft laugh, even that hadn’t changed-- Batman sheets and all. He dropped the bag and changed out of his travel clothes, slipping on a pair of jeans and button-down shirt.
“Hey Dad?” He called as he moved quickly down the stairs. “Do you happen to know where Dean Winchester works?”
His dad dropped the plate he was holding, the sound of it clattering against the counter made both of them jump.
“What?” He asked, turning around to eye his son carefully. “Why are you asking about Dean?”
“You know why, Dad. I need to get him to sign some papers…” He trailed off, seeing the disappointment in his dad’s eyes. “Please, can we not start on this again? Balthazar and I are getting married, and this is the last thing that’s standing in the way.”
“Okay,” His dad nodded, turning back around and picking up the plate again to finish setting the table. “As long as you’re happy, Castiel. That’s all I want for you, you know that.”
“I know, Dad. This is what I want.” He said, slipping into his old chair and watching as his Dad moved around the small kitchen, serving up the pasta he had made for them to eat. He noticed his Dad was favoring one side over the other and made a mental note to ask him about it later. He really should try to get out here more often…
“Singer’s Salvage Yard,” his father said suddenly. Cas looked up, confused. “Dean… he works full time with Singer, I think he co-owns the place...”
“Oh,” Cas said, surprised. “He actually, like, runs a business?”
“He’s grown up, Cas. You both have.” Cas nodded and focused on his plate, determined to change the subject.
Dean, the mechanic. Cas snorted as he took a bite of his pasta. Some things would never change.
"So, did you have fun last night?"
Dean had barely opened the back door into Bobby's kitchen when the older man's question greeted him. He looked around making sure they were alone.
"Well, it was fun while it lasted, but he left as soon as I mentioned Dotty."
He poured himself a cup of coffee and joined Bobby at the kitchen table.
"Men these days..." Bobby grumbled low. "Maybe you should go out with women, they tend to have a soft spot for your situation," he suggested.
"Or maybe I should just enjoy my life as it is. Dotty and I are happy, Bobby, we don't need another person in our lives… except you."
"Whatever you say."
Dean wasn't lying. He was happy. He had a good job, was actually running a business, and he had great little daughter, the sun and stars of his life.
He had been raising her alone ever since her mother had been killed in a car accident when Dorothy had only been eight months old.
Next month she would turn six and Dean wanted to make the day special for her. He still didn't know exactly how though, but he still had some time to make plans.
When he heard her little feet coming down the stairs he got up and waited by the door.
"Boo, little bear!" he grinned as she came in.
"Morning Papa Bear!" She giggled and hugged him.
"Been a good girl for your uncle Bobby?" he asked, knowing of course that she would have been. Sure enough she nodded and glanced at Bobby.
"Cereal’s already on the table, Princess," he just said, a smile in his voice.
Dean let his daughter go and watched her dig into her cereal. He opened the fridge and made her sandwich for school, thankful that Bobby considered them both his family and let Dean use his kitchen like this and was always ready to let Dorothy stay the night whenever Dean wanted to go out - which wasn't often anyway.
Dean couldn't tell if it was nostalgia or regret or longing, but when he had to go to collect the salvage Bobby had bought at an estate sale the day before and found himself in his old neighborhood, his heart felt heavy.
He caught himself thinking of Castiel sometimes, at the oddest times.
He knew their drunken decision to get married had been a mistake, especially at their age back then. And he knew it had been his fault when they had broken up.
He often wondered how their lives would have turned out if they hadn't married so young and in drunken haste, if they had waited, if they had made the decision with clear, sober minds.
He drove to the estate address and loaded up Bobby’s purchases with a quiet efficiency. When he drove off, going to pick up Dorothy from school on his way back to the yard, he smiled and shook his head clearing it.
He pushed any regrets from his mind, reasoning that his little girl wouldn't be part of his life, if things hadn't happened the way they had ten years ago.
He just wished Castiel could see him now. Cas would see that he was able to take responsibility for another person after all.
“Daddy!” Dorothy burst through the front doors of the school almost the second Dean pulled up to the curb, a smile stretched wide across her face, her green eyes dancing happily as she threw herself into his arms.
“Hey, Princess!” He smiled, swinging her up into his arms and giving her a hug. “Did you have a good day at school?”
“Yes! Mattie let me take home his skateboard today! Mrs. Mills told me that I had to make sure I wore a helmet cause it was really important that I protect my head in case I fall.” She was immediately pulling at her backpack the moment Dean set his daughter back on the ground and he could see the skateboard sticking out of her half-opened pack. “Want to see the back of it?”
“Let’s wait until we get to Uncle Bobby’s house,” He smiled at her, taking the bag from her arms and opening the back door so she could climb into her booster seat. “I bet Uncle Bobby probably has a helmet and some knee pads for you. Daddy just has a few more things he has to do before we can go home.”
“Okay!” Dorothy beamed at him, struggling to get her seatbelt fastened. He gave her a minute before assisting her, clicking it into place and receiving a wet kiss on his cheek as thanks.
After a few short errands, Dean smiled the whole way back to the salvage yard, nostalgic feelings and thoughts of Castiel momentarily forgotten. For now at least...
Castiel was never really forgotten. One could even find a framed photograph of him and Dean from their High School Graduation in Dean’s living room among the framed photographs of Dorothy, her mum, her Grandma and Grandpa.
The moment they arrived back at the yard, Dorothy unbuckled her seatbelt, bouncy and determined to use the skateboard. She grabbed her backpack and bolted out of the car calling out for her Uncle Bobby.
Dean just laughed watching her run off, before starting unloading the car.
Continued in Chapter Two