Work Text:
Dean hadn't had high expectations when his mom said that she'd set him up with the neighbours' son. He had been on a million blind dates since coming out officially a few years ago.
When she had told him which neighbours, he had very nearly yelled out of surprise. It wasn't unusual for a family to be religious, especially in Kansas. These people were something else, though.
They'd always dressed "conservatively", as his mom called it, to Dean it very nearly came across as a phobia of skin.
On the rare occasions that he had spoken with one of them growing up, they had always found a way to bring God into the conversation, no matter how unrelated. Seriously, he was a five year old raving about slinkies and they told him to "find Jesus".
All of their kids had been homeschooled, which, do whatever you want, Dean didn't care. But they had an ungodly amount of kids. No one really knew how many, except them, probably.
Their kids were weird, too. A couple of times Sam and Dean had asked them to play, growing up. They didn't seem to understand any sayings, references, or basic metaphors.
Safe to say that Dean did not want to date one of them, but his mom told him that the man was going through a break up, and he eventually caved in.
He found it strange, though, that a family so obsessed with the Bible condoned their son being gay. Some people just didn't follow the rest of the world.
Now, he was home for Christmas, there was a rainstorm instead of a snowstorm outside, that entire family had joined them for a Christmas Eve dinner, and a blue eyed man was sitting next to him.
It had been awkward at first, obviously. But after two or three basic icebreakers, they hadn't been able to stop talking.
Castiel was a beekeeper, he didn't need to work because of his parents' wealth but sometimes took small jobs here and there to keep boredom at bay. He loved bees, all animals, really, and would occasionally drop a fact into the conversation.
Dean had began thinking about kissing Castiel after about the fourth one.
He was so funny — most of the time without intent — that Dean was ducking his head to stifle a laugh every few minutes. He didn't think that it had taken more than two seconds for him to shorten Castiel's name.
And when Dean was telling Cas about himself, his work at the garage and some of the movies he liked, the guy watched him, he asked questions and laughed at his jokes.
Despite his entire family being at the same table, it was the best date that Dean had ever been on.
He was pretty sure that Cas was enjoying himself, too.
He did ask about Castiel's family being so supportive of his sexuality, the question popping back into his mind after being offered more potatoes.
Castiel had chuckled a little, a truly wonderful sound that Dean wished he could bottle up and listen to again and again.
"My family is indifferent to sexual preferences, they care more about the worship of the Lord." Dean nodded along, the explanation making sense while still not being what he had expected.
The way that Cas spoke, Dean didn't think that he held the same beliefs as his family. He sounded careless when he spoke about the man upstairs, as though he were a side character from a film that didn't matter to him.
"Do you?" Cas tilted his head slightly, something that he had done whenever he was confused throughout their conversation. It was illogically attractive.
"Care about the Lord.", Dean clarified.
Castiel smiled, and looked to his family before turning his focus back to Dean.
"Not really, although I do believe. I just think that... Well, I think that God's a dick."
The statement shocked a laugh out of Dean, even though Cas had said it with a straight face. He waved away Dean's apologies, though, so maybe it was meant as a joke.
"Well, I'm a non believer, hope that doesn't ruin my chances." He winked, but he did mean it. He wanted a second date, he wanted to get to know Cas on a more profound level.
"It does not, you seem to be respectful, and I am, too." There was a warm smile on Castiel's face, his eyes crinkled around the edges in the most beautiful way that Dean had ever seen.
Before Dean could ask more about Castiel's life, the doorbell rang. His mom went to answer it, calling back at the table to continue without her.
She opened the door to a man in a white shirt, drenched from the rain, with dark hair half covering crazed eyes. This somehow all came together to look incredibly sexy.
"Mick." Dean turned to look at Castiel, surprised that he knew this man. His face was blank, and Dean couldn't tell if it was out of shock or something else.
"Look, I know you told me to leave you alone, I would, too." Mick had a british accent, and was speaking so passionately that it only took Dean a second to put two and two together. This man was Castiel's ex.
"But I can't stop thinking about you, about how happy you make me. Whenever I'm being a bit of prick, you let me. You get that it means I need space." The speech, because it seemed like it was definitely gonna last a while, was heartfelt in how it was delivered, Dean practically had to stop his own jaw from dropping. Cas' face remained stony.
"When you're an insufferable arsehole, which you are ninety-nine percent of the time, I’ve got no problem telling you, or hurting your feelings, until you do the next pain in the arse thing. Because I know you, I know that you get all worked up when your behaviour isn't called out."
Dean realised then and there that he had gotten in between these people, that he was the other man. Was Cas just pretending to enjoy Dean's company this whole time? He was so polite, after all. It made sense.
"And, listen, it’s not going to be perfect. We’ll have to work at it, every day. But I want you. Not just today, or a couple months, but forever. Every day, you and me." It was like something out of a chickflick, Mick's desperation. Dean knew that he could never compete, that this man deserved Castiel much more than he ever could.
"Think about your life twenty, fifty years from now. Where do you want to be? If it's with some other guy, I'll leave you alone forever. But, if there's even a tiny part of you that wants me, I will never give you up. Because I know that we're meant for each other, despite everything."
When Cas stood up, Dean had to manually stop himself from covering his eyes, he didn't want to watch him kiss another man. It was ridiculously selfish, they'd only known each other for an hour and a half. Yet Dean had truly believed that they had formed some kind of bond already, like the fool he was.
Dean almost flinched when Castiel slammed the door shut, causing reverberations to go through the door frame and through the walls.
Nobody said a thing, everyone looking as shocked as Dean felt.
"Can someone call the police, please?" Castiel's voice was calm, his expression still empty. Dean's mom walked to the kitchen, and a few moments later they could all hear her explaining what had happened, presumably to a 911 operator.
Cas walked back to the table, and once again took his place next to Dean.
"My apologies, I had no idea that he would try this again." Castiel shot Dean a tight, apologetic smile. He still couldn't really understand what had just happened.
"What was that about?" He tried to keep his tone light, but it was difficult when he had about four dozen questions more.
Cas' expression turned grave, and he took a deep breath, as though to prepare himself.
"That was my ex, he's convinced himself that we are soulmates, yet treats me terribly when we are together. I have told him f- yes, four times now, that I want nothing to do with him." Castiel looked exhausted as he ran a hand over his face.
"Shit, that sucks." Dean couldn't think of anything else so say, the situation just really sucked.
His mom walked back in, her phone still in her hand.
"They're not coming, apparently there's nothing wrong with declaring your love unnanounced. Sorry, Castiel." She smiled, and stood there awkwardly. It seemed that everyone, like Dean, had no idea on how to proceed after such an interruption.
Until Castiel stood up again.
"It's fine, Mary. I appreciate you calling anyway. Let's get back to this delicious dinner, please, and forget about these last few minutes, yeah?" They all nodded, and they both sat back down.
The evening continued, and eventually, everything settled down. Everyone was comfortable again, the chatter had come back, and the food was almost all gone.
Dean and Castiel hadn't spoken much, though. How are you supposed to start up a conversation after your date's ex shows up?
"So..." Dean cleared his throat, begging for a single thought to enter his brain.
"I'm gonna have to pull out all the stocks to compete with that, eh?" The words were forced, he intended them as a joke but it was just unfunny.
"Please don't, I do not consider what Mick did to be romantic, and I have enjoyed our conversations as they are." Castiel answered, seriously. It baffled Dean, that anyone could prefer his unfunny jokes to sweeping romantic gestures like that.
"You don't have to keep trying to make this a date, I'm really not cut out for the romantic stuff." He never had been, big speeches would never be his thing. He was much more suited for the occasional roadtrip or sharing his favourite movies.
"Neither am I." Castiel deadpanned, his eyes boring into Dean's. He opened and shut his mouth like a fish, finally having no comeback.
"Now please, tell me more about that movie with the guns and tuberculosis." Castiel popped a forkful of chicken into his mouth, nodding for Dean to speak.
And so he did, the conversation shifting from Tombstone to cowboys in general. Castiel never failed to ask Dean a question that showed just how engaged he was, and by the end of the night, they had already planned their second date.