Destiel One Shots

Arranged AU

It was a sham, a show, a façade. The whole thing. Hidden behind the faked smiles and dead, forged eyes on every single person in the white room that was as big as the church they'd all been in earlier that day - every one knew it all too painfully well. That didn't stop them from beaming on, shaking hands, or exchanging embraces where appropriate. Just a pretence of the truth for business.

Cas shivered every time that thought ran through him. The fact that he'd married not for love, for passion and commitment, but for the family business deal that followed this ceremony between his father and Michael Milton's. Pressured and pushed, he'd become quickly engaged.

Michael was the eye-candy gentleman that got down on one knee a few months back at his own ball. Hosted by the Milton's, it was grand and perfect. When he asked Castiel, what could Cas do but say yes?

That night, Cas had brought along a friend. They seemed happy to talk to each other and stuck together tight. Everything between them was fine, until said friend walked away for five minutes. How he regrets that now; leaving that opportunity for Michael to get in there, in front of everybody, and propose...it was his biggest regret.

That night, said 'friend', had to watch from afar, mouth wide open, heart pounding for something to stop this, as Castiel James Novak, lifelong best friend, accepted a Milton's hand in marriage.

A month before the marriage, Castiel asked the friend to be his best man.

Enter Dean Winchester - aforementioned best friend.

It's gone down well, Dean appeared to be happy, Cas was in melancholy, and they carried on as usual. Well, not quite. Dean was still a little...off. Cas put it down to nerves. Losing his best friend. Knowing that the marriage was nothing but a business exchange. A joining of enterprises.

Skip forward to behind the scenes of the church. Cas was looking himself over in the mirror, feeling more dead inside than ever. And over the last months he'd been feeling more empty than the vacuum of space. When he needed Dean most, he was further away than he'd ever been.

"Do I look okay?" Cas coughed after realising his voice was low and wrecked with being on the verge of tears for the past hour.

Dean, who had just come in the door, looked over Castiel and breathed in. For one, Cas looked better than 'okay'. Cas was from head to toe beautiful, damn gorgeous in every sense, every feature, every curve and scar and stupid piercing he'd got when he and Dean were drunk that one time. Cas was breathtaking, the way the suit hugged him in the right places and still perfect to Dean in the places where it looked like it was going to cut off the blood supply.

But Dean didn't say anything more. He just dejectedly smiled on and nodded, eyes full of sorrow and upset with a mask of congratulation for his friend.

"You look," Dean took in a sharp breath, trying to pry his eyes away from the designer suit Cas wore, back into his friends eyes, "you look awesome, Cas. Knock 'em dead out there."

"Dean," Cas softly said, and Dean regretted even agreeing to this, or looking into his piercing blue eyes, "Dean, can we drop this act now?"

"Act? W-What do, I-I-"

"We're alone. Just us, okay?" The distance between them shortened, like two magnets coming together (albeit slower). "We can say things now. Like how much I want to jump into your Impala and run away right now."

"Yeah, like the fact that you hate the Milton's and don't want to ever go near Michael again. Or the fact that all you've ever done for your family has never bettered you, Cas, it's just made you a tool."