Secrets and Camera Flashes

Chapter 60

Castiel had expected to be uncomfortable, but he’d thought it would be because of the knowledge that he’s not wearing underwear to a wholesome interfamily dinner. He hadn’t realized that the actual act of walking around without underwear on would be so uncomfortable, and by the time he reaches the kitchen, he’s already starting to regret it.

The first thing anyone says when the two men reach the table is Sam’s, “Cas, I am so sorry.”

Castiel cocks his head to the side, squinting. “Sorry for…?”

“Sorry that you had to pretend you were interested in whatever Dean was showing you.”

Castiel laughs. He can't stress enough how little pretending was involved, but that doesn't feel like something he needs to point out.

"Hey," Dean says indignantly, "those were the least boring ten minutes of our lives, thank you very much."

"Sure they were, Dean," Sam says. "Sure they were."

Castiel takes his seat between Charlie and Jo, just as he'd expected he'd be seated. Dean (with three times the amount of food Castiel had taken — this boy can eat) sits at the head of the table once again, on Jo's other side.

"What were you guys watching, anyway?" Jo asks. "Anything you'd like to share with the class?"

Castiel looks at Dean helplessly. Fortunately, Dean has an immediate answer of, "A Wayward Sisters thing. I just thought it was interesting."

"Ah, so something I wouldn't understand," Jo surmises. "Cool."

"Well, maybe when you finally watch the show like I've been telling you to do for months, you'll get to watch the video, too," Dean says teasingly.

"Yeah, yeah," she says, rolling her eyes. "Gimme a month or two and I'll be caught up."

"You'd better be," Dean says, shooting her a mock glare.

Charlie nudges Castiel not-so-subtly with her elbow. Castiel looks over at her, expecting some sort of question, but all he gets is a single raised eyebrow.

Castiel shakes his head. He can't talk about it right now. Even she has to know that. There are far too many people around, and they can only whisper so much at the dinner table before people are going to start asking questions.

Charlie narrows her eyes, so Castiel mouths, "Later." He'll tell her everything when he gets the chance, but now is not that chance.

"I can't believe tomorrow's Christmas," Jo says, completely oblivious to everything else going on. "This year's gone by so fast."

"It really has," Castiel agrees, though considering all 60 of the chapters in this book happened during this year, it feels pretty damn long.

"Time flies when you're having fun, I guess," Jo says. "And I, for one, had a lot of fun."

"It has been a pretty good year," Castiel agrees, and he means it. Sure, his personal relationships are a bit chaotic, but career-wise, he's never been better. His last movie did really well, and he's gotten numerous offers for new roles that he could have taken if he didn't already ask for a role on Wayward Sisters. He's finally starting to feel like he's in the big leagues. How could he possibly not love this year?

Jess nudges Sam and whispers something in his ear. Sam nods and whispers something back. Castiel will admit that his interest is piqued, but he tries not to wonder about it. He'll give them the same respect they gave him and Charlie when they were whispering to each other at the table.

Ash apparently has another idea, because he asks, "What are you two whispering about?"

"We actually have another reason that this year was the best year," Jess says. "We were going to wait until tomorrow for the big reveal, but I think that was a really nice segway."

"Ooh, this sounds exciting!" Jo says eagerly.

"I'll be right back," Jess says before running out of the room. Sam watches her leave with a smile.

"Now, I have to ask," Dean says, getting his brother's attention. "Is this something I'll be able to make fun of you for? Because otherwise I don't want it."

Sam rolls his eyes. "Dean, you would find a way to make fun of me for anything."

Dean chuckles. "Yeah, that's true."

Jess comes back to the kitchen empty-handed, but she's beaming. She returns to Sam's side and holds out her hand for everyone at the table to see, and the gorgeous diamond ring in her finger explains it all.

Castiel is sure this is a big moment for everyone else, but he and Charlie barely know the girl (or her new fiance, for that matter) so it's not as exciting for them. Everyone else gets up and there are a lot of hugs shared over the next couple minutes, but Castiel and Charlie stay where they are in a futile attempt not to impose on their celebration.

"When did this happen?" Jo asks.

"Just a few days ago," Jess says. "I thought we were going out to dinner to celebrate Sam surviving finals and then he proposed!"

"That's awesome!" Jo says. "I'm so happy for you guys!"

Dean pulls his brother in for a hug. "It's about damn time, Sammy."

"I know, I know," Sam says.

The celebration continues for another couple of minutes, during which Castiel stays seated awkwardly because it would be weird to stand up now, but eventually everyone makes their way back to their seats as well.

Dean has to walk past Castiel to get to his chair. Castiel doesn't think much of it until he feels a hand brush over his back. He looks up, and Dean tosses him a subtle wink. Castiel looks away, but he can't stop himself from smiling just a little bit. He'd been dreaming of finding a fuckbuddy in Dean for months, but he never thought it would actually happen. He can just add this to the long list of reasons why this year has been the best.