Standing Together

Chapter 25

A/N You're really not missing much if you skip any part of this. It'll be mentioned again in a couple chapters, but you'll survive without reading it.

You know how most people judge their entire day by how it starts? Like, no matter what happens later, it's that initial mindset that really makes or breaks it. It would take a lot to change your mind after the initial jump.

So Dean better have a lot planned today, because waking up to a nightmare is not how he wanted to start his birthday.

Castiel sits up and rubs the sleep from his eyes. God, what a wake up call. He puts a hand on his chest, waiting until his heart rate slows before he does anything. He looks over at his fiancé, sure he accidentally woke him up — every nightmare does — but Dean doesn't move, just lying facedown into his pillow, the arm that had been wrapper around Castiel dropped effortlessly on the mattress. Maybe he did sleep through it today. That's a nice thought.

Castiel can't help but wonder when Dean went to bed last night. He said he would "in a few minutes," but Castiel doesn't even remember the boy coming at all. Castiel doesn't even know what he was doing last night. He'll have to ask later.

Castiel takes Dean's stillness as a sign that he's still asleep, and he slides out of bed as quietly as possible. He'll just throw on some clean clothes and sneak into the living room, let Dean sleep a little bit longer.

The bed creaks as Castiel stands up, and he pauses, glancing back at his fiancé. Dean rolls over and faces the boy, who's sure he's going to open his eyes open, but thankfully, Dean seems to still be asleep. Castiel lets his eyes linger a little longer than necessary on the boy's body. He must have gotten hot last night, because he's just wearing a pair of boxers, and he looks hot as ever.

Castiel grabs the first pieces of clothing he can find and puts them down on the dresser, his back to the bed as he pulls off his shirt and tosses it on the floor by the door, then does the same with his pants and boxers. He's just about to put his new underwear on when...

"Have I ever told you that you have a great ass?"

Castiel whips around at the sound of Dean's voice, his heart pounding. "God, Dean, don't scare me like that!" No warning, no nothing. The whole world seems dead silent, then poof, Dean's talking. He was not prepared for that today.

Dean pushes himself into a seated position and runs a hand through his hair absentmindedly as he looks at his boyfriend in silence for a moment. Finally, he says, "Can you just stand there like that all day so I can admire this art?"

Castiel glances down at himself, and only then does he remember that he's still naked. He feels his face flush and he covers his crotch instinctively. He's about to haphazardly throw his clothes on just so he's covered, but the small bulge in Dean's boxers gives him a strange boost of confidence. Maybe it's because he's so drunk on sleep deprivation that he can't think straight. Maybe it's because Dean seems turned on already. Who knows? But something makes him decide to have a little fun.

Castiel "accidentally" drops his boxers on the floor, his exaggerated "oops" making it clear he meant it. He turns around, his back to his fiancé, and bends over to pick them up.

"Mm, Cas," Dean hums. "Get that perky little ass of yours over here, will you?"

Castiel walks up to the bed, and Dean smirks, already reaching over to him to have some fun. At the last second, Castiel steps back into his boxers, much to Dean's dismay.

"Oh, you little tease," Dean murmurs.

Dean pulls him in by the hips, and Castiel sits on his lip, straddling him. Their lips meet, and the kiss is strong, passionate, and Castiel can't get enough of it. He can feel the bulge growing in his fiancé's boxers, and if he could just get a look —