POV: Dean / Cas
May 25, 2004
Castiel was much more relaxed with Robert behind bars. April had been a very good month and May had been good too. Sam graduated this past weekend and was back at home, we had a huge celebration planned for this coming weekend. But that was still days away. Today was all that mattered to me right now.
Castiel and I officially celebrated one year today. We were both nervous and excited at this milestone. I wasn’t entirely sure how to celebrate but he claimed just a day together was enough. So, that’s what I planned for the most part. We had dinner reservations he knew about and thought that was it.
But I had a few plans that I’d kept from everyone but the contractor, who had assisted me yesterday.
Right now I was still snuggled up beside him. He was still asleep and I was just admiring him. I had no idea how I got this lucky. I was still snuggled up when he blinked and looked confused.
“I thought you went in.” His voice was laced with sleepiness.
“Nope. You said you wanted to spend the day together. We’re not together if I go to work.”
“I was partially kidding.”
“Sorry, Sunshine, you’re stuck with me all day.”
He turned a bit and well, he didn’t complain and I wouldn’t complain about the morning make out session either. But hunger won us over and we finally got up. I let him fix his omelets because I was a sucker for those, even with veggies in them. He even sometimes put new ones in them just to try out. Kale wasn’t my favorite but I ate it. This morning I was pretending to ignore that he had it in the omelet.
Once he was done cooking he sat them down and sat as well.
“How are you feeling this morning?” I asked.
He finished that bite of omelet and smiled. “I’m really glad you stayed home, it’s surreal to be here with you a year later. I want to say this is a dream but I am sure it’s not.”
“Not a dream, Sunshine.”
“Good. I’m not sure I’d want it to be one.”
I felt the same way.
“Any specific place you’d like to go today?”
“Not really.”
“Well, we do have dinner plans.”
“5:30 right?”
“Yes.”
I loved his little thoughtful face and I was done for anyway. I was done the moment I saw him at the garage. I watched him for a few moments and smiled.
“You know what I’d really like to do?”
“No..?”
“I’d like to just stay here and be with you all day, cuddle, watch movies, maybe continue that make out session. Work up the need to really have to shower before dinner. No phones. No emails. No calls or anything. You and me.”
He smiled. “That sounds perfect.”
Once breakfast was done, we did just that. We cuddled, watched programs we liked, cooked a smaller lunch knowing we were going out tonight. We made sure we needed that shower we took at four. That was probably the best part of the day at least up until this point. We were in the bedroom getting dried off and dressed and I had stuck with nice black jeans, a button up gray and white vertical striped shirt with my leather jacket.
For him I had laid out black dress pants, ones I knew fit him very well with a blue and white flannel. He was going to bring his black dress coat.
“Is this too casual?” he asked.
“No,” I replied.
I still watched him get dressed though and he raised an eyebrow at the orange lacy men’s underwear I had laid out. The outfit was the same one he’d worn a year ago. I remembered that night well, complete with his boldness to invite me inside, that perfect make out session and the ripped pants.
Okay, well, maybe the pants weren’t the exact same.
“Are you planning to rip these too?”
I laughed. “No, I’ll take them off first. No promises on that lace though.”
He smiled and finished getting dressed but when I turned, he was right there, pulling me close.
“If you think I forgot, you are mistaken.”
“Forgot?” I asked.
He glanced down at the clothes. “They are the same ones we wore last year. You remembered.”
“I did.”
He kissed me. “Happy one year, Dean.”
“Happy one year, Castiel.”
I hoped my after dinner plans would go over well. He headed to the front to get his wallet and mine and while he was out of the room, I went to the dresser and got the item I had for him, slipping it into my pocket and then meeting him. I picked up the wrapped box.
“Thought we said no gifts?” he asked.
“Oh please, we both knew that was pointless to say.”
He smiled. “True. Please Dean, if you got anything…sexual…give it to me now.”
I laughed. “While the idea of seeing you open some super sexy underwear in the middle of the restaurant is hilarious, I figured you’d hate me for that so
I didn’t get those.”
He looked at me suspiciously but nodded and we headed out to Baby. Our favorite place was an Italian restaurant; we both had tried just about everything on the menu and hadn’t found a dish we hated. So that was our go-to for tonight as well. I had reserved a table even though I didn’t technically need to. However, it was our favorite table. Once we arrived and were seated, we browsed the menu.
“Oh, they have a new dish,” he said.
“I saw it and I’m really thinking I want to try it.”
“Same.”
When the waitress came we gave her our order and then addressed each other.
“Today’s been perfect,” he said.
“I agree, I couldn’t imagine a better way to spend it.”
“I think we should do the no phones thing more often though.”
I giggled. “Agreed. We could do that like once a month? Kind of like we do for the trip with Sam? Leave one for emergencies.”
“That can work. You are still coming for a few tour dates right?”
“Yes, Benny is going to run the shop while I am gone. He did say I would have tons of paperwork though because he wasn’t touching that.”
He smiled. “Sounds like Benny.”
“Indeed.”
“You were at the garage yesterday, how is the house coming?”
“Very well. I couldn’t go inside because they were working obviously. I did see cabinet boxes though, but they’re waiting on the floor to be put in.”
“I thought that was this week?”
“It is. They found a small leak on the second floor so they fixed that first. They’re still projecting a June move in.”
“That’s…right around the corner.”
“It is. It’s surreal to have a house almost done. What about your place? Are we gonna start packing soon?”
“Yeah. I told her the tour could start in July for that reason. I don’t have much, Dean, and most of it can be used in the spare rooms since we’ve already purchased new furniture for most of the house.”
“I’ve got to deal with the ‘sunshine yellow’, don’t I?”
He smiled. “You’ll love it.”
“I guess I can handle it.”
He had chosen sunshine yellow for his office because he wanted bright and sunny and open. I’d argued for anything else but finally let it go. I didn’t have to spend all day in the room after all. When the food arrived, our conversation lulled until we were done; but I wouldn’t let him order dessert. I already had plans for that.
Something I hoped Meg remembered!
After dinner, he thought we were headed back to his place but I went to our new home instead.
“Why are we here Dean? It’s too dark to see inside.”
“Trust me?”
“Always.”
I held up the blue blindfold and he looked suspicious but allowed me to put it on.
“Sit right here for just a few minutes.”
“Okay.”
I got out and sprinted to the garage door, using the key to unlock it and raised it enough to get inside. I used my phone to find the plug-in and connected the drop cords. It gave the room light. I then checked to make sure Meg had indeed come here and the cake and wine was sitting there perfectly. I then went to the car and got Cas.
“Just follow my lead, I promise you won’t be hurt.”
“I trust you Dean.”
I closed and locked up Baby and then led him over, making sure he ducked under the door and didn’t rip anything or bump his head. I then positioned him perfectly where I wanted him. I really hoped he loved this. I really hoped I had done well.
*Cas*
I was aware that we were standing in our new garage. Why? No idea. As far as I knew there was nothing in here but concrete floors and painted brick walls. But I let Dean guide me with hands on my hips and I wondered because usually when he does this, I am floored. So when he untied the blindfold and removed it…I wasn’t sure what to expect.
But I stood there for several moments as soft music began to play. It was a lot to take in, really. The garage was lit up with soft lighting from a few lamps that were hidden behind white fabric softening the light it gave off. There were white icicle lights that I was sure were Christmas lights. They were hanging around the ceiling and causing lights to bounce off the disco ball which cascaded lights everywhere in the room.
Streamers and balloons were everywhere as well in multiple colors. It gave the whole room a very playful feel. I looked around and saw the little table with a small white cake with a number 1 on the top, complete with champagne on ice and two chairs.
“Dean?” I asked.
“Not like I could recreate a high school dance. But this works just as well.”
I vaguely noticed the soft music was turning into songs familiar from my time in high school. It was incredibly thoughtful and I couldn’t really compete with this.
“Did you bring our gifts in?”
He tilted his head. “Sitting in the chairs.”
“Start there.”
So we opened gifts first and we clearly had the same thought with the little vouchers for different things. Only they said different things.
“Great minds think alike, huh?”
“Or visit the same sites.”
“That’s more common really.”
We then cut the cake and it was so damn good. But he didn’t open the wine yet, of course he had to drive later on. He finally held his hand out.
“Can I have this dance?”
I smiled and took his hand. This was phenomenal. There were some faster songs and given that no one was here but us, the dirtiness of our dancing didn’t really matter. I really liked his ass grinding into my crotch, the closeness, and the kisses. We took a few breaks too because it wasn’t like the
garage was cooled that much.
After a break, we danced more and the songs slowed down. Slow dancing with Dean was always nice.
“I don’t know how you’ll top this next year,” I said.
“I’ve got a year to figure it out,” he said.
“Thank you Dean for this entire day. It really means a lot to me. That you love me enough to actually recreate a memory so it’s completely happy, I’m really glad that you stayed and didn’t leave. I love you.”
He kissed me and I could vaguely hear the opening chords for an Elton John song. I’d always liked it for the great composition on the piano but if I remembered correctly, it was also the first slow dance we had.
“Correct me if I am wrong, but isn’t this the first song we danced to?”
“Mmhm, it is.”
We just swayed, arms around each other, and I expected something else to play, but the song came back on right after it went off. Everything about today had been on purpose but this wasn’t, we hadn’t heard the song twice that night. But when I expected words, there were none.
“Dean?”
He had pulled back slightly and his eyes were bright and reflected nothing but love.
“I wish I had gotten the courage up to ask you out before last year, but I wasn’t sure if you wanted that, wasn’t sure if we could be happy together. I am so glad that Charlie argued with you that day and I heard it, so glad that I just blurted out that I would go.”
He moved a hand to trace the side of my face, from temple to chin.
“I’m glad that you came back, because I turned down several plans just hoping you would. I know I never told you that but I did. As much as Robert tried to mess up that date, I refused to allow it. I’m glad you invited me in and we got to talk the next morning. I didn’t know if we would last, I didn’t know that I would fall in love with you so fast either. I couldn’t have asked for a better year, Castiel.”
“Neither could I, Dean. I love you.”
I didn’t even realize his hand had moved not until my eyes landed on the gold band in his fingers.
“I love waking up to you each morning, spending my days with you and kissing you goodnight each night. I can’t imagine life without you, Castiel. I love you with everything. Castiel Tippens Novak, will you marry me?”
I was fairly certain that my heart stopped at those words. Ones I’d never even considered hearing. I felt his thumb wipe over my cheek and that brought me back to where we were, the gold band he was holding, and the look of hope on his face.
“Yes Dean, I will.”
His smile was well worth it. His eyes sparkled in the light and it never left his face as he put the band on my finger. I should wonder how he knew the correct size but it was perfect. It felt so right that I didn’t want to forget anything. It was even amazing to be spun around in circles. He then went to the champagne. It was very bubbly as it spilled over the sides and made a mess. Neither of us cared.
We toasted to the future as we had our drinks.
“You know…you could have bought a sofa or something and then we could just…stay.”
He pulled me close to him. “It’s still chilly at night, and the construction company will be here bright and early. I don’t quite plan to be up that early.”
“You did bring your phone right?”
“Yes. Why?”
“I think I’d like to get some photos to remember this night. Then you should take me home.”
“Oh? Am I going to be invited in this time?”
“Oh, yes. We may not get far though. Maybe just the couch.”
His hands slipped down to my ass, slipping inside the pockets quickly. “You still want these to remain in one piece?”
“Yes.”
He smiled and got his phone. We took several dozen pictures including some of us and the way he’d decorated the area. We had some from all day really, had taken them at different points during the day. After that, we quickly cleaned the floor and then put the leftover cake in the car. There was playfulness too; random kisses or touches and I finally realized I’d get to have this every day now.
Dean locked up and drove us home where I stopped him at the door.
“I know I’ve said it before, but thank you. For everything. I think I want you to come inside now though.”
“Anytime, Sunshine.”
As much as I wanted to stop by the couch, he didn’t even turn the lights on. Just sat the leftover cake on the table and led me to the bedroom. As much as I wanted to move fast, he chose to move slowly. I wasn’t sure I would ever get tired of this, of falling asleep in his arms feeling safe and secure.