Chapter Text
Real love stories never have endings
~ Richard Bach
Being back in Stars Hollow did not feel as weird as Cas had feared. His family was ecstatic when he arrived late in the afternoon, two days before New Year’s Eve.
Having spent the past two days in bed with Dean, they'd only come back to the world and reality when Grace had called again on Friday, asking if they would come home soon.
After another round in bed, they had finally showered and gotten dressed – the latter happening for the first time since their reunion – and after a quick stop at Cas’ favorite bakery, they had gotten into Cas’ Camaro and headed back to Stars Hollow.
Parting at Dean’s ranch was the hardest part, but after spending some time with Grace and visiting the new foal, Cas had finally kissed Dean goodbye for the moment to head back to the Shurley mansion.
His family immediately insisted that he tell them exactly what had happened between him and Dean back in New York – minus the dirty details, of course. His constant dreamy smile should have been a dead giveaway, but he was still happy to comply. While they were all gathered on the porch, the kids playing on the snowy lawn, Cas gave them a recap of the important and G-rated happenings.
“So, you’re not scared anymore that he won’t be able to openly be with you?” came the question from Anna after he’d finished his tale.
Cas shook his head right away, his movements a bit sluggish as he was still on cloud nine. “No. That was never a problem, really. I just misunderstood some of his actions.”
“Like?”
“Like when he pulled away from me quickly when that old classmate showed up out of nowhere,” Cas told them, remembering Dean hugging him close in bed when they had talked about this instance. “He thought I wouldn’t want to be seen with him like that. Because I had told him a few days before how embarrassed I had been thirteen years ago and that I didn’t want to stir up new gossip.”
“And your worry that he might just be curious when it comes to men? Or you, in particular?” Inias asked, leaning into Gadreel’s embrace.
Cas looked up at his brother and took his time to hide his blissful smirk behind the cup of hot chocolate. “Oh, trust me,” he mumbled into the cup. “He definitely convinced me otherwise.”
A few of his family members laughed, some groaned about too much information, and some simply shook their head, still looking happy for him. Cas just kept grinning, sipping on his drink before leaning back and letting his gaze wander into the distance as he daydreamed of his lover.
~*~
They decided to stay with their families that night, both wanting to make up for some of the time they hadn’t spent with them in the past few days.
The next morning, Cas called Meg to meet up with her for coffee after lunch. The whole town square was buzzing with people enjoying the last Saturday of the Winter Fair and also with preparations for tomorrow’s big firework show. Meg met him in front of Luke’s, hugging him close before punching him in the shoulder.
“Heard you left town again. Did you plan on running away for a second time without saying goodbye?”
“I’m really sorry,” he replied, sending her a sheepish smile. “It won’t happen again.”
“I’ll hold you to it. And to make it up to me, you’ll have to tell me everything, including all the kinky parts.”
Huffing out a laugh, he agreed, following her inside the diner where Luke greeted him with a wide smile.
“Glad you’re back, man.”
“Glad to be back,” Cas replied, as he took the offered hand and grinned at Luke. “And thanks for dropping off that note for Gracie.”
“Meh, don’t mention it,” Luke said, waving his hand to dismiss the matter.
Cas squeezed Luke’s hand once, before letting go and sitting down with Meg and two cups of coffee.
He didn’t tell her all the kinky details – just some because he was honestly exploding to talk to someone about it, and Zar probably wouldn’t want to hear it.
“Well, who would have thought our proper teacher has a weakness for you calling him Mr. Winchester?” Meg mused after a while, grinning sweetly at him over the rim of her cup.
Cas had a hard time keeping the dreamy grin off his face, but he tried to fix her with a stern glare. “Meg, I swear, if you ever mention it to him or tell anyone –”
“Relax, Clarence. You know I won’t blab.” After a thoughtful moment and a sip of her coffee, her grin turned into a cheeky smirk. “Although you might like the punishment he comes up with when he knows you told me.”
Cas groaned, even though he couldn’t stop his chuckles long enough to scold her, opting to throw a little sugar cube at her instead. It only made her laugh out loud and soon, Cas felt helpless but to join in.
Once they had finished their second coffee and enjoyed some pie, they strolled around the Fair, fully enjoying the sunny day and buzzing of the crowd. Not even the gazes that were thrown in Cas’ direction could dampen his mood. He had no idea what the latest gossip about him was, and quite frankly, he didn’t care. Dean would be here around six and Cas knew his lover wouldn’t hesitate to show what was really going on between them. Dean hadn’t said anything about it, but Cas trusted him that he wouldn’t deny his love for Cas.
“It might be a bit early,” Meg began talking out of the blue after they’d been silent for a while, just enjoying the moment. “But have you already thought about the future?”
“The future as in …?”
“Well, I don’t mean marriage – unless of course, you’ve talked about it, then –”
“No, we haven’t,” Cas interrupted, trying to wrap his head around the thought of Dean being his husband without his heart jumping out of his chest to have enough room for a happy dance.
Meg went on without a hitch. “I rather thought the near future. Like, have you talked about where you wanna live? Or if you can handle a long distance relationship? This is a relationship, right?”
“Yes, it is,” Cas replied, smiling at a particular memory coming to mind. A memory of a sunny morning on a snowy balcony, a few snowflakes melting away on their heated bodies.
“Hey, Earth to Clarence,” Meg said, snapping her fingers in front of his eyes.
He snapped out of it, trying to look apologetic and probably failing miserably. Meg only rolled her eyes, but otherwise ignored it, so he quickly answered her previous questions.
“It’s a relationship, yes. And we kinda talked about the living situation. I mean, with my job I can live wherever I want – and right now, I have a lot of reasons to come back to Stars Hollow. My father’s health alone is reason enough, then there’s Gracie, and, of course, Dean.”
“So, Stars Hollow it is?”
“For now, yes,” Cas replied with a nod. “I’ll move back into the mansion, but I’ll keep my penthouse in New York for the time being.”
“Penthouse, eh? You didn’t exaggerate when you said you were doing well for yourself.” Grinning, she lightly pushed her fist into his side, before continuing to walk around the Fair with him.
~*~
It was getting close to six in the evening when Meg pulled on his arm to stop him from going in a certain direction. He stopped and looked at her in question, her gaze fixing someone ahead of them. As he looked back up, he groaned internally. Tyson Brady and gang had spotted them and were heading over. Meg tried to pull him away, but quite frankly, Cas was done running away or hiding.
“Thought you left town. What brings you back?” Tom Azazel spoke up, fixing him with a hard glare.
Cas stared right back. “I’m sorry, I think I missed the memo about not being allowed in my hometown.”
“Yeah, looks like you really missed that memo,” Brady replied in an acid-laced tone, taking a step into his space.
Cas stood his ground, snarling at the man: “You better back off before I forget my manners.”
“Oh yeah? What do you want to do, huh?”
Before Cas could reply, Gracie’s voice could be heard over the town square, calling out for him. Looking sideways, he saw her running in his direction, smiling like a little angel. Cas smiled back and caught her in a tight embrace the moment she flew into his arms.
“Hey, Gracie.”
He felt Brady take a step back and as he looked up, the man wasn’t looking at him anymore, instead grinning in the direction Gracie had just come from. Following his gaze, he saw Dean stepping through the crowd, his eyes lighting up the moment they met Cas’.
“Yo, Mr. Winchester, Happy New Year,” Brady called out.
To his immense satisfaction, Dean simply ignored the idiot as he made a beeline for Cas. If he wanted to think in clichés, Cas would say that time froze, Dean walking over to him in slow motion. But that would have been a lie, because, within a few heartbeats, Dean was right there, crowding into Cas’ space. In one fluid movement, he cupped his cheek and leaned forward, pressing their lips together for all the world to see.
Cas couldn’t keep himself from smiling, this time fully anticipating and – yes – even enjoying the silence that fell around them, only broken by some gasps.
When Dean ended the kiss, they smiled at each other. God, he had missed him, one night and a day of separation simply too long.
“Hey,” Dean breathed out in greeting, letting his thumb sweep over Cas’ cheek.
“Hey, yourself,” Cas whispered back, letting his eyes wander over every inch of Dean’s handsome face. He still hadn’t shaved and Cas just loved it. When his eyes fell back on Dean’s lips, he was able to keep away from his lover for all of a heartbeat before leaning in and stealing another quick kiss.
“Ready for dinner?” Dean asked and when Cas nodded in reply, Dean looked over to where Meg was standing, watching them with a satisfied grin. “Want to join us, Miss Masters?”
“Oh, no, thanks,” Meg replied, “I wouldn’t want to intrude, Mr. Winchester.”
Cas could see Dean squinting minimally, but luckily no one else seemed to notice something off in the way Meg had addressed Dean. Cas still looked at her with a gaze that clearly stated ‘really?!’ but of course she just smirked at him. Rolling his eyes, he hugged her goodbye before stepping back to Dean’s side, winding his arm around Dean’s middle and taking Gracie’s hand. Resting his arm over Cas’ shoulders, Dean pulled him closer and pressed a kiss to his temple, already steering them away from the town square. With pizza being their choice of food for today, the destination was Antonioli's Restaurant.
The moment they left the square, the silence behind them broke and a multitude of voices could be heard, all of them talking at once. Cas turned his head slightly, looking at Dean, and as their eyes met, they both shared a secret grin.
Over dinner, Gracie and Cas talked about the draft. She’d read it while Cas was gone – twice. All around she seemed to love it; the only downer, in her eyes, was the fact that Siobhan and Kristen still weren’t a couple.
“Well,” Cas replied, looking over at Dean and reaching for his hand. “Sometimes it just takes a bit of time.”
While Gracie beamed at that statement, Dean lifted their joined hands and kissed Cas’ knuckles before leaning in and kissing him sweetly. As he went back to his pizza, he let their hands rest on his knee, keeping them intertwined for the rest of dinner.
When Gracie was occupied with her dessert, Dean pulled Cas a bit closer, bringing his lips close to Cas’ ear. “You told Meg, didn’t you?”
“I don’t know what you mean,” Cas replied cheekily, trying to hide his grin. “I told her a lot of things today; you might need to be a bit more specific.”
“You little –” Dean began but interrupted himself. Instead of scolding him, he let his lips hover over the sweet spot behind Cas’ ears, touching it just barely as he murmured, “You’ll pay for that later.”
“I’ll hold you to it, Mr. Winchester,” Cas murmured back, his voice almost hitching when he saw the fire in Dean’s eyes flare up.
Luckily, both of them were still sane enough to remember their company, as well as the fact that they were in public and with a last peck to Dean’s sinful lips, Cas leaned back into a normal sitting position, just as Gracie turned towards him to pick up their conversation about the draft.
~*~
“I’ve been meaning to ask,” Rebecca stated, pulling the attention towards her as she looked over to Dean and Cas. It was New Year’s Eve, all of them sitting on the back porch after their family dinner, waiting for the clock to tick down to midnight. Thanks to the fire bowls all around the porch it was rather cozy. Cas was snuggled up against Dean, the two lovers sharing a blanket like most of the other couples did.
When his sister’s gaze fell on him, Cas looked up.
“What ever happened to your little bet? The one with Cas finding a better author than Kurt Vonnegut?”
Cas’ eyes went wide and he bent his head to look up at Dean. His lover looked similarly surprised.
“I think we completely forgot about it,” Dean finally admitted, sounding sheepish.
Cas nodded in agreement, his thoughts wandering back to the family dinner two weeks ago when they had talked about authors nonstop. “Oh God, I know why,” he finally exclaimed, looking back at Dean. “That Sunday was the day you told me you know I’m C. S. James. It completely distracted me and –”
“Wait, what?” a surprised yell came from the other side of the table, Sam looking at him with a startled expression. “You’re C. S. James?”
“Really, Sam?” Eileen pressed out between her giggles. “You hadn’t figured that one out yet?”
All around them, their family was laughing, while Sam tried to hide his embarrassment.
He was somewhat saved by the porch door opening, revealing first Gracie, then Amara, both of them carrying big plates full of cookies.
Angel Cookies.
Sure, Christmas was over, but who cared about that when it came to sweets?
They all reached for some of the sugary treats, Gracie smiling in delight when Cas reached for one of the cookies from her plate, taking a big bite. The unmistakable flavor of vanilla and sugar hit his senses, bringing up a stream of memories.
Of Dean kissing him.
Of Dean telling him he loved him.
Of Dean holding him while they made love.
Of Dean lying in his arms, asleep.
Of Dean.
Of finally being home.
He leaned up and sweetly kissed his lover, before turning back to Gracie.
“They are wonderful. Far better than I remembered.”
“Awesome,” Gracie replied with a huge smile, taking a cookie herself and snuggling up on her dad’s other side.
They stayed like this almost until midnight, only Gabe’s nagging and begging getting the whole group off the bench and out of their chairs. They would have been perfectly fine here on the porch, watching the fireworks go off in the distance. But of course, with a big baby like Gabriel, they had to stand in the garden, shooting their own fireworks.
Dean had been mindful enough to bring the blanket, holding Cas close to his chest and his warmth.
“I was thinking,” he whispered into Cas’ ear as they watched Gabe, Inias, Sam, and the older kids prepare the first load of firework. “Are you still trying to convince me that there’s a better author?”
“Maybe. Will you let your Christmas present count?”
“Hhhmm,” Dean replied, pulling Cas a bit closer and resting his chin on his shoulder. “It’s certainly awesome and it inspired probably the greatest movie of all time. But if we stay fair: it is only a short story.”
“You’ll always find something against my choices, won’t you?”
“Probably,” Dean replied, not even trying to hide his cheeky grin.
Cas thought about it for a moment while he leaned back against Dean, sighing in content. “What about the stakes? Becky is right; we never talked about what they would be.”
Dean started to softly sway them, apparently thinking about it for a bit. When Gabe already called out that it was close, Cas could feel Dean’s lips pull into a smile. “I know, how about this: you’re not allowed to leave Stars Hollow until you find a better author than Vonnegut. No running away from me ever again.”
Cas huffed out a laugh, untangling himself from Dean’s embrace, just enough so he could turn in his lover’s arms. “Well then,” he replied. “I guess it’s decided.” Pressing a soft kiss to Dean’s neck, he wound his arms around him, pulling him close. As he looked into Dean’s eyes, a grin spread over his face. “There seems to be no better author than Vonnegut.”
And as fireworks all around them went off, they shared their first kiss of the new year, the sweet taste of vanilla and sugar on their lips.