The Honey Bee Theories

8/18/2019 The Honey Bee Theories

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Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at

http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/4010566.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: M/MFandom: Supernatural

Relationship: Castiel/Dean Winchester

Character: Castiel (Supernatural), Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Jo

Harvelle, Ellen Harvelle, Charlie Bradbury, Gabriel (Supernatural),

Anna Milton, Benny Lafitte

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate

Universe - College/University, Fluff, Cute, Slow Build, Pining Dean,

Weddings

Stats: Published: 2015-05-29 Completed: 2015-06-06 Chapters: 4/4 Words:16321

The Honey Bee Theories

by queentangerine

Summary

In which Dean works for Ellen's catering company, and over the years continuously runs

into Cas at all of his many (many) siblings' wedding receptions. But Cas, that stupidly cute

kid with the blue eyes and honey bee cuff links, just won't let Dean get away with

sneaking food from the buffet. Unless, of course, he shares.

Notes

Initially inspired by a prompt I came across on tumblr.

“I crashed your family member's wed ding for the free food but hi there."

And then I just ran with it.

http://susie1x1.tumblr.com/post/100910897198/aus-to-considerhttp://download.archiveofourown.org/tags/Alternate%20Universe%20-%20College*s*Universityhttp://download.archiveofourown.org/tags/Fluffhttp://download.archiveofourown.org/tags/Alternate%20Universe%20-%20College*s*Universityhttp://download.archiveofourown.org/tags/Cutehttp://download.archiveofourown.org/tags/Alternate%20Universe%20-%20College*s*Universityhttp://download.archiveofourown.org/tags/Slow%20Buildhttp://download.archiveofourown.org/tags/Alternate%20Universe%20-%20College*s*Universityhttp://download.archiveofourown.org/tags/Pining%20Deanhttp://download.archiveofourown.org/tags/Alternate%20Universe%20-%20College*s*Universityhttp://download.archiveofourown.org/tags/Anna%20Miltonhttp://download.archiveofourown.org/tags/Benny%20Lafittehttp://download.archiveofourown.org/tags/Jo%20Harvellehttp://download.archiveofourown.org/works/4010566http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/4010566http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/4010566http://download.archiveofourown.org/http://susie1x1.tumblr.com/post/100910897198/aus-to-considerhttp://download.archiveofourown.org/users/queentangerine/pseuds/queentangerinehttp://download.archiveofourown.org/tags/Weddingshttp://download.archiveofourown.org/tags/Pining%20Deanhttp://download.archiveofourown.org/tags/Slow%20Buildhttp://download.archiveofourown.org/tags/Cutehttp://download.archiveofourown.org/tags/Fluffhttp://download.archiveofourown.org/tags/Alternate%20Universe%20-%20College*s*Universityhttp://download.archiveofourown.org/tags/Alternate%20Universe%20-%20High%20Schoolhttp://download.archiveofourown.org/tags/Alternate%20Universehttp://download.archiveofourown.org/tags/Benny%20Lafittehttp://download.archiveofourown.org/tags/Anna%20Miltonhttp://download.archiveofourown.org/tags/Gabriel%20(Supernatural)http://download.archiveofourown.org/tags/Charlie%20Bradburyhttp://download.archiveofourown.org/tags/Ellen%20Harvellehttp://download.archiveofourown.org/tags/Jo%20Harvellehttp://download.archiveofourown.org/tags/Sam%20Winchesterhttp://download.archiveofourown.org/tags/Dean%20Winchesterhttp://download.archiveofourown.org/tags/Castiel%20(Supernatural)http://download.archiveofourown.org/tags/Castiel*s*Dean%20Winchesterhttp://download.archiveofourown.org/tags/Supernaturalhttp://download.archiveofourown.org/tags/M*s*Mhttp://download.archiveofourown.org/tags/No%20Archive%20Warnings%20Applyhttp://download.archiveofourown.org/tags/Teen%20And%20Up%20Audienceshttp://download.archiveofourown.org/works/4010566http://download.archiveofourown.org/


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Chapter 1

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Dean waited until the DJ played the Macarena, because even though horrendously

choreographed line dancing was without a doubt the most repulsive kind of dancing, itinexplicably had the power to get the largest percentage of people off their asses and onto the

dance floor. The theory was proven, without fail, at every single one of these events he’d been to

since he started working these gigs a year ago. Tonight, Michael Novak’s wedding reception, was

no exception.

There it was, the holy grail of bad music, and while it threatened to make his ears bleed, it was the

perfect distraction. Everyone was too busy shuffling in sync and flapping their arms around like

idiots, leaving the tables unattended and the buffet at the back of the hall completely unguarded.

A twenty foot long table, covered in a pretty white table cloth beneath mountains of food that

made his mouth water from just a glance. Buffet-style catering courtesy of Ellen Harvelle’s

Roadhouse Catering, the best food he’d ever had the pleasure of tasting. Literally the only food on

earth that beat her cooking was his mother’s homemade peach pie, and his mom wholeheartedly

agreed: no one could surpass Ellen.

Thank god he only worked one or two of these parties a month or he’d be five hundred pounds.

There was a platter of mini cheeseburgers strategically placed (by him) at the end of the table,

almost completely untouched and it’d been calling his name all evening.

The guests were all busy dancing, and this was his chance, now or never, and so-freaking-what if the wait staff technically wasn’t allowed to eat the food.

So he slinked over, all inconspicuous like, as if he was just there to check up that everything was

okay, just doing his job, then he glanced around giving the room a once over, and making sure

Ellen wasn’t watching (because she knew his MO, but she as nowhere to be found).

He reached for a mini burger, shoved the entire thing into his mouth, and -

“Good god they’re even better than last time.” And good thing he wasn’t actually talking to

anyone, because the words were indecipherable through his chewing.

“You know,” came a voice from his right, “the food is supposed to be for the guests."

Dean jumped, startled, and looked over to find the source. It was dark, all the nearby lights were

all directed at the food, and he’d been so worried about being caught by Ellen that he didn’t even

notice the kid sitting and leaning against the wall just a few feet away. Stupid, careless.

Dean tried to size him up. The deep voice made him sound older but they looked to be about the

same age. And the kid didn’t appear angry, he looked… annoyed and uncomfortable but not in

any way that seemed related to Dean’s actions. Just something about sitting alone in dark corner,

in stiff, new clothes (because Dean could clearly see the the distinct sort of creases of perfectly

folded store items). Nice slacks, fitted white button down, and a royal blue tie to match his eyes.

There was gel in his hair that couldn’t quite keep it from sticking up, and he was absentmindedly

tugging on a thread coming loose from the back of the tie and clearly, he didn’t want to be there.

And that, Dean thought, would likely keep him out of trouble.


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So Dean opted for a charming, innocent smile. “Well hello to you, too."

The kid stood up, almost at eye level with Dean, but he said nothing, just started at him with what

Dean was hoping was only mock-disapproval. So Dean just kept talking, because that was the sort

of thing he did best.

“You should know that this is now the dance portion of the evening, and you’re supposed to be

out there ‘taking it back now’ and not loitering around the buffet."

The kid grimaced and Dean grinned. The score was now one-one. He congratulated himself with

another mini burger, licking the grease obnoxiously off his fingers.

“You have my permission to punch me in the face if I ever willingly join in one of those mad

group seizures."

Dean nearly choked on his burger and his laugh came out as more of a coughing fit, because that

was not at all the response he’d been expecting. A joke, yes, but said with enough sincerity that it

took his brain a couple extra seconds to recognize it as such.

The kid just waited patiently, watching Dean as he got his breathing back to normal andswallowed his food, and Dean, who was usually quick on his feet and loose with the comebacks,

was at a loss.

“Uhh…"

“If you hand me a burger I won’t tell anyone you’re stealing food.” He held out a hand

expectantly and raised an eyebrow.

Dean smiled but didn’t move. “You wouldn’t tell on me."

“Do you want to test that theory?"

Dean did not. The kid looked harmless enough, if a little out of place, but he spoke with

confidence.

Plus, no harm in sharing, plenty to go around, and it would be just slightly less suspicious than

standing there on his own. Dean’s waiter attire was a dead giveaway.

“Well,” Dean said as he passed him a couple burgers, “sharing is caring.” Or at least that’s

what he’d always told his little brother Sammy when they were younger, but his motives had

always been selfish. Maybe they still were.

The kid snorted. “Whatever you say.” And when he moved to grab the burger, Dean noticed the

cuff links. Little golden honey bees.

Dean raised his eyebrow in question, but the kid just shrugged and took the food.

Dean ate another one himself, and watched as the kid took a bite, look of pure bliss spreading

across his face and eyes fluttering closed as he chewed. It was adorable.

“These make me very happy,” he said, smiling at Dean, who smiled right back.

“You really like burgers."

“They’re my favorite. But I don’t eat them often."

“That’s a shame, but you have good taste. And Ellen’s are - "


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A flash of red hair appeared at his side along with a sharp smack on his shoulder as Charlie,

fellow waitress and best friend, appeared out of nowhere.

“And speaking of that devil,” she said, “she can see you eating the food and she’s pissed."

“Damn it. Not again."

“Let’s go.”

Charlie started dragging him off so he waved goodbye to the kid, who was laughing at him, so he

winked and grabbed a final burger for the road. If he was going to be yelled at, he was going to

make it well worth it.

v/\v/\v/\v/\v/\v/\v/\v

He’d started working for Ellen a year ago but he’d known her his whole life. They were

neighbors, she was his mom’s best friend, and he and his brother Sammy had grown up trying not

to get their asses kicked by her daughter Jo. They failed, needless to say, because she may be tiny

but she was a little crazy and a lot too smart for her own good . And for the good of others,

apparently, but they became good friends anyway.

Jo worked for Ellen too, because she wasn't given a choice, whereas Dean practically had to

beg for the job as soon as he turned sixteen. He wanted the cash, he wanted to work with is

friends, but mostly he wanted the food. Ellen didn’t quite trust him around it, with good reason,

but he could be polite when he needed to be, and he knew his way around a kitchen.

It was half a miracle he’d made it a year so far without getting fired. He couldn’t even be mad if

she did decide to can him; he deserved it.

So she caught him at the Novak wedding. She didn’t catch him at the bat mitzvah the month

before, or the Johnson family reunion a few weeks before that. He’d grown overconfident, he let

himself slip up, and so Ellen saw him, and so did bee boy. But he’d learned his lesson, to be more

careful next time, and not to let cute boys (wait, what?) distract him.

But whatever. It was one gig, and it was over. The next month they catered some guy’s 90th

birthday and he successfully snuck two mini burgers and an entire slice of apple pie withoutanyone noticing. Except Charlie, but she just rolled her eyes and demanded a bite of the pie. (And

for the record, he believed he was entitled to the pie, he did bake it, after all.)

Ellen was none the wiser and Dean all but forgotten about the incident at the Novak wedding,

except that he hadn’t. Every time he ate or so much as got a whiff of Ellen’s burgers that kid with

the messy hair and bright blue eyes would pop into his head. He never got the chance to thank

him for playing along. After Ellen had finished scolding him he went back to ‘apologize’ (as per

her request) but couldn’t find him anywhere.

So about six months passed, the blue of the kid’s eyes had been exaggerated beyond belief in his

imagination, and he’d eaten more burgers than he cared to keep track of.

It was nearing the end of fall, which also happened to mark the end of the busy wedding season

for Ellen’s catering, and Ellen booked him to work the last big wedding of the year.


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He had a new plan for sneaking food, because Ellen had officially figured out the line dancing

ploy, so after he helped set up the buffet and made the rounds of the tables, he waited till the

speeches were over and there was music playing, and gave Charlie the signal.

(It was actually pretty easy to get Charlie involved, because she was pretty much down for

anything that could be in some way, shape, or form construed as a quest. And more importantly

he’d promised he’d go LARPing with her. Jokes on her though, cause he would have went

regardless.)

Cue Operation Let Me Eat Cake (which of course had absolutely nothing to do with cake,

specifically), where Charlie as the diversion instead of shitty music.

Dean staked out the buffet until the traffic had died down and there was just one guy left, starting

at an empty platter like he could refill it with just sheer will. Dean waited, and he waited, but the

guy wasn’t budging and Charlie’s diversion wouldn’t last forever and he had to make his move.

He started creeping over and then the guy shifted and the light caught a glint of something on his

wrists, and -

Now, Dean was not exactly known for his attention to detail, so the fact that this was another

Novak wedding had escaped him, or maybe he just didn't make the connection, because maybe

Ellen mentioned the name and he could have pieced it together, but it basically amounts to it

probably being his own fault for being caught off guard.

But he would recognize those silly honey bee cuff links anywhere. (And for the record, by silly he

means something maybe more along the lines of adorably ridiculous, but what was this kid

twelve?)

But this meant, of course, that the buffet was officially fair game, even with the kid standing there.

So he walked up next to him, leaned over so he’d be heard over the music and simply said, “Hi

there."

The kid looked over at him, confused, (and wow Dean had not actually exaggerated the blue of

his eyes) and then recognition flickered across his face and he frowned. Not exactly the reaction

Dean was hoping for, but -

“There aren’t any burgers left."

Oh. The empty platter. But Dean just smirked. “Is that so?"

The kid’s frown deepened and he pointed to the empty plate like he couldn’t believe how dumb

Dean was being when the evidence was right under his nose.

“Well it’s lucky I found you then,” Dean said as he walked around the other side of the

table, shifted around some plates, and then produced a small one with a lid.

The kid watched with rapt attention as he lifted the lid to reveal a total of six mini burgers.

“I’d have set more aside if I knew I’d be sharing."

The kid looked up from the plate to catch Dean’s eye and grinned. “Technically, they’re not yoursto share. If anything they’re mine to share, and I will graciously allow you three of them.” He

reached out and stole the plate from him and managed to eat a burger before Dean even realized

what was happening.


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“Whoa. Hey. Rude. I’m the one saving you here, okay? You were staring at an empty plate like it

was personally responsible for ruining your night."

“It was personally responsible,” he said through a mouthful. "Not that the night started off great in

the first place, but now it’s looking up.” He started on a second burger. “Mmm. Even better than I

remembered."

Dean rolled his eyes. “You’re welcome.” And he grabbed one for himself so he’d at least get

something before the kid wolfed them all down.

“I’m Dean, by the way."

“I know. You have a name tag."

“Oh, right."

“Castiel.” And Dean must have made a face, because after a pause he added, “Or Cas, if you

prefer."

Dean nodded. “Nice to officially meet you."

“Likewise."

They ate the rest of the burgers in silence, no need to spoil the snack with conversation, but they

both stuck around after they were gone. But silence isn’t something Dean knows how to handle

when there’s nothing else to do, though it didn’t seem to bother Cas, and after a few more bites

from random dishes, Dean broke.

“So. Two weddings in one year. Thought I was the only one constantly at these things, but I'm at

least get paid for it."

Cas groaned and threw his hands up, exasperated, and went and sat down against the nearby wall,

knees bent up and head in his hands. Just leaving Dean there, once again at a loss for words,

because all of Cas’s responses fly in from way out of left field.

“Sorry.” Came his muffled response. Then he look back up and Dean. "That was dramatic. But

this is my life now.” He waved vaguely at the the reception hall.

Dean went over and took a seat next to him. “Weddings?"

“Yes. I have five hundred siblings and cousins."

“Are we not done being overdramatic?"

Cas glared him and continued. “It would take the entire night for me to count them all, and I

would never be confident that I didn’t leave someone out. In the next five or so years, I will attend

more weddings than anyone should have to in an entire lifetime."

Dean opened his mouth to respond, but Cas must’ve read his mind because -

“Doesn’t count if you’re being paid to work the weddings, Dean, so don’t."

“Fine. But - "

“No."

“Alright, alright.” Dean reached over to the table and pulled down a plate of cookies, offering one


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to Cas.

“Thanks. And sorry. I’m being horrible."

“You’re not being horrible."

He laughed. “Well I’m thinking some pretty horrible things, but outwardly I’m practicing

restraint."

“Well good on you. Personally, I haven’t mastered that skill. I’ll listen though, no judgment."

“I appreciate the offer, but the last thing I want to do is give you a reason to hate me."

So Dean changed the subject and they talked about stupid things for a while, steadily making their

way through the cookies, until there was only one left, and Cas felt the need to ask -

“Shouldn’t you be working?"

“Yeah, whatever."

And then with unfairly perfect timing, Jo came out of nowhere. “Yes, you should be. Mom saw

you eating the food again."

“Shit. Do me a favor and - "

“No way. Not putting myself in the way of her wrath for you, Dean.” She looked over at Cas.

“He's not worth it."

Cas laughed, and even though Dean wasn’t thrilled to be in trouble again, he was glad to be

leaving Cas in a better mood than he’d found him.

“Well, until next time, I suppose. If I survive this. See ya, Cas."

He tried to do a cute half wave, half salute as he backed away, but Jo tugged his arm, nearly

knocking him over and it didn’t come nearly as smooth as he’d intended.

v/\v/\v/\v/\v/\v/\v/\v

So then it became a thing, apparently. Ever since Cas implied that there would be a lot of family

gatherings in the future, Dean started to look forward to them. He got excited every time Ellen

called to see if he was free to work, and was disappointed whenever it wasn’t a Novak related

event.

He’d only met the kid twice, sure, but it was nice to have a willing partner in his food stealing

crimes. He’d still do it anyway, but it was more fun this way. So much fun, in fact, that even a few

months after he’d last see him, he found himself laughing about something funny Cas had said. In

public, like an idiot, when Sam had made him drive him to the dollar store for supplies for some

school project. Dean was trailing behind him down the aisles, and then he saw it.

A little plastic honey bee toy, about the size of the pink eraser that Sam was now throwing at him

to add to the basket. Stupid little cartoony honey bee with black wings and two big blue dots

painted on to pass as eyes, and somehow it managed to look like Cas. If that was possible, and

probably not, but that’s already where Dean’s head was so it was easy to make the leap.


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It was a dollar. Not even a dollar, but ninety-eight freaking cents, and just shut up already it was

cute. He decided not to think about it and tossed it to the basket before moving on, and thankfully

Sam was too focused on finding his own dollar store treasures to notice. It’d sit on his desk a few

weeks and then he’d probably lose it. Whatever.

He threw it behind a stack of books and forgot about it. (Kind of. Not really.)

When Ellen called him about the next Novak wedding, Dean was ready. He might have knownwhat he was getting into, but it still caught him by surprise. It wasn’t a wedding at all this time, but

a party celebrating something or other for a group of the smaller Novaks, and there were children

running around everywhere. It was distracting, and he sort of accidentally ambushed Cas as he

was leaving the washroom and Dean was entering. They nearly collided, but Cas was pretty cool,

calm, and collected, while Dean kind of spazzed out.

Cas greeted him with, “Oh no, not you again,” but he was smiling.

And then later they met up once again by the buffet, and before Dean even had the chance to grab

himself any food Cas bombarded him, with “Please, you have to talk to me so they can’t."

“They?"

“Literally everyone else. If one more person asks me about my plans for college I will not be

responsible for my actions. It’s a minefield of nosy relatives out there."

“College?” Dean hadn’t yet determined how old Cas was

“You’re not allowed to ask either!” And yet, Cas ranted about his woes anyway, the

whole having no clue what to do with your life spiel, just stared his first year of college in the fall

with an undeclared major. Maybe he'd teach, but small children freaked him out (he was really notenjoying this party), high school was a terrible experience he did not want to revisit, nor was he

thrilled with the extra years of school it would take to teach at a higher level.

He just didn’t want to follow in the family footsteps, where for almost all of them, philanthropy

was key but only (only) if they could get rich in the process. For Cas, helping was good,

hypocrisy bad.

“What I want is not what they want. You know?"

Dean kind of got it, kind of didn’t. He was expected to take over his dad’s garage one day, and he

liked cars so why not.

“But if you could do anything?"

“I... have no idea."

“Not a great feeling is it?"

“Thanks for the downer, Cas."

“This has been my whole day, I’m just trying to give you some insight."

“But I’m supposed to be distracting you, aren’t I?” He smiled and went for another mini burger,

handing one to Cas as well. “So how about - oh no, incoming. Hide me.” He tried to duck behind

a confused Cas, but it was no use.


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“Dean!"

“Hey, Jo,” he said, peeking from behind Cas’s shoulder.

“Caught you red handed. Again. What is wrong with you."

He stuffed the rest of the burger into his mouth, and tried to say I don’t know what you’re talking

about , but Jo just made face at him.

“Gross. My mother wants to see you."

“Of course she does. Why you always turning me in, Jo?” He swallowed his mouthful. “Well,

later, Cas."

But Cas was already backing away, wide eyed and worried, looking past Dean at what he

assumed could only be another too-curious relative swooping in. Dean would save him if he

could, but Jo was right there, glaring and tapping her foot impatiently, and Dean was man enough

to admit he was afraid of her.

It was after that incident that Dean noticed a pattern. Ellen only ever caught him sneaking food atNovak events. He decided to blame Cas.

So when he saw Cas for the fourth time, at Hester’s wedding reception, he snuck up behind him

where he was standing by the buffet (waiting for him, Dean hoped) and announced, “I’m blaming

you, Cas."

“Excuse me?"

“If Ellen fires me. It’s your fault."

“I fail to see how."

“You keep telling yourself that."

Cas rolled his eyes and watched, amused, as Dean shuffled around the table and gathered a couple

of small hidden plates, handing a couple to Cas for safekeeping.

“But it’s okay. I’ve got a new plan. Let’s go."

“What? Where?” But Dean had already started walking, leaving him with no choice but to

follow.

They weaved around tables until they reached the opposite side of the hall, still far from the dance

floor and far from the kitchen where Ellen would be, to where there were a couple of empty

tables, with table cloths that reached almost down to the floor.

Dean chose the farthest table, lifted the side of the cloth that was facing the wall and pinned it up

to allow for some light beneath the table, set the food down on the floor and crawled under.

“I’m not sitting under a table, Dean."

“Yes you are. Get down here."

“No. And please explain yourself."

He stuck his head back out to say, “I considered just sitting at the table, you know, the whole

hiding in plain sight thing? But Jo would never let me get away with that."


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No response, so Dean ducked back under the table.

“Cas! Come on! I will eat all of these burgers without you."

And that, apparently, was all it took for Cas to get off his high horse and sink (literally and

figuratively) to Dean’s level.

“I can’t believe you’re making me do this."

“ I’m not making you do anything.” He smirked and slid a plate towards Cas. “You’ll willingly do

anything for one of these burgers."

“I beg you not to test that theory any further."

“We’ll see. No promises."

The ate for a couple minutes, and then -

“Wait, why are we under a table?"

“Because, Cas. This way I won’t get in trouble, and you won’t have to deal with any relatives."

“Oh.” His eyes widened, then he nodded. “Good plan."

It was a curious, careful game. There were a lot of rules that they made up as they went along and

neither of them fully understood all of it at the same time. It was exciting, it was a little stressful, it

was kind of really great, and there seemed to be an unspoken agreement to keep their newfound

friendship within the confines of the ‘chance’ meetings. Except after that third one Dean made a

pact with himself that he would never miss one, and he thought maybe Cas expected him to

always be there, because he stopped looking surprised to see him.

It was weird but it worked, and Dean wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Chapter End Notes

Fun fact, catering angle came from a favorite book of mine from middle school (The

Truth About Forever, Sarah Dessen).


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Chapter 2

After Dean graduated high school he started attending the college in the next town over, majoring

in mechanical engineering with a minor in business. Even though it was only about thirty minutes

away (without traffic), his mom insisted that he live in the dorms because she wanted him to have

the full college experience and his dad thought that living away from home would force him to

grow up. He was offended by the accusation, but he was grateful for the result, because classeswere tough and he was glad he didn’t have to deal with a daily commute.

He had his own car and was still close enough to home that he could visit whenever he wanted.

To work when Ellen needed him, to hang out with friends, to give Sam hell. It was a good

arrangement.

And it meant that he didn’t have to give up his meetings with Cas, who was attending school a

couple hours away, but was home for every wedding and family event. He was forbidden to miss

them, apparently.

As soon as Dean showed up he’d scout the hall until he found blue eye or gold honey

bees. Everything he learned about Cas over then next few years he learned in fifteen or twenty

minute vignettes, with each event. It was enough time for Dean to get to get to know him (sort of),

but it was always too quick, and left Dean wanting more, eagerly awaiting the next chance he’d

get to fill in all the blanks.

Obviously he already knew that Cas loved bees, but at Zach's wedding he learned that Cas

loved honey as well, and wished to have his own hive one day, to make his own. Dean informed

him that he personally would never, even on pain of death, stick his hand into a bucket of bees,

and Cas in turn informed him that that was of course not how it worked. Close enough, Dean

insisted.

He learned that Cas was (probably) fluent in Italian, because he could read it just fine, although he

had no one to converse with.

And Hael’s rehearsal dinner he learned that Cas harbored an intense dislike for his roommate,

Crowley, but he tolerated him because wasn’t sure what he would do without his ability to

get literally anything past the RAs. He also learned that the preparations for this particular

wedding had overshadowed his birthday the week before.

So Dean though maybe he would surprise him at the wedding the next night.

He met Cas at the buffet table with a big grin, a happy birthday, and a slice of honey pie that he’d

baked that morning.

Cas took the plate and stared at it. “Did you… make this for me?"

“Um, Ellen was asking for dessert suggestions, and I know you like honey, so… honey pie.”

Dean was a coward. He had in fact made it himself and snuck it in past her.

But Cas broke out in a huge grin, so before letting the brightness of it blind him, and

before completely chickening out (because he knew he’d regret it), Dean took a deep breath andadded, “Oh, and I almost forgot."

From his pocket he produced that little dollar store honey bee toy that he'd fashioned into a cake

topper. For a year he'd managed not to lose it and it sat on his desk mocking him for being such a


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sap. He reached over and stuck it in the pie, and -

"Little cheesy, I know, but - "

“It’s perfect,” Cas said. “Thank you, Dean.” And he genuinely seemed to mean it.

Later, once Cas had eaten the pie, he confessed, ”I know cake is traditional for birthdays, but I’m

glad you went with pie. Much better."

To which Dean couldn’t help but reply, “A man after my own heart.”

And Cas might have blushed just a little when Dean said it, but it was rather dark in the hall they

were hiding in, so it was too hard to tell for sure.

The next time he saw him, at Hael's reception, he finally got the rest of Cas’s wedding rant.

“It’s just, it’s started , you know? And then soon enough they’ll all expect it to be my turn."

“But you’re only twenty! Plenty of time to worry about that later."

“You would think , but my family is very religious. It’s common and expected to marry young.

The farthest anyone has made it was twenty-five. Which was Rachel, and my mother thought it

was too long to wait."

“And you don’t agree with their philosophy."

"The point of life is not to find a partner and procreate.The point of life is to live."

"But what if finding a partner and procreating is your idea of living?"

Cas looked like he wanted to smite him so he he held his hands up in defense. “Whoa, just playingdevil’s advocate, because I like being difficult and you’re cute when your annoyed, but please

don’t kill me, I value my life."

Okay so he didn’t quite mean to say that one thing, but it was true, and now he was just trying to

play it cool, but, apparently he needn’t have worried. Cas didn’t acknowledge the comment, just

looked at him, mulling something over, then said seriously -

“I won’t kill you, but only because you seem to agree with me."

“Sure, for the most part."

“Is this you continuing to be difficult?"

“Uh.. not really.” He shrugged. “It’s a nice idea. Getting married, eventually. If that’s what you

want to do, of course."

Cas sighed. “I’m not against the idea of forever , I just think they’re are better ways to say it."

He was tempted to ask what but the conversation had already veered into very personal territory

and the fact that it wasn’t freaking him out was freaking him out. He’d had this conversation once,

with Charlie, but it was different with a best friend that he’d known for years and years. Not

someone he’s seen maybe six times in three.

“I’ve been testing a theory,” Cas said. “I haven’t brought a date to any wedding, and while so

far my mother hasn’t said anything, if there’s no development by graduation...” Then he laughed.

“Although bringing a date might exacerbate the problem."


13/37

And Dean couldn’t help his curiosity. “How so?"

“That’s a story for another time."

And at Luc’s wedding, he learned that Cas liked testing those kinds of theories (although Dean

already had a theory of his own that this was the case).

“Technically, they’re hypotheses,” Cas told him, “but the word doesn’t sound as nice in general

conversation, so forgive me for electing to use the colloquialism."

“Dude, I wouldn’t even have known if you didn’t point it out.”

“I would still rather be forthcoming about inaccuracies, in case new information comes to light in

the future."

“I see college has been treating you well."

“It has. Absolutely loving my linguistics class."

“They make you eat a couple of dictionaries?"

Cas ignored him. "My newest theory is one that I really don’t ever want proof of, but I’m pretty

sure that I’m right anyway. It's a too much information situation."

“Hey that rhymes."

“ Dean."

“Sorry. Continue."

“Luc’s mostly just getting married because he wants to have sex."

Not what Dean was expecting. “And how are you so sure he hasn’t already?"

“I”m not, but Gabriel is. Apparently it’s been discussed, because Luc walked in on him and his

girlfriend in some variety of compromising position. I didn’t ask for details."

There was a loud burst of laughter from somewhere behind them, and apparently they were not as

hidden as they thought. This was the wedding that Dean (regrettably) first got hands on

experience with another member of the infinite Novak clan.

“Boy, do I have ridiculously good timing."

“Oh no.” Cas bent forward, head in his hands. “Hello, Gabriel."

“Cassie. And you must be Dean. I’ve heard a lot about you."

“Ignore him, Dean, he’s heard nothing."

“Liar.” And Gabriel sat down on the floor in front of them, demanding attention.

“Stop pretending you hate me, Castiel, we all know I’m the only Novak you like."

“Not true. I like Anna."

“Okay so that makes two out of, what, four hundred?"


14/37

“Sounds about right."

“But Cas is correct, Deano. Luc likes to pretend he’s rebellious, but only Cas and I fit the bill. In

general, but also,” he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, “in this particular instance, if you catch

my drift."

Dean glanced over at Cas for confirmation and he just shrugged. “Why deny yourself life’s

pleasures for no other reason than a misplaced superiority complex?"

Dean open his mouth and then closed it, then tried again. “Well, if you put it that way."

Gabe leaned forward. “Not a prude, are you Dean?”

“No."

“Can you please leave now, Gabriel?"

He listened, standing reluctantly. “Hey, I was just - "

“Don’t.” And with a laugh he was gone.

“I apologize for that."

“Nah, don’t worry about it."

“He has a tendency to be obnoxious."

“You're his little brother, kind of his job. Which I understand well, just ask Sammy."

And then, of course, Dean couldn’t help but launch into a series of stories of how he’d

embarrassed Sammy over the years. His big brother hall of fame, and he strategically glossed overor exaggerated all the ones that backfired (when Sam got the upper hand) even thought

they might have outnumbered the ones that actually worked.

He forgot what event it was, but at some point he gave in and asked about the cuff links, kind of

teasing, but all he got was a mischievous grin and, "Half the fun is knowing my mother would

disown me if she noticed them. Well, for many other things too, but these would be the proverbial

straw. Too childish."

And so it went.

v/\v/\v/\v/\v/\v/\v/\v

By his junior year of college, Dean realized that time management was something he had little

understanding of. Ellen’s business was as booming as ever, and Dean still tried to work wheneverhe could. For Ellen, and now also at his dad’s garage, but sometimes he just had to say no.

Because his classes were kicking his ass. But he liked working, he still needed the cash, and Ellen

was finally letting him help with more the cooking and not just prepping dishes and having him set

up and serve. He just had to be strategic.


15/37

He tried to be stealthy, when asking if the gigs happened to be Novak family gatherings before

either accepting or declining, but he failed, he knew. Ellen started telling him before he had the

chance to ask, Jo would smirk, Sam (who had also recently started working with them) would

throw him meaningful looks. And Charlie just needed to be stopped.

“Just ask him out already!"

“Charlie, please, I have no idea what you’re talking about."

“Liar liar pants on fire."

“Charlie. That’s not what this is.” It kind of was, maybe, depending on what day he happened to

be asked.

“Pretty sure it is if you’re always going out of your way for a chance to flirt with him."

“I do not go out of my way.” He did. “And I do not flirt with him.” He did. "I just - "

“It’s been three years! And you’ve seen him only maybe a handful of times, but you pine."

“I do not pine.” How dare she. And he’d seen Cas twelve times. Not that he was counting or

anything, but there had been six weddings, three rehearsal dinners, a first communion, some

miscellaneous family party, and then there was that one time at three am in the cereal aisle of the

supermarket.

That last one was his favorite.

He’d smoked a little too much weed with Benny one night, and they’d eaten all the snacks in their

dorm room and he was left with a serious craving for some Frosted Cheerios.

He was laughing at one of Benny’s jokes that probably wasn’t even funny as they rounded the

corner, and there Cas was, ten feet away, holding a box of cereal and squinting at the fine print

like it was written in code.

Dean almost didn’t recognize him. It was the supermarket outside of town, closer to where his

school was than to where he assumed Cas lived, and how was he supposed to know Cas would

be home this weekend and not away at his own school? And it was the only time he’d seen him

not dressed in formal wear, but instead in a pair of grey flannel pajama bottoms and a faded

yellow t-shirt that said ‘save the honey bees’. (Of course.)

Cas looked up from the box when he heard them giggling around the corner and Dean stopped

abruptly when he met those blue eyes.

Cas’s expression morphed from confused to cheerful in less then a second, smile spreading and

eyes crinkling, and Benny somehow knew that this was his cue to make himself scarce.

“Hello Dean."

“Heya Cas. Fancy seeing you here.”

“Midnight snack?"

“Yup. In desperate need of Cheerios.” He pulled a box from the shelf and dissolved in to another

fit of giggles when he almost dropped it.

“You alright?"


16/37

“Just fine, Cas. Nice outfit, by the way."

“Oh,” he fidgeted nervously. “I didn’t expect to see anyone I knew, so I didn’t - "

“No, I like it. It’s cute.” Oops.

But Cas was smiling at him, whole face lighting up, so he -

Charlie snapped her fingers in front of his face, cutting the daydream short. “Earth to Dean."

“Sorry,” he mumbled.

“Wow, you are seriously drowning in de-Nile."

“And that was a seriously bad joke."

She just shrugged.

He actually wasn’t in denial. He liked Cas. He just didn’t want anyone to know he did, so it

wouldn’t turn into some huge thing. And because he liked the idea of clandestine meetings in the

back of parties, while everyone else was obliviously celebrating. He and Cas always found each

other by chance in dark corners and had secret conversations over dinner and dessert. They just

kept going about their lives, and just happened to keep meeting, like it was fate, it was meant to

be, and he was apparently trying to live in a chick flick. (And he was completely okay with that, if

it meant that it would all end with him and Cas falling in love. He just wasn’t quite ready to admit

it out loud .)

And besides, they were only ever in the same town during the various Novak events. They were

busy people. Cas was in his last year of undergrad. Dean was in his third and working two part

time jobs. It wouldn’t actually have worked any other way. (Right?) No use clinging to what if s.

Which is what he told himself, except Charlie had a point. He went through great pains to make

sure their meetings continued to happen, and everyone, it seemed, was aware.

“Ask. Him. Out. I know for a fact you haven’t been on a date with anyone in over a year.

Probably two. That’s some sort of record.”

"How are you even so sure he even likes guys?"

"Because I'm not blind and I've seen you two together? Also I know you wouldn't have let this go

on for so long if you didn't know for sure he wasn't straight."

Again, she was right. When he finally got the rest of Cas's story for another time regarding his

date theory, Dean's own theory was proven correct.

Cas told him that if he brought a girl his mother would jump to conclusions and if he brought a

guy he would literally be able to feel the disappointment radiating off of her. She would never say

anything, but she liked to pretend it was not something that would happen.

And he'd looked at Dean carefully, a little worried, trying to gauge his reaction to the confession,

but Dean had just smiled and tried to subtly work into the conversation that he too swung bothways. It wasn't subtle, he had absolutely no tact, and it was embarrassing all around, but Cas

played it off gracefully, and they moved on, continuing to an unrelated conversation with just a

little extra excited energy buzzing in the air.


17/37

But much to Charlie’s dismay, he did not ask Cas out when he saw him next, but he did ask for

his number. He didn’t really plan on calling, but he wanted to know that he could, if he wanted to.

But mostly he was testing a theory. Because Cas giving him his number meant that

Cas wanted him to call, and he hoped that Cas understood that it worked the other way around,

and Dean wanted Cas to call him too.


18/37

Chapter 3

Balthazar Novak opted for an extravagant wedding, and according to Cas, anyone who knew him

shouldn’t have been the least bit surprised. The reception was held on a yacht, docked at a

lake outside of town.

It was exciting, actually, the change of venue, even if Dean did find the whole idea a bit ridiculousand over the top. But there was fresh air, a starry sky, and Cas was really enjoying himself, which

honestly made it even better.

It also happened to be the first wedding since Dean turned twenty-one. While it was far from the

first time he drank, it was the first time he drank with Cas. And Cas of course did his best to make

a big deal about it, not missing the opportunity to tease Dean for being a year younger then him,

just because he could, and he steadfastly refused to believe Dean had ever been drunk before. He

wanted to be the one to walk him through that right of passage, and they were going to celebrate

together.

So Cas nicked a bottle of champagne from behind the bar while Dean grabbed the food and they

ran off to find somewhere to hide, which actually proved a bit of a challenge since they were on a

boat and not the usual reception hall they knew so well. Not a small boat, exactly, but a boat

nonetheless.

Once safe and sound and out of sight Cas made a toast and Dean drank from a glass that he

poured for himself while Cas drank straight from the bottle.

“L'chaim! To life!"

“You’re Catholic, Cas. Not Jewish."

“No, my family is Catholic. I’m agnostic, and I happen to like the Hebrew phrase.” He clinked the

bottle against Dean’s glass. “To life, Dean."

“To life, Cas."

As much as he loved the idea of getting drunk with Cas, he stopped after one glass, because

technically he was working, and while he had no qualms about wandering off and hiding during

his shift, he wasn’t going to push it.

He started snacking and Cas kept drinking, and actually it was the first time he’d seen Cas drink more than one glass of anything. Dean was kind of glad he was sober enough to fully appreciate

it. Weddings never failed to stress Cas out, but now he was more relaxed that Dean had ever seen

him. His face flushed pink as he drank, and every now and then he would hiccup, smile never

leaving his face, and his usually sharp comebacks were growing sloppy. Dean was reveling in

every second of it.

They were sitting on the floor of some tiny, mostly empty storage room, leaning against one of the

walls, and the only way there was enough room between the boxes for both of them was if they

sat close, huddled together, almost touching. But remember, they were on a boat, and it kept

swaying ever so slightly with the waves, and it was hardly noticeable, but every so often they’dget a bigger one. Still not really worth paying attention to, except Cas in his almost drunk state,

would overreact, but Dean would say nothing about it, because with each one Cas would

some how end up scooting closer to him, while dissolving into giggles and leaning into him, or

holding onto him for balance. Dean was basically melting inside and he knew he had some stupid


19/37

grin plastered to his face but he couldn’t help it and he didn’t care.

Eventually Cas got a better handle on things and stopped letting the boat jostle him as much, but

he got what he wanted because they remained sitting with their sides pressed together as they ate.

They had roasted potatoes, they had mini burgers (of course), and they each had a slice of peach

pie (which Dean had made special with a honey crust). The first two dishes didn’t last long, and as

they were finishing up the pie, Cas stared wistfully at the empty burger plate.

“I will do any number of unspeakable things to get my hands on that recipe."

“Mmm. Now that’s a theory that I would like to test."

Cas laughed and Dean could feel him shifting against him, getting more comfortable. Cas was

straight up leaning on him, head on his shoulder and Dean was contemplating wrapping an arm

around him (but he didn’t). At this point there was no front anymore, and god, Dean really hoped

it stayed that way. They’d been dancing around it for too long now. Almost four years. Charlie

was right, as much as it pained him to admit it.

"Ellen would disown me. Family secret."

“But she’s not technically your family."

“Close enough. And you’re certainly not her family anyway."

“No,” he said thoughtfully, conspiratorially, “but I could be."

“And what is that supposed to mean?"

“Well, this is a wedding reception, we’re on a boat, so there’s a ship captain, and if I married you

then that would make me family and you’d be obligated to tell me."

“Oh, god.” He could feel his cheeks heating up even though he knew Cas wasn’t being serious.

He just always sounded so serious, and a little part of Dean actually -

“How much of that champagne have you had?”

Cas sat up straight to reach for the bottle and check. “It’s empty. It’s a good plan though, you have

to admit. A little extreme, sure, but this is an any means necessary sort of situation.”

"Please Cas, you’re killing me here. I have to say this is not exactly where my head went when

you said unspeakable -"

“And where did your head go?” He raised an eyebrow.

Dean cleared his throat and tried to ignore him while —

“You’re blushing, Dean."

— trying to suppress the unspeakable images, and carried on, "I mean, I know you’re against

the institution of marriage on principal, but - "

“There are a few things that could convince me."

“And Ellen’s burgers are at the top of that list?"

He grinned “You better believe it."


20/37

“So marry her then."

“No. Bobby would kill me before he’d let that happen. He owns a lot of guns. It has to be you."

“Marry Jo."

He wrinkled his nose. “She would kill me before letting that happen."

Dean laughed. “She would. And Sam’s smitten with Jess, so I suppose…"

“I has to be you, Dean.” And he looked over at Dean, leaning forward and gazing up at him with

those beautiful blue eyes from beneath long lashes, and a soft smile playing on his lips because he

was joking, right?

“You haven’t actually said no."

Dean opened his mouth to say something (anything really), but he had absolutely no idea what

and he was just going to wing it. He was usually good at always knowing what to say, but Cas

was even better at leaving him speechless.

But he was saved when the door banged open. It was Jo, and her penchant for horrible timing.

“Christ, Dean, have you forgotten that you have an actual job to do?"

He looked up at her sheepishly, trying to ignore the fact that Cas’s eyes were still glued to the side

of his face.

“So I’m not allowed to take a break anymore?"

“Sure, ten minutes, but it’s been at least an hour since anyone’s seen you."

Charlie popped up behind her, eyes wide, and tried to pull her away. “Jo, you’re seriously

interrupting something here, look at Cas.” She was whispering but Dean could hear her anyway.

“I don’t care. Dean, someone’s concerned about food allergies and needs to know exactly what’s

in your pies. Get off your ass."

“Wait a second.” Cas had broken out of his stupor. “You make the pies?"

Dean stood up and brushed the crumbs off his pants. “Yeah.”

“Can I get that recipe then? Unspeakable things, Dean. Those pies are second only the the

burgers.” He was grinning again, kind of smirking, and Dean was treading deep water, trying to

ignore Jo’s general impatience and Charlie’s wide eyes as she watched their Moment progress.

“I’m not just going to hand it over, but I’d consider teaching you, if you asked nicely.” And he

turned and booked it away before anyone else could comment on the matter, but he heard Cas

shout from down the hall.

“I’m holding you to that, Winchester!"

And Dean really hoped that he would.


21/37

v/\v/\v/\v/\v/\v/\v/\v

The last thing he had wanted was for whatever was going on between him and Cas to become

public knowledge before they’d managed to figure it out themselves (they knew, but they’d yet to

vocalize it definitively), and yet, that's exactly where it had ended up.

Everyone knew. Even Ellen had somehow clued in beyond the obvious that Dean was shirking

on his duties.

He'd noticed it before, chalked it up to a math error on his part, but now it was too obvious to

deny: She had started docking his pay to account for all the missed hours he spent off hiding with

Cas. But he started showing up earlier than usual, not to make up the money, but to help with the

cooking because he felt like he owed her. He insisted taking over a few of the easier dishes that

she trusted him with, in addition to the pies he always made.

Jo figured it out somehow, and she was the only one not afraid to voice her opinion of the matter.

“If Dean’s allowed to take an hour long break than I should be too.

“As long as you don’t mind the pay cut."

“What I don’t get any perks for being the boss’s daughter?"

“No, you do not."

And it was dropped, except for Jo’s increased efforts to make his life difficult. But he’d been

dealing with varying degrees of that his whole life, so he couldn’t handle it just fine.

He was just glad Ellen didn't fire him. He would have fired him. And he supposed he should

thank her, but then he'd end up caught in a chat about his feelings, so he couldn't. Or maybe if he

pointed it out she'd realize the error in her ways. Because Dean honestly couldn't say why she was

being so nice about it. Likely she'd just given up on trying to get him to be a professional.

Realized it was no use. (“ Maybe,” Charlie insisted, “she’s trying to to get in the way of destiny.")

Whatever the reason (and he was not listening to Charlie), he was glad, and at the next Novak

wedding, he greeted Cas with a newfound cheerfulness. But Cas, for some reason, was not having

it.

“So how’d that hangover treat you?"

He came up behind Cas at the buffet and was hardly acknowledged.

“Sorry?” He was walking down the line of the table, empty plate in hand but not filling it, and he

didn’t even look up when Dean spoke.

“After the boat party? You drank almost an entire bottle of champagne, that had to have hit hard."

“Oh, right. Not that bad actually.” He kept creeping away, a couple of steps further, and the handthat wasn’t holding the plate was tugging the honey bee cuff link on the one that was.

“Well that’s good.”


22/37

Nothing.

“Right?"

“Sure.” And he finally stopped moving at turned to face him, eyes burning holes through Dean for

some reason he couldn’t place, and he kept tugging at the cuff link like he was trying to tear it off.

“But the one after Hannah’s wedding, I didn’t even bother getting out of bed the next day."

“Hannah’s wedding?” He’d only seen Cas drunk once, at Balthazar’s wedding, on the boat. Henever got all the Novak names straight, but this one wasn’t ringing any bells.

“About a month or so after the boat. You weren’t there. Wine was not the brilliant idea I thought it

would be.”

Talk about being hit hard. Dean couldn’t help but feel like he’d unknowingly, unintentionally

blown his chance. Some ridiculous chance he’d been clinging to. Something changed at the boat

party when Cas drunkenly barreled through the invisible wall of personal space, and all that

harmless flirting turned to actual real live flirting. It was going to happen eventually. They both

knew it. Or at least that was the theory, but now Cas was looking like he wasn’t so sure they were

on the same page.

Because it had been Dean’s turn to make a move, and he didn’t even show up to bat.

Cas was standing stiff and guarded and inwardly fuming, and it was only because Dean knew him

so well that he could even tell he was upset. Well, that and the way he kept tugging violently at his

sleeve, so much so that he looked like he was going to drop the plate he was holding.

So Dean reached out to stop him. One hand to still Cas’s fingers and the other to take the plate

away.

“C’mon, Cas, you’re going to break something.”

He set the plate down, but he didn’t move his other hand, and Cas wasn’t moving his, still

gripping the cuff link tightly, until Dean gently pried it away while Cas stared.

Then Cas dropped his hand quickly, shoulders slumping.

”I looked for you, and when I couldn’t find you I asked Charlie where you were but she wasn’t

very helpful,” he said quietly.

Well, that explained the second wind of Charlie’s ‘ask-him-out’ tirade that Dean dutifully ignored.She’d been annoyingly persistent, so why didn't she tell him about this?

“She’s never helpful. And she didn’t say shit to me either, Cas. No one called me to work it."

“Oh."

“Cause I would have been there if I’d known.”

“Okay.”

Dean smiled at him and Cas started smiling back and he almost added, because I’d have wanted tosee you, but he didn't. When did Dean get so bad at this whole thing?

He shook his head at his own cowardice, and muttered, “Damn it, Charlie.” He had to get to the

bottom of this. “I’ll be right back, Cas. Don’t disappear, alright?”


23/37

He nodded and Dean ran off to find Charlie and found her already sitting at one of the tables in

the back room taking her break. Jo was shuffling around, getting the next wave of dishes ready,

and neither looked up when Dean burst into the room.

“Why the hell didn’t anyone tell me about Hannah’s wedding?"

“Because you aren’t pining, so why would it matter,” Charlie said.

“Would you please stop trying to prove whatever whatever theory this is? You know I’m in lovewith the guy."

Dean clapped a hand over his mouth because he hadn’t meant to say that, in so many words. It

was supposed to have been you know you’re right because that barely counts as admitting

anything, but his brain short circuited and now it was too late to take it back. (He didn’t want to

take it back.)

Charlie jumped out of her chair so fast she knocked it over, and struck a freeze frame victory pose,

not even flinching when Jo threw a roll at her.

And Jo was completely unfazed. “You had finals, couldn’t have been there anyway and we didn’twant you to have a panic attack."

“Freaking great."

Then Sam waltzed in, laughing when he saw Charlie, still frozen.

“What did I miss?"

Charlie dropped the statue act, becoming a real person again to announce, a little too loud for

Dean’s comfort, “Dean’s in love with Cas!"

Sam just shook his head as he grabbed a new tray from Jo to take back out and headed back

towards the door, throwing, “Tell me something I don’t know ," over his shoulder as he went.

“You all suck, you know that?"

“Oh you know you love us,” Jo said with a smirk.

“But not as much as you love Cas!” Charlie added, and the two of them high-fived.

“Fuck off.” And he dove back out into the party.

Things were looking up, the misunderstanding reconciled, as far as he could tell, when he

explained the situation to Cas, placing all the blame on Charlie. He didn’t even feel a little bit bad

doing so.

It was like it never even happened, and so they stole some food and hid out in the back of the

room.

Cas wouldn’t tell him anything about the wedding he missed, even though he asked for all the

stories and juicy details. Cas skillfully changed the subject to school (safe, boring), but it didn’t

matter. Everything was back on track, and maybe it was better just to ignore the misstep. Any whyshould it matter when the wall stayed broken and Cas was sitting so close, and their knees kept

bumping together? That’s all that was important.

Dean couldn’t help but notice that Cas only ate one burger instead of his usual thousand. He


24/37

wanted to point it out, but he didn’t want to interrupt, and he was kind of too enraptured by the

way Cas was scarfing down a piece of apple pie to form any words.

But then when Cas finished his slice and started trying to steal bites of Dean’s own slice, he

couldn’t hold out any longer.

“Hey. Mine.” And he tried to slide the plate out of Cas’s reach, but Cas just chased it with is fork

and Dean started laughing too much to put any real effort into keeping it away.

“Cas! Come on, man. If you’re still hungry eat the rest of the burgers you’ve been ignoring."

“Don’t want burgers,” he said as he successfully skewered a bite, grinning triumphantly. “Want

pie."

“You, Castiel Novak, who would sell his soul for one of these burgers, is willingly letting them go

to waste in favor of pie?” It was one hundred percent something Dean would do, but not Cas.

But Cas just shrugged. “Guess I’m just in the mood for something sweet."

“Never thought I’d see the day."

Cas went for Dean’s pie again. “If you’re not going to finish - "

“Slow the fuck down, Cas. This is my slice and I was never not going to finish it. You know me."

He was still eyeing it hungrily, as Dean cut himself a bite, eating it as slowly as he could just to

torture him. “Mine."

But then Cas started pouting at him, and he ended up sharing the rest of it with him. He probably

would have anyway, but how could he possibly say no to that face? And please, no one point out

the obvious that he could have sent Cas to get himself a second slice. That would have been toopractical, too logical, and it would have denied them the chance to fight over who got the last bite.

Obviously, Cas won.


25/37

Chapter 4

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Gabriel had finally convinced Kali to tie the knot, and the little shit decided not to hire Ellen to

cater. There was no actual dinner at the reception, just all you can eat sweets, desserts, and agigantic cake courtesy of his favorite bakery, A Slice of Heaven.

Admittedly, baking was not really Ellen’s thing and Dean took care of most of those she

did include on her menu (she never did the cakes), and sure, Gabriel’s diet was basically ninety

percent sugar, but Dean was convinced that he didn’t hire her just to spite him. Because Gable

likes to meddle, and somehow he knew that Dean had a thing for Cas. (Seriously though, did

everyone know? It wasn’t fair and everyone should just mind their own damn business.)

It was kind of a fluke that Dean even found out about the wedding in the first place. Sam had

started interning (a term which he uses very loosely) at the law firm that Gabriel works at, and a

few days beforehand, somewhere between Sam making Gabe’s fourth cappuccino of the day and

picking up his dry cleaning, Gabriel just happened to mention it.

And not just oh, my wedding, which Sam already knew (but failed to tell Dean) but oh, my

wedding, this Saturday, reception at 7pm at the usual Novak venue, in hall C. Apparently

accompanied with a look , so Sam reluctantly relayed the information to Dean.

“I think he’s trying to bait you,” Sam added.

“Bait me to do what? Dislike him? Already there."

Sam just rolled his eyes.

But it was enough, the seed was planted, and Dean thought that maybe he should go. To Gabriel’s

wedding reception. Because he wanted to see Cas, and also make it up to him for missing

Hannah’s. He was pretty sure there were no rules left in their game. Wasn’t really much of a game

at all anymore, and he was okay with that.

He didn't actually tell Sam his plan, but the kid’s a smart one, because he figured it out and gave

Dean shit for it right up until he was walking out the door Saturday evening.

“Jesus Christ, Dean, you’ve got it bad."

And he could have denied it, but “Yeah, thanks, but that’s already been established. Bitch.”

He let the door swing shut on Sam’s “ jerk ”.

Dean thought he’d actually have to sneak in but he just walked right up and into the room and no

one even spared him a glance. He hovered around the dessert spread, kind of scouting for Cas,

kind of trying to blend in and wound up distractedly wolfing down a plate of cake.

It didn’t take long for Cas to find him.

“I feel like I should be surprised to see you here, but I’m not.” Yet he couldn’t quite hide the fact

that he actually did look surprised, trying to cover it up with a discerning gaze.

Dean just grinned and handed him a plate of cake. “Did you miss me?"


26/37

"You wish."

“That hurts, Cas."

“Well - "

Then a little kid appeared out of nowhere, grabbed the cake from Cas's hands took off, yelling,

“Mine!"

"Shit. That’s Jonah, Michael’s spawn. He’s on a sugar high from three pieces of cake he wasn’t

supposed to eat and I’m stuck watching him for the next half hour. And he’s - “ His eyes

grew wider as he watched as Jonah tripped while weaving between guests and the plate of cake

flew through the air and splattered on the floor. “Oh no, I have to…” He started walking away,

flustered, then glanced over his shoulder at Dean and added, “Don’t go anywhere."

“Wouldn’t dream of it."

Cas had completely disappeared into the crowd, and Dean bided his time with a second piece of

cake until, inevitably, Gabriel found him.

“I don’t remember inviting you, Deano."

“I don’t remember you being such a dick. Oh wait."

“Touche. Cas is on babysitting duty at the moment, but I’ll let him know you’re here."

Dean glared. “He already knows I’m here."

Gabe smirked. “Of course he does.” And then he reached out to get a swipe of frosting off the

cake on Dean’s plate, then licked it off his finger.

“Gross. I can’t finish this now.” So Gabe just took the whole plate from him.

“You know,” he said, "I was testing a theory, telling Sam the details about the wedding. You are

oh-so-predicible, Dean.” And he turned to walk away.

“You Novaks and your goddamn theories,” Dean muttered. “Even got me doing it sometimes."

“Ha. Welcome to the family, Dean.”

So everyone already knew he was here, but the encounter with Gabe left him with the urge to

hide, as he usually does at these things, except this was different , so he knew it was silly. And if

he hid, then Cas wouldn’t be able to find him again.

Except that he probably would. All of the best hiding spots they’ve had over the years, Cas had

been the one to find.

When Cas finally ridded himself of Jonah and caught up with Dean again, he silently grabbed

himself a slice of cake and motioned for Dean to follow him. He sat at a table, which was all kinds

of wrong, and Dean hesitated before sitting next to him, perched uncomfortably on the edge of the

chair while Cas lounged in his.

“This is weird,” he said.

“Relax, Dean. Jo is not crouching behind you ready to strike at the least convenient moment."


27/37

“Still feels like I’m breaking some sort of rule."

“You’re allowed to be here. I give you permission."

Dean snorted as he sank back into the chair. “Right, cause that’s what I was waiting for."

Cas smirked around his fork. “Well apparently it was."

“Shut up."

“Nice, isn’t it? Sitting at an actual table like civilized people."

“But the real question is is it as fun?"

“No,” Cas conceded, "it is not."

And then for no explicable reason Dean reached over and swiped some frosting from Cas’s plate.

Gabe was being a dick when he did it to him, but Dean was being cute, evidenced in the way that

Cas was laughing at him and shaking his head as he licked it off his finger.

Cas ate, and Dean leaned back in his chair and scanned the room. “It’s a whole new world from

this perspective.” Or maybe not so much, when he saw red hair making a beeline for them.

Dammit, Charlie, but then he realized that he did not recognize this girl, and suddenly she was

standing fight in front of them.

“Castiel. Gabriel informed me that you brought a date that you didn’t tell me about."

Damn, they should have hid. She was addressing Cas but staring Dean down while he squirmed

in his seat, unsure what to do or say, and he knew his expression was frozen in deer in headlights.

“Anna, this is Dean. Dean, Anna.” Cas said, unfazed.

She stuck out a hand for him to shake. “Nice to finally meet you. I’d have said hello sooner - “ she

threw a glare at Cas “ - if this one had told me you were coming."

“Yeah, don’t worry about it,” he said, as he shook, still unsure of the situation, though Cas was

watching him a little anxiously now, waiting to see how he’d play it, so, “That would have been a

tough one considering he didn’t even know I’d be here."

She dropped her hand and glanced back to Cas, who sighed and said, “It was very last minute,

Anna, and I assure you I meant no offense. But if you’d like to blame someone I suggest Gabriel."

“Sure, I can do that.” And then she leaned nearer to him and whispered, presumably so Dean

wouldn’t hear, though he did anyway. “Does mom know?"

“No,” Cas said just as quietly, “Can we keep it that way?"

“Of course.” She stood up straight again. “Well, it was nice to see you Dean, but I must get back

to the revelry.”

Dean watched her go, hesitant to look back at Cas because he was still stuck in realm of

uncomfortable, thanks to the blatant disregard of their (previously) important, but (currently)crumbling, rule. You do not talk about fight club. The lines had been blurring like crazy recently,

but Dean still hadn’t fully adjusted.

But they both knew what this was. At least, Dean thought so, and when he looked back at Cas his

cheeks were tinged slightly pink, and he was scraping his empty plate with his fork, and he said -


28/37

“It was easier than explaining. If her assumption bothers you, I can - "

“It doesn’t bother me,” Dean said, perhaps a little too quickly, and Cas started fighting back a

smile.

Dean knew he was a coward (still), and he could hear Charlie’s voice in his head, yelling this is

your moment and could practically see her waving some flashing neon sign saying something

ridiculously blunt and punny like if you were waiting for a sign...

But he just kept staring at Cas, who finally looked up from his plate and broke into a wide grin,

eyes sparkling and Dean knew he was stupidly mirroring the look back at him, and all chances of

him manning up and forming any sort of coherent sentence had flown directly out the window of

opportunity that immediately shut itself upon exit.

But something needed to be said, the silence stretching a little too long, and all he had was, “Uhh,

cake. More cake. You want more cake, Cas?” and he got up to run away.

“Sure, Dean."

He didn’t actually want more cake, but there was nothing to do about it now. He could have taken

the leap, but he didn’t. And hindsight is twenty-twenty, so the moment he walked away he

regretted it. He’d always thought no reason to try and fix something that wasn't broken , he really

should aim a little higher. Especially when it wasn’t even out of reach.

He returned to Cas chatting with some cousin (presumably) who thankfully didn’t bother to

acknowledge Dean when he sat back down and slid Cas a plate of cake.

Dean started eating his own slice while he waited for them to finish, and when it was finally just

the two of them again he said, “As much as I’d like to punch Gabe for betraying my catering, Ihave to admit this cake is pretty damn good."

“It’s okay,” Cas replied, starting on his own piece.

“Just okay? You really that hard to please?"

“Don’t get me wrong,” he said. "It’s good, for cake, but it’s got nothing on your pies."

Dean's pies. He could feel his face absolutely glowing red, and he was doing his best to act cool

and keep his head up and looking forward, but he could see Cas watching him from the side of his

eyes, grinning mischievously because he knew exactly what he was saying.

But Dean had let himself be one-upped too many times already that evening, so screw you Cas,

not this time, and he tried to say something clever, but he fumbled and it failed. (It was so bad it’s

not even worth mentioning.) But Cas laughed and spared him the trouble of recovery by changing

the subject.

They sat and talked the rest of the night. Gabe popped back over and said something about how

they should get off their asses and dance, but Cas scared him off, and they ended up staying well

past when most of the guests had left. And because Anna left Cas stranded, Dean drove him

home.

When he pulled up in front of his house, he almost felt like he should kiss Cas goodnight, because

this was pretty much a date, in everything but name. (Or, actually in name? If Anna was

right.) Cas lingered with his hand hovering over the door handle and gazing out the window,

while Dean replayed the conversation in his head looking for any clues he’d missed.


29/37

"I'm really glad you came tonight, Dean."

Cas still didn't move, probably waiting for Dean to say goodnight (or anything really) but his brain

was still stuck in a loop. But maybe they had been like this for ten minutes (but probably less than

one), and because there was nothing left to do, Dean reached over and placed his hand tentatively

on Cas’s shoulder and asked, “So… was this a date?"

Cas looked over at him, finally, expression like he was trying to mentally calculate the infinite size

of the universe and he just couldn’t do it, and he said, “ I don’t know."

And before Dean could ask him what that meant , Cas made it all the more confusing (but so much

better) when he leaned over and gave Dean an impossibly fast kiss on the cheek, then let himself

out of the car before Dean had a chance to register what had happened.

v/\v/\v/\v/\v/\v/\v/\v

Cas was especially disgruntled at the family reunion, because unlike a wedding, where the focus

stayed on the happy couple (while only reminding him of his impeding doom), it had somehow

shifted directly to him. What have you been up to, what do you plan to do with your life, so many

weddings when will it be your turn?

He thought he’d prolonged the inevitable, going to grad school. His mother’s implied deadline of graduation put off another two years. But he seemed to be the only Novak not in a serious

relationship or engaged. He was nearly twenty four and single. Scandal.

Dean watched Cas answer politely, but he could tell he was screaming internally, lots of I don’t

know’s and a big fuck you.

When Cas finally caught up with Dean after the series of interrogations, all he had to say was,

“That’s it, I’m going underground. I’m hibernating, and you can wake me up when it’s my turn to

reign."

“You plan to rule without a queen then?"

Cas snorted. “Not you too, you’re supposed to be on my side. But yes, I don’t give a shit about

their antiquated ideals. And if I get my way I’ll be ruling with another king.” Dean grinned at the

amendment as Cas continued. "Now can we please get the hell out of here?” And he grabbed

Dean by the shoulders and started leading him away.

The family reunion was an entirely different breed of Novak event, which Dean thoroughly

enjoyed, despite Cas’s dismay. First of all, the whole thing was ridiculous and superfluous,

considering the Novaks already gathered in large quantities several times a year, but more

importantly, it wasn’t held at a reception hall, but at Cas’s house.

Which meant that Cas was already there when they arrived early to set up and cook. Cas took it

upon himself to show them to the kitchen, and Dean was unnecessarily giddy and bouncing

around while he worked because he was in Cas’s kitchen. Baking pies in Cas’s oven. And the


30/37

whole time, Cas kept ducking in and out, hovering over his shoulder whenever he could get away

with it and pretending to help. Mostly, when Ellen stepped out, and preferably when Jo was gone

too, because Cas was kind of scared of her (as was everyone).

He gave tours of the excessively large kitchen, pointed out where everything was in the cabinets,

gave in depth instructions on how to use all the fancy appliances even though they were actually

pretty easy to figure out (or unneeded) and he kept offering to helphelphelp. He would be talking

to everyone, but he’d throw Dean looks ad smiles the whole time, little touches as he walked past

him, and Dean would wink and slip him little tastes of whatever he was making when he thoughtno one was looking.

There was always someone looking. Charlie, Sam, or Jo, who would squeal, cough, or gag,

respectively.

But Dean didn’t care. He was in Cas’s house. Where he grew up, where he lived, where he slept.

And it was practically a mansion. When he’d dropped Cas off after Gabe’s wedding he hadn’t

noticed. It was too dark and he was too nervous to focus on anything but Cas. He knew the

Novaks were well off but this was a little extreme.

So now he was following Cas away from the party and the relatives and up a set of stairs and past

a multitude of doorways.

“Where are we going?"

“My room."

Dean was not letting his imagination get away from him. “Don’t you think that’ll be the first place

they’ll look when they realize you’ve ditched?"

“Oh, they’ll know exactly where I am, but it’d be too much work for them to chase me down, so it

doesn’t matter."

Another set of stairs.

“God I feel like we’re in a castle or something."

“More or less."

“Are there any secret passages or hidden rooms?"

“Of course."

“I didn’t even know there were any houses like this around here."

“There really shouldn’t be. Sticks out like a sore thumb."

They turned down yet another hallway.

“Man, I can’t believe you grew up here."

“It’s really not a big deal."

They reached the end of the hall where Cas climbed up on a strategically placed chair and

tugged on a chain opening a trapdoor.

“You’ve got to be kidding me."


31/37

“Hope you don’t have a problem with ladders."

“You live in a castle, but you’ve been banished to the attic? How does that happen?"

“By choice.” He started climbing. “I have three hundred siblings, Dean. I couldn’t even name all

of them if tried. There came a time when we outnumbered the rooms allocated as bedrooms, and

they wanted me to share with Gabriel."

“But you don’t have a death wish, so - "

“Exactly.” He was all the way up, sticking his head over the edge to talk to Dean, who was still

standing in the hall, processing. "Neither of us wanted that, so I tricked them into letting me have

the attic."

“You tricked them?"

“Yes. Long story. Now are you coming up here, or what?"

“Oh I’m coming. I need to see this."

He climbed the ladder and hauled himself into the room when he reached the top. Cas started

pulling up the ladder as Dean looked around and took in the room that was so undeniably Cas.

It was big for an attic, though after seeing the rest of the house that wasn’t surprising. The walls

and floor and ceiling were all wood, making the room feel cozy and warm and almost like they

were inside a tree house. And four floors up, the tiny attic windows showed nothing but bright

blue sky.

The quilt on the bed below one window was blue to match, and there was a trench coat thrown

across the mattress, even though it was the middle of summer and Cas probably hadn’t worn it formonths. But the attic didn’t exactly have a closet, so maybe there was no where better for it to be.

A bookshelf against the far wall was literally overflowing with books, with stacks on the floor in

front of it and beside it, as well as littered all around the room.

Overall the room was sparsely decorated, because Cas wasn’t he type to go over the top, and

honestly the room felt homey enough without it. But there was a rust orange rug on the floor and a

Zeppelin poster on one wall, which actually caught Dean by surprise, because how had he not

known Cas liked Zeppelin? Seriously, how had that not come up at least once in six years.

He knew that every single pair of socks Cas owned was purple (various shades), but he didn’t

know his music taste. For shame.

Dean was looking around the room, slowly taking it all in, while Cas watched him, hands in his

pockets, and standing on the trapdoor.

“Dude, don’t stand on the door, what if it breaks?"

Cas just stared, then jumped, landing hard, and Dean flinched.

“Dick."

Cas laughed and went over to sit on the bed, leaning back on his hands.

“I used to be afraid of that too, until Gabriel did that same thing to me."


32/37

“Is he really the Novak you want to imitate?"

“There are no Novaks I want to imitate, you know this. But even despite Gabriel’s flair for the

dramatic, he can be funny if he wants to be."

“Do we need to have a discussion on the definition of funny?” Dean asked, walking over towards

Cas and leaning against the desk.

“No, Dean,” he said solemnly, “we do not. I’m studying language and I know what words mean.”And then brightly, “I’m only here for the summer and them I’m getting an apartment near school

for my last year. Officially moving out for good."

“Congrats. And how far away is school again?” He started tapping his fingers on the desk.

Cas smiled. “Only an hour. And I have a car. That works at least most of the time."

“You know I can fix that for you?"

He nodded. “And,” he added, “ you have a car, too."

They were always making plans that never had any followthrough, goddammit, but Dean smiled

anyway, played along. “I do. So it sounds like you’re - " and then he saw it. “Hey, is that…?"

It was. The dollar store honey bee toy he gave Cas years ago, sitting on his desk between a pile of

books and his laptop. A little dirty, and paint scratched, like maybe it hadn’t just been sitting on

the desk completely forgotten, but made the trip back and forth to school when he was in the

dorms.

“I can’t believe you kept this.” He picked it up, held it in front of him, resting in his open palm.

“It was a gift.” Cas got up from the bed and stood in front of him, almost too close.

“It was ninety-eight cents, and we barely knew each other."

“You made me pie."

“I make all the pies."

“Maybe. But that one was for me."

And Dean looked up from the bee and into Cas’s blue eyes, right in front of him, and -

“Yeah, it was."

Cas smiled at him and reached to take the toy, fingers brushing against Dean’s palm and lingering

before he set the bee back on the desk. But he didn’t move away, still so close, and Dean thought

maybe Cas was going to kiss him for real this time, but instead he spoke.

“Do you want to go on the roof?"

“What?"

“The roo

The Honey Bee Theories

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