After the End

Epilogue

"Hey boss man," Claire beamed, jumping out of the passenger side of the truck with a grin on her face. Dean rolled his eyes at the greeting, after telling her many times in the past few years to stop calling him that. "We stumbled over some survivors. Did the routine monster check, the questionnaire to make sure they're not serial killers, and they're ready to meet you."

"Great," Dean answered, taking her bags to pass off to someone else behind him. Cas was suddenly sliding out of the driver's seat of the truck, a smile lighting up as he found his place at Dean's side. "You met the new guys?" Dean wondered, hugging Cas' shoulders with a kiss to the angel's temple.

"You'll like them," Cas promised, taking Dean's arm to drag him around to the car that had just pulled up to the gate, Jody in the driver's seat and Bobby in the passenger side. In the backseat, two guys Dean had never seen before. They all piled out and met Dean with smiles on their faces. "Dean, this is Jesse and Cesar," Cas introduced. "And this is Dean, our leader," Cas said to them, a proud smile on his face. It always made Dean blush when he talked about him like that, or when anyone really called him their leader, or their boss. He didn't want people to start seeing him like they saw John. He was wary of how he ran things.

"It's nice to meet you," Cesar replied, shaking Dean's hand firmly. "We appreciate this. We've been moving around for years, fighting off the vamps and werewolves and everything else that goes bump in the night. This is incredible, what you have here. You should be proud."

"Thank you," Dean answered genuinely, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. He appreciated the compliments, but as always, they made him a little uncomfortable. "We have a process for newcomers, but it's nothing too bad. We just want to keep an eye on you for a few days, and then you and your friend can move into any free rooms that we have," Dean explained.

"We, uh- we only need one room," Jesse insisted, leaning closer to Cesar with a nervous smile on his face.

"Oh," Dean started, taking a second to catch on to what he meant. His face turned a deep shade of red. Of course, they had been holding hands this whole time. Dean was just blind. "Of course," Dean agreed, giving them a friendly smile. "Well, uh, Cas and I have an extra room at our place, or there's an entire empty house at the end of the street if you prefer. It might be a while before you get any roommates in that case."

Cesar chuckled, his eyes looking Dean over before he met Cas' eyes. "This is the boyfriend you were talking about?" he asked, making Dean's face red all over again, after he had just managed to stop blushing from embarrassment. Cas was talking about him to strangers? Sure, they'd been together for five years now, but. . . strangers? Freaking sap.

"I know right," Cas whispered very loudly, making Dean roll his eyes.

"Come on," Dean said, trying to cover up his smile as Cas winked at him. "I'll show you around."

"I'll meet you at home?" Cas prompted, talking so only Dean could hear him. He gave Dean a sweet, hopeful look with those wide eyes and pretty smile. "Soon?" he added, implying he wanted Dean for reasons other than the innocent ones Dean first assumed.

Dean gave up on trying to stop blushing, even after five years of being with Cas, because the guy was constantly making Dean's face hot. Just the right look from him would send Dean over the edge. "I'll make the tour quick," Dean promised, leaning in to kiss Cas briefly. Cas grinned as he waved goodbye, disappearing to talk to Claire as Dean turned back to the new guys. "Alright, this way!"

Dean started the tour with the kitchen, a smaller setup than before, but necessary since the protection spell only reached so far. He explained to Cesar and Jesse how breakfast and dinner worked, which was pretty simple. Grab your food and go home, or stick around and hang out like some people liked to do. Next, he showed them where the new medical building was, in the middle of the block. They had to make a few trips to relocate everything from the old one, but it all worked out in the end. Finally, Dean took them to the empty house at the end of the block where they would be staying.