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Dean held Cas's hand gently, a blanket in his other hand, his backpack filled with drinks and snacks.
"Here?" he asked pointing to a spot beneath an orange tree.
They had officially gone from being just friends to dating two months ago, so they had two reasons to celebrate tonight. Dean wanted it to be special, but he felt like the sandwiches he had brought were a lousy excuse for 'special', even though he had made them himself and hadn't asked his mother for help. The apple pie though was his mother's, he hadn't dared to try making that himself yet, not for tonight.
“Yeah, looks good to me,” Cas smiled and squeezed Dean’s hand once before releasing it to take the blanket from Dean. He spread it out quickly and turned to sit down on one corner, patting beside him silently inviting Dean to sit down too.
Dean slid his backpack off and sat down next to Cas. He quickly kissed his cheek before opening the backpack to reveal their dinner.
“Wow!” Cas said as he watched Dean spread out their food. “You went all out, huh?”
Dean smirked. "Of course. I had to show you what a major catch you made with me."
Castiel felt himself blush slightly and he looked down at his sneakers. He crossed his legs and gave Dean a small, sideways glance. “I already knew that,” he whispered.
"I was joking," Dean reached over to rest his hand on Castiel's knee. "But I can't help that I feel like I have to impress you, so you'd even look at me. I always feel like you're too good for me." He squeezed Cas's knee.
“Me? Too good for you?” Cas looked at him then, shock plain on his face. “Are you for real?” he laughed nervously and shook his head. “You obviously haven’t looked in a mirror lately, Dean…”
"Oh, it's only about my looks? I should've known," Dean faked a pout. "You're no better than all the cheerleaders and others ... Maybe you're not too good after all."
Castiel blushed again and started to pick at the hem of his jeans. “Sorry,” he mumbled, not sure if he’d offended Dean or not. “That’s not really what I meant… I’m just… I don’t know. Word vomit, you know?”
"I love that about you." Dean gently took hold of Castiel's chin, lifted it and turned his head so he could kiss him softly. "But, see, that's why I have that need to impress you, to make you see I'm not all looks." Now it was Dean's turn to blush.
Cas shook his head and pressed forward, kissing Dean again. “You really don’t, Dean. I already knew.” He smiled and reached for Dean’s hand, intertwining their fingers.
Dean offered Cas a soft, thankful smile.
"I made it all myself. Apart from the pie, never done that before and didn't want to risk screwing it up," he explained looking at the food. "I hope you like it."
“I think it looks perfect,” Cas replied honestly and reached out to take one of the sandwiches. He unwrapped the plastic and handed the sandwich over to Dean before grabbing one for himself. “Thank you, Dean. Really. You didn’t have to go through all of this trouble. It’s really sweet.”
"Thank you. You're just the first person I’ve dated that I wanted it to be really special, you know?"
“I appreciate it,” Cas murmured and leaned over to kiss Dean’s cheek. He smiled and took a bite of the sandwich, groaning as he chewed. “This is so good!”
Dean chuckled softly before taking a bite of his own sandwich.
They ate together in companionable silence. By the time they’d polished off two sandwiches each, the sky had darkened considerably. Cas leaned back on the blanket, folding his arms behind his head and sighed, contentedly.
Dean leaned back too, moving closer to Cas and slipped his arm across his boyfriend’s waist. Cas smiled as Dean laid his head down against Cas chest and he lifted his free hand to card his fingers through Dean’s hair.
“I’m really happy,” he murmured softly after a few moments, smiling when Dean squeezed his arm more tightly around his waist. “I didn’t really think I would ever find someone and then you moved here and…” Cas trailed off and bit his lower lip. “I’m just really happy with you, you know?”
"Me too. It was so weird having to get all used to a new school and at first I did feel uncomfortable about ... about being bi. I didn't have that feeling back at the old school. But then there along came you and it all felt right again." Dean recalled with a light sigh. He kissed Cas's cheek. "Thanks for having crossed my way."
“Thanks for breaking your fall with my face,” Cas teased back chuckling, and felt Dean laugh against his chest. They fell silent again, both of them watching the night sky. The stars were just starting to appear and Cas was glad that it was a relatively cloudless night.
With a resounding boom, the first fireworks lit up the sky, Dean jumped slightly and Cas tightened his arm around him. He smiled down at Dean who looked up at him sleepily and Cas realized he’d probably been so comfortable laying against Cas’ chest that he’d almost fallen asleep. Something deep inside warmed Cas through and he leaned down to kiss Dean’s forehead as the second rocket moved across the sky.
Dean was thankful for the darkness, so Cas couldn't see him blushing. He shifted so he was at level with Cas and kissed him more deeply as more fireworks brightened up the sky. Cas hummed against Dean’s lips, the pounding of the fireworks matching the pounding of his heart as he pressed closer to Dean.
He’d never felt so alive. Dean’s lips were warm against him, he tasted like summertime and the sandwiches they’d eaten, and Cas truly thought he could get lost in Dean forever. It scared him, in a way, how quickly he’d felt comfortable and safe with Dean. He’d never felt this way about anyone else before. But Dean…. Well, it made sense because, after all, Dean was completely different from anyone he’d ever known.
It was crazy, but really, to Cas? Dean was perfect. And with him? Cas thought that every day would end up being just like the fourth of July.